is feeding acceptable or not

[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.

[Tyrant]

I think it depends on circumstances. If i have been in a long war with a loyal ally he will absolutely get my stash when i go down, but if i just get punked by a straight rush in the early game i'm taking it with me to the afterlife. If someone double crosses me or if i get dog piled i usually will try to find my enemy's most powerful enemy and help him out.

My notions of honor and sometimes a bit of roleplaying figure into it- i've been known to give small gift to my conquerer in acknowledgment of a well played game, and in one case i even flushed the gems i was given by a player who threw a hissy fit and left the game. But really, for me it's about deterrence. I have tried to build a reputation as a tough opponent so people will sign NAPs and look elsewhere for easy pickin's, and sending off the treasure fleet to an appropriate person is often the last step in this procedure.In my case this is more often lab gear than gems 'cause i try to use those fighting.

One of the many cool things about Dominions is that the community is really shockingly honorable and well behaved. I think the fact that it takes months to play a game and (unless you are Micah) you are pretty much certain to lose drives the lower orders of net gaming scum back to easier games. So this is really pretty much a non-issue as far as i'm concerned.

[Loren]

Thematically I have no problem with it--you're not going to make it but you would prefer to live under an ally than under an enemy.