Originally posted by H4xOr WaNgEr:
I don't understand, are we not suppose to try to grab land then, simply because nobody in your alliance ever took the time to learn a decent techer?
Perhaps your collective leadership should try pulling their heads out of their solar-emitting backsides, and take a look around at the rest of the server. Or what's left of it.
By my last count, there are less than 600 countries left in this server. This server has over 100 less countries this set than we had at the end of last set. Alliances that were once feared and respected for their political acumen are being treated as yet more farmland for the mighty LaF netgaining machine. Add to LaF's new 48-hour retal policy, coupled with the impossibility of these smaller alliances to effectively retal within the smaller window due to the large amounts of farming going on, and you have a game far worse than what Jolt could have ever envisioned.
What others have already asked in this thread: What happens when there are no untaggeds or tiny clans to farm? Which alliance will LaF move onto next? Will FA talks keep LaF from getting land from someone? From what I'm reading in this thread, I seriously doubt it.
LaF, as well as other alliances, need to accept the fact that, no, they aren't always going to be able to build better countries each set at the expense of others. If LaF wants their precious server to be able to support them in the future, then it is LaF that will need to make some changes to the way they see smaller alliances.
Back in the days when we had over 10k countries in this server, it would be perfectly acceptable for LaF, or any other alliance, to take this course of action on smaller alliances. There was an endless supply of free land for the taking then.
Not today. For whatever reasons other people have speculated upon, we now only have ~590 countries left in this server. LaF's current policy of 'take advantage of the 5-man clan with no commies' isn't going to work here anymore. If this continues to be the case, then this server won't sustain anybody. And LaF will be left, all by itself, on the top of its personal scores sheet. All of the Facebook apps we have pointing to this game won't do us any good if every new/small alliance gets farmed to oblivion. Neither will LaF's logical processes of "they should have had commies to retal, so let's take all their land".
Smaller alliances, or alliances down on their luck, need to be nurtured back to health in these trying times. It's not just LaF that is hurting for land; it's everyone else that wants to put up a good finish at the end of every set. If we all accept the fact that we'll need to hit the explore button a lot more often in this server now, then smaller alliances will get the chance to grow. LaF needs to be reminded that there are other people playing on this server, and, due to the fact this server is so empty, their actions affect the other players a lot harsher than they did when this game was actually worth playing.
Now, I'm not blaming LaF for historical events that's put this game and this server where it is now. Nor am I holding only LaF responsible for what must change if this game is to have any chance of surviving. Being this is a thread directed at LaF, I figure that it's LaF that could use my advice the most here. The fact is, we ALL need to take on a different mindset, and use other methods to get ahead in this server. Perhaps manipulating the market so that your clanmates are the only ones who benefit may be a viable, alternate strategy.
I do know this: I'm not playing a country this set. Mostly due to real life issues, but then I'm reminded of the possibility that this game may not be very fun to play in the near future. If I ever get the feeling that there's no hope left for this game, then I'll be one of the thousands of players that have left this game due to alliance policies and everyone else's inability to see beyond their own faces. Then, someone else will have to develop these forums.