[Age2] Life as a colony, the ups and downs and REVOLUTION

[egami]

This is why colonization fails. Colonization doesn't make a better environment; its impact on "bullies" is suspect and it causes as many problems even if it does solve that issue. Colonization transfers power and reduces accountability. In Age 1, valley stealers usually end up having their cities barbed. In Age II, where valleys (especially lakes) are fewer and thus at a premium, a player can be annoying without fearing much consequence and none if they are already colonized. The same applies to all of the other stellar behavior promoted in this guide.

The threat of conquer and/or barb may not be pretty. It may be something that limits the appeal of the game. However, it does make players act a bit more responsibly with their words and actions. To be sure, the attack button leads to "bullies" who destroy the fun for many. However, eliminating the attack button didn't eliminate bad behavior; it just ceded it to a different group.

That's not a solution. It's just bad policy in the guise of progress.

[chaoticjoy1]

It is fine with me and this ISN'T a guide.

[practicalfool]

Lol. Bad behaviour is bad behaviour :P shifting it from one group to another matters least

what works in my thinking is that it's the skillful players that get the challenge of putting up with it.

Age1, well. Punished ever so many ppl. Zeroed ever so many ppl. It became boring. If age2 was gonna be same of the old… well, not sure if it would appeal to me! Lol.
Besides, the little tactics I mention do get old fast if they don't work. And they work best against touchy ppl that haven't yet realised that age2 needs to be played a different way. I.e. The smashalot types. Basically, making enemies costs longer term in age2.

Pssttt. I am still waiting for any/many of my of my few colonies to try this out on me :P At least I'd know who is alive and worth a fight in the future. Haha.

Isn't that what the game is abt? Fighting

[jimstar4u]

yes you remain a colony of the one that colonized you even when u port out of the area/state

[jimstar4u]

one way to get rid of the suzerain is to have your alliance officer boot you from your alliance then have one of your (ex)alliance members colonize you, thus booting out the bad colony, then get an invite back into the alliance and since your in the same alliance as the person that is your suzerain now, the colony is nulled.

[egami]

You are raising annoyance to the level of a skill. It isn't. Social constructs - whether it's a nation, neighborhood or player base - operate based on a set of written and unwritten rules that are usually a fairly dynamic amalgamation of risks, rewards, consequences and expectations.

As demonstrated by this post, Age II offers all sorts of "nothing to lose" ways to play the game. Transfer that to a society and it's obvious that "nothing to lose" isn't a quality that leads to lasting or stable places. The developers took away the big stick of conquer -which, like any tool, can be used in many ways - and replaced it with a realm where "it can't get any worse."

Now, with little effort and investment, you can easily be annoying and there isn't anything anyone can do about it. That's not a neutral thing. That's not new rules and we all just need to adjust. Think if you transferred this policy to a neighborhood. It would eventually become a cesspool or the citizens would take matters into their own hands regardless of rules and authority.

How do you stop a frustrated player from sending a few scouts on a whim to capture your valleys? The answer is that you can't and you can't discourage the behavior anymore. How do you stop a player from sending email and whisper spam? The answer is that you can't and there's no punitive action you can take. Even an anarchist will tell you that there always needs to be checks and balances to behavior. With colonization, we dumped the existing system (which may have been flawed) in the toilet without bothering to include some elements to replace that order.

Reveling in this aspect is either misguided or shortsighted. Ultimately, this isn't some "sticking it to da man" issue. It's undermining the social contract that governs any interpersonal actions to the point where they just aren't viable.

[practicalfool]

Dude. This is a game. Think about that awhile.

And. Afaik, even in age1, a person that stole valleys etc is usually a 1 city account with little prestige. They can't lose their city, they have nearly nothing to lose. BUT, in age1, if one is forced to play on like that, their growth and the chances of them learning enough to become a serious player vapourise.
In age2, just cuz ur being bullied (yes, bullied) you don't lose everything. And on top of that, you have the usual means that ARE present in age1 as well to stick it back to the MAN. Age2 gives very few new tactics to annoy ppl. And I conscientiously tried to leave those ones out. These tactics have always existed. Just that not everyone knows them or how to use them. Age 2 brings players from outside the age1 playerbase to evony. To let the age1 group of bullies ruin the experience outright for them without teaching them a few old tricks is pretty much cruel. Downright cruel. After all, these new players spend the dollar just like the older ones do. And trust me, if the older ones don't HAVE to give them a chance, they won't. They would regard age2 as just another variation of age1, meant to be monopolized and ran aground when the server is full of expd players.

So, stop cribbing about it and learn how to do things so ppl aren't tempted to do these things to you. Having your troops n walls zeroed is deterrent enough for most ppl to stay away from these tactics. And most ppl, if offered to be left alone will stop such tactics against their suzerain. This is meant to help the ones that just can't get their suzerain to leve them the ***k alone in anyway at all.

It's called "living space" or "liebens raum" (excuse my bad German). If you don't give someone that living space, they will either die or they will make some.
Philosophy is best administered from the viewpoint of the aggrieved, and before you go on ranting about my little "guide" - if you can call it that making life difficult, plz look if you are the one causing the greviance in the first place. What do they say, you don't clap with one hand. One handed claps are called Thumps. But Sometimes, what ur thumping might have a nail in it. Just a little more alive than you expected

[Chol]

You have listed many of the problems with colonies... Personally, I usually leave most everyone alone -- except for those who are stupid enough to attack/scout/annoy me. These people I like to stomp into the muck (Age I). I don't know how well this style of play will work in Age II. If you can't destroy the city of someone who annoys you, what is the point? Especially when it is so easy for him to keep on annoying you. There are no consequences...

From a historical viewpoint, those cities that dared to have uprisings were usually razed to the ground by their suzerain. I think the game needs to be modified to allow a suzerain a window of time to re-conquer and destroy a city that has had an uprising. This would be much more historically accurate.

Chol.

[Verinium]

Alot of this can be avoided with diplomacy, i have had several talks with would be suzerains, or people attacking others within my alliance, and most of them ended wtih the person pulling out and usually with me, or my alliance gaining an ally. However, i do agree, some people are just complete aces and the day i meet one i will follow every step on this list lol, if he starts using policies on me i will make him suffer with everything i got =D

[Chol]

Alot of this can be avoided with diplomacy, i have had several talks with would be suzerains, or people attacking others within my alliance, and most of them ended wtih the person pulling out and usually with me, or my alliance gaining an ally. However, i do agree, some people are just complete aces and the day i meet one i will follow every step on this list lol, if he starts using policies on me i will make him suffer with everything i got =D

LOL. You are already looking at the problem from the wrong point of view. What happens when you play the game for several months, and some idiot starts stealing all your valleys... someone you could easily beat a dozen times over daily. So you take them back, and he starts annoying YOU for the next several months in reprisal -- this list and many other things. Nothing you can do... You can't kill him, you can't drive him away... the worst you can do is try to annoy him back...

Right now you cannot afford to garrison your valleys because it takes up a valuable rally spot level... if you need to garrison all your valleys you can't attack anyone.

A newbie in beginner protection can take away all your valleys a dozen times a day, and you cannot even colonize him for 7 days. By then he just deletes and makes a new player, and starts harassing you from beginner protection all over again.

And so on...