Solar Brilliance

[bbz]

I myslef like replying to people , and there was a recent thread where somebody asked something about Pythium vs Ermor fight. I thought of an answer(from my logic and understanding) and I wanted to reply, but I didn't because I was not sure if that is the actual answer and didnt want to confuse the guy that was asking. And while its true that sometimes people correct you, sometimes people don't know what they are talking about and still post, which leads to misleading information and doen't help the game.

Imagine you used some misleading advice in one of your games leading to you loosing a battle badly(which you should have won) and eventually to a slow and painful death in that game.It will leave you with a very sour feeling, as these forums are supposed to support the game and not ruin it. Any misleading posts should be avoided since they can ruin the fun for many players(remember that one mistake(by being misled on the forums) you made ruins a whole game which you have been playing for a long time thus depriving you from your fun you would have had if someone didn't post the misleading info).

Testing one of the things you are talking about it not as life consuming as you say. It takes 2-3 minutes at most(especially if you have already set up a game saves for tasting with the debug mod). And its quite educational game-wise since the guy that tested it can afterwards use it in a game.

Also If you were speaking from memory as you said its nothing wrong about it. But some poeple don't(quite a few newer players) they just presume that things must be so and so and state presumptions as if they were truth. And that as I mentioned earlier doesn't benefit anyone.

So that was why I think you got such a sharp answer from Calahan. But he is actually a really nice guy and he is just trying to benefit the whole community by answering you like that, so don't take it personally.

P.s(just writing this post was way more life consuming than testing what the guy was initally asking about)

[mattyburn7]

LOL...bbz. I the last line of your post just reminded me of something that goes through my mind a lot. I work in softward development. There is a bug. I suggest a test that may help. I then get an argument for 15 minutes on why my test won't help. During the last 10 minutes I think to myself "If we had started the test at the start of the call...it would be done by now. We are wasting more time with the discussion!!!"

Cheers All and Happy Holidays.

[Valerius]

Originally Posted by Soyweiser

I have been working on and off on a small guide on how to figure stuff out. It will mostly contain links to various mods (debug mod), and some howto's how to find certain data.

Sounds helpful, but personally I'd like to see an ongoing "Ask Cal" feature. Useful information mixed with humor as Calahan reacts to particularly egregious questions/statements.

Originally Posted by bbz

Imagine you used some misleading advice in one of your games leading to you loosing a battle badly(which you should have won)

The wiki causes this all the time! Sorry, couldn't resist because of seeing Soyweiser's sig a few posts up.

[rdonj]

My own personal methodology is to answer the parts that I'm sure I know 100% correctly, and then either say nothing else or begin using qualifiers liberally. This works for me. I also have a tendency to do research while I'm posting just to make sure that I actually am right before I say something.

[Valerius]

Originally Posted by rdonj

My own personal methodology is to answer the parts that I'm sure I know 100% correctly, and then either say nothing else or begin using qualifiers liberally. This works for me. I also have a tendency to do research while I'm posting just to make sure that I actually am right before I say something.

Yeah, I tend to do the same, which is good since I've never been overly concerned with learning all the fine points of game mechanics.

Another thing regarding testing: if an important battle hinges on something you're not certain of you should test it yourself, even if Micah himself said it works a certain way (and if you don't test it then you can only blame yourself if things go wrong).

[bbz]

Originally Posted by Valerius

Another thing regarding testing: if an important battle hinges on something you're not certain of you should test it yourself, even if Micah himself said it works a certain way (and if you don't test it then you can only blame yourself if things go wrong).

You are right about that, people should only blame themselves, but in reality we like to and tend to blame others for our mistakes.

After scanning through the thread I can only say that I stand by my words:

If I were fishing for answers in a forum, I would rather get 3 answers from random internet guys than a single one, because the other 2 have been scared from posting by the hive mind. Then, if I was so invested in the game, I would likely test all of the flashy options offered, and choose the one that gives me better results, and if I didn't, maybe the game is not so important. One way or the other, I would be the one responsible from my actions.

Also, no hard feelings here. I have no interest in scalating the issue, nor getting into any kind of flamewar. Although the hostility from some posters vs someone they do not even know is kind of puzzling. I guess this is the internet after all.

I will finally add that considering yourself a "veteran" of the game, does not give any holy right to pass judgement on when newer players should post or not, in my opinion. Not sure why so many of you seem to defend the undefendable, maybe it's just loyalty to a friend.

Being a veteran doesn't protect you from making mistakes. I might as well be the most ancient player posting nowdays on these forums (apart from Gandalf), and I just made a mistake myself. Should I go chastise myself for it?

[Valerius]

Originally Posted by Wendigo_reloaded

Being a veteran doesn't protect you from making mistakes. I might as well be the most ancient player posting nowdays on these forums (apart from Gandalf), and I just made a mistake myself. Should I go chastise myself for it?

No, not at all. You didn't do anything wrong since you weren't just guessing at an answer and throwing something out there. You thought you knew the answer and figured you'd be helpful and answer the question. Turns out part of your answer was wrong but these things happen. I've spent *way* too much time reading these forums and even very good players will sometimes make mistakes.

Originally Posted by Wendigo_reloaded

Besides, your argument is BS. If everybody had to run a test before posting an answer to an information request, the forums would just DIE, because nobody with a life can afford to waste so much time.

You know, one funny thing is Dominions players I think *do* tend to be testing fanatics. As mentioned above, I've never been overly concerned with learning every aspect of game mechanics but even I've spent huge amounts of time running through test scenarios (usually to see if a plan that I've come up with to counter an opponent will work).