One of the goals we have in the game is to minimize the impact of players dropping out of a game. That's what motivated recent changes like leaving their specialists, shields, and factories active. Ideally we want all players to stay in the game and be engaged, which then led us to question why we even have the option to resign and the autoresign if they don't log in in X hours. We figured that having a player who isn't checking the game as a neighbor isn't as big as an advantage as having them completely resign, because you never know if they'll decide to get back in the game.

What are your feelings about getting rid of resign and autoresign? Any reasons to keep them or should we ax them?

In this elimination tournament there's something to be said where players are fighting to make it to the next round.

So those in fourth or fifth place don't see reaching first as impossible when they only need to reach third.

And those in first want to actively eliminate players who they don't want to play against in the next round.

I'm not sure how to get the tournament feel translated into a regular game.

Might as well try it since we are still in beta.

Players being able to come back at any time and hire all their built up specialists and cause havok would be a tactical twist we would have to prepare for.

It may also make players more comfortable if they have to leave a game for real world reasons for a while.

Would you still leave the bases in outline to indicate a player has been absent so we don't need to constantly check how long it's been since they logged in?

This may end up being a question of monetization. You want people to feel they are getting their money's worth. Is it a value to not have the game kick you out if you paid for it, or does it feel like a cheat to other paying players that someone inactive can still jump in?

I don't know what the plan is for mometization so I can't even guess the answer to that.

Having players come back, to riff on that -

What if a player is auto-resigned, then that position and all the assets of the player is dumped to a game lobby where anybody can join and pick up where the player left off.

I think the current logic of resigning and auto-resign is fine. I really like how the UI changes and keeps building at factories. Finding a reason for people to not resign is huge. Like the people in the tournament have a reason to not to quit. Maybe make a ranking or stat system to see how many times someone resigned/auto resigned. Or ranking increases as you play more or decreases when resigned.

I like the current setting of resign and autoresign. The resigned player is actually turn into a safety wall backing the player. Players can make use of these "walls" as advantage. Just like in real world where a mountain may be potentially used for tactical purpose In addition, the most important part I like in this game is the player interaction. If a player does not login to the game for more than, for example 1 day, then it does not help build up an active gaming environment:) Thank you. Hope this reply may contribute a little

There could be a option to vote for auto-resignation from the players after 48 hours of inactivity. Lets say if more than X% of people vote "yes" then that player is auto-resigned.
And I think you should get rid of resign, those who really want to resign can just stop playing or gift their queen to someone else.

To my mind it would not have any big effect on the game if players were not able to resign. It might be annoying if they come back and you are not prepared for it but then again you would have it much harder if they stay and attack you.

I like the idea to offer the seat in the game to another player if someone leaves...though i would not know how one could offer a fair chance to that player especially in ranked games.

The biggest disadvantage in taking the resign button away is that you would not get bad credit in your profile for leaving a game etc.


EDIT:
I do not have any problems with players leaving in my games? is it really such a big issue? if so it should be handled more toughly!
IF you look at other games that heavily depend on players that stay in the game (League of Legends) for example you might get some ideas in how to handle this problem.
(seems not to be an easy fix though)

Braxo wrote:Having players come back, to riff on that -

What if a player is auto-resigned, then that position and all the assets of the player is dumped to a game lobby where anybody can join and pick up where the player left off.

I like this idea, and have seen it in other games. Of course, that would mean a stat tracker for Games Started, Games finished, and Games picked up, so this option will definitely won't be available in ranked games, but I could see as useful in casual games. Of course the new player would have a disadvantage in alliances, but that was their choice!

mylifeforever wrote:I like the current setting of resign and autoresign. The resigned player is actually turn into a safety wall backing the player. Players can make use of these "walls" as advantage. Just like in real world where a mountain may be potentially used for tactical purpose In addition, the most important part I like in this game is the player interaction. If a player does not login to the game for more than, for example 1 day, then it does not help build up an active gaming environment:) Thank you. Hope this reply may contribute a little

True, but we are still in the developing stages of the game, perhaps people won't get used to it if a change is implemented now? I like the idea of "mountains" maybe there can be such a feature in the game (ie an island is blocking a direct path).

I would be interested in getting rid of resign/auto resign. The current auto resign for Inactives sucks. If someone auto resigns it guarantees you a couple of free generators and at least one free factory before the troop count at the factories become too large to be worth the takeover. This puts you at a huge advantage against everyone else in your game. In addition to having a border you don't really need to defend, you also have higher troop cap/production. Making it so this player doesn't auto resign would at least make you have to be wary of them coming back and inflicting some pain. It would also provide incentive for you to take their queen asap.