I see lots of good stuff in Striders post. Few comments.
Strider said:
Okay, once again I'll post what we need to do to keep this game alive, pretty much the same I posted at the start of last game.
How can we ever thank you???
Make elected poistions "worth it"
We have to stop making elected poistions seem like something we have to do to keep the game moving. Inorder to make any elected poistion worth it, we've got to give our leaders/ministers some real power. Hell, right now they can't even post there own polls, much less make any real decisions. Give them the ability to actually effect the game. If all they do is make polls and discussions, and then follow them, why don't we just appoint people, instead of go through elections each month?
Theoretically correct. If someone is elected, then this person should have a mandate. Two practical problems: uncontested elections, and candidates should make plans in advance (do I hear strategy?), preferably something better than:
I will serve the people and listen to them - it's not a waitress job
. Seriously, people should have something to choose if this has to work. Officials also have to show some responsibility, like actually doing something after they're elected.
Probably the easiest implementation of a mandate is similar to US system (IIRC) where official can veto the Will of the People unless there is a 2/3 majority. Needs careful law text, also boundaries of competence between offices etc. Would also need drastic reduction in number of offices for more election-competition. We could have some appointed offices for poor citizens who lose elections.
Bring in newer players
We need more people, it's as simple as that. Why the hell no one else seems to think this is beyond me, or even if they do somehow get the bright idea that we need more people, they do nothing about it (or to even plan for it). The demogame is a fairly complex subject, and we never explain what it is. Even when we do, it's often in some far-away place that no one will ever find it. We *need* to explain the game in a place that *every* new player will see when the first come in this forum. Stickying a thread in the main forum isn't enough. If we want to have people actually join the game, we need to first let them know what it is.
The second thing we need to do is make it easier to get into. Supply information, or ways to get information in easily accessible places. The government threads are perfect for this, but it's often underdeveloped and unless. There are several utilities that can be researched and proposed as ways to gather information on a save fairly fast (and without conquests).
Following this up, we need better organization. The forums are just fine, however, our thread organization is horrible. Having a few registry threads (not the type your use to, but ones that just have links to that months department threads, etc. and then closed) would be extremely useful.
You may have missed a few threads. It's hard to know what to do about participation, because people who are not here do not post here to tell us why they are not here
.
I don't know if there is too little info, or maybe just badly organized. For example, there are lots of FAQs, info centers and what not. Most is not up to date, so pretty useless, but still confusing. Too many sticky threads is also a problem. It took me several months to remember where the TC summaries go etc
. I like the idea of having one information office thread (stickied) with links to current government threads and other info threads. Needs a lot of maintenance though. Advertising on main site would help, but obviously cannot be done all the time. Knowing what the demogame is about
ourselves also helps (is it roleplay? is it strategy? is it mimicking RL government? A bit of all? And how serious are we about these things? How serious are we about the rules?). Keeping discussions civilized also helps. Not discussing grudges from prehistoric past also helps, etc. Maybe it is a lot to ask
(desperately searching for correct smiley here).
Up the difficulty
A higher difficulty makes a more exciting game, and a more exciting game will allow us to keep citizens attention longer. As for the difficulty level alienating newer players, I highly doubt it. There has never been a single "new" player who has ever said they were slightly scared by the difficulty level. It's just something created by the vertern players as a list filler.
Maybe. Most players on the forum play regent/monarch I think. It depends on what kind of game we want to play. Higher difficulty will attract better players -> more strategy discussion. I am fine with high difficulty. Effect on roleplay unknown to me.
Fix it, then play it
Starting the game when we are still discussing the game didn't help any. Let's not repeat the same mistake twice. If you don't like, or don't care, about the constitution or pre-game discussions then just come back later when the game starts.
Main problem seems to be that people get a bit overheated over the ruleset
. I looked in the archives and many of the games started with incomplete rulesets, and went quite ok. We should make an effort to hammer out the rules before we start, but not delay the next game too long. I would say next game should start early August. Gives one month, should be enough. One week for global discussion, one week to decide main issues (variants, global ruleset), two weeks to poll and hammer out details.
Keep the roleplay and the game seperate
There's a time for roleplay, and there is a time for the game. Lets not get the two confused. If we become a massive civilization that completely dwarves our neighbors in size, technology, and power. Then lets do it, but when where still in contest, let's stick to having parades, civil wars, and trips to foreign countries. It allows those who like to roleplay, actually roleplay, without pissing off all of the "number crunchers."
Still don't know who the number crunchers are (must be people who crunch more numbers than I do
). I'm with Furiey on this one: no full-fledged RPG in game, but I doubt anyone has a problem with SaaM's stuff and similar roleplay. Example: Oxford temple was started way before we were a massive civ IIRC. Nobody got hurt. Obviously, the higher the difficulty level, the fewer ingame decisions can be based on role-play.
