Maelstrom Test Game

[unclemike]

Another question if I did not quit or was removed why is missing the last turn counted as not finishing a game.   In this case artificial but still already messes up a brand new set of set for a few players

If you mean why the test game isn't showing up on the Valhalla website, I had to delete the records in the Valhalla database or they will interfere with new Maelstrom games that may form in the next few days/weeks. Particularly, the podium rankings that determine chivalry gold. So I had to quickly end the test game and remove the records from the server's database in case the Maelstrom games quickly fill or they will interfere with the upcoming Maelstrom games and the player rankings. When actual and real Maelstrom games are completed, you'll see their info displayed on the Valhalla website.

[Ry Vor]

Thanks again to Mike for a terrific job programming Maelstrom and making it enabled for our Game Creator Queue.  When Mike approached me in December it was for a smaller scale version than what he ultimately kind of pushed for and accomplished.

So, as we are accustomed to, Mike's work has been about perfect.  I'm not so sure about the design side given the posts so far on this thread.  So, as was the bargain, I'm looking for the 12 play testers to write what they will primarily about the new world and new aspects of Maelstrom, and if the ability to choose any kingdom in any region is a new dimension to Alamaze.  Not about bugs found along the way or guesses on which kingdom might win, just on the setting and the strategic implications and any balance issues.

So we will wait for hopefully the day or two it takes for everyone to provide their promised feedback and then we will start a thread for the first Maelstrom games.  I am hoping if you were in the playtest, or even just following this thread that you will advise your hiatus Alamaze friends to return, and join either in The Choosing or in Maelstrom.

Thanks for participating and I look forward to your commentary.  Just post here.

Also, we kind of owe it to the players who have been patiently waiting for the Steel game to start, so let's fill that one up before we get going with Maelstrom. Additionally, I want to let the hiatus players know as well via email about Maelstrom once we get the feedback here.

[Calidor]

Maelstrom is a dramatic update to the old Alamaze game. It's hard to fully project balance issues as it was a quick test running 12 turns but here are my thoughts in no particular order:

Decoupling the Kingdoms from the Regions (any Kingdom anywhere) really shakes the foundations of the game. Kingdoms used to be somewhat balanced (or not) by the region they were locked into. Now you can choose to place any Kingdom into a corner region, or a middle one, or a large one or one without seas... It is an exciting opportunity but one I think will result in a lot of tweaking as some region and kingdom pairings work out.

Changing the Kingdom sizes. I am torn on this one. My experience is in R1. One of the smallest and also one affected by winter starting on Turn 5. My region has a small city (not shown on the map), 3 towns (1 controlled by another Kingdom) and 4 villages. It also contained 2 Unusual Sightings for Fine Artifacts. At the start, I decided to use my Druid Wizards to cast spells which scouted as many areas as possible to identify PCs. I was able to grab control of my Region on T3 which was earlier than most but total food production was 38k and total gold production was 58k. The big problem was that "Winter was coming" and even after creating my Druid's Grove (+20k food) my production stood at 27k food and 29k gold. I worry that a non-druid Kingdom would really be hurt there with the food.

Speaking of food. It's now considered Supplies and is used extensively in constructing the new buildings. This adds another layer of complexity. No longer should you automatically sell all your food to the market. It's a resource that has closed the gap with gold in importance.

I believe that we will find a number of balance issues as we go forward, but the only way to discover those is through extensive playing. I'm excited to start this new era of Alamaze on even footing with the veterans!

[Wookie Panz]

Thanks again to Mike for a terrific job programming Maelstrom and making it enabled for our Game Creator Queue.  When Mike approached me in December it was for a smaller scale version than what he ultimately kind of pushed for and accomplished.

So, as we are accustomed to, Mike's work has been about perfect.  I'm not so sure about the design side given the posts so far on this thread.  So, as was the bargain, I'm looking for the 12 play testers to write what they will primarily about the new world and new aspects of Maelstrom, and if the ability to choose any kingdom in any region is a new dimension to Alamaze.  Not about bugs found along the way or guesses on which kingdom might win, just on the setting and the strategic implications and any balance issues.

So we will wait for hopefully the day or two it takes for everyone to provide their promised feedback and then we will start a thread for the first Maelstrom games.  I am hoping if you were in the playtest, or even just following this thread that you will advise your hiatus Alamaze friends to return, and join either in The Choosing or in Maelstrom.

Thanks for participating and I look forward to your commentary.  Just post here.

Also, we kind of owe it to the players who have been patiently waiting for the Steel game to start, so let's fill that one up before we get going with Maelstrom.  Additionally, I want to let the hiatus players know as well via email about Maelstrom once we get the feedback here.

Several of us have already done lengthy reviews back around turn 6 when they were requested.  Mine was on page 21 of this thread.  Since you seem to have missed it I'll copy it here:
Alamaze Malestrom Beta Test
Wookie playing Illusionist in region 3, the Diamond Coast
 
The first thing I noted about Malestrom is the beautiful new interactive map.  With two more regions than the third cycle and the addition of minor cities it really is a big advance.

There are many changes in Malestrom but the one that many players will find most exciting is to be able to play any position in any region.  I am playing the Illusionist for the first time.  In third cycle IL has to start in region 8, a central position likely to get hit early and often.  For this reason I had not picked IL in the past.  Other changes in Malestrom removed the hidden capitals from SO and WA but IL still has the secret trait, another reason to choose them.

For a region I wanted a corner position to develop my magic without too many neighbors.  I chose about 6th or 7th out of 12 and region 3, the Diamond Coast was the only corner left so I chose it.

The game start has many new choices on kingdom customization and we get 10 points to spend.  As early control of your region has always been the most important goal in the past I opted for an extra Governor, 3 points, and a point of influence, another 3 points.  These are boring, I know,  but old standbys in 3rd cycle and very handy in early control of pop centers.   I also chose some new options, a bazar, 2 points, a temple, 2 points, and 1 last point for an adept as IL is a magic position.  

The Diamond Coast was a very good choice for its income advantage.  As one of the 4 trading regions all p.c. get 20% more gold.  Unique to Diamond coast it also starts with an additional 20k gold.  The turn zero had a capital with 32k gold and the addition of the bazar would increase it 25% more on turn 1, to 40 k. 

A major discovery in Malestrom was that there are many less p.c.  Turn 1 searches located only a human town.  Turn 2 with 3 wizards doing eagle searches and agents and groups working overtime revealed the all-important human city and two villages.  Another town belongs to another player.  It seems now that the extra emissary in customization is not so important  as there are just not many p.c. to take, but players that start with a known major city can take their regions quickly.  DA had his on turn 2!

With turn 5 about to process 8 players have control of regions and some very experienced players have not gained control yet.  It truly is a different challenge.

Another new challenge will be learning to play with fewer resources.  Some of the military positions start with more troops to feed and that may be a big problem.  IL has only 5 brigades to start, and with winter coming on turn 5, I will already be exceeding my food supply.  In hind sight I wish I had built a granary but I spent big on a wizard’s tower, a big help for my position.  The gold I save on wizard advances will allow me to have wizards creating food for the winter.

One change that might not prove popular is the new “rule of law” which comes into effect when you gain control of a region.  It is a 10% tax on gold and food.   With winter coming and my gold already cut by 50% and food by 75%, I feel like a starving serf who somehow has to part with 10% of what is left as my troops and family perish or I’ll see control slip away.  I expect there will be some major calls for adjustment on this or more p.c. put into the regions to increase income.

There are way too many changes and advances for me to mention them  here but hopefully other players will cover some of them in their reviews.

In summary, Maelstrom is a huge advance in the Alamaze world.  There is nothing else like it and the changes keep it fresh and new.  It will take a very long time to master all of the new options.  The programing is outstanding with very few glitches showing up on the beta test.  Well done to both the game designer and the programmer.

[PTRILEY]

Well!!! thank you UM, I won!!!!!! Yeah!!!! Lol I already did a write up, but I’m going to copy/paste it and add some more info today.

[PTRILEY]

My review of Maelstrom:

SA position: in Triumvia.

T4 the only issue I have had was a glitch on my maiden training to HP, and the game saying I didn’t have a temple, which I start with. UM fixed this issue. I’ve gained control of my region and even with my cities food/goods production in positives, the reduced amounts of production is an issue many Kings will have to address.

I Love the ability to choose any region, I love the bonuses each region gets, and how they are different per region. This alone in my opinion can make playing a single kingdom, like the Sacred Order, different each time you play, in a different region, with different bonuses and avenues to pursue.

I like the kingdoms change up, like the rich trait for SA, and the added/removed traits from other kingdoms, I think this will lead to more balance overall.

The kingdom starting troops and new brigades are intriguing and look to be a bigger part of the planing phase in games, with the cost of troops being weighed with less populations centers production and the cost of population improvements.

The most intriguing part of Maelstrom will be the building of special fortifications, special buildings. Cost of gold and goods, will pull rss from the battlefield and pols, in the short term, but could help tremendously in the long term.

The kingdom customization is the best part, with the points allowed, any of the available choices are great, but with such a variety of choices it will, it will take a lot of consideration in making the right decision.

The new Map is my favorite thing Lol I think it’s awesome. That’s the one I want on my turn.

UPDATE: game has ended and everything I posted is still good..

A few thoughts, rss are low at certain points in the game, but my ending amounts after building structures to assist, and my devote kingdom special with HP lesser angel, had my production of gold and goods (food) comparable to the choosing after a region is controlled. It just took a little longer to get there. Customization/ region choice/ kingdom choice are huge, and there are so many option the game of Maelstrom will continue to be a different game every time you play. Great Job Uncle Mike/ RyVor you have out done yourselves, I am in awe of how cool this is.

[Draugr]

Alamaze Maelstrom

Alamaze 4th cycle Maelstrom is here. First to catch the eye over 3rd cycle is a brand new map with thirteen region vs ten seen in 3rd cycle. Twelve starting regions and one two square region in the center of the map that every one starts hostile too. The regions are are organized to each have many bordering regions. This allows for perhaps the greatest improvement over 3rd cycle, that no kingdoms starting capitals are ever in the same region. No more finally getting the kingdom you really wanted to play only to find someone took a dispersed kingdom that you may have to share resources or fight at the start. The mapOne of my favorite things is this set up also now allows any kingdom to start in any region. Each region has its own special bonuses that are broad enough to not really limit which kingdom would be good to start in them. It will also be interesting to see how a single city region in the center of the map plays out.

The next large focus for Maelstrom is the addition of buildings and fortification. Building are now needed to advance to the highest levels of mages and agent. Building also can be built to increase production or add special abilities like allowing your king to escape capture by going through a secret passage built. In the test game I found the buildings added to gameplay and allowed for more choices on overall development of my kingdom. Fortification add to defense and cost a small amount gold/food to maintain them. The ultimate fortification levels will prohibit siege and political attacks. Defenses can get very high and this will make for some interesting strategic choices if you should attack early or build and try to attack later after they have poured the resources in already.

Kind of hidden but brought out during the test game was a new economy. The regions are not all equal. Larger regions with more boarders also start with more PCs than smaller more tactical regions. Overall even the larger region start with a couple less PCs than one would be used to playing 3rd cycle. I am in favor of having less resources but having fewer PCs rather than just lowering there output make taking regions with a few key PCs more possible. In the test game someone even got there region on turn 2. Food is of much more demand now. With most all buildings/fortifications costing 2x the food as gold. Food in the early game is actually needed more than gold. Gold is still used for agents, mages, political and is the life blood of the kingdom, but with out food well your kingdom will starve and not grow enough to compete.

The politics. A change that has been needing to come for some time now arrived. Maelstrom introduced another reaction level and control level. In 3rd cycle the difference between friendly and tolerant was twice the difficulty for taking PCs. So loyalty was added to bridge that gap. Overall effect it is more difficult to take control of PCs because only someone with tight control (80%) of a region can be loyal there. This means every one else is at best friendly which is 33% weaker than it used to be in 3rd cycle. As a baseline in Maelstrom you will need three emissaries to take a major city in your region vs only needing two in 3rd cycle.

In the twelve turn test game I play Ranger starting in Nyvaria region 7. I chose Nyvaria because I wanted a veteran kingdom brigade for recruitment and the bonus influence. Nyvaria is a large capital region, so I had a good number of PCs and resources. The RA is a good well rounded kingdom. Getting eagle familiar at p2 and having riding really help me scout quickly. With many kingdoms having riding removed from them it is now a more special trait and likely will be able to take advantage of flanking more often than in 3rd cycle. The RA can also recruit paladin that are deadly in the charge phase. I think the RA will fair better in the 4th cycle than they did in 3rd. Mostly because the RA often times were just a snack for a Red Dragon starting near by.

The bad. I will list a couple thing I do not like but do not feel they will keep me from playing 4th cycle. As mentioned earlier lowering the number of PCs. This was also done when 3rd cycle came out and it made taking region easier. Having to reach melee phase to get unit promotions. This is a carry over from 3rd cycle. I have lost 39% of my force and leader/wizards have a good chance of being killed, but because they retreat or kill the enemy fast they get no chance for troop promotions. Blooded already forces you to have 5% loss to get promotions. I hate having to purposely bring a smaller group to match ratios up with the PC defense I wish to attack. Random PC placement. I feel this takes away from the overall balance of Alamaze. Fully random PCs can create clumps of PCs. With long regions and shorter movement allowed. It could even be possible you cannot reach a town from your starting capital. Also if you miss the clump you can become handy caped and playing from a disadvantage especially in the winter regions. Random but spaced out PCs spread the PCs around the region so you almost never scout 20+ squares to find only 1 PC. My work around is if I go two turns and only find a PC or two I will just drop and wait for the next game. Of course this also has a negative effect.

Overall I very much recommend 4th cycle to any returning or new players. No game matches Alamaze. In the era of Apps now forcing you to pay to win or play vs a pay to win player. Alamaze is a refreshing change where every one is on equal footing and there are no NPCs. Every kingdom is owned by another living person that has roughly the goal in mind. Human minds make Alamaze one of the most challenging games out there. Another aspect I really like over your standard App game is there is a defined victory and time line. Meaning the game will always end with a victor one way or another.

[Wookie Panz]

Alamaze Maelstrom

Alamaze 4th cycle Maelstrom is here.   First to catch the eye over 3rd cycle is a brand new map with thirteen region vs ten seen in 3rd cycle.   Twelve starting regions and one two square region in the center of the map that every one starts hostile too.  The regions are are organized to each have many bordering regions.  This allows for perhaps the greatest improvement over 3rd cycle, that no kingdoms starting capitals are ever in the same region.  No more finally getting the kingdom you really wanted to play only to find someone took a dispersed kingdom that you may have to share resources or fight at the start.   The mapOne of my favorite things is this set up also now allows any kingdom to start in any region.  Each region has its own special bonuses that are broad enough to not really limit which kingdom would be good to start in them.  It will also be interesting to see how a single city region in the center of the map plays out.  

The next large focus for Maelstrom is the addition of buildings and fortification.   Building are now needed to advance to the highest levels of mages and agent.   Building also can be built to increase production or add special abilities like allowing your king to escape capture by going through a secret passage built.   In the test game I found the buildings added to gameplay and allowed for more choices on overall development of my kingdom.    Fortification add to defense and cost a small amount gold/food to maintain them.  The ultimate fortification levels will prohibit siege and political attacks.  Defenses can get very high and this will make for some interesting strategic choices if you should attack early or build and try to attack later after they have poured the resources in already.  

Kind of hidden but brought out during the test game was a new economy.   The regions are not all equal.  Larger regions with more boarders also start with more PCs than smaller more tactical regions.   Overall even the larger region start with a couple less PCs than one would be used to playing 3rd cycle.   I am in favor of having less resources but having fewer PCs rather than just lowering there output make taking regions with a few key PCs more possible.  In the test game someone even got there region on turn 2.   Food is of much more demand now.   With most all buildings/fortifications costing 2x the food as gold.   Food in the early game is actually needed more than gold.   Gold is still used for agents, mages, political and is the life blood of the kingdom, but with out food well your kingdom will starve and not grow enough to compete.    

The politics.  A change that has been needing to come for some time now arrived.   Maelstrom introduced another reaction level and control level.   In 3rd cycle the difference between friendly and tolerant was twice the difficulty for taking PCs.  So loyalty was added to bridge that gap.   Overall effect it is more difficult to take control of PCs because only someone with tight control (80%) of a region can be loyal there.   This means every one else is at best friendly which is 33% weaker than it used to be in 3rd cycle.   As a baseline in Maelstrom you will need three emissaries to take a major city in your region vs only needing two in 3rd cycle.

In the twelve turn test game I play Ranger starting in Nyvaria region 7.  I chose Nyvaria because I wanted a veteran kingdom brigade for recruitment and the bonus influence.   Nyvaria is a large capital region, so I had a good number of PCs and resources.   The RA is a good well rounded kingdom.  Getting eagle familiar at p2 and having riding really help me scout quickly.  With many kingdoms having riding removed from them it is now a more special trait and likely will be able to take advantage of flanking more often than in 3rd cycle.   The RA can also recruit paladin that are deadly in the charge phase.   I think the RA will fair better in the 4th cycle than they did in 3rd.   Mostly because the RA often times were just a snack for a Red Dragon starting near by.

The bad.   I will list a couple thing I do not like but do not feel they will keep me from playing 4th cycle.  As mentioned earlier lowering the number of PCs.  This was also done when 3rd cycle came out and it made taking region easier.    Having to reach melee phase to get unit promotions.  This is a carry over from 3rd cycle.  I have lost 39% of my force and leader/wizards have a good chance of being killed, but because they retreat or kill the enemy fast they get no chance for troop promotions.   Blooded already forces you to have 5% loss to get promotions.  I hate having to purposely bring a smaller group to match ratios up with the PC defense I wish to attack.   Random PC placement.   I feel this takes away from the overall balance of Alamaze.   Fully random PCs can create clumps of PCs. With long regions and shorter movement allowed.   It could even be possible you cannot reach a town from your starting capital.  Also if you miss the clump you can become handy caped and playing from a disadvantage especially in the winter regions.  Random but spaced out PCs spread the PCs around the region so you almost never scout 20+ squares to find only 1 PC.  My work around is if I go two turns and only find a PC or two I will just drop and wait for the next game.   Of course this also has a negative effect.

Overall I very much recommend 4th cycle to any returning or new players.    No game matches Alamaze.   In the era of Apps now forcing you to pay to win or play vs a pay to win player.  Alamaze is a refreshing change where every one is on equal footing and there are no NPCs.   Every kingdom is owned by another living person that has roughly the goal in mind.   Human minds make Alamaze one of the most challenging games out there.  Another aspect I really like over your standard App game is there is a defined victory and time line.   Meaning the game will always end with a victor one way or another.

That's a very nice review Draugh.  You went into a lot more detail compared to those of us that reviewed in answer to the early request at turn 6.

[gkmetty]

Alamaze Maelstrom, thoughts of a pilot tester. I will try to touch on all significant aspects of Maelstrom. It is a complex game and there is no possible way I can capture every nuance or facet of the game. I am writing this from the perspective of a current player of Alamaze.

The most visible change is the map. It is new and very different from 3rd cycle. There are thirteen regions on the map but only twelve can be chosen as starting regions. The thirteenth region, Stormgate, is centered on the map, is surrounded by water, and will be a challenge to conquer as all kingdoms start with a regional reaction of Hostile. Some regions start with minor cites rather then the major cites in previous versions of Alamaze. Minor cites have variable locations and are not represented on the game map. They produce in the range between a town and a major city.

The biggest change is kingdom placement. You can now start with any kingdom in any of twelve regions. Each kingdom starts in their own region. No more shared regions with dispersed kingdoms.

Thirteen regions but not all regions are created equally. Each region has its own regional bonus. The bonuses are varied but tend to favor specific types of kingdoms. For example, one region offers additional influence and an additional Baron to start the game, while another region offers additional troops and troop promotions. The combination of kingdom choice with region selection adds another strategic option and adds a level of complexity and variability that was not available in previous versions of Alamaze.

Economics will be a much larger factor in Maelstrom then in previous versions of Alamaze. Regions come in different sizes, but all regions have fewer population centers then in 3rd cycle. Food has become more relevant to the game. The term Food might not represent the true meaning of the resource. The term supplies has been suggested as a more accurate description. Supplies are not only used to support your troops but are also required to construct Buildings. In summary, overall population center production is reduced and food, supplies, is a much bigger factor to your kingdom development.

Speaking of kingdom development, your kingdom will not develop unless you construct buildings. There are eighteen buildings in the game. There are prerequisites to many buildings and not all buildings can be constructed in every pop center. Buildings influence every aspect of the game. For example, the Bazaar is a basic building that can be taken during Kingdom customization and adds +25% gold production in the pop center that has a Bazaar, the Forge can create armor and weapons that enhance the capabilities of you military, and different levels of Fortifications not only add to the visible defense of a pop center but can also make them immune to siege and diplomatic influence. Buildings are here, and you want them.

The political aspect of the game has been enhanced. Regional control gets a boost, when more than 80% of the population is controlled a ruler is said to have tight control. With tight control the controlling ruler cannot be denigrated in the region. Tight control also allows the population to become Loyal, a regional reaction greater than Friendly. These changes make diplomatic actions against the controlling Ruler much more difficult to execute.

Kingdom traits, fleets, and troop composition have been slightly modified in Maelstrom. The changes were made to balance game play. In most cases the changes are small tweaks, but a few changes might impact your choice of kingdom, the Red Dragon troops were reduced in strength by 20% and the Dark Elf’s are no longer as dominate a military force. Not all changes reduced kingdom capabilities, several kingdoms gained additional traits, the Ancient Ones gained Devout, Oratory, and Stalwart. Check the release notes for all the changes.

The last aspect of the game I will describe is kingdom customization. Each kingdom starts with its own combination of traits, diplomatic capabilities, and military troop composition. The kingdom customization process allows each ruler to modify the staring resources of their kingdom. The options are plentiful and can significantly change the look and feel of your kingdom. Customization points were increased from 3 to 10 but the cost of some options has been increased. There are many new options that range from buildings at your capital to new artifacts and enhancements to all aspects of your starting resources. The customization process can really change the capabilities of a kingdom, so you can truly make it yours.

In Summary, the new version of Alamaze, Maelstrom, is much different from previous versions. The changes allow a ruler, through region selection and kingdom customization, to create a kingdom truly different from any other in the Alamaze world. With 26 available kingdoms and 12 differing regions, chances are that no game of Maelstrom will even remotely resemble any other. Its exciting to imagine what the brilliant minds that play the game will come up with as winning strategies.

[Draugr]

Awesome GK any specific thoughts on the kingdom you played during the test?