Reducing required activity/contactability & whining from being zeroed

[Polo]

I have suggested this before on the old forums and it received mostly positive feedback so I'm going to resuggest it.

There tends to be 2 different types of player when it comes to this game:
- Contactable/active players who moan about the ridiculous activity required by this game
- Uncontactable/inactive players who moan that every time they login, they're zeroed

Effectively, this means people don't want to be constantly killed (this isn't the same as scorequeening, the game really is no fun if you're always dead and have no troops to play with) but the only current way to not be killed is to be contactable.

My idea to solve this problem for both types of players is an alteration to sleep mode. The current sleep mode could be kept but under another name such as 'Holiday Mode' or something (although probably without the 8 hour option).

Sleep mode would now have the following features:
- Once you click the sleep mode button, your account instantly enters sleep mode, unless you have any incoming hostiles approaching in which case sleep mode is delayed until after these mobs have gone
- You gain around 80% seed income during sleep mode (70-90% probably)
- You gain around 80% insurance/injury during sleep mode (again, 70-90%)
- You cannot send out any mobs during sleep mode
- You can receive incoming hostiles and friendlies during sleep mode
- Research/construction continues at normal speed during sleep mode
- Your maximum land cap is reduced by 2-5% during sleep mode
- You are not marked in game as in sleep mode

Sleep mode would have time limits of around 6, 8 and 12 hours. Maybe just 8 hours. Something like that anyway.

What does this achieve?
- Contactability required to save your own ass (by sending out) is significantly reduced. You can enter sleep mode at night/at work/school and won't need to worry about being contacted to get online.
- Contactability/activity is still rewarded as you will gain more seeds and also will be able to defend your allies if you do not enter sleep mode
- Less frustration for those players who like to play for kills only. As overall contactability/activity should be reduced as a result of this change, players are less likely to get online to send out from attacks for kills only
- Less frustration for those players who get attacked for kills only. With ~80% insurance/injury, said players will be able to rebuy most of their army (and possibly more with ~80% seed gains)

 

[f0xx]

I like the suggestion.

There is only one problem - what happens to a solo who is in sleep more and gets killed, then gets 80% insurance? AR mod at 90% while having minimal losses seems a very very abusable.

 

[Polo]

I like the suggestion.

There is only one problem - what happens to a solo who is in sleep more and gets killed, then gets 80% insurance? AR mod at 90% while having minimal losses seems a very very abusable.

Forgot to mention, AR gains during sleepmode would be reduced to compensate.

 

[DarkSider]

At first look not a bad idea at all.
I'm a supporter of having more troops in the game, nobody likes to login to a useless army and would rather give major rewards to succesful attacks while minimal looses to victims with potential to seek for revenge right away.
However there needs some thinking about when and for how long this sleepmode should be availeble. Either for short amounts of time and ppl can use it for going to school for a few hours or for genuine vacantions like 3days+ or change the whole game so defenders and victims always get 80% insurance/injury and attackers a very juicy bounty/other big rewards for attacking ?
One of the playstyles that's most popular and i hate with a passion is playing not to get owned. There's no satisfaction in login in just to save your troops and always afraid to login to a zeroed army, always login to defend and hope nobody got killed. I hope i'm not offending anybody but that's just a style that can't give any or close to no enjoyement. That fear of getting owned has to be lowered, I'd want the activity and especially contactibility to be drastically reduced as a requirement but i want it to be fair for everybody
If victims would do mutual damage from getting demolished would just be unfair, imagine a big SO in top alliance getting this insurance after you waste so many troops to kill him.
So yeah in theory i like the low looses but you have to compensate with big gains for other side.

 

[Alcibiades]

*Alci stamp of approval*

 

[saint1d]

Anything to get away from the need to be 24/7 contactable gets my vote.

I made suggestions before about people using sleep mode more frequently, like when I said it should be an enforced sleep mode for a minimum of 8hrs during a 24hr period, but Polo's suggestion is better.

 

[cb1202]

At first look not a bad idea at all.
I'm a supporter of having more troops in the game, nobody likes to login to a useless army and would rather give major rewards to succesful attacks while minimal looses to victims with potential to seek for revenge right away.
However there needs some thinking about when and for how long this sleepmode should be availeble. Either for short amounts of time and ppl can use it for going to school for a few hours or for genuine vacantions like 3days+ or change the whole game so defenders and victims always get 80% insurance/injury and attackers a very juicy bounty/other big rewards for attacking ?
One of the playstyles that's most popular and i hate with a passion is playing not to get owned. There's no satisfaction in login in just to save your troops and always afraid to login to a zeroed army, always login to defend and hope nobody got killed. I hope i'm not offending anybody but that's just a style that can't give any or close to no enjoyement. That fear of getting owned has to be lowered, I'd want the activity and especially contactibility to be drastically reduced as a requirement but i want it to be fair for everybody
If victims would do mutual damage from getting demolished would just be unfair, imagine a big SO in top alliance getting this insurance after you waste so many troops to kill him.
So yeah in theory i like the low looses but you have to compensate with big gains for other side.

perhaps going to war should reduce the maximum insurance returns in this sleep mode, or remove it entirely.

 

[BlackWolf]

- You cannot send out any mobs during sleep mode

Change it to you can send 1 mob out but only to ID 1.
And it sounds like a plan to me.

 

[Mateeen]

woot a good idea id say

One thing id like to add/ask:
Is there anyway we can stop the, "keep rushing,hitting him as soon as his harvesters return so he gets no seed" thing? :\
maybe a 1 tick return on harvesters or something? o.0

 

[Podunk]

I like this suggestion!

Though I must got to bed... I'll post my reasons sometime tomorrow or something.

 

[timtadams]

Great idea. In fact i cant see anything wrong with it.

People can still attack same as before. The player sleeping just trades off some income so they dont get totally zeroed.

Its good for both semi-active alliances as well as solos. And it wont have negative effects on the top.
Genius!

[edit] Although, you call it "holiday mode". Change it to "sleep mode", and the current sleep mode to holiday mode. Since this suggestion would be for short term when you can be online soon to rebuild troops and get back some land. Just a thought

[edit#2] My bad Polo, didnt notice that part. Was kinda late...very late

 

[Polo]

[edit] Although, you call it "holiday mode". Change it to "sleep mode", and the current sleep mode to holiday mode. Since this suggestion would be for short term when you can be online soon to rebuild troops and get back some land. Just a thought

That's what I said.

 

[Maxi]

It sounds good, but I'd miss the killing. Know that rush or thrill you get after a good battle, where you've done good damage and (almost) zeroed someone? Would significantly reduce the fun of attacking if a couple ticks later you hack your target and he's back to 80% of his original strength. Which can also mean that if you take more damage than 80% of his troops' worth, you actually lost that 'thrilling' battle. You couldn't *ever* kill someone successfully, either he's on 80% insurance/injuries or he is online and can send out. The game is fun because you can kill stuff. Don't take that away.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for having more land & troops in the game, but I'm not sure this is the way to go (or at least, make it not as extreme).

 

[Podunk]

Maybe increase injury/insurance returns for the attacker as well? Just so its not a total waste of time. Still get good bounty or whatnot.

If not that then just increase the bounty gained from the attack by 20-25%?

 

[willymchilybily]

i like bw's darksiders and cb1202's

war should disable this sleep mode optiuon. as war is intense all out and can strike at any time. not when convinient.
the agressor will get dicked on if they die alot and get nothing for thier efforts. so raise base bounty on the target? or something like ds says to improve the outcome for the attacker. who doesnt want to eb screwed over by the system. and yess the ability to still send out 1 defensive mob to id1 would be nice. but im not 100
% convinced. you could enter sleep mode. run to id 1 and get a bigger land cap. seems nigh abuseable if your allie starts getting big incomings.

then again. if war can disable it. then war will be more likely to happen which is always good

thumbs up, but maybe some of those suggestions mentioned shud be included

 

[Davis]

Maybe increase injury/insurance returns for the attacker as well? Just so its not a total waste of time. Still get good bounty or whatnot.

If not that then just increase the bounty gained from the attack by 20-25%?

agreed

-=-=-=-

Also i can see some people taking total advantage of this. Score Queens namely just constantly hitting sleep after they have hit what they feel is enough land to keep their score and what nots although the contactable route would still be more benificial

 

[xvi]

I like Polo's idea. I think it would also help keep players that would normally quit or find another online game.

 

[No-Dachi]

This should definitely the thinked through, reworked and implemented. DarkSider brings up a valid idea, but this can be countered by disabling this option if your alliance is at war.

I'd like to hear Azzers thoughts on the subject. Thoughts, questions and objections, so we can work those out.

 

[WackyJacky]

Great idea!

 

[Lupus]

one of the better ideas that i've seen lately

and yup i agree that

-War should disable it
-Increased injury for attackers
-Ar should not be gained signifcantly


in reply to Maxi about killing stuff well u can have the fun of killing 80% of thier staff next time

a possible reduction of the 'repeat' bashing counter when they are in 'holiday mode' so u can still gain reasonable land by attacking them a few times (not that i condone repeat attacking )