Re: Random alliances - Can they work, and how?
The problem is not that the top alliances are not recruiting noobs; the noobs are not active and competent enough to play at that level yet, so why should they be included?
The problem is the lack of a decent alternative. The lack of safe homes for noobs. A place where you don't have to rebuild each night, a place where you can actually learn to play (and not learn to rebuild). Some will argue that this is what they enjoy doing - but is it what most people enjoy doing? Is rebuilding going to teach you how to actually play the game on a competitive level? I think not. I believe that we are losing both existing and potential players because they have no where to go! The top alliances have too harsh demands for a new player to join. The mediocre alliances are either full, or unable to provide protection to their members. This game is too demanding to only play with another 19 players. If you say that the players in a low ranked alliance log in and play for 2 hours a day each, that's 40 hours. Even if they have a perfect set up with timezones covering, they will at most have 3 members online at the same time. How on earth are they going to cope with incoming from players twice their size? Remember, they have usually no experience, they have little in game knowledge of units, they have little to no experience in organizing defence, and I would like to think that they would want to send out a mob to attack every now and then. Guess what? They can't. They can't both send their troops out to attack and at the same time keep their friends safe. (and cut the crap - you cannot expect noobs/new players to be available for pranks and still play another round!).
So, how to fix this? However much I want random alliances to work, I simply can't picture it. In PA/utopia it works because you can defend whomever you want, and hence you're able to have an alliance outside your galaxy. Bushtarion is created in a totally different way, and if you prevent people from playing with their friends they. will. quit!
Does decreasing the size of alliances work? Seriously.. quit smoking. Increasing the size of alliances will alter the way competitive play is done, but I believe it will allow bush to gain an increased player base, which will lead to more targets, less consistent incomings and more fun. There are downsides to this as there is to every idea ever thought of, but these can be countered with other minor changes to help revitalize the bushtarion community.
Those who oppose this suggestion will majorly be competitive players, and players that fear that this will only add up to more bashing. Bearing in mind that this is a change for the rest of the game, not the top 2 alliances, the bashing problem can be solved in different ways. For example: You can start decreasing the land cap to 0 if you send overwhelming forces. You can double the armor and HP of units, while leaving the damage intact, to ensure that you might actually live through an attack and wake up with some units. You can change the way targetting works so that if there are more than X attackers you will start firing also on the other attackers. You can halve the score land gives, to make people drop out of range faster if they are zeroed. You can add a base insurance again, and 1 % injuries, while halving the score funds gives and so help zeroed players back on their feet. Now, keep in mind that these are all examples that are meant to give ideas and plant seeds of thoughts, and not actual suggestions that are meant for discussion and mindless, knee-jerk reaction based criticism.
Bottom line is, things can be changed, and they can be changed for the better. Yes, it will be more difficult to attack - so what? People are moaning about the lack of skills in the game. So how about we re-introduce it? People in the lower ranks will probably be able to attack just as it is now, the top ranks will have to attack with friends, faking/recalling sending in waves etc. Remember that you will have 49 friends to attack with, just as they will have 49 friends to defend with. You do not have to attack one player on one tick! With the introduction of a working and functioning HQ you can also hit that to draw defence, before attacking the members with rushed attacks. Perhaps we can even see a use for the thief route?
I think we can all agree that something needs to be done. And while reading this post keep in mind it's written in one go, without re-reading or anything. There will be spelling mistakes, there will be grammatical errors, there will be flaws in my logic. When you start flaming and criticizing, please think of the idea behind this, and not the actual wording. Think outside the box - outside your comfort zone, and consider the change. Consider it from different angles, and not only what will benefit yourself.
