| Game idea: bidding for techs |
Mon, 27 February 2006 01:12  |
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Wumpus's tool for setting tech levels in .hst files got me thinking...
His post is here: http://starsautohost.org/sahforum/index.php?t=msg&th=284 2&start=0&rid=326&S=943fb85a65d5577df9d8d956b637 a30a
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Hmmm, 6 races... 6 tech fields...
Leads me to consider an interesting new game idea...
The great technology bargain bin:
Before the game starts a bidding process is followed, the result of which will be that each player will have obtained a starting tech lead in ONE *unique* field, by being the lowest bidder in that field.
Leads to a few interesting thoughts:
- What is going to be better, starting with weapons 12 or starting with bio26? (think TT, and hope you don't start next to mr big guns)
- AR could get a good kick start but they'll have to bid against the PP, who wants to give someone else a good kick at the start, with high energy.
- WM/AR could both love a good early con boost
- Everybody likes guns...
- SS could really enjoy a nice high elect start. IS might too.
- Would anyone like prop23 engine? SD might enjoy I think...
If the players thought through the value of the techs before the game started then this gimmick should be fairly self balancing. For example weapons and con will probably be popular, so you'd be lucky to get better than 13, but with something less popular you might even get a tech 26 start (in fact, someone is actually guaranteed it, in the least desired field.)
Interesting? 
[Updated on: Mon, 27 February 2006 01:15] Report message to a moderator
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| Re: Game idea: bidding for techs |
Mon, 27 February 2006 11:24  |
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| LEit wrote on Tue, 28 February 2006 03:04 |
How does the bidding work?
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Good question. There are several ways this could be done, that I can think of, all with own advantages and disadvantages.
One would be to get all players in IRC and bid on the techs in some arbitary order (such as weap->con->en->el->bio->prop.) A similar method would be to get the players specify their minimum bids for all techs, in the same order in an email.
Another tricky decision would be whether to make players design their race first (risking seeing some designs show up 'broken' if they lost the bidding on a specific tech) or let them make the race afterward (leading to designs focussed very tightly on their starting advantage.) I think I'd lean towards the former - helps to protect against extreme races such as the OWW WM described earlier. Perhaps letting people set their research settings after bidding would be a fair compromise on this idea.
edit: with the bidding, I've had a better idea, see next post
[Updated on: Mon, 27 February 2006 11:40] Report message to a moderator
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| Re: Game idea: bidding for techs |
Mon, 27 February 2006 11:39 |
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I'm thinking on the run here, as you might have guessed...
For the bidding I'm thinking several rounds of anonymous bidding would make most sense:
Each day, for say 4 days, everyone submits their minimum bid for every tech to the host. At the end of each day a message is posted advising of the value of the lowest bid in each field, and players then have an opportunity to lower their bids.
At end of the final round, the host checks through the techs in an order based on which techs have the lowest bid, allocating them to each player by lowest bidder (remembering that each player is only permitted one tech.) In case of a tie the involved players are given a final opportunity to bid, and if they remain tied it is randomly allocated.
The beauty of this method is
- it gives players an opportunity to observe how desired each tech is, before bidding is finalised
- anonymous, so no in-game info is transferred
- players will always get techs they bidded lower for over techs they bidded higher for (assuming they won the bidding)
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| Re: Game idea: bidding for techs |
Mon, 27 February 2006 12:14 |
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Race design before or after bidding?
Does last player to win get level 26 in whatever field is left as no competition remaining?
Is tech trading allowed after?
Is CA restricted or banned?
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| Re: Game idea: bidding for techs |
Mon, 27 February 2006 19:08 |
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| multilis wrote on Tue, 28 February 2006 04:14 |
Race design before or after bidding?
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Uncertain yet (I posted about that above.) I think the best compromise is to have races designed FIRST, but let people modify the research page settings after the bidding has completed, to take off a little of the sting of failing to get the specific tech you wanted. I'd strongly discourage anyone from taking a race that depended on winning a particular tech. Make sure your design will still perform well with your 2nd, or even 3rd choice (or worse...) 
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Does last player to win get level 26 in whatever field is left as no competition remaining?
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Yup. Sure does. The last two or three fields will probably all be very high. 
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Is tech trading allowed after?
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Yes. This is one of the things that should give the less conventionally valuable techs a 'boost'
The weap and con races should be forced to play as enemies to each other (no cooperation, no trading, no diplomacy, no race is permitted to trade/ally with both of them) for the first part of the game (through to 2450) to avoid the all too obvious w+c alliance dominating the early game.
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Is CA restricted or banned?
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Well, this was just a concept post, but seems to be generating a lot of interest so I guess I can start hammering out this sort of thing.
Hmmm. Let's allow it, but heavily handicapped - probably 150 pts to defenses, and no TT. JOAT will also be penalized, probably by denying it the OBRM and NAS traits.
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| Re: Game idea: bidding for techs |
Wed, 01 March 2006 20:50 |
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 icebird |
 | Chief Warrant Officer 3 |
Messages: 178
Registered: September 2003
Location: In LaLa land... | |
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I think this sounds like a pretty cool idea. My thoughts on the questions posed...
(1) Universe size/density (as above) medium-sparse or small-dense or small-normal.
I like medium-sparse, for the same reasons you do.
(2) Diplomacy. There will only be 6 races in this game. I'd like diplomacy to be present so tech trading can occur, but I don't want to see this game won by diplomacy - I want to see the results of the tech startup So I'm thinking about applying a rule to prevent top 2 (or top 3?) races cooperating. Is this sound?
With only six players, the top three might be a bit restrictive... I htink top two would be sufficient.
(3) PRTs. I've already suggested limitations for CA and JOAT. If we go medium-sparse I suppose I should probably apply some restriction to to IT as well (and even if we don't, one has to consider the fact that if it managed to secure the weapons startup it'd have that with it's starting PRT con and prop advantage...) I don't want to get in a situation of limiting every PRT though.
IT won't be too much of a problem. It's not overly powerful, well balanced I think. Any race with the weapons tech would be a problem, so most races will try to get it, which should keep it low enough.
One thing I'd like to see is changing not only the techs page, but also the LRT page. If a race gets bio, seems fair to give them TT, and if propulsion, changing IFE/NRSE would be helpful. From what I'd imagine, it gives the weaker techs a boost comared to C and W, making them more powerful, increasing the intensity of the bidding, which is a good thing.
I'd like to play, if you couldn't tell. 
-Peter, Lord of the Big Furry ThingsReport message to a moderator
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| Re: Game idea: bidding for techs |
Thu, 02 March 2006 16:51 |
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imo it might be simpler and better to allow complete redesign of races after bidding is won, otherwise risk of most players going for same sort of techs/races by chance while lucky guy being different gets advantage.
[Updated on: Thu, 02 March 2006 16:52] Report message to a moderator
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Re: Game idea: bidding for techs