Analyzing the adjusted war module

Day 1,227, 15:48 • Published in USA USA • by The Libertine

Announced by Plato here, a new war module will begin tomorrow.



It will utilize a system of of fighting originally proposed here. Looks like the admins will listen if you propose good ideas!

How will it work?

At every minute, the side which controls the domination bar (over 50😵 will win points. The points given for early minutes are less than what will be given for winning later on in the battle. For more details, read the forum announcement.

Why the change?

eRep experiences massive server "spikes" at the end of mini battles. This puts a strain on server infrastructure and slows down the game.

The current set up also means that only the last 5 or 3 minutes of any mini battle matters. The new set up will change that.

Now, many have complained that eRep should simply upgrade its servers to accommodate spikes in activity. Many also believe that this change will force soldiers to stay online all day long to watch battles. However, one tech savvy citizen on the eUS forum posted this on that matter:

"It actually is 'stupid' to design a game which promotes massive spikes of server load. You have to build out your infrastructure to accommodate peak activity, but your investment is useless for over 95% of the time.... Redesigning the game to eliminate the spikes entirely is just good sense. It would also improve the game experience by mitigating the need to sit around for hours at a time in order to participate in a few minutes of action."

Who is right?

The quote above is contrary thinking to what many are saying on the announcement thread of this change. Many think this change will force them to be online all day long to watch battles and fight right.

So who is right?

I'll take a guess.

First off, I think it is worth mentioning that in the current set up (the one we've had a for a while) that only the last 5 or 3 minutes of any mini battle really matters. What is the point of a 2 hour mini battle of only the last 5 minutes matter? Might as well just make all the mini battles only five minutes long if that's the case.

But to address the question, here is what I believe will happen.

1) Armies will dump their damage earlier in the battle. There may be a reverse spike, where everything is unloaded in the first 5 minutes in some battles. The idea will to be to build up an insurmountable wall.

Following this logic, any damage that is added on after this first surge will not be wasted damage. In the current system, only who is winning at the end matters, so saving damage and waiting 2 hours is important. In the new system, you can add your damage at 10 minutes in or 20 minutes in, even if your side is up big, and know that it will help your side gain more points, and for longer, all battle.

2) Armies may wait until the last ~30 or ~45 minutes to dump their damage. This will be so that early damage put down by the other side only gains small points, while the later damage will gain much more points per minute, therefore making it worth much more. Remember, all damage is cumulative, so whatever was dumped earlier would have to be surpassed for the other side to gain any points.

Following this logic, you could dump your damage anywhere in the last 30 or 45 minutes and contribute to your side at the end of the battle.

My conclusion

This change means that battles will not have to be watched all day. It appears that it mean soldiers will be more free to log in, check orders, dump damage, and go out and enjoy their life.

For supertanks, it means they'll be clicking all day in order to make a difference in a battle, yes. Sucks for them, but supertanks only make up 0.1% of eRep population. In a way, this change is better than a wellness pack limit. It means that no single person can swoop in and win a battle in the last minute. Citizens will now have to work as teams, as units, as countries, as alliances. The era of the one man mercenary may be over. Simply because they would have to spend hours and hours clicking, instead of hours waiting and a few minutes clicking, like now. They will still have a big impact, but they will not be able to single handedly change minor battles in the ending minutes anymore, because that damage will have to come earlier to gain points.

One caveat and One outlook

The caveat: Battles can theoretically be won 1 hour and 30 minutes in, if one side maintains control during that whole period. This means that any last minute comebacks are not possible. This will be rough for small countries. If you are in a small country that is under serious threat, it would be a good idea to look for citizenship else where, right away.

One outlook: Alliances and countries will no longer be able to have many battles open all at once and rely on late minute sniping to win. If I made one bold prediction this article, it would be that the number of battles open at any given time will decrease dramatically.

The world will focus on a few important battles, rather than the many currently going on. This will be fun because it will increase the importance of big battles. Additionally, less land swaps may occur (*potentially😉. Why? In the past, say if the eUS is swapping with Japan and hoping to give them a resource, we could tank lightly in the last 10 minutes to help ensure they won the mini battle. We could send one or two soldiers for this. Now? One would need a steady flow of damage on the other side to ensure that points are gained by the weaker country all mini battle long, and not over passed at the end when points are worth more.

A lot to think about

This change is a big change. It will be interesting to see how time zone coverage plays a role in battles now. It will be interesting to see which countries spread out damage best. It will be a reality shock for small countries, which will need to rely on strong diplomacy more than ever before to avoid destruction. It will be interesting to see if this makes fighting easier for soldiers, or if it will actually force them to stay online for many hours a day like some worry.

There is a lot to think about, but one thing is for sure: the balance of the New World will be different tomorrow. Goldbeasts will not be able to ride in during the last 3 minutes and change a battle anymore (Well they could, but the joke would on them. If they wait until T-3, their damage will now be the wasted damage). Small countries will be more vulnerable than ever.

A lot to think about. A lot to look forward to.

All the best,
~CRoy