Victory conditions

[Captain Clown]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingmaker_scenario

[Lord_P]

Well it sort of IS possible to have an allied victory using option 3.
A good team who have fought thier way to the end as comrades dont HAVE to turn on each other. As they already have the satisfaction of winning they can choose thier "man of the match" to take the trophy and end the game with high scores and firm allies for the next game
So it can really go any way before its over.
(One player with no friends winning by spaceship would be a sad outcome in my opinion )

[monamipierrot]

(One player with no friends winning by spaceship would be a sad outcome in my opinion )

Maybe if one claims to be a WOMAN, it will be spared and will gain a spaceship ticket!

[monamipierrot]

As they already have the satisfaction of winning they can choose thier "man of the match" to take the trophy and end the game with high scores and firm allies for the next game

IMHO this is exactly the worse scenario ever for these reasons:
1. If it is "satisfying" and maybe honourable to end the game in an alliance of two players, then one can bet that another alliance, of THREE players will challenge with some "satisfaction" and some honour the above alliance. Soon a 4-players alliance will rise (again, keeping a bit of satisfaction and honour), then a 5 players one (with still some trace of satisfaction/honour), and so on and so on, till the whole game will polarize on 2 giant alliances. Who will win? Yes you're right: the biggest alliance. (I would say, without the least intention of offense: the alliance of those who care less about both satisfaction and honour).
2. If the above point is not as annoying for you as it is for me, then think about the outcome scenario: "firm allies for the next game". Here it comes what I would call "the longturn.orgization" of GreatTurn: big powerful alliances that cross matches and don't arouse from each match's specific conditions and "mood". No matter what happens: player x will always be a good ally, player y will always try to kill you. Or even worse, you'll always be a lonely renegade because everybody knows you once "backstabbed" someone (and this is a small town). Then, in a not far future, even being a noob will bo a problem, because you'll have to be accepted in one of the alliances. How boring.

The ideal scenario? Secret identities. Names of players are kept secret till the end of the game, and substituted with convenient aliases (Nation leader?). This would be the only way we can guarantee an environment in which "life in the other world" simply cease to exist, and players will be set free to behave as they want without fear of being judged in the future. But this is another story.

My 2 cents.

[Lgos]

Secret identities! it should not mean in any way that someone is schizophrenic or something and it is far better than registering under the new name in each different occasion
The idea is you live only once
and incentive to survive in nature is a powerful force, there risk is mind blobbing, concentration is essential

Secret identities would elevate game
having a chance i would vote in favor of them

ye secret identity reasons:
a) more new player friendly (no previous game alliance shadow in new game diplomacy network )
b) more realistic ( no previous life (past game) personality karma)
c) and more fun (never know, with who you are dealing with)

that secret identity idea is good, shall be presented to freeciv, (well, to those who can program)
i am out

[morphles]

Actually if somone has premeditated alliance they will have no problem comunicating using other means and revealing their nicknames in secret, that would only increas their advantage as other would not know about such things. Since such off chanell things are basically impossible to stop I doubt the usefulness of such idea. We should really play locked teams sometime, with random assignment of players (or balanced based on record of previous games to avoid situations similar to "newbie team" vs "vet team".

[monamipierrot]

Actually if somone has premeditated alliance they will have no problem comunicating using other means

If you have premeditated alliance you don't want to play a secret game. It's like being a bunch of rugby champs willing to play softball.
The tech-based tool (secret identities for the client) is as effective as a speed-limit road signal: you will always find the way to break the rule, but we need to hope everybody will respect the rule and get the advantages of it.

[monamipierrot]

Secret identities + some "RPG" or quest or specific-goal-oriented type of game will work together to build unique games in which you want to be unique, even for your own standard.