Lighten up Francis. This is a war game and if you were such a great strategist you would have made bigger friends and found a way to defend and keep a city. Even without gold and bigger friends there are ways for you to keep you city. I once had someone mention to me the same things that I just said to you and it angered me, but in the end they were right. I took a beating from a gold spending alliance and I had the same type of forum arguments with them, but the reality of it is that I learned a whole lot more about the game from their attacks than at any other point in the game. Now I play in another world where I don't use premium and also have no friends or allies. I am regularly under attack from one of the biggest alliances on that server, and while they have been unable to take any of my cities I have grown quicker from the attacks they send me. I am sure if you stick to the game and learn from your lessons you will come back stronger than before...or you could complain, quit, and never play again, in which case your enemy has done an effective job of weeding out the weak and developing a stronger core of players in this world.
I knew people would suggest I "lighten up" or make fun of my comments.
Actually it is a fair call out. I am overly serious and that is another good reason for me to quit. The moral climate is actually only the third most important reason.
Also, it is quite true that people rarely experience self-awareness via a on-line forum. My hope to encourage a more civil climate, especially by those who are looked up to and admired by the kids (YOU), is just that...likely a vain hope.
I just ask that you think a bit about the culture you are creating and what you want your legacy of Marathon to be. At some time the game will be over and all you will have will be your own actions to think about.
I don't care about losing the game, and yes I realize I might have gained access to a stronger team. (deleted a bit that gave away game info...bad idea for friends still playing, I can say that both my offensive and defensive stats show good efficiency ratios).
All I can add is that mental states evolve slowly. I had a former colleague start chatting on line, thinking his slipping morals about sex were simply good fun, later end up in federal prison for pursuing what he may have thought was an under age person. He claims he thought is was all play. He is rotting in prison.
In terms of defending myself as a world class strategist, I have worked for over 20 years with the #1 and #2 firms (7 at one, 8 at another). They have flown me to Sydney (5 months), Tokyo (3 years), London, Rome, Mexico City, Amsterdam, and many other places to advise the CEO's of Fortune 100 companies, so yeah I guess it inflated my ego a bit. I can play games now and don't have to work if I don't want to.
I explore many on line games as my current business community provides a lot of the infrastructure and understanding how people behave on line is one of the keys to the future of our planet. I wish the energy of this game was focused on creating sustainable economic wealth, but that is another discussion (and something people are working on...crowd sourcing and the like).
I respect you both and was hoping to shock you a bit into maybe a little more civility? But perhaps that is less fun for you? If so that is a sign of some corruption of your values. This game stimulates a hell of a lot of Dopamine, and if you don't understand how that effects your brain, you play the game at your own risk. Read up on gamblers and the mental processes of your brain chemistry. Compulsive behavior has serious chemistry behind it and manipulation of our learning center and how dopamine rewards accomplishments of a goal are how the gambling companies create habits that continue a certain set of activities....it is scary stuff (a bit).
Peace again
P.S. Don't think by my post that I support the bit of taunting initiated by the original poster. That is not so nice either. I realize some of you folks enjoy the taunting. Perhaps you should PM each other though.