Blood Bowl - for real

[IainC]

Fuck Block being overpowered :  Re-rolls are where it's at.

You're going to fuck up.  LOTS.  That's just the reality.

Having that re-roll available when it really counts helps enormously.

Edited to Add :  This makes PRO an enormously useful skill.

Assuming a 1 dice block:

Block skill will reduce your chance of being knocked over from 50% when you are defending down to 33% and when you are the one throwing the block, it takes the chance from 33% down to 17%.

If you have two dice and are throwing the block you'll get knocked down 1 time in 36 rather than 1 time in 12.

By contrast Pro only helps when you are making the active roll (i.e. not when you are being blocked) and it reduces your chance of being knocked down from 33% to 22% with a one dice block ad from 1 in 12 to 1 in 24 with a 2 dice block.

Pro is useful for other things except blocking to be fair but for guys who you are likely to want to block with, get Block first then Pro.

[Ironwood]

Yeah, I don't disagree at all.  On the skill selection.

What I was more thrusting my virile and spurting point at was the global half rerolls you get.

Took on a dwarf team on the campaign who had FIVE rerolls.

I got stomped worse than that time I tried to put it in the wifes pooper 'by accident.'

[Falconeer]

Rerolls in our league are capped to 4, by the way. Just in case anyone is planning/building on massive rerolls.

[Der Helm]

Rerolls in our league are capped to 4, by the way. Just in case anyone is planning/building on massive rerolls.

I did not know about re-rolls when I created my team. I got zero. 

IanC lost only because I had an unbelievable amount of luck.

[Cadaverine]

I agree, the game really does seem to hate IainC.

Though, I am up in the air about my being matched up against a Chaos team.  Outside of the game deciding it's going to just give you shit for dice rolls, it should be an interesting match.  Especially since I'm strategically retarded. 

[Ironwood]

Skaven are MUCH MORE FUN.

They die like fleas tho.

[IainC]

I can't seem to make any money in the campaign. I'm not spending anything on inducements and I'm winning most of my games. I seem to make 20-40k per match but in every game I play my opponent is dropping 400-600k on star players, bribes, bonus rerolls etc. What am I doing wrong?

[Mazakiel]

If your team is of higher value, the opponent gets a bunch of gold to buy inducements and stars and such to balance out the match.  It gets pretty annoying at times. 

[Falconeer]

Modern Angel's Estalia Crushers crushed Falconeer's Bat Country 1 - 0

The game has been.... intense. I played 15 turns on defense (8% ball possession says the post-game screen) and managed to hold until the very last second. His dwarves had to "go for it" on the 16th and last turn.. and did it. I almost stole him the game, but the result is honest. He deserved it, and I suck.

Falconeer is now 0 - 2 and MA is 2 - 0 and still running for the title.

[Modern Angel]

That was a slow, grinding game... JUST AS DWARVES LIKE

[Der Helm]

That was a slow, grinding game... JUST AS DWARVES LIKE

S+++in Stunties! 

[Modern Angel]

It really did come down to the last turn after an entire game of us pushing each other around in the middle of the field. I had one go for it square on turn 16 and I knew KNEW I was going to fail it and probably break my leg.

[Aez]

Typhon lost with extreme bad luck.  I killed is minotaur...

Where is the league going?  It's a 4 match leagues?  Do we continue with a new season after?  What if people want to change their team between the seasons?

[Typhon]

Second game that I've had bad luck, but my strat is wrong, wrong, wrong.  Trying to hit on multiple fronts = getting your ass REALLY kicked when you have bad rolls.  Both Aez and MA really know how to play in general.

Even without the bad rolls, my strategy/gameplay needs massive improvement.  GG Aez, even with great luck I don't think I would have beat you.

[UnSub]

Skaven are MUCH MORE FUN.

They die like fleas tho.

... which is why I think they are bad for leagues. Ultimately you want a team that will improve with experience - losing several a game really eats into that potential and sees you end up with base stat characters all the way through the league. Plus it is just free stat points to the opposing team.

In one off matches, low armour teams are fine and fun. Long term you want characters who will survive.

Orcs are a slower team, but work by playing a ground-and-pound, crush the other team style. Skaven are fast, but it can easily end up being a meat grinder for them too.

[Falconeer]

Day #2 so far:

Modern Angel 1 - Falconeer 0
Aez 2 - Typhon 0
Helm 4 - IainC 1

Cadaverine ? - Scadente ?

We only need Cadaverine vs Scadente to advance to Day #3.
Is everyone with the game already in the f13 Bloodbowlers Steam group? I suggest everyone who is not in it to join. Like Ironwood, on Steam but not in the group. You don't have to be in the League, should make it easier to arrange friendly matches too.

Where is the League going? The League is a 7 days League. Meaning we all have to face each opponent once. After 7 matches/days it is supposed to end and there's a price of 100000 to the first team and 50000 for the runner up. Plus the prize offered by me which is a copy of The Path. I am aiming for a bigger price for the second league, in september, which will certainly last more and will probably have more teams and rules. This is, after all, the first f13 TEST League.

Do we continue with another season? Hell yeah!
What if people want to change their team? It's ok, especially since we'll have more people starting from zero (1000) so I can't see how that could be a problem.
Another important reminder, the TEST league has TV (Team Value) capped at 1400. We'll see how that works and if it needs to be removed/adjusted for Season 2. Inducements or not, rich get richer mechanic has to be kept under control (nothing is written in stone, we'll decide democratically. So don't panic!).

[Quinton]

How do those of us who aren't already in get involved?  (other than wait until September ^^)

Any interest in posting replays of any particularly interesting games, should people want to watch?

[Modern Angel]

I don't even know how to take replays

[Quinton]

The game saves a replay every time, under: ~/My Documents/BloodBowl/Saves/Replays

They appear to be sqlite3 databases:
% sqlite3 Replay_2009-07-05_02-03-48.db
sqlite> .tables
Away_AI_Positions                      
Away_AI_Tactics                        
Away_Equipment_Listing                  
Away_Player_Casualties                  
Away_Player_Listing                    
Away_Player_Skills                      
...

sqlite> select * from Away_Player_Types ;
6|Team_Dwarf_Blocker|2|1|13|558||33.333|50.0|33.333|83.333|70000|16
7|Team_Dwarf_Runner|2|2|13|34||50.0|50.0|50.0|72.222|80000|2
8|Team_Dwarf_Blitzer|2|4|13|1143||41.665|50.0|50.0|83.333|80000|2
9|Team_Dwarf_TrollSlayer|2|1|14|118||41.665|50.0|33.333|72.222|90000|2
10|Team_Dwarf_DeathRoller|2|5|13|102337||33.333|90.0|16.666|91.666|160000|1
38|AllStar_Dwarf_GrimIronjaw|2|5||907|Grim Ironjaw|41.665|60.0|50.0|72.222|220000|1

sqlite> select * from Home_Player_Listing ;
534584|0|Sequoia|15|50300|0|7|0|0|1|2|100.|1|16.6669979095459|80.|16.6660003662109|91.6660079956055|1|0|58|59|60|61|0|0|0|0|120000|0|0|0|0|0|120|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
534585|0|Zebeydyn|14|50300|0|7|0|0|1|4|100.|2|66.6670074462891|50.|66.6660003662109|58.3330001831055|1|0|54|55|56|57|0|0|0|0|120000|0|0|0|0|0|120|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
534586|0|Learnedyn|14|50300|0|7|0|0|1|2|100.|3|66.6670074462891|50.|66.6660003662109|58.3330001831055|1|0|54|55|56|57|0|0|0|0|120000|0|0|0|0|0|120|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0
...

Some fun to be had here, I think...

[Hoax]

I can't seem to make any money in the campaign. I'm not spending anything on inducements and I'm winning most of my games. I seem to make 20-40k per match but in every game I play my opponent is dropping 400-600k on star players, bribes, bonus rerolls etc. What am I doing wrong?

Always spend as much of the inducement as you can, if I remember correctly that is free money to balance the match that goes away if you don't spend it.  I could be wrong but I think that is how it works.

[Cadaverine]

Day #2 so far:

Modern Angel 1 - Falconeer 0
Aez 2 - Typhon 0
Helm 4 - IainC 1

Cadaverine ? - Scadente ?

Saw him in the game earlier today, but must have been away, or playing a match already since he didn't respond to the match request.  I sent him an IM here, though, and can hopefully hook up with him tomorrow.  Not sure if he has joined the f13 bloodbowlers, or not.

[Azazel]

I'm fucking tempted to download this - how does the online purchase work from these guys? Can you download it again forever and ever if you need to? Or is it one of those "one-download" kind of deals?

[Falconeer]

Hard to say. So far, I downloaded it three times on three different computers over 5 days, but I still don't know what to answer. Maybe it is limited but couldn't see any number anywhere.

And they say our download code will work with Steam, letting us add the game there in September. Can't find documentation proving it though. Aez should be able to.

[Azazel]

Now I'm even more confused...  

Does it work on all three computers? Or is it one at a time? Obviously you need to connect to their servers to play online. But could you for example play SP on one PC while another plays online? Can you LAN-play with the one copy on 2 local computers?

I might go dig out my never-finished teams, actually...

[Quinton]

I'm not 100% certain but I don't think it hits the network at all unless you fire up a multiplayer mode.  It's possible that for LAN or direct IP mode it might check and complain if both copies are using the same key (Falconeer should try, for SCIENCE!).

Interestingly, you get two different keys when you buy the game.  One is required to validate the game before you can play.  The other is used when you create your online league play account.

[Falconeer]

You get two keys:
Activation key = needed to INSTALL the game. It checks onilne every time you install.
Account key = needed to create a unique online account, as per your average MMORPG (doesn't require monthly sub though)

My three installations work perfectly on all the three computers. Everytime I installed them it asked me for the "activation" key, which made an online check. I can imagine there's a number of given checks/installs you can do with a single key (until the promised free Steam upgrade) but I don't know that number and so far 3 worked without a flaw.

Can you LAN-play with the one copy on 2 local computers?

Will check it tonight. Since it doesn't ask for the account/pass needed for online leagues, it is safe to assume it should work as lan games are just advanced Hotseat anyway (which is supported, yay!), but I'll let you know for sure.

But could you for example play SP on one PC while another plays online?

I think so. I'll test it tonight.

[Xeyi]

I don't know about the whole linking your code to steam situation.  All I can find on their forums is a quote saying that they "don't think you will be able to link your CD-key to your Steam account".

Maybe there's a more recent update I missed though.

[kaid]

One trick with the skaven team that helps them survive long enough to get skills is do not have anybody in a tackle zone who does not need to be there. Skaven are not there to brawl they are there to score like crazy fast rats. With their high agility breaking out of tackle zones is laughably easy so you can make it so that the only folks who are in hand to hand with somebody are those you intend to be there. Everybody else should back out of any tackle zone they are in that way you strongly limit the amount of hits you can possibly take. One guy I played after doing his main actions went around pulling all skaven out of tackle zones its hard to brawl on an opposing team when all you can do in a turn is one blitz action.

You will typically still take a few losses but they are pretty inexpesnive to replace unlike the wood elves. It may seem a bit cowardly but it works pretty well for them. VS people like humans or elves you can even stay in there and brawl some to level up your line rats but vs CHAOS or lizard men the skaven want NOTHING to do with hand to hand vs the lines of those teams as they will pick you up AND BREAK YOU.

[kaid]

Chaos starts a bit boring. 1 mino a bunch of chaos warriors and beast men with limited skills. They get fun fast though as people get skills as they all have access to mutation. During the course of a leage a chaos team goes from being pretty generic across the board to highly specialized depending how you mutated/trained them. I saw one guy train his chaos warrior to be his main ball handler. That guy was NASTY. not super fast but a high armor str 4 guy with block is a PITA to knock over.

If you want fun with your first skill up on your MINO get it claws. This way you have mighty blow aka +1 to armor roll for injury and claws makes it so that anybody with an armor rating over 7 gets treated like AV 7. So black orks, saurus, big critters are all as weakly armored as an elf to your mino. This combo means that mino will be KILLING THE HELL out of people.

The lizards are somewhat similar excellent base stats for players but no skills to speak of which makes the first couple games kinda boring compared to what they are like once they get skilled up

Falconeer taught me a couple of things.

1 - He's better at the game than me.
2 - Chaos is actually really, really boring to play.  The game was fun, but I missed the tricksy Orksies.

I think it's time for a shakeup.

[Aez]

I don't know about the whole linking your code to steam situation.  All I can find on their forums is a quote saying that they "don't think you will be able to link your CD-key to your Steam account".

Maybe there's a more recent update I missed though.

Well, fuck me. I can't remember where I read the confirmation.

[Falconeer]

Uh, this is from a dev/mod:

Concerning Steam
Steam will be available for Blood Bowl on September.
At the moment I don't think you will be able to link your CD-key to your Steam account (more information about that in September)

Screw them!

But, on the same post:

Concerning the download
You will have a period of 21 (not 14) days during which you can download your product at your convenience. At the end of those 21 days, the download is no longer available but you can phone or emailing Nexway to arranged additional download.
You can (it's a good advise   ) burn it to DVD.
You can install and activate the game on several PC's
A manual, dvd box inlay and strategic guide (.pdf) are supplied with the digital version.

Who cares if the download expires? Burn the files on a DVD or keep them on a drive and you are done.
Activations: you can activate it as many times you want.

Meaning, the single player game is basically completely unprotected as long as you have a friend activation key. For the online multiplayer you still need to purchase a valid key.

Lan gaming, it works on two computers with the same activation code. Just tested it. Me and kiddo are bashing each other senseless.

So, to sum it up, buying it online now does all the things you expect a game you bought to do, other than letting it download forever. You have 21 days to burn your files on a DvD or store them on a drive though.


Finally... REPLAYS WORK!
The game saves automatically every single match you play, and to watch them you just have to go on Single Player ---> Load ---> Replays. This is  

I just reviewed my last second loss against Modern Angel and it still stings, ouch.
I should probably fraps them up and edit some highlights from the League to put on youtube.
(Tip: "+" and "-" speed up and slow down the replay)
 



This is me, Bat Country, vs Modern Angel, Estalia Crushers.

[schild]

christ fuck now I want the game

[IainC]

Signe is a Black Orc? 

[Ironwood]

I just reviewed my last second loss against Modern Angel and it still stings, ouch.
I should probably fraps them up and edit some highlights from the League to put on youtube.
(Tip: "+" and "-" speed up and slow down the replay)

That's a GENIUS idea....

[Falconeer]

Alright, this is the best I could do without any prior experience in video converting, cutting, recording and all. Sucks, so advices are welcome.

These are the highlights from my game with Modern Angel of yesterday night. Sped up to kill dead-ponder times.

Schild heroically stops a dwarf from scoring a touchdown.

Modern Angel's dwarves score on the very last move of the very last turn for a stunning 1 - 0 victory!