Aquilonia Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 I am a busy person at job, ie never gone home earlier than 9pm since last year. I fill out min.80 orders per turn, however I don't have enough time to do what I need. Still I need to modernize my fleets with new tech items, to colonize nearby worlds, to tune production etc. Nevertheless having 2 weeks full turnaround time may not be enough either. So I prefer to keep it as it is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Uriel Posted May 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 **Disclaimer** Do not get your eyestalks/seedlings/brain blobs/whatever in an uproar. This is not a rant. This is not an attack. If you feel that you have been attacked or slandered in some way, calm dawn, look at your turns, and forget about the annoying warmonger on the forums. Gentlemen, Beings, Plants, I didn't really have an agenda with this poll. I understand Valwyns position and I must agree that the sooner I get my turns the sooner I can take a look at what worked, what didn't and plot the destruction of x,y & z. That all being said, the turn due dates were changed once already back in the early days of the game and I don't remember the details, but I think it had something to do with a conflict with the GM's personal life. Taking that and the Open Letter to our Players thread into consideration, the turns will be due when they are due, and we will get them when we get them. I realize this sounds simplistic, but very little will change that aside from a mass exodus of players. My comment on the printer, internet thing was simply that. A random comment from a guy on the board that you may or may not care for based on his postings and the *tone* of those postings. This board is often dominated by gamers with several hundred postings, which tends to set a tone, which is not shared by all. Take a look at the number of members who simply visit the site, see the commentary from the usual suspects and never offer an opinion. Acutally, the biggest enjoyment I get from this board is when the more creative players post in charcater, the Pride Lands, the Blood guy (can't remember his name but I REALLY get a kick out of them) even Krellnet and his insistance that war is something the rest of us are lying about. Ok, if I could buy you all a beer, I would. Here's a metaphysical Newcastle Brown Ale for each and every one of you. Enjoy, Lord Uriel **Disclaimer** If this had been a real rant, you would be experiencing a sensation of rage or annoyance. If you are suffering from these feelings at this time, I urge you to seek your local Starbars and order one beverage of your choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krelnett_of_Kraan Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Back to the topic at hand, we would be much happier if the deadline were simply that. Midnight mountain time when the electronic calendar decides it's Thursday, bam. No more orders accepted; start the processing. Heck, it would work just fine to wait for Thursday to hit the international dateline, so it's no longer Wednesday anywhere on earth. Just make it a hard deadline and cut the slackers loose. PS, in our best Joe Pesci voice: Uriel, you mean you were serious about that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Xaar Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Ok, if I could buy you all a beer, I would. Here's a metaphysical Newcastle Brown Ale for each and every one of you. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Mmmm, Newcastle...nice choice. Just a quick point: not all players live in the States (even those, like me, that are actually from the States) so the deadline doesn't affect us the same way. That said, it is just one day difference so I wouldn't object...as someone else said, as long as there are two weekends in the cycle I'm perfectly happy. -LX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurassier Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Not that anybody cares, but I actually do both. I generally only print out the fleet reports, and occasionally the colony/industrial/etc reports if I'm planning to change anything there. But I have all of my spreadsheets, maps and misc. on the computer (and yes I have a laptop). This allows me to access my turn/game aids while marking information on my fleets as I 'use' them. For me, this is mostly because I don't want to burn the ink required to print 70+ pages. (since I have my own business and still have to pay for paper[and I use scrap paper] and ink ) As far as when it is due, I don't care, whatever is most convenient for RTG and as long as I have the two weeks between turns. and thanks to RTG for listening The Sabeli Ecok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurassier Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 Ok, if I could buy you all a beer, I would. Here's a metaphysical Newcastle Brown Ale for each and every one of you. Enjoy, Lord Uriel **Disclaimer** If this had been a real rant, you would be experiencing a sensation of rage or annoyance. If you are suffering from these feelings at this time, I urge you to seek your local Starbars and order one beverage of your choice. Here, Here! In fact, we could all meet at the StarBars, we'll put Group A on one side, the Anti-Group A, [let's call them Group B] on the other side. The rest of us will sit in the middle and watch the peanuts, pretzels, etc. fly!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octagon999 Posted May 8, 2005 Report Share Posted May 8, 2005 My position is actually that of Krelnett. make a deadline a true deadline, and for the greater good, if you can't manage to get the turn in on time, through your own reasons (not a garbled file at RTG or something technical like that) then the turns start on Thurs AM and we should get turns Friday AM. I know that RTG does not want to turn any turns away, but, I think they should. If they really can't bring themselves to do it, then by making the "deadline" on Tuesday, people will still be late (humanity not having changed much in 6000 years), but then they are late and its Wednesday, turns still run on Thurs, and voila, magical turns on Friday. Either way, we would get turns on Friday, early, and I would be a most happy camper. I think the end result is what most people want. Whatever it takes to get that result, I can live with. And if I somehow boot a turn and miss it, I'll be the first one to eat the result. Regards, Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterfell Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 In my view, it's not so much an issue of time to get in turns -- a day doesn't matter one way or another -- its a matter of all the work it takes to fill our a turn to begin with. Lately, I've felt that it's more "work" than "fun". I'd like to see RTG produce a streamlined data entry and turn system, one that automatically records data for players as part of the data file. While most of us do this on our own spreadsheets (and there is one player produced version out there), I find keeping up with my empire's expanding archive of exploration information, as well as altering production at my two main production planets, overly time consuming and not particularly enjoyable. I literally dread new tech advances that force me to alter my spreadsheet or change my pre-set production priorities. From a business stand point, I think some improvement here would go along way to increasing the number of active players. People who aren't great with excel simply can't play the game. Also, data management issues and production errors seem to be the most common complaint among the players I'm in contact with. Neither of these things add much flavor to game -- there has to be a better way. I love the game, I just wish that it was easier to play for those of us with limited free time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughestrog Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Winterfell- doesn't Phase Dragon's Empire Management System answer the question you raised? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locklyn Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Unfortunately Phase Dragons emminent project requires quite a lot of work to function and keep updated and has some problems with newer versions of operational software on the user end but very many players find it perfect for their needs. Locklyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali-t-akua Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 I am one of those who has issues with the EMS but the parts I have gotten that work are very useful. Kudos to Phase Dragon for what he has done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athonian Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 O.o in all honesty i just find it rude to be requesting this and that from pete and russ. its their system and they have it set up for THEIR convience. and christ we get 2 weeks to print them out and read it. i just find it ironic that an 18 year old is suggesting that u guys be more patient. *snicker* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughestrog Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 I find that the time goes quickly before I have to have my turn in, so that I'm writing my orders Monday/Tuesday. Once they're in though- then the week drags along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orin Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Unfortunately Phase Dragons emminent project requires quite a lot of work to function and keep updated and has some problems with newer versions of operational software on the user end but very many players find it perfect for their needs. Locklyn <{POST_SNAPBACK}> As for his [roject...it stopped working for me after acrobat 7 came out...we have put several note on the forum with the same 'error 56' but it looks like either he has not had the time or can;t find the fix ... if it was fixed, it WAS a very USEFUL set of sheets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EternusIV Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Unfortunately Phase Dragons emminent project requires quite a lot of work to function and keep updated and has some problems with newer versions of operational software on the user end but very many players find it perfect for their needs. Locklyn <{POST_SNAPBACK}> As for his [roject...it stopped working for me after acrobat 7 came out...we have put several note on the forum with the same 'error 56' but it looks like either he has not had the time or can;t find the fix ... if it was fixed, it WAS a very USEFUL set of sheets. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Winterfell- I think you bring up some legitimate concerns about the data management of the game. It does take some work. I'll tell you why I quit using the streamlined data system: when I sat down to do my turn, I found myself spending more time reading the turns and the turn entry data sheet to figure out what actually happened. Manually entering data onto another sheet actually helps me get a true handle on what happened. (My EXPL, Fleet, Planetary and Warp System data are first placed on WORD of all things Production happens on Excel.) I'm not sure if this system will help....but it works for me: I go order by order along the PDF and reduce what happened into word into a smaller format. I organize information by System. Here is an example. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAMPLE System [system Fully Researched] Occupied by The Sample Empire Characteristics: [ G (Yellow) 2 III ] [single Star]----- System Scan Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Orbital Location Type Atmo CSV PMAP GEO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Hot Rockball Sulfur Dioxide -n- PMAP GEO PMAP INFORMATION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Orbital Location Temp Tilt Grav Atmo Ocean -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 469 9 0.9 Sulfer Dioxide Molten Zinc GEOLOGICAL SURVEY INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Orbital Location Iron Lum Cryst GasEl L.Met Petro Hydro Geo ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 212 0 229 0 296 0 71 59 COLONIAL SURVEY INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Orbital Location Atmo Ocean Temp Grav Axial Terrain Life Attrit ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 M L M N NA L ---- EXTREM HIGH WARP POINTS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warp point Warp class Warp size Destination --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12345 D ??? ???(Came from Home System) 678910 C 25 NextDoor FLEET MANAGEMENT ============================================== Fleets Order1 Order2 ============================================== 200 (1 PF) @ WP 12345 MOVE 678910 - WARP 205 (1 PF) @ 1 CSV OBJECTIVES ===================================================================== 1) CSV Planet 1 2) Establish pickets 3) Finish surveying warp points ALIEN SIGHTINGS ========================== NONE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry about the lack of the tab feature on this website. I hope you can at least catch a glimpse of what I'm trying to accomplish with this layout So anything that happens on the PDF, I transpose into my "System" document and I also issue new orders for fleets AS I GO (unless I know I need to really think about what they need to do later on) Production spreadsheets are vital and the one I've been using has been very good to me. It takes me about 5 minutes to enter in stuff and then all I do is punch in what I want to build and the spreadsheet figures out the rest within the limits of your installation capacity (in fact I've seen SEVERAL successful spreadsheets that do this quite easily) I spend maybe ten minutes TOPS in this area of the data entry....and all week dreaming up what I should build (lately is been easy: more Armor...mor ICMs) Let me know and I cant send you over what I use. It might take some reverse engineering to see how I built it...but it might be intuitive to you (might not tho ) I suggest building one of your own. Believe me, my spreadhsheet-fu started at a low level when I first came into this game, too. Where my biggest bear has been.....MAPPING. I use Astrosynthesis...which is pretty nifty( the universe is 3-d after all) but it still takes a lot of work (even using some fairly heavy duty pathing algorithms) to make sense of it all. Man it would be nice to have relativistic coords (one can dream ) Hang in there man. Running an empire is tough work. The other PBM games that DONT involve such data entry are often too shallow to keep my interest and often involve one 'cookie-cutter' empire/ship design beating up on another. I know for a fact that the data intensity of the game has chased away mroe than one would-be player Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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