While I'm not as adamantly against gold usage as others here (I know I'll run into them at some point, and who cares. I'll use that game to try out certain tactics/build strategies), I really felt the need to respond to this post.
~Azazel~ wrote:
Removes legitimacy? Maybe that's just some very bad wording... but to me, even though you're a gold buyer yourself, you make it sound like buying gold removes any need for thought, strategy, tactics, or skill.With a gold SPAMMER, yes I would agree, but again, they're rare.Personally, when I was buying gold, as I've stopped, the only time I would was to even the odds against a superior force, or when someone thought it smart to be a douche. As a result, by doing so, all it does allow a person to win by strategy. By choice of the right units, in the right places, in order to blunt or if lucky break the strongest point of an invading force, which just puts you both back on the same level, because more often than not, whatever gold I spent on whatever units I spent them on, I ultimately end up losing most of them in that same war. But consequently, because the other person lost their advantage of numbers as a result, it enables me to conduct the rest of the war on the level of strength I had prior to that large engagement, meaning that tactics and strategy and therefore skill are the defining factor of the victory in that conflict. I find that if anything, that increases the legitimacy of the playing experience, because some no-brain unskilled random hasn't invaded me and won purely and simply because they spam build light tanks until their economy busts and then just marches them in a straight line to win by overwhelming numbers. I find that takes no skill. No thought. And that, that playstyle takes away legitimacy. Come to play a strategic game? Then I'm of the personal opinion that a person should be using a strategy better than "just throw lots of hammers as fast as I can so I don't have to use my brain".
Players who tend to end me on a map, apart from early game, are always either smarter players, more strategic, or attack me as a group with the same overwhelming numbers is their answer to everything solution. For me, Gold evens the playing field. Which I believe is quite in the spirit of fairness and good sportsmanship.
Your first paragraph, while I in general agree with you, you have to understand the position being presented. In fact, I actually think you are in agreement, as the frustration stems from a massive army being built in the very early game, aka gold spamming.
Using gold to pay back a douche player? I completely agree and I would absolutely use gold in this scenario if I had it.
"All it does is allow a person to win by strategy." Wait wait wait, what?
"By choice of the right units, in the right places...." Ohhh, ok. So what you mean is that by using strategy AFTER buying the units, you can win. I happen to also view HOW you obtain that army and HOW you go about improving your facilities as strategy as well, not just the combat phases of a game. Resource allocation is vitally important to one's strategy in my opinion. Thus, I pose this question - Why are you facing a superior force in the first place?
- Did you decide to focus on economy first and neglect troops?
- Did you move too much of your army away from what wound up becoming a battlefield?
- Did you lose too many forces in needless attacks where you had better options to minimize casualties, allowing an opponent to build up a larger army than you?
- Same as above, but the opponent merely allowed you to go attack several locations (even if you attacked wisely, you'll still lose units) and then decide to hit you while you're vulnerable?
- Are you facing a coalition of opponents that banded together against you?
- And there are still countless other reasons why this might be the case.
Rather than claiming that gold use allows you to win by strategy, what you seem to be indicating is that gold use allows you to cover up for initial mistakes and/or allows you to be more aggressive than you otherwise would be, knowing full well you can replace a large swath of your army at a moment's notice. You losing the units you purchased does not change anything regarding how gold use should be interpreted. Gold use is gold use, it doesn't change how it is used based on the quantity applied. You could also buy even more units so you take minimal losses. That's still fair play based on the current setup as gold use is a part of the game. It's also still a fair thing to bring up for reconsideration, as it has the capacity to complete reverse the flow of a game instantaneously.
Perhaps, though, you made no mistakes of your own (as would be the case where, say, a preset coalition of opponents decide to attack you, and you stand no chance of breaking them up). I feel this would fall under the same case as running into an opponent who buys an entire squadron of planes on day 1 - Tough break, oh well, fight it out and if you lose, on to the next game.
I think the crux of my issue with this post stems from this bit, though: "I find that if anything, that increases the legitimacy of the playing experience, because some no-brain unskilled random hasn't invaded me and won purely and simply because they spam build light tanks until their economy busts and then just marches them in a straight line to win by overwhelming numbers. I find that takes no skill. No thought. And that, that playstyle takes away legitimacy. Come to play a strategic game? Then I'm of the personal opinion that a person should be using a strategy better than 'just throw lots of hammers as fast as I can so I don't have to use my brain'."
So, let me get this straight. According to you:
~Azazel~ wrote:
Please, try and explain that without some misguided frustration because you may have at some point been beaten by someone who's spend hundreds or thousands of dollars in a single game, or sitting, and are as a result transferring that frustration of losing onto someone you've never played against.Because at the end of the day, that's what you're all doing. You're taking your frustrations out at having lost to x, y, z, player(s) out on EVERYONE ELSE who spends even a little bit. And then you're acting like doing this makes you better than them.
So, you hate getting rushed with a mass of weaker units and think it's mindless/no skill/no strategy, but using gold to instantly purchase a, well, mass of units somehow is strategic?! There's no way you're serious, right?
And, quite frankly, aren't you using just a bit of "misguided frustration" and taking your frustration out at having lost to x (overwhelming numbers) on EVERYONE ELSE who makes a claim against gold spending?
To be perfectly clear, I have no problem with your position on gold spending and quite agree - if it's in the game, it's in the game. I feel it's absolutely worth discussing if its use could be tweaked, after all that's what all games that do well must do to evolve. They review how the game is performing and make adjustments on any and all aspects when necessary. I absolutely believe, however, that your presentation and reasoning of the issue at hand leaves much to be desired.
If you have counterpoints, and I'm sure you do, I would love to hear them.