Important

Voltaire · November 17, 2003, 02:48

No one wants to see the ACDG die, yet it seems as though its end is inevitable. The Hive, for the first time has been exuberantly late for the turn (in part because the Marshal at the moment has come down with either a bad hangover or the flu, you decide which), but the activity levels regardless of this have been abysmal. HongHu has returned to the Hive, and after speaking to her we both agreed that the way to salvage the ACDG might be to put a pause on it for the time being (this seems much more preferable to letting it die).

We do not know what the condition of the activity of other teams is, but if it is anything like that of the Hive the game has no chance of surviving. We need to find a way out of this crisis (one which faces all demogames at some point in time) because this game has been a fun part of our lives for over half a year, and we have made many good friendships in the process, the teams have become close families, and the fun times we have enjoyed together will live on in memory. Yet it seems wrong to let all this end just as the game was about to become interesting.

Therefore I implore anyone with any ideas as to how we can get through this crisis to come forward now and rescue our beloved ACDG—don't go! the drones need you, they look up to you.

Snowflake · November 17, 2003, 02:55

I believe the recent period of relative inactiveness may be related to the fact that a lot of people are having midterm exams and papers. Good thing is the midterms should be ending soon so hopefully the team game will become more active and interesting again. I myself don't have a midterm but I have a filing due 12/2, I was planning to return after that but seeing that the team game is facing the risk of being eliminated I decided to come back now. I really don't want to see the game end like this. Everybody's put so much into it. I really love the team game and don't want it to die.

AgentSubversion · November 17, 2003, 03:51

I have recently joined the University faction and have been attempting a reorginization to give the faction a rebirth. I have some ideas for fostering a better running ACDG and would like to set up a discussion for interested parties. Lets have a meeting in the chat room, it runs through java, so there is no reason people couldn't show up. I bet, and am sure, that intrest can be reborn if the game could be streamlined, especially communications and recruitment with the removal of 'dead' members from both sides. The DG is an awesome idea and I beleive in it's merits. I'll be posting again when I am in less of a hurry.

Snowflake · November 17, 2003, 03:55

Would you please post your major thought when you have time AgentSubersion? So that people will have some ideas about what they would be discussing in the chat room.

MrWhereItsAt · November 17, 2003, 04:28

Well I am only just trying to get the hang of what has happened to CyCon so far - opened the save for the first time just hours ago.

I'm here for the moment.

Kody · November 17, 2003, 05:31

A while ago I spent alot of time writing the ACDG introduction, and throwing some advertising out there to get new members.

What I've realised, but was afriad to say back then was that the future of this game depends on new members. Can everyone here honestly say they'll still be around in 6 months time? Can people even honestly say they will want to be around in 6 months time?

I believe it's not enough that you simply wait for people to ask you to join. However, you should make an active effort to make it easier and more interesting for new members. So what if some of these members leave after a few weeks. At least it was a few weeks where the game was more interesting because of their participation. In those few weeks maybe someone else will have joined to replace them.

Things don't last if they're stagnant. Believing that this game can survive with just the original people won't lead anywhere. Also who knows, maybe you'll have some wide eye newbie that turns into one of your principle members.

I'm not saying it's going to be an easy task, and probably not one where only one or two people will be able to do by themselves. I think the drones are doing pretty good at getting new members. The premise for the exisitance of their faction was learning strategy pure and simple. They stuck with it and they're still getting members. With other factions they need to rethink what they're offering to new members and do what they're supposed to be doing in their faction. Or they need to decide to change their direction and offer something that will interest new players.

If you pretend to offer something, but don't really. When the new member gets accepted, the person will take one look around and quit. It's happened a few times in the hive from what I've observed as the roleplay the hive advertised was swamped out by spam. (We used to alternate through stages of real roleplay+spam and just spam.)

(Now to figure out what is happening with the hive turn. I all seems rather dismal from where I stand.)

MrWhereItsAt · November 17, 2003, 05:45

Quote:

Originally posted by Kody
What I've realised, but was afriad to say back then was that the future of this game depends on new members. Can everyone here honestly say they'll still be around in 6 months time? Can people even honestly say they will want to be around in 6 months time?

I guess I qualify as a new member, in a way. I only just got into a team.

Quote:

I think the drones are doing pretty good at getting new members. The premise for the exisitance of their faction was learning strategy pure and simple. They stuck with it and they're still getting members. With other factions they need to rethink what they're offering to new members and do what they're supposed to be doing in their faction. Or they need to decide to change their direction and offer something that will interest new players.

Yes, it was wanting to learn how to use the Drones that finally roped me in, as I have never properly used them before, and I think they could do very well. However, it was also the fact that they are not active on Poly that stopped me from joining them. On the one hand, an interesting faction that is not active here, on the other hand, factions based on Poly that just aren't as interesting. What a killer.

Quote:

(Now to figure out what is happening with the hive turn. I all seems rather dismal from where I stand.)

YES! Someone play already. Anyone, even if you're not perhaps the legal player. If there's a complaint tell them you were giving the game life support, whereas they were strangling it.

Kody · November 17, 2003, 05:59

I used to run the turns.

I've just asked Jamski to become the Hive's 24 hour mark player (unless rokossovky requests otherwise).

I think part of the reason for the delays is the critical pop booming that is going on. Also they've been trying to play to a level that is somewhat comparable to what I did. Problem is I used to spend days per turn doing that, and nobody has the time to do that anymore. I certainly don't.

Also I'm not sure it helped that when I was shown the previous two hive turns I pointed out many many errors.

Jamski · November 17, 2003, 07:28

I've just taken over for the Hive, as Kody requested.

Forget the "Kody Planning" though

I'm playing it my way.

The Hive team now = me untill someone else bothers to even post in the forum who is willing to play turns.

-Jam

Maniac · November 17, 2003, 11:14

Could some explain to me what those fabled "midterms" are? Where I live there are currently exams twice a year around January and June. How can there be exams now when the academic year has hardly started??

Jamski · November 17, 2003, 11:15

Some people's terms started back in September. Poor fools

-Jam

Googlie · November 17, 2003, 11:22

One thing I'd like to do is to tweak the AI, but there's only one way of doing this and I'd need co-operation from a member of each team.

Miriam has developed a new tactic never seen before - The Colony Pod Rush

That's right. From infiltration I see that she has no less than 19 colony pods milling around that she intends to let loose on some unsuspecting faction - the'll clog up the roads and get in the defenders way while her rovers sneak through to attack bases.

Seriously, though, she does. Somehow when I set up her 3 starting bases I managed to get one as the template for new bases, and it was one where I had put constraints on the Governor as to what he could build, so all new bases are churning out CP's like crazy.

The only way I know to edit the AI mid-game is to turn it into an IP game (I'd host it) at the end of a turn cycle, with me taking Miriam and Tass taking the Angels, then saving it back as a PBEM after we've played the 2 AI faction turns (so the five teams wouldn't actually play a turn - simultaneous moves would be turned off)

But we'd need five representatives to be on-line and added to the IP game so that we'd have all passwords covered

Any thoughts?

G.

(And I'm more sanguine re the game than most - it's at a point where events are about to speed up, and after all factions have all commlinks (imminent) and perhaps elections called (Miriam might be a candidate if her CP's were population) things should get very interesting.

(And I'll be here in six months - what's 6 more to the 45 I've already accrued?)

G.

Snowflake · November 17, 2003, 11:27

Go Miriam! We girls always surprise you male world don't we?

I'm so proud of her.

As for six month, I've been here for only six month, but I wouldn't mind another six month as long as I can manage not to be kicked out from work.

Hercules · November 17, 2003, 11:41

I don't think I have a fast enough machine for IP. I'll need to ask in our forum.

Snowflake · November 17, 2003, 11:48

If nobody else in the Hive can do it I could give it a try. I have never done an IP game but I have cable connection at home if that helps.

Jamski · November 17, 2003, 12:14

I can do IP

As long as we play at a civilised time of day

-Jam

Googlie · November 17, 2003, 18:11

Remember, the concept is just that you sign on, then hang around while the AI gets sorted out somewhat (and we promise we won't initiate or respond to any diplo messages, nor call elections, or anything like that)

- actually, I could do both, hosting on DSL as Roze on my desktop and dialling in with my laptop as Miriam .......... as I've done this before (jumped from PBEM to IP to PBEM I know what to do

G.

johndmuller · November 17, 2003, 20:36

I'm not objecting to your trying to fix the problem, but when you described it some time ago, I got the impression that you had created this predisposition in the Scenario Editor - where it lets you specify such things by faction, rather than by tweaking a particular base's governor. That would suggest to me that the settings would likely not be so easily undone. OTOH, perhaps you really only set this predilection in a certain base or bases, in which case it sounds much more likely to be effective. Anyway. it would be reasonable to hope that some improvement might be effected in any case, even if perhaps limited to already founded bases or at least to the current crop of builds.

The question could be moot in not so long a time anyway, as some of us

may have other plans for the bases in question

Drogue · November 19, 2003, 19:29

I have been absent lately, do to RL issues. I should be back and active, if not quite as active as before. I am willing to pause, or play on. I want to keep it going, I've been an active member of the ACDG for over a year, without a pause, and I intend this to continue. However my RL is so mixed up at the moment, I can't commit to specific times of availability.

I don't know of the Hive mix up, or anything else recently, but I will endeavour to catch up (unless someone wants to fill me in

)

Googlie · November 19, 2003, 21:45

Actually I don't think my suggested fix will work, as I can open the game up in IP (at least I can takwe over one of the five factiosn) but it won't let me select either Roze or Miriam.

It could be that these open up when the five password protected players are logged on (and I think that's what happened a couple of years ago when last I executed this maneuover - but that might have been a pre-patch SMAC game and I think there's been some additional IP programming since the disc release and the multiplayer patch)

G.

AgentSubversion · November 19, 2003, 22:39

fix what? a beliving CP rush?
hell, let her have her candy

laurentius · November 25, 2003, 09:00

CYCON MEMBERS:

I never see any of you in the chat...why?
Dont you like me? Are you trying to avoid me?

AgentSubversion · November 25, 2003, 11:21

Does anyone at all use the apolyton chat?

Drogue · November 25, 2003, 16:32

Quote:

Originally posted by laurentius
I never see any of you in the chat...why?
Dont you like me? Are you trying to avoid me?

I forgot we had it to be honest

I will endeavour to be in their more often. Or if you have MSN, I usually find that easiest to use when we need to know something then and there.

MrWhereItsAt · November 26, 2003, 00:03

Hey, whenever I'm online I'm in the CyCon chat. This tends to be around 2200-0700GMT weekdays and until around 1400GMT weekends.

laurentius · November 26, 2003, 03:25

MWIA, so you have probably just left when I get there and...darn timezones

WHY DOES THE WORLD HAVE TO BE ROUND?

When I get work I log in (0700 GMT), and when I go home I log out (1400GMT)

Drogue: Whats your MSN btw?

Hercules · November 26, 2003, 07:07

The title of this thread says important.

The content while interesting

has become more of a public private chat thread, not unlike the Thermocline Tavern but without the drinks

laurentius · November 26, 2003, 07:56

While I understand that your are right, we should'nt turn this into a private chat-chat, I must say I think private faction chats are very important for the survival of the whole ACDG. Maybe you should get one too

Hercules · November 26, 2003, 08:31

I agree

AgentSubversion · November 26, 2003, 11:04

DEAR GOD, SOMETHING HAPPEN!
I JOINED IN ONLY RECENTLY BUT NOTHING HAS HAPPENED.
DEAR GOD!!!!!!!!

ahem, sorry
So, uh, is there anything I can do to help speed up something? I'll spend hours, I don't mind. I'll be master backup, pull out of the game, and after 24 hours play any turn that hasn't been played. SOMETHING.
I haven't even seen the recent turn. And i don't REALLY care anymore.