Whalefsh
Captain
Reged: 01/31/03
Posts: 1129
Loc: Dundee, Scotland
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A plea to Randy
#80533 - 01/21/04 11:30 AM (134.36.6.26)
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IMHO, the population, BV and largest cities co-ords [u]have[/u] to be removed from the factions page. How can a new faction expect to survive if any raider etc can see what prize awaits, what defence they can expect and the co-ords of the main city?
Surely it would add more to the game if people had to actually look for their targets. Sometimes they would get it wrong and sometimes hit on the proverbial gold mine.
It would also counteract the problem of just about every man and his dog belonging to the same alliance as new factions would be less in fear of being just an infra farm for a bigger empire. It would also lead to less stagnation of the game (which imho has been happening for some time now with the whole Kizo/HoC BS) as new factions have the potential to bring so much to nev.
I'm tired of the current situation and think that this small change could do so much to counteract it.
I'm sorry that this doesn't make much sense but I wrote it in a bit of a hurry.
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Whalefsh
What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you excercise it?
To whom are you accountable? How do we get rid of you? - Tony Benn
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Mazer
Colonel
Reged: 01/24/03
Posts: 1622
Loc: Margaritaville ;)
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Whalefsh]
#80541 - 01/21/04 12:58 PM (66.20.28.21)
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I think the main lesson here is that you should ALWAYS have as many people as possible lined up to join your faction before you create it. And also make sure your BV:pop ratio is at the very least very close to 1:1. I've seen several low-end factions that have BV:pop ratios of 2:1 
I think the major problem with small factions is that they are just unorganized and just generally unprepared. Which isn't really their fault really, they're new after all How about if there was a grace period after a faction was created where the faction is not visible? Maybe one RL day or so, just enough for the FL to get things organized and get everyone in.
I think the biggest thing that would help out lower level factions and empires would actually be to have some experienced players take a few newb lvl 5's that want to be FL's as apprentices. Let them create factions and have the experienced players watch over them and give them advice as they grow. That would get a lot of new players into factions, a few new players learn how to be good faction leaders, and once they grow some more we all get more decent players to fight with. win-win-win situation 
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Struck, sir? I have not yet begun to fight! - John Paul Jones
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Kit_fox
Colonel
Reged: 09/16/02
Posts: 3054
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Whalefsh]
#80546 - 01/21/04 02:46 PM (129.138.30.194)
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I don't think they should do that, but rather should put a warning to people creating factions when they decide to do it. The warning will basically tell them that this is risky, few new factions survive, what information everyone will now be able to see, and finally advise that you have a good BV:pop ratio and that you have members lined up and LOTS of money on hand.
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The RNG mugged me in a dark street, killed my dog, and cancled Christmas.
When the winds of change blow hard enough the most trivial of things can become deadly projectials.
Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.
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Wayward_Son
Major
Reged: 07/05/02
Posts: 1287
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Kit_fox]
#80562 - 01/21/04 05:58 PM (216.19.47.78)
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No. It isn't risky. You are 10 times the target as an unfactioned empire. All people do is look for unfactioned empires. You can't send/receive money. You don't get faction restrictions (which happens at the same time as normal restrictions if you are in a faction alone). When I play solo empires as soon as I hit level 5 I start my own faction so that I can get those protections and make pleas to larger factions for cash.
WS
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davion76
Lieutenant Colonel
Reged: 08/07/02
Posts: 1605
Loc: Ridgecrest CA, USA
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Wayward_Son]
#80564 - 01/21/04 06:15 PM (138.163.0.42)
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An empire that creates a new faction is somewhat safer from people scouring the map, but it opens up a completely new way for people to hunt targets. An easy way to hunt targets at that. Just look close to the bottom of the factions for a faction with just a few members and a poorer BV/Pop ratio. It even gives the hunter the location of the juiciest target in the empire! At least with an unfaactioned empire the BV/pop ratio could be high! A empire in a poorer faction is just screaming hit me. Even if an empire in one of those factions has a decent bv/pop ratio, a poor bv/pop faction still paints a target on all members in the faction. Some kind of warning should be given to an emperor wanting to create a faction. And maybe a warning to people joining a faction with poor bv.
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sinsear
Captain
Reged: 07/16/03
Posts: 824
Loc: Australia
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Whalefsh]
#80565 - 01/21/04 06:19 PM (211.26.118.248)
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how about this then;
All empires level 5 and below do not get this co-ords and capital shown on the alliance page?
That way, newer factions can get a lift, and smaller pllayers can be a benifit to those larger ones.
The downside is that they then become intangible, but if you declare war on them, or they on you, then they show up on the faction page.
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Sharkman
Captain
Reged: 07/13/03
Posts: 788
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: davion76]
#80566 - 01/21/04 06:20 PM (65.90.13.19)
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Yep, I've said it before but they don't listen so once again. As a raider I am too lazy to scour for unfactioned empires, I hit WEAK FACTIONS. Much less time consuming and more beneficial as I don't have to go through tons of zones to get the real prize.
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davion76
Lieutenant Colonel
Reged: 08/07/02
Posts: 1605
Loc: Ridgecrest CA, USA
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: sinsear]
#80567 - 01/21/04 06:22 PM (138.163.0.42)
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Very interesting idea. Only issue I can see with it is that it could be difficult to code the "appearing" text for DOWs.
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Sir_Mark_II
Sergeant
Reged: 03/18/03
Posts: 105
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: davion76]
#80591 - 01/21/04 11:33 PM (172.173.101.4)
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Oh god am I going to be reemed for this one: WW made a good point. New faction leaders should seek out alliances, loose ones at least, to help ward off raiders. It could, and in my opinion should, be a temporary deal to help the new factions build up a bit. I know saying alliance probably earns me another swift kick in the ass-too many alliances as is but temporary loose ones couldn't hurt. The fact that BV pop and largest city are all shown is part of the drawbacks to being in a faction. Supposedly there was going to be a point when factions and independents all had their advantages and disadvantages. Looks like that's no longer the trend for the admins as they continue to push the necessity of factions but at least they have that one weak spot. 
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Sharkman
Captain
Reged: 07/13/03
Posts: 788
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Sir_Mark_II]
#80649 - 01/22/04 09:38 AM (65.90.13.19)
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The problem is the alliances that we already have are too big, and there is nothing that can stop them.
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Wayward_Son
Major
Reged: 07/05/02
Posts: 1287
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Sharkman]
#80708 - 01/22/04 09:49 PM (24.117.206.14)
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Yeah and other people hit UNFACTIONED EMPIRES. Look..guys...you are going to get warred. It is a war game! People should not be suprised to get 'you are under attack' messages. If you infra-buld for 6 months and do little to protect yourself you are lucky to have gotten that far at all. It is not some failure of the system when your unprotected, unfactioned infra-farm gets demolished one evening. You simply failed to slip under the radar for the first time.
WS
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Sharkman
Captain
Reged: 07/13/03
Posts: 788
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Wayward_Son]
#80712 - 01/22/04 09:57 PM (65.90.13.19)
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Actually it IS a failure of the system that ANY empire can get demolished in one evening after 6 months of building, and that is the REAL problem with the game. All the other non-sense aside, it should not take me 6 months to build something that can be annihilated in 4 hours. Until you fix that, this game will never keep players for the long term.
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sinsear
Captain
Reged: 07/16/03
Posts: 824
Loc: Australia
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Sharkman]
#80714 - 01/22/04 10:17 PM (211.26.118.117)
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Well, except those that have invested RL money in it, and can't stand to see it go down the drain.
I hear what you're trying to say WS, It IS a war game, but it's also a sim game now that we have all the building ratios and such. A player can't just play Nev, like other online games, Hell, your first month will be filled with saving up enough cash to do something. The next few months trying to prove yourself to a faction, and then on you might start having fun.
I like the game, but I've been here a while. Someone who comes and doesn't enjoy the first month, may not stay long at all.
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Tien_Lung
Lieutenant
Reged: 06/27/02
Posts: 506
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: sinsear]
#80721 - 01/23/04 12:17 AM (161.184.143.108)
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Wayward I've taken down 30kBV of 50kBV with 14kBV in about 6 hours without taking loses. Wasn't 50k only because I got tired and went to bed. Even if your level 5 is nothing but BV I could still more then likely take it out completely in an 8 hour period.
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Fortune favours the bold.
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Sharkman
Captain
Reged: 07/13/03
Posts: 788
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Tien_Lung]
#80781 - 01/23/04 09:50 AM (65.90.13.19)
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Tien_Lung is right, I have personally wiped out an entire regiment of vehicles with a 6k BV lance of mechs, 1 Assault, 2 Heavies and a medium. 72 to 4 odds, and yet I still won the battle and was not forced to retreat.
Being that the vehicles were all trained, as they did hit, tended to be scorpions, Strikers, and several of the AIV types, I should not have taken that zone in 2 hours with only 4 mechs. But I did, and I am not Mr. Uber LW'er. That empire never recovered and eventually deleted, despite the fact that I ceased my attacks....guess he couldn't rebuild from the devastation.
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Whalefsh
Captain
Reged: 01/31/03
Posts: 1129
Loc: Dundee, Scotland
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Wayward_Son]
#80787 - 01/23/04 10:16 AM (134.36.6.57)
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Yes but because of the fact that there are so many factions "protected" by the main alliances, the only way to gaurd against attacks is to become allied with a big alliance. And that leads to a kizo/HoC scenario...
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Whalefsh
What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you excercise it?
To whom are you accountable? How do we get rid of you? - Tony Benn
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Cecil
Lieutenant
Reged: 07/09/02
Posts: 467
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Sharkman]
#80859 - 01/24/04 01:54 AM (128.125.245.7)
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So perhaps its the crappy AI and the introduction of ABR? I'm hearing the same argument from a lot of different people (and also share the same sentiment): It's too easy and takes too little time to really destroy an empire, especially when the player is not on, or does not have Battle Players handy. Yes, this game is a war game, and yes, politics and friendships are very important, but so is getting AI smarter (at least competent in defending). Of course AI should not be the alternative to Battle Players, but it should at least put up a good fight.
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Sharkman
Captain
Reged: 07/13/03
Posts: 788
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Cecil]
#80879 - 01/24/04 06:57 AM (65.90.13.19)
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AI, if nothing else, should attack en masse, not in staggered lances or single units. The biggest most helpful change would be to start the AI units out at hex 50,50 and keep them all together. At least then I'd have to fight the whole army, not pick them apart one at a time.
Also, AI units need to move at the speed of the slowest unit in their group. Safety in numbers, a fast unit running out ahead simply dies quicker.
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Wayward_Son
Major
Reged: 07/05/02
Posts: 1287
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Sharkman]
#80885 - 01/24/04 08:22 AM (24.117.206.14)
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All units are on AI when a zone is first attacked. This would mean starting all units in the middle grouped together. There are many AI improvements in the works, many things in Neveron need improving. You guys have to realze though that I log into scores of empires every week fixing bugs and answering questions. I would say the majority of those are not defended properly, lack speed bumps of any kind, have no faction and have poor BV to CivPop ratios. It is no suprise to me at all that these empires get marched right through without a contest. The player has done virtually nothing to protect themselves, and so what I hear you guys saying is that the system fails these people when in reality they just aren't playing well. I completely agree that there needs to be better help files and tutorials, but there are only 2 of us right now and I am completely swamped with bug tickets. I am trying to get some more help up, but I have made *many* posts to the forums with good help information, I have put the information out in tips mails, I routinely tell people these things in chat, but most of the time people seem to either ignore or try to argue that somehow I'm wrong.
So:
-Its a war game, you are GOING to be attacked. Plan, prepare, assume it will happen tomorrow.
-Get speed bumps up around your cities. Jeeps, geckos (if you can afford them) but sensor towers are the best.
-Try to hide your main military outside of your cities. Split it up if you can into 2 good hiding spots. It doesn't matter if you lose your cities if you can take them back. If you don't fight back you will restrict before the enemy finds your military and takes all your cities. Wait until you are ready to fight on your terms to fight back. Your attacker will not have protected those cities very well.
-SAVE YOUR CASH!! If you don't have money onhand to fight back with you are dead in the water. If you don't have enough money to use your 'declare war on all' button and still make attacks and maybe even replace some of your units, you are lean on cash. Try putting 10% of your cash every day on a non-emperor and do not touch it whatsoever. This is your emergency stash for when the worst happens.
-Get in an active faction. Not necessarily a 'brand name' one, just a faction where your factionmates are likely to BP for you when you are offline. Even if they just stall a bit it makes a big difference. Make sure to set your BP scores so they can help you.
-Meet your neighbors. If you aren't planning on attacking them, work out some mutual defense treaties with them. Even if they aren't in your faction, make a pact that you will both save emergency war cash and mercilessly gangbang any poor fool that gets aggressive in your area.
WS
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Xia
Lieutenant
Reged: 08/06/03
Posts: 694
Loc: Forgotton Palace, Xu Chang, Im...
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Sharkman]
#80891 - 01/24/04 08:54 AM (209.159.211.57)
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Actually I disagree on a 50/50 map, the 100/100 map helps in defense of empires. On a 50/50 map a 5/8/5 could traverse 1/5 (roughly) of the map on a single turn (flat terrain for argument purposes) and could cross the map in 10 turns (using JJs)... The 100/100 allows for manuever and hiding of units. Attackers don't need anymore help.
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I find that violence is a perfectly viable solution to most problems....
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Sharkman
Captain
Reged: 07/13/03
Posts: 788
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Xia]
#80893 - 01/24/04 08:57 AM (65.90.13.19)
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No at hex 50,50 on a 100/100 map. You misunderstood
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Whalefsh
Captain
Reged: 01/31/03
Posts: 1129
Loc: Dundee, Scotland
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Re: A plea to Randy
[Re: Wayward_Son]
#80965 - 01/25/04 08:03 AM (134.36.5.44)
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Quote:
I completely agree that there needs to be better help files and tutorials, but there are only 2 of us right now
It's been suggested before that some of the veterans could do the help files. It would save you guys some time.
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Whalefsh
What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you excercise it?
To whom are you accountable? How do we get rid of you? - Tony Benn
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