is feeding acceptable or not

[sector24]

Thematically, I don't think Dominions is an everyone vs. everyone game. To me it seems more like an ambitious pantheon. Yes you're trying to become the God of gods, but it gets lonely at the top without other deities to pay homage to you, sleep with, and cause shenanigans in the mortal world.

Think about it this way. The world won't function without a fertility god or goddess. So if you banish all the fertility deities to Tartarus, the world will wither away and die. That might be ok for a select few pretenders, but the rest of them are going to have to force at least 1 fertility deity to submit to his/her divine authority.

As the winner of a game of Dominions, you get to decide which pretenders get banished, which ones get released from a previous imprisonment, etc. I don't think you sit on your divine throne all by yourself destroying anyone who attempts to gather any power, like some kind of immortal Stalin figure. Even the pankrator needs his celestial general and lord of war.

In an ambitious pantheon it makes perfect sense to send your resources to a rival in the hope of helping him defeat your sworn enemy. If your sworn enemy wins, he's definitely going to chain you up against a rock where an immortal vulture eats your liver every day. But if someone else ascends to godhood you may be given a position as lord of all janitors or the god of biscuits.

[Omnirizon]

sector24 said:
...But if someone else ascends to godhood you may be given a position as lord of all janitors or the god of biscuits.

or perhaps the god of armless security personnel.


"Billy, your on the beat with O'Reily ta'night."

"O'Reily! Not that guy again."

"Ok look. I know he ain't got no arms, but he's a good cop with a lot of heart, an' if y'all get in a sticky situation, he can kick his gun over to ya; then maybe run up and bite the guy or something."

[atul]

Hm. In one game I received bucketloads of gems and items from total of 5 nations when they were about to go the way of dodo during the game. Each time, the gift was accompanied by a message:

"Avenge me."

And so I did, to best of my ability. So no, I wouldn't consider throwing away stuff after it's clear one's dead unthematic.

[Xietor]

this poll is a bit silly. If you play much mp, you know revenge is a powerful motivator. Defeated players typically give away gems/gold and even allow units to be charmed to either help a friend or to hurt an enemy.

Trading items/gems is a part of diplomacy. And the mechanism exists to do do trades. Giving away stuff when all
hope is lost is part of diplomacy as well. If you are dead set against diplomacy, you can play 1 v 1 mp games, or try to start a no diplomacy mp game.

But the reason mp games are more fun than sp, apart from the higher challenge of facing humans over ai, is diplomacy.
Diplomacy is a great equalizer. A player not as good in strategy, even with a weaker nation, can defeat a better opponent with a stronger nation with help. And that may be his only hope.

Not giving away your items/gems in defeat is a bad tactical error. Giving away your stuff builds goodwill toward the player you give the stuff to, and you may get some reciprocation down the road in another game.

[Jazzepi]

Xietor said:
Not giving away your items/gems in defeat is a bad tactical error. Giving away your stuff builds goodwill toward the player you give the stuff to, and you may get some reciprocation down the road in another game.

I think this is very bad tact if you're attempting to influence later games with a current one.

Jazzepi

[DonCorazon]

For me, it is a fun part of the MP game. Avenging is something I don't get to do much in the real world.

[Xietor]

Building goodwill may certainly help you in a future game, but I agree it should not be quid pro quo. You can never promise to give stuff in return in a future game because you may be in contention yourself.

But human nature is what it is. If a player helps you win a game by giving you items/gems when he is defeated, most players will remember that kindness. And if I am faced with defeat in a future game, and all other things are equal, I am likely to return the favor then give my stuff to someone who has never helped me.

Of course if I have a close ally in the present game, the help in the present game may outweigh the gift of stuff in a past game, but I still think going down in defeat and taking your gold/gems with you is a mistake.

A quote from the Alpaca Game Thread, my 1st large mp game on this forum:

"Out of curiosity, if I were looking for someone to whom I would give all my gems and items - who feels they are in a good position to fight a successful war with Marignon and Pangaea? Right now I'm inclined to give all my treasures to Man, but whoever is on Marignon's southern border (or across the southern sea) is also a prospect."

This from the wily veteran Dr. P.