Legitimate Explanation (Beta Botein, current 64-player game)

I want to be careful about how I phrase this, because I don’t want to be one of those players who just gets salty and throws around accusations. But something odd seems to be going on in the current 64-player game, Beta Botein.

One player has basically rocketed way out ahead of the others - far beyond what appears possible through normal means. They’re nearly twice as large as any competitor, their economy and industry are similarly outsized, and from looking at the Intel screen it appears they were able to do this without actually needing to engage in combat, which is the really odd part. In particular, they appear to have taken homeworlds from other players without the need to actually have a fight.

Here’s what the intel screen for # of ships currently looks like:

ships

The only way I can see that this would be possible is through shenanigans - but on the other hand, if it is legit, is impressive as heck and deserves a tip of the hat. More experienced players, is there a non-dubious explanation for this?

Most likely scenario is them having multiple AFK neighbours. So the first thing to do is figure out if that was the case.

You can find a players homeworld by zooming in as far as possible and clicking the eye on the leaderboard.

This was my first thought, but even an AFK player is going to have a pile of ships built up on their homeworld. Taking it is easier than a live opponent, but I’m confused about getting it with no battle at all? Like, not rhetorically confused - I am honestly curious how that happens in the game.

You park your ships next to their home system and wait for the AI to take over. The AI jumps away from the homeworld allowing you to take it. You should be able figure out if this happened by looking at when the neighbours were kicked from the game and when ship and star losses happened.

Ah, got it - in which case, this is more a ‘kudos, well played!’ situation.

Thank you!

Might have to rally the others to take 'em out!

I was in that game and watching what happens. It looked like he spawned with 3 afk players nearby and quickly capitalized. It happens every now and then, which sucks, but not much to be down about it.

Looks like he quit now as well…

I was in alliance with him. And I must say I was astounded at his size. I have never seen this happen in any 64 game quite like him. It’s amazing he quit. Funny. He had all the luck and everything else going for him.

But had a defeatist attitude. It looks like one of the Veteran Alliance members brutalized him psychologically. :smiley: