[furball]

Originally Posted by AdmV0rl0n

I play this game in this order, as a Player, a gal member, a cluster member, and an alliance member. Roughly in that order.

Then you are very much the exception.


I always played the game as an alliance member first and foremost, then a player, then a galaxy member, then a cluster member. Where my galaxy was full of allies then they'd become as important as my own planet, but that wouldn't be the case if I went random and ended up in a neutral or hostile galaxy.

Originally Posted by AdmV0rl0n

So, I'll say it once, just for clarity. Quit shafting players, gals, and clusters to feed these alliance whores, making the game one dimensional, and making changes to satisfy alliance whores who come running your way after they spend a round breaking clusters up for their own ends.

Harsh words.


The simple truth is that the vast majority of the active playerbase is a member of an alliance. Why? Because alliances are the only means of getting reliable defence when you have incoming. Further, they are a means for you to have more successful attacks than if you attack solo.


So who should PA Team be catering to? The maverick solo player who isn't part of an established alliance? Maybe not. Does that mean that PA Team should cater to the top 10 alliances? Absolutely not. PA Team should cater to the game itself, Planetarion.

Originally Posted by AdmV0rl0n

No therefore. Every cluster this round was different, some broke into two or three groupings, others worked well, others worked badly. This is the nature of a co-operative game. It allows the players to choose the path, rather than having you, no offense, lock them down to the arbitrary alliance ass licking path, and only that path.

This realisation of yours - a truism but true nonetheless - contradicts the rest of your post. Every cluster works differently, and your earlier presumption that alliances will always carve up the cluster is a foolish one.

Where an alliance (and its allies) are weak in a cluster, it's logical for them to pursue a cluster NAP so that they can avoid as much incoming as possible.

Where an alliance (and its allies) are strong in a cluster, however, it makes logical sense for them to reap whatever profit they can from their cluster with the advantage of the -1 attack ETA, ruling out a lot of out-of-cluster defence. This is a war game and pressing home your advantage is how victories are won.


However, life is not so good for those who are not part of the dominating alliances' plans. Those in a weak galaxy will be used as roid farms (without their consent), a place where players in the bigger galaxies in that cluster can get easy roids. This is how it happened before clusters were eliminated, and it's how it works now. The basic laws of war have not changed.


Acceptance of this by PA Team is a great relief to many players and the elimination of the -1 attack ETA will relieve much of the burden on those who end up in weak galaxies.