Topic: Easy Mode.

We've got people who've been here forever.  It's not reasonable for a new person to come in and compete.  I also can imagine that there are people who aren't as smart, or don't think logically who'd also like to compete.

Easy mode would get a defense bonus, so they don't lose as many pl.

For new accounts it would be given for the first two rounds.   And others could apply for it.

No attacking bonus, because families would try to use that.  And it wouldn't be allowed on attacking races.  Or maybe say too many attacks will negate the bonus.  You could limit it to only one galaxy.

I think it would allow more people to complete at a higher level.  The tricky part would be to do it in a way that doesn't insult anyone.

Or.

You could do a handicap, where the computer looks at your history and gives a defense bonus to people who haven't been winning.  You would only have to calculate the bonus at the beginning of the round.  The formula could be simple.

Re: Easy Mode.

There's some crossover here to a discussion we're having in the thread about Solo Mode.

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Re: Easy Mode.

It does encourage people to multi though...

Re: Easy Mode.

I've been thinking this for a while, recently my family had a new player, she ended up being killed off because she wasn't progressing fast enough, how ironic and unfortunate.

There needs to be a galaxy that promotes new players kinda like Verigo but actually fun.

Maybe you start with enough to build up 30 planets kinda like SN but no one can attack you back.

Re: Easy Mode.

Those plans for solo mode sound amazing! Unfortunately developing the AI/general framework for that are probably years away from completion at best so I don't think it's a good idea to shuffle along this discussion about new player balance into solo mode. Personally, I loved Virgo, although I probably don't remember it too well since it was so long ago. Admittedly there are a lot fewer new players right now than back then by sheer numbers so bringing Virgo back isn't the most feasible option.
(*somewhat unrelated but people have talked about having lightning rounds and I would really enjoy a weekend-long round with ~10 min long ticks where you can't attack others or build units. Maybe have 3 man fams and try to get the highest NW by the end. It's sandboxy and would be sort of like a hardcore round.)

I like the idea of new accounts getting some level of protection but I don't see any way to distinguish someone brand new to the game from some dirty vet who makes a new account for a new round to gain an advantage. I think it all ties back to the discussion about morale/fleet readiness/whatever and whether or not the best and most dedicated players should win at the expense of a lesser experience for less experienced and more time constrained players. I can't think of any way to both let the "best" family win and let all the other families not have to deal with farming/general unpleasantness. I do think the current system would work very well if the galaxy was 2-3x the current size with that many more families. With only 8 fams, it's not like there are
separations between "tiers" of NW/size like there are in SN that let more and less successful families function independently and peacefully.

I understand that "get more players!" isn't exactly a helpful solution but I feel like this all falls under the purpose of what the morale system tries to and largely does successfully achieve.

But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated