What fun is that going to be, the girls (who are all underage) like Losted won't be able to get on and then it will be just a bunch of fags playing with themselves.

Also, I'm locked out and my age is NA and I'm definitely a dirty old man.

So, WTF do I do to change the age to get access again?

It is unfortunate, but just like RL, not always fair and things like this happen every round to someone.

I guess Snipe must have thought that I needed it more than you 

It's Spam if it come to me or anyone else 3 times, especially from Snipe.

It's great that we have new Forum Rules but I don't need them sent to me 3 times!!!!!!!!


Regards,
The Forum - Space Odyssey MMORPG - a massive free online space game
 Team.

Regards,
SpaceO Forum Staff

-SnipeDragon
SpaceO Community Head Moderator

The thoughts of someone who wants to remain anonymous.
===========================================================

There have been several "improvements" lately that actually give the advantage to those that save up their turns and use them to buy tech and then use very few turns to take away in minutes what the pounders spend weeks accumulating.

The second cardinal rule this game violates is that you can lose everything if you miss a day or two playing.

The next biggest problem, which is somewhat unusual, is that Sir Emi keeps introducing changes mid round without making the users aware of them (at least the ones that don't care to read the forums every day) and the few who find out about them first have a overwhelming advantage. And a lot of the changes are unbalanced to begin with. (Exploration last round, warp disruptors this round.) Any change that forces players to play in a specific fashion, will alienate those who don't want to play in that fashion. In the case of warp disruptors, the only way to stay alive is to convert to using 90% of your turns on an endless arms race to match your stablizers to the attacker's disruptors. I had my entire fleet one shooted by guys 10x - 20x times my power in a week because their disruptor tech was so high they had a 100% chance of hitting even with huge multiples of the target FP. That totally flew in the face of the obvious intention of the always in place limits to the range of people you could attack.

The voting system has issues too. Nobody wastes time voting after the first couple of weeks. And that is the one thing any game has that gets the users to help attract new users. I'm to the point I won't click the mouse once on anything that makes less than $1b. And Sir Emi wants us to click 30 - 40 times to make $250m? The voting should pay the same as the reward for the max size mission the player can fly.

And there are tons of minor irritations. Like needing to mouse over the mission bonuses to see what it is. While a great improvement over actually needing to click it, it's still a PITA to even have to mouseover. It should just say what the reward is and let them mouse over for the popup if they want details (like what the market value is). Some of the mission descriptions are novel length, so it's not like putting two or three extra words in them would do any harm.

Then there are things like selling items taking hours. Every category should have a control that let's you sell everything below a specified level.

Same with rebuilding bases/mines. I have three blown bases right now that I haven't bothered to rebuild because with five or six things at level 10+, it takes 100+ mouse clicks to rebuild one.

What it all comes down to is poorly thought out ergonomics. Nothing wrong with most of the features conceptually, just the interfaces to them being poorly designed. Most gamers game to relieve tedium, not increase it.

I believe that I've posted my likes in other threads but the two main things was the thrill of battling and the challenge of mastering ship designing, although for a nubie, the standard stuff given out to make a ship with is very misleading, although I can't say that what I liked may not be what attacts other maybe more casual gamers.  I think that ship designing is difficult enough even if you know what you're doing, that certain equipment (such as shields and computers)  should be pre-made and the formula given to make the other equipment and then your main challenge will be putting the equipment together to make the best ships instead of spinning your wheels trying to figure out what to do.

Unfortunately, I spent a small fortune donating to battle, which wasn't sustainable. After that, tried to spend the time to earn creds to support the battling, but that wasn't sustainable either. Eventually had to just cut back on the battling, which left me with only the final reason left to keep coming back, the friends that I had made in the game, but I find that every day there are less of them and when they are gone, I will probably be too.

I also share an IP address sometime which is why I didn't advocate an outright ban, but some games limit the ability to assist others on the same IP address, which would be one alternative. Anyway, the example that you used could easily be used to abuse other players or protect your main to help it grow.

Since Sir Emi needs to get paid for his work, as I had mentioned before, I think that a way must be made to balance donations versus time so that those who can cannot afford the cash but can afford the time can pound away but those can afford to donate (maybe say $10 to $20 per month) can also do so and be pretty much be even with those that do not donate.

Another idea that has been mentioned to me that may be unpopular with a lot of the players is getting rid of alts, which I actually think has some merits.  Most other MMORPG games severely limit the use of alts (by identifying accounts from the same IP address) and I think that this must also be given serious consideration here as their use is often abused by some of the players who know how to do so.

Also, if Sir Emi does let us do a test server, it would be nice to have my ships there so that I don't have to start from scratch 

I agree with all of the comments above by Seither.

It sounds like SO was even better in the days before my time, when there was no pouding away at missions and it was all strategy and battling. 

I certainly would like to try the original SO that Seither describes.

And, davey, you could possibly end be here months from now with only a handful of others grinding away.

Anyway, to continue on the points above, I think that one of the most discouraging parts of the game (especially if you're new and can't afford to donate) is trying to get started, where you really have to grind away until you can afford ships larger than 1 bil to be able to really start doing encounters & get going.

Maybe one of the solutions is to making pay for play an integral part of the game where for a nominal amount you could afford to keep up with those who have the time to spend the time.  Unfortunately, right now based upon the credits that you get for donating, someone would have to donate huge sums to be able to keep up with someone who is able to spend hours of time a day on the game.  Balancing this equation may attract or keep those who want to stay in the game and can afford to pay a reasonable amount to do so and be competitive.

I also agree that alliances don't really seem to be able to do much for individual players. If some way could be developed to aid each other in an alliance that really brings out the team spirit such as in Tribal Wars, that would add a new dimension to the game.

For those of you that thinks this game is so simple, tell me that you know the formulas and methodolgy to design all different types of ships, that you know battle strategies and that you know how to gain in ranks in the game. Then also tell me after that, that you have the time to invest to do all of the above to do well in the game. Some of you still think that the "TnS Mk2 1" pships are the best pships out there because they have 3,000 weapons and that more weapons must be better as opposed to the FP that you get per credit cost.

I am now 81 in rank not playing the game and could easily be 20-30 points higher if I wanted to be.  I would be lucky to be top 200 with the same power ranking a year ago when all the good players used to play.

Most of you guys are noobs who don't know how much you don't know about the game and think that because you're high in the ranks that you're doing well. Doing well in the game is all relative.  The only top player still playing now is Losted and with J-Bomb ahead if her, I know that there is no way that she is seriously playing.

I think that with all the other games out there and other things competing for our precious time, a game where you get ahead mostly based upon time that you spend pounding away on missions is, no matter ow addictive it is in the beginning, is bound to fade away.

The thing that first attracted me to this game was the battling as I hated losing and I spent a couple hundred dollars doing that, but it took me a long time to learn the intricacis of the game how to get ahead and then I didn't have the time needed. As for ship desigining, someone had to give me the formulas to make efficient ships that I then had to couple with research and know-how to start designing decent ships, something that was also very time-consuming and I think that Sir Emi did good by putting in the multipliers for equipment so that you didn't have to make the same design multiple times.

Anyway, unfortunately, I don't know that there are too many people still playing the game from the glory days still here to leave their opinion.

One thing that may be helpful is if Sir Emi could contact people who tried the game and quit within a month to get their feedback as to why they quit.

It seems to me as if we have lost a lot of players and the game is now a ghost of what it was when I first started playing.  From articles that I've been reading, it seems that MMORPG games that are based upon spending a lot of time pounding away is losing ground to games that reward based on obtaining more tangible objects (accoutrements that you may have to pay for such as better ships or new abilities) than time spent.

Does anyone have any ideas that we can share with Sir Emi of how we can rescue this game?

Defender FOO (#3316)

Engaged Units
Fleet Name # of Units Attack Defence Hitpoints
SPOOOOOKYCAAAAAROT 1 ?????? 106.480.801.026+ 0+ 255.762.835.046
ASN Battlecruiser Magician refit by FTP 5 ?????? 85.536.773.442+ 0+ 188.398.882.197
Naffall 1 ?????? 66.733.484.551+ 0+ 160.341.889.576

Assault result

FOO(#3316)'s 1 SPOOOOOKYCAAAAAROT 1 are destroyed during battle.
You boarded FOO(#3316)'s fleet and mothership.
You destroyed FOO(#3316)'s 1 ships.

Your attack was successful and you gained 0 segments, while destroying 0 segments.
FOO(#3316) lost more power than you during battle.

(+3500 Exp)



2007-12-15 20:50:10
COUNTER ATTACK!!!

FOO(#3316) boarded your fleet and mothership.
FOO(#3316) destroyed 0 of your ships and lost 0 ships.
You spent 29.154.709.845 credits to ressuply the fleets with marines.
FOO(#3316)s attack failed.
FOO(#3316) fleet was no match for your forces.

(+10 Exp)



2007-12-15 20:53:14
ATTACK!!!

FOO(#3316) attacked your from deep space.
FOO(#3316) destroyed 0 of your ships and lost 0 ships.
FOO(#3316)s attack failed.
FOO(#3316) fleet was no match for your forces.

(+10 Exp)



2007-12-15 20:53:38
ATTACK!!!

FOO(#3316) boarded your fleet and mothership.
FOO(#3316) destroyed 0 of your ships and lost 0 ships.
You spent 20.960.570.469 credits to ressuply the fleets with marines.
FOO(#3316)s attack failed.
FOO(#3316) fleet was no match for your forces.

(+10 Exp)



2007-12-15 20:54:53
ATTACK!!!

FOO(#3316) boarded your fleet and mothership.
FOO(#3316) destroyed 0 of your ships and lost 0 ships.
You spent 61.636.363.628 credits to ressuply the fleets with marines.
FOO(#3316)s attack failed.
FOO(#3316) fleet was no match for your forces.

(+10 Exp)



2007-12-15 20:56:10
ATTACK!!!

FOO(#3316) boarded your fleet and mothership.
FOO(#3316) destroyed 0 of your ships and lost 0 ships.
You spent 57.489.633.741 credits to ressuply the fleets with marines.
FOO(#3316)s attack failed.
FOO(#3316) fleet was no match for your forces.

(+10 Exp)




Defender FOO (#3316)

Engaged Units
Fleet Name # of Units Attack Defence Hitpoints
SPOOOOOKYCAAAAAROT 1 ?????? 80.034.589.006+ 0+ 259.906.192.974
ASN Battlecruiser Magician refit by FTP 5 ?????? 85.536.773.442+ 0+ 191.450.944.089
Naffall 1 ?????? 66.733.484.551+ 0+ 162.939.428.187

Assault result

FOO(#3316)'s 1 SPOOOOOKYCAAAAAROT 1 are destroyed during battle.
You boarded FOO(#3316)'s fleet and mothership.
You destroyed FOO(#3316)'s 1 ships and lost 0/6 ships.

Your attack was successful and you gained 0 segments, while destroying 0 segments.
FOO(#3316) lost more power than you during battle.

(+3500 Exp)
   

Defender FOO (#3316)

Engaged Units
Fleet Name # of Units Attack Defence Hitpoints
SPOOOOOKYCAAAAAROT 1 ?????? 106.480.801.026+ 0+ 255.762.835.046
ASN Battlecruiser Magician refit by FTP 5 ?????? 85.536.773.442+ 0+ 188.398.882.197
Naffall 1 ?????? 66.733.484.551+ 0+ 160.341.889.576

Assault result

FOO(#3316)'s 1 SPOOOOOKYCAAAAAROT 1 are destroyed during battle.
You boarded FOO(#3316)'s fleet and mothership.
You destroyed FOO(#3316)'s 1 ships.

Primary Objective: Destroy 10% of the enemy while losing less percent of the armada then the enemy.

Your attack was successful and you gained 0 segments, while destroying 0 segments.
FOO(#3316) lost more power than you during battle.

(+3500 Exp)



2007-12-15 20:50:10
COUNTER ATTACK!!!

FOO(#3316) boarded your fleet and mothership.
FOO(#3316) destroyed 0 of your ships and lost 0 ships.
You spent 29.154.709.845 credits to ressuply the fleets with marines.
FOO(#3316)s attack failed.
FOO(#3316) fleet was no match for your forces.

(+10 Exp)



2007-12-15 20:53:14
ATTACK!!!

FOO(#3316) attacked your from deep space.
FOO(#3316) destroyed 0 of your ships and lost 0 ships.
FOO(#3316)s attack failed.
FOO(#3316) fleet was no match for your forces.

(+10 Exp)



2007-12-15 20:53:38
ATTACK!!!

FOO(#3316) boarded your fleet and mothership.
FOO(#3316) destroyed 0 of your ships and lost 0 ships.
You spent 20.960.570.469 credits to ressuply the fleets with marines.
FOO(#3316)s attack failed.
FOO(#3316) fleet was no match for your forces.

(+10 Exp)



2007-12-15 20:54:53
ATTACK!!!

FOO(#3316) boarded your fleet and mothership.
FOO(#3316) destroyed 0 of your ships and lost 0 ships.
You spent 61.636.363.628 credits to ressuply the fleets with marines.
FOO(#3316)s attack failed.
FOO(#3316) fleet was no match for your forces.

(+10 Exp)



2007-12-15 20:56:10
ATTACK!!!

FOO(#3316) boarded your fleet and mothership.
FOO(#3316) destroyed 0 of your ships and lost 0 ships.
You spent 57.489.633.741 credits to ressuply the fleets with marines.
FOO(#3316)s attack failed.
FOO(#3316) fleet was no match for your forces.

(+10 Exp)




Defender FOO (#3316)

Engaged Units
Fleet Name # of Units Attack Defence Hitpoints
SPOOOOOKYCAAAAAROT 1 ?????? 80.034.589.006+ 0+ 259.906.192.974
ASN Battlecruiser Magician refit by FTP 5 ?????? 85.536.773.442+ 0+ 191.450.944.089
Naffall 1 ?????? 66.733.484.551+ 0+ 162.939.428.187

Assault result

FOO(#3316)'s 1 SPOOOOOKYCAAAAAROT 1 are destroyed during battle.
You boarded FOO(#3316)'s fleet and mothership.
You destroyed FOO(#3316)'s 1 ships and lost 0/6 ships.

Primary Objective: Destroy 10% of the enemy while losing less percent of the armada then the enemy.

Your attack was successful and you gained 0 segments, while destroying 0 segments.
FOO(#3316) lost more power than you during battle.

(+3500 Exp)