Building off the discussion/criticisms re: turn initiative... Johnny, maybe the next map could have a different run cycle. Instead of running every night, perhaps it could run every other day or even less frequently. I think this would help people that have difficulty keeping up with setting moves every day and would favor the more casual gamer. I suppose gameplay might have to be adjusted somehow to compensate for the slower run cycle... maybe a much smaller map size would be best for this kind of game. Thoughts?

That's an interesting idea, is it really difficult to do the cycle times randomly? Or place invisible units? Only reason I ask is I'm not a causual player, it's just the timing of the cycle....

TBH, the only time the last minute placement of troops matters is when defending or taking over a base....any other time most have more than enough time to adjust. If it changes the game play to movements every 2 days, that would be a slow game. Furthermore, even if you had a cycle time every other day, they just place their units on the 2nd day last minute...or am i misunderstanding.

Perhaps write a code that if in X number of spaces from a base or turret...or any land structure perse...those spaces must be filled by say 12 am EST....I don't know...just throwing it out there...I got my butt curb stomped 3 nights in a row from trying to take over a base that I outnumbered my opponent, and I realized it was futile unless I had overwhelming #'s and maybe that's just the answer...to counter the late night guy one must be prepared to bring 2-3 times more than he can possibly place...

I guess the other thing is the CT free moves multiple turret building capability...that adds as well..perhaps, take away that you can build a CT, build multiple Turrets, delete the CT and then place troops on those spots...if creating a turret it takes a day for them to appear...they can all show up at once a day later, but not instantly...Geez...I dunno...that kinda sux as well for the defender.

Very difficult situation to fix...I think going back to overwhelming #'s is the key...i've just countered myself, into thinking if nothing can be done with the cycle times, then do the overwhelming force tactic..

Wow! I think you may have misunderstood it.

I dont think he was bringing it up in the same game-improvement context as the previous thread. I think he's simply suggesting a new map that moves at a slower pace for those who can't keep up with daily activity: essentially the same game and rules...just at half-speed.

Right?

well I did admit I may be misunderstanding him ; )

Duly noted Sir {;^)

Yea, I was just suggesting that the next map could possibly be one that runs every other night instead of every night. After Fulgar and Hererra, it would be nice to get some of my life back. :)

LOL

I just cracked myself. After months on end of not getting enough sleep.. can't take it any more.

Given all my various RL obligations (job, family, etc.), I don't think a game with a daily obligation of 2+ hours is good for me.


That's just me. I'm sure the game works great for other people.

I honestly don't think these once a day turn cycles are all that bad. I used to play a mmo strategy game that is in some ways similar to this that had turn cycles every hour, or every half hour depending on the server. While it's true that most action on the game took a few turn cycles to accomplish, it was a very time consuming game.

Compared to that, this game plays like a dream. One turn cycle every day, so that means a lot less hassle. But on the same token, if you make a turn cycle every other day, the game is going to crawl and you get the opposite problem. You have people itching to do things, but have to wait two days for the action to happen. Then another two day wait.

I just cant see a large demand for something that slow paced. Honestly, if your so busy that you can't set aside half an hour or so, or even a few chunks of minutes every now and then to do a few things (which is what I have to do sometimes) then I can't see what having another day will help. If you're that busy, you probably shouldn't be playing a game like this anyways lol.

Another hint... If you don't have a lot of time, don't play on so many servers. Ive seen people on other games fall into this pit trap before. They get into this mind set that in order to play the game, they should be on every map playing actively. Don't bite off more than your time will allow you to chew.

I used to feel that way too. But as a game wears on, the scale becomes problematic. Typically countries get bigger and bigger as the smaller ones fall and/or quit. Then you find yourself in a large land war and the exercise of checking, deciding, coordinating, re-checking, buying, attacking, etc... day after day for months at a time.. It's a lot. Even if you are winning, it can still take months of this to defeat an opponent.

Early in a game when things are small and manageable it's not bad at all.

I'm not saying this is a bad game by any stretch. I'm just saying that it grew into a time commitment that was too much for me.

The cycle speed of the game is not the essential component. As long as participating players agree on what the cycle is, it doesn't matter if the game cycles every hour, day, or week: the games' dynamics are the same.

That said, I too would love to see a 2 day cycle game. I'm holding up daily for now cause I'm excited, but I don't imagine doing this everyday in the long run (map after map..etc). I got a family, kids, and business to run that takes more and more time. And I'd rather be able to play at least for some time, rather than be cutt-off cause I can't afford the daily cycle.

I think a good solution would be a world that cycles every other day *and* where unit moves are twice as long as on daily worlds (ie, infantry units move 16 or 20 sectors instead of 8). So you can get more done in less time.

Interesting...

I don't know about the double travel. It'll change the game too much.

I think Johnny (Lord God Almighty) would sooner release a alternate cycle map than one with different rules.

Personally, I think I like the idea of double travel Kapuku suggested. But yah, I don't know if I can see that be implemented, not right away anyways.

If that was to happen it would probably be after a 2 day cycle was implemented, to see if that change would even be necessary.

Definitely an interesting idea though.

I've been trying to think of a good solution to suggest.

I've played a few other "daily cycle" games over the years and most are not played on actual maps.. so even though you get "bigger" you don't get big in a 2 dimensional sense. You just have bigger numbers as in.. "you now have 742 tanks", "you attack PlayerX with 100 tanks". You don't have to physically move all 742 tanks every turn. In some games you get "actions" that accumulate over time.. meaning you can only issue X orders per day.

I've also played Play By Mail games from ye olden days. Those have a longer cycle but each turn is also more meaningful. You issue orders to armies or special unit types.. but they number in the dozens, not hundreds.


Long story short, I don't think you can really make this game easier to play in the latter stages of the game without changing it entirely.

I suppose X actions per turn might be something to consider.. but this changes the dynamics and balance of the game in ways that may or may not be good.

some of the times spent on this game seem way to high to me. once you set shortcut the shortcut actions that johnny has provided, it shouldn't take 2 hours to work on a map. even when i was at my biggest on cerato, it never took near that long.

the keys to clone attack, and clone units built are fantastic time savers.

I agree. Between the shortcuts and perpetual attacks, I have a hard time burning more than my lunch hour even on 2 maps at once. I just assumed people were agonizing over their decisions or trying to set each and every troop move *perfectly*.

I remember playing A&A via email with a designated moderator that would roll dice for both sides. lol! It had fewer units and territories than GT, but took much more time cause you had to plan your moves, then convert them into written orders that included lots of coded nomenclature. Time-consuming, but it was fun.

But it does takes experience to know how to move with efficiency in GT. And experience comes slow when you move once every 24 hours. The Wiki Help doesn't help much either cause no one wants to give away their experience. So it's more of a product catalog with specs than a help reference. And since there's no tutorials theres only one way t o learn: the hard way. lol. So it's no suprise it takes people so long to "get it", or that they quit before they actually experience competetive battle.

2 months playing this game daily and I've learned a TON, but am still learning new things and best practices. I owe it all to 1) My own avid, time-consuming reading of message boards (which not everyone can or is willing to do) and 2) the gracious gift of advice my fellow alliance members have given.

Having played this for while now though, I'm quite satisfied with the balance of the system. More-so than when I first started. Sure I got ideas for improvement, but there's never a shortage of ideas man. lol. But these days, I spend more time thinking about how to get new people to play rather than changing the rules. That's why I favor trying the 2-day cycle option as well as the smaller maps idea. They both leave the game rules alone but offer a new scheduling options that I expect will entice guys who can't handle current pace (for any reason).



GholaMaster

I think a really good solution is to allow for inputting two turns worth of moves but still having the game run at the same speed.

This would be *really* good for times when you don't have conflict -- you can order units to move around lakes and such (or along the coast) and not have to check in every day -- it would make finding the time easier because you could take one "big" turn every other day or two smaller turns depending on your schedule.

Casual Gamer huh this is a Niche game for Niche players, don't get me wrong like the game. Map size is fine but you need to make the movements greater add 3 to jeeps and tanks 2 infantry 1 to leave ct the same. The casual gamer isn't playing this after a while cause its to long . A bet a game can last months maybe years

Run time better idea twice a day first attacks locked in at 7pm have a run, then next round clock in by the reg time. This will help speed up the rate of the game. and i bet you poll the people that play they will be for it. oh thats the other thing why dont you let players post polls?? Nice right ....

If we create 2 day cycle games, then it's just as cool to have 2/day cycle games. It's till the same game just at different paces. As long as there's a group of people who can consistently make that cycle, it makes sense.

Another approach would be to array the moves up to 3 days. yes, they would be on autopilot and no more forces could be added if you don't log in, but during expansion or for the forces doing just expansion, this would be great. You could then focus the time on the battles. This would allow day 1, 2 and 3 to have different move patterns... you would just put them in all at once.

just a thought

nothing magic about 3... this could be x number of days.