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icon5.gif  Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Tue, 05 August 2014 01:05 Go to next message
Ron is currently offline Ron

 
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I just did a lot of cleaning out old games, and Stars! AutoHost is down to 5 real games running. I believe I heard of another hosting site for players that don't like SAH, wonder how many currently-running games they have.


Ron Miller
Stars! AutoHost

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Tue, 05 August 2014 06:57 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Altruist is currently offline Altruist

 
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Shocking!

Hopefully it's at least partly the fault of the lazy summer time.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Tue, 05 August 2014 13:04 Go to previous messageGo to next message
skoormit is currently offline skoormit

 
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I blame kids these days. They'd rather play Nintendo.


What we need's a few good taters.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Tue, 05 August 2014 15:39 Go to previous messageGo to next message
XAPBob is currently offline XAPBob

 
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skoormit wrote on Tue, 05 August 2014 18:04
I blame kids these days. They'd rather play Nintendo.

Not nintendo, but they do soak time...

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Tue, 05 August 2014 20:08 Go to previous messageGo to next message
ManicLurch is currently offline ManicLurch

 
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Most younger people want to be able to start playing a new game right away. I think Stars has too much of a learning curve for most players. I have introduced it to a few people and they don't seem to get past the tutorial. Most new x-box, Sega, etc games you can just start playing with little to no instruction.

I think many would get hooked on Stars, if we could only convince them to get past the tutorial, play some solor games, then a few human games, etc. I think that is too much for many, they will lose their attention somewhere along the way.

Just my hunch.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Tue, 05 August 2014 20:09 Go to previous messageGo to next message
ManicLurch is currently offline ManicLurch

 
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Quote:
players that don't like SAH


What's not to like about SAH? Seems ideal to me.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Tue, 05 August 2014 22:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ron is currently offline Ron

 
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ManicLurch wrote on Tue, 05 August 2014 20:09
Quote:
players that don't like SAH


What's not to like about SAH? Seems ideal to me.

There are some who don't like the hosting process on SAH, or maybe me, or both and that's ok.


[Updated on: Tue, 05 August 2014 22:18]




Ron Miller
Stars! AutoHost

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Wed, 06 August 2014 09:02 Go to previous messageGo to next message
nmid

 
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I was just uploading a turn and I noticed the massive spring-cleaning.
While the cleaning was nice, the fact that there are only 40 active players made me pause for a sec... Darn it.

The game is perfect for a few hours of relaxation, hours that you can generally plan out....instead of the time soakers that other games generally are Mad.


[Updated on: Wed, 06 August 2014 09:02]




I know my minefields.. but I'm a chaff sweeper.
I used to curse when I got stuck in traffic... till I realised I AM traffic.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Wed, 06 August 2014 09:26 Go to previous messageGo to next message
XAPBob is currently offline XAPBob

 
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But the time soak is drip, drip, drip with Stars.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Thu, 07 August 2014 17:36 Go to previous messageGo to next message
skoormit is currently offline skoormit

 
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XAPBob wrote on Wed, 06 August 2014 08:26
But the time soak is drip, drip, drip with Stars.


It will drip as fast as you let it.

I've found that I'm often happier in the long run if I give myself a strict time limit when I play my turns. Sure, I mess up a few things. I don't get perfect mineral balance, sometimes I leave pop crowded on a breeder for a year, sometimes I don't optimize research for tech breakpoints.

But I still get just as much enjoyment from the game. And that enjoyment mostly comes from thinking about the current game situation during times when I'm not sitting and playing. Scheming and planning, in other words.



What we need's a few good taters.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Fri, 08 August 2014 02:21 Go to previous messageGo to next message
XAPBob is currently offline XAPBob

 
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skoormit wrote on Thu, 07 August 2014 22:36
XAPBob wrote on Wed, 06 August 2014 08:26
But the time soak is drip, drip, drip with Stars.


It will drip as fast as you let it.

I've found that I'm often happier in the long run if I give myself a strict time limit when I play my turns. Sure, I mess up a few things. I don't get perfect mineral balance, sometimes I leave pop crowded on a breeder for a year, sometimes I don't optimize research for tech breakpoints.

But I still get just as much enjoyment from the game. And that enjoyment mostly comes from thinking about the current game situation during times when I'm not sitting and playing. Scheming and planning, in other words.


Yep - but even so it's a regular time soak which isn't always easy to accommodate with family commitments...

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Fri, 08 August 2014 03:37 Go to previous messageGo to next message
m.a@stars is currently offline m.a@stars

 
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Ron wrote on Wed, 06 August 2014 04:18
There are some who don't like the hosting process on SAH, or maybe me, or both and that's ok.

SAH has run games for more than a decade. It's always been a great "powerup" for the game itself. But maybe it's time for an overhaul? There's been plenty of suggestions over the years, from more flexible scheduling to easier scenario creation or "modded" games and whatnot. Dueling

Also, the game itself has a lot of competition, from easier "casual" timewasters to splashier battlefests to 3D MMORPGs and everything. Gamers of the XXI century expect a lot from their "game time" and while Stars! can deliver a lot perhaps it falls short in some crucial aspects that need "propping up". That could be where SAH shines agan, even if it takes some effort. Sherlock

Last but not least, perhaps the isolated player communities would benefit from more contact? Those other sites could have links to SAH, and SAH link to them somewhere? The wave


[Updated on: Fri, 08 August 2014 03:38]




So many Stars, so few Missiles!

In space no one can hear you scheme! Deal

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Fri, 15 August 2014 13:21 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Inquisitor80 is currently offline Inquisitor80

 
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m.a@stars wrote on Fri, 08 August 2014 02:37


Last but not least, perhaps the isolated player communities would benefit from more contact? Those other sites could have links to SAH, and SAH link to them somewhere?


there are other sites? blasphemer

my googling turns up nothing active



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We must move forwards not backwards, upwards not forwards, and always twirling, twirling, twirling toward freedom.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Sun, 17 August 2014 06:03 Go to previous messageGo to next message
m.a@stars is currently offline m.a@stars

 
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Inquisitor80 wrote on Fri, 15 August 2014 19:21
there are other sites? blasphemer

my googling turns up nothing active

There used to be a lot (polish, french, german, russian, spanish), some with "autohosting" features, even, but they seem all defunct, and my googling turns up nothing new. Sad



So many Stars, so few Missiles!

In space no one can hear you scheme! Deal

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Mon, 18 August 2014 00:05 Go to previous messageGo to next message
neilhoward

 
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There were a few sites I remember that did new game invitations, but they more often than not ended up playing on SAH, if not actively participating in the forum. There used to be a java web based client (ran hosting and play without downloads or serials) but that went toes up about ten years ago.

IMO Stars! and SAH are great. I would be thrilled for the opportunity to help rejuvenate the ranks. There are other multiplayer space strategy games floating around that could use a place for players to get together to put games together. Is there a chance we could start a forum channel just for organizing other (non-Stars!) games. If a few of us actively advertised this new service (writing reviews and comments on various boards) we might attract some new blood. Just something to kick around.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Mon, 18 August 2014 04:16 Go to previous messageGo to next message
m.a@stars is currently offline m.a@stars

 
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neilhoward wrote on Mon, 18 August 2014 06:05
we could start a forum channel just for organizing other (non-Stars!) games. If a few of us actively advertised this new service (writing reviews and comments on various boards) we might attract some new blood.

Cross-pollinating, proselytizing... sounds good! Twisted Evil



So many Stars, so few Missiles!

In space no one can hear you scheme! Deal

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Tue, 19 August 2014 01:34 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Coyote is currently offline Coyote

 
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Looks like we need to start organizing more games, then...

And yes, the idea of drawing activity with a few other games could be neat too!

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Tue, 19 August 2014 05:06 Go to previous messageGo to next message
neilhoward

 
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Coyote,

I will work on getting some new blood, while you should work on getting some bad blood. Twisted Evil

Get some of those kids from ##stars with heavy experience to challenge us to a game. HWF vs. ##Stars. That should be a riot.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games Thu, 19 November 2020 12:58 Go to previous message
ricks03 is currently offline ricks03

 
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Ron wrote on Tue, 05 August 2014 22:18
ManicLurch wrote on Tue, 05 August 2014 20:09
Quote:
players that don't like SAH


What's not to like about SAH? Seems ideal to me.

There are some who don't like the hosting process on SAH, or maybe me, or both and that's ok.
I like Ron! I just wanted a site with some of the specific play rules we used when managing a game manually that weren't available on SAH. I wanted those manual steps/features moved to an automated process to remove "host errors".

It wasn't until I had access to the decryption code that I could really start extending the feature set to solve many of the common complaints about Stars! Now it provides a place to add new features as I learn more about the Stars! file structure. Mind you, that didn't happen until far too late in the history of Stars!



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