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It would be nice if this site enforced some kind of rule to encourage players to play different races. Otherwise we have cases like at0mix who always only ever plays as Privateers (ok, he's joined 12 games, 11 as Privateer and once as Crystals). Which means that nobody else has a chance to play the game as Privateers, and since he's always allied to his buddies from before the game starts, all the games end up the same. This game-ruining behavior has caused me to only join no-allies games from now on (which means I get to play far fewer games than I would like).

If it was my VGAP site I would make it a rule that you need to rotate through at least half the races before getting to play one again. Even better would be blind joining, where you join a game, but races are only assigned at the time the game starts.

Yea it's usually at0mix and 2 or 3 allies against the rest of the cluster.

Locking a race that a player has picked before until a certain amount of turns have been played with different races and/or a certain amount of time has passed sounds like a good idea to me also. This would make the games more balanced and more interesting - for everybody.

Hope there is a way to achieve this.

Cheers,
Mike

It would be nice if this site enforced some kind of rule to encourage players to play different races. Otherwise we have cases like at0mix who always only ever plays as Privateers (ok, he's joined 12 games, 11 as Privateer and once as Crystals). Which means that nobody else has a chance to play the game as Privateers, and since he's always allied to his buddies from before the game starts, all the games end up the same. This game-ruining behavior has caused me to only join no-allies games from now on (which means I get to play far fewer games than I would like).

If it was my VGAP site I would make it a rule that you need to rotate through at least half the races before getting to play one again. Even better would be blind joining, where you join a game, but races are only assigned at the time the game starts.

Locking a race that a player has picked before until a certain amount of turns have been played with different races and/or a certain amount of time has passed sounds like a good idea

It'll not work.

In case of atomix, he will not play races other than Privateer. And, games starts too rarely for waiting time passed

Even better would be blind joining, where you join a game, but races are only assigned at the time the game starts.

Old practice was choosing 3 preferred races (or all 11) for each player, in their own order. And assign all races at the game start, according to what they asked.

But it's not the solution against pre-game alliances. Just not play diplomacy games..

In most cases, in russian player's mind, all of you (non-russians) just dehumanizated dark-sided aliens, that'd be destroyed by russian's "team of light". That leads to that pre-made alliances, etc.

Wow!

Tha sounds creepy!

James T. Plagerism in May as well rename "Privatee...:

Even better would be blind joining, where you join a game, but races are only assigned at the time the game starts.

Old practice was choosing 3 preferred races (or all 11) for each player, in their own order. And assign all races at the game start, according to what they asked.

But it's not the solution against pre-game alliances. Just not play diplomacy games..

In most cases, in russian player's mind, all of you (non-russians) just dehumanizated dark-sided aliens, that'd be destroyed by russian's "team of light". That leads to that pre-made alliances, etc.

It would be nice if this site enforced some kind of rule to encourage players to play different races. Otherwise we have cases like at0mix who always only ever plays as Privateers (ok, he's joined 12 games, 11 as Privateer and once as Crystals). Which means that nobody else has a chance to play the game as Privateers, and since he's always allied to his buddies from before the game starts, all the games end up the same. ......

I'm following this thread and some others on the same topic since quite a while. Kept quite so far as one could say similar about me:

• it looks like i'm always allied with same guys.....not true but one could think so

• always plays Borg (mmm...well almost true - i simply love them)

We can chat separately about me if it's wanted

Back to topic - It's not only at0mix. In Titan 17 we play again against that all-mighty alliance. IMHO it's not at0mix who is the 'head of alliance' but Kobrov. Since few games player-ID emperor_1999 joined their team.

I started with Planets in 1994 (with DOSplan - do you remember?) and i never ever saw an alliance that worked so perfectly together as at0mix/Kobrov/emeror_1999.

A mean person would ask the question: Is it three individuals or a single person???

Dahoudaboudadoudawou and James T. Plagerism: As you also play in Titan 17...what is your feeling?

Currently i don't find another game to join where THOSE guys are not already registered (with Fed and Privateers taken). Already looking into planets.nu but i don't see a real reason why i should pay a monthly/yearly fee when i already paid for the licence years ago....and planets.nu doesn't give the thrilling feeling as good old Winplan client

Now i need to jump into the other thread: https://planetscentral.com/talk/thread.cgi/576-Pre-made-alliances#p3453

Greetings,
mondoshiva

PS: Checkout https://planetscentral.com/host/game.cgi/71-North-Star-14
No alliance game but the 'band of three' will cooperate and Kobrov will win. Who takes the bet?

A mean person would ask the question: Is it three individuals or a single person???

Based on my interactions with them, they are 3 real separate people, it's not one person with three accounts. However, they do play an extremely-integrated game when given the chance -- in PHost games they take full advantage of Remote Control, for example. It is an alliance of 3 that plays as one. I have seen this from the inside in Pleiades 16, where I started surrounded by those 3 and given the choice of being quickly crushed, or provide minelaying abilities to them by remote-controlled ships in exchange for being left alone.

mondoshiva in Re: May as well rename "Priv...:

A mean person would ask the question: Is it three individuals or a single person???

Based on my interactions with them, they are 3 real separate people, it's not one person with three accounts. However, they do play an extremely-integrated game when given the chance -- in PHost games they take full advantage of Remote Control, for example. It is an alliance of 3 that plays as one. I have seen this from the inside in Pleiades 16, where I started surrounded by those 3 and given the choice of being quickly crushed, or provide minelaying abilities to them by remote-controlled ships in exchange for being left alone.

Well then, i trust YOU!
But one only knows for sure when you see them all together in real life - LOL
Acting like three individuals in a chat forum is easy to do.

Nevermind, RemoteControl i personally don't like as it really gives the possibility to concentrate different race advantages to a single player.

But....how to go on now? There is no other host on planet Earth (ID#1) that still hosts planets (at least i'm not aware of one).
All my other hosts died and only Stefan keeps up celebrating the best game ever!!! Thanks a lot streu !!!! We all depend on you.

Or maybe you want to extend your homepage with a little host? Stefan for sure will help you to set it up

Or maybe you want to extend your homepage with a little host? Stefan for sure will help you to set it up

It's not impossible, I could probably get it working (big learning curve though). However it does seem a shame to need to try that when we have a good site here already run by a VGAP hosting world expert.

A mean person would ask the question: Is it three individuals or a single person???

I can hardly tell from my experience in Titan 17 coz I had not any contact with the Russian alliance.

However I agree with James based on my personal experience from Pleiades 16 as well. By comparing the playing style of both Kobrov and at0mix I am pretty sure they are two individual players.
emperor_1999 I am not quite sure about, he seems to me like a rookie who is being mentored by at0mix and/or Kobrov. Usually he does not act individually, at least I have never noticed any campaign led by him.

Or maybe you want to extend your homepage with a little host? Stefan for sure will help you to set it up

I don't think that creating another host site will really solve the problem. Nothing will prevent (a) player(s) behaving there the same way. Moreover a competing second website would split all active players' attention which might result in games not filling any more.

I'd prefer to settle the issue by either appealing to these player's honor to refrain from forming their usual initial cooperation in the future or - if this should be of no avail - by asking Stefan to try and implement a way to prevent it by force (random race assignment, temporarily locked race slots for cherry pickers, etc.)
Actually we, the players who seek balanced games, also have an instrument to stop their pre-made alliance: Forming one massive counter-alliance in every game they play together and spoil their party (unfortunately my appeal in Titan 17 remained unheard ) It might take a little while to make them learn but to me it seems to be the most "natural" solution.

Cheers,
Mike

Yep, I think there are a bunch of players (me too) who just don't join any game where at0mix has taken the Privs, and Kobrov is in too, what it's a pity but just not worth it since many times you just can't get any good allies or even worse, you have the happy Russian couple as neighbours and then you're fecked. The thing is, in 90% of the games at0mix takes the Privs as soon as the game opens and Kobrov follows soon. I don't think there's much that can be done about it. They obviously don't give a shite, and there will always be newbies who don't know about their pre-formed alliance and will fill the slots.

I'm only playing NorthStar games at the moment (at0mix doesn't even bother joining a game where he has to play by himself withoud daddy Kobrov).

May be setting up a new type of game with random race assignment would be cool. I would definetely give that a try.

It'd be interesting to have at0mix's and Kobrov's opinion on the subject, but my guess is that they don't even read the forum posts and aren't aware of this whole clusterfuck (excuse my language, rough week).

Anyways, I also thank Stefan for this great site and all the effort he puts in keeping the Echo Cluster alive. Keep it up, man!

mondoshiva in Re: May as well rename "Priv...:

A mean person would ask the question: Is it three individuals or a single person???

I can hardly tell from my experience in Titan 17 coz I had not any contact with the Russian alliance.

However I agree with James based on my personal experience from Pleiades 16 as well. By comparing the playing style of both Kobrov and at0mix I am pretty sure they are two individual players.
emperor_1999 I am not quite sure about, he seems to me like a rookie who is being mentored by at0mix and/or Kobrov. Usually he does not act individually, at least I have never noticed any campaign led by him.

mondoshiva in Re: May as well rename "Priv...:

Or maybe you want to extend your homepage with a little host? Stefan for sure will help you to set it up

I don't think that creating another host site will really solve the problem. Nothing will prevent (a) player(s) behaving there the same way. Moreover a competing second website would split all active players' attention which might result in games not filling any more.

I'd prefer to settle the issue by either appealing to these player's honor to refrain from forming their usual initial cooperation in the future or - if this should be of no avail - by asking Stefan to try and implement a way to prevent it by force (random race assignment, temporarily locked race slots for cherry pickers, etc.)
Actually we, the players who seek balanced games, also have an instrument to stop their pre-made alliance: Forming one massive counter-alliance in every game they play together and spoil their party (unfortunately my appeal in Titan 17 remained unheard ) It might take a little while to make them learn but to me it seems to be the most "natural" solution.

Cheers,
Mike

1. our union is not so all-powerful - we are also being beaten. true, less often than we do - but the facts are lawyers

2. Yes, I like to play as a pirate - this is my first race in the game vga planets.

3. Yes, I CAN play as a pirate - unlike many other players. and according to statistics, the pirate almost never took 1st place ....

4. yes, it is more convenient for you to play with a weak pirate - or even better with a pirate who quit the game. because in order to successfully fight a pirate, you need to be able to play for him. for example, in Titan-16. and there are a lot of such games among the completed ones

5. about a well-coordinated game. we don't even need to stipulate every move - we've just been playing for so long that we understand what each of us has to do. this applies to games without RC. In RC games, we just play each for himself.

6. well, if one of you really wants to play pirate - tell me - there is always an option to negotiate.

I didn't know you own the Pirate slot. It's a bit ridiculous that we have to negotiate with YOU in order to play with the Privateers, don't you think?

1. our union is not so all-powerful - we are also being beaten. true, less often than we do - but the facts are lawyers

2. Yes, I like to play as a pirate - this is my first race in the game vga planets.

3. Yes, I CAN play as a pirate - unlike many other players. and according to statistics, the pirate almost never took 1st place ....

4. yes, it is more convenient for you to play with a weak pirate - or even better with a pirate who quit the game. because in order to successfully fight a pirate, you need to be able to play for him. for example, in Titan-16. and there are a lot of such games among the completed ones

5. about a well-coordinated game. we don't even need to stipulate every move - we've just been playing for so long that we understand what each of us has to do. this applies to games without RC. In RC games, we just play each for himself.

6. well, if one of you really wants to play pirate - tell me - there is always an option to negotiate.

there is a simple principle here - whoever got up first put on his slippers (Russian proverb). I can't forbid you to take the pirate race first , but if you consider yourself offended, I'm ready to play less for your pleasure

I didn't know you own the Pirate slot. It's a bit ridiculous that we have to negotiate with YOU in order to play with the Privateers, don't you think?

Let's don't stick to the basic meaning of what has been said. At0mix did post his point of view and that should be a basis for further discussions. It seems he does consider to make a deal which is a first step into the right direction.

3. Yes, I CAN play as a pirate - unlike many other players. and according to statistics, the pirate almost never took 1st place ....

4. yes, it is more convenient for you to play with a weak pirate - or even better with a pirate who quit the game. because in order to successfully fight a pirate, you need to be able to play for him. for example, in Titan-16. and there are a lot of such games among the completed ones

Nobody did question your playing skill as a pirate. On the other hand I'm pretty sure that some other players might do just as well. So the pirate is not weak just because you don't play it.

6. well, if one of you really wants to play pirate - tell me - there is always an option to negotiate.

I would suggest to resign from the pirate in the games that are still in joining status and give some other players a chance. Once let's say 6 slots are filled and the pirate is still unowned I guess nobody will blame you for still picking it.

One point which is somewhat still open: Will you consider to refrain from forming pre-arranged alliances? I understand that it's convenient to play with partners that know the automatisms, but it also makes games a little boring - probably for everybody. So I'd appreciate your comment on this as well.

Thanks & Cheers,
Mike

Not offended at all. I don't even like playing with the Pirates.

My point is that just because you can do something (like being allways the first to pick the Pirates) doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. I'm sure there are other players who would like to play with the Pirates and I think it would be nice from you to give them a chance.

There are plenty of things everybody can do but that are not fair to the rest of the players, like joining all the games and then dropping off them after a couple of turns, or form a big alliance of 4 or 5 races and wipe out one by one the rest of scattered races, etc... That's all possible, but spoils the game.

And finally, I think you would also enjoy playing other races. If you don't know how to play with them, there're plenty of guides around.

+

there is a simple principle here - whoever got up first put on his slippers (Russian proverb). I can't forbid you to take the pirate race first , but if you consider yourself offended, I'm ready to play less for your pleasure

56 completed games.

in 6 - 1st place at the pirate,

in 14 games, the race is either abandoned or killed.

and why did you get attached to us - because we are Russian?

I have 5 completed games, only 1 place in one, in two - at the end of the rating thanks to the same union from the very beginning of the game.

and why should I give odds to my opponents and not use it myself?

1. our union is not so all-powerful - we are also being beaten. true, less often than we do - but the facts are lawyers

2. Yes, I like to play as a pirate - this is my first race in the game vga planets.

3. Yes, I CAN play as a pirate - unlike many other players. and according to statistics, the pirate almost never took 1st place ....

4. yes, it is more convenient for you to play with a weak pirate - or even better with a pirate who quit the game. because in order to successfully fight a pirate, you need to be able to play for him. for example, in Titan-16. and there are a lot of such games among the completed ones

5. about a well-coordinated game. we don't even need to stipulate every move - we've just been playing for so long that we understand what each of us has to do. this applies to games without RC. In RC games, we just play each for himself.

6. well, if one of you really wants to play pirate - tell me - there is always an option to negotiate.

First, thanks at0mix for joining this thread. Much appreciated as it shows your interest on this host!

What has been said in this thread has been said. Now it's time to start constructive discussions

Just looked into latest RST of Titan 17 and the message that was sent by Robots player last turn showed as well the frustration.

The alliance of at0mix and Kobrov is indeed impressively strong, almost unbeatable. The way at0mix plays Pirates is awesome. The minesweeping strategy just sucks (if you're the owner the minefield). Combined with SuperRefit minefields are meaningless for your alliance.

So, yes you do are very well job as Pirates! No it's time to show your skills with other races, or not?

Maybe we should ask Stefan to setup games with 2-ally-only enforcement.
That would at least prevent big alliances (but still allow cooperations).

Even better would be to have races distributed randomly.
Can't be more thrilling then that. Equal rights to everyone.

Greetings,
Jo

A mean person would ask the question: Is it three individuals or a single person???

Greetings to All!

It's very funny to read about yourself in this forum thread.

I will dispel some misconceptions, although who does not want to hear others, he can continue to believe in anything.

Kobrov is my nickname. I am definitely not alone in three persons. My real name and surname are completely different, some veterans of the Planets know them, not only Atomix.

I have been playing Planets since 1993 with dozens of different games and hosts behind me. Yes, unfortunately, now there is practically one opportunity left - to play here. Many thanks to Stefan for that.

I play openly and honestly, always. I help allies in everything, I keep my word, I try to destroy enemies.

It is not always possible to win, but you need to strive for this, otherwise you should not start playing.

There will never be absolute balance and justice in the Planets. There are a lot of factors: races, different players, diplomacy, luck with the initial planets, etc. This game is interesting for this.

Have I, as a player, been destroyed by more powerful (successful) players, alliances? Of course. Is it unpleasant when a strong alliance is against you? Of course.

But I am not complaining, I am not throwing mud at other players, but I am trying to take revenge in a new game, enter a new alliance, strengthen it and win all together.

Find at least one post on the site with my complaints and criticism of other players.

I am almost from the very beginning on this site. 56 games ended, I played 44. There are more victories and high places than failures. Probably I was lucky, or maybe my experience helped me ... How many of them together with Atomix? Not everything, I didn't count, but I think about 5 (finished). Who is looking for conspiracies - look at the statistics on the players, everything is open.

I played and I play, I can play with all races. But I do not like to take everything and now I will take it if I have a choice (left free when preparing a new party).

I try not to play 5, 8, 4, 3. I don't really like them, but I can.

About the allies and the Atomix. There are experienced and reliable players who think almost like you are in a alliance, who always keep their word and go to the end, even losing. Playing with which you can learn something new yourself and become stronger as a player. Atomix is like that. Why should I, in parties with diplomacy, creating an alliance in order to defeat others, strengthen my race, without violating anything, not enter into an alliance with him?

Yes, it's easier for me not to fight a hardened pirate, but to use his help in achieving one goal - to win!

Have we not met many of those who have noted in this forum in games before? With someone I was in alliance, others I tried to defeat. For example, for a very long time I know and respect many veterans of this game, with whom I played on other hosts, in another life. Siba, Zergio, DarkClow, DarkAngel. I know their real names. They are great potential allies, incredibly strong opponents. Everything happened.

Hopefully, with my great post I have given the opportunity to new fantasies and accusations of my humble person.

Am I against balance? Of course not. Only everyone has his own. Siba correctly recalled the choice of races at the start of a new game, according to preferences, by lot, but here it is impossible. So whoever managed to take the first pirate - he will be a pirate. I don't need it at all.

And with whom I enter into an alliance and fight - I will always decide for myself, exclusively in my personal selfish interests. What I wish everyone!

Good luck in battles!

Sergey.

I am not so critical of that alliance thing. Both atomix and Kobrov play very well. An alliance of the two is naturally strong. Maybe just look at it as a challenge or play more North Star games.

I admit I also would prefer the "old" way of choosing a race by giving a preference order for all 11 races. In this way all people have the same chance to play Priv or any other strong or weak race they like.

Thanks Sergey for your interesting post.

I try not to play 5, 8, 4, 3. I don't really like them, but I can.

Just to confirm what Kobrov said, he's played in (or joining) 52 games, with a race distribution of:

Fed++++++++++++++++++
Liz++++++++
Bir
Fas++
Pir++
Bor+++++
Cry+
Emp
Rob+++++
Reb
Col+++++++++++

Clearly he prefers Fed/Liz/Col and dislikes Bir/Emp/Reb, but that's perfectly fine, we all like some better than others. But he's shown a clear willingness to try different races.

Even better would be to have races distributed randomly. Can't be more thrilling then that. Equal rights to everyone.

I think this is the only real viable solution to the discontent being discussed here -- random race assignments after the game has started (not during signup, so you can't quit and rejoin to get a different race).

I think this is the only real viable solution to the discontent being discussed here -- random race assignments after the game has started (not during signup, so you can't quit and rejoin to get a different race).

That could be a good idea. I wouldn't do it for all games though. Everybody likes to play every now and then with this specific race or another. But having some games with a random assignment of races can be fun and would give us the chance to play with races that we wouldn't normally pick.

I didn't mean any disrespect towards Kobrov or at0mix, just to be clear. They're excellent players (nobody questions that) and they're entitled to pick any race they want and ally with whoever they want, as everybody else.

So, if there are other ways to let other people play some games with the Pirates without having to get up from bed and put on the slippers before at0mix does, lets find them. A good few ideas have been thrown in this thread and in others as well.

That could be a good idea. I wouldn't do it for all games though. Everybody likes to play every now and then with this specific race or another. But having some games with a random assignment of races can be fun and would give us the chance to play with races that we wouldn't normally pick.

Totally agree, I should have been more clear that I didn't mean that for all games, just as an option for some games (same way some game types are already no-alliance, etc).

mondoshiva in Re: May as well rename "Priv...:

A mean person would ask the question: Is it three individuals or a single person???

Hi Sergey,
nice but long speach
I just wonder why you quoted me. Do you call me 'mean'? Don't worry. I am an old guy and usually don't give a f**g sh**t about what people talk about me. (beware of sarcasm!)
It was not my intention to offend you (and i guess you even didn't feel like that).

As i'm a veteran as well i trust you on what you said as i sounds reasonable and logical. I even would agree to the point of choosing your ally.
Taking someone you don't know or better take the one which you have been successfully working together in the past?
I think the answer is the same for everyone here.

Didn't we meet on RCWorld, CircusMaximus or PlanetsServer (just to name the recent one that died) in the past?
Can't recall, but the more i repeat the nickname Kobrov, the more familiar it gets.

To all here: I suggest we treat this thread as closed as there is nothing more to say. I want to stop finger-pointing and bad words.
The number of active players is dramatically decreasing, so we as the strong rest should work together to keep the game alive for the next X-many years!!!

A lot of very good ideas came up in this and other threads on new game setttings.

Let's open a new (peaceful) thread to collect them all. We then can approach Stefan on the feasibilities.

BTW...anonymizing player names could also be nice.

Cheers,
Jo

Just one more word from my side in order not to leave this accusation unanswered:

and why did you get attached to us - because we are Russian?

It's definitely not because you are Russians. It's because the current situation has become very unsatisfactory to a lot of players who try to solve it now.

Remember, we are no politicians and no cold warriors either. We all are playing a game only

and why should I give odds to my opponents and not use it myself?

The odds should be as balanced as possible in order to make sure every player has a chance to have fun in the game.

there is a simple principle here - whoever got up first put on his slippers (Russian proverb).

Yea, the early bird catches the worm. But if there is only one worm available what should the other birds do? Try to put yourself in our position, what if some other bird does get up even earlier than you and claims the pirate in every new game? Wouldn't you be annoyed also?

Just my final two cents in this thread

Cheers,
Mike

I don't see a queue of people willing to play pirate, although I have freed up 2 positions. if they are busy today - and someone wants to play pirate - tell me - I will free up more vacancies.

it's just that the complexity of the game is somewhere near the pirate - fascist and birds. according to statistics, even strong players often lose a game for pirates, and weak ones just throw.

look at the situation from the other side - when you see me in the game, you immediately understand that a very difficult game awaits you, in which you need to give 110% and come up with non-standard moves in response to my surprises

About the preliminary unions. I have heard the team and am ready to commit myself not to enter into an alliance with any player in the party from the 1st turn of the game. However, I will not promise that the Kobrov or the Emperor will not be an ally.

There will be no alliance across the galaxy without fleet delivery vehicles %)

I also want to answer why I play for a pirate. I'm not doing this because I DON'T KNOW HOW to play for other races - I'm just bored of playing for other races. there is no such dynamics and cunning maneuvers as when playing for a pirate. after all, the pirate does not have a heavy fleet and dozens of flagships that go straight ahead and smash everything in a row. and any meteor dies on the first mine or in a battle with an average ship of any race.

In addition, all games have economic scoring - either the number of planets, ships, or resources used - which is not much different from the first option.

there are no combat type scenarios SuperInvasion Tequila wars Mushroom scorer MULTI-INVASION

I suggest contacting Streu with a request to make a separate game - you can wolf without diplomacy, with the launch of the game in an incomplete composition (how many will be typed in a month, for example) and see the result.

Hi at0mix,

Thanks for you message. I think you're being very fair and honest here and I see your point.

The whole point of playing planets is to have fun and I agree, games are more fun when they are challenging.

It was good to talk about this and clarify things. Nobody wants to be sour about things. I'm sure there will be some very positive things happening after all this talking. May be Stefan will implement some of the ideas thrown here and there.

See you around the Galaxy!

I don't see a queue of people willing to play pirate, although I have freed up 2 positions. if they are busy today - and someone wants to play pirate - tell me - I will free up more vacancies.

it's just that the complexity of the game is somewhere near the pirate - fascist and birds. according to statistics, even strong players often lose a game for pirates, and weak ones just throw.

look at the situation from the other side - when you see me in the game, you immediately understand that a very difficult game awaits you, in which you need to give 110% and come up with non-standard moves in response to my surprises

About the preliminary unions. I have heard the team and am ready to commit myself not to enter into an alliance with any player in the party from the 1st turn of the game. However, I will not promise that the Kobrov or the Emperor will not be an ally.

There will be no alliance across the galaxy without fleet delivery vehicles %)

I also want to answer why I play for a pirate. I'm not doing this because I DON'T KNOW HOW to play for other races - I'm just bored of playing for other races. there is no such dynamics and cunning maneuvers as when playing for a pirate. after all, the pirate does not have a heavy fleet and dozens of flagships that go straight ahead and smash everything in a row. and any meteor dies on the first mine or in a battle with an average ship of any race.

In addition, all games have economic scoring - either the number of planets, ships, or resources used - which is not much different from the first option.

there are no combat type scenarios SuperInvasion Tequila wars Mushroom scorer MULTI-INVASION

I suggest contacting Streu with a request to make a separate game - you can wolf without diplomacy, with the launch of the game in an incomplete composition (how many will be typed in a month, for example) and see the result.

Hey guys,

here's my 2 cents for now:

First and foremost, let's not forget this is a game. A game shall bring enjoyment to, hopefully, all involved parties. I'm not going to hand out precious prices for the first one to reach 1 million skill points, probably.

Although it is true that the early bird gets the worm, first one up gets the slippers, first to the mill is first to mill: it is legal in the same way it is legal to shovel all the chocolate bananas onto your plate at the buffet and saying "haha" to the sad child behind you, but it's not nice.

Maybe a comparison: it's a multiplayer game, so I expect everyone to make some concessions to their fun: if you're on the losing end of a game, it's surely legal to abandon your race (hey I cannot chain you to your chair!), but it's nicer to the other players to keep playing - especially when knowing they'd do the same for you.

I do not want to implement any rule that nobody likes, such as "you can only play at most so-and-so many games" or "you cannot play the same race more than X times in a row".

The best solution would be to have enough choice of games so there's always something open, and if there's nothing today, there'll be something tomorrow. Unfortunately, even things I'm really excited for - like the FLAK game, that I eagerly look forward to - take long to fill.

So that's the problem we all need to solve somehow. I still have some ideas in the pipeline. The other VGAP site, the one that does pay-for-play, has lots of players, so the game itself cannot be that bad...

--Stefan

I still have some ideas in the pipeline.

Is one of those ideas the "random race" idea that has been suggested in this thread? There seems to be some interest from several players for that, and might even be easier to fill because there's no "I would join but it's only X that's available and I don't like playing them" because everyone has an equal chance at every race.

Streu I disagree with you a little bit - because I play on the principle of "Russians don't give up" - and I stop the game only in the absence of planets and ships in other cases, I fight to the last ship - and sometimes even replenish my fleet ))

BUT I want to draw your attention - economic scenarios are not the best option for a war game. please consider using scenarios to capture key points - SI-MI-cactus-mushrooms

and the last thing. the question is not only in my game for a pirate - the question of excessive alliances in the game - often the game becomes a confrontation of 2 coalitions. in this part, I will propose to increase the number of games without an alliance - not 1 out of 6, but for example 2 or 3. now the game without an alliance is only north star on plist 3. maybe it makes sense to make another game without alliances on the standard list of ships?

PS - I will add - I am not sure that I will play a pirate in a wolf game without alliances, especially if 1-2-7-9 will be in the neighbors - as it was in my last wolf game on one of the Russian hosts

PS - I will add - I am not sure that I will play a pirate in a wolf game without alliances

Bwa-ha-ha

People here still believe they communicate with russians with the same language...

I play on the principle of "Russians don't give up"

Your homeland will leave you, son... always threw.

at0mix in Re: May as well rename "Priv...:

PS - I will add - I am not sure that I will play a pirate in a wolf game without alliances

Bwa-ha-ha

People here still believe they communicate with russians with the same language...

Unless I'm missing some fine irony: I would really appreciate if we could leave our geographical origin out of the game, and all talk the same language. It happens that the "same language" probably ends up to be "bad English", but it would be awesome if Russians, Germans, Americans, and whoever else joins us can fight against alliances of other Russians, Germans, and Americans, and keep the battles strictly in the VCR.

--Stefan

BUT I want to draw your attention - economic scenarios are not the best option for a war game. please consider using scenarios to capture key points - SI-MI-cactus-mushrooms

If you can point me at some add-ons of that type, I'm willing to give it a shot, one at a time.

We had Starbase Reloaded, next is FLAK. It would be awesome if we could establish some game series with addons.

I already looked at the Tequila/Cactus add-on, but I recall that it wouldn't work without some effort. I think there are others, Machines of Yore sounded fun (how about sending a Board-with-a-nail-in-it to scare our enemies?), and I think there are also several variations of the Stargate idea.

--Stefan

streu in Re: May as well rename "Priv...:

I still have some ideas in the pipeline.

Is one of those ideas the "random race" idea that has been suggested in this thread?

Not under that heading, but: yes Decoupling "slot you registered for" from "race you play" has a multitude of possibilities (including "a game of five Klingons" or similar, that I'd like to try), so it just needs a well thought-out design to not break things too easily.

--Stefan

at0mix in Re: May as well rename "Priv...:

BUT I want to draw your attention - economic scenarios are not the best option for a war game. please consider using scenarios to capture key points - SI-MI-cactus-mushrooms

I already looked at the Tequila/Cactus add-on, but I recall that it wouldn't work without some effort. I think there are others, Machines of Yore sounded fun (how about sending a Board-with-a-nail-in-it to scare our enemies?), and I think there are also several variations of the Stargate idea. --Stefan

Streu on which operating system is the host running?

I found some add-on for the game script - but they are for DOS

if linux is used, then you can probably just rewrite the scoring program on any python or perl interpreter. you just need to know the structure of the game files and the method of sending messages in the game.

Streu on which operating system is the host running?

I found some add-on for the game script - but they are for DOS

if linux is used, then you can probably just rewrite the scoring program on any python or perl interpreter. you just need to know the structure of the game files and the method of sending messages in the game.

The server is running on Linux/x64; I prefer to have the programs to run on it in source code so I can compile them myself. (Older programs, compiled for i386 nowadays sometimes make problems; DOS programs need emulation.)

When I say, "some effort", that includes porting/rewriting the logic to a new C program. Starbase Reloaded took around 2 weeks, so it's manageable. VGAP isn't too complex from that point of view.

--Stefan

wow, this thread escalated quickly, now I wanna join in!

From my part, I really dont mind if there are players picking the same race over and over again. I always see myself taking the Crystals from time to time, where I share a similar experience with some of you: It was my very first race to play and quickly became the one I enjoyed most.

About the "russian block": There was always the argument of language barrier why they keep playing together, but in this thread they have proven this wrong - perfect english writing, so you guys CAN communicate with the rest of us! However I can understand it - if there's an ally who is reliable, where you have good experience with, one would usually always turn to this person sooner or later. For me, this is Knut Wuchtig, who is also one of my best friends for more than 20 years in real life.

I would appreciate to see everyone here not picking on each other, and just let fate decide who gets to play which race. If at0mix is too quick to often get the Privs, then so be it, let's not ruin his fun. I have seen the decline of VGAPlanets websites and players over the years, and I fear that soon there might not be enough active players left to fill the games anyways. This is my only concern, and the only valid reason I would accept to ask everyone to at least not form massively dominant alliances from the start, so that newer or more unexperienced players do get a chance to play, or won't lose the fun in it too quickly. But even in this, all we can do is kindly ask, and not force anything on others.

Decoupling "slot you registered for" from "race you play" has a multitude of possibilities

IMHO the "old" way of choosing a race would help to fill the games faster, because everybody has the same chance to get a popular/unpopular race.

The server is running on Linux/x64; I prefer to have the programs to run on it in source code so I can compile them myself. (Older programs, compiled for i386 nowadays sometimes make problems; DOS programs need emulation.)

hi!

after a long search and with the help of former players from Russia, I found some interesting programs.

They are on the link

https://cloud.mail.ru/public/JerD/GQEPzYL5C

fate.zip mushroom.zip in these archives only programs for DOS

cactus.zip cactus-unix.zip rscore2.rar si104.zip these archives contain the source codes of the programs

in the cactus-unix archive.zip has the source code for linux - and I'd really like to play a new game with this script soon.

They are on the link

https://cloud.mail.ru/public/JerD/GQEPzYL5C

I got most of those already, from a server "vvh.kiev.ua" which now seems to be dead.

The next add-on on this server will be Tequila Wars, promised.

The story is fun, and the actual scoring is pretty simple (essentially, planet counts with a twist), so I think I'll just redo it, with PlanetsCentral integration (so the voting feature can actually end the game), over the winter break. I hope you don't insist that the command to plant a cactus is called "defhw"

--Stefan

It's not just addon, but scenario. Addon is kind of a thing that players like or don't like to use, but scenario is what they play for.

The best game config would be G-list + Multiscoring (SuperInvasion + Tequila + Mushroom) All of these scorers based on planets.

Superinvasion means scoring planets are preset by Host. Mushroom - scoring planets appears/disapperars aitomatically Tequila - scoring planets are set by player manually.

at0mix in Re: May as well rename "Priv...:

They are on the link

https://cloud.mail.ru/public/JerD/GQEPzYL5C

I got most of those already, from a server "vvh.kiev.ua" which now seems to be dead.

The next add-on on this server will be Tequila Wars, promised.

The story is fun, and the actual scoring is pretty simple (essentially, planet counts with a twist), so I think I'll just redo it, with PlanetsCentral integration (so the voting feature can actually end the game), over the winter break. I hope you don't insist that the command to plant a cactus is called "defhw"

--Stefan

I got most of those already, from a server "vvh.kiev.ua" which now seems to be dead.

--Stefan

https://cloud.mail.ru/public/7whd/nTNZLmoR4

hi

I think you don't have this archive - this is the mushroom script from the author.

streu in Re: May as well rename "Priv...:

I got most of those already, from a server "vvh.kiev.ua" which now seems to be dead.

--Stefan

https://cloud.mail.ru/public/7whd/nTNZLmoR4

hi

I think you don't have this archive - this is the mushroom script from the author.

This seems to be a version "0.6". Indeed I don't have source for that

The Kiev server had a version "0.7" which also included source code (mush.cpp). Unfortunately, Wayback machine only archived the directory listing, not the file. https://web.archive.org/web/20160623221418/http://vvh.kiev.ua/files/scenario/

I put the file here if you want it: http://planetscentral.com/tmp/mushr07.zip

--Stefan