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Thread: Upcoming change regarding homeworlds for missing players

  1. #11
    Although this option seems to solve an existing problem, I think there is a better option. Here goes, my 2 cents.
    I would create a system that once a server started, all players that had joined are assigned there home world planets automatically without them having to log in. Inevitably some of those systems will go untouched as there will be some players who join a server but never actually play, or quickly go inactive... So be it. At least the planets and systems will exist from the start.
    Was this option considered? If so, why did it get voted down??

  2. #12
    The problem I see with the above suggestion is that if someone logged in a day late they could conceivably find all their home system outposts lost, and start the game in a huge hole.

  3. #13
    It was the first consideration, but with the current architecture it is impossible. The game server doesn't know who the players are that will be joining. Changing the launcher and the game server to do that would be a lot of work. We also considered just assigning them to me, but that introduces a different set of issues. So turning them invisible seems like the best solution for the least development effort. There's only me server-side, and new code has to compete with fixing serious bugs, so if we want a new feature, right now it has to require little time or it won't happen.

    Having to redo our entire payment system twice in the last couple of months put a lot of things on the backburner.

  4. #14
    Real User ravenzachary's Avatar
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    I think the invisible planet solution is a mistake. If a player doesn't join shortly after a game forms, they may die, because a nearby player could take the planet. The reason a game has a start is to get players to join at a specific date or near that date to start playing.

    I don't think any player would have the power to take another player's system for a week (can't you give home worlds unclaimed a higher pop for defense?). If you don't join in a week, then well, your loss.

  5. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by ravenzachary View Post
    I think the invisible planet solution is a mistake. If a player doesn't join shortly after a game forms, they may die, because a nearby player could take the planet. The reason a game has a start is to get players to join at a specific date or near that date to start playing.

    I don't think any player would have the power to take another player's system for a week (can't you give home worlds unclaimed a higher pop for defense?). If you don't join in a week, then well, your loss.
    You can't take their homeworld, but you can easily take all their outposts in far less than a week, and showing up to start the game with a colony and 0 outposts would not go well for them.

  6. #16
    Real User ravenzachary's Avatar
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    If you join five days late, well then, that's the player's loss. That's how timed strategy games should work. We all have the same amount of time to complete our victory conditions.

  7. #17
    Maybe new players start on the edge of the map and are protected (cannot be attacked or attack anyone) fo two or three days

  8. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by GeeWhiz View Post
    Maybe new players start on the edge of the map and are protected (cannot be attacked or attack anyone) fo two or three days
    Spawning the galaxy from the middle out, which I think you're suggesting, was the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread. However, I think it would be bad to remove the complete randomness of starting positions as it could allow people to set up strategic advantages by joining at specific times.

  9. #19
    Real User ravenzachary's Avatar
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    Oh, another reason I don't like the invisible planets solution - it will mess up probe exploration. How do you deal with probes that map a whole chunk of the galaxy and then new solar systems come into being? Do you mark those sectors are unexplored or do the new solar systems appear as though they have already been explored?

  10. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by ravenzachary View Post
    Do you mark those sectors are unexplored or do the new solar systems appear as though they have already been explored?
    That was my question too. They said it would be the latter.

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