I've run into a design issue in Incursion that needs input.
Alliances have turned out to be a minor part of the game so far, and they shouldn't entirely go away; it's hard to design around them anyway. But in Saturday's run I noticed several players were able to build multi-card stockpiles completely unchallenged, even when it would have been relatively easy to nab the pile and the owner would have earned 3 or 4 cards.
This is never a problem when rational people are playing, but when a pair of schmucks allies, they just never think to stab each other in the back. As a result one of them becomes ridiculously powerful and all players, not just this idiot ally, are hurt by it. It really detracts from the game.
So what is there to do about that?
Ordinarily, huge resource stockpiles drive players into a frenzy and break alliances, but that can't be counted on when playing with Tweedledee and Tweedledum. I need some other approach. Suggestions, preferably not for cards, are welcome.
Lummox JR
ID:265240
 Oct 13 2003, 12:36 pm
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Oct 13 2003, 7:02 pm
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Crispy
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Nearby troops could disobey orders and grab nearby undefended (or poorly defended) resources. =)
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This might be overstepping the bounds of Incursion a bit, but what about a committee of "trusted advisors" for every player? The trusted advisors are just a set of statistical analysis procs and would tip the player off to upcoming events (especially of a diplomatic nature):
One of your trusted advisors says, "Sire, we are noticing a large military buildup in Jukfy. We believe Lord Biltong may be planning on backstabbing us." One of your trusted advisors says, "Milord, there is a massive stockpile of poorly-defended resources in Falluf. If we break our alliance with Lord Biltong we could seize them and get a card within 2 turns." One of your trusted advisors says, "Your Greatness, our scouts report that Lord Spuzzum is building up forces at an alarming rate. We must press for our allies to engage him before it is too late." There are two bonuses: 1) It would encourage players not to trust each other -- even peer pressure from AI people can sometimes be enough to convince players to do something. 2) The analysis procedures would be a solid foundation to eventually build a cohesive AI capable of strategically playing the game. [edit] It's fun to make up trusted advisors, so I'm just adding a few more for the heck of it. =) "Your Excellency, be sure to sequester your resource piles at least 1 or 2 territories from your borders with Lord Spuzzum -- he has 1 card which he hasn't used, making it possible that he possesses a Raid card." "Your Lordship, Gafful is in danger of being taken by Lord Lummox JR. We should send reinforcements to the region at once." "Exalted One, we are badly outnumbered by enemy forces in our southeastern territories. We should withdraw our forces into a defensible location." "Your Royal Highness, we believe that with careful application of force, we could apply our Raid card and steal the large resource pile belonging to Lord Leftley in Agfa." "Great One, we are being defeated on all fronts. We must withdraw our forces from the borders and cover less territory. It might also be a good idea to abandon all hope of defending the northwest territories." "Emperor, we were taking bets... who do you believe will defeat us first? Lord Leftley or Lord Lummox JR? We mean no disrespect, of course..." | |