Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Your Own Private Waterloo



The World Is Yours For The Taking

As mentioned in a previous blog about my current addictions, I play a game. Calling it a game might be a bit of misnomer. It is more of an epic simulation. The type of struggle that all men dream of, but few will ever get to experience in this day and age.


Do Your Duty

This simulation is called "Empire Deluxe Enhanced Edition". It is a simplified war game that can be played against the computer or against other human players, either via a network or via e-mail. Calling it simplified may be a bit miss-leading. Considering that there are about 30 types of units, terrain factors, weather factors, supply/economic factors as well as some engineering involved. Keeping track of everything can be a pretty daunting task.



The Struggle For The Straits

Simulations such as this teach you how things work in a strategic sense. Finding ways to produce, transport, confront and triumph over an enemy that is far away and entrenched is not an easy task. Alexander found this out, Caesar learned this, as did Hitler, Eisenhower and Mao. It is a bit of a lost art, except for the few that have the patience and the time to learn it.

That is where Empire Deluxe comes in. It recreates all of these factors. The only thing left out are the politics, and even that factors in, in the form of treaties and agreements between the players.


Oil Fields and Infrastructure

Which brings me to the current game. We are in turn 332 at last count. The game has been ongoing for about a year and a half. We started out with four players, but one of them didn't fare too well and he was annihilated. That leaves three of us and by the looks of things, we will be playing this game well into turn 500. The turns are completed, and then e-mailed, round-robin to each player. Given about one turn every 3 days for each of us during the average week, that would put the game well into 2010at the current rate of combat.

Modern combat of this type teaches you some interesting facts about warfare. When you have oceans....sea power is key to assault and supply. Air-power is critical to sustain any assualt and counter attack. Suprise attacks are best when possible, and nuclear weapons have their limitations. These are things that bring the nightly news report on foreign policy into clearer focus. Although the advantages of airborne assault over a narrow strait have little value when watching American Idol.


The Fog Of War

The Opening graphic is the current game map from my point of view. This isn't visible outside the game application, so I created a graphic mosaic to show the scope of the entire conflict. Clicking on the graphic will take you to a larger resolution image that is 2000 pixels across. If you really want to 'see' the entire war in detail, you can try and view the full size map of the entire conflict in its original size (7000 pixels across), but be warned, it is a 9 megabyte file. The detail and complexity are astounding.

If anyone is intersting in learning this game or finding out more about it, drop me an e-mail at lotus07@gmail.com.

12 comments:

  1. I am SO not telling Prince Charming about this one! He has done things like this in the past. Currently not doing any...

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  2. Mr. Hall currently plays this game called "Eve". It is a complicated game like this one I think. Have you heard of it?

    Are you an enginer by the way?

    Just curious.

    Either way, interesting post.

    :)

    Mrs. Hall

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  3. Louise: Come on, let your significant other's inner child come out and play......please?

    Ms. Hall: Never heard of Eve. This is more a strategic simulation as opposed to a role playing game. It is all about planning and odds. I am a computer database report writer and programmer. Engineering involves too much math.

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  4. Eve Online is a MMO where you have space combat.

    This is really in another ballpark.

    I play alot of wargames, but mostly face to face, although i have tried once or twice to get one going thru pm.

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  5. What is an MMO?

    I realize I could just ask the man directly to my left, in real life, Mr. Hall. But he has tried explaining it to me. And I try to stay conscious . . .

    Maybe if others try to explain it to the girl of this thread?

    Anwho I asked you about being an engineer because I picked up on a certain type of thinking, a way of putting words together in your blog that reminds me of an engineer I know. The same one that plays Eve Online :)


    I have noted that this type of thinking, programmers and engineer type thinking is very very different than mine. It fascinates me.

    huh.

    :)

    Mrs. Hall

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  6. It is an analytical form of thinking, problem solving if you will. Probably not so much from an engineering experience, but from a computer experience in an office where I am considered the guru of sorts (which I hate). I have to explain things to folks over and over again, and it tends to creap into my way of thinking and writing.

    I have tried my hand at poetry in the past and it is hard, because there really is no logic to poetry, it is all feeling and emotion. It is much easier for me to blow thing up with tanks and missles.

    I have no idea what MMO is either, since I don't get into the EVE stuff anymore. Tried, but it gets old after a while. But every gaming concept has its acronyms.

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  7. I'm pretty much up to my eyeballs in online games (well. not me. My little brother.) He plays this game called SilkRoad and it drives me completely NUTS! He spends literally 12 to 15 hours a day on it.
    So although your game sounds compelling and interesting, I'm not about to introduce it to the household because there is only so much online game one man can take. lol

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  8. And there is the link Mr. Lotus07! Now I know why I enjoy your posts so much. It is such a different way of thinking, this logical stuff.

    Mr. Hall is first, last and always a logical thinker. It is very reductionist. It drives me absolutely nuts sometimes. But this is the joy of marriage no?

    Fascinating stuff indeed. Certainly saves a lot of time when we are problem solving!

    Anyway. I think on the other end. Lots of emotional thinking goes on. I do love being a girl.

    And I started out as a poet!

    hee hee

    What is it about my blog then?

    What are you seeing there that interests you?

    Just curious

    :)

    Mrs. Hall

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  9. MMO = Massive Multiplayer Online game. Sometimes MMOG.

    I looked it up.

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  10. It looks sort of like Risk...another game I don't totally understand...

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  11. earl is correct.

    the biggest mmo around right now is WORLD OF WARCRAFT, which you've no doubt heard of..

    i've played em all.. right now im enjoying Lord of the Rings MMO

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  12. Sounds like MMO is just another variation on MUD Multi-User Dungeon. Never could get into the online stuff like Everyquest and Warcraft. I am an old D&D boy from way back with the multi-sided dice and all the paperwork. Face to face until 4am. That was role playing gameing, not the computer stuff it morphed into.

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