What would be nice would be if there
was joint / allied victories within the game, and then, by an option, you could disable this.
One problem I've seen, especially with VP games, is that alliances are ... illusionary. When one person gets the required number of Victory Points, game over - no mention of allies. This makes it harder to hew to honorable alliances, even if it is promised that "you'll share the world" by your partner.
Having them in the game would add a lot, imo. Then, people who wanted allied victories could play them out that way. And games wherein it was stated, via the game engine, that there was no allied victories, would exist as well for people who prefer to play that way, or merely desire a change of pace.
Perhaps the game could even enforce this : If the Last remaining players didn't take their turns, "A Pretender, having gathered her strength in the worlds beyond, has returned to claim her world." IE - one of the deceased players was declared victor. Maybe at random, maybe the one who had at one time been most advanced, or the Last to be extinguished.
Or the other pretenders were brought back at random, each with an equal percentage of the remaining nations provinces, thus setting the lands to war once more.
Thing is - some people really enjoy the allied play. Some people hate it. Myself, I don't like to enter into true, long term alliances in the game, but sometimes do. And when I do, I hate /
loath /
despise to break them.
I also keep track, on a long term basis, of who honored their treaties. Trooper, for instance, wiped me out in a Cradle map game. I didn't mind - we had a treaty which we hadn't thought to specify terms on, not an alliance. When the time came, we agreed on what would be a fair and honorable notice - 3 turns / months, I believe. Two months later, my Machaka was given notice, and I was ground into Vanheim's blood and dust.
But he behaved honorably - I remember that. I remember other players who were honorable, and I feel that's a reasonable part of the game. After all - each Pretender could be considered, a la M. Moorcock, an echo of the being behind the pretender. Pretenders all sprouting from some ... more grand divine energy.
If diplomacy, alliances, was built into the game, people could have it both ways, in different games. As is, too many people are less than happy. Ah well. Rome wasn't burned in a day.
Re: Diplomacy
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