A few disclaimers:

- I have very little skill at this game
- I'm not a significant player in the history of this game or community
- I don't even fully understand the rule differences between each of the existing servers
- I have very little understanding of what nerdy things people do to make things like this game happen

I just had a random, unoriginal thought about whether a "Fiesta"-type server could work to try and add some randomness to the game. I'm borrowing the word Fiesta from a Halo gametype where random weapons are used because I lack the originality to come up with something better.

Essentially, the server is a short-time reset (but maybe not Express short) that has changing rulesets announced in advance to keep things interesting. For example:

1. Mystery Teams: Players who create countries are randomly assigned to clan tags.
2. Mutually Assured Destruction: All players start with 20% Warfare tech and no SDI.
3. Guerrilla Tactics: The only military that can be bought or produced are Troops.
4. Tree Huggers: Attacks are disabled, explore rates don't reduce.
5. No Stock: No private markets.
6. Baby FFA: Each player can create up to five countries.

These might be fun or absolutely terrible. As I said, I really have no idea. I just wonder if it might be a way to tinker with the existing conditions of "victory" (war kills, netgaining, TNW, ANW, etc etc) by creating short, experimental type resets that could also test out new things before they're perhaps put into other servers.

Maybe the community could vote on certain rulesets to be kept and added to the rotation of rulesets, or we could all boo the crappy ones and demand they never be played again.

It's probably been suggested before. I dunno. Thoughts?

It's something like this, maybe not the specific rulesets you suggested but the constant variation that I would like from a limited server.

"These might be fun or absolutely terrible"

As long as devs are moderatly active we could have a poll from the players who partake to answer like 3 simple questions about the ruleset they just experienced for instance:
1. Rate how fun you had playing with this ruleset: [1-5]
2. Rate how balanced you think this ruleset was: [1-5]
3. Briefly comment on what was good and what was not and how you think this ruleset could change to make it better: [comment]

And if the ruleset was bad you'd remove it from the rotation or attempt to salvage it with changes to some of the aspects that were problematic.

I think this could be a way to test changes(to formulas, mechanics etc) before making them which would be my main motivation for this kind of server.

I 100% agree about the requirement of active moderators and responsiveness to constant player feedback due to the nature of the changing rulesets. If no one is driving it, it would turn to fluff quick.

I’m not married to the rulesets I proposed either, they’re not very well thought out but it’s the way they use the existing systems to create completely different styles of gameplay that I was aiming with.

Express is already a shorter version of Earth. Alliance is already a team version of Earth. For all of the servers, networth is the official measure of victory while warring is unofficial (victory measured by those warring).

I think the idea, although it might not sit well with the community, is to introduce variations that amount to things like “Team Deathmatch” or whatever crazy variant that can be thought of - where the way you build your country is the same but the game rules and official victory measures change to change the way we play the game.

I definitely think the community is where ruleset ideas need to come from, as well as being the last word on whether a ruleset is successful, needs tweaking, or is garbage. Maybe a good way to establish the ruleset rotation is to have a period where the community focuses on what could work as a TD ruleset, or a Spy War ruleset, or a cooperative ruleset where the server as a whole needs to generate an ANW of X or something, then those set the starting rotation to be played and deliberated on, then new proposals for rulesets are announced after.

It’s not to take away from what makes Earth Earth but, I dunno.. it might be a place for ideas on how to attract new players to the game who learn bits and pieces about traditional Earth via the variants, and can be a gateway into Alliance or FFA or Express etc.

And, of course, like you said - it would be a good place for the Mods/Devs to try out new formulas etc before committing them to the traditional servers.

Sounds good

i guess part of the reason this never happened is dev activity, thinking more so mehul/griff than pang/qz, but with the monetisation even if its just token and doesnt become a huge amountit might be enough to make devs want to do something new each set now by feeling more positively about contributing

theres a lot of games around with a reset format that switch things up each reset, think diablo ladder mode or path of exile league system

and it really makes sense that this game would do the same sort of thing

assuming the code makes its work then being able to change certain variables each set could allow for some good things to happen

retro modes is an obvious one, either full on retro or some aspects

like 2% readiness, 2b bug, buying missiles, no kills only stuck at 7 pop, no oil destock, swapping market order back
(the 2b bug actually used to effect goods on the same price on market as well, im not sure id want to try that)

and various other things could be brought back as nostalgia, as well as interesting new changes

like custom governments, mbases being twice as good one set, no market or no tech on market, no spies, no humanitarians

or whatever else would make for either a good or novel round

I think I generally would love to know what would happen if we messed around with things, like:

- Making all Spy Ops cost no turns but you lose spies on every Op run
- Everyone starts with 5,000 labs but there's no tech market and the labs can't be destroyed
- Some bot countries start with like $100m NW and clans get bonuses for killing them during the reset
- A NW survival mode where all players under a certain NW each day get purple'd (and the NW requirement rises each day)
- A "Crown" that a country can take for themselves by successfully attacking the country currently holding it - the Crown gifts the country X% extra in terms of military and weapons tech until it's taken from them

Weird fluff, maybe. I dunno. Let's get crazy on it.

THIS IS AMAZING

I will only play this server

Why not rurn the Alpha server into a solo server, leave the bonus points use, the same, just take away clans & allies, & make GDI like Express..

Maybe make some changes to tech like stated above..
Put some Bots on it & Have it last 2 weeks.

Its just setting there with nobody playing on it..
Award credits that can only be used on that server, for the top ten.

0ne turn a minute would make a fun, fast paced game.

Let's see it done! We need a change of pace in here!

14 day server, turns every 10 minutes.

Other rule changes can include:

All Players start with 500 Acres; No exploring.
Only 1 Ally Slot per alliance type.
Foreign Aid Cooldown is 5 hours.
Oil can not be sold on Public Market
No Missiles
Random Plague outbreaks
Buildings per turn maxes out at 30.

Just throwing ideas into the hat.

TTT

Sounds fun

I'm not modding this server. I want to play.


Galleri can mod

Can we switch every few sets?

Bump. <3

Sounds amazing, awesome idea

yeah working on how to implement this..

Have I told you lately that I love you?

NZ loves Aussie? SHOCK! :P

smh..

ttt

- A NW survival mode where all players under a certain NW each day get purple'd (and the NW requirement rises each day)


That sounds like it could be fun.

Hey, look, it's me being annoying about this again! <3

Don't necro threads please