The next round of Express will bring ingame allies back to the server. Only defense and intel allies will be available. This is an experiment designed to add more diplomacy to the game and to foster a bit more of a community. If it doesn't work out well due to the short rounds of Express then it will be removed. I would like to remind players that all of the anti-collusion rules are still in effect. For example, ingame allies should not team up to do a kill run on a player that has grabbed one of them.


The NPC code will be upgraded to the latest version. Some of the more notable changes are listed below.

* NPC countries will not ally up with other countries on non-clan servers (Express).

* Techers aim for 60 bpt instead of 65 bpt and grow in a more reasonable fashion. They will no longer stop at 5k acres.

* NPC countries have gained the ability to recall goods, recall tech, and to check recent market history.

* NPC countries will sometimes pick sell prices based on market average prices instead of current prices.

* The possible range of sell prices has been reduced. For example, if an NPC priced on a current price of $100 troops, previously it could have picked a price somewhere around $70-$130. Now the range is somewhere around $80-$120.

* Farmers are more likely to sell bushels on their private market when they get into trouble. However, they still sell on the public market more often than a human player would.

* Countries with the Democracy government are able to recycle bushels at any point in the reset instead of only during destocking. However, they will only do so for food prices that are less than the average price. That limit is there to hopefully prevent food buyouts due to recycling.

* Techers and indies now pick their production percentages in a more sophisticated way. For example, previously an indy would set the highest price good (after factoring in production) to 100% - spy. Now, there are five different production algorithms for techers and indies. A country picks an algorithm at the start of the set. Current choices:

1) Produce goods based on current market prices
2) Produce goods based on average market prices over some time period
3) Produce goods based on high market prices over some time period
4) Produce goods based on total sales over some time period
5) Produce goods randomly

Personally I like number 4 the best, but it seems to lead to a positive feedback loop so not many countries will use it.

* Countries have the ability to stockpile if they get too much cash on hand. They will attempt to buy whatever preserves the most value out of the following choices: tech, food, and military. A country will not buy something if it produces it, so a techer wouldn't stockpile tech. For Express there probably won't be a lot of stockpiling due to the short nature of the set and the large number of defends experienced by NPC countries.

* The destocking process is more market based. Some particulars:

** While destocking, techers are able to sell tech at market prices up until a few hours are left in the set. Previously, they would always dump tech at $1000 once they started destocking.
** Bushels can be sold based on market prices instead of at $37.
** Military resell prices are based more often on market conditions.
** Military purchasing price limits are more driven by market conditions. In general, a country will be eager to spend excess cash on military goods that are priced below short term average prices.

Interesting!

Thanks for continuing to improve this, Slagpit!

When I stopped playing Express previously a big reason was because there was no community. It felt like I was playing a single-player game; nobody would comment on the reset or even post the scores at the end of the round.

Maybe bringing back def/int allies will help. It will also advantage the regular top players who can establish standing alliances for round after round, though.

This might be a completely stupid idea, but maybe some volunteer community ambassadors just post a "Round X" thread each reset and then say like "boy tech prices are low this round!" and then post the scores and congratulations at the end... idk :)

Nice, I like all the npc changes.

The allies thing Im not sold on. When I came back to the game it was precisiely because I didnt have to wade knee deep in this community when testing out the new game that got me to keep trying. I was allowed to compete on even grounds immediatly. This raises the threshhold. I think def and intel allies make more sense for tournament honestly.
I don't know what it will do to my motivation to play now, I often start playing and then stop these days, because I rarely know if I will have plans in the weekend already on wednesday, and if I let down 2 players every time that happens I'm not sure how I will take it.

That said, def allies and intel allies will help against people who are only playing to bother others.

https://youtu.be/eesNA_W44SU



:P

oh boy, a mini version of primary, where about 8 -10 people allie and then farm all the rest. i personally would rather see the current version fixed instead of this.

Well here they will be farming bots moreso than other human players.

Yeah if you break GDI here you're very likely to login to a dead country the next morning, I look forward to killing every set I play in this server.

Can you elaborate on this? What do you mean by "current version fixed"?

NPC countries won't get ingame allies but human players are able to do so. All else being equal, I would expect this change to make NPC countries relatively better targets than before. What am I missing?

Also, if the change doesn't go well then we will try something else. :)

It's not stupid at all. When I saw the primary talk thread my first thought was "How can I get that for Express?"

I don't know if ingame allies are the answer. There were removed to make moderation easier, which IMO isn't a reason for a permanent gameplay impacting change. I'll look into making a bot post weekly round threads.

I'm imagining winning a round, or a newer player placing near the top for the first time, and then a bot posts a thread with the scores and nobody comments. That would still feel barren, although I do think the existence of the threads might spur some commenting, so that probably helps.

Real flesh and blood enthusiasts posting and engaging with those who comment back would be much more fun, and maybe if the admins officially bestow some player with that role it would make them feel good and motivated about starting conversations-- ie under their name an italicized "Express Ambassador" or something. btw thanks for making the thread KoH!

You're welcome!

I think it's like one of those amusement park deals, you build it, people will come!

I'm for no allies on solo servers. I still talk to my friends in game whether we're allied or not. Having good allies can be a big advantage for sure which has nothing to do with the solo player's skill. It also makes people think they can fight on behalf of their allies which isn't allowed on a solo server.

I mostly agree but I do like that def allies can offset the power of the PS a bit, and make grabbing not so straightforward that it takes a single spy op to calculate the exact break.

Just make one person the express ambassador who's job it is to post ending scores and start the thread. Give him free premium for the time being, until he derelicts his duties or asks for a change.

I nominate KoH :)

::blushes::

Aw...shucks...

It's hard to remember because it was so long ago, but I think one of the things that helped me to initially make friends from the community was the necessity of finding ingame allies. It at least gives people a reason to interact with others in a positive way. But yeah, it's not without its drawbacks. Like I said we'll give it a test run for a few rounds and see how it goes.

Same here when I came back and there was very few people that I knew from 2025 days :-)

That's a pro for allies. I definitely made some pals when I first came back through in game alliances. I currently wouldn't pursue allies on express, but maybe once bots can retal it'll be more important.

It's official guys, Tmac has all of the friends he needs and isn't interested in making new ones.

:(

Haha, the set is just so short. I wouldn't even be much help as an ally most the set. If anyone would like to double my defense I will accept =)

Any indication when having “Seasonal Leaderboards” will come in for Express?
That would encourage some players (myself included) to play more often, and to completion.

Most sets, when i dont think i can get a really huge score, the motivation isn't there to finish the set as it takes time and effort to do so and it feels pointless so i just drop off. This could be the same for most players as well.

If we have something that this counts towards - that would definitely be a good incentive to play on.

Ditto on above!

Rob is that a statement of you dropping out this set? Haha

This is exactly how I think of it. What point is there to finish 30 40 or even 65m NW when it doesn't affect my t3 average, it only gives me the mild satisfaction of maybe finishing r1 once.

Seasonal leaderboards should also include r1's perhaps? because a win is a win; no matter the score you beat everyone else for whatever reason (luck, skill, effort, timing, maths, game knowledge etc)

I suspect that Rob prepares his drop out statement before the round even begins :(

It definitely should count wins. I feel much different about a win than 2-5 or 6-10. This coming from the guy with alot of 2nd place finishes, haha.

FINE I'LL COUNT WINS. You people and your demands...

DO IT!!

This set would be totally pointless for me to play on. Plus it’s extra effort for me where I live where the set ends at around 8am (and I like my sleep)

Thus the seasonal leaderboard!