[tbontob]

Originally posted by Unknown_Enemy:
Hmm...
Most of the time, there will be alliances in the game. It is a vital part of the game.

If an alliance decided in game cornered you and killed you, well I am sorry to hear but that's the game. The only problem I would see is that you could be cornered so easily. Problem of player placement then.

On the newbie galactic conflict problem, I am afraid if it cannot be detected by the email adresses, then it is a game killer. Any suspicious behavior should be reported ASAP.

Yes, alliances are part of the game. And a fun part of the game too. I like the diplomatic aspects of it.

But as I pointed out in the NGC thread, there is a fundamental difference between an original player and a replacement player.

An original player has to take the "luck of the draw" of placement. So, two players who want to enter into a symbiotic alliance may find themselves separated by other empires and thereby unable to have an effective alliance.

Not so, with a replacement player. Stalin and I found ourselves with an abandoned empire positioned besides our oun. Stalin and the replacement player live in Russia and Stalin admitted he knows the replacement player.

It is possible the replacement player was not a warm body.

But warm body or not, an empire with whom I had a good relationship, immediately turned into an implacable enemy.

Now, this could happen with a "non-aligned" player. But it is virtually certain to happen if I do not have good relations with the original player of the symbiotic alliance who is willing to use unfair means to win.

Essentially there is no randomness of the placing of the replacement player as there is with the original players.

Now, I have a choice. I could do the same thing as Stalin when a replacement player is needed.

That would be improper. And I choose not to win by unfair means.

But I also have no desire to lose by improper means.