So today after a long day at the vet I log in to find my fleet destroyed. Due to RL obligations I wasn't around when my fleet returned so I pay the price of hours of work lost.

So I'm disbanding my planets and quitting the game.

Sure, you can read that last statement and reply with "quitter" or "this game is hardcore if you can't take the heat you shouldn't be here." Etc etc.

That's fine, say what you want, but that sort of proves my point that the basic design of the game encourages griefing and creates a general environment that would put off most players.

Sure, it's fun creating buildings, building a fleet etc. However, there comes a point when you're forced to fleetsave otherwise you lose your work. You want to advance, but not too far, otherwise you're a target to the godlike players at the top. So what do you do? You live in constant fear and a constant need to fleetsave. One wrong move and you lose everything. Is this fun? Sure, for the aforementioned godlike characters, but not for your average player. For the average player this is simply an environment that is not fun. And a game without fun is...well, useless.

I think this is simply an issue of bad design. A design that, as i said earlier, encourages grieifng. A design that, long term, hurts the game. Take the AZG-V war, for example. Yes, I'm a member of AZG, but it actually wasn't a V guy who attacked me. Nonetheless I know of a few people who quit the game entirely because of the war. I know of some who quit even before the game because their fleet got wiped out. They were, more or less, griefed. So with people quitting because of a bad game experience hurts the designers because these are players that are certainly not going to support the game in terms of zorg rubies or even word of mouth. This hurts the game and its developers.

I wish I had a solution. Nothing that I can come up with is going to prevent the current situation of god-like players dominating the rest of the field. New galaxies or servers or whatever you want to call it could help, but that's a short-term fix as the same thing will happen and a select group will become dominate there. Woe to those who sign in to the game weeks after the new universe opens and face a mountain they can not overcome. Hopefully you guys have fun with that, because I won't be around for the ride.

I am sorry that you feel that way. I am the one who took out your fleet and started a couple months (i think around there) after the universe opened. This is a wargame though and this kind of thing is common in all wargames.

I was pursued by many and moved and fleet saved. Though people sometimes refuse to listen, fleet saving is half the game. It saves your progress. Yes, it is a pain in the neck, but everyone has had to do it at one point or another or still does. I may be an Apex Predator, but like the Great White to the Killer Whale, there are still those who hunt me.

For a long while I had the biggest hit in the game against me. I didn't stop. I'm curious though- since I'm in the Top Ten, am I "godlike"? My ego needs stroking.

Beatryx it is a shame you feel that way. But as was said, this is a part of the game, these things happen. You will find however, that no one is dominant in the end, there is always a challenge for them. perhaps not now, but with the release of the ACS attack function, no-one will be able to be classed as "godlike". All of the higher ups will have to do the same as the rest of us, if they don't, it's their loss.

In the end, fleetsaving is the core of gameplay, master it and you will have no need to fear the "godlike" players, their power means nothing if they simply can't get to you.

Well, if you still choose to leave, good luck with whatever you choose to do and have fun.

-Istalris-

i am jealous of Khan nobody called me godlike only a motha***** and a horse***** and some other very funny things. good times

Fleetsaving and defenses will protect you from even the most powerful players. I know people look down on defenses, but you have to put them in the right perspective. You will never be able to build enough defenses to protect 20 million deut. (if you did you wouldnt have enough deut left over to make 20 mill) but you can build enough to protect your daily production till you check on it that day. Just build enough so that mathmatically there is absolutley no profit to be made from attacking you. Defences don't make debris, so nobody will attack you for the debris, and if you have enough defenses, and ABM's, it will cost more deut to field a fleet to break your defenses than the person will get from you. The top players didn't get there by wasting fleets on peoples defence's for no profit. They got there by hitting people trying to horde a gajillion res on a planet and hope it didn't get hit. As for not being able to be on when your fleet returns, there are a number of options for controlling the amount of time it takes for your fleet to arrive back. Try mixing up where you send your fleet. Sometimes I'll send mine off for two or three days, other times, a day. Sometimes just a few hours. I mix it up so noone will be able to know when or where my fleet will be, so if I get delayed, its less likely to be found. I got a small fleet crashed the other day, and I just picked up and kept going. Build up your infrastructure and you will be able to bounce back from most everything. Remember that sensor phalanxes are a pain in the butt, they see almost all. Try to get around that and you should be able to hide a fleet.

Most of all...S*&t happens.

Besides, it seems like the top players spend plenty of time nailing each other for the res they raid from the smaller players. Sort of like the little fish getting eaten by a barrucuda getting eaten by a great white shark getting eaten by godzilla.

To avoid the phalanx, launch your fleet from a moon and no one will be able to track it.

and if you dont have a moon....make one, trade shots..do what it takes to get a moon, its all important...I just spent 600 BS in various rounds giving my alliance buddy a moon. 2 moons creates the links to move your fleet (not resources) and that helps tremendously also...lots of different little ways to keeep safe from attackers..even have your buddies phalanx your planets and help by ACS defend when they can (probably not against a top 10 fleet lol).

Even if you don't have a moon it is possible to avoid the lanx on a fleet save.

Simply look for an inactive person near you that has a moon and fleet save from your planet on an attack to that moon, even if someone lanxes your planet they will not see your save. Me and a few friends conducted tests on this and found it successful, so after all, moons are not always necessary.

-Istalris-