Mythos_Ruler
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Posts posted by Mythos_Ruler
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Elf, when you say you've changed things, does that mean you're editing your version of the map? If so, that's fine by me. If you'd want, I think it'd be cool to collaborate with someone and release further versions of the map. One thing I was thinking of doing is giving each of the three Greek civ's Unique Units an attack bonus (and consequently, increase their pop). As far as the map size goes, yeah, it's a "New X Editor" thing. If one doesn't have the X Editor mod, then one can edit the map sizes up to 1300x1300 I believe through xml or some such, but I don't know how to do it (ask CheeZy for further details). I really suggest downloading Reyk's New X Editor AOM editor mod. It's added %1000 to the functionality of the AOM editor and the scenarios one makes utilizing the mod are completely compatible to all players.
@Soggyfrog: I've had quite a bit of trouble playtesting this thing online with other players, given its filesize and the fact I am on 56K. Most of the playtesting comes from me playing as the various players versus the computer. I was hoping everyone here would DL it and we'd be able to playtest it together. Then I could make any of the adjustments we deem necessary.
Other future regions might include Italy and the Middle East, but considering my main obsession is with Greek history, I want to be completely satisfied with this map.
While this map is "merely" 930x930, I've attempted a 1300x1300 version that includes the coast of Asia Minor and the Greek Ionian cities, but right now the task is a bit daunting.A few other features I'd love to add to the map are: random start points. Each settlement would have its own unique bonuses, so whichever settlement you are randomly placed on you'd gain those specific bonuses. Now, THAT would be a LOT of work. LOL. Secondly, would be more and more "factoids." About every two minutes an ancient Greek factoid is displayed for the knowledge of those playing the map. Right now I am only up to about a dozen.
For gameplay reasons I left out an obvious city as a player city - THEBES. I felt its position was way too close to Athens, however, I think through further playtesting I could figure out a way to put Thebes in as a 7th player.
Now, for some screenshots. I played a game tonight on the map as ATHENS. Athens has great Triremes and good walls. I made good use of both of these attributes by raiding the coastlines of my enemies and walling my city up from the beginning.
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The main object of the game, population and map control-wise, will be to capture settlements. Settlements have been given a pop cap bonus (they add a lot more to your pop cap) and there are 5-6 settlements available per player. With no houses to add to one's pop cap, it promotes expansion into new territory. However, Players 2 (Sparta) and 6 (Corinth) get a bonus to where each of P2's barracks add +1 to the pop cap and P6's archery ranges add +1 to the pop cap. It's a nifty little bonus I might tweak in future installments.
BTW - one will be able to have HUGE armies of hoplites as they now only take up 1 pop slot! Same goes for TRIREMES!
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If anyone would like to play this with me, I'd be more than happy to!
Edit: Screenshots coming soon.
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I've recently uploaded the newest version of my Peloponnesian War map to the 0 A.D. Forum:
:::Peloponnesian War - Titans Edition 1.0:::
PLAYERS: 6, Teams, Free For All (FFA), or Diplomacy Style (recommended!)
MAP TYPE: Real World, Conquest
MAP SIZE: 825K
INSTALLATION: Unzip the .scx file to the scenario folder of your Age of Mythology directory - C:Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology\Scenario
SHORT DESCRIPTION: The most accurate ancient Greece map available. Fight the titanic Peloponnesian War as one of 6 ancient Greek city-states, each with its own unique bonuses!
LONG DESCRIPTION: This is as accurate to the terrain of ancient Greece as is possible in the Titans scenario editor, so accurate, even unclaimed settlements are in place of real ancient cities. Each player plays as one of 6 historical city-states (Athens, Sparta, Thessaly, Eretria, Elis, and Corinth). Each player has its own unique set of bonuses based on historical records and good gameplay. Advancement is very fast with more starting resources than a supremacy game, but less than a Death Match. Researching upgrades is also nearly instantaneous once the upgrade has been selected.
GLOBAL ATTRIBUTES:
1.) Research Rate multiplied by a factor of 10. No waiting for that tech to reach 100%!
2.) All walls and buildings are beefed up considerably.
3.) Cavalry speed increased across the board.
4.) Population cost for Hoplites reduced by 1.
5.) Population cost for Triremes reduced by 1.
6.) Range for Juggernauts increased considerably, but Population Cost increased +1.
7.) Town Centers at or near 10,000 Hit Points(HPs).
8.) Town Centers now grant more population cap.
9.) TITANS DISABLED.
10.) HOUSES DISABLED.
PLAYER ATTRIBUTES:
1.) Athens - Very strong Walls. Excellent Triremes.
2.) Sparta - Hoplite pierce armor increased substantially. Free copper armory upgrades. Barracks HPs increased. Barracks pop bonus.
3.) Thessaly - Significant Farming and Husbandry bonuses. Cavalry attack and speed increased.
4.) Eretria - Significant Fortress and Siege bonuses. Transport garrisoning increased.
5.) Elis - Granted favor every minute by Zeus. Very strong heroes and Myth Units.
6.) Corinth - Free storehouse and market upgrades. Archer range increased greatly. Archery Range pop bonus.
GAMEPLAY HINTS:
1.) Since houses are disabled, Population Cap is determined solely by the number of TCs under a player's control.
2.) There are 5-6 TCs available per player. Grab as many TCs as possible to gain an edge.
3.) TCs are also important, because most of the gold on mainland Greece is situated at or near unclaimed sttlements.
4.) The islands surrounding Greece are rich with RELICS, SETTLEMENTS, and GOLD.
5.) The waters surrounding Greece are also rich in FISH. Control of the sea could be very important to the outcome of the game.
CREDITS:
Thanks to CheeZy for applying his file size saving techniques (the original map size was over 1MB!).
Any questions, comments, or bugs, e-mail Mythos_Ruler at:
Mythgamer@aol.com
I'd love to have some reviews! Download the map and play with up to 5 friends on ESO, or play it single player by giving the other players an AI through the Editor.
History behind the map:
The Peloponnesian War was a struggle between the Athenian Empire and the Spartan Hegemony that raged throughout the 5th century BC. Eventually all of Greece was embroiled in the conflict. In the real war, Athens was conquered by Sparta, but this time, you can change history!
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I'd take everything, including the fuzzy dice.
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Contests
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The following article sums up nice and neatly my views on the "Gay Marriage" debate:
From the Vancouver, WA newspaper "The Columbian"
Opinion: Gay Marriage - Vancouver perspectives -- History proves marriage not adverse to change
Sunday, March 21, 2004
By Rev. Mark Gallagher
The argument for legalizing same-sex marriage goes something like this: Two adults wish to commit themselves to a caring, supportive relationship and enjoy the recognition of the community. They are willing to take on the attendant responsibilities. Such a relationship is called marriage. Why should we be forbidden to marry a person of the same sex?
Two men of my Vancouver congregation recently got a marriage license from Multnomah County, and I traveled to their Portland home to conduct the ceremony. Given their loving and committed relationship of over 13 years, they were perhaps the most deeply ready of any couple I have married.
I ask, "Why on Earth should these men be excluded?" Objectors answer:
n "You can't go tampering with an institution like marriage. It has always been this way!"
Which way would that be?
In ancient and medieval Europe, marriage was not about love but property. It was arranged by parents, often prior to the bride reaching puberty, with a dowry paid to the husband upon consummation. The overriding concern was economic.
According to the Bible, Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were children of the same father. We call that incest today. Old Testament men routinely took multiple wives. We call that polygamy today. After failing to get pregnant, Sarah offered her slave Hagar for Abraham to have children with. I'm not sure what we'd call that today.
Marriage has not always been any particular way.
n "Change marriage and civilization will collapse!"
Institution won't collapse
This hysteria echoes throughout history. From the Boston Quarterly Review in 1859: "The family, in its old sense, is disappearing from our land, and not only our free institutions are threatened but the very existence of our society is endangered."
The prospect of divorce also spelled society's downfall. In 1816 Timothy Dwight, president of Yale University decried Connecticut's new divorce law: "Within a moderate period, the whole community will be thrown into general prostitution." Horace Greeley suggested that a partnership with the possibility of divorce should be called something other than marriage. ("Civil union" perhaps?)
The specter of interracial marriage was a grave threat to civilization. At one point, 41 states banned interracial marriage. It was not until 1967 that the Supreme Court ruled such laws unconstitutional. At the time of that "activist court" decision, according to one survey 72 percent of Americans disapproved of interracial marriage; 48 percent believed it should be a crime. That is significantly higher disapproval than we see today regarding same-sex relationships.
n Marriage is about procreation and child-rearing!
People have fewer children and live longer than in years past, so today's marriages include many more childless years. Even for heterosexual couples, it is not all about raising children. Plus, gay and lesbian partnerships often do involve children, whether from previous marriages, by in vitro fertilization, or by adoption.
So if marriage is fundamentally about providing a home for children, that would include same-sex couples with children and rule out childless (or at least infertile) couples and empty nesters.
n The Bible condemns homosexuality!
A few isolated Bible verses condemn homosexuality. But usery is condemned frequently, yet we hear no talk of unscrupulous bankers being excluded from the institution of marriage.
If a religion rejects same-sex relationships, let them withhold the blessing of their sacraments. But that is irrelevant to whether the state sanctions such relationships The state has no legitimate interest in religious scriptures and doctrines.
n It undermines the sanctity of marriage!
I have seen numerous sacred and lasting gay relationships. Neither gays nor straights confuse mere sexual adventure with marriage. In any case, sanctity is not the state's business. Acknowledging the value of honorable and committed same-sex partnerships does not take anything away from straight couples.
I am sorry that the pace of social change is making some of my fellow citizens anxious, but we need to take a deep breath and put justice before comfort.
Rev. Mark Gallagher has been minister of the Michael Servetus Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in east-central Vancouver since 1994.
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I saw this post at another forum on a different site. The thread topic was about the tendency for Europeans to side with Arabs and the Americans to side with the Jews. This guy's post was one of the more sane and analytical post in a thread of raving mad posts. So, I thought I'd repost it here to see what you think. I think the guy is spot on:
Well my own theory is that, for the most part (there are other reasons, but these are the main ones) it can be boiled down to "white guilt" and the fact socialism (and as a result, more-socialist-than-the-US Europe) is built on the complete rejection of almost anything that falls on the "right" side, and is simply incapable of comprehending the value in anything it would espouse. And the reason such theories have such currency in Europe is that unlike America, their right has been dominated historically first by monarchists and then outright fascists. They have been traumatized out of having any sympathy for anything like a right wing argument. Essentially pst-traumatic stress syndrome on a cultural scale.Our right has never had nearly the ogrishness associated with it, so we have not been so utterly turned off to the right. Whereas our experience with far left-ness has mostly been versus Communist enemies of America and the like, causing us to skew away from the far left by reflex.
As a result we can no more read or hear something "like" what a Communist would say without feeling a reflexive panic, than a European can read or hear something "like" what a Nazi or imperialist would say without also having a spasm.
So socialists hate America because it represents to them the greatest capitalist or imperialist power holding back the human race. European socialists, being socialists, are (not surprisingly) going to at least see some high amount of reason in that feeling. And the post-WWII anti-colonial/"hypocrisy-of-fighting-empires-and-being one-yourself" backlash and "white guilt" complex helps a lot.
And in the Middle East you have quite a lot of legitimate complaints against the US, where unsurprisingly our rationales seem like only rationalziations. Which you'd expect any place that has been the butt of so many policies that were based only on their ability to preserve American lives.
But you also have vast, vast gulfs of absolute ignorance of what America really is or does, or why America does what it does; and filling that vacuum you have, mostly, only the sinister scapegoating conspiratorial screeds of mullahs and demagogues trying to trap the passions of the miserable masses and direct them for their own demented purposes. And if they can get people to believe that the legitimate grievances are the whole source of the problem, then they'll suddenly find at least some notable degree of sympathy among socialists. Because those grievances get played up as being simply the result of colonialism and exploitation. The Middle East, like most fascist states or fascist states in the making, has no real sense of a present worth preserving; they have only a glorious history to point to which seems robbed from them by outsiders (and, "funny" enough, Jews), and they can only try to reach that Golden Age once again by "selfless sacrifice" for "the nation" -- the Muslim (or sometimes, also Arab) nation.
They have a common kinship there the West hasn't seen since the days we'd call ourselves Christendom, which goes back to the fact they're increasingly trapped in a Crusades era mentality. When we were ignorant and under the sway of religious fanatics (because we couldn't know any better) pointing to real and imagined grievances, we launched the Crusades. When the Middle East is under the same conditions, they launch Jihads. In a way, they seem to have "broke" at that point in history to a large extent, and have never quite recovered.
And in the years leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and especially after, socialists began to agitate peoples to revolution, globally. So like any good persuaders, they made plausible and sympathetic arguments. And they went out to every place that was part of an empire or the subject of colonialism. And this policy bore fruit in the Mid East where the people were riled against the British. And later, when Arabs deemed Israel the new colonial enemy, their allies in Russia (eager to have a political, economic, and military alliance, especaially if it meant being able to sell weapons) supported them, and the full weight of their global sympathets fell in line as the marching orders went out over the wires what the new imperialist order was... No surprise then that a lot of the earlier Arab dictators and revolutionaries adopted the veneer of socialism. And no surprise that then was when we gradually became more biased toward Israel, as a result of the calculus of the Cold War. So the socialist/Mid-East radical alliance is really a pretty old one already.
Though I'd really like to know, under what cocktail of medications could Barbie be seen as a Zionist?
A reply from a European:
Well I think there are tendencies like you describe, but I still want to make some things clear:In most European countries, there is a strict line between democratic socialists, and left-extremists. When you hear the name of a party which is called "socialist" like that in Spain, it doesn't mean at all they were/are the same kind of people like the USSR-type "socialists" or "communists".
They are "social democrats", which means they deny Marxism because they value representative pluralist democracy over it, and they were persecuted by the "communists" in the Warsaw Pact for it (they called them "social fascists").
That division of the left reaches far back into European past; it's no gradual difference, but a categorical.
These social democrats threw over with the radical left in the first half of the 20th century already. And in some countries, it was even up to them alone to fight for democracy against both fascism and communism, while the right completely failed supporting democracy.
These moderate social democrats are often not much different from, say, the left wing of the US Democrats, and not radical at all. In reality, the "socialist" past ist most often only a traditional makeup for them, nothing more, as the reality in a pluralistic democracy has formed them for decades.
I think that is a fact a lot of Americans are not aware of it's entire meaning.
And Archangel's reply:
Yeah I'll admit a lot of people aren't aware of the difference; and there definitely is a difference.But then since true socialists of any sort are about as common as a dinosaur here, about the only place we'd get an awareness of living breathing non-Communist socialists would be in Europe. And our media woefully under-reports anything going on overseas, on the assumption people don't care about it; and what people don't care about doesn't sell, so it doesn't get covered much, especially on TV where most people get their news and where each moment has to be slotted judiciously for maximum profit.
Oh and thanks for the comments.
NOTE: The above posts were pasted in their entirety, including spelling and grammatical errors (and some might say philosophical errors, j/k).
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OTOH, the act of removing or changing that line does imply something, imo.
To me, that act would reaffirm the spirit and letter of the Constitution.
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Klaas, the Religious-Right Wing does that a lot. For instance, during the 2000 Presidential race, Bush was asked what he thought about having Wiccan Chaplains in the army for those soldiers who happen to be Wiccan. There are chaplains for various christian denominations, muslims, jews, and others, but only recently did the Wiccan issue arise.
Bush's response boiled down to, "We shouldn't be promoting witchcraft and devil worshipping." Way to turn a question on its head, Dubya. For one thing, he demonstrates his basic ignorance of the Wiccan faith, but more importantly, he would deny a soldier the right to a chaplain because of that ignorance. Bush incorrectly associates Wicca with Devil worshipping and based on that assumption denies others rights that his fellow christians enjoy.
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Eken -- I generally agree about standing one's ground in the face of possible alienation. However, we are talking about elementary school children here. Why even create the environment in which to encourage such alienation. Why impose this artificial choice on children at that age? When a child faces discrimination on any other touchy subject, race or ethnicity for example, do we just tell them, "Toughen up kid!"?
BTW Quacker -- Atheism is the distinct lack of religion. You can keep saying Atheism is a religion 'til the cows come home, but 't ain't gon be true.
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A Timeline of facts:
1892
The pledge, written by socialist editor and clergyman Francis Bellamy, debuts September 8 in the juvenile periodical The Youth's Companion. He wants the words to reflect the views of his cousin, Edward Bellamy, author of "Looking Backward" and other socialist utopian novels. It reads: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and Justice for all."
1924
The words "the flag of the United States of America" are substituted for "my Flag." Fittingly, the change takes place on Flag Day.
1942
The government officially recognizes the Pledge of Allegiance.
1954
Worried that orations used by "godless communists" sound similar to the Pledge of Allegiance, religious leaders lobby lawmakers to insert the words "under God" into the pledge. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, fearing an atomic war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, joins the chorus to put God into the pledge. Congress does what he asks, and the revised pledge reads: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
2002
June 26 The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is an unconstitutional "endorsement of religion" because of the words added in 1954. The decision affects schoolchildren in eight states: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Hawaii.
August 9 The Justice Department files an appeal of the circuit court's ruling.
2003
The U.S. Supreme Court says it will decide whether the current form of the Pledge of Allegiance is an unconstitutional blending of church and state.
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Personally, I find it ironic that the pledge was conceived by socialists.
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rebirth
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What does everyone think about the phrse "under God" in the United States Pledge of Allegiance? Most Americans want to leave the phrase in the Pledge, however, many believe this goes against the Constitution's "establishment" clause.
I, of course, have my own views on the issue, but I think one should leave such opinions out of the post starting the conversation.
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45 Minutes of symphonic Bliss.... "Scheherazade" By Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
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Guardian - and you are not reading what we are saying. No one is defending or promoting either side here, except YOU. And please cite a source for this groundbreaking news that Israel intends to conquer the middle east.
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They have no other way of striking back. What else should they do? Bend over and get kicked up the @#$%?
Hmmm, perhaps, 20 years ago, if the Palestinians had engaged in NONVIOLENT PROTEST like that (successfully) employed by Ghandi in India, there would be a Palestinian State by now. Such an approach would have turned European public opinion earlier, and would surely have turned American public opinion by now as well. Not to mention the Palestinians would have captured the moral high ground... Such an approach could even have won over the Israeli population and perhaps instituted political change... but all too late now.
Right now, neither side can claim any kind of moral high ground. It will only happen when one side decides to make meaningful concessions and that means laying down the guns and bombs and picking up shovels and lives.
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Heh, anyone know what a Drum and Bugle Corps is?
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Manic
(I'm a "Bangles" fan. "Walk like an Egyptian" anybody? hehe)
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.3 meters is 30cm.
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Ok, deliver the goods to the drive-through window of the above-mentioned McDonalds tonight at 1200 hours, Zulu time zone.
ACK! Is that the 1st or 2nd window? Very important methinks!
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Don't the English use billion in lieu of the American million or vice versa? I forget.
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Maybe a "cat of nine nails" should have been used to kill him. *LOL*
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Well, the "endless discussion" persists, because Europeans keep on insisting that the U.S. has such a high crime rate compared to their own country. The only way to discuss this point logically is with facts and figures, but since the facts and figures are highly subjective (different data gathering techniques per country) why do Europeans keep insisting on the "America=Crime" fallacy? Maybe we should discuss that.
Age of Mythology Multiplayer Scenario
in Gaming Discussion & Match-making
Posted
Hey Elf... any chance you could review the map at AOM HEaven too? http://aom.heavengames.com/downloads/showf...php?fileid=2755
I am DLing your cinematic as I type.
EDIT: I've reviewed your cinematic @AOM Heaven (http://aom.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=2731). I just want to say that watching your cinematic was a delight!