GearHead

@Dajobo Hoo is right, don't be a stranger!

This is their opportunity to do so with our community - a new chapter! You're right that most people need community in order to be contributors to greater Planet Bob. AAs with 10 or more members represent approximately 1,790 nations. There are some micros running around that are active communities trying to make it in Bob and grow, probably another 100-200 nations or so. So, let's round to 2000 nations that are either part of a self-sufficient AA or actively trying to become one themselves. That leaves a solid chunk of nations either unaligned (~400) or sitting on tiny AAs just because (~200). Those 200 nations are in the category we're talking about that are aligned in completely stagnant (or disbanded) AAs. That's 10% of the true 2000 nation player base! For those 200 nations, we've always had this stalemate between the narratives of "I care about my AA's legacy" and "just move on and actually play with whoever is left." I'd prefer to see these groups have their cake and eat it too (keep the nostalgia but actually grow and engage in politics), but in practice it never happens. Making suggestions to move on completely ignores their primary reason for still playing. Right or wrong, that's the priority. I won't pretend to understand it, either. I'm just saying that's their stance and I want to try to work with it/respect it because I think these groups are worth fighting for to keep engaged. Our hope is to stand in that gap: allowing the reason for existing to still remain while filling another need (for community and engagement) that just can't be filled otherwise. For any stagnant or disbanded AA that doesn't have any desire to engage with community, I agree with you @Komplex. It's time to give up on them. But NAAC and RnR aren't in that category, and I'm excited to see how this journey goes!

What this announcement doesn't show is the community integration we're enjoying and implementing with these AAs. It's more than a protectorate agreement; it's an opportunity for these legacy AAs to become involved in a larger community without compromising a deep loyalty to their original homes. It's been a real treat for me to see this take place. Welcome old and new friends in RnR and NAAC.

What I believe he is trying to say is that if a nation can select all of their "Connected Resources" instead of just the two "nation resources," it would eliminate the need for collaboration with others in order to attain reasonable trades. All 12 "Connected Resources" would be selectable by the Ruler and Trade Agreements would no longer be necessary. This actually helps the situation you've outlined below: People who don't have the support of larger AAs are at a disadvantage for trades. Generally speaking, at least 8-9 people are needed to have optimal trades in this game, with 2-3 of those being trade "mules" who have subpar resources for themselves but just exist to provide their resources sacrificially to the remaining 6 nations. The game at this stage shouldn't have this barrier for smaller groups to play successfully. Anyone should be able to join the game, even alone, and be able to build their nation just as well as someone in a larger AA. Of course, this doesn't stop the larger AA from attacking a smaller group and beating them down. That's not something game mechanics can easily change. But that's also not the point of this particular game suggestion. While I empathize with the feeling of unfairness being ganged up on, I think that grievance should be separate to the discussion of evening the playing field of trades for everyone, which coincidentally may help smaller groups compete better anyways.

@AdelTo the contrary, I think giving each player the ability to decide their own trades for TE actually increases the skill ceiling for the game! There is a not insignificant number of players who have little idea of how trades work and instead rely on others (usually alliance leaders) to tell them who to trade with and/or which resources to be. With the proposed change, players would have to learn more about trades themselves as part of good nation management. The only "skill" it takes out is the hurdle of having to have enough friends/the right timezone/compliant partners, all of which I would argue are not skills at all! For TE, there is already ample opportunity for teamwork that would not be harmed by changing the trade system. Just my two cents!

Why didn't I think of making this post? This is exactly what is needed and the reasoning is also on point. A few of us started a TE AA a couple of rounds ago to encourage our SE memberships to be more active. We had a big push to gain members, but not alot stayed and the ones who left said the trades were too disorganized/difficult to manage. Resource swapping and trade temping work as decent game meta pieces in CN (both SE and TE). SE is slow enough for it to be viable as-is, but TE is so quick that people essentially need to be hyperactive in order to pull it off. It would be nice if we could keep this meta without requiring everyone to be checking multiple times per day in order to accept and swap trades. @firingline's idea is good because it does exactly this: 1. It keeps the skill requirement high (perhaps even elevating it slightly because nations have to think about trades for themselves instead of having someone else decide and tell them who to trade with). 2. It maintains the same meta (no change in how the actual resources are calculated or interact). 3. Reduces reliance on others to have good trades (this is especially good for AAs that are fewer than 6 members but it helps all AAs because any group size that's not the an ideal # of members will have trouble with trades - the current system lends itself to people being left out of an essential game benefit). It probably would take some work, but I could see TE population doubling or more within 3 rounds after implementation. I know our AA could more than double in that timeframe with this change. Thanks for listening!

In the hope of growing TE, TT confirms it is sharing guides, intel, and protection for Hyuga Clan this round until further notice. We believe newcomers to TE should be welcome to try their hand with assistance for one round to give them the tools they need to fly on their own should they wish to continue playing future rounds. That is all. Good luck out there.

ITT: GPA said this war was literally a waste of their time and showed unfathomable generosity to Kashmir because they just couldn't be bothered rolling them. Tongue-in-cheek. Glad to see this wrapped up quickly and amicably.

Congratulations, Legion! You have a storied history it's great to see you thriving after all this time.

Don't bite on the trolls, @jerdge. They're just being coy. Just because their offensive attacks were pitifully small doesn't mean it's not a war. Good luck, have fun out there. Also, how hilarious would it be to see these two AAs call in treaty partners "because of the heinous aggressive actions of the GPA."

Not me. But if you posted more, I might give a toot or two. I miss the interesting people.

Welcome to Bob and congrats on the protectorate agreement! All the best as you embark on this endeavor!

Looking forward to getting to know the people joining our friends at Sparta. I'm sure this wasn't an easy decision - it never is. Regardless, I look forward to the new opportunities this brings. 😁 All the best Haven + Sparta!

I mean it makes since, seeing as NG protected other alliances that merged into them. 😜

You are a gentleman and a scholar!

I use it EVERYWHERE. I love it and I still get compliments on it! Although I may have lost the original full resolution copy along the way. 😅

Oh man, seeing your face here makes me so happy! My day is made. 🥳

Ha. Nice dig (no sarcasm). Welcome back - enjoy the nostalgia blast!

How can I not be a fan of two of our allies getting closer? Congrats. 🙂

This is well said and it speaks of a great attitude toward an outcast leader. CN is much too small (especially now) for eternal banishment except for perhaps the most heinous of crimes. I find myself mixing with a different cast of characters than I did in my first stint on Bob because of this same open-mindedness. That said, I'm happy to stand by our allies at CCC as long as they see fit to indefinitely bury his nation for the inconvenience he's caused through weaponized sanctions. 15+ years of Bob have consistently proven consensus on this particular topic of etiquette and I'm happy to see it continuing to be enforced with no hesitation or debate. 💥

I have a pretty similar attitude towards this as Buuyo and Sauron, which means I'm really just posting this to help get this baby to the next page (RE: ack-ti-vi-tee) whilst still providing the 1% minimum content needed to not get flagged. Yay for activity and much ado about nothing. Down with Kapleo! Etc etc etc. Tl;dr- don't hate this, there really are worse things. It's beer o'clock and we need more things to talk about anyways, even if the substance is the Bob equivalent of a tumbleweed.

Photographic evidence is, in fact, part of the deal. Written or not. 😉

I wanna know how much Lyanna paid for that addendum.... 🤔 But seriously, I've really enjoyed getting to know the Polaris folks lately. Glad to see this finally come through! o/

Silver lining, win - it's all the same thing, right? 🙂

*begins to chant* fight....fight...fight....fight!