Well, in theory, all the AIs should work on different research, based on what Jay has changed with them recently.
That said, we were going to have a few house rules. Nothing quite as stringent as that other game (which I consider a throw away now since the house rules were blatantly broken by one team.
I expect everyone here to agree to and self police their team if they are joining this game. I posted the basics in the first post, so everyone had the chance to read them before signing on. Here they are again:
-Teams of 3 players will be organized before the game is set up and will be placed together on the map.
-Teams must strive for top 3 places. Formal Alliance will be turned on, but not forced.
-You may only trade tech with your own team.
-Teams may chat and share information with each other, but you are not allowed to switch teams, merge or join another.
Each team will be given a cluster, on a map like the one above or something similar. I will use a random number generator to place the teams based on numbering the clusters to match an analog clock.
There is to be no tech trading with the AI faction or any other team. No gifting tech to another team because your neighbor looked at you funny.
You can chat with everyone, and even target other teams together, but remember, only one team can win, and they must take all three spots unless they had a member eliminated, then they must take the top two.
Please no AFKs. Whichever route we go, you get plenty of time to sign on within 72 Ticks or 3 Turns. Going AFK results in sharing tech with the AI faction, and any other player that happens to go AFK at the same time. That results in breaking the no tech trades rule. If you know you are going to be without internet for a few days, please mention it in a public chat thread and we can pause the game.
It seems like most people are leaning towards Turn based. I personally like the ability of micromanaging my empire, which is why I was leaning toward a slow Time game. It’s just always annoyed me that I get research done 5 hours before Cycle, but can’t share it because it is in the middle of a turn. Likewise, attacks are already 6 hrs in before you see them no matter what. In a slow game, you could log in at the same frequency at a Turn based, but if you wanted to log in more often, you have the ability to do something each time. As we have heard from less than half our players on the topic, I’ll leave that open a bit longer.
Any other preferences on settings? Hulk suggested lots of starting cash. That gives you a jumpstart, but then immediately after you realize you don’t have as much money to spend each turn. Somewhere in the middle would be good I think. He also suggested expensive Weap and Manu. Thoughts?