Love the game, but almost every single time there’s someone who signs up and then never takes a turn.
They get kicked after 6 turns but by then:
- 6 very tedious days have passed IRL
- Even once the AI kicks in they are extremely weakened - so the neighbouring player gets a massive advantage that totally distorts the game
Anything that helped with this would massivelty increase my enjoyment.
So, what’s the best way to reduce the impact of these selfish individuals?
- Kick after 3 turns instead of 6?
- Kick after 1 turn if it’s within the first 3 rounds?
- Give the AI of an AFK player a funds boost so they’re less of a pushover?
Welcome to the forums, fellow game-lover! IIRC, years ago the rule was kicked after 3 turns, no matter what, but players thought that was too few in some cases, such as in a game with 8-12 hour deadlines, when a person was unable to log in for 24-36 hours. However, basing the number of turns before getting kicked on the duration of the deadlines seems too complex and irregular; it’s best to clearly know what to expect in every game.
All that said, I would favor kicking after 3 turns without a submission when it is the first three turns. This would reflect the standard for real-time games, where it is 48 consecutive ticks of inaction from the start, but 72 ticks of inaction afterward.
I don’t think a funds boost for an AFK AI would be a good idea. If the player was AFK from the start the AI is probably doomed anyway, and it would just allow the AI to build more infrastructure to be easily captured by a live player, making the imbalance worse, and for players who are suddenly unable to continue playing mid-to-late in the game it would only punish their allies even more for the misfortune.
Maybe we could choose the number of turns missed for afk in the settings when creating a game
Or maybe it could a time limit and not a turn limit, ie you get afk after 3 day without playing, no matter how many turn that is