I think hosting the game on llamaserver would be best. I have little experience with sirect connection games od dom3 and while there are resources available for hosting fast, blitz style games, they may not be the best format for an introductory MP game.
With that in mind, here is a basic SOP for llamaserver hosted games
I possess below average written communication skills, so if you would like me to go into greater detail, don't be backward in coming forward.
Step 1.
Create your pretender:
Run Dom 3. Select Game Tools from the menu. Select Create a Pretender God.
Choose the nation and era you wish to play, then customise your pretender to your liking.
Step 2.
Uploading your pretender to llamaserver:
Your pretender will be saved in your .../dominions3/savedgames/newlords folder. The file will not have the name you gave your pretender, instead it will have the era, nation and a number. It should look like "mid_pangaea_0.2h", indicating in this example that it is a middle era pretender for Pangaea.
Once you have that, mail the file, as an attachment, to
pretenders@llamaserver.net, with the name of the game in the subject line. Only the attached file and the subject line matter, the text of the message can be whatever you wish.
eg. For a game named 'ProvingGrounds' you would have provinggrounds in the subject line. You'll receive a confirmation e-mail when your turn has been accepted.
Step 3.
Receiving and playing your first turn:
Once the game has started, you will recieve your first turn, as an attachment to mail from llamaserver.
You will need to go back to the .../dominions/savedgames folder and create a new folder. Put the attached file into that folder.
Then run Dominions3, select Play an Existing Game from the menu, and there will be a game with the name of your new folder. Select that, play your turn and when you are happy, End turn or Save Game and Quit. You can come back and tinker with your turn at any time, or even start that turn anew if you make a mistake (like deleting a magic item or alchemising the wrong gems).
eg. I'll create a folder called "ProvingGrounds" and place the mid_pangaea.trn file in that folder. When I run Dom3, there will be a game called ProvingGrounds I can play.
Step 4.
Sending your completed turn:
Exit the game. Go back into the new folder your created. There will now be two files there, one with the extension .trn and one with the extension .2h
Mail the .2h file as an attachment to
turns@llamaserver.net, with the name of the game in the subject line. You will receive a confirmation mail once it has been accepted.
eg. I'll go into the Provingrounds folder I created, there will now be 2 files there; mid_pangaea.trn and mid_pangaea.2h
I'll send an email to
turns@llamaserver.net with Provingrounds in the subject line and mid_pangaea.2h as an attached file.
Step 5.
Continuing the game:
Once everyone has submitted their turns and the turn has hosted, you will receive a new message from llamaserver. It will be a new .trn file.
Go back into your new saved game folder and replace the old .trn file with the new one. When you run dominions and play, you will see how your turn played out.
When you have completed your new turn, simply go back to Step 4 and repeat the procedure.
Step 6.
Maps and Mods:
Not worth going into at this point, but it is as simple as putting files into your .../dominions3/maps or .../dominions3/mods folder, and in the case of mods, activating the mod in My Preferences.
Those are the basics. Sorry if the SOP came across as condescending, I just wanted to be sure I did not miss anything. I am sure someone will correct any mistakes I may have made and be willing to answer any questions or help you with troubleshooting any issues that arise.
Let me know if you would like any advice in designing your Pretender God or working on strategies in game. Myself or others will be willing to assist you.
I'm probably going to pick Pangaea unless someone else wants it, so I'll be sure to provide you with plenty of chaff troops you can use for target practice.
