ExPN the official news channel of the Express server is back on the Web!!!

following our tremendous successes of the gregg interview and last set's "what is proper ?" thread we have moved ahead of LaExNN as the major news network!!

this week's thread was supposed to be an interview of LLaar but his handlers wanted too much cash, we are not going to pay him as much as we paid gregg,we just aren't.

We tried to get Primeval since he is back in the news because of the NBK bot virus but as yet have not heard from him. If u know him pls have him contact us for an interview.

So this week's thread concerns the future of Express and the new buzz generated by rumors that the admins are going to use express as a beta tester.

the ExPN editorial board advocates the following
1) use the express server as a beta tester
change at least three rules a set
2) players spread the word about the testing
we can not all recruit like gregg but if we each get four new players we can rock this server
3) keep the clan nonsense out
LaE is to be commended for stopping its old practices
4) allow bots to keep the markets up
allow bot designers to enter as many bots as they want here
5) allow spies
get rid of the current formulae that only netters like
6) grant new spy powers and cyber ops
at least to dictators if to no one else

.25 a bullet is all im gonna say

an unnamed source writes to say that bot countries would just be fodder for veteran players

that is kind of the point lets see what the new spy powers do to countries who are not emotionally invested in the game

it is frustrating that the serious responses are always private and public responses are well lets just say they are from LaE and leave it at that

a) If bots are ever allowed, they should be maintained/operated by the admins only.

b) A bottle of bleach.

The unnamed source is incorrect. A good bot could run an entire set's strat quite well if the designer knew what they were doing strat wise as well as coding wise. Certain players have proved this in the past in no uncertain terms - unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, their successes have never become public for obvious reasons.

I am in favor of mod/admin designed bots for AI countries to increase the amount of available land in servers like this, but I am most definitely NOT in favor of allowing any sort of player run/created bot, especially any that has not been rigorously checked out by the mod staff. In the decade I've been playing, I have never seen a player use a bot responsibly, and I don't expect that that will change any time soon - quite frankly, most who have the knowledge/ambition to create them don't have the maturity to use them responsibly.

So far as the beta test idea, I have to disagree with it simply on the basis that we would lose an otherwise relevant server to beta testing random ideas which may or may not work. I would much rather see a new "beta server" created, even if the rule set is similar to Express. Although I'm all for testing new ideas, I don't think a dying server is the proper environment to do it - if the testing goes poorly, this server will lose even more players to frustration.

I think the formulas currently in place are quite good. They may be a bit netting biased, but this is better than the alternative in my opinion. Perhaps you could be a bit more specific on which formulas specifically you're not in favor of?

Also, just a thought...changing 3 rules per set puts a much greater load on the development staff in what is currently a dying server. I'm much happier to see their efforts applied elsewhere, and hope for an attitude change in Express in the mean time, which is ultimately what is needed if folks want to see it survive. I think the reasons Mehul only ran Express sets once in a blue moon are starting to come to light fairly quickly here....and laziness/lethargy was/were apparently only one reason on the list.

i understand the suspicion of bots
they have always been illegal
so only cheaters have had them
but
the people who are capable of creating bots are the type of people we want playing
the point has to be recruitment and retention
if bot makers have the legal option to make them they may be less likely to cheat than they were when bots were inherently illegal
the point that express takes up too much time may be valid but rings hollow coming from LaE


if there is no place to test new ideas we will just keep on at the same old game
is that really the future of earth?

Have you not been watching the game updates in the development forums? New ideas are implemented every set...the game is being tested plenty. And as I said, I'm fine with a beta server, but this should not be it.

Allowing players to carte blanche create bots would give those with technical skills an unfair advantage over those without. Believe me, this is the voice of experience telling you that that will only end badly for this game. It's the reason old FFA was shut down in the first place - do you really want to have it happen again?

it is difficult to respond to he who will not graduate because his peers say that he does not know what his own words mean see their posts in the NOW3P admits it thread

if his words are (as his friends say) just empty symbols devoid of reaon and meaning i will just ignore them

i r huked on fonix - i ken talk gud!