(September 18th, 2015, 21:15)HitAnyKey Wrote:And I showed up around 5:45 (using EST for clarity), which is right around my time window--why should I be expected to keep civstats up 24/7 just in case the turn rolls 4 hours earlier than expected? Should I hold the turn for 4 extra hours to keep the turn rolling at the same time--that's been done before when people have to worry about turn splits. Do I have to explicitly say "yes, lurkers, play my turn even though that's what everyone should be expecting when they signed up for a big game", even though I actually decided to make a report and it should be obvious it was an important turn (no spoilers, but civstats makes it pretty obvious even for players)?(September 18th, 2015, 19:34)Cheater Hater Wrote: I wish there was a way to promote checking in once in each 24 hour period, even if it isn't necessarily once every 24 hours. Something like:
1. The turn rolls at 12:00 AM Pacific (an arbitrary choice) by default if there are people left to play
2. The turn only rolls if at least 24 hours have elapsed in the current turn (maybe slightly less)
3. If all players have played, the turn still rolls, and if multiple turns roll in a 24 hour period, you can still get ahead of the 1-turn-per-day turnpace
I admit there's a ton of problems with this--the "arbitrary" choice of time ideally would when no one would play normally (a near-impossibility), it doesn't handle turn splits, and there's the obvious challenge of implementing it--but it's just an idea that feels less-punishing while keeping the turn roll at a consistent time. Of course, the other option is to make the turn timer a week or something, but expect that the lurkers will play turns after 24 hours...
I just don't really understand what the problem is though. Turns for PB games have never rolled consistently at even close to the same time very day. And that's why we have civstats. Not only do you get an email when the turn rolls (which basically is the first warning that you have until that time the following day to get your turn played), but we should all have the ability to check the civstats website at various times during the day, even if we can't necessarily play the turn at that time. So if, for example, you normally play your turn in the evening after work and the turn rolls just as you are going to bed you are have until the entire following evening to get your turn played. If something happens that you check civstats and you know you can't get to your civ computer by the time the turn would roll, then you simply post in the thread that you need a lurker to cover for you. Or if the turn is critical enough, and it's not for too long a period of time, then you ask for a pause.
Using my timezone (EST) looking at civstats, you typically play between 3pm & 10pm.
T24 rolled around 7am, you then played around 10pm that day.
T25 rolled around 2am, you then played around 5:30pm that day.
T26 rolled around 11pm, you then played around 5pm the next day.
T27 rolled at 9:30pm, you then played around 3pm the next day.
T28 rolled around 5:30pm, leaving you hours on both ends of your normal play window to play the turn. But based on the times most of your turns were played, doing so last night right after the turn rolled would have been best.
Just a small observation, and more directed at everyone in general. Keep an eye on civstats during the day. Most of us have smartphones and access to the internet even while at work or other such places. If you think there's a chance you might not be able to get to your turn for some reason, speak up. Silence means you are ok with the turn rolling if there aren't any lurkers around to play for you. Most won't do so until the last minute unless they are already notified you need someone to play for you, and by then it may be too late if no one is around when the timer starts to run out.
The problem is that you can't predict at all when the turn's going to roll--there were 4 or 5 other players left when I played the last turn, and they all apparently played within two hours--I've been the second-to-last person to play and had it go 6 more hours or be paused before it rolls. And no, the "you should get an email" isn't a catch-all for blame--I'm not signed up since there's no reason I should need an email for something that's once a day.