Are Replacements becoming a problem? - Page 2

Baron Grazic · #11 September 16th, 2002, 04:37 AM

Thanks for clearing the "Conquista" game Geo. Grandpa Kim, Do you want to advertise for the Lint Navy, I don't want to, since I'm fighting them.

Another game I am in the replacement players seem to hang around for 5-10 turns before starting to miss turns and then dropping out - Always just when we have agreed on a trade I need, but before they accept it.

And 6 days for each turn, we seem to be waiting awhile for replacement players.

[ September 16, 2002, 03:41: Message edited by: Baron Grazic ]

Slaughtermeyer · #12 September 16th, 2002, 06:12 AM

One way to tell if an empire that you're considering taking over as a replacement player is dead is if its score is a multiple of 200, which means that it probably has no ships or planets, only researched tech levels, since each tech level is worth 200 points. Of course this doesn't help if this statistic is turned off.

dumbluck · #13 September 16th, 2002, 06:25 AM

So what exactly does marking an empire as "Dead" actually do? Does it mean that the spot just isn't open to replacement and the AI will run the turn, or does it mean that not even the AI will do anything?

Baron Grazic · #14 September 16th, 2002, 07:22 AM

Quote from the PBW FAQ - Section 3.6

Quote:

The 'Finish' command is used to tell PBW that players will no longer be submitting turns for this empire. It marks the empire as dead for the PBW server (IE. The server will no longer wait for that empires turns as it will let the AI play for that empire instead). It can be used when the empire is dead in the game or when the game admin wants to turn the empire over to the AI to play.

Finishing an empire that was created with the 'NO AI' option basically sets the AI doing pretty much nothing, including accepting surrender.

dumbluck · #15 September 16th, 2002, 08:03 AM

Thanx, BG. Now it's your turn to gloat.

geoschmo · #16 September 16th, 2002, 04:12 PM

Taking over replacment spots is cool. The other players in the game love you cause you are giving them a real live person to beat rather than an AI. If you manage to win or at least do well you get more credit than normal because you started from such a poor position. If you lose you can blame it on the previous owner, or the AI. It's a win for you either way.

If you are concerned with the amount of free time you have, well that's a legitimate concern. But keep in mind that many replacment spots are for smallish empires so there is less to do.

Geoschmo

Phoenix-D · #17 September 16th, 2002, 11:01 PM

"But keep in mind that many replacment spots are for smallish empires so there is less to do."

Like the Parinoia game for example. The only reason the empire I took over is even still around is if it dies, everyone except the killer looses!

I have more planets and ships in one SYSTEM in my main game than I have total in Parinoia.

Phoenix-D

Shoujo · #18 September 16th, 2002, 11:59 PM

I'm not too fond of replacing a player once the game's been going on for more than 2-3 years because for one thing chances are the player might be dead, and also by then a lot of the critical early game decisions have been made by then. The early game to mid-game is what I enjoy the most because there are a lot of critical decisions to be made and not everyone's flying around with maxed out ships.

The other reason why I'm not too fond of joining replacement games is that I have no way of knowing (until joining) what sort of a race I'll be taking over. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a psychotic race, and other times I want to be all goody-goody. If there was a way to check a race's biological/social/historical description before replacing a player, I'd at least be a lot more eager to fill up a replacement slot.

Makinus · #19 September 17th, 2002, 01:36 AM

I read your discussion about replacement players and i simply can't understand why the people don't like to play replacement spots....

I love to play in replacement spots, because every time you take over an empire you have differente chalenges, because normally the spot you pick is losing in a way or another and you must think hard how to survive....

I love challenges and love to start a game from a losing position and fight "uphill" to a better position, i don't care if i win or lose, the only thing that i care is the "fun factor" and fighting from a losing position is a lot of fun...

Actually i'm playing 4 games, being 3 of that replacement spots that i picked up... In 2 i managed to better the position i take over and in the other i'm going "downhill", but, like a friend used to say: "screaming and kicking all the way down".

Just my two cents.

Makinus

Skulky · #20 September 17th, 2002, 06:09 AM

Speaking of Paranoia, what player are you? I remember being the guys with all the drones for a long while, but nobody ever told me who my target was so it was sorta difficult. It seems that game is going to Last a long-long-long time (i played 40-51 turns), i think it might be the Transcendant Order. But i think it'd be a cool fan-fiction piece too, fun as well. I also remember a game a while back that might have had a save game called rim2 or something, it was cool, b/c i worked my way up from a loser position to getting another guy to surrender to me and getting into top 3 or four. then RL intervened and i had to quit or leave another oneof my baby's (PBW games). So maybe when i get more free time ill try something like that again.