Sirian Sirian

Travel to Realms Beyond Your Ordinary Gaming Experience

Travel to Realms Beyond Your Ordinary Gaming Experience

This thread is intended to recruit new players to the Realms Beyond community through our Metaverse Empire. We don't exactly need a thread for discussion, as we have our own GalCiv forum attached to the RB website. (Realms Beyond is a veteran community of gamers with an established presence in several strategy and role playing games). However, some have suggested that our "meteoric rise" in the galactic standings represents a "mystery" and a possible threat to other empires. Surely not, says we. :)

Why not wait for interested parties to find their way to the RBGC forum, if they wish to communicate with us? That seemed wise at first, but the suggestion has been floated amongst our own that we should research "communication theory" and create a device called a "univeral translator" and seek to open communications with other empires on terms they are used to operating, through channels they are used to using. The ultimate wisdom of this idea, and this so-called translation device, remains in doubt among RB leadership, as the first attempt to use the wicked thing resulted in misunderstanding leading to combat and nearly kicked off a minor war, but we are an adventurous people and will give almost any idea a try, so here we go. :D

Our Empire Motto: WE SEEK CHALLENGE THROUGH VARIETY!

http://www.galciv.com/metaverse/empires.asp?id=555


We seek mastery over the game. The ideal at RB is to be able to beat the game on any map size, without choosing to abuse the AI's various inanities, without having to have perfect terrain conditions. Any alignment, any victory condition, any habitability range, any political party, any combination of bonus picks. If a challenge lies before us, we will embrace it. Mistakes, setbacks and losses do not represent failure, merely a chance to learn, from which greater success can sprout and flourish.

No skill level is too high or too low for RB. All we ask is that you play your best and have a good time.

RB players venture beyond the ordinary. If you are like unto our brother in the spirit in which you play, you would be welcome to join our empire. All you need is interest, an RB-style gaming attitude, and the desire to participate. Our mission is to have fun, to pursue excellence, to play fairly, to uphold the integrity of the game, to embrace variety and challenge, push the boundaries of the game and gameplay, experiment, learn, grow, and do it together.

Our passion is the AAR. We live to read a good AAR and to write our own. Fun shared is fun doubled. The RB Epics tournament for Civ3 sees every participant post their own AAR after each tournament game, with the chief entertainment value being sharing insights, experiences, and laughs. Whether we will hold a GalCiv tournament remains to be seen, but the possibility is out there.

We keep a list of rules for our GalCiv gaming. This list will grow and evolve as the game evolves and our understanding of it matures. We voluntarily refrain from (in our opinions) game-breaking tactics that unbalance a game or pigeonhole it into one "best" path to victory. Some game elements may be broken or have loopholes. Some moves may just be "too strong" and kill variety. We do not use these moves. We do not have to use them. Mastery over a game is established by taking the high road, by trudging uphill and building our strength and endurance. Our interests lie in seeing the game refined to where the game balance provides extended replay value and neverending strategic challenge. However, unless and until that state of polish is reached, we will set our own boundaries to create this effect for ourselves, whether or not it can be found in the game as currently programmed.

If this sounds like your kind of gaming community, we invite you to travel to Realms Beyond.

Our forum for Galactic Civilizations:

http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/237344

Players interested in joining Realms Beyond should venture to our forum, read the lastest version of our rules, and confirm their assent to abide by the rules we have set. We place the quality of our gaming experience ahead of our standing in the competition. Excellence brings its own rewards, its own forms of recognition and respect from peers. That is something no measurement or score could ever fully depict.

Anyone who agrees to our playing philisophy and signs their John Hancock pledging their allegiance to our posted rule set will be confirmed onto our roster. Come one, come all, for the time of your life. LOL Our star is rising. Our destiny is written in the heavens. :HOT:

We are also hoping to generate enough excitement to lure out some of the other RB players who have yet to pick up GalCiv. Surely when they see the grand party we are staging at our best starbase, some will be compelled to join in. And as far as "threat to other empires", that's purely propaganda. We have no hostile intentions. Now if some players are impressed with our culture and decide to emigrate to our worlds, that would not constitute hostile action against other cultures on our behalf. ;) We cannot help but to be ourselves. :D


- Sirian

[Message Edited]
17,224 views 354 replies
Reply #101 Top
No, that's good. Welcome aboard. :)

Although we do insist on having members actively validate their consent to go beyond the norm and adhere to some higher standards, and it is more than formality, there have been many benefits to this policy. For one, we rarely have to enforce or police the issues, as this tends to make the sorts of players who would need policing seek elsewhere. For another, asking members to take responsibility even in minor ways and limited areas tends to bring out the best in our people, as good folks respond well when challenged. Plus those with nothing to hide feel no discomfort observing a few boundaries, and may even feel safer and be happier within them. Finally, this litmus test is not all that demanding, in the final analysis. We find it useful for appealing to likeminded players, who will appreciate a group that takes a stand and defines what it most values. :)

I see you have been moving up in difficulty and succeeding as you go. That's always a good sign. :D


- Sirian
Reply #102 Top
just re-opened my site http://www.hipercom.net
you can take a look at my small corner of the universe ;)
[Message Edited]
Reply #103 Top
you can take a look at my small corner of the universe
End of quote


Hey, nice looking. More polished than my various sites, to be sure. I'm not a graphical sort. Nobody comes to my pages for visual stimulation. :) It's all about the writing.

Mods... I still haven't messed around with GC mods. I may check into them more closely later, though, if/when time comes for an RBGC tournament. :D


- Sirian
Reply #104 Top
Hello fellow RB'ers! I finally decided to get the game, and should be starting my first go at it in the next day or so, if I could avoid the "Epic" siren song. :p

Sirian, I sent you an email via the "join empire" button. I think you know where I stand on RB rules. :)

This should be fun--I haven't played a 4x game since MoO1.

- Bam-Bam
Reply #105 Top
MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

ah vicar, yes, sorry, um, more tea?

;)
Reply #106 Top
I took another shot at One Planet Challenge on a huge map. My goal this time was to set the bar extremely high. I got crushed on my first attempt (details in the Stardock Strat forum) so even just winning at all would be a great achievement, but no, I set my sights on a Beyond Human victory! :HOT: Could I beat the AI's to a tech win on a huge map, with only one planet??? :SURPRISED:

Of course, posting a tech win, if I could do it, would hurt my Metaverse standings by drawing down my average points per game, but RBers don't need no steeking points system to tell us what an achievement is worth or how far our skills have progressed. Not our fault the scoring isn't intelligent enough to accomodate proper respect for variant play. LOL Heck with the standings, I'm gonna pursue a more meaningful badge of honor to put on my record. :LOL: RBers will understand and appreciate.

Stay tuned. :D


- Sirian
Reply #107 Top
You are insane. You are a Crazy Man. I cringe at the mere concept you describe. I want to grow up to be Just Like You. :HOT:

Seriously, don't forget to schedule naps and pizza. I doubt the nurses in ICU would understand the sacrifice!
Reply #108 Top
I wonder how long some of those late game techs will take to research with just one planet. I'm looking forward to your report!
Reply #109 Top
The Metaverse Review is now out!

http://metaversereview.joeuser.com

Headlines Include:

~ Galactic War Spreads
~ Weekly Spotlight Empire
~ And More!
Reply #110 Top
BamBam: I got your join email, but for reasons unknown, the Empire admin screen has not forwarded you as an applicant. I can't add you, because you aren't there. Please redo it. The ANZACs must have hired gremlins to gum up the works and try (in vain?) to put roadblocks between yet-to-be-arriving RB regulars and our destiny. :D

- Sirian
Reply #112 Top
Seriously, don't forget to schedule naps and pizza.
End of quote


Yea, brother. Speak it. :D

You will be pleased to know that both items have been accounted for. In fact, I have gone all-out on the pizza front. Fearing food poisoning by ANZAC spies, I have laid in my stores for the winter and have the fixins to make my own pizzas entirely from scratch. We have the 100% stone ground wheat flour, which although it makes for tough crust, nevertheless has seen its recipe refined to an edible state, thanks to aid from (blush) my mother, whom I called for baking advice. The Amish market less than two miles away carries the flour, yeast, and fresh local Pennsylvania mountain vegetables used for toppings, as well as fine meats in their deli, including some Grade A pepperoni. Then we have the Italian store up near Johnstown (Flood City) that carries the finest available pizza sauce, the stuff used by pizzerias all up and down the east coast: Dom Pepino! A proper blend of cheeses (mozarella, provolone, cheddar, parmesan), garlic, and a trusty rolling pin for the dough... yes indeed, we are not only arranging pizza, we're traveling to Realms Beyond your ordinary pizza-making experience. :D

Seriously. :)

Now as for the nap part... Hey, I got five hours last night. I'm good for a day or two. ;) And you need not worry about overdoing. I took a break during the OPC pursuit to watch Battlestar Galactica. :D If not for that, and then having to stay up later to finish the game, I'd have gotten seven hours. :SURPRISED:


- Sirian
Reply #113 Top
Sirian--Application sent again.
End of quote


I got the email again, but still no BamBam at the approval screen. GROSS and ANZACs must be teaming in a conspiracy, uniting against a mutual threat! :SURPRISED: (That being us, apparently). ;p This cannot be left to stand.

Are you patched to the current version? This is so odd. Jester and MeatSac both got put up for acceptance even though they backed out of the "send email" phase, yet I am getting your application emails and you aren't being made available to add you. ... I'm confused. :notsure:


- Sirian
Reply #114 Top
I have not yet "registered my player", since I did not get around to installing the game last night. I was planning on taking my first run last night, but got sidetracked on an "Epic" quest. Game will be installed and run tonight. That should do the trick.

- Bam-Bam
[Message Edited]
Reply #115 Top
If not for that, and then having to stay up later to finish the game, I'd have gotten seven hours.
End of quote


"...finish the game..."

Does that mean your Beyond Human OPC has actually been concluded, and you are now formatting another humbling AAR, complete with purty pictures? Or maybe even for download in printable Adobe Acrobat format?

Cripes. I was thinking of the food-grade-cardboard frozen pizza product, but I suppose if one doesn't mind a yeasty keyboard, your way is highly preferable. Come to think of it, I'm not sure that pepperoni is even available in different grades out here on the Great Plains.

--MS
Reply #116 Top
Cripes. I was thinking of the food-grade-cardboard frozen pizza product
End of quote


Some frozen pizza brands have come a long way. I'm not a "rising crust" fan, so DiGiorno is not my cup of tea, but I like Tombstone very much, and I got Tony's for years, as a tasty but economical frozen pizza. They keep tinkering with it, trying to "improve" it, when I liked how it used to be, so I kinda stopped buying those much.

A long time ago, in a nightmare far far away, I do remember eating cardboard that somebody had sold as pizza. Oh, and there was the one time I forgot to take the cardboard out from under the Tombstone pizza before baking it... I'm still hearing about that one from my father, who was over having dinner with me that evening. "Cardboard pizza" has a whole other meaning around here! :SURPRISED:

But yeah... my grandmother owned and operated a restaurant for forty years. I know my way around good food, and though I am too lazy to cook a lot of things, the few things I put my attention to, like pizza, stir fry, and spaghetti, I do up real special. Fresh onions, bell pepper and celery is the triumvirate of all my cooking. And no budgetary concerns here for the pizza. I pile up those toppings, the way almost everybody dreams of doing "if I ever make my own pizza", and it's MMM MMM GOOD, let me tell you. :D Fresh shrooms are the one thing I don't always get. Sometimes I settle for canned. But the right sauce can hide a multitude of sins. :D

Does that mean your Beyond Human OPC has actually been concluded
End of quote


Yep. Enquiring minds could have checked my profile at any point. I squeezed some time in here to crop the screens and am uploading them right now. :)


- Sirian
Reply #117 Top
Enquiring minds could have checked my profile at any point.
End of quote


Heh. Make that, "enquiring, non-rectally-inserted minds." Sheesh. I'm not really an idiot, see, I just portray one in public. Dock me a point for that one.

I envy you your grandmother's culinary skills. Mine thought seasonings were an extravagance. Try making pumpkin pie with a third of the spices called for in the recipe and see how it goes over with the holiday crowd. Mmm, boy, gourd pie.

--MS
Reply #118 Top
MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

we iz jammin yer pizza signals, RudeBoys....

LOL
Reply #119 Top
we iz jammin yer pizza signals, RudeBoys
End of quote


Interference noted. I finally reconfigured the primary computers to rerout through the plasma inducers, increase anti-matter throughput (insert about a dozen other NextGen Trek Deus Ex Machina cliches here, please: ___________) and have overcome the ANZAC jamming.

Or, in other words, my OPC report is now available:

http://sirian.warpcore.org/galciv/opch-tech.html

Enjoy! :D


- Sirian
Reply #120 Top
Sirian--

Game installed, player registered. I made another request to join, just in case it was needed. Off to my first game!!!
Reply #121 Top
really enjoyed your report sirian - hey, how does galciv stack up against the competition in your opinion? overall?

:)
Reply #122 Top
Nice report! And nicely played!

The behavior with the Altarians sounds really weird. I've never seen anything like it.
Reply #123 Top
increase anti-matter throughput
End of quote


Huh. Must've put too much cheese on the pizza...

Good AAR, Sirian. Do you use a 3rd-party screenshot utility, do is there an in-game function that I haven't stumbled across?

--MS
Reply #124 Top
Sirian, great stuff...i no that you guys aren't that hot on scores, but still what you wrote made me interested in a theory put forward on the strats forum by someone (hmm...i can't find it) concerning how scores where determinated.

The theory was that technology, economy and military score was decided by the area below your graph (for each of those) and when i checked with a few of my latest games it actually fit pretty well. Could that explain your military score (you had a pretty good military ranking all the way thru the game) ?
Reply #125 Top
Could that explain your military score
End of quote


Possibly. I had a lot of starbases, including a few that I traded for that came with defense modules installed. My military score is often low, and in most games I cruise on little military until late in the capital ship era, unless there are wars I can't avoid.

You also have to realize how long this game went, and the fact that scores inflate significantly over time, although the multiplier also takes away most of the new gains as score is lost to the clock. So really, that military score isn't very high. It's still lower than economic and social scores, and that's with only one planet in play.

Suppose the theory is correct. Then what? Perhaps an irony of that would be that successful warmaking would working AGAINST you, because losing ships would cost you military rating. That can't be right, can it? :)


- Sirian