I've come across this sentiment in a couple threads so I thought it might be time for a separate discussion. Does a fear of experienced players and/or pro players keep you from coming online?
My advice is to accept that you have to take your lumps and pay your dues in order to become experienced and also to look over the player records before a game is about to start and politely request that the teams be balanced and mention that you're new to the online game. In my experience if you say that you're new to the online game players will try to balance out the teams.
Also, you guys can play the game online as humans v. computer until you feel a little more comfortable playing online. You might even try to set up some human v. human games with other people who are willing to play human v. computer. You could also title games, "New Players Only".
Another thing to remember in a team game is that you personally don't need to be winning in order for your team to be winning and you don't have to be elite to help your team. Even if you lose, try to enjoy being as annoying and as big of a pain in the arse as you can--delaying the fall of your empire and distracting your team's opponents helps your team. So, even if you get beaten when you're first starting out--try to enjoy the challenge of being a pain in the butt--enjoy the game as a team game and enjoy doing what you can to help your team.
agreed
I like playing FPS games online, where getting killed every 5 mins is normal. But RTS games never get played online by me, I'm just not man enough to take that kind of defeat at the hands of a veteran. I would play co-op against the computer though. I've never tried Sins multiplayer, I'm still learning stuff
There are some players out there who don't have any fear of online multiplayer--to a fault! They log on two hours after they've bought the game and can barely colonize their asteroids. I do give them credit for wanting to play it online.
Most are like me who want to play online "for fun" and dont want to watch hours of replays or read hundreds of Strategy guides to be able to play against a stacked team of smurfs (Smurfs is far to good a word for these guys). I love RTS and so do my friends but we gave up at online long ago.
I do not play all that often and still find the AI fairly challenging on unfair.
And team stacking is not just an RTS problem as it was rampant in Left 4 Dead as well. I maybe twice seen an actual clan vs clan. It was always clan vs n00bs with the clanners laughin or insulting the n00bs the whole game. When I finally got good they always invited me on there team only because they did not want to die or dont like a challange. I told them I would rather play with the n00bs. At least they did not smurf.
Anyway the teamstacking by smurfs is very annoying and I totally agree its a big reason All RTS games have very few players.
I am a regular Battlefield 1942 player and every night there is 500 -1000 players online. The only smurfing I know of is admins, not for spying or team stacking, all players target admins as its like killing an officer lol (myself included). So don't blame the age of an obviously classic game.
I've been a gamer since the early 1970's - starting off in the hayday of board games, coming over to 'computerisation' back in the days of the Commodore 64 and then into the massive 2 meg RAM days.
I've only just started playing on line, and it's not so much daunting from taking on experienced people you don't know, as so much as not wanting to be taken for a fool or getting paid out on. You are the new guy or girl on the block, and no one wants to get taken for a ride.
It's the vitriol and vile of cheese-dicks who stomp lesser players and beat their chest in vituperative nonsense that reserve themselves a special place in Hades.
It's the guys who have a good attitude and helping spirit that smooth the path for fun-seekers.
Which are you?
Is there even still a SOASE multiplayer community left? I've not manged to find a single Diplomacy game so far*. Is everyone hiding in the Entrenchment rooms?
* That wasn't with all speeds set to fast and/or "pro" only.
I fuckin' hate all speeds set to fast. And I'm no pro. Boo.
I was logged on for about 1-2 hours last night, on and off, and only saw an average of about 25 people on each of Sins/Entrenchment and Diplomacy and very few games--and this was during North American prime time. It looks like Sins as an online multiplayer game is dead. By dead, I mean that it no longer has the online player counts needed to sustain multiplayer activity. (However, this is a great opportunity for everyone who was afraid of getting stomped by pros to come try it online because the proportion of newer players relative to experienced players is increasing dramatically.)
Sins has been my (current) favorite game for two years now, so I have no idea what I'm going to replace it with. I guess I could just play Unreal Tournament 2004 and Savage2 (free-to-download and play, fun melee FPS), but I'd like to have an online multiplayer strategy game to play. I just need to find one that isn't a clickfest. Sadly, there's nothing else out there like Sins.
You come back to/keep playing sins... I've played a number of games lately, and the only smurfs I've found have been self-identifying smurfs. If the teams were unfair, it was only because people jumped right into them, or else because we had no real good way to balance the teams.
2v2s, 3v3s are certainly still doable, even if 4v4s, 5v5s are a little scarce.
25 seems to be the average to me too for Diplomacy, anyway. I was able to play 2 3v3 games though without too much waiting...but the 3rd never got enough people. (And I'm pretty sure 1 person made a game for people to join then left...cuz I tried multiple time, we even had a full party for a good ten minutes, and that was very early on. It was dormant for a good hour or so.
-Twilight Storm
Over the past two weeks it seems like activity has increased on both Vanilla Sins and Diplomacy.
I have been seeing combined (server) player counts of 120+ during North American prime time almost every night. The $4 sale of vanilla Sins in the two weeks prior to Memorial Day brought a number of new people to vanilla Sins. So, if you've been sitting on the sidelines, afraid to join the fun, thinking that you wouldn't stand a chance against experienced human players, now is the time to come online! You'll probably find that your months of playing Sins in single player will give you an advantage of people who have only been playing for two or three weeks.
I am a modder, not a strategist. I tried to play on ICO, but got trashed and badly humiliated by my team and the enemy team, that is why I dont really play online. I was told that I was so bad that I shouldn't play online ever again. If most of those people are gone, I might try to play again.
@Syneptus, You should not let a few morons stop you from coming online as the majority of players are alright, and will help you out.
One thing about Multiplayer I find really frustrating is that some players fling the word "noob" around whenever they get the chance which I always find a bit patronizing and unhelpful.Fortunately these players are generally few and far between. I'm not particularly experienced as I don't have the time to regularly play online and improve my skills and it usually takes a few matches for me to get back into the game. But I take every defeat and victory as a learning experience. For every few bad matches theres always gonna be one really good Match - even if it ends in a defeat.
Were all playing just to have fun (not at others expense) and i think sometimes people forget that.
{OFF TOPIC} Is it me or is everyone going for the bomber rush these days? Makes me think SINS needs a Larger anti-fighter vessel Cruiser or cap ship.
Sentinel-Ghost
ISentinelI

This thread needs a bump, and such a great game needs more online players.
What's interesting is that in regular, vanilla Sins, there are almost no pros left but the people aren't playing amongst themselves, but against AI in comp stomps. I wonder to myself, "Will all of these comp stompers start playing against each other now that they would all basically be on an even footing in terms of experience?"
Comp stomps are a great way to find players of equal skill to play against. A n00b might do a comp stomp with someone but if that someone ends up owning most of the galaxy the n00b will not want to play against him.
Vets could join a n00bs comp stomp just to help show the ropes but should refrain from "showing off" as that will put off that person from doing a vs.
There were a couple new folks on today playing a 5v5, divided up between two teams. My team, which had two new people on it, won. I got to coach one of them from my eco spot. Nice to see some people on Diplomacy trying PvP.
i don't like 5v5s, it seems like its the only thing people play online
There's a few things keeping me offline:
1) Lag. Why deal with it if you don't have to? Diplomacy is already long enough as it is.
2) Drops. My provider and wireless do drop sometimes. Again, why deal with it if I don't have to? It doesn't help those you're playing with, either.
3) Commitment level. Trying to become a respected member of the online community takes a higher level of commitment than I have. There are games I am willing to do that for, but I did not choose this one.
4) Pause feature
hi ive just ordered this yesterday since ive been playing the demo alot and i found the full set for £10 so ill probably be playing online in a week (That is after it gets here which should be at latest monday)
10 pounds, that's about $20. Good price for the game and the two expansions. w00t!
well finnally got the game (cant believe it took over 2 weeks to get here, shitty royal mail) and had a few games offline and i am currently trying to get in a game but there arnt any (its 11;30pm GMT)and the one i did get in i got kicked because they thought i was a smurf
so any noobs wanna get together sometime and play my online ID is Volgun
<EDIT> finnally had 3 games all 5V5. the 1st allies did every thing 2nd I was going a bit slow but was useful until i lagged out and 3rd i got creamed badly lol. I think i need some more practice before i try online again
I was in two of your games last night. You seemed to survive and didn't get completely knocked off the map. Everyone who's new to the online game has to struggle to adjust to it at the beginning. It might be a good idea to play some more single player before coming online again, though, if you don't yet feel comfortable with all of the game mechanics and your knowledge of the races and the tech trees. Hope you'll play with us again soon.
You was what was your name and was you an ally or enemy
I get most of the game like trade,culture,ect but normally i like to play on medium speed and to take things slow against the AI to just mess around with every thing and get the achievements. so in them matches it was faster then i was use too and i don't like to use rush/spam tactics i prefer more of a mixed force which you only get late game and i research a bit too much but im good at getting my economy up fast but saying that i normally go for economy and research for it and a few damage/HP upgrades and my fleet lacks because it
I was in the games as Hans von KickyUrAz. I think we were allied in one game and on opposite teams in the other.
WHIP, you're Hans? Usually I can detect your smurfs.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
Sign in or Create Account
