End of Age

[Thunder TA]

And for the hundredth time. Reshuffle kills the game within weeks . It wont happen,new players can find many kds looking for people and will train. Thats a old excuse and doesnt cut it anymore.

[Goodwitch]

almost all kingdoms are constantly recruiting. So anyone that wants to play competitively can if they want to. They just actually have to try. Posting a "looking for kingdom" in the recruitment thread for example is not too much to ask. Or message a kingdom that has "recruiting" in their tag.
Lack of space isn't what is keeping people from getting into decent kingdoms, lack of effort and commitment is.

I am not liking the long age any more than the next person , but instead of whining and crying there are actually a lot of things one can do.

1.Find a suitable kingdom
2.make new connections
3.try out game mechanics, builds etc
4.enjoy some time off
5. sleep

[Kandy]

And for the hundredth time. Reshuffle kills the game within weeks . It wont happen,new players can find many kds looking for people and will train. Thats a old excuse and doesnt cut it anymore.

Only hundredth?

There are many kd's out there, that are there just for the sake of old friends to keep in touch. Our kd is very much so like that, we are some what competitive and we like to hit things, but if we were forced to reshuffle, everyone would just leave.

I dont understand how the reshuffle keeps coming up. There are always kd's recruiting and it is very easy to find a kd that will fit what u are looking for. It's not only high activity, need to wake up middle of the night kd's recruiting. There is a whole range and many that are willing to teach. And the randoms that do get killed off, are ones that are non-responsive and just disappear after a few hours or days. No one kills off a random that will atleast half listen because a warm body is better than nobody.

[DonJuan]

Thunder is right...only the most organized and committed KDs will end up paying for all new invites to get their old kingdom back while it kills all other players' inspiration and effort thus far that kept the semi-competitive KDs together

The only real way to help kingdoms is for players to understand that if they are not in a competitive KD, they must join other KDs and fill them up to really get the most out of your Uto experience.

Even just 1 of the most casual player can get by just fine in a semi-competitive kd w/ 20-24 players.

[StratOcastle]

What kills this game as far as new players is the anti-competitiveness. Players being shuffled would put everyone on a level playing field. This age is draggging out so bad. New players want a chance at being in a decent kingdom and making it to the top. Can't do that when it takes ages to sift through people half@ing it and not playing as a team.... and that's if you're lucky. Can't do that when you're pitting noobs against people that have been playing together and playing since the game was created.

I'll agree in part.

And I'll throw you this bone; Concerning a reshuffle, many disagree and I might even side with them. But to appreciate your stand it's yet another thing that in theory is bad but in practice may not. Simply, there are a lot of things I've done in game that others have said was bad, but it's not. Sometimes the community can't see past the shadow of it's past, and the tradition of yielding to the strong builds complacency.

I've been chasing a theory for a number of ages concerning mergers and player participation. As stated here, change is tough but I think I know why. I see it in merges. One thing I've noticed in most merges, the concept would seem to hybridize the kingdoms with the hope of fusing the best qualities of both. This doesn't happen. The dominant kingdom dictates everything and the merger slowly fails and everyone's looking for answers again. Some are ok.

I've proposed mergers based in player participation, cultural equality and internal competitiveness. For my part I'm not into proposing merging one casual kingdom into another. What I'm attempting to do is present a template to bring the best of 3 kingdoms together into one. Because I'm a goody-two-shoes, the slough of the kingdoms(the casual players)would be guided to merge their casuals together. The casuals are your fledgling allies.

Here's the deal though. You need to trust an intuitive leader and leave the math wizards to make the contraption work. If you watch this game carefully you'll see that while the mechanics run the show it's the intuitive leaders that make the most impact. This isn't about one vs the other, this is about how you excel as a team. You see, the math wiz/mechanic will never listen to the intuitive because it doesn't jibe with their understanding of the game. If it's not efficient they don't use it. This causes complacency. The intuitive on the other hand will go places unanticipated. Let the idea guys make the ideas and let the engineers figure out how to make it work. That's team goal one. ~ Leo Fender understood this and he was a mechanical thinker. Jimi Hendrix was an intuitive. 1+1= Legend.

Team goal two is to get everyone involved. I have mild disdain for these carpet bomb waves of said generic attacker race.
Players can be connected as a team and their roles can at least feel integral to the kingdom good. The morale of a soldier can be strengthened if we share the battles; land, sea & air, as it were. In fact they can feel, and be, as equal to the kingdom goals. This is done by connecting the mission objectives from t/ms to suicide attackers and all parts between. We have logistics to consider and thus the bank/merchant, what have you, is ready to assist.

Finally in this type of merge it's not just showing mutual respect to the adjoining kingdoms, it's actually letting them operate in their wheelhouse. I compare this to the thriving Burroughs in NYC. The city sustains based in a cultural richness. In Ohio I buy an Italian sub. In NYC I buy a sub made by an Italian. Kingdom team work will blend over time, but we must first respect where these players came from. They have pride in what they've done. Sometimes pride can blind, but in time, if the other guys idea is better it'll sink in.

My proposition is 8 of the best players from 3 kingdoms combined into one.

Regards to Endurance War Specialists.

[Earth]

The mods need to make sure new people know If they find themselves enjoying the game, but feel overwhelmed in trying to be good, but got the time/willingness to learn, to get on the forums, get a request out and start searching. I don't think its stressed enough that the people you play with and the tools at your disposal (munk and such) will dictate 100% your skill as player, effectiveness as a kd, and your all around enjoyment. I came into a solid kingdom with the right knowledge but was burnt out from falling short repeatedly. Took an age off,came back, found WSK's and these guys are like family now, ill be here until this game turns off or we disband. This game is crazy fun but its too hard getting new potentially high quality players to competitive kds quick enough to retain them.

The mods and devs need to come together and make it known that somewhere at all times there is a good kd willing to take in unproven but dedicated players that are willing to take it to the next level. I dont care if its through mass messaging everyone in game X times an age saying "if you find your enjoyment fading, please get into the forums where you dream kd awaits". Maybe start a sticky thread stating YOU WILL NOT BE GOOD if your kd doesn't set alarms, doesn't use some kind of messaging system, doesnt use info gathering tools, etc. Then maybe even list the most popular and reliable options. People can add to it as time goes on and it will be an easy reference for people to turn to in taking their kd to the next level, or if their kd isn't willing to implement these then they know they have to bounce to a new one rather than flat out quit.

[beans]

going back to having two servers could help. Long ass time ago there were two servers, one that had kingdom spots preserved from age to age and another one that was reshuffled every age. A second server could have other differences, like 10 players to a kd instead of 25, or test new game mechanics/ideas out there, it could be a beta server.

[Zaminium]

can we get ships back too? :P

[StratOcastle]

I've been in kingdoms with munkbot, Stingernet, and Upoopu and recommend each player be familiar with them, but mainly for curiosity sake. Many players will find this optimal and be happy.

Myself, I'm quite happy with the flawed Pimp. I'm not really a fan of irc interaction and can't even download whatsapp on my antiquated tablet. I love playing the game as is. You can most certainly compete with bot equipped kingdoms with their superior communication; it's really a matter of player instinct. It just so happens many ghettos by virtue of being out of the loop also harbor casual players. We should appreciate them for being here and I've met some incredible personalities in the most unlikely places.

No player should feel shortchanged by not having bot access or sophisticated communication. In a way the in game chat and espionage page are the intended playing field; not by rule but by, how should I say, mojo(?)
I've never performed better because I was in a bot/irc kingdom. You can conduct some kingdom actions more efficiently, but this also is in part due to being a crutch for player instinct.

Mind you, most guys reading this are from the top to upper 50 kingdoms and would disagree with this assessment. I've been much deeper in many fragmented kingdoms in the charts. I'm saying this because below the top 50 is everyone else. We certainly don't want them to contemplate quitting because they don't qualify for flavor of the month. If they're listening then trust that you can compete. The bots aren't magic, they're simply a way to evaluate vast data more efficiently. Or, you can trust your knowledge and experience.

There's hardly a province in the top 50 built worse than me by standard measure. There's more to it than that. Have fun.

[Thunder TA]

They cant afford 2 servers, they cant handle 1, kingdom sizes wont be dropped and the test server was the only one to reshuffle and it died also.

[Goodwitch]

we could also all try to do our part to welcome and help new players/kingdoms. Yes , everyone needs to random, even into smaller kingdoms at times. But we can be nice about it. We have all seen the 2% of every building type build...write them an in game message and explain it. or the orc thats running all defense. the one without any thieves or guilds. sometimes they may be inactive or just ignore it, but there may be that one that'll turn into a really active player if someone took the time to explain stuff.

[chow mein]

Chickity China the Chinese chicken
You have such a LoNg Age and your brain stops tickin'

[DM_Benjamin]

I would fully support an age where everyone gets shuffled

Maybe implement some system where it is possible the age after to return to your main kd free

[StratOcastle]

I would fully support an age where everyone gets shuffled

Maybe implement some system where it is possible the age after to return to your main kd free

I wouldn't mind. I random at least once an age and adopt or start a new province 2, 3 or even more times each age.
This elf I'm running is from scratch(after a long hiatus through the middle of the age) and a random. I started off with an avian oiler this age and shelved it after 2 wars. I finished with a caboodle of acres and put it up for adoption.

[khronosschoty]

I would fully support an age where everyone gets shuffled

Maybe implement some system where it is possible the age after to return to your main kd free

I really like this and I do not think it would kill the game; just broadcast to everyone "This is a random shuffle age" and like you said make sure you have the option to go back to your old kingdom the next age after the shuffle age. Then you could be presented with three options, at the end of the shuffle age "go back to your original kingdom, stay with you shuffled kingdom, or go somewhere else.