POLL: Communications during Sunspot activity

[Googlie]

In game, during sunspot activity, factions cannot communicate with each other. So the option of calling up your AI pactmate and "co-ordinating battle plans" is suspended for 20 turns.

Should this apply to human controlled factions?

[GeoModder]

But there is no way to force 'no contact'.

[Googlie]

Originally posted by GeoModder
But there is no way to force 'no contact'.

Other than by vigilant modding

Tass and I have access to all the private forums (but obviously can't see e-mails or chatroom logs - but we can see the results such as a sudden tech aquisition or a co-ordinated attack that wasn't in battle orders before the sunspots)

G.

[Nubclear]

Um...I'm not sure that the yea voters know exactly what they're voting for.
For 20 complete turns there could be NO communication between factions.
Let's assume that it only takes 1 day (24 hours) for a faction to play its turn. Of course we all know it takes more than that, but let's just pretend.

There are four factions: Morgan, Angels, Gaians, Spartans. Thus, it would take four days for 1 turn to progress.
Sunspots take 20 turns to elapse.
Thus, if it takes four days for a turn cycle to complete, and twenty would need to be completed, it would be 80 days before factions could communicate again.
Thats nearly 3 months, and this is assuming it only takes 4 days (or 1 day per faction) which this ACDG has shown not to be the case.

Do we really want to wait months and months before we can negotiate treaties, exchange techs, etc again?

[GeoModder]

negotiate treaties: a faction can always stop attacking in case of a war.
exchange techs: It's not possible with AI's, why with played factions then?

I don't think Googlie means that the public forum supposed to become silent as well, just that no ingame info is exchanged.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by GeoModder
negotiate treaties: a faction can always stop attacking in case of a war.

Or not. They don't have to.

exchange techs: It's not possible with AI's, why with played factions then?

Because, if no inter-faction communicatino happens at all in the game, then it becomes boring.

I don't think Googlie means that the public forum supposed to become silent as well, just that no ingame info is exchanged.

Not, but how long can this forum survive if nobody can tell anybody whats going on?
A month? Maybe. Two? I doubt it. But three?

[Drogue]

I was about to vote yes, because it make RP sense, but the practicalities are horrendous. No communication for almost 3 months? That's seriously bad.

I would propose a mid option. There is no in game communication due to sunspots. You can't exchange techs, Ec, sign treaties, etc. but you can communication as human beings, through the forum of general chats. Not sure how it would work RPwise, but it means you can have the major sunspot effects, not having any diplomacy come into action, but you can still talk, and enjoy the game. A major downer if you have 3 months with no diplomacy whatsoever

[GeoModder]

Originally posted by Comrade Tassadar
Not, but how long can this forum survive if nobody can tell anybody whats going on?
A month? Maybe. Two? I doubt it. But three?

Infiltration info is still passed during sunspot activity, from that on 'sketchy' info can be used to create stories in public forum. This sort of 'fiction' info can even be used to 'diplomatically' feel the terrain. eg. base1 and base2 undergo drone riots due to the war with faction1.

At least, I'm having fun with fellow players in my first PBEM posting stories on how our faction fares, with references to important events. And none of us has infiltration info on another.
It gives an extra feel for that PBEM.

Why should the same not be possible during sunspot activity in a DG, in addition of deliberately making such public info a bit mysterious?

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by GeoModder


Infiltration info is still passed during sunspot activity, from that on 'sketchy' info can be used to create stories in public forum. This sort of 'fiction' info can even be used to 'diplomatically' feel the terrain. eg. base1 and base2 undergo drone riots due to the war with faction1.

At least, I'm having fun with fellow players in my first PBEM posting stories on how our faction fares, with references to important events. And none of us has infiltration info on another.
It gives an extra feel for that PBEM.

Why should the same not be possible during sunspot activity in a DG, in addition of deliberately making such public info a bit mysterious?

Good point.
However this ACDG already experienced 2 activity slumps....I don't think people are going to put the effort into creating these stories based on what others can see through infiltration.

[Skanky Burns]

I think there should be low-level contact allowed. Messages can still be taken to other factions the old-fashioned way, on foot, but negotiations would not be possible.

[Maniac]

Everyone seems to be talking about sunspots and no-contact in the next ACDG. But judging from Googlie's latest post I get the impression he's talking about the current game:

Originally posted by Googlie
Other than by vigilant modding
Tass and I have access to all the private forums (but obviously can't see e-mails or chatroom logs - but we can see the results such as a sudden tech aquisition or a co-ordinated attack that wasn't in battle orders before the sunspots)

If so - I hope I'm wrong though - it's a rather odd matter to let everyone vote upon individually. After all, all CPUers would vote "no contact", while all Hiveans, Drones and pirates (despite being eliminated) would vote "contact allowed".

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Comrade Tassadar
There are four factions: Morgan, Angels, Gaians, Spartans.

I didn't really mean for the upcoming game (but it'd be relevant there too)

In the current game, sunspots have just hit in 2163

Should the Drones and Hive still be able to tech-share/steal, plan joint attacks etc etc when the CyCon are prohibited from "co-ordinating battle plans" with the Angels or Believers.

And (presumably) the AI honors the sunspot prohibitions, so the Angels and their submissive, the believers, can't swap techs, send units and/or help/credits etc etc

That was the thrust of my poll

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Maniac
If so - I hope I'm wrong though - it's a rather odd matter to let everyone vote upon individually. After all, all CPUers would vote "no contact", while all Hiveans, Drones and pirates (despite being eliminated) would vote "contact allowed".

After which Tass and I will put our heads together and rule "Absolutely no contact until Sunspot activity is ended" - overruling the "self interest" vote but still showing democracy at work ( )

It'd just be interesting to hear players views on this - mine (I can't speak from Tass's perspective) is pretty well made up unless someone can otherwise convince me with an alternative that maintains the in-game integrity

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
I think there should be low-level contact allowed. Messages can still be taken to other factions the old-fashioned way, on foot, but negotiations would not be possible

And if this option is the majority held view, then maybe there is a 2-turn delay between agreement and execution, to allow for the carrier pigeons etc to rest on their transplanetary journey

G.

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Googlie
And if this option is the majority held view, then maybe there is a 2-turn delay between agreement and execution, to allow for the carrier pigeons etc to rest on their transplanetary journey

Googlie, are you aware that - despite AFAIK not officially having unified - the Drone jtsisyoda has access to the Apolyton Hive private forum, so that he can read all Hive plans anyway? (Yeah there I go again Tassadar )


Btw, for the next game, is there no way at all to disable sunspot activity and the consequential impossibility to contact each other? I find it rather silly that in a society which has planetary data networks, maglev transportation and possibly mind-to-mind psi telepathy (those last two not yet researched/discovered in this particular game though) two faction leaders can't have a chat or send some data files to each other.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by Maniac
If so - I hope I'm wrong though - it's a rather odd matter to let everyone vote upon individually

Many polls in this ACDG i thought it was odd that people voted individually...