Fix eRepublik - Volume 1

Day 3,458, 17:17 Published in USA USA by Gnilraps

Day 3458 of the New World
May 9, 2017




Plato needs our help.




eRepublik has been foundering. There’s been a dangerous dance lately between survival mode and death knell. And the problem is Plato hasn’t done anything about it.



We’re here to help.




In this, volume 1, we discuss the proliferation of battle campaigns, and how it is slowly destroying this game. We know Plato is listening...










Currently, as I type this, there are 35 battles active involving 46 different eNations.



These numbers are on the low side of average. There are usually more active battles than this. But for the sake of today’s conversation, let’s just work with 35/46.



My goal in this article is to convince Plato that even these numbers are too high.








Plato has god-like power in this game. If Plato decides it, game rules could require, for instance, a minimum of 100K strength in order to fight. That would be stupid. But Plato has that kind of power.



The question is, how should Plato use his power?



I propose that Plato should limit the maximum number of active campaigns.










We have all seen suggestions that Plato limit the amount of tanking a citizen should be allowed. We all understand why Plato has not implemented this limit. Plato likes tanking. But the philosophy of limiting tanking is soun😛 decrease the impact that one person can make in one battle.


Nobody argues this. The game would be better if a single battle would be less impacted by one idiot tank. But placing a limit on tanking does not benefit Plato.


So how could Plato get what he wants - lots of tanking, while citizens get what they want - compelling and competitive battles?


The answer is obvious: Plato must put a cap on the maximum number of ongoing battles allowed.


Look. Let’s take Uruguay for instance. I think it’s great that eRepublik has an eUruguay. But accordinng to eRepublik’s own statistics, there are a total of 217 active citizens in eUruguay with an average citizen level of 21.


Think about that for a moment. 217 active citizens with an average level of 21.


According to eRepublik’s own statistics, as I write this there are exactly 3 eUruguayan citizens online.

3.

3 Citizens online.

Not 4.

3.


And here is the problem: If eUruguay wanted to start a battle right now, no game mechanic would prevent it.


Should eUruguay be able to start a battle? Yes, but maybe only under certain conditions. Maybe Plato should put some strictures in place to make sure that a battle involving eUruguay (for instance) does not detract from the importance of other battles. Maybe, with his god-like powers, Plato could make it more difficult to launch a new campaign! And if he did this, would it improve the game for users as well as for Admin?


YES. YES. YES.








Think about it again.


All it takes to start a battle campaign in this game right now is a few cheap resources.



Can you see the problem? Every eNation has equal access to the campaign queue. This means the “active campaigns” screen is filled with predominantly meaningless campaigns. Sure, there are plenty of chances for battle hero medals, sky hero medals, and the like, but there is a massive cost to the quality of the game itself.



The damage available from the average eCitizen is nearly meaningless.



This would NOT be the case if there were fewer available campaigns.








Benefiits to Citizens

If there were fewer available campaigns:

eCitizens would be forced to make more critical decisions regarding where they put their damage.

Moreover, eNations would need to make more cooperative decisions regarding support.

Moreover, Combat Orders could be concentrated in far more interesting ways, making better use of MU-only orders for instance.

Moreover, global politics would once again become an important game dynamic - even for small nations.

Moreover, there would be more frequent high-importance mini-battles.






Benefits to Plato

But fewer available campaigns would not only benefit eCitizens, it would also benefit Plato!

Fewer campaigns would raise competition for medals, resulting in increased tanking.

Moreover, fewer geopolitical movements would force eCitizens to work together, driving them towards the eRep Discord channel and/or other such meta devices.

Moreover, fewer battles results in less gold/currency introduced into circulation, thus improving the economy.

Moreover, concentrated (fewer) alliance movements result in heightened political campaigns… i.e. activity where it matters most, off the battlefield!







Let me be brief. (tl;dr)

If Plato would introduce a game mechanic that limits the potential number of campaigns in such a way that a campaignn could only be launched under very particular circumstances and only a set number of campaigns could be active at any given time, it would result in a better gaming experience for eRepublik users and it would result in a better product for Plato.







If you agree that eRepublik needs to improve, share this article.







You may now return to your regularly scheduled clicking