diplos nerf on early game strategy
and the diplo skill paradox
Sins Forums
first off let me state this isnt a bash on diplo. i like diplo over all, i like the faster speeds and the pacts. this is just some food for thought on nerfing the feed rushes. maybe its good and i just dont like it because it takes the team strategy central focus away from me and forces me to consider using other players more specificly to come up with effective team strategy. let me explain.
in vanilla and entrenchment my reputation as skilled would get me tons of immidiate feed when i was in danger or in a position to exploit a weak link, thus amplifying the perception of my skill. now in diplomacy were you cant feed early i (and everyone at some point) sometimes get doubled and even tripled immidiatly cause inevetable uncounterable death. the suddon lose of feed is surely swinging the perception of my skill and other supposed super players the other way (thankfully, now i hope you all will be a little less scared to face me or let me team with a DT). though i pride my self on my survival skills its hard to imagine anyone surviving 6 capitol ships with excess of 25 bombers on a homeworld with in a few short minutes of game play with no feed. ive been on the giving and recieving end of these rushes repeatedly and its my opinion that it take little skill or micro to rush but outstanding micro, focus, intuition, and just luck to survive.
i see the intent with the research for feed change, but i believe on multi-player 5v5 (my favorite games) 1 team can gain an outstanding advantage based on the map layout (even more so than before) beacuse the player who is in a "suicide slot" on the map is guarenteed death save major mistakes on his neighbors parts. i belive earlier feed give more stategic and decisive team play. let me paint an example
map layout is team A and B scatter 4-2-1-3 team A having the group of 4 in a row and then a suicide player. ive seen this layout several times in diplomacy and with skilled player the suicide player dies every time without fail. quickly turning the game into an inevitable 4v5 within minutes. in a skilled game this is all but game over as soon as it starts thanks to poor map generation. were it with early feed the 4 side could surely feed the suicide player to a quick star base and still a difficult surivial but the game is going to be won by quick thinking and sound stratagy rather than being given to one team too easily. being in this situation with a well fed suicide slot me and my DTs would likely play of the resulting deficientcies of the group of 4s flanks leaving the suicide alone. 3 of our players would feed the 2 fighters on the flanks of the group of 4. letting the suicide player live to knock the group of 4 down to 2. (possibly ive been know to advicate all 3 feeding one player to topple the flank desicively and even push through to a feeder)
the problem was that individuals took it to heart after they lost to a well fed opponent, which i believe is wrong. because this is a stratagy game and when you playing a team game, you should recognize well played and executed plans as a whole and not be upset that you as an idivudual got beaten. its possible to be mopped up individually and still feel skilled and accomplished if your team as a whole pulled off the win.
thus in my opinion just as star bases made sins more mindless and less strategic, so has the attemp to even out eveyones incomes. but in the grand scheme i still like diplo more than entrenchment f
. You've already spent your money on Diplo, so I doubt Stardock would care either way.