Gamers who give up

[REVS]

Ever had the problem of PBEM players found on the forum who suddenly stop sending you emails the moment a game starts to go bad for them? Shame on them! That's like deserting, like going AWOL. Court martial offence! The one thing I can say in favour of playing a friend you know is that if they suddenly go quiet on you, at least you can go round their place, knock on the door and ask what the **** is going on. In the last few weeks, I've come across some pretty hopeless shabby deserters whose only claim to fame is that they own a computer and a copy of CM. There really ought to be a hall of shame developed, where we can post the details of worthless opponents who only keep on returning emails if they're doing well. That would save lots of us a hell a lot of time playing worthless shirkers who simply walk off the battlefield whenever it suit them.

[PawBroon]

Happens often.

Play people you know.

Blacklist slackers.

I mostly play games with fellow Poolers.

We know who we play, why we play and what to expect.

That's far more than most Boardees I played so far...

No need to go McCarthying guys and post a Hall of Shame.

That's a bit of a lynching mentality.

Just know who you play with and avoid the others.

Welcome in the Real World BTW!

[JohnR]

I think most of the players who do that are

kids. The same kind who use game sharks on their nintendos. One of the things I like about CM is you mainly tend to get older players, people who can enjoy a well played game, win or lose. Many younger people today can only get excited by instant gratification as soon as they see that they can't overrun an opponent in 5 minutes they lose interest. Luckily most of them are not attracted to a game like CM in the first place.

[Lawyer]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by REVS:

In the last few weeks, I've come across some pretty hopeless shabby deserters whose only claim to fame is that they own a computer and a copy of CM.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey, I didn't know Meeks was playing CM again. He fits the description perfectly, except I don't think he owns a copy of CM or a computer.

[Soddball]

I think that a hall of shame idea would be a good one. You could rate someone you've played from 1 to 5 - 1 being scum-sucking gamey wimpsoe, 5 being fair-playing, diamond geezer.

I admit that to begin with it would be unbalanced, but as the scores added up for each player you'd start to see an average over a number of games which gave you an indication of the players that you could go up against.

[Lah]

It's worth reminding people, those of us who have lots of games going can sometimes lose track of who's turn it is. You could both be waiting for each other to send files.

[Pzman]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JohnR:

I think most of the players who do that are

kids. The same kind who use game sharks on their nintendos. One of the things I like about CM is you mainly tend to get older players, people who can enjoy a well played game, win or lose. Many younger people today can only get excited by instant gratification as soon as they see that they can't overrun an opponent in 5 minutes they lose interest. Luckily most of them are not attracted to a game like CM in the first place.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hum then I am a strange Kid then

[catnip]

My experience with Elijah meeks was very bad too. Four dead half tracks and he didn't respond for a month.

Off the top of my head here is a list of very reliable pbem opponents I have played in the past(3 game minimum).

1) Sgt. EE (very FAST player)

2) GClement (lets you know in advance if he will be late by even a few hours)

3) KiWi Joe (fast, will not waste your time)

4) Jarmo (very Honorable player)

[Subvet]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by PawBroon:

Happens often.

Play people you know.

Blacklist slackers.

No need to go McCarthying guys and post a Hall of Shame.

That's a bit of a lynching mentality.

Just know who you play with and avoid the others.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's all fine and good if you have been around for awhile and have played enough people to play people you know and blacklist the slackers. It doesn't help much if you are fairly new to the world of multi-player CM though. I thikn it would be nice to have a list of reliable players.

[Seanachai]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Soddball:

I think that a hall of shame idea would be a good one. You could rate someone you've played from 1 to 5 - 1 being scum-sucking gamey wimpsoe, 5 being fair-playing, diamond geezer.

I admit that to begin with it would be unbalanced, but as the scores added up for each player you'd start to see an average over a number of games which gave you an indication of the players that you could go up against.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Keep in mind that a means of blacklisting players you don't like or who acted badly, is just as powerful a tool for the people you despise to strike out at others. The stupid ones, of course, will eventually be revealed, but what court will sit to determine the truth of false accusations and slander?

Also, I had a PBEM against a player who suddenly stopped responding. Things hadn't been going well for him, but it was very early in the game. I kept putting off doing anything about it, sent him a questioning email or two, along with resent turns, and hadn't heard. About the time I was going to go into the 'Pool and tell people he'd dropped our game, I got an email from him. He was in the hospital for several weeks. He had serious health problems. They worsened, and he told me he wasn't in a position to continue our game.

Had I lambasted this fellow player on the public forum, I would have felt a right swine later, believe me.

Do not rush to justice. And eventually word of mouth does a lot to weed out the toads. You would be better served setting up a 'community of players' thread, such as the Peng Challenge Thread (though perhaps with different criteria for, er, membership), rather than setting up a 'rating' list, which all too often becomes a blacklist.

[PawBroon]

Senility, we seem to agree on this.

That got me worried...

[Col Deadmarsh]

I remember when Cases Ladder tried to implement this a couple of years ago. It didn't last long but then again, only the loser got the opportunity to rate his opponent. That's not a good idea since the loser is rarly in a good mood after a loss.

If a "player integrity rating" report was to begin at say, T-House, both players would have to report after every game to make it fair. I'm sure Yobobo would be willing to listen to this idea.

Otherwise, maybe we could just start up a T-House thread where people could voice their complaints there.

[Pak40]

I guess I've been luckier. I think I've only had one maybe two people the past year who have quit emailing me after things didn't go their way in the beginning.

I've almost given up in a couple of battles in the past because I got my arse handed to me early, but I'm really glad I stuck it out because:

(a) I ended up pulling a draw or minor win due to my opponents over confidence

( it's the right thing to do

© I expect the same from my opponents.

I've learned to never give up until that battle summary shows up. People who bail out are depriving themselves of a possible win or draw. NOTHING is more satisfying than getting a draw or minor win when just turns before you thought all things were hopeless.

[rleete]

I must have gotten lucky with my opponents, because all except for one out of about nine have been good about sending turns. Any one who has been going to be away for a while has sent a note saying so.

Most players are pretty good about it, but there are always unforseen circumstances, and it isn't always possible to send a warning in advance. I somebody blows you off for a month, just forget about it. There are plenty of good/reliable players in the world; just start another game.

[Slapdragon]

I know I messed up some games since I broke my spine twice and was hospitalized, and could not sit up to game while I was in rehab. Both times most players understoond when either my wife e-mailed them, or I was finally released to use a computer again.

I think the best bet is not a black list, which could not be operated on a US, Canadian, or Australian server because of the huge liability it would face with just one lawsuit (which it would sooner or later have face) but instead a dilegent person with skills at running an online database could create a positive survey based service, were a good gaming experience results in a rating, but a bad gaming experience results in no rating at all. That way you just have to use it to find good people, not weed out bad people.

[Windopaene]

Well I'd say I've played around 20 - 25 PBEM games since getting CM in February. Of those, only two people have stopped responding. I will play neither again. In both cases, they were losing, and we were down to the last turn or two, which really pissed me off. One was even a Rugged Defense ladder game. It was the persons first ladder game, and I was seriously kicking their ass, but still it sucks. Luckily, Cyberfox said, "go ahead and claim the victory!", so now I have 1 win on the ladder.

But I digress. I would guess that the PBEM CM community has less drop-outs than others. Though I would think you'll find more of this in onine play, as a new identity is just a login away...

[Dunnee]

"I think most of the players who do that are

kids."

Bad generalization. Exactly the sort of thing that makes a blacklist all but impossible.

"One of the things I like about CM is you mainly tend to get older players, people who can enjoy a well played game, win or lose. Many younger people today can only get excited by instant gratification as soon as they see that they can't overrun an opponent in 5 minutes they lose interest. Luckily most of them are not attracted to a game like CM in the first place."

Older players are just as subject to "gamey" play as younger players. I played a 40-something the other day, and he used the recon jeep "rush" across a bridge, which pisses me off to no end. The thing I've found, is that although this game may be more complicated and thought provoking than other fare, kids still take to video games like a baby to breast milk. If anything is different between older and younger players, it's the fact that younger players are quicker to grasp the gameplay, quicker to figure the game out. Kids nowadays grow up on video games, I should know, I did. This, meaning CM or any other game, is an environment that is like a second skin to people 5-25. Although I feel your correct on the "patience" issue, meaning someone younger is more likely to quit quickly during a bad turn, older players seem to grasp the game somewhat awkwardly. Not everyone older mind you, but younger players I feel have an edge in regards to actually processing the way the game plays, and adapting accordingly. Older players seem to put too much stock in the fact that maybe they possess more knowledge on the subject of this tank vs. that tank, this squad vs. that squad, but the plain fact is, kids just know how to play, they don't care about that crap. I'd put up my band of 21-22 yr olds against 30-40 somethings any day. But I feel you on the giving up, it sucks, and screw anybody that does it.

[Guest Babra]

I just abandoned FOUR games in the last week. Two I was losing for certain, one was fifty-fifty but not looking good and one was much too early to say.

Why?

There is such a thing as TOO MUCH CM. I'll restrict myself to the occasional TCP/IP match when the mood strikes for a while. I know my opponents are probably annoyed, but I can't help that.

[Dunnee]

So screw you Babra....just kidding, sometimes you just ain't feelin it...I don't quit games with other people, but I haven't played a full one against the AI in months...

[Jarmo]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Babra:

I just abandoned FOUR games in the last week. Two I was losing for certain, one was fifty-fifty but not looking good and one was much too early to say.

Why?

There is such a thing as TOO MUCH CM. I'll restrict myself to the occasional TCP/IP match when the mood strikes for a while. I know my opponents are probably annoyed, but I can't help that.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You can too help it!

The proper way to abandon a game is:

Send a mail to your opponent, explain you dont feel like

continuing and include your surrender file!

[ 06-18-2001: Message edited by: Jarmo ]

[Guest Babra]

Well, I did tell them I was dropping out. It's not like I dropped off the planet. I didn't send a surrender file, but I included my password instead so they could generate their own.

Good enough for ya?

[Jarmo]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Babra:

Good enough for ya?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yep. I thought you'd just drop out without explanation.

[Dr. Brian]

Sheesh … what the problem if he stop's playing? If you're pummeling the guy and he is losing, why should he keep playing? So you can humiliate him more, and where he doesn't enjoy playing?

I've stopped many times in the middle of a game, because it was pointless to continue. It wasn't fun as I had zero chance to win. However, I notified my opponent the match is his, and I would quickly start (or offer to) another game.

Maybe that is your contention? That they don't want to play you b/c you are whipping them? Still if you are over matching your opponent, maybe they are looking for someone with equal skills so they can enjoy playing the game, not get beat up.

Whoever said "black list" them! SHAME ON YOU!

[BilgeRat]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I've stopped many times in the middle of a game, because it was pointless to continue.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Spoken like a true Frenchman.

[Vanir Ausf B]

There seems to be some confusion here. I think it is clear that they are only talking about people who simply disappear without a trace, with no explanation or surrender. Such ilk are well deserving of blacklisting.