Messages

16

BM General Discussion / Re: Limited Wars

« on: August 10, 2013, 12:12:03 AM »

Perhaps those penalties need to be increased.

Or perhaps new incentives need to be provided.  I understand the thinking of using mechanics to make things harder for those realms... but that is an idea of control.  Control will always leave the people being controlled feeling like they are being messed over.

Instead, find a way to empower.  Provide some reason for someone to secede a city or start a rebellion...or for a count to move a region to another realm.

The spirit of this game has never been about it controlling the players but about empowering them to go and do crazy awesome things.  I am not talking about creating new classes or protection for new realms.  Just bump up infiltrator skill advances... or provide a honor vs infamy scale for characters or the family gold idea I mentioned earlier.

17

BM General Discussion / Re: Limited Wars

« on: August 09, 2013, 07:53:50 PM »

It's most obvious on the Colonies, but...

To be fair... the Colonies became this way because of IC reasions... but also a refusal to step away from IC to make sure the game was supported long term.  Once a mental shift took place (realizing what was happening due to dwindling player base) realms were allowed to reclaim capitols.  But your point is still valid considering I had to use the word "allowed"...

A better example of painting is the war islands game.  Where once a realm has reached a tipping point there really is no reason not to hit the surrender button...your going to loose.

So this brings something to mind.  HOW do you make it not just OK but sweetly awesome for a family to loose?  In other words you have a character or even family who has been ruling a realm for a long time...how do you make it exciting/profitable/encouraged to step away from that?  Or on the reverse how do you make it more outstanding for someone to attempt a rebellion?

Remember that we as human, want to win...want to encourage our 'team' to 'win'.

I think the answer is in rewarding the behavior we want to see take place.  You want more rebellions then we must reward those with the nuts to attempt it...not just win at it.  Same thing for creating a realm from another... They may fail at it and be absorbed again into the mother realm but how do you reward the effort of trying?

(odd ball idea...  Let family wealth increase at a higher rate for noble families who become news worthy.  In other words...every action you take in game adds a ticker to your family name so that they become famous as whatshisnames family.... more successful business takes place, more money in the family pockets that can make its way to the characters)

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BM General Discussion / Re: Player Statistics

« on: August 09, 2013, 04:08:07 PM »

All night?  nooo but til 3am you bet I have.  However most of that was just hanging out with realm mates in a yahoo chat. 

19

BM General Discussion / Re: Limited Wars

« on: August 09, 2013, 12:19:12 AM »

Trying to do something like this in the Colonies (still)... Not sure how it will all work out in the end but it is a fun way to try.  Then again the Colonies are a completely different animal than any other location.

Background: Lukon and Oritolon were nearly taken out by a few realms years ago and over the last decade have taken revenge on all nations who were against them or did not help them (aka all other realms).

Problem: The Colonies have become very slow and very boring.  For a while Lukon was creating wars for the sake of it, or allowing factions I knew were against our realm to thrive so that they would make something for us to fight against.  Worked for a while but really hard to remain true to RP character and in the end was continuing the  stagnate environment.

Idea: Create something that would return the realms to one city each (Not very ideal on other islands...as mentioned 5 times before)... make a system of Guilds to unite the Colonies with an elected senate (United Nations) to develop a few laws: Allow Infiltrators to buy back bans...to prevent deportation or death; Freedom of religion...let the priests/religions have a chance to develop their own way of combating each other; Force a proclamation of war...so that everyone knows what the initial goal of the war is and what needs to be done to satisfy the end of it; lastly no nation will be destroyed by another intentionally.

Beyond those few initial laws I have no idea how the senate will progress.  But it is an idea we are trying to see happen if Oritolon would just stop fighting it so hard! 

What I envision coming about are a series of federation voting blocs which may be united by other guilds (so that wars can still take place between the nations in the federations) trying to gain an upper hand in the senate.

It is not as complex as it sounds but I know it would be more complicated on any other island.  After all the Colonies have been reduced to only 4.

Credit goes to James (and another from Outer Tilog who I unfortunately can not recall) for the initial idea.

The key to it all is not the prevention of killing off a realm, although it is needed for starting, but the starting of small scale wars over boarders, gold, honor, evil, stupidity and eventually religion and skilled infiltrators once everything starts to fall apart.

Will it work?  Stay tuned...I have no idea.

20

BM General Discussion / Re: If I change one thing to make Battlemaster better, I would...

« on: August 07, 2013, 04:45:59 PM »

I would make it so that every duchy would be own realm, and coalition of realms would be federation. Realm could have only 1 city!

Atleast i would test it out

That is what is in the works in the Colonies right now... One last hold out realm with three cities and it will be done.  A guild will be created for a senate to discuss Colony laws such as infiltrators buying back bans to keep them from being booted off the island.  But each city will be its own realm...but of course can unite into federations (which would give a unity to senate votes and such).  We will see how it goes.

21

BM General Discussion / Re: If I change one thing to make Battlemaster better, I would...

« on: August 07, 2013, 02:01:29 AM »

Island wide social events IN GAME... perhaps with AI or with other players... go to the pub and play cards and have a drink... Go to a local merchants daughters ball... :-P sounds silly but the truth is after the planning is done (or right away for a brand new player) you run out of things to do.

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BM General Discussion / Re: Closing Islands ?

« on: August 07, 2013, 01:59:15 AM »

In addition all mid range players should spend some time engaging with newer players. Maybe we should have a "Knights Appreciation Day".

I will say that after creating a character the social aspect is all you have left until you learn what you are doing.  I assume many people get board after a few min and never think to log back in.  What would be something that grabs attention and makes them want to come back tomorrow?

23

BM General Discussion / Re: Closing Islands ?

« on: August 06, 2013, 02:28:58 AM »

Adding words when quoting someone is rude.

Never said it was the main responsibility... just that it is the job.  You want to play a free game and not invite people to play then the game will not get new people.

We are provided with a free game to play that we love... Tom puts his time in to keep the game going... seems the right thing to do both for the game (which is also for ourselves) and for our friends who we think would like the game (also for ourselves to play with them) to invite people.

I am also being very general with that statement.  Maybe I have no friends... point is it is a social game so invite the society around you to play.

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BM General Discussion / Re: Closing Islands ?

« on: August 05, 2013, 10:47:01 PM »

Change is and always will be something that causes people to leave.  I am reminded of my Grandparents church growing up...every decade or two it would split and a new church would spin off and grow on its own... what was the cause of those splits?  Change.  New younger more energetic preachers would come in and draw in a younger crowed... This would create friction between old and new understandings and teachings...until one group or the other would move on together.

When I found this game...it was the perfect balance between role play and mechanics for me.  It was exactly what I was looking for.  It still maintains that balance but has become much much more complicated as we all work to see it improved.

Yet throughout all the improvements we have seen, each one brings a bit more change and a bit more complexity.  For example...I have no idea how to be a banker and only limited ideas on being a marshal.  I have been both but before changes that make them how they are now.

While change and evolution of the game is important...and well done... it does create an environment that can cause players to become detached from the way they have learned to play the game.

Imagine the look on a returning player who logs in and expects to see battle groups and a General who can still stab a ruler in the back, but finds that the system of government is now much more complex.

It is a good thing...but it will and has cause players to leave.  Refreshing the player base is the job of the players...I know I have failed to bring more people into the game in a few years.

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BM General Discussion / Re: stopping ForumMaster from destroying BattleMaster

« on: August 04, 2013, 07:37:52 PM »

I do prefer the Wiki better.  More like a personal journal that people could link to kinda like those annoying hashtags.

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BM General Discussion / Re: stopping ForumMaster from destroying BattleMaster

« on: August 04, 2013, 04:26:13 AM »

Can we please get the facebook threads relocated so that they can still be used?  Or an option on the game interface to contact?  Hmm...or I suppose everyone could just go to facebook and type in what they will for propaganda

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BM General Discussion / Re: stopping ForumMaster from destroying BattleMaster

« on: August 04, 2013, 04:23:29 AM »

I can not even go to most forums any more.  I hate the know it all attitude that many people put off just because they can hide behind a computer and be more cool than in real life.  It reminds me of yahoo answers some times,  where I could say how much does a hen way and someone has to tell me how dangerous it is to have chickens when a bird flu could happen at any moment.

This forum is ok.  You still get the people who want to be overly involved and in your face... and I get a lot of players who think that because they are against my character or against an idea, they can talk down to me... but I know that for what it is...game play emotion thinly veiled under the surface but coming out.

However I doubt most people would think of life and forums the same way I do.  I can see how that would put people off from even coming here. 

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Colonies / Re: So, if Colonies gets the chop...

« on: August 02, 2013, 05:47:08 PM »

Poooor ole Arcachon...  Never saw it coming

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BM General Discussion / Re: Closing Islands ?

« on: July 31, 2013, 07:19:47 PM »

Hmm... I am not saying it is a good or bad idea but... the Colonies could go.  Let the players emigrate to where ever they want (or need due to character limits on islands) but transport Outer Tilog (and any others who wish to join them) to the Zuma's lands.  Then Outer Tilog continues to exist and can carry on the history of the Colonies.  (Hitch a ride with the Lich King to visit the Zuma)

Sure we loose the Zuma but Outer Tilog is the nearest player driven nation in comparison to them already. 

This would put about 100 characters onto other islands.  Do not get me wrong.  I love the Colonies but truth is we have a lower player count than other islands.  We are the least thought of and least used...but on the other hand also the least complained about.

What the game will loose from the Colonies is a one turn per day island... but all islands and nations are directed to not judge a player by activity level anyway.

Would doing something along this line be considered too much work due to restructuring the Zuma lands ownership from GM to character?

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Colonies / Re: So, if Colonies gets the chop...

« on: July 31, 2013, 06:57:29 PM »

That is good news to me.  I am all for story lines and keeping everything moving in game motivation... but I could not deal with all the arguing between people who thought this or that was not how real people would act at such and such time in history.