6payh wrote:There seem to be three types:
1 Clueless noobs that will team up with you readily enough but are basically completely ineffective players.
2 Seemingly friendly people who, without any warning or provocation, will stab you in the back the first chance they get
3 That rarest of rare occurrences, someone who actually teams up with you and works with you and is loyal

1: Everyone was a "clueless noob" at the beginning, don't forget that. You have two options with newbies: 1: If they are your allies and are ineffective, tell them what they could do better. 2: Don't ally with them. Ranting and flaming about "that stupid noob that doesn't know how to play" isn't helping anyone.

2: That's the game. You are friends as long as it helps you. If you see the option to backstab your ally and it will help you more then being allied, you do it. You play to win, not to make friends. (Although one doesn't have to exclude the other)

As an example, in my most recent game I teamed with a player who requested a precious generator outpost that was closer to me. It was the only generator in my vision and I told him I'd rather have it. He really whined about letting him have it so I said okay, he can have it. I moved my forces south to commence attacking the player below that my team decided to attack. Then this "ally" who was above used the opportunity to attack my relatively undefended upper side. He's not even teamed with the player we are attacking. It makes no sense!!!

Sounds a bit like something that happened in my first game. I took a dormant outpost and after I conquered it my neighbor sent drillers to it (not enough to win the outpost). I asked him why and he said his friends messed around with his phone and did that. I didn't believed him and warned him not to attack me again, acting strong. He then gifted these drillers to me and there where no other attacks from him. 2 days later I took one of his outposts. It was an obvious move for me but he asked me why I attack him although we agreed to not attack each other? I said we didn't, I warned him to not attack me, never said something about me not attacking him. He was furious, calling me prick and teaming up with the winning player. In the last two days he threw everything he had just to make sure I won't win. With success. He took one of my mines for an hour and that 20% neptunium I lost was exactly the amount his ally needed to win.

TL;DR: Never trust anyone, you don't actually know them. And don't give away outposts near your border without getting something in exchange.

There's an old Russian proverb: "Trust, but verify." I usually start with small agreements or deals. If they prove trustworthy, I may offer more extensive agreements, or even enter into an alliance. Even when allied, though, watch your neighbors closely, and never leave your borders undefended. If an ally is massing troops at your border, ask them about it. Regardless of what they say, bolster your defenses, until they disarm. If you pay attention, and maintain a strong defensive posture, then you should never be surprised by a backstab.

Just remember that everyone is out for themselves. Paranoia is the only sane position.

It's a great game, but I agree that a lot of the players are terrible to play with. More than a few times I've run into players who deliberately screw others over, to their own detriment. I've run into players who are just flat-out unpleasant to deal with. I've even run into players who overtly break the code of conduct.

I'm somewhat afraid that this game may go the route of Dota 2, which is a great game with a terrible player community.

Anyways, I like the way the devs are handling this. They asked all the beta players to create a welcoming environment, and they encourage respectful play as much as they can.

I also like the way Ron signs his emails: "Make yourself an honest man, and you can be sure there is one less scoundrel in the world" or something to that effect. I feel like that attitude is the way to look at this game (and life, I guess. If you care about that kind of thing). If you don't like the way someone else acts, oh well. If you value honest play and loyal allies, play honestly and be a loyal ally. There's really nothing more you can do.
The more people we can get thinking that way, the better the meta (and the world, I guess) will be.