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Intellect

#BigBrainGang

cant see a differents. trash is trash.

Joi is such a helpful bundle of fun everywhere they go. ;) /s

I'm no expert, but I'll actually try to answer your question.

FFA = no holds barred, generally. I've stopped seeing ones that try to apply any special rules.
RP = you roleplay as an area on the map. Varies in leanings between FFA and Diplo.
Diplo = RP with more self-enforced rules. More prone to stalled out games than the 1v1 ladder.

An analogy to describe the difference in players:
FFA players would be the analog to "casuals" or "tryhards" in a MMORPG.
RP/Diplo communities are the equivalent to MMORPG players who are interested in the lore of a game.

edit: easy to make a FFA game that works. RP and Diplo communities are a bit harder to get going, and its easy to get people who don't get with the spirit of the game. So it can be very hit or miss, since you are relying on self-enforced rules outside of the normal game structure.

Edited 9/13/2019 18:15:42

FFA is short for Free For All. That means players just play the game and try to win. There are no rules beyond settings, and players usually don't do any roleplaying.

RP, idk.

Diplo is a game that has rules, like declare one turn before attacking or capitals must be kept for examples. The main thing that sets diplos apart from FFAs is in diplos people roleplay, they treat their countries like real nations, and pretend to be their leaders. They may add lore to the chat, like someone describing a revolution in his/her "country". As I Swear put it, diplos don't have a good success rate. I've only seen about a couple good diplos so far.

FFA = Free for All - There are no rules but the game settings. Everyone plays like they feel like it.

Diplo = Diplomacy - There are game rules ontop of of the game settings. There can be any kind of rules, but they all usually all share one common one, which is that you need to declare war 1 or more turns before you can attack a player. Players who disobey the rules, are usually "public enemy", and are from now on exempt from the rules. Other players are usually encouraged, or sometimes even required to eliminate public enemies, if possible.

RP = Roleplay - Those are special kind of diplo games which usually feature a large list of rules or no rules at all. As the name implies, roleplay is the key and purpose of those games. Usually some players have different rules than others. Rules can change over time too, if the circumstances are given. All of these rules are normally justified by the lore of the roleplay (eg. Game of Thrones, Fallout, DnD, etc, etc).

Well, words from an actual diplo player then!

@Catacauda do you have a sense of what % of RP/Diplos actually finish with a good group? I've only ever been on the outside, so I only have bad reps from open games to go off of....

A diplo game rises and falls with its players. An open diplo can succeed if the majority of its playes play along the rules, and expand them beyond (like forming alliances based on RP-reasons). This is not garunteed in open games, because you are paired with randoms, who dont always share the same amount of enthuism and dedication.
Thats why diplo clans form. People who share the love for diplo games or RP games gather together, to ensure that everyone plays along.

Thanks.
So there is nothing wrong with players teaming up in FFA right? Haven't played lot of ffa, but seen many complain about teaming up in ffa (no, it is not me+my alt-but my alt+different player teaming up).

It’s not against the rules to team up in FFAs. It’s a bit annoying at worst for those who aren’t teamed up. If PMs are disabled, the host wanted to discourage teaming up.

A lot of the people I see talking in FFAs are either nice, or salty pricks. If they aren't whining people teaming, their position was bad, or people are using their allotted time to make their move, or someone "insulted" them. I wouldn't worry about them folks, nothing pleases a salty player because nothing is their fault. :)

I've seen the occasional mutual alliance done without specifying. Could be through PM but I see those guys talk sometimes, so I'd like to believe they just decide to not further ruin their bad starts. This mostly happens in the center, where they can just throw up a small border and grow away from eachother. Fun to see, honestly. :D

Teaming seems to happen very infrequently in my experience, I used to see people freak when that happened. Usually positioning and the timing of fights is more frequently critical to winning a FFA.