1) This idea sucks.

For those who play the game to the bitter end, as it should be, this will change nothing.

For those who tend to leave a sinking ship, you're telling them that it's OK to do it. Don't like how thing go in Autumn 1901? Don't worry, you have a button to get yourself out of this uncomfortable game!

2) Yeah, I see that as a good option. I wouldn't put it high on the priorities list though.

3) I believe this is part of the next release, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

1) perhaps a manual CD in all of ones games, and can't join other games for a week. it would be great when leaving the site temporarily

1) I agree with Xapi.
3) Agreed, and I also suggest that the game doesn't wait for orders during retreats if there is nowhere to retreat to, i.e. the only available option is to disband anyway.

1/ People quit games for many reasons. The ease of quitting is not a real factor in the mind of the Quitter. What is more important is to have the community respond to the quitting. As such the earlier it is identified the better. There needs to be a more active pool of replacement players and there has to be incentives or lack of penalties for the replacement to encourage them.
There also needs to be a 'Stop Loss' situation where a game is not processed with a NMR in Spring 01 so that the game is not broken from the start. Far better to get a new player.

As for the other two points, I am a strong advocate and there has been many such advocates on the design forum.

1. Disagree, but I do like hte idea of being able to 'sell' your position. Ie: you put it up for CD and someone can take over it, but if they do you get whatever they pay to take over. Thus if you have to give up on a game you can get what you earned from it. Also this would help as poor positions wouldn't be bought out.
2. I think this has been added for 0.9
3. I believe this has also been added.
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PLEASE JOIN THE DEV FORUM: http://forum.phpdiplomacy.net
Everyone keeps making the same points again and again. Have a look there first to see if it's been talked about, please!

Re: #1

I do think that "selling" one's country might be preferable. I disagree with the idea that manually CDing shouldn't be allowed. Things come up and the "null" turns that happen before a nation goes CD can quickly swing the tides of a game and make an otherwise attractive position very undesirable.

I realize that some people are on this site rain or shine, so to speak. As for me, my wife is expecting a baby in two months time — at which point I'll probably be unavailable for an indeterminable amount of time. As the date draws closer, my only two choices are to stop entering games all together (as I have no real idea how slow/fast some of the games best suited to my life will play out in real-time) or be "that one" who just stops submitting orders in the middle of the game and kills any momentum and excitement.

Of course I could always ask for a pause, but as I wouldn't really be able to provide a reliable unpause date even be able to stick around to see if the pause vote gets passed that hardly seems like the best solution for anyone involved.

I think manual CD, or something like it, would be a good thing. If something comes up and the other players aren't willing to pause, you're stuck and your allies are screwed. How often do we see requests for sitters on these forums? Except you have to give your account information. It would be much nicer to be able to hand over a game to someone else to play for a bit. Maybe manual CD isn't the way to do that, but there should be some way.

I think I prefer the idea of "auctioning off" a game. You want to quit? Sell your country to the highest bidder. It ensures that instead of CD-ing, you get someone with a definite plan to take over. Also helps with those people who join the site, get into a bad position, and quit playing altogether.

@Duffster - You know there is an upcoming period where you will not be able to regularly access the site. It is your responability to consider your schedule when joining new games. The other 6 players are committing their time and it is unfair for you to jump ship on them. If you want to continue joining new games, then go for the ones with 72 hour phases to reduce the chances of NMRs.

Obviuosly not all absences can be predicted and sometimes they are unavoidable. Rather than dissappearing, I suggest you post a request for a sitter here in the forum. Many people here are happy to help out and are willing to manage your games for a few days/weeks while you are out.

@Alderian - For now, you can always (and should) change your password to something temporary before giving the info to a sitter. Then change it back when you return. I do really like the idea of being able to designate a short term proxy for your games. If done well, it would be pretty slick and extremely useful.


Also, as soon as manual CDing is enabled, we are going to see someone break the point system with multiple accounts.

@dangermouse - Sitters are a great idea — in theory. Unfortunately in the small handful of games I've played I've seen a LOT of abandoned teams waiting to go CD and I haven't been aware of a single instance of a sub.

And I can also tell you that if something major and unexpected comes up for me I'm not likely to request a sitter. I'll be lucky if I can sign on ONCE — if that weren't the case I could continue playing. So I don't have time to try to find someone who I can temporarily pass my account off to, and I'm certain uncomfortable of the idea of posting my user/modified pass and hoping that whoever picks up the account won't basically steal my identity and choose not to give it back. So if something major comes up for me in the current system, I'll probably just NMR -> CD as well.

And there's no way in heck I'm going to join a 72 hour phase game. I've been playing 24+ hour phases as is, and it's already a big hassle when everyone has finalized 4 hours in, but you have to wait for someone to to go CD — often a player who was about to be eliminated.

xapi, the current way of going cd absolutely changes the game for the people who play to the end.
1) If that player is your ally, you end up fighting on your own while your enemies have a better chance to grab free centers to build more units to use against you.
2) Players who are in neighboring countries, if they are your allies or not, gain a distinct advantage as they have easy access, and sometimes as many as two turns to attack a sitting duck.
3) If players are going to leave a sinking ship, they're going to leave whether than can press a button or not log on for three turns. the only thing that the current set up does is make the CD country less attractive to take over because they usually have missed retreats and lost centers during the wait. If people want to quit, I say let them. It will be marked on their records and available to every future person they play with to see.

I had quite a few good friends I met on here who would happily sit for me and vice versa. It's become harder recently as I can't get sat from a non-mod (obvious reasons), but even so its not too bad.
Also remember, if you sit for people they're more likely to sit for you!