Galactic Clan Wars (GCW)

@jables world is missing too
those can go onto the ... You know what none of this is concrete so I expect the map to look like a galactic war map on the uber size setting... golly, people these days

First news I have about this clan war thing. It looks awesome, make me wanna join a clan, I'm still on time right?
I'll take a look at the clans from the picture to se which one is the best for me.

I'm going to stop you there and say this, that there are more clans than listed on the picture, for a better idea of what clans are out there see here, and work your way from there

I would like to point out that the idea com out of the concern that would be players missing a game and thus have 3v4 situation. I have taken a second look at my idea and I agree, saying that clans need to fill all of the slot is unreasonable. instead of splitting the clan into different rigid team, have a clan be choosing the size of the battle, or even better let the system determine the size of the teams. So instead of saying that you need a 3 man team and 4 man team, say that you have to have 8 regular members in your clan so you can create 2 4-man teams, a 3-man and a 5 man, or what ever the size they want.

So after a bit more thought...

I REALLY want the players to be chess pieces, so that the Realm can't just send custard to clean up every fight. The best way to do this, I think, without at the same time making it impossible to run the war if someone can't make a certain date, is to make PLAYERS "killable". I.e. when custard is in a team that loses against say a PAG team, he has to leave the war and can't play again (along with all his teammates in that particular battle). So he is in effect his in-game commander. When his commander blows up, he's out. And if a clan loses all players it loses the war, even if it hasn't lost its home system yet. This way, if two big clans exhaust their best players early on, the war might end up being finished by intermediates or beginners! It will really bring the whole roster in, to save a clan if it has squandered its best players early.

This is harsh, but it will make the war manageable, otherwise it could drag for ages with hundreds of battles that Exodus would not be able to track, let alone cast.

Also, AI commanders is not a good idea, at least for the first war, for the same reason: too many battles, and boring ones at that. Let's make the neutral systems uninhabited, and let the clans seize them as soon as they can and start fighting on them.

Finally, I think the home systems in GCW should remain the same as the ones in the previous CW. The clans will already be very familiar with their own systems after fighting an entire CW on them, so they will really feel like "home systems", and then in GCW most of the battles will take place on new, Exodus-designed systems, with the home systems reserved for each clan's "last stand", before annihilation.

First of all, Ouch, it hurts that you think that we send @burntcustard out to clean up our mess (that may be true though)
Secondly, Small clans could lose one battle and potentially be out of the war while bigger clans have more members to expend, if we implement a life based system either with a static number (more times per player) or based on clan size (Realm player would get one chance, whereas Cult would get 2) we could retain the number of players in the wars longer.
Third, the AI would only be used in Active Presence teams (2 per clan currently) and the number of AI would be equal to the invading force size divided by 2 rounded up.
While I would like that to happen too, Black and White have the exact same team, we are dealing with people of varied skill and size VoW's 4 man team is not the same as PAG's 4-man team. I get what your thinking about and asking about, but certain things in chess cannot be applied here in it's true form, we have to change it so that it works for us (as RTS Gamers, not as Realm member)
Last, I concur on that, we could have the Exodus team craft the maps for the clan wars and let other submit their maps for the team wars
edit: didn't address homeworlds...

this may all be a bit complicated - i wouldnt restrict the players as hard to enforce and you need players for this to work.

I would make each clan have a set number of commanders/lives, all based at their home system.
Say 10 lives at start.
Each turn they gain 1 life for each system they hold.
Each turn they can move any number of commanders, fight if they meet anything, using the same number of commanders as moved to test system. They dont have to move to the same place so there is room for tactics, spread and grab more planets, or slow and steady all to one place. (moves are emailed to a central moderator, the moderator reveals all).
can only move one space on map.
If a commander dies, you loose a life.
No lives and you're dead.

If I understand this correctly:
Player A moves to a system where Player B has control and is present.
A fight ensues.
If Player A wins, Player B loses the system and loses a life.
If Player B wins, Player A loses a life.
That much is correct I assume
If Player A has no lives left (ie on his last life) he is out of the war
If Player B has 3 lives left and loses, where does he go? System next door? Homeworld?
Otherwise it functions exactly like Galactic war. Moderation is done by a moderator hosting a game and the clan members join, and then the castors if any.

Here is an example of a GCW in progress:

PAG is getting squeezed pretty hard and promethean has been split apart
Stars will be team-colored as a note

I've had an idea on this. Discussing with a few people.

I just don't see anyone going on Twitch to watch a game of PAG against the AI. AIs would add tons of rubbish games that no one will want to watch or play. It would make people's enthusiasm about the war fizzle. How many battles are we talking about anyway? If you add in AIs and extra lives we are talking 100 battles if not more. There's no way we can play out 100 battles before September (when 4v4 Clan Wars starts again, presumably). It's better at least for our first attempt at this to make the season too short than too long. Too long means we might not finish it, and people might look on this as a failed project. Better to err on the side of caution and make sure we finish what we start.

So I will keep advocating 1-player 1-life. If I get outvoted I will go with whatever you guys choose, but I want to see the top players eliminated by fighting between them, so that the clans are forced to bring out everyone who wants to participate. This will really feel like a proper "Clan War" instead of custard or whoever mowing down hordes of tiny clans on his own without the possibility of taking him out for good. (A weaker clan might even send 4 people to eliminate him in a 1v4, if he is alone in the galaxy somewhere.)

Another idea I have is concerning starting locations. We could stick the winner of 4v4 Clan Wars in the middle of the galaxy. So the bigger, stronger clans would be placed in the middle, open to attack from all sides, given that they have more and better players to defend themselves with, and the weaker, smaller clans on the edges of the galaxy, with their backs "to the wall" so to speak, so that they won't be as vulnerable. I think this could work really well and deal with the "fairness" objection.

Also I am totally against weaker, smaller clans getting extra lives. We are not trying to make all clans artificially equal: we are trying to see which clan is the strongest. So no "rubber-banding" the mechanics. At most, play with the starting positions to give everyone a chance to fight a few battles, but beyond that it should be a hands-off free-for-all slugfest.

I think to make it playable, each team gets a set number of lives and to prevent a single player dominating all, each player can only play every other game (ie custard for arguments sake plays in round 1, he isn't permitted to play again until round 3). The set number of lives means smaller groups have a chance- if they're not good and lose their home system they could go out earlier anyway.

That might be the way to do it instead

Wow this sounds amazingly cool! Developers take note...

I am totally cumming all over the place just reading this thread. I want to be a champion for CULT so badly!

A few things: I think Icy's one-life rule is the best. It's dramatic (AS ****) and it's simple. Can't beat that. I love the idea of sending four weaker clan members on a likely-suicidal mission to kill a highly-skilled commander from another clan.

Two: let's not let this idea get muddled and die by too many voices adding to the confusion. Icy and Maldor should consult with Exodus on this, and the rest of us should leave it to them.

Actually, I don't think I am the best person to hammer this down. I have one or two things that I want to see in (such as one life per player), but the rest is best dealt with by more practical people than me. Exodus set up Clan Wars, so I trust them. I think they should get as many ideas from us in this thread as we have to offer, and then decide on the format on their own.

Would we want it like in Galactic War where holding particular systems confers benefits and/or tech unlocks? That's something I like about single player campaigns like this; it gives you a reason to want to take (and hold) a particular system over another. But in a setting with other players it might not be practical or fair. Certain techs would probably be more useful than others in direct match ups. If we did have a tech unlock approach, how basic would the starting loadouts be?

Me and some other Realm members are already consulting exodus on the subject, so far it looks pretty good, I would like to include members/leaders of other clans so that it doesn't feel like the Realm is the only one coordinating/ wanting this, but by the reaction this thread has received, I have no doubt the everyone wants in on this.

I approached the eXodus guys with an implementation earlier and we're having an ongoing discussion on it along with a few others.