i will play again one set soon to make 6 out of the last 7 appearances wins here (really 7 out of 7 without the suicide topfeeding on my would have been techer win and 5th straight ... but then i just came back and won the next set to make it 5 out of 6 and retired from the server)

just a public service announcement

Ohh plz try it you scrub. :P

vic and friends.

I'm 2 for 2 this year, which is 100%, and I will be back soon too!

How unfair that you got topfed taking your record to just 0.857%, Vic.

Damnit, I'm never going to win.

I need you all to retire.

No need to exaggerate your record Vic. Especially when it's already very good, and public. But hey, if you get #1 on your next try, 5 out of 6 ain't bad, especially when you haven't played express in almost 2 years.

I'm never going to win because i refuse to abuse the bots, but if I can ever get 4th or 5th I'll be happy.

Hey. I hadn't played Earth Empires at all and not earth 2025 for over 10 years when I came back on like February 20th. 2 years away from a server is absolutely nothing.

I tried that stance for the longest of time... then got sick of seeing bad players finish near me. Unfortunately, you have to bang-o-bot if you want to compete. I'm not happy about it either.

I see no problem with hitting bots. I do feel that they are too undefended though, thereby making hitting players completely useless. There should be an upside to hitting a badly defended player. Risk-reward. Right now I sometimes even skip retalling because it is so much better to just hit more bots.

Gerdler, the problem is that they are no-risk free land, it requires no player:player interaction, and it's now the *only* way to win on this server, as well as the alliance server, the largest server, arguably the driver of this whole website. I remember a couple years ago, on alliance land trading with other players was the primary way of getting a top 10. That wasn't ideal either, but at least it meant everybody had to work together, and it was a much more fun and social game. I made a lot of friends in other alliances that way, and people developed mutual respect. And at least there was usually a non-land trader or two in the top 10 mix as well.

Since bots were introduced, the player base has unequivocally gone down. It is boring. I know they made me not want to play anymore. Then a couple sets after the oil sham was introduced, I quit once dropping all your land, combined with hitting bots, became the only way to get a top 10 on alliance. Now that I'm back and the situation is even worse there, I'm almost positive I'll never play on that server again.

Not that getting rid of bots would necessarily fix it at this point. They need to carry more defense, offense, and warfare tech, in order to be able to fight back against abusers, like a competent human would.

You get player-player interaction in the market, relations, alliances, FA as well.

If All-xp is the way to go I go all-xp, if grabbing humans is the way to go, I do that, if grabbing bots is the way I do that... The game is fun because in doing that I compete with other players who also try to optimize the same or other strategies and growth schemes. I honestly think I'd have fun in the ai server with a DNH on all player countries.

But yes, bot land is sometimes too easy. Making it harder would do 3 good things in one strike:
1. Dropping the tech prices.
2. Raising the military prices.
3. Making grabbing, in order to beat an all-xp, take some degree of skill again.

Players counts have gone down for at least the last 14 years.

Until the bots become self-aware, bot abuse will be rampant.
My sole soul-soothing solace is that bots have long memories and will e-radicte their abusers.

closer to twenty than 14.

STFU. no one cares dipfluff. and no one cares about your stupid loser retirement video either you cheating mother fluffer

Yeah fk u Vic...

lmao, I just had to fluff and I got my win.

You can come back now.

I am not active much these days, so I missed this, Kingme. Congratulations, my friend. I am still seeking mine, but will be awhile before I can play as competitively as I once did.

I remember how it took me forever to get to the top 10, and then I reeled off about 50, so maybe getting that first win out of the way will be similar.

Get back soon my friend!