[AMF]

You know, this gets to an issue that has always begged for resolution in PBW and PBeM games: player anonymity. WE've all been playing these games for years probably, and we build up an understanding of how certain players play. I make good use of this, I think, in that I "hype" my trustworthiness in the beleif that people will treat my empires differently than they would if I were not me. And, I admit, I trust some players more than others based on similar criteria.

BUT, if we're talking about a simulation game, wherein we all represent the guiding forces of fantasy space empires, then none of that should come into play.

In one series of games I have played for nigh on fifteen years now, we contemplated setting up a dedicated server to allocate email addresses based upon position, rather than a player's ID. It was a historical simulation wherein each player was a medieval empire. So, the email addresses would be "France@..." "Japan@..."

In this way each player could play however they wanted, without fear of out-of-game effects or tarnishing their reps.

Of course such a situation is not really enforceable, since a player could choose to "spill the beans" for tactical advantage.

However, perhaps a deedicated group of SE4 players could make a good go of it. It would require a dedicated set of email addresses and stock empires ("Abbidon@...", "AmonKrie@...") or that players ALWAYS engage in IC Messages, OR only send Messages in-game and IC. Furthermore, the game host might have to be ready to enforce it, but I'm not sure how that would happen unless they were ready to kick out any player that broke the rules.

I would play such a game - and I could backstab without feeling too crappy about it.

It might be tough to pull off, though...thoughts?

Alarik

EDIT: actually, rather than email addresses, if we could set up a website wherein we could send Messages to the other players but their identities and email addresses were hidden, then it would go a long way towards a better system like this. Players could still choose to tell others their email/IDs on their own for tactical advantage, but it gets harder that way, a bit at least...