A Note On Delaying Losses

[Szei]

(07-10-2012 04:17 AM)aaronINdayton Wrote:  Paid user extra slots is a really good idea.

Might as well, but that doesn't really fix the problem. It's like borrowing more money when you're in debt. Games will continue to get clogged up from inactive players, you'll just have a little more leeway because you have a few more slots. Lowering the time limit is the real fix.

Alternatively we can all just be patient and wait it out until the influx of new players dies down and this isn't as much of an issue =)

[Baudolino The 21st]

Additionally it could be a combination of the above ideas, plus the following. If a player has more than 5 games inactive on purpose, (I suppose that it can be easily understood by the app: 15 games will be played however 5 games will stay stagnant on purpose for days), her/his empty slots will be lowered by let's say 3 slots per day... The slots will be given again if the player shows good practice in the future...

PLUS if someone goes to holidays, it can be an option, in order to put this game on hold, and the same time freeing the slot for the opponent. The player can put it on hold for up to 15 days let's say. When the player is back, she/he must wait the opponent to free a slot in order to reactivate the game...

[MrUseless]

(07-10-2012 03:00 AM)bspooky Wrote:  

(07-10-2012 02:19 AM)hmspilky Wrote:  This really needs to be a 24 hour turn time limit, if someone doesn't return a move within 24 hours then they forfeit the game. ...

Being able to only play 5 of your 20 slots completely ruins the app. ...

though I agree being able to have more than 20'games would help solve some issues, I disagree on the 24 hours. That may fit into your schedule, but what if I deploy for 48 hours at a time? Some games take a few days to play even with both parties moving. So let's say there is a decent chance at 3-4 day games. That means I can't start any games 3-4 days prior to deploying for 2 days, so I would be limited to only starting games 1-2 days a week, right after deploying.

I realize my schedule isn't your problem, but OML has to have rules in place that meets most people's expectation. 7 days may seem excessively long, but 24 hours I bet would be excessively short for a lot of people.

Maybe have league games that generate with three possible choices (24hrs, 72 hours, 1 week) for time limits and people can pick which limit in league they want to play with as one of the options (along with which species you are playing), but you don't want to overload an interface and make it too complicated with lots of choices either.

+1

[hmspilky]

I suppose the only fix/improvement is to lower the time from 7 days to maybe 48/72 hours to make your move. Or even give the option to forfeit the game yourself and find a better opponent.

[MarkH]

24/48 hours is definitely not enough. I went on a weekend trips so I couldnt move for like 30 hours. If all my games were lost now, I'd surely stop playing. While I agree that 7 days might be a bit to long, it wouldn't be wise to move to the other extreme IMO. Not everyone is hard core player who persistently waits for the next turn to show up. A lot of people (though probably not posting here) do have work, family and other hobbies.
I'd like to see other solutions for this problem like when you have not done your turn in a specific game for more than 24/48 hours, you must play this game first before being able to resume other games or start new ones. Or the option for more than 20 games (maybe when paid) or stuff like that.

[hmspilky]

Don't get me wrong I'm a 30 something professional with a wife and 3 kids and plenty of hobbies, not a spotty teenager who constantly drums the game, but there are a massive amount of people playing who are deliberately delaying games for whatever reason( so they don't lose ) and it's killing the game quite drastically.

I'd like to see what happens after the initial 7 day period, when the games from triers who didn't like it, started games to try and then won't pick it up again get removed from the servers.

This may well not be an issue once things settle down, but if it continues then for me and quite a few others, it's a big issue.

I'd be very happy to pay towards server space for more slots. Or put a quick fire game, option on there where you have a few mins to return your move. Or something along those lines.

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(07-10-2012 02:23 AM)oneadamleft Wrote:  We're thinking about increasing the game limit for anyone that's bought anything. Keep an eye on the updates; it'll probably happen.

Just spotted this so looks good for future updates.

[Burnsyrocks]

(07-10-2012 09:56 AM)mkaen Wrote:  I think the shortest they could possibly go is 5 days, but 7 seems very reasonable and I hope they keep it there.

Those calling for 1 or 2 day forfeit times have totally unrealistic expectations.

This is a game, and people have responsibilities. You'd rapidly alienate a huge chunk of the playerbase if they start losing all their games over a weekend. Some people enjoy stretches of not being tethered to their idevice 24/7.

I agree with the above, i actually like the seven days time limit. In my case I can only play when im at my mums so im away from my device for seven days at a time. Obviously this wont be the same for a lot of other people, but just thought i should re enforce that not everyone hates the seven day time limit.

I think the best lasting solution would be implementing a choice of turn time lmits as mentioned by lots of people in this thread and others.

[arakasi]

Thanks for addressing this issue, and thanks for such a great game.

While it's good to know that some form of justice will be visited on the people who aren't taking a turn, knowing that doesn't really help make the game more fun when your game quota is maxed out by dead fish. After a day or so, I don't care at all that likestodelaygames69's league standing is going to be affected by his slowness. I just want that loser off my game queue. Moreover, if he's already unranked or bottom rank, I can't imagine how having his rank hurt is going to disincentivize him in any way.

Personally, I don't care at all about punishing the trolls, I just want to see the good players be able to play the game in a reasonable and fun way.

[Osaki]

How about incorporating a "nudge" option that would be available once a day or at a set interval from the waiting player to send a push note? It might be helpful to those who dismissed their notification and forgot about it. Or at least give a little power to the waiting party...
Thanks!

[Wenrod]

I think we ultimately need a choice of time limits. One day, three days and maybe add something like a "quick match" with a 10 min limit for a session in one run.

The current seven day limit is quite annoying for more serious players. Such a game could go on for months if my opponent always makes his turn after a whole week.

Apart from that and a few glitches, I really like this game and had some very entertaining matches. So thank you OML for this great game!