So there I was on my holidays in the Basque country in southern France (had a lovely time, thank you for asking) when I spotted this in a church. How curious and in fact reminded me that I had not even thought about GEWar for nearly 3 weeks! Imagine my surprise when I returned yesterday to find all my cities taken by an AO alliance!
Indeed GEWar moves in mysterious ways!
So the reset is here! Woot! Not as exiting as the last one, but interesting nonetheless.
I must say it was absolutely awesome playing in Ronin, each and everyone in the alliance was superb. Special respect to pitoh for taking leadership responsibility when no-one else wanted to after Othafa. He did a grand job. Big up the Mighty P!
Well I won't be in an alliance next reset BUT I will still be playing! So look out those who may have peeved me off :0
So as many will know and have debated bank interest will be cancelled as of 18 July.
I welcome this as it will reduce those players who do nothing but save and then only act before a reset.
Things still need to be done to encourage long term players such as a levels score like they have in other online games. I do not refer to the levels system that is in the donators game as that refers to different worlds. Each player should have a system which rates their experience in the game. This could be a composite derived from the new score system?
Well the reset looms large so wishing everyone a rollocking reset ride!
Things have been quiet on the blogging front I know, so Dr GEWarLove brings you an interview with the player Biggest to keep the readers going.
How did you first get into GEWar?
By accident - stumbled across it whilst doing some work we were hoping to link with Google Earth - was at work and logged in!
How long have you been playing it for?
Off and on for 18 months - work takes me away at times but then I get lots of time off - jewelling is king I think!
What newbie mistake(s) do you remember making?
Attacking too early - like most people? Just wanted to get going, but now I need to ensure I have sufficient reserves to continue fighting.
What are the good things about GEWar, what are the bad things?
I've met, spoken to loads of people from across the world - it is a great community - I don't add to the forum though - I read it with interest but spend more time analysing and planning both inside the alliance and with others. The worst, apart from the addiction is the way some people forget it is a game, a break from reality - the way the whole world has an interest is fantstic.
What were the memorable moments for you in GEWar?
I've watched many good players, seen many great battles for the resource cities, loads of nukings but overall I liked the The Whirlpool Alliance from Australia and their "battles" with GDI - lots of little spats, but I really liked is when they combined to attack the Chinese - took me a while to work out what was going on!
Do you think you will be playing GEWar in 2 years time?
I really hope so - work has taken me away too often recently - if things improve globally then maybe I'll be able to sit behind a desk and get home every night to play etc. My job is brilliant but gets in the way of GEWar!
Many thanks to Biggest!
There is an interesting thread going on where new players (those who have played for less than a month) can write a short autobiography to win some geos.
Go check it out.
++Update++
Lol, seems an oversight in the competition has been spotted by xorgthezombie.
Also I do believe I have received my first blog spam in the comments to this post. Apparently, according to BabelFish, the guy is selling personalised t-shirts!
To paraphrase a famous (misquoted) saying "Peace in our time" (very much hoping of course that Ronin does not end up with egg on face like Neville Chamberlain did before WWII!), Ronin has come to a peace settlement with BNW.
Of course there are still a few issues including for example some BNW members getting to hear of it, disagreements over prices of Indian cities, Indian cities being sold off to other alliances etc but nothing that cannot be ironed out.
The new scoring system may well have played its part in this outcome as it means that BNW's original goal of obtaining a gold star is pretty much out of reach.
Speaking of which the general consensus is that the scoring system is a welcome change to the game. It has certainly opened up the game and it seems it is much more dynamic, of course this is still early days and inevitably diplomacy will balance out the initial attacking phase.
A picture of pitoh celebrating:
Is "protected" the new black? There seems to be a new trend in one man alliances being "protected" by a bigger alliance:
"protected by BNW"
"RED DWARF PROTECTEDalliance"
"dont touch me or red dwarf will hurt you"
"dont touch me or Ronin will hurt you"
By the way the Ronin one is not in anyway affiliated to us, when we messaged the player he replied he was "trying to start a war in this boring game".
The most popular name variation at the moment is Red Dwarf.
And the funniest is: "i got new shoes today woot woot and i love hannah" which funnily enough has an ex-Ronin member.
After the bad news about the speed slots some good news, BNW have been denied gold star status for another month!
Events unfolded about 0400 server time Tuesday 12 June when xmen_oz took Tokyo:
One of the biggest single battles in a while for sure.
This was followed by an assault on Mumbai by our own kerithp and bringing up the rear was yours truely with an invasion of Kolkata.
Reaching for the stars is not as easy as it looks ;)
Apparently you can no longer load "multiple tabs" in your browser to do the slots. The reason cited was load on the server. This was our main tactic to bring down shields so a set back there for us. Queries have been made as to what constitutes "multi tabbed" browsing. But we are not holding our breath.
Another new feature, a score system has been introduced, Luke and his team have been busy, well done!
It will be reset in a few days then expect all sorts of activity! Will this silence the whiners? I doubt it, a new generation of said people will pop up no doubt.
A new industry feature has been added. Hopefully this will develop so that attackers can get a percentage of the industry as loot? Also maybe armies could be bought more cheaply the more industry you have?
In other news the cost of nukes has gone down to 3000 geos.
Well the much talked about new feature has been implemented. This will indeed open up new tactical interest and could not have come at a better time for Ronin.
Leaving your city will cause shields to be dropped, this will mean even more careful scrutinising of the latest activity page!
Ever fancied running your own Reggae Sound System? Then check out Littlecountry.net.
The Mickey Dread and Reggae 2 are eirie!
Furthermore, Reggae lovers, I recommend you check out pitoh's tunes on his blog as well! (scroll down on the left of the page.)
Another Bloody Sunday somewhere in a distant land:
Is it wise to confide in an Internet gaming forum about personal issues? One brave soul did that recently when he decided to write about a doomed love affair. Obviously such a salacious bit of news in the otherwise staid atmosphere of a gaming forum drew much attention.
To what extent writing about the experience was cathartic and whether that justified the publication is very debatable. I for one would never open up as the author did even if it was very much related to GEWar. However I think he did the community a great service by alerting people to the issues involved.
Inevitably comments were made that upset the author and may have led to his recent decision to quit the game? All I can say is that though I do not know the guy I wish to say that what he did was a brave thing (ignoring the moral aspects of the story) and I applaud his decision.
Whoar. Nuketastic mate. Mana from heaven so to speak, well not if you were getting nuked that is. Tuesday morning about 0130 server time, the shields were brought down by slot playing Bisbicos. For the first hour or so I was sat twiddling my thumbs since I had no nukes and no cities. Luckily I was saved and a kind soul loaned me their cities.
maVerik reports some figures - though my tally was 5 not 4, tsk, tsk and he replicates brains with light switches for a living or something ;) - whilst DalairHudson provides an amusing commentary.
++Update++
Manitonda has done a nifty flash animation.
So I went to bed last night having dealt with some attacks from Yellow Submarine, all was well in GEWar world. There had been talk of BNW getting ready to attack us because of a dispute with one of our members. But seeing as we had a NAP with them, no worries in my mind about what was about to take place (well actually I did have some worries since I had dealings with BNW last reset and followed what was going on when they fought SJ)...
...I get up this morning and yes I had been zeroed and Ronin were no longer at the top of the ranks. Well what a nice start to the day!
BNW took their opportunity and profited, kudos to them. And actually not having any cities, relinquishing all worldly goods as it were, is a surprisingly pleasant experience.
Well we shall regroup and let BNW take the strain of trying to keep that value hehe.
...for holding a city for nearly 9 hours. We have not been keeping records but surely this must be the longest they have held a city?
Hmm, maybe Ronin should initiate a prize for the length of time YS/NA are able to keep a city. Off the top of my head, perhaps the prize could be advice on how to use bonds?
In other news AO are warring with RD, making the server very slow lol (though the number of armies I have currently is not helping server speed either!). Anyway good luck to both and wish them the maximum amount of fun.
I am pleased to bring you an interview with an OG or Original GEWarrior, indienestmonnom, who provides an interesting reflection on wider and higher goals for GEWar.
How did you first get into GEWar?
I jumped into Gewar in August 2005, around the 15th, i believe. I had just discovered GE and i was searching for a wargame using it. I found GoogleEarthHacks, Mickey and... It has began. I’m 39 years old now, and since i was a child, i’ve always been a fan of the Risk game, and saying, a fan of every kind of wargame. Gewar still be the best for me.
What newbie mistake(s) do you remember making?
Making other alliances’ cities as a waypoint (and being attacked outside, of course), attacking with only one huge army, forgetting to put a nukeshield on high value cities, believing that i’m the strongest... All current noob mistakes...
What are the good things about GEWar, what are the bad things?
It fits exactly the ergonomy of the GE’s rounded map, rules are simple and efficient, and the network worldwide process brings an incredible psychological and diplomatic dimension to the tactical game. This last point can make anykind of board wargame evolve to a RPG, and we often see how it can affect individual egos...
Because, worse in GEwar is... Its players ! Most of them are young guns, very proud and mindless, too much self-determined, acting without any consideration for their own alliance, always fantasizing about absolute power... But, most of the time, when they keep playing after one year, they learn about self-effacement, about patience and solidarity...
This makes me come to my main opinion about Gewar. What misses the more to this game is a political approach of playing. Look, there are a lot of alliances. Most of them are poor and not very active. In the top ten, we see un-determined alliances’ relationships. I mean that we fight each other (when we’re compelled) without any conceptual, or idealistic reasons. We fight because we used to be enemies (we could also be allies without any more reason), or because we’re defending an ally, or because we don’t like some other players... But where’s the goal ? Be the top one ? What for ? Everybody is defeatable, just need the geos. Is it a question of geos, then ? So, money’s everything in both real life and game ?
So, my wishes would be to get more significant policy, as in real life. Not an RPG style (because we’re not exactly playing a role), but a combination of real shared geographic roots, culture, language, political opinions. Let’s try to reorganize alliances like the real world and see if the balance of power ends on same results ! For example, i’m not an extremist in any way, and i’ll always want to fight fascism or dictatorship directly. And i’m quite sure, that there are some players in Gewar who will be my preferred targets if their alliance was formed around those kind of idea... I’ll have a real reason to fight. Our motivation will be strongest both sides, and the process of self-assimilation, who guarantee the success of good stories, will allow GEwar to get to a higher level in 21st century’s games. Except the fact that playground map is copied on real earth, it will become as fame as “Second Life”, but with wargame internal mechanism...
What is the background and vision behind the Federation/Coalition?
This was a part of what is said above. I would like the European continent to be organized, as a single force, like we try to do in real life. And for now, there are opposite points of view between involved alliances in Europe. More or less, two sides, which were called the Federation (Ukraine, SJ, NO and some others) and the Coalition (UN, SSC and some others). Since AO declared war to NO, since SJ left all their cities, since Ukraine came down and SSC met various problems, everybody has its own thing to sort out. You’ll hear more later about the Federation, for sure. The fact is that UN isn’t very active, currently, but that’s another story...
What were the memorable moments for you in GEWar?
Memorable moments are greatest moments of NO:
- when NO was owning the whole European continent and farther, from Scotland to Iraq, from Casablanca to Moscow, all cities were orange !!
- when NO took Atlantis, the mythical and temporary city.
Do you think you will be playing GEWar in 2 years time?
Yes. Definitely. I consider that this game is at its youngest age. Many evolutions can make it become one of the most famous game in the world. Stay tuned !
Many thanks to indienestmonnom!
I bought a GP2X recently. At first I thought I had made a big mistake. I initially wanted something to play video that I could use in my classes without the need to carry my portable computer. The GP2X has a tv-out and can play all videos after conversion. However there are dedicated portable media players out there and I was thinking maybe I should have gone for one of those....
...and then I loaded up some emulators! Man! Woot! Now I can play arcade classics and console classics. Of the console games I have been impressed with the Sega Megadrive emulator (Picodrive) and the Game Boy Advance emulator (Gpsp). Of course the MAME emulator kicks ass for memory lane fans!
Plus since the handheld uses a modified Linux OS all of the above software and more can be downloaded free. Of course it is not for the casual user who can opt for a PSP.
If you like your classic games I can easily recommend the GP2X. And come on what modern games can beat them for gameplay?!
No I am not talking about a rave. I have not pulled an all-nighter in GEWar since near the end of the last reset. And the one other time when I was in Incognito. The reason for this one is that NA have been active and luckily for me no work tomorrow!
Near the end of the session, as I was getting tired, I managed to pm the opposition instead of my leader pitoh, lol. Luckily for me it was not a crucial pm, rather innocuous. The opposition guy pmed me back highly amused.
So might as well add that I was hugely disappointed not to win the blog competition. Boo hoo hoo. Congratulations to helo though and I echo his wish that at least some of the blogs keep going. And a big shout to all who did a blog even those who only did one entry, you know who you are you slackers!
Not much news wise in the game features though a post by fluteflute alerted me to some possible changes Luke is planning. Essentially making nuke shields more flexible and bringing a welcome addition to strategy in the game. Which I think is sorely lacking. Credit of course to pitoh for these ideas, though not sure if they had been raised before?
Now I am off to bed even though it is now morning. Good night!
