Well, it's a fine line isn't it? In other turn-based games like Civ3, CTP etc I didn't finish most of my games because I knew I'd won at a certain point. Or in Alpha Centauri I'd get elected as Planetary Leader rather than have to fight to the very last city.

Until recently I did finish every game in Galciv: but only because of the score on the Metaverse.

Frogboy's aim with Galciv was to hasten the endgame to prevent boredom. For the better players this hasn't happened. AND, the scoring mechanism also encourages endgame milking; AND encourages players to play at the lower difficulties AND perhaps play for a military victory rather than letting a cultural victory wrap up the game quicker.

My conclusion: You cannot under-estimate human nature. Playing these games is about competing (even if only against the AI). If you put a Metaverse there, players will compete on it. If you compete, you want to do it well. If the scoring mechanism encourages bad play that's what you do. And then surprise, surprise, boredom sets in.

If Frogboy can solve that problem, then there will be a strong Galciv community. If not...

Well, boss, I wander along over here tonight and I notice it is a different world. Nay, worse than that. It is a different dimension. All those posts about the top people just calling it quits and you seem to be talking about taking a more laid back role yourself. I will be the first one to say that you have earned the right to be the true, eternal Emperor of GROSS even if someone else would have been the one to create the empire.



Having said that, I feel you are well within your rights to throttle back the game playing a bit if you feel you have nothing left to prove. I would just say that I would miss your brand of motivation and excitement that you bring to the forum if you were to cut back on that, too. It is a little over the top and a bit aggressive at times, but it is uniquely your style.



So, I need to ask: Are you going to whip these excuses for raiders into shape yourself from day to day or are you going to be taking more vacations from the forum and maybe sending an order down the line from the proverbial golf course once in a while?
[Message Edited]

If your involvement goes (with RayChua and Staffa gone), for me, the Galciv community will be stillborn before it really got started.



I thought it over chris. I'm staying. And the community here is still fun. I realize that some may come, milk, then go. It is that way with all games. I still like the game, never played it to milk as this ancient clunker I'm playing on gets abusive if I try. I actually think the small maps actually encourage the milking. You have to to keep up in score. The larger maps prevent it. By the time you have it taken over, your so powerful, you cannot hold back a win. So I'll go back to my Gigantics even though they take longer time wise.

That's easier said than done, Pontius.


I understand. Even for me it is easier for me to say it, than do it. Ironically I started playing smaller maps thinking they'd lend themselves to it less. XXXXXX wrong oh pointius one, it's the reverse. they lend themselves to it more. And to an extent I realize that I personally am the source of the "Well why should my Maso score less than his tough." But you have to realize I am scoring high for my difficulty level. But part of that is that 3 (and now 4) species are set to the painful level of intellect and above (intelligent is it?) but only the Altarians remain down at Bright(tough). My last medium was milked. It scored less than the one just before it. Which indicates the system is punishing that at least a little bit. But none of the others truly were. So I'm hanging around. If the pressure to milk becomes the prime concern, I'll go. And I agree with your reasons for leaving. But not untill then.

Well, boss, I wander along over here tonight and I notice it is a different world. Nay, worse than that. It is a different dimension. All those posts about the top people just calling it quits and you seem to be talking about taking a more laid back role yourself. I will be the first one to say that you have earned the right to be the true, eternal Emperor of GROSS even if someone else would have been the one to create the empire.

I indeed created the G.R.O.S.S. empire. But everyone in it made it what it is today, not just me.



Having said that, I feel you are well within your rights to throttle back the game playing a bit if you feel you have nothing left to prove. I would just say that I would miss your brand of motivation and excitement that you bring to the forum if you were to cut back on that, too. It is a little over the top and a bit aggressive at times, but it is uniquely your style.

I didn't start this with anything to prove. But I did start with some goals in mind. Build an empire that is genuinely fun to play in and that would be competitive. A secondary goal was to take down Frenchy and the lap poodles. They are all met. I am a firm believer that once goals are met, it's time for any good leader to pass the torch.



So, I need to ask: Are you going to whip these excuses for raiders into shape yourself from day to day or are you going to be taking more vacations from the forum and maybe sending an order down the line from the proverbial golf course once in a while?
[Message Edited]


FROM THE GOLF COURSE? ATTENTION!!!! FAT CHANCE YOU MAGGOT!!!!! I'm staying. We still have the Aussies and the MWC to kick around all over the place. Though we lost several of the best players, there is still fun to be had.
NOW DROP AND GIVE ME 20!!!!!!!!



Please note: I will be on Vacation for about 5 days starting tomorrow. Gerakkin has the con untill I return.

Remember. Play. Have fun. Win. Dominate.

Gerakkin. See if you can get us about 5 new recruits while I am away.

Sir, yes sir! 18...19...20! Have a nice vacation, boss.

OK, I never piloted the ol' surveyor before, but the rules are still pretty much the same: just keep doing whatever you are doing. And don't be afraid about getting talkative on the forum if anything comes up.

In my end of the galaxy, I just dropped off one of my classic culture bomb victories. I just love it when I got a Torian-Altarian alliance that hates me so much but has great respect for all those nice dreads and missiles of mine. Never had to go to war with a major civ once all game. Never had to pay anyone else to fight, either.

In my end of the galaxy, I just dropped off one of my classic culture bomb victories. I just love it when I got a Torian-Altarian alliance that hates me so much but has great respect for all those nice dreads and missiles of mine. Never had to go to war with a major civ once all game. Never had to pay anyone else to fight, either.


I have to pay everyone to fight merely to take ships off the board so my game will run faster and not hang on my clunker machine. I'm to terraforming on a Gigantic. Don't know if I will be done before I go or not. But it's less than a full day away.

Greetings, long-lost G.R.O.S.S. brethren... Okay, so YOU'RE not the ones who've been long-lost, it was me - but the point remains.

I've finally gotten around to playing another game - my first in a week, and only my second in the last month - and WOOT! - I jumped up a bit. Gotta love (or hate, not sure yet) this new scoring deal. Anyway, anything that helps the mighty G.R.O.S.S. empire stay on top of the boards.

Now, if work won't suck the very marrow from my soul (okay, so souls don't have marrow, but you got the picture, didn't you?) during this coming week, you'll see a Gigantic game submitted shortly...

Next up, the elimination of that danged 'chaotic good' logo near my name... sure, I've had to *pretend* to be good now & then, but my heart's as black as coal, dammit.

Pontius - have yourself a pleasant vacation, and if you see any Altairians, smoke 'em for us.

Here is tonight's status report:

This is now a 150K ballgame. But, before too many of my fellow misfit raiders start dancing in a drunken frenzy, our old rival, the MWC, has become very active again. These are dangerous people whose fanatical disciples train deep in an underground missile silo. Don't let their honest, downhome demeanor throw you off. These are disciplined conquerers who know what they are doing. To fight them and any others who may thwart us in our quest for having the most fun while aspiring supreme domination, play with reckless abandon, but only if you are having fun doing it! And don't be afraid to spoil us with the details of what fiendish, alien-squashing plots you have been using to secure your destiny.

Congrats on 150k everyone. Keep it up. Pour it on. Hang in there till I return with some new weaponry for the Survey ship of doom.

check out the galactic map. We got put in the middle of everyone so now we have arms stretching out all over the place to our empire. HEHE. Too funny.

HEHE OUr empire looks the shape of an Illinois gerrymandered voting district.

Ok I'm out of here. Woooohooo. Sun, Sea, Surf, Women, and Booze!!!!! But not necessarily in that order. HEHE.

I'm a couple hours away from ending my game. It will be submittable upon return.

"I understand that from their perspective, the metaverse does not exist for players like me, those who actually try to compete, but rather for those that just want to see how er, you know, I have no idea who it is for."

A classic. I would put that in my sig, if this forum allowed for a signature. LOL

Maybe the lure of the expansion pack will lure people like staffa back in. Normally games have a lifetime of their own, some weeks, others months or years (take diablo2 for instance). So, i'm not surprised if someone who played day in and out for several months (and put up with *all* the updates) finally decided to hang it up...seems like they played the game to death. Anyway I still find there is alot of life in the game for me, esp since i only do a game a week.

Bye Staffa, we'll all miss you You were the icon for GROSS to follow.

Gerakkin has the con untill I return

Greakken, HI, oops...

Gerakken, G.R.O.S.S. RULES and so do YOU.

MOST of my best friends in the G.C. FAMILY has came from G.R.O.S.S. Even many that left it.

I hope G.R.O.S.S. WILL ALWAYS BE HERE!

Calvin and Hobbs would be PROUD!

P.S. Gerakken everyone love you BUT thairs something your NAME! LOL

Well, well! Visitors and straggling raiders alike! So, to go down the list:

Coffee: About time you showed up again. I guess the self-labeled laziest senator of the empire is alive still. Glad to see you around. Come by more often.

Rob: Staffa is indeed an asset. Not just to GROSS, but to the whole Galciv community. He showed us all a lot of things about the game that meant more than just score, even though that is what people centered on when it came to him. I also feel the same way about Ray as well. But, people come and go. We can only worry about who is here now, not who was here before. We got to look forward, even while remembering the others.

MM77: Very nice to have you visiting here. Thanks for the support. As for my name, people never forget me or my real name if they meet me. My handle, though, is another matter. People are more like "yea, I know exactly who you are talking about, I just can't remember his name too well." So I don't let it bother me too much. I do tend to leave my mark.

Speaking of leaving marks, I have done the required task of stirring up a few of our classic rival empires. They needed a good wakeup call. Did you think I was going to let GROSS just sit on its large behind at the top of the hill without giving us some motivation? So get out there and have fun while having fun with the aliens, GROSSers. And I want to see some of you sleepy heads report once in a while!

Hi all... nice job on our rankings (been working and not playing so I haven't checked the boards lately).

Kudos to all.

Exarch

You foolish GROSSlings need to understand that there will always be those who seek to thwart you....

[releases exploding sheep to wander down to GROSS HQ]

And Chris - why not pay the ANZAC thread a visit, mate....

It's another beautiful day in the intergalactic neighborhood, GROSSers and visitors alike. Gerakken is back after sleeping off the excesses of last night's raiding. Not much to say in my galaxy right now. Still in the very early stages of my newest game right after the initial rush has ended.

Holy Moly!

I go away for a few weeks to focus on work and my writing, and when I come back my humble G.R.O.S.S.ers have TAKEN OVER THE METAVERS!!

WAY TO GO GUYS!

I think I'll be waiting to play again until the expansion pack, myself. Milking the game took a lot of the fun and replayability out for me... now I have to let me "batteries recharge", so to speak. And next time I'll gladly be playing for fun, with whatever score that comes with it.

Peace, and long life. Death to the aliens.

Hey, whose responsive for the exploding sheep in the tavern? Nearly spilled my beer I did....

I'm currently plundering my way through a huge galaxy. I've launched a 'Slaves are people too' cultural campaign to take planets intact. Aliens attracted by a great forced labor market have been swarming to my side. It has required a good amount of starbases though.

How do I determine the maintenance on a starbase? Does it go up per module?

Happy raiding....
Cypher

Me turned that sheep into me own lil play toy mate just like those bloody Anzacs do with 'em.

~SDC~

Just dont get emotionally attached to her - they have short lifespans

I just posted a 4500 point mini bomb. Trying to work my way into the top 50. Wish me luck!

~SDC~

900 messages in threadzilla, right on, thats, just...

GROSS!

~SDC~