Twilight Imperium 4

MMMig · October 2022

Is anyone interested in starting a TI4 game via Tabletop Simulator / discord?
We can do a weekly 2-3 hr session, or a single long-session, depending on what folk prefer.

The people I used to play with are now old and boring and have 'better' things to do like raise families n stuff.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/233078/twilight-imperium-fourth-edition

Korror · October 2022

Hey, set the record straight here. I only had a kid so I'd have a good excuse for getting out of TI games where I was neighbors with MMMig playing the Cabal.

Totally worth those sleepless nights.

Korror · October 2022

More seriously TI is an unmatched board game experience, it's demanding but there's no other game that comes close to the experience. The TTS version helps smooth the rough edges of the game and automates a lot of the manual tasks that are annoying in the physical version.

MMMig · September 2023

@Cantido Actually! I've since learned there is an async app for TI4 that is available and free (you need the physical proof of purchase code but can share your irl friend's). It runs off your browser so you can play on your desktop and/or android / iOS device.

It's mostly fan-made and has the base game done with PoK objectives and some map tiles.

It definitely scratches that itch and the discord community is pretty swell.

Since it's async games can go from 3 weeks to months, depending on the player count and player response.

For example, I'm currently in 12 games right now.

MMMig · September 2023

Stop copying me!
😛

MMMig · October 2023

A lot depends how many players there are. If 5 or more you likely want trade round 1 and 2. Offer everyone x-1 for their refresh. For 2-commodity factions like barony or winnu, you can offer a refresh and wash for their promissory note.

Also remember to offer action cards for sale, or to buy any good ones.

Also, if there's a mentak in your game... yeah...

MrBody · November 2023

Just noticed this. Was there a new game brewing?

MMMig · November 2023

MrBody wrote: »

Just noticed this. Was there a new game brewing?

Nothing yet for a live game or scheduled sessions.

Some of us are heavily playing the async web version mentioned above. It's been getting updates fairly often recently, some bug fixes but also some pok components. I.e. it now has frontier token exploration and some more PoK techs. Exciting!

MrBody · November 2023

No irl friend's purchase code =(

MMMig · November 2023

Hey buddy 😉

MrBody · November 2023

WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT!

Friend code: I7IzKX

Was there a game starting in the near future with people here?

MrBody · November 2023

My first friend!
*betrays you for 1 TG*

Powerpuppies · November 2023

Cantido wrote: »

I got rolled as Hacan in my last real life game. All my commodities meant shit against the Xxcha and that one faction who can pay for healing via their flagship. I also hyperfixated on Technology instead of Trade.

Empyrean. I'm playing as them in one of my asyncs right now. Worried I'm fucking it up. I struggle with rounds 4 and 5 since the expansion came out

MMMig · November 2023

Cantido wrote: »

I got rolled as Hacan in my last real life game. All my commodities meant shit against the Xxcha and that one faction who can pay for healing via their flagship. I also hyperfixated on Technology instead of Trade.

Yeah tech is always an alluring mistress. One thing I've learned is that a lot of times tech can be really cool to have, but when you look back, did it actually help you get any VPs?

Especially on 10 point games, they are somewhat short where it's only viable to get 1, maaaybe 2 top-tier techs (unless you're the nerds obv).

Usually the goal is to get 1 objective per round, and sneak in the secret ones when possible.

There's also usually a big VP leap near the end and initiative matters most of all (who will score first). That's where taking politics the round before the last one can make or break someone's odds of sealing the win.

Lord_Asmodeus · December 2023

I'm going to be in my first ever TI4 game this saturday, not sure who to play. I'll have to double check but I think we're doing just base with no PoK.

Lord_Asmodeus · December 2023

Hacan are sadly not a likely choice due to the playstyle of one of the other players

MMMig · December 2023

Yeah if you're playing base then Sol is solid.

Saar is absurd (take warfare r1 and tech chaos mapping asap, it's bonkers).

Jol as kime out it, is pretty busted.

Naalu is also top tier because of always scoring first. Usually able to clutch wins from others.

MMMig · December 2023

Oh also, depending how you're drafting, what tech skip planets you're getting can also influence your faction.

For example, barony loves red skips, mentak looooves yellow skips, sol would like a blue.

Powerpuppies · December 2023

In base jol nar are so good that i ban them. Sol and L1Z1X and jol nar are strong and fun. Nekro and saar too though they have weird mechanics. I would completely avoid winnu or arborec or muaat or yin.

Are you fully prepared for the duration? How long have you set aside for the game? Are you the only new player, and if these people have played with each other before, how long did the most recent game take?

Lord_Asmodeus · December 2023

It's going to be on our game night, so we'll have most of the day to play, though we're trying to keep it to 6 hours-ish. Not sure how drafting is going to work in this game. I'm the only new player currently, and it's looking like a 4 player game.

Right now I'm looking at L1Z1X, The Xxcha, the Saar, the Naalu, and the Sardak N'orr as options.

MrBody · December 2023

I think Jol Nar are only out of balance because of all the tech objectives, which I think are stupid and would only improve the game if they were outright removed.

MrBody · December 2023

Sounds like it just dilutes the chances of them showing up a bunch?

I hate them because they're either freebies or impossible. Unlike the other objectives, they have next to nothing to do with your economy, military, or positioning. It's a hard cap on how many you can get per round, you have no way of knowing if it's going to require you to do wide or deep on the tree, and pretty much nobody but Jol Nar can do both. The objective comes up and you either have the techs or you don't. It's practically an auto win for Jol Nar if more than one Stage II tech objective comes out.

It isn't a coincidence that the base race tier rankings tracks almost exactly along the line of how many starting techs each race gets.

Powerpuppies · December 2023

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

It's going to be on our game night, so we'll have most of the day to play, though we're trying to keep it to 6 hours-ish. Not sure how drafting is going to work in this game. I'm the only new player currently, and it's looking like a 4 player game.

Right now I'm looking at L1Z1X, The Xxcha, the Saar, the Naalu, and the Sardak N'orr as options.

Do you have any particular vibes you're looking for?

MrBody · December 2023

Those are just the stage I tech objectives.

Stage II: 2 of every color, 3 unit upgrades

No faction but Jol Nar can realistically go for both of them. You have to aim for one from the very beginning, but you don't know which one (or any) will show up. If the one you planned for shows up, 2 free automatic VP. If it's the other one, oops you're never getting it. Doesn't matter how rich you are or how well you've played. 2-4 VP down to a coin flip. Races that start with 0-1 techs probably won't even qualify for one. Jol Nar automatically in the winner's circle. Muaat/Yin/N'orr automatic losers.

What do those objectives add to the game? Every other objective requires holding territory, being rich, winning battles, or positioning your fleets smartly. And even then, they require the risk of a sacrifice or making yourself vulnerable (huge payment, getting into a fight, spreading yourself thin). There's no risk aspect of tech objectives, other than the risk of complete randomness of being drawn and lucking out that it was the path you committed to 4 rounds ago.

MrBody · December 2023

Been fishing around for a game in the Twilight Wars discord. Most of the games there seem to be intense live games and I just can't commit to 3 hours a night

(my one live online game attempt with the Space Cats/Peace Turtles group was a bad bad baaaaaaaad experience of toxic screaming manchildren)

Totally down for asynch games though.

Lord_Asmodeus · December 2023

Powerpuppies wrote: »

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

It's going to be on our game night, so we'll have most of the day to play, though we're trying to keep it to 6 hours-ish. Not sure how drafting is going to work in this game. I'm the only new player currently, and it's looking like a 4 player game.

Right now I'm looking at L1Z1X, The Xxcha, the Saar, the Naalu, and the Sardak N'orr as options.

Do you have any particular vibes you're looking for?

Not particularly? Not familiar enough with the rules to be looking for anything specific besides just something that doesn't need too much experience to get something out of it.

Powerpuppies · December 2023

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

Powerpuppies wrote: »

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

It's going to be on our game night, so we'll have most of the day to play, though we're trying to keep it to 6 hours-ish. Not sure how drafting is going to work in this game. I'm the only new player currently, and it's looking like a 4 player game.

Right now I'm looking at L1Z1X, The Xxcha, the Saar, the Naalu, and the Sardak N'orr as options.

Do you have any particular vibes you're looking for?

Not particularly? Not familiar enough with the rules to be looking for anything specific besides just something that doesn't need too much experience to get something out of it.

It's hard for me to remember you're playing base game but i just did a little research and i think you'll be happy with L1 if you can play with the errata / codex promissory note. If you can't then I like the Saar for vanilla. You're space nomads and they play like it. Wander across the map leaving a slug trail of one infantry per planet, not caring about holding territory.

Chaos mapping is super good and super fun because you don't have to plan ahead as much

Traditional saar victories look like the vehicle is on fire as it crashes the finish line. It won't make it another hundred feet without collapsing but it didn't need to make it any farther than here!

Lord_Asmodeus · December 2023

Hmm, I'll keep that option in mind. Since yesterday I had moved to paradoxically pushing the Xxcha and the Sardakk N'orr to the top of my choices list, but the Saar did intrigue me as an option.

MMMig · December 2023

Saar is so stupid strong...

Powerpuppies · December 2023

With no starting fighters and no starting tech the opening for sardakk can be a bit of a tightrope. It's so easy to lose a carrier and so crippling if no PoK.

Of course, at the right table, you can absolutely count on not being attacked until round 3, if you stay in your slice

MMMig · December 2023

Man, if only you could play cabal....

Powerpuppies · December 2023

MMMig wrote: »

Man, if only you could play cabal....

the flip side of what i said about sardakk is that if you're in that meta do not play cabal

Powerpuppies · December 2023

Is that a synchronous TI medium?

Powerpuppies · December 2023

kime wrote: »

Powerpuppies wrote: »

Is that a synchronous TI medium?

To be clear, since the two words are similar, it's an asynchronous platform.

It didn't have all of PoK yet though, so if I were ever to be able to play live/synchronously again, I'd probably use Tabletop Simulator

Have you guys tried the discord bot? Full PoK with codices, as well as support for all sorts of variants. You mostly take your turns by pressing buttons in discord threads, and a bot spits out map updates in a special thread. There's a website with a map view. Here's a game I'm in now: https://ti4.westaddisonheavyindustries.com/game/pbd1478

MMMig · December 2023

Powerpuppies wrote: »

kime wrote: »

Powerpuppies wrote: »

Is that a synchronous TI medium?

To be clear, since the two words are similar, it's an asynchronous platform.

It didn't have all of PoK yet though, so if I were ever to be able to play live/synchronously again, I'd probably use Tabletop Simulator

Have you guys tried the discord bot? Full PoK with codices, as well as support for all sorts of variants. You mostly take your turns by pressing buttons in discord threads, and a bot spits out map updates in a special thread. There's a website with a map view. Here's a game I'm in now: https://ti4.westaddisonheavyindustries.com/game/pbd1478

Does that show you the impossible odds you're up against, though?

Powerpuppies · December 2023

kime wrote: »

Powerpuppies wrote: »

kime wrote: »

Powerpuppies wrote: »

Is that a synchronous TI medium?

To be clear, since the two words are similar, it's an asynchronous platform.

It didn't have all of PoK yet though, so if I were ever to be able to play live/synchronously again, I'd probably use Tabletop Simulator

Have you guys tried the discord bot? Full PoK with codices, as well as support for all sorts of variants. You mostly take your turns by pressing buttons in discord threads, and a bot spits out map updates in a special thread. There's a website with a map view. Here's a game I'm in now: https://ti4.westaddisonheavyindustries.com/game/pbd1478

I may try that, see how it feels. Really missing PoK...

Do not betray me tho 🙅‍♂️

Lord_Asmodeus · December 2023

I won my Twilight Imperium game! Pushed to Mecatol Rex as the Saar and held it for the entire game, Imperial only got drafted out from under me a couple times and I built Mecatol up enough no one wanted to risk pushing me off with the other players right on their necks, but it was pretty even with 3 of us around 5-6 points, and I managed to use Imperial to get a 2 point public objective, and I had technology to snag the last two techs I needed to score one of my secret objectives and one more public objective at the status phase, so I was able to jump straight from 5 to 10 with that one round. Whole game lasted like 3 hours? We're going to try and play again soonish, playing with PoK and drafting the galaxy tiles this time around.

MMMig · December 2023

3 hrs for one game is incredibly fast

Lord_Asmodeus · December 2023

It was only a four person game and I was the only one who hadn't played before.

Powerpuppies · December 2023

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

It was only a four person game and I was the only one who hadn't played before.

Nevertheless you are each to be commended!

MMMig · December 2023

But yeah Saar is so so strong because

home system?

What about 2nd home system?

Penny Arcade

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