: Oh, and if there are two people working on Empires of Earth, that greatly
: reduces the chance that it will die (which is good, cuz dead scenarios
: aren't nice).
It doubles the chances of finishing the scneario, but also doubles the strife!
Perhaps the best example of a successful Marathon duo is the original M Rubicon Team - not to trivialize the efforts of the others who supported Rubicon, but this was really a 2 man show. Chris and Scott have different talents that, fortunately, are complementary. Chris is a superb mapmaker, but his artistic skills are much more modest. Scott is perhaps one of the greatest texture designers around - you may think his color palate is muted, but you have to admit that his textures are outstanding overall. Now consider the plot of Rubicon - it has three planks for a reason. Fundamentally, they couldn't agree on what Rubicon could be and ended up with a compromise - a stem plank incorporating a unified base story that would tie things together, and two disparate planks that conveyed their individual plot interests. That they were able to cross-link these planks is a testiment to their abilities to work together even as they disagreed on key plot elements. There were fireworks to be sure, but they agreed from the outset that M Rubicon was greater than the sum of its parts and greater than its individual creators.
The first thing to recognize about having a volunteer on the team is that they aren't going to do anything they don't want to. You may be the team leader, but if they don't like the direction that you are taking the project, they will simply leave. It is therefore essential that you recognize each others interests off the bat and that you listen to each other's and carefully consider them and be willing to compromise. If your partner suggests something that you think will wreck the scenario, you have to be able to offer something in return for them to abandon their great idea.
Secondly, you need to identify each of your key areas of strength and weakness. Where there are areas where both of you are weak, you can either try to find someone else to fill in the gaps or, more appropriately, you can agree to split these up so that each of you only has to learn to master half as many new things as if you worked separately. You may both want to contribute maps to the project, but it should become apparent with time who is better at texture design, who at monster layout etc. Most importantly, listen and compromise, and accept that there will be blow-ups, but that these do not need to endanger the project. In the end, the sum will be greater than the parts.
