No Diplo EA Game - No Wankers Allowed - Game Over, Baalz/Abysia Wins

[Calahan]

@ All - Due to my sudden RL problems two weeks ago, and a fairly busy week since getting back, I appear to have forgotten to clarify some of the rules and player commitments / expectations for this game. So I will mention them now. (I will also be sending all players a PM about these rules just in case some don't check the thread. And as per Real Life, ignorance of the rules is not an excuse for breaking them)

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Some admin requests.

Not sure how clear some of the rules and conditions for this game currently are, but I thought I'd take this opportunity to spell out a few of them as clearly as possible so that there is no room for ambiguity later on. And I want every player to know what is expected of them as a player. Since all the players in a game are responsible for making it a good game, and it sometimes only takes one faulty spotlight to spoil the whole show for everyone.


Calahan's Admin Requests to all players in the 'NWA' game.

1 - Nobody is to reveal their nation at any time until their nation has been defeated in-game. You must do everything you can to keep your nation identity a secret until your nation is defeated in game. You must also be very careful about anything you post on the thread that could reveal your identity. Even the slightest clue can often be enough for others to guess which nation you are playing. If a player has to sub-out of the game, then I still want that player to keep his identity a secret. As my stance as admin is that a player subbing-out should not have their identity revealed until their nation is actually defeated in-game. (Which is different from the current norm of anonymous games.)

1a - There is to be no sending of anything in game. That means no messages, gems, items, slaves, gold. Nothing can be sent in game at all. If your nation is defeated then whatever resources you had at the end are lost with your nation. You are certainly not to send out 'gift' baskets to anyone upon your defeat. That only happens in regular games. Never forget that this is not a regular game.

1b - No messages are to be sent to any other player in this game. Be they in-game, PM, email, IRC, whatever. It does not matter. You must not communicate in any way with any other player in this game regarding this game. If you want to chat about the game, then chat with the admin


2 - Everyone is expected to fight until the last man, and to at least put some effort into making a last stand in the defence of their empire, should that situation arise for a player in-game. I do not want to see or hear about lazy playing such as capitals being stormed with all defending mages and troops on default scripts and positioning. Or going out with a treasury full of gems that could have been used to summon defenders. I expect everyone to have some pride in their play and their nation, and to put some effort into making sure their nation goes out fighting rather than cowering.


3. There is to be no turning AI by any player at any point in the game.

This is a golden set-in-stone rule for games I admin. I do not care who you are, or who you think you are. You could be the God of this community, or the God of this world for all I care. It is I and I alone who will decide when and if any nation gets turned AI in this game. Nobody else, and I mean absolutely nobody else, gets to decide whether or not a nation gets turned AI.


4 - Leaving the game.

4a - You leave the game when you receive the in-game message from the game telling you that your nation has been defeated.

4b - If you need to leave the game for out-of-game reasons, then you can certainly do so without the slightest problem, and this is not even an issue, as real life is real life. But be aware I will not be impressed if you decide to leave this game for RL reasons, but then still continue playing in your other games. I hate selective bailing.

4c - If RL does force you to leave the game though, then please give notice if you can. Or if you are unable to for whatever reason, then please just go AWOL, as that really is preferable most of the time rather than a player setting their nation to AI first. As AWOL means a chance of subbing the nation and minimum imbalance to the game. While going AI means either varying degrees of game imbalance, or a dreaded rollback to solve the problem. And I want to see neither of these things happening in this game. And I want rollbacks strictly limited to solving things like hosting problems and/or corrupted turn files. (and even then I don't want to rollback unless it's the only possible solution to the problem)

4d - If you want to leave the game for in-game reasons, rather than sticking it out and fighting until the very end, then Executor and I will be very disappointed given that we expect all players to fight until their last man. And it is unlikely you will be allowed to play in any of our future games. But you can reduce our disappointment slightly if you at least have the common decency to inform the admin first about wanting to leave, so that the admin can assess your position, and try to find a sub if possible. And see rule 3 for very specific clarity on turning AI.


5 - Be careful with that renaming, as it could give your identity away if you are known for using certain naming habits. Plus I don't want to hear about anyone using lame arse naming tactics to mislead opponents or convey messages etc. This is not a regular game, it is an anonymous game. So renaming is to be used strictly to help with the micro management of your empire.


6 - Basically, don't be a wanker. No lame arse tactics like copying Bogus orders, sending items to overfill labs, or probing with lone scouts and commanders to block the movement of enemy armies. If you are not sure if what you are doing, or what you are about to do is the action of a wanker, then I highly recommend checking with the admin first so he can tell you.


"Thank You" for your time in reading this. Happy gaming everyone

[Executor]

Read it, remember it, don't break it, or else the one true Admin will ban you!
Seriously, I expect all players to be committed to the fullest. Lead your nations as if Yourselves are sitting on the throne.

[Executor]

??? Interesting...

[Calahan]

Just posting a quick heads-up for you all that there will likely be some extended turns towards the end of the coming week. (quite surprised I haven't had/seen any 48h requests yet given the game is quickly closing in on turn 30)

Will let you all know more about the delays nearer the time.

[Hylobius]

I'm going to be on the road for two weeks starting on the 15th, so I would appreciate if we could go to 48 hours before then.

[Calahan]

@ All

I've started having some requests for a 48 hour schedule. And since the game is approaching turn 30, and likely well into mid-game by now, I suspect a few more players would also likely appreciate a bit more time for their turns.

So unless there are any serious objections, I will be increasing the hosting schedule to 48 hours from turn 30 onwards.

[Calahan]

@ All

I'm not sure what you guys want to do with regards the schedule for the festive holidays. I've had PM's from some players with requests for delays, some PM's generally mentioning a player won't be around, and other PM's from players saying they might be around, but if they are, they'd prefer to be doing family / festive stuff at this time of year rather than playing Dominions. (all of which is both easy to understand and very reasonable IMO)

I'm admining a few other games right now, and in those games I am likely changing the schedule to something like 240 hours with quickhost on, so if players get their turns in the game will host, and if not, the deadline won't hit until sometime in the New Year. And also trust that a player will get their turn done during this time if they are able to.

From the various requests I have received, a 240h schedule starting around the 22nd or 23rd seems to cover everything, so unless I hear any strong objections, and/or a better idea (that doesn't involve lots of players finding lots of temp subs) then this is also what I will do with this game to cover the needs of the festive holidays. (I will of course let you all know when this happens if it does)

[Fantomen]

Sounds alright to me.

[Marmaduke]

+1, thanks Calahan

[Ragnoff]

This works for me and is an elegant solution I think, thanks.