Please forgive the lack of quotes and carry downs.
-Please list any abuse potential and considerations for discussion.
-A player could select an IA hood and try to "allow" IA players to hit you and plunder you in exchange for fps...and others that chose IA for whatever reason may just hit you and plunder you for free. Please keep in mind the likelihood of a single high age player standing alone in an all IA hood is slim in this situation. Not impossible, just unlikely. You won't be able tell another player to "meet me in IA for next cycle" as normal hood grouping within those that select a particular age will still be as it is now. Can't tell a current hood member when you expect to see them again with any certainty. you could try to fleece weak players in that age for forge points by coordinating with them to drop def at a particular time for them to attack, maybe with some success...no different than it is now in current hoods with the exception being the rewards gained are much more valuable. But at the same time there could be any number of other non weak players from any other age and capability that you could also be sharing that age hood with who could very well attack and try to plunder at will.
-those that choose to fight and are in OF currently are already fighting OF, some do not fight at all. Under my theoretical environment, some OF may remain in OF to fight, some may choose another era for whatever reason. And no matter how stupid someone thinks it may be, there are several (if I may be very conservative) AF, even FE who are capable of defeating some OF defenses with AF or FE troops, not just a couple advanced age troops gained from quests and rogues...but even they were to use only a few unattached troops, that is already an effective strategy in ruling a hood. why would this example be any different? Hoods already have a wide variety of defenses in place, not always current age troops, not always effective by any measure...sometimes placed deliberately. the same factors that currently affect what you see in your hood defenses would be the same in this example. the difference being a hood will contain different ages/eras of players of varying capability and intent who are all capped at the same level for the highest age troop that can be used for an attack or defense. there will still be the easy pickin's as well as mega untouchables...just as it is now in any hood span.
" what one player selects as their hood battleground for that neighborhood cycle would not dictate what others choose." is not a contradiction as near as i can tell by anything i said but would be happy to attempt to clarify if misunderstood.
under this system of select-able Age/era's for next cycle hood battle ground, the decision is made by the player for whatever reason they choose a particular age. It is entirely possible, perhaps not plausible, that every player in a particular world chooses Iron Age as their next hood. Hoods reset and bam! every single player now finds themselves in a hood with all possible combinations of age cities and military capability. Not a single player can use any troop for attack and defense in their hood above an iron age troop. GE/GVG is all still exactly the same as it is now. There will still be one player who is able to run attacks top to bottom and beat every single player in their hood...just as there is now. But, it may not be the highest age player. It could be a camped LMA player who has the mega military boosts and unbreakable defense. That LMA player may go plunder any number of different age cities' goods, may only hit cities above their own age and leave lower age cities alone. Most who bother with this forum have played enough to know there is often no rhyme or reason to the motivations behind how some players interact in their hood at different times...much less any sort of universal standard. Part of the beauty of the game. How a player plays and interacts in their hood will be no different than it is now. The only differences would be 1.) the selected age of troops a player voluntarily opts to cap themselves at, and 2.) the span of available age/era cities that could now also be found in a players hood. Strong players can still attack and plunder weaker players...but no longer restricted to what age city you may find as any player from any era may have also selected the same era as you and wind up in your hood.
Lets also consider how this would impact other aspects of the game and potentially address other issues:
- Markets, imagine the trade potential in a hood that has any possible combination of age players mixed in...is there a down side or potential for abuse? Maybe, but i don't see it as any more or less than their is now.
-networking potential. App players have been in need of a global chat since the app was introduced to be able to network with upper age players for all the things low age players need upper age players for in the game outside of whatever they find in their guild. this scenario potentially brings those players in reach. Although unlikely an active, capable, high age player will drop to a low age often it would be possible. A confident, habitually timely city manager may not fear being plundered whatsoever because they collect on time and may choose a much higher age hood than their own to network. Will they have the age troops they need to defend themselves? not a chance. but what is needed to defend against plundering is universal no matter what age/strength of force breaches your defenses. Yet the possibility would exist that there are others with similar strength military and city age they may in fact be able to defeat and plunder.
-random drops from aiding. print drop potential from a wide span of ages for a player that chooses to aid their hood regularly no matter if it is access from high age players hoping to hide in lower age hoods or from brave low age players looking to jump in a higher hoods hunting for prints. If i'm a brand new iron age player that hasn't unlocked mil tactics yet, I may very well make my first stop an FE hood....and hope real hard i'm not suddenly surrounded by other IA players doing the same..lol
- there are other things such as some GB's that could be more useful in this scenario than they would be in a low age hood and even some things i haven't thought of or had others bring up in opposition (there's still time, hit me with it)
This game, utilizing a player selctable age/era for their next neighborhood battleground, would do one thing primarily: limit the highest age military a player may be attacked by, attack with, use as or encounter as defense in their neighborhoods It does not dictate or limit the boosted strength of a player's troops in that age. It does not stop a player from beating and plundering another. On any server, any world and any age, the span of in age capability of players is huge! Anyone that worked from their current age and fought ahead on their continent map battling troops from ages ahead of their own, know you do not need a particular age troop to kick someone's butt with a higher age defense. This configuration would allow a player to select hoods above their own age...even if they lack the troops of that age. It caps it but does not stop a lower age troop than the age selected from being used. All the things we see in the game now would still be present. Players with crazy defense and no attack, players with crazy attack and no defense capability, a town hall of one age but a city from 3 ages prior and a military from earlier still would all still be found to varying degrees in any given hood of any given age. the potential for abuse would be not any greater than it is now...and may even be reduced a little. As near as i can tell, it would improve networking, trade potential and increase range for aid print drops. A significant downside for some players is they lose the ability to hit a player of the same age as them with troops from ages above them providing they have both selected their current age as their hood battleground. A counter to that is the player that has worked hard to get next age troops and develop strong boosts would no longer be restricted to tech based hoods and could then select a later age in hopes of finding a few later age players to hit. The strategic considerations for why a player would select an age different than their own would be exactly what you think they would be. weak players may hope to hide in lower age hoods (point) Other, not as weak players may also select that age and kick their butt anyway (counter point). the infinite combinations of age and capability that could be found in a hood brings back a bit of what was lost when the we got away from the hold system but still protect a player, to a degree, from much later age troops than they are capable of producing. I not only think there is some meat on the bone to seriously consider a proposal, i think it might increase hood activity and interest for many.
Ok negative nelly's let's hear it..lol
please take the time to actually give examples and information instead of just saying that's stupid (what's stupid?) or contradicting (what was the contradiction?) this will never go anywhere (does it ever?). Can you see this as a feature of the game?, do you see a problem or serious room for major abuse that we can discuss ways to mitigate or eliminate? Is the potential for abuse any different, better or worse than the game is now? Would it significantly help or hinder any particular style of player (diamond or otherwise) or negate years of effort of a current path that would be wasted if the game had a selectable hood? If you have anything constructive, critical or not, i'd like to hear it.
