Beginners and Nations

[DezNutz]

You just saw that i am not wrong in our guild a guy will leave Greece to join spain cause Greece is inactive you see ? people leave to join a bigger and wealthier nation, they don't care to spend time (at the beginning) to revive a nation when they don't know how the game works and when they don't have money to waste.
so your idea that people spread among nations to play is wrong

I didn't say players spread across nations. I said that not everyone flocks to large port nations.

[Rg0mx]

Hi all . I am the guy ( gal to be exact) Whitcomb joshua mentions that I am thinking of leaving Hellas to join Spain. First things first. I haven't left yet. I am just trying to understand how politics in this game works. Being totally alone in a nation doesn't help. Even if I had all the resources in the pg world I wouldn't know what to do to revive my nation. I am still trying to figure out how to build a fleet . So this is not a talk about a few people struggling against huge player bases like Spain , IOM and the US. This is just a total newbie all alone gal trying to get a grip of whats going on around her.
My first impression though is that the game mechanics on this area are wrong. Instead of offering new arrivals the choice between so many zombie nations it could for example only offer the choice to join one of the 10 most active nations . Then later when lets say someone reaches a high enough rank inside one's nation (lets say a duke or baron or something) to offer the possibility (through a mission) to desert, steal gold and resources from one's nation and band together with a at least 20 others to form and become the king of a new nation. Then this new nation might have a chance of starting to play a role on the international politics of this game.

[Shadowood]

Hi all . I am the guy ( gal to be exact) Whitcomb joshua mentions that I am thinking of leaving Hellas to join Spain. First things first. I haven't left yet. I am just trying to understand how politics in this game works. Being totally alone in a nation doesn't help. Even if I had all the resources in the pg world I wouldn't know what to do to revive my nation. I am still trying to figure out how to build a fleet . So this is not a talk about a few people struggling against huge player bases like Spain , IOM and the US. This is just a total newbie all alone gal trying to get a grip of whats going on around her.
My first impression though is that the game mechanics on this area are wrong. Instead of offering new arrivals the choice between so many zombie nations it could for example only offer the choice to join one of the 10 most active nations . Then later when lets say someone reaches a high enough rank inside one's nation (lets say a duke or baron or something) to offer the possibility (through a mission) to desert, steal gold and resources from one's nation and band together with a at least 20 others to form and become the king of a new nation. Then this new nation might have a chance of starting to play a role on the international politics of this game.

Very good feed back!

PS. Join Isle of Man. We have pie. All kinds of delicious pie!!

[DezNutz]

Hi all . I am the guy ( gal to be exact) Whitcomb joshua mentions that I am thinking of leaving Hellas to join Spain. First things first. I haven't left yet. I am just trying to understand how politics in this game works. Being totally alone in a nation doesn't help. Even if I had all the resources in the pg world I wouldn't know what to do to revive my nation. I am still trying to figure out how to build a fleet . So this is not a talk about a few people struggling against huge player bases like Spain , IOM and the US. This is just a total newbie all alone gal trying to get a grip of whats going on around her.
My first impression though is that the game mechanics on this area are wrong. Instead of offering new arrivals the choice between so many zombie nations it could for example only offer the choice to join one of the 10 most active nations . Then later when lets say someone reaches a high enough rank inside one's nation (lets say a duke or baron or something) to offer the possibility (through a mission) to desert, steal gold and resources from one's nation and band together with a at least 20 others to form and become the king of a new nation. Then this new nation might have a chance of starting to play a role on the international politics of this game.

To give you a quick rundown on Nations in relation to newer players.

There are 5 items that new players should look for when selecting a nation (in order of relevance)

1). Ship Taxes
2). Active Members - (Inactive players usually don't have ships and if they do they will eventually be kicked from a nation for owing too much debt ie not paying taxes)
3). Skirmish Insurance - (Requires a treasury to payout which means sufficient taxes and thus active members are needed. The lower the taxes the more players/ships you need to cover the costs)
4). Port Ownership - (Helps with skirmish insurance, but isn't a necessity. Is a must for Royal Stipends.)
5). Royal Stipends - (Should not be the sole factor in determining which nation to join. Good stipends can come with some negatives, such as higher ship taxes for low nation ranks to prevent mooching on the Treasury)


Any other functions of the nation, to include nation ranks are something a new players doesn't need to focus on. A new player should have the basics down before getting involved in the workings of a nation.

[Whitcomb The Feared]

Deznuts but this doesn’t solve the problem newborns when they start they naturally tend towards active and powerful nations. So of course that players will go to Spain, USA or Isle of Man.
It’s why it would be better a message at the beginning that if you want to join nation A which is abandoned, it can be a bad move.
As Rg0mx said, when someone is stronger, he can think about making his own nation stronger. But not at the beginning.

[DezNutz]

Deznuts but this doesn’t solve the problem newborns when they start they naturally tend towards active and powerful nations. So of course that players will go to Spain, USA or Isle of Man.
It’s why it would be better a message at the beginning that if you want to join nation A which is abandoned, it can be a bad move.
As Rg0mx said, when someone is stronger, he can think about making his own nation stronger. But not at the beginning.

Let me think about this for a second and reconsider...................


I've thought about it and realized there is nothing to reconsider.

A new player joining nation X, that does not own a port or does not have a large active base, is not detrimental to their ability to play the game. Not having access to Royal Stipends or Skirmish Insurance is not detrimental. Skirmish Insurance can pay for itself via ship tax revenue. Nation Rank Bonuses don't change between Nations. Furthermore, the game offers a means to change nations rather easily.

So this "bad move" must be explained, because I don't see it. Please provide more details on how it is a bad move.

[Meliva]

Deznuts but this doesn’t solve the problem newborns when they start they naturally tend towards active and powerful nations. So of course that players will go to Spain, USA or Isle of Man.
It’s why it would be better a message at the beginning that if you want to join nation A which is abandoned, it can be a bad move.
As Rg0mx said, when someone is stronger, he can think about making his own nation stronger. But not at the beginning.

then that just means that player will be going down a potentially long list of checking for a nation that isn't abandoned. there are a total of 229 nations to choose from.

Of that number only around 5-8 nations typically hold a port. Maybe 30-50 have a few other active players.

Typically when I play a game, I don't gravitate towards the top spot right away, even if I could, unless there's an incentive otherwise. I do that For the same reason I choose not to play on easy on most games for the most part. Sure if you join the top dogs you win easily, but if your victory isn't earned then that sucks the achievement of it.

I think giving players when they start out more info before picking a nation would be a good thing. Or make a training nation they can start out in to learn some of the ropes. They can even make the island on the map between Thorokas and Vaasburg a training port, that also functions as an easy route to earn quick gold in the beginning.

[The Lamb]

Hey mel, you are very wise!!! Read my post on second page

[DezNutz]

I agree that providing more information is needed; however, pointing someone toward a specific set of nations is not something I think should be done.

[Meliva]

Hey mel, you are very wise!!! Read my post on second page

yeah I read it, just couldn't remember off the top of my head who to credit for the idea, and was a bit too busy(and lazy) to check.

Definitely a good potential idea, would also help older players identify new players so they don't waste time trying to hit a player under newbie protection.