Click to See Complete Forum and Search --> : New Series 3 game - Barbarians!


snigfarp
08-15-2010, 03:15 AM
"Civilisation in the ancient world was always under threat from outsiders who. though primitive, coveted the riches that their more advanced neighbours amassed. Disorganised tribesmen were usually no match for the heavily-defended cities and their shrewd generals, but, on rare occasions, a gifted individual would unite the warriors and rouse them to a common purpose. Then, the kings, the patriarchs, the farmers and the merchants would have cause to tremble before the approach of the Barbarians!

"Barbarians is a game of strategy for one player, running on Psion handheld computers. You take the lead of a civilised league of twelve cities at the very time the barbarians are entering the land. Your task is to raise armies and send them against the advancing hordes, and you will not rest until every last one is wiped out. While this is going on, you have to manage your empire's economy.

"Every game is different. A map is generated at random, and your empire might be inland, on the coast, an isthmus or a peninsula, or it might instead be on an island. You may rule over flat, featureless plains, or mountainous or heavily wooded areas. The terrain of your country will dictate the availability of resources and the economics of your campaign. You'll need to trade for resources that your empire lacks."

After conquering the Psion Organiser II the Barbarians are now marching on your Psion Series 3 "classic".* They'll also lay siege to your Series 3a, 3c, 3mx, Siena or even Workabout if you let them!* Download the game from its own web site: http://games.cyningstan.org.uk/barbarians.php.

snigfarp
08-17-2010, 07:46 AM
The site now has screenshots of a forthcoming version for the Series 3a, 3c, 3mx, Siena and the Workabout. If anyone would like to beta test this, then please let me know!

highlandcattle
08-17-2010, 12:16 PM
I would love to beta test but sadly do not have a series 3 system. Waiting for a series 5 version

snigfarp
08-17-2010, 12:26 PM
I'm sure I'll get there eventually. It sure has been fun though getting some use out of my earlier machines. And I can recommend the Series 3 "classic" as being (to my mind) the most fun to program of all the Psion machines.

snigfarp
08-20-2010, 01:50 AM
The version for the Series 3a, 3c, 3mx, Siena and Workabout is ready for beta testing. Please let me know if you're interested in trying out this game before release. Improvements include better graphics, sampled sound on machines that support it, and a couple of other interface improvements.

snigfarp
09-02-2010, 03:19 AM
The improved version of the game is now available for the 3a, 3c, 3mx, Siena and Workabout. Get it at the Barbarians web page - http://games.cyningstan.org.uk/barbarians.php.

tonyk2005
09-02-2010, 09:58 AM
The improved version of the game is now available for the 3a, 3c, 3mx, Siena and Workabout. Get it at the Barbarians web page - http://games.cyningstan.org.uk/barbarians.php.

snigfarp, sounds good, will check it out on my Psion 3a over the weekend ;)

snigfarp
09-02-2010, 11:13 AM
Hello Tony,

Let me know how you get on!

tonyk2005
09-06-2010, 03:57 PM
Hello Tony,

Let me know how you get on!

Thought I'd give you a little feedback, I've been playing the game on my 3a when I've had a few mins to spare here and there. I've really enjoyed the game so far (even though I've let some of my resources run out and my cities run dry... I'll know better next time!). The intro music and sound is a nice touch, and good I can turn it off if I need to too. Good instructions too, very well presented :)

snigfarp
09-07-2010, 01:55 AM
Thanks for the feedback Tony. I couldn't port to the 3a and not include some sound - its sound capability is even better than the Series 5, though I have to keep the length down due to memory constraints (some self-imposed, I admit).

My economic strategy is to try and keep food/wood/iron at about 20, by selling excess and buying up what's needed to make up that figure. If you find your gold building up to 200 or more, you can start to increase that. As the population grows and the amount of spare food starts to slacken off, stop recruiting - or at least, when recruiting make sure you have a good 3 or 4 population left in the city. That should allow it to decline a little without being deserted.

Another tip to prevent you running out of gold is to recruit gradually. Work out what size of army you can support without the income from population taxes and selling of excess stock and don't recruit more than that on the first turn. On subsequent turns recruit a limited number, and you'll get a feel for how big a total army you can usually support. That number will change as your economy fluctuates.

I've also found that once the barbarians exceed a certain number, you've lost control and will never beat them back. I tend to give up the game as lost when they reach 100. Perhaps a future update to the game will have that built in as an option.

Most of this applies to the Organiser II version too, though it doesn't (yet) show you total population, army and barbarians.