I appreciate your concerns about players dropping. Personally,
I haven't
been bitten by that problem too much, but I agree it's
something that
should be discouraged. Just because there's a problem on one end,
though, doesn't mean the other extreme is any better.
I have a hunch, and it is only a hunch, that if the dropout
problem could be resolved then the issue of the end game would
no longer be so important. It wouldn't affect the game
under discussion, but it would help numerous others we've hashed
to death here.
Unfortunately, the only reliable method available to
prevent dropouts is one which was shot down in flames by Clint
and this group, even though it has proven its worth over and
over again: make people pay for a fixed number of turns at a
time, non-refundable if they drop.
I'm in a game where a team mate dropped on turn 2. We replaced
him, and it was an orderly transition. However, I'm still a
trifle gobsmacked at his reasoning: he'd signed up for a game
he knew he didn't like and then decided it wasn't enjoyable
enough for him to stay on. You may notice, coincidently, that
turn 2 is when you have to start paying for a game...
Gavin