Intelligence Agency: What can the statistics screen tell you?

[Tex Pete]

Is the statistics screen common in MP games? If so it seems like you could gain alot of information by comparing the graphs, hall of fame, etc. Who had battles with who, who won, etc. Has anyone tried anything like this? We could even write a program to collate data.

In most of my MP games the Graph is set to "Info on other nations is disabled" or "Score Graphs are disabled" in order to keep some semblance of mystery.

Half the time you get people who give up because they are low man on the totem pole, halfway through the game (Also people 'miss' turns, because they can't handle being Last sometimes) and the other half the time you have too much information than I feel is appropriate via a spy system. I don't like knowing every different field in which nation rankings are. It lessens some of the effect for me.

[Norfleet]

Originally posted by Zen:
(Also people 'miss' turns, because they can't handle being Last sometimes)

Are you sure they miss turns because they're Last, and not the other way around? Maybe they're Last because they miss turns.

In my games, I always leave the score graphs on. Analyzing the score graphs gives us something to do while waiting for slow-poke-man with the puny army to take his turn, even though I'm Ashen Empire Ermor and have a million times his armies to shuffle around and collate every turn.

As for people quitting because they're Last, well, you know the saying: Winners never quit, quitters never win. We have a rule on our server: Everyone dies. No one quits. Anyone who quits is subject to ridicule, ostracism. and mockery.

[ January 18, 2004, 19:03: Message edited by: Norfleet ]

Exactly

But you try to avoid that when you are playing with newbies.

I agree it's a good use of time and you can plan things out more, but that is precisely why I personally don't enjoy having them. It allows certain information that can be attributed to rumors, buying information and other sorts of activites by a national spy ring, but I prefer to have some sort of way to invest/direct that sort of thing (I'm a glutton for control), so turning it off and letting the spying and in turn the patrolling being the Cloak and Dagger of the game, instead of a game mechanic.

I usually don't have people miss turns on my servers. My recent game here at Shrapnel has been the only one where I've been more harsh on it, simply because there have been a rash of games that didn't get off the ground here for newbies.

Just different ways of looking at it, I suppose.

[Norfleet]

Actually, I leave it on specifically for playing with newbies, so when I notice their empire is going down the tubes, I can tell them exactly what they're probably doing wrong and how to fix it.