drops and unfairness

[VballMichael]

I don't have a dog in this fight, but a thought that crossed my mind was that you might want to consider allowing a percentage chance that pop centers belong to dropped players could become overrun with monsters of some type.

They become Human controlled, which is essentially the same thing without trying to create a Zombie apocalypse. 

I think we have worn this one out for the time being.

Human controlled does nothing to stop or slow an invasion. To UM's point, without active opposition, the conquering is easy. I am actually coming around to UM's view on the destruction. A free second region is just too much of a game changer. This is rare but it has happened in 2 of my recent games, including a drop on T3, meaning no orders were ever turned in. A nearby player may have known this by Turn 1 when no emissaries were sent to that city. And yes, we cannot also destroy the opposing emissaries/agents who may have been sitting there.

[Ry Vor]

Well, sorry there doesn't seem to be a unanimous opinion on a way to deal with drops.  I can tell you it has been an issue since at least 1984 when I first played a PBM. 

I'm not aware of a better solution than our policies.  I don't see how destroying a region when a player drops fits schematically with anything.

I'd love to compare Alamaze early drops with any other game. 

So, no, I don't think we are making any changes on this area, other than players might be aware that players gain a rep when dropping early.  Again, after T12, I would rather a player take his purple heart and play a new game rather than suffer through a beat down he isn't looking forward to.  Sometimes it happens.  New game, new life.  New possibilities.

[Lord Diamond]

Again, after T12, I would rather a player take his purple heart and play a new game rather than suffer through a beat down he isn't looking forward to.  Sometimes it happens.  New game, new life.  New possibilities.

Personally, I never drop a game. It sets a bad precedent, can ruin other players games, and encourages players to attack me if they they get the impression that I have a 'glass jaw'. If I commit to a game, you can be sure that I am going to stick it out till the end. This also means that if you attack me, you will probably be fighting me for the rest of the game. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't attack me, but you probably shouldn't attack me unless you are prepared to deal with me for the entire game. 

I would rather that other players not drop their games after turn 12 if it doesn't look like they can win. If the company wants more games to start and more setup fees to be collected, then the company should make it easier for players to start new games without abandoning their prior commitments. The Duel flat fee is an excellent program that suits this need.

[DuPont]

I'm with Rick on this one. There will always be people who drop for some reason or the other. I really don't judge unless it's a team game or early in a warlords game. Not everyone enjoys playing Guerrillas of Torvale like I do. To me, drops simply represent luck which is present in life and war. If the player next to you drops, well, lucky you! It can happen to anyone -it's not like a skilled player is more likely to have their neighbor randomly drop than a newbie.

[Lord Diamond]

J

I'm with Rick on this one. There will always be people who drop for some reason or the other. I really don't judge unless it's a team game or early in a warlords game. Not everyone enjoys playing Guerrillas of Torvale like I do. To me, drops simply represent luck which is present in life and war. If the player next to you drops, well, lucky you! It can happen to anyone -it's not like a skilled player is more likely to have their neighbor randomly drop than a newbie.

Well, players may drop if they like. Other players may want to attack them instead of us guerilla types. 

Valhalla will have a section to recognize those Paragons of Honor who stick it out.

[Tomag Ironfist]

I have dropped out of games that I get beat up pretty bad in because it's not fun enough for me to continue paying for it. I would stick out every game to the end if I just payed a flat fee for it since there would be no real good reason for me to drop; I'd just be losing out on my money.

With that said, I hope I still qualify for the Paragon of Honor title

[Lord Diamond]

I have dropped out of games that I get beat up pretty bad in because it's not fun enough for me to continue paying for it. I would stick out every game to the end if I just payed a flat fee for it since there would be no real good reason for me to drop; I'd just be losing out on my money.

With that said, I hope I still qualify for the Paragon of Honor title

A Paragon of Honor finished all ten of his last ten games. There is also a five star rating that looks at your last ten games and gives you more credit depending on what stage you left the game. That rating gives you more leeway for sticking it out past turn 30 and only penalizes you if you drop before turn 12. 

The road to a title like 'Paragon' is not easily traveled and it is rather difficult to keep the title once achieved. This is as it should be. I do not expect to see very many Paragons, but very much hope to be one of them. 

This is just one page of a very robust and exciting Valhalla. Those of you who don't care about such things can disregard it. Those who do can use it to get an idea about the fortitude of your fellow gamers.

This only counts 3rd Cycle Classic type games.

[IMPERIAL_TARK]

Have never dropped a game. Not one.

[DuPont]

I've only ever dropped one, but it was a team game where one player quit and we weren't allowed to get a replacement for him. It was a long time ago, though.