I've spent a week listening to the most common suggestions in chat and through message in game. Seems as though most people agree that there is an imbalance between the three main styles of Zorg. I went into chat about an hour ago and asked the first person I saw if I could interview them.
After asking him if he'd like to answer a few questions and tell me his perspective:
12:57:12 ‹Lightning› Even to new players, now, it seems as though fleeting is much more advanced than the other two - and the only style worthwhile.
12:57:25 not really
12:57:30 i am a raider
12:57:40 and i have grown quite fast
12:57:55 ‹Lightning› Raiding is being considered fleeting in this idea.
12:58:01 oh
12:58:03 ok
12:58:13 ‹Lightning› So many advancements in new ships, none in mines and defense.
12:58:18 what are the other to then?
12:58:25 two
12:58:27 ‹Lightning› Fleeting, Mining, Turtling.
12:58:46 turtling is not an option because of score differences
12:59:03 and def is not really capable of killing fleets
12:59:03 ‹Lightning› That's what people have been saying.
12:59:07 because...
12:59:16 the combined shields
12:59:22 ‹Lightning› Which was not how the game used to be. All 3 styles were equally powerful back when ZE started.
12:59:23 thats a problem
12:59:45 being more or less a noob
12:59:59 ‹Lightning› Turtles are almost extinct, mining is nearly only half of the player base without being a hybrid. Extreme fleeters (who used to be a bit rare) are now become too much say other players.
13:00:00 i found it frustrating that i build WAR shipd
13:00:22 and got them wiped out, with the other person loosing none
13:00:23 ‹Lightning› As a player, how do you think we can fix this imbalance?
13:01:27 as i said, the combined shields are no good
13:01:28 ‹Lightning› New advancements in defense and mines? Research? A cap on fleeters?
13:01:42 if you attack battleships you loose
13:01:56 maybe not much if balanced but atleast some
13:02:06 ‹Lightning› Alright.
13:02:12 ‹Lightning› Very good point.
13:02:18 also being attack by someone 550 times your size...
13:02:23 i had that
13:02:30 not motivating
13:02:37 ‹Lightning› So a larger gap between attackers and the attackable?
13:03:02 yeah probably declining with the score going up
13:03:12 otherwise the big players have no targets
13:03:38 like 1-5 to 1-10 1-20
13:03:52 otherwise our top guys will quit
13:03:55 ‹Lightning› Almost a tier system then?
13:04:05 yeah something like that
13:04:18 also crystal mines seem overly expensive
13:05:02 i remember after a month asking a top guy when he build a 38 crystal mine when it became profitable
13:05:03 ‹Lightning› Would lowering the cost of crystal mines encourage people to mine?
13:05:09 he never answered
13:05:13 well yes
13:05:24 if not being raided whilst having defense
13:05:41 in a reasonable ratio sofcourse
13:06:23 ‹Lightning› Do you think with all these powerful new ships and decrease of attack value in defense that turtles are - now - nearly pointless?
13:07:05 yes
13:07:10 but
13:07:20 thats mainly the score diffence
13:07:34 or atleast how much fleet one can send
13:07:44 i play x
13:07:54 and it doesnt matter how much def i build
13:08:21 i cant block a large fleeter, or even worse he will run off without a scratch
13:08:27 sure he pays deut
13:08:41 but he could even have a roamer
13:09:29 ‹Lightning› Incentives for fleeters are obviously raiding and crashing. For miners, it's building stronger mines and getting more res. What incentive do you think the game could give to turtles?
13:09:29 also the smaller ships seem to have no use
13:10:16 well we both know that 2000bc are good enough to kill any small turtle
13:10:28 ok if they are big its a problem
13:10:39 but how many big ones are there?
13:10:46 i only know kuddlez
13:10:52 ‹Lightning› Not many anymore
13:11:16 no because the smaller ones get crashed anyway
13:11:40 ‹Lightning› So how can we prevent this? New research? New defense?
13:11:54 ‹Lightning› Defense bonuses against fleets?
13:11:57 i asked a well known fleeter a few days ago, if i had ten m metal 5 m crystal and 400bc and 10 ec
13:12:18 covered by 90k def would you launch?
13:12:21 yes he said
13:12:30 and showed me why
13:13:48 no the answer is a strenght scale
13:14:07 IF someone has so much fleet you cant attack this person
13:14:20 or if you can only with so much
13:14:33 but then you attack a player below 1m he has no LG and hurray
13:14:54 sorted
13:15:01 turtle dead
13:15:25 can i launch some fleets?
13:15:31 ‹Lightning› And that also points towards the fact that strong players attack too many weak players.
13:16:09 yes but what can they do?
13:16:16 the are awesome targets
13:16:32 they dont know better
13:16:51 when i reached 100k 9 out of 15 planets got ()^&*@)*!!!
13:17:04 i am rather resilient
13:17:08 but most arent
13:17:19 in 1 night
13:17:25 i didnt know fs
13:17:36 so i learned the hard way
13:17:52 i thought my def would scare them off
13:20:52 ‹Lightning› So the combinations of shields, the size of attackable players, and the cost of mine vs. mine are large issues you'd say?
13:21:20 yes and thats from a more or less noob perspective
13:21:31 and i think thats the people you want to reach
13:21:34 attrackt
13:21:39 ‹Lightning› Most definately.
13:21:47 ‹Lightning› Thank you for your time, ______.
13:22:03 no problem, thank you for youra
13:22:06 yours
13:22:29 mainly the crystal m ines i might add
13:23:09 ‹Lightning› May I have permission to send a copy of our conversation to a PM to Zorg?
13:24:26 ofcourse i am happy if he knows what i think should improve
Later, they asked me to show it publicly as well.
Anonymous Player Interview on Possible Game Style Imbalance
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