Refilling Empty Slots After Players Quit

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.

    • Refilling Empty Slots After Players Quit

      Allowing new players to start at Day 7 is extremely unfair.

      I was playing in Europe as France. I was fighting Germany, Poland, and Algeria, and I was winning. But I was also getting tapped out. I was low on resources, but so were they, so I was doing alright. I also had an ally who was helping.

      On Day 4, England, who quit, was kicked from the game. So I removed all of the troops I had defending my border in the event he tried to attack because they were no longer needed. However, unbeknownst to me, the slot was refilled on Day 7. On Day 9, he surprise attacked me ... during the 6 hours I was sleeping overnight, so I couldn't even respond. I woke up to find my capital taken and two giant armies marching towards my two other cities. All of my troops were spread out in Germany and Italy. There was no way I could get them all back in time. He has pretty much devastated me in less than 12 hours. On top of that, he has all his resources that were built up while the nation sat. On top of that, I recaptured my capital, but all the buildings are gone, so I can't even use it to build new troops. I'm completely screwed.

      I'm extremely angry. I went from being in a position to win the game to being completely decimated in less than 12 hours, 6 of which I was asleep and unaware that a sneak attack was coming.

      I find this completely unfair. Someone, who has not been involved in the game for 7-9 days, has not used up tons of resources, lost troops to battles, gets to suddenly step in with fresh troops and just wipe out the other players who are all taxed out.

      It'd be one thing if I had a technological advantage, but as they had essentially all of the same tech I did since I only started getting new tech on Day 8, I have not been able to fully research the new tech nor build units based on that tech. Seriously total BS.

      The post was edited 3 times, last by Rolks999 ().

    • 1. The German coalition attacked me first, and I'd been fighting them since roughly Day 2, so I never had a chance to take out the AI.
      2. He didn't become AI until like Day 4, well into my war with three nations.
      3. I needed the troops, and the player was booted, leaving just an AI.

      These defenses of the current system are pathetic.

      If I'd been attacked from Day 1 by 4 countries, I wouldn't be complaining about the system. (I'd be bitching about my crappy luck, but not the system). However, when the player was booted on Day 4, I thought I was given a reprieve. Granted, it was rotten luck that I was attacked while I slept, but my big issue is the fact that he has completely fresh resources and troops that have not been worn down by 8 days of war like everyone else in the game. That is a completely unfair advantage. Especially since it took him no time to catch up to me in tech. In essence, my 8 days of playing gave me no advantages over the new player, and only disadvantages, and that is my big issue.

    • This is the reasoning behind the join limits, not allowing players to join games after a certain number of days.


      It might be possible to declare this an instance of Wolfpacking.


      WiseOdin wrote:

      Wolfpacking has been defined, and agreed across language servers, as the joining of maps to help another player in a conflict that is already in progress. This means if you are in over your head, you cannot have a friend jump into the map for the purpose of helping you out.

      If the player had already been in the map, before the conflict began, and took your side when the war broke out, that is okay. Same thing for helping friends. If he's in over his head in a war, you cannot join to help him. If you are already in the map and he's getting beat down by another player, sure you can help. Diplomacy is a thing.

      So if you want to force the issue this could be considered a rule break on their part. Proving intent that the other players recruited the new person specifically to target you will be the challenge in some cases.






      Personally in a case like that I simply try to kill more of their units than they kill of mine, so even though I may lose the war I have done my best to improve or maintain my stats.
      War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can't smile, grin. If you can't grin keep out of the way til you can. - Winston Churchill



      VorlonFCW
      Retired from Bytro staff as of November 30, 2020.

      >>> Click Here to submit a bug report or support ticket <<<

    • You got very unlucky, to say the least. Usually, nobody is going to join a game that is 7 days in, regardless of conditions. I would very much take Vorlon's advice, it is very likely to be wolf packing.

      But you do seem to be neglecting the fact that taking over from an AI usually leaves said nation at a huge disadvantage, technologically, industrially, and militarily. The AI is not smart about research and building, and will very often spend resources building additional IC's instead of upgrading the current ones, and does not bother to build many, if any, units(especially in the short term). Sure, the economy may have several thousand resources stockpiled(largely put into the stock market for no reason what so ever) of each type, but they will be several days behind in tech, industry, and military, several days that can not be made up. '2 huge armies' can not be made in the span of 2 days(defining huge as 15-18 units. Nations start with only 1 of that size, and it is almost entirely infantry. You could only produce 10-12 light tanks in the span of 2 days, without spending gold), nor can a sufficient army be built up. Literally the only 2 advantages of taking over from a nation that has been controlled for several days by the AI, is the unspent resources and not-in-war status they have. That is it. In all other cases, you will usually lose because of the disadvantages.

      Unspent resources don't win wars. Industry, tech and military do. And the AI will do none of the above in the short space of time that it controls it(well, it does do industry, but it is very ineffective at doing it). Without gold, said person will be at a disadvantage. The mistake was removing all your troops from the ocean border. I don't disapprove the action, I probably would have done the same, but I've learned, from what little I have played in the PL, concentrating your forces to focus on your neighbors without regard for your seaside affairs, tends to leave you very vulnerable.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by NovaTopaz ().

    • One other item of note: It is worthwhile to check the information tab within the diplomacy tab and sort by active players. Doing this would have tipped you off in advance that the vacant slot had been filled by someone, and would have allowed you to hold some troops back as they were built to defend the now open non AI border, versus sending new builds off to the active front.
      "A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week." - General George S. Patton, Jr.

      "Do, or do not. There is no try" - Yoda