Free player thoughts for the GM

Hello there,

I've restarted my account about 10 days ago because my previous account went bankrupt. I over invested in the military and lost such a large amount of money that it was easier to just restart. I do not mind this at all and consider it a good learning experience. Having done that I would like to share a few things I've learned as a new player that might help improve the game.

- Can new players please get the bomber wing back when they start? When I first started you got 1 bomber wing. When you start now the bomber wing is gone despite that it is still mentioned in the how to win a war guide. It might sound a bit silly but it is kinda fun to have a bomber wing when you are starting.

- Would it be possible to give free player empires the same colors as paying members? Paying members that get an empire turn red when they have enough countries. Us free players stay blue. I know that this is a small thing but it is just that little bit of extra happiness

- Free players (and I think paying members as well) get a nice amount of boosters when they start. I like them and think this is a good thing for the game. But why do these boosters push my population above the 20 million? As a free player I have no use for a large population like that. It will only mess up the economy for something that is almost impossible to keep. Would it not be a good idea to just let the boosters stop giving population to free players when you hit the 20 million mark?

Thank you for your time. I fully understand that these things are not high on anybodies list and that is ok. I just wanted to get the word out there.

Well, it has been an interesting ride today.

Before you continue reading I need to say the following: I think it is a GOOD thing that premium members get lots of advantages. As a result there is a group of about 10% that is simply untouchable. They are the people that have been hoarding weapons for years and can easily muster millions of units. I think that this is how it is supposed to be and I fully agree with this.

Free players right now can build armies that are really powerful. You can easily build an army that can fight 90% of premium members. It will take some effort and some time but it is doable. Today I experienced the true power of what a proper premium member can do.

I was about to start a war with a premium player. I can tell you about the insults, declarations on both sides and all those kind of things but those things are just the way of war. The war was going to start at the 5th of march and all of a sudden at the 3rd or 4th of march his fed size doubled. Ok i thought to myself... he apparently got some friends that waited till the last moment to jump in. Then I took a look at the new countries that joined his fed and they were all countries that were bought (you can see that they were bought because of the pop size and the indexes). Then I saw that they were owned by one of the big players who plays in the top 10%....
This player made it clear I was attacking his friend and he was going to help him by sending in the troops.

This is the kind of power free players can never match. The ability to buy a couple of lands near a conflict zone and just ship in whatever you need from any spot in your empire.

I am going to think about this and maybe I will find a way to manage but the ability for players to just 'plop' down is incredibly powerful

I thought that it would be worth telling people about this from the perspective of a free player. I do not expect anything to change. I do not expect to build an empire across multiple worlds. I just wanted to let those in charge know that this might be considered a bit... frustrating.

The Bilderberg Empire salutes your fighting spirit. Plop down the cash and become a premium member. I'd be proud to fight along side you anyday.

Dear Lady Senna,

As a player, I am so proud of your efforts in this game, and as Johanas said you are to be admired. Sadly from what I've gathered, you experienced what often happens in the game of war, where a player will seek help if they don't feel like they can handle an oncoming attack or to stave one off. This is an attribution to your impact in the game. I know this is discouraging, especially to a free player, who is trying to play the game and fairly, and to engage in the war game.

However, it has been the practice of many years that this can happen in ensuing wars. Larger feds/players will step in to defend. You can do this as well. As Johanas said above, you would be more than welcome in LDI. You are greatly admired by us. It is such a reward to be part of a federation family. I personally would love to have you join us!

I hope you will continue in your endeavors here. We need more players like you, and females to show these boys how to really fight! :-D

Much love and respect to you!