Why do you play dominions?
 

pretty broad question, eh folks?

in a very round about way, this question came up on another forum.

the prevailing opinion was, play to win. and only play to win.

i personally don't play solely to win. and boy, did those folks have a lot to say about that. in short, they continually trolled my posts, twisted what i said, indicated that(i think) i might have a dual personality disorder, and, even though i wasn't complaining about losing, continually belittled me for whining and moaning about losing(i know that sounds wierd, but it is honestly what happened-as best as i can tell)

so here i am. on the nearly defunct shrapnel forum. and im asking you boys and girls, is winning the only thing?

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

It's a philosophical question.

We are all winners! (and sometimes whiners)

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

my new policy is to thank any post that makes me actually LOL.(i have to make noise-otherwise, no thank you. yellow, you get one.)

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

I play because its the deepest game out there. I learn new things and develop new strategies every game.
There is so much to remember, I tend to forget a lot of things I learned in the past.

If I only cared about winning, I would just arrange 3 on one ganks every game like most people do.
But my biggest enjoyment is figuring out strategies to counter what my opponents are throwing at me.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

It depends on the forum you are on. I think this forum might have shifted abit.

I love Dominions for the variations. My own answer has changed over the years. With Dom1 and Dom2 I played mp games. King of the Hill games on small to medium maps. But I did prefer team games or alliances where I could be more of a support player.

During Dom2 I joined the Beta Test group so when Dom3 came along I was already playing it all day every day for about a year before it was released. By the release time I was pretty burned out on it so I was playing it more solo for the RPG flavor on much bigger maps with much wilder settings and mods. I love underdog nations and "works only once" strategies.

I still play an occassional MP game but usually only if it has some really interesting quirk to it other than just stab everyone.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

I play because I like the different nations (my favorite changes quite often) and I enjoy playing them in MP games, mostly for the challenge real players represent. The AI is not a very entertaining opponent. I do try my best to win but I think that's a given for most players.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

It's not our respect you need, it's your own. Man the **** up.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

Man Who Constantly Complains About Own Mediocrity Actively Limits Himself While Playing, Becomes Angry When Told So

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

Seriouspost since you've run away from those meanies at dom3 mods: Playing optimally and crushing your enemies is fun. Losing is not fun. There is no dichotomy between 'fun' and 'playing to win'.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

i did not say there was. again, twisting the post to make it self defeating.

i said, is it the only thing-is there only one 'right' way to play.

wow. a lot of resistance to a very simple(and quite frankly harmless) idea

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

The answer depends on your objective for the game, because Dominions is by its nature a competitive game where there can ultimately be only one. If you want to win, you need to use all the effective means at your disposal, at which point ganging up on others becomes a requirement, as explained to you in detail.

If you don't care about winning, you can skip that and play any way you like and see how far you get. For this reason, single player is better for sandbox games where you can try whatever strategies you like. Of course, the AI will never be as rewarding an opponent as a human player.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

Man up and gank someone 3 on 1. LOL

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

It is not the first time that a group or forum or channel has been charged as elite or having limited parameters of an acceptable Dom3 game. There were even efforts made to declare them as "official". It does no good to argue the point. Just find another group. (altho be aware that they may have such aceptable parameters also but are just ones more acceptable to you) :)

As far as how MP or Solo plays I only ask that both be given equal chances. If MP vanilla and Solo vanilla are being compared then that is fair. Both haves mods and maps for them so if they are used for one they should be given a chance on the other for judgement.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

I'm known on another forum by a different handle. I used this handle here instead of the other one because I didn't want my enemies to know I was asking for advice/help. So, I guess winning means something.

That said if you play 8 person games. You're doing pretty well if you win two or three of those, which means you'll lose a lot. And when you play against folks who are just plain better than you are ...well, you will lose even more. That's tough when a pbem game can take 3-4 months or longer.

Just about everywhere players limit some behaviors as nuisance behaviors. I shouldn't send you slave collars or a bunch of slave collars to fill up your inventory. I shouldn't attack with scouts set to run away in order to try and slow down your main army. And of course the big no-no no metagaming. So, it isn't always just about the winning, but about the experience.

FWIW I do still enjoy solo games. By playing with the number of nations, semirand and the noindy modes I can create challenge situations.

I found when I was starting out that I often had other goals than winning simply because everybody else in the field knew more about the game than I did. Lasting to turn 24. Executing a Rush even if I knew it was going to end badly as everybody else ganged up on me. Lasting to the end of the game in a 7 players take 4 capitols game. Those are specific mini-goals that make sense for somebody who is learning. Of course, if you are can last to the end of the game....You need to work on developing end game strategies that will put you over the top.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

What i mean is stop pretending to be some kind of victim.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

That's what SHE said :p

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

The question was not asked that way. You are inferring an answer to this question from a different question.
And to come back to the other forum question, your point was about ganking. Why gang? To win. If you expect people to do their utmost to win, they won't avoid it.

If I play SP, I clearly don't play to win the game. Never.
If I play MP, then I can play to win or to roleplay depending on the game. In both cases, the goal (roleplay or victory) is not what matters. What matters is how you get there. However, it's important in a MP game that people share the same goals. If you play an MP game to try that new "rush-my-neighbour-with-markatas" strategy, then you will likely have fun and lose. However, your targetted victim will likely not have fun and lose. Whereas if you both played to win, you'd share the same goals, and your neighbour would know what he can expect of you.
If you don't play for the same reason as other people in a MP game, you're simply running the risk of ruining the game for some of the participants.

No, but in a game with no other factors defined early on, then it is the only goal you can expect from other players. The important thing is to know what everyone is after. In a competitive game on a forum dedicated to dedicated games, that's what you can expect.
Playing against other players who try to win mean you have to play better. It is fun to find ways of beating someone and also to lose to someone who managed better tricks/tactics/strategies.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

fanto, im all done over in invision and never even checked in after my last post. i can imagine it's been lots of fun since then, but i think i'll skip it.

that said, your post here is a bit mind boggling in its presumption, self servingness and innaccuracy.

i want your respect? no, i really don't. i don't know you. your respect may be something very valuable, and worth earning. then again, you may traffik under aged sex slaves. either way, your respect isn't something im after.

and to infer i have no self respect due to the fact that i have a different viewpoint on a computer game than you do is a little bizarre.

im not trying to be antagonistic here, but that post was a doozy.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

It was honestly not meant as an insult.

What I mean is that you have actively portrayed yourself first as a bad player and then as a victim of abuse.

Both these stances are self degrading, and I think that is unhealthy for you and frustrating for everyone else.

You might have different intentions, but that's how it looks.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

fair enough fanto. you will experience no more frustrations, which is good for everyone else, and also good for me. we are all better off, and if we can leave it that way, that is uncommon. and good!

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

lol. but then again, it's hard to read that post and not think it was meant to be insulting. hmmm. i guess it doesn't matter though, does it?

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

Winning is a lot of fun, but making it to the final stages of an MP game became something I dreaded. I would actually get anxiety if I put my turn off because I didn't want to hold up the game or ruin it for other people but I wasn't having fun doing those turns either.

The duel games Gandalf hosted were a nice change of pace, but they came with another set of issues, including people quitting the games early.

I went from someone who wanted to win in MP to someone who enjoyed the game as a simulation, pitting mod nations against one another, to someone wishing that another game would come along as exciting as Dominions was when I first got a hold of it.

That being said, I think there is enjoyment to be had at any level. This game is fun for the competitive spikes, the casual players with house rules, the modders and anyone who falls in between. I feel like I have had a chance to experience all that fun and I milked every penny's worth I could out of this game.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

I was driving down the street the other day and the car in front of me didn't go when the light turned green. After a minute, I honked my horn. The young lady driver looked back at me, flipped me the center finger, then traveled on her way. It kind of hurt my feelings. I really just wanted her to driver her D*mn car. She sort of made it personal with the hand gesture. But then I thought, maybe she's just a dumb-a$$? Anyway, I got home safe. The moral of my story is....not everyone you play with is going to be your friend.

As a third party to this little Dominions Drama, I can say that Parone's post was written in a tone which could attract attack. Fantomen responded to Parone's post with a demeaning post and her friends followed suit.

I'm sure your both great people in real life. Just don't stop your cars in my lane. I might flick you off. :)

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

lol. how can you be so sure?

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

Well, Parone is a 'Maine'iac. You guys are all weird in an awesome way!

Fantomen put a post in to patch things up. Got a cute avatar, and claims to be a viking...what's not to like?

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

This is not to insult Parone but do we really need to ask this question? At the most basic level we play Dominions because we enjoy it, otherwise we wouldn't play. Everything else is irrelevant really.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

lumix, im with you. i play to enjoy it. was just wondering if people had different ways of enjoying it. and got an earfull!!!!

yellow, i really do like vikings. i think i did a report on them in 5th grade, so point well taken.

also, i think a viking race would be good. i know, vanheim is supposed to be vikingy, but there all ethereal and magic and stuff. not much Odin in them. i always thought of them more like the ea Ulm build.

well, i guess i could just play ea ulm...and pretend

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

I have played with friends, and even family members I live with. The games were very different than ones I have played with some people here.

The way that some people play, even say the game SHOULD be played, even swear that is how the game will BE played whether you want it or not.... well, it might be a good thing that we dont know them personally or consider them RL friends. :)

Im rather enjoying this thread. Such conversations used to get shouted down. The fact that we can even have this conversation shows some of the changes in the forum. A couple of particular attitude groups bled off and formed their own forums swearing that this one would die off. Sometimes they come back to tell us again, tell everyone to come to their forum, how much better theirs is, and generally seeming to make an effort to make this one die off. :target:

But hey, different forums with different attitudes is what makes all of the forums better. Let everyone gravitate to whichever appeals to them and just say "good riddance".

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

No one ever forced anyone to play a certain way. What is being said is that certain strategies beat other strategies and if you handicap yourself with imaginary rules you won't win any games. That's not saying you should play a certain way, just that playing a certain way against good players will lose you the game. It's just like chess, refusing to use the optimal moves will lose you the game. Now if you want to win or not is up to you, just don't tell me I should play suboptimally against you just because you do.

To pit "playing for fun" against "playing to win" is a false dichotomy, everyone plays for fun. Also, most people play different kinds of games, casual games, competitive games, duels, blitzes, role playing games and so on. It is not a valid generalization to try and pin playstyles to players, especially not in the case of dom3mods and Shrapnel, because playstyle never had anything to do with the split. Heck, dom3mods was started by sombre who only plays casual "just for fun" games himself.

Complaining about other people ganking you is actually trying to force them to play differently, and so is not an example of playing differently yourself. No one is forcing you to gank anyone, and you can't tell them not to do it either.

If you don't play to win there is no reason to complain about anything anyone does to you in game either, you shouldn't care about that if you don't mind losing. So when someone complains about something under the guise of "playing diffentely", I don't really trust them. They are free to play differently without complaining, or to arrange their own games according to their own preferences. So why complain unless you actually want to win and are trying to force others to handicap themselves so your own suboptimal play stands a chance.

Regarding the forums, they are interfaces to the same community. You can make up imaginary differencies but you're kidding yourself if you're expecting different responses to the same questions. Especially if you bring a discussion from one forum to the other, it makes to difference where it is, it's largely the same people reading it. I don't think anyone is trying to kill this forum or any other, that's pure conjecture, probably trolling. It wasn't a group of a particular attitude that "bled off", it was a few people forced to set up an alternative because they were banned. Everyone would have preferred to stay here originally, both the idea that someone is enforcing a certain way to play or that anyone is trying to kill any forum is just conspiracy theories.

It's true that there was a grudge with Shrapnel the company, because of the bannings, but there was never a grudge with the forum itself, and since Shrapnel is out of the picture both in terms of distribution and moderation (they don't even answer support tickets anymore, so we can assume the forum is largely unmoderated by now), there are no actual barriers left.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

With regard to moderation, this forum is still moderated. It's not quite as active as it was, with more activity shifting to other places, but it is still regularly checked and all reports are checked.

I never resigned my moderatorship of the Dominions 3 forums here, so I'm still doing it when moderator intervention is required. And when it's required, I'll moderate according to the guidelines set by Shrapnel Games.

In this instance it is, in my opinion, a good thing, because both the old official forum and the new official forum are thus managed by the same person, which ensures both a continuity of the community and a consistency of approach and behavior. I would prefer it if everyone refrained from fanning flames between different forum groups.

The Dominions 3 community (the community that originally formed here at any rate) has had quite enough shocks, upheavals and the broader community (with an influx of new people from various other corners of the net on the new official forum) does not need the resurrection of old grudges and interpersonal conflicts from here in any way, shape or form. The user base from here (including the people banned from here and who largely congregate at Dom3Mods) is a large, fairly coherent group that makes up a lot of the activity in the community, which will inevitably have an impact across forum borders if people do not keep that in mind.

The bottom line most of the time is that whatever happens at other boards is the business of those other boards and nothing to do with this one unless that business is deliberately brought over and/or intentionally made to have an impact (such as organizing board invasions or the like). Note that this statement is general in nature and would or should apply on almost any forum where it is posted.

In this case the roots of this thread are in what happened at another community, so discussion of some cross-forum business is practically inevitable in it. And as long as it stays reasonable, it's not a problem.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

ahh fanto. you and i have a lot in common. we both play dominions, we both like girls...

but this thing you keep doing where you pretend i said silly, indefensible things, and then talk down to me about them? me no like it.

i asked if there was room to play more then one way(ie, not always entirely to win). things like testing an unconventional build. or maybe just fighting an early war for that "fist fight on a burning ship" type of feel. i think these things can be fun.

i have tried stuff like this and gotten battered in the in game threads as someone who is stupid and doesn't know how to play the game 'right'.

if you ever read what i wrote, instead of what you wanted to believe i wrote, you would see i said over and over i didn't mind getting ganked and i really didn't mind losing games that much. but it seemed nobody could even comprehend that idea, much less try to give in any credence.

you, and about ten other people went bonkers. ok, good for you folks. one of you made the point that invision is a hard core forum with hard core players, and that my thoughts might be better received elsewhere. so i posted them here. at which point you, your fearless leader, and other likeminded folks went bannanas, saying i was a coward, crying to the people in this forum. very much not the case. in fact, quite the opposite.

i keep trying to let it go, and you just keep right on posting. i pick you up on being insulting, you pretend you didn't mean to be.

how about we let it go. it isn't the end of the world if someone has a different idea than you. some people even find it refreshing. i certainly don't expect everyone to see it my way. i just thought it might be a good idea to have different viewpoints. that's not going to happen at invision, and that, too is just fine.

but then gandy says maybe this forum has changed to the point where people don't shout eachother down and it is now diffent than it was, and you don't want that either? let it go. go back to invision, and the next time someone says something you don't like, gangbang em. go get em hon.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

The last post wasn't directed at you at all, I responded to Gandalf. And in doing so I also discussed the subject of different playstyles in general terms. That is supposed to be the actual subject of the thread right?

"Go back to invision"??? I came here years ago, and I'm not leaving because of some imaginary disagreement.

What is this bs about a "fearless leader" blah di blah, who is that supposed to be? Sombre defended you, and I didn't post at all until you posted here, and only because I don't think it's ok to complain about people on another forum where they can't answer, especially not after publicly inviting them to be harsh and "not afraid to hurt my feelings".

Letting go of tha matter is fine with me, first lets let go of the silly conspiracy theories about dom3mods, I am me and represent only me, and I use all 3 forums + IRC to interact with what I see as the same community. No one is anyones great leader, no one want to do harm do any of the forums, everyone just reacts and talks for themselves. Sometimes people are blunt, harsh or misunderstand stuff, and sometimes that makes a little drama. No big deal, we've had plenty of bigger ****storms than this one, it will be more or less forgotten within the week anyways. You also should let go, let go of the idea that anyone on any forum is out to hurt you. Because no one is.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

Calm down, Parone. You're way out of line with that last post. Leave out the personal attacks.

You have no place telling other people to go anywhere from here. The way I see it, many of your conflicts with some of the community veterans stem from rather fundamental philosophical differences regarding MP games. It might be best if you do not play with those people, or at least not in high commitment games.

In MP games it is generally assumed that certain basic things are the same for all participants, so if someone uses high commitment games as a testing ground for unorthodox tactics and builds and similar things that then leads to a completely unexpected power dynamic change, it may well ruin the fun for several participants and they will be upset or at least displeased with that. Trying those things in casual games is a different matter not such a great deal.

I will also make a personal observation: You come across as incoherent sometimes, it's difficult to parse what you're saying from what you seem to be saying on another level and your posts can sometimes be taken either way. This leads to a situation where you may have meant something a certain way and it is interpreted in an entirely different light. In such situations, the problem is not with the person making the different interpretation, but with your communication skills. Try to improve them.

There is also a difference between self-deprecation and woe-is-me sympathy begging and quite often your posts have slipped from the former to the latter, which is also not going to make people more favorably disposed toward you. Quite the opposite in fact.

At Dom3Mods all of these factors combined to get you into the center of a flamestorm when you and some of the veterans were working from completely different premises. And like Fantomen said, Sombre, who is the nominal leader of that board, actually stood up for you and in opposition to some (not all, but some) of the things your opponents were saying. Fantomen wasn't exactly on your case either, but more of a neutral observer.

Your own actions in referring to that thread there brought the reaction that you came here to complain about the treatment there, which is not an unreasonable interpretation when considering the tone that has been used in various places. You may have a great deal of self-respect, but it has not been apparent in your Dominions related posting, which is all we know you by, so the image of you as an insecure person has also been pretty strongly projected to the community here and even more so the Dom3Mods crowd.

Other than that one post where Fantomen told you to man up, she has not been out of line and she has repeatedly explained herself. Now it's you who is lashing out and escalating things.

I would seriously advice you to look at what you post and more importantly, how you post it, because there is a communication issue here that is causing a great deal of fiction and it is coming from your end. Post more clearly, unambiguously and if possible, drop the attempts at self-deprecating humor, because it's not working and is exacerbating everything else.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

Well done Edi, I agree with what you said and thank you for bringing a firm, calm and honest voice to quiet the cacophony that this thread seems to be becoming.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

good advice.

i haven't been back to check it out. i really don't know sombre that well. and if you can't figure out who the leader of the pack is at invision, you aren't trying too hard.

i see an inequity in one person being able to say demeaning things, yet another being picked up on it when they return fire. and that is not my imagination. maybe dom forums aren't for me. i think ill just stick to playing.

come to think of it, that's a really good idea. see you all in game.

and edi on my way out(and yes, i can hear you saying, dont let the door hit you in the a** on the way):

the self respect thing from you and fanto is absolute rubish. i play dominion about 10 minutes a day. unfortunately(and this is my error) ive spent that much time trying to clarify my position in forums lately too.

i have often poked fun at myself due to ingame errors. i think they are humorous and instructive. but other people feel i am self flagellating. I AM NOT . if i make a mistake, i laught it off and try not to repeat it. somehow people that take this game MUCH more seriously than me have interpreted that as "self hate"(actual quote).

folks, i just don't take it that serious. i really like the game. but i derive no self worth from success, and my self image suffers nothing from defeat.

and while i am all about everyone having their own ideas and being allowed that, i really do feel having that detatchemnt is healthy. and not having it, i must assume, is not.

ok, good luck all.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

What the hell? If you read my post as an announcement that you are unwelcome here, you need to take another look and think about it for a while. I don't know what it is that made you think that, because apparently Lumix had absolutely zero trouble seeing what I meant.

All I said is to knock off personal attacks and then gave an explanation of how you appear to others through your posts. Not that you actually necessarily are that way, but that you appear that way because there is a communication issue at work. And a request to think about what your posts may look like to others. It was intended as helpful advice, not an accusation or punishment. It's up to you how you choose to take it.

I have been a neutral observer in this and only stepped in after Fantomen's comment about this place being a (seemingly) unmoderated forum. I saw this thread starting to become something that might need more forceful intervention if that misconception was not addressed and made some general statements about the community and its need to avoid tearing itself apart unnecessarily.

There is no need to throw a hissy fit at me because of that, or to leave the community, but if you feel that way, then I guess you've already made up your mind.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

That whole post was directed at me? I dont think that will work very well.

I was actually thinking about starting some games and considering where best to do it. Just some fun casual games from the game ideas in the "On The Fence" thread. I dont want to offend you but seriously Dom3Mods was not at all one of the considerations for where I would start such a game.

And I am sorry but there are definitely differences in the forums. I am thinking I will do it here. Some forums have too few dominions games going on and I want to allow them just the normal games. I only rarely answer questions or post news items there. And some forums a game thread gets a lot of helpful people explaining why the game wont work and no one should join it. But in this forum it is beginning to appear that busy enough to have players looking for a variation but quiet enough for people just to yes/no about playing.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

I don't really understand what you're talking about in that post^

What I responded to what two things you said in the previous post. First that people have been trying to enforce a certain way of playing, which isn't true. And second that the forming of dom3mods was a consequence of different attitudes towards how to play the game, which isn't true. Those are lies.

I couldn't care less about where you advertise your games, as long as it is in the appropriate subforum and non-intrusive. But I don't like outright lies.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

Other players are not going to force you to play a certain way. A desire to win is going to force them and you to play a certain way.

If you're not willing to play that playstyle, you are going to have to make games with house rules and look for like minded players. Really, that is pretty much what everyone is doing, even the most competitive players are playing by at least a few house rules because even they find winning by any means within only the rules the developers set forth to not be acceptable.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

Testing builds for yourself in a MP game is ok. You take a risk, which may or may not pay. Fighting an early war with someone else for your own fun means the target of your early war may have his whole game spoiled in order for you to have your own fun. Since that player has no way of guessing that you're not playing the same game as the other players, you effectively ruin his game. That's very bad. When rules are posted in a thread, which include house rules (no lab filling, etc.), you should play the game by these rules. You can't expect people to respect house rules you make up. The real point is if you come to a game with different expectations from other players, you will ruin the game for you or (some of) the others. So don't do that.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

And you're free to do stuff like that in any game you care to play in. Just as others are free to unceremoniously remove you from the map for interfering with their plans without having the clout to back up your aggression.

In the game threads I'm familiar with, you got slapped for binge moaning and resorting to ad-homs when the consequences of your erratic playstyle were pointed out to you in a calm and rational way.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

What I said was that some playing groups bled off to their own forums. Multiple. Plural. Im well aware of the creation of Dom3Mods and I have been all support of it since its beginning. YOU seem to be the one trying to make everything about dom3mods. To be truthful, of the dozen or so forums that I frequent for dom3 conversations dom3mods is the last one I think of. It isnt that big a deal to me.

After some false starts at posting this I think I have my customer support hat back on. Wording helps so let me try again. We did used to have people who would offer helpful expert advice in new mp threads on why strange game settings, or quirky maps, or extreme variations should not be played. Especially if they gave new players a wrong impression of the games they would be playing later. They often did not then play in those games but did drop in to provide helpful leadership in the games setup. Many of our experts seem to have migrated. That is of course a loss to this forum.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

I understand that somebody complaining about another forum is right up your well-lubed alley, but please do some checking of facts before spewing this insidious nonsense.

When you get in a high commitment game, as the OP did, you can expect some serious competition. That's the point of these games. It's been stated clearly from the outset, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with any reasonable notion of 'elite', which by the way is a word that only a moron would use as a derogative.

Nobody is being forced to play in these games, and dom3mods has lots of casual games as well. A majority of games, as a matter of fact, so it's not an issue of venue.

Similarly, if you get in an everybody just creatively doodles around in their sandbox until everybody is surprised that someone actually won it kind of game, you expect something else. These games have their own set of limited parameters. Like you're not expected to compete too hard.

What's not acceptable is if you take the premises of the latter and apply them to the former, then complain about people not listening to your complaints about being walked over.

Which is the root of this thread.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

Liar liar, pants on fire. :p

Disclaimer: Or maybe you can tell us about those other "dozen or so" forums that these multiple (plural) groups of "former experts" with "different attitudes" have "bled off" to? Also please give examples of how anyone of them has tried to "kill this forum" as you also claimed in the previous post, as a clear reference to the migrated groups in question. You can of course do your usual weaseling out by claiming all dozen groups to be secret, lest I and my gang of ruffians go destroy these fragile beautiful creatures like a rabid Richard Dawkins on a new age convent.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

@fant, tbh, some of the old dom3 people have gone to the gaming den.

Of course those people have not been well respected by some dom3mods regulars. So labelling those as experts would be hotly contested.

These dom3 vets did migrate before the creation of dom3mods. iirc.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

The claim was:

Does the gaming den qualify for that description? And was it the intended reference?

I understand there is various smaller groups playing on other forums, that's not the issue at all. It's irrelevant because I'm not questioning the existence of Dom3 activity on other forums. It's the claim that they are coming here to advertise and try to make this forum die in favor of their own that i'm questioning, since that is insulting if it's not true, and hardly seems to be the case.

Since Gandalf says he didn't mean dom3mods in the above quote, but that he instead is referring to the "dozen or so" other forums with dom3 activity, I suppose that means the above description fits all these forums. I wonder if they are aware of his opinion about them?

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

It just was the only group I could think of. But it was not in that context. Only the
"What I said was that some playing groups bled off to their own forums." context.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

Some groups have also always existed in their own forums and had little to do with this place even in its heyday. Quarter to Three and Something Awful come to mind.

As far as interest in other communities goes, you can start by taking a look here. Those are the ones known to me (by name only, most of them).

It should be noted that there seems to be relatively more community cross pollination at this time, with folks from all over wandering to the Desura forum and some traffic going the other way too.

Each of these communities has its place, its own preferences and each is the preferred haunt of someone for whatever reason. For example, I'm a moderator of this community, run the one on Desura and am a member of both Dom3Mods and Qt3. Doubtless there are other communities not on that list that I've never heard of, but that's neither here nor there.

As long as everyone adheres to the rule of keeping the business of one forum the business of that forum and doesn't bring baggage with them, there is no reason to kick a fuss over it. We (Dominions players in general) are a small enough community collectively that we don't need to borrow trouble.

Of all the communities I've seen, I've not seen attempts at killing off the others, as if that were possible in the first place. The most conflict has come out of some of the differences between this forum and some of its current and former members due to disagreements over certain policies of Shrapnel Games.

That horse has been well and truly beaten to death, resurrected, beaten to death again, the corpse reanimated and then once more beaten back down, so I'd appreciate it if was left to lie where it's fallen. There is absolutely zero reason to bring those things up again and up until now these old issues have been remarkably quiescent. Please let them be.

Re: Why do you play dominions?
 

For the record, and if anyone thinks I'm just being anal or pursuing a personal vendetta, the reason I react here is because I think these vaguely insulting posts about other forums and people is really harmful to the community. It is also not the first time Gandalf does it.

In fact, the vagueness makes it worse and more insulting. If you really have to insult or post your own biased description of someone else, then at least spell out your target directly so he/she/they has a reasonable chance to answer for themself. You are being MORE inflammatory and insulting when doing it indirectly or with lack of clarity.

I maintain that Gandalfs post was framed in a way that made it look like a decription of dom3mods, and a very insulting one. Especially since it was made in a thread that started with a misplaced whine about dom3mods it was the most logical interpreteation. I don't really care if there was some other intention also, because it should be perfectly simple to make posts that does not have these vibes about them.

This type of posts, both Parones and Gandalfs, brings the various strands of our community further apart and creates false images of big attitude differencies and polarized opinions that just aren't there in reality.

I wan't the community to get stronger and also less divided, because with a less divided community we could have so much more high end content going like for example official tournaments, a dedicated user friendly blitz server, automated score tracking and solid HoF statistics and so on and so forth. I actively work for these things and since I feel this nonsense and spreading of stupid rumors undermines the possibility to get there, it just pisses me the **** off.

I'm might a hot headed ***** with a big foul mouth and maybe I wen't too far in this thread, but I'd rather be a bit blunt than silent. Parone may be excused by having actually taken a beating here, but It's simply not ok for an influential long time member of the community to go on like that.