Is there any way of setting up a gunboat game, with people that you know will communicate with the “every 5 turn”-diplo?
Currently in three GB’s, one hasn’t reached turn 6 yet, but the two others both have 2 combos that don’t send out any diplos.
In one game this has been so for two rounds.
In GB92 we also had one who didn’t communicate at all.
Would also like to be able to see if people SS in GB’s.
I know you can’t force people to communicate, neither in indies or GB’s, but it’s really frustrating when 1/3’rd of your “team” don’t seem to have interest in acting as a team.
Not sure how to go about this, but there must be a way to “screen” players for special GB’s.
Of course, one could argue that you’d have to screen for “poor play” as well…
Close but not quite. In GB you can’t hurt your ‘allies’. In the old GSI days, if they were not talking you assumed they were dead, or soon to be dead. The knives came out then, by gosh.
If I can’t attack them, unless they’re defined dead (by some vague standard), then they’re my team…
To me GB’s were made to implement some “fog of war”, so you couldn’t coordinate everything down to tiny details.
Wouldn’t mind though to be in a GB without any communication, then I wouldn’t at least expect to get diplos
But a compensation would be to see a list of who got their turns in, and who didn’t.
That way you could plan according, and maybe assimilate combos who don’t diplo and who SS.
Not getting diplos AND not being able to see SS, is kinda frustrating.
There’s no-drop formats. I’ve found that players in that format are generally the more hard-core players and make better use of the diplo opportunities.
Spivo-
Find 11 other like-minded people then go to Clint direct and say, here who is in this GB game. I have been part of a “by invitation only” GB game and it went well. Ftr, the current “no drop” GB variant-of-a-variant has its origins in this game.
I agree with SPIVO. Although you are not required to communicate, anyone that elects not to at least send some form of communication is only hurting his team. Congrats, you did not do anything wrong, we just had no chance to win because the other side decided to communicate every turn, and you decided to not give your team a chance to coordinate anything.
Yes, it is a game. But if you are going to play, play to win. Sending a 30 word diplo every five turns take minimal effort.
And for those that don’t like the diplo’s at all, I think it is a mistake as well. But again this is my opinion and I prefer the diplo over the no diplo games.
Well, I’m on your side and send diplos, providing I actually have something helpful to diplome… But consider, this or that ‘intention’ be it silence or fog of war, there are a great number of players who’ve told me they play Gunboat because they don’t want to have to deal with allies in human form - in any way. So the fact you’re getting ANY diplo’s is something to seize on and maximize, if you’re so inclined, but, and while I empathize, one can’t complain about the heat in the tropics or the cold in the arctic. Enjoy a/c or a warm fire respectively, but where you are is where you are and Gunboat is what it is, yes?
The understated key here is in the ways the game is being hand modified. I’m loathe to agree with Ed, but it’s one thing to “turn back the clock” and pretend modern technology hasn’t caught up with the game for a game of “let’s pretend”, it’s quite another to restrict perfectly valid orders that the designers certainly intended on being used, out of some moral sense. I guess we’re pretending we have morals…?
There are GB games with no diplos and GB games with diplos every 5 turns (T6,T11…)
If you don’t want any communication, then for goodness sake, sign up for the no diplo variant as opposed to the variant where folks expect diplos on T6, T11… As Tim says, if you don’t diplo, then you’re hurting your side’s chances to win.
As to Brad’s “useful info to diplome” comment, well you get 30 words Brad. Here are some things that are always useful:
who owns what MT/City
enemy characters who are doubled & info on company they’re in
LA/LAT info
FP military plans to attack location ABCD on turn X. Now the FP can combine to attack in coordination (big wave) as opposed to a bunch of more easily defended small waves.
DS company request to have x2 scout agent join company commander foobar at location ABCD on turn X. That agent can then be doubled.
artifact transfer requests / plans
etc etc etc. I don’t see how you (experienced player) could argue that you have nothing useful to diplome… You have a non-starter argument sir. I always find it difficult to cull down to the 30 (50 in some games) word limit…
Truth, with 5 turns to diplome, it’s virtually impossible to not have anything useful to share. With other similar style games that run diplo’s every turn, well, on one hand there isn’t always something of value besides griping, on the other, well, in honesty they can be considered “Christmas” games - do your orders on turn day, ship them off and by the time the next turn arrives, in 14 long and busy RL days, you’ve forgotten all about it and welcome the surprise gift in your inbox… Sometimes, one “meant to write and send the diplo” but, well…
I agree that to diplo every turn, kinda means you might as well be in an Indie game.
But diplo every 5 turns, then atleast the first couple of rounds, you should have something, anything.
Just a simple “Massing armies to attack 2715 on turn 8”.
Otherwise please sign up for no diplo, and run your own show.
Oh and if you can’t “make” people diplo, then at least let us see who SS, because how on earth are we to see who we can hit otherwise???
In my world, nations who don’t diplo are “dead”, but I also know I’d get the “you can’t attack your allies” message if I move agents/emmis to hit someone.
Thanks Brad. “Teams” and “Fairplay” are the only things some people can imagine. The seven alien concepts (alliances, realpolitik, ambiguous environment, moral freewill, stealth/deception/ruses, psyops and opsec) in the Stassun/Feild game are truely alien.
