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Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Tue, 05 August 2014 01:05

Ron
Messages: 1238
Registered: October 2002
Location: Collegedale, TN

Commander
Forum Administrator

I just did a lot of cleaning out old games, and Stars! AutoHost is down to 5 real games running. I believe I heard of another hosting site for players that don't like SAH, wonder how many currently-running games they have.

Ron Miller
Stars! AutoHost

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Tue, 05 August 2014 06:57

Altruist
Messages: 1068
Registered: August 2005
Location: Berlin

Commander

Shocking!

Hopefully it's at least partly the fault of the lazy summer time.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Tue, 05 August 2014 13:04

skoormit
Messages: 665
Registered: July 2008
Location: Alabama

Lieutenant

I blame kids these days. They'd rather play Nintendo.

What we need's a few good taters.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Tue, 05 August 2014 15:39

XAPBob
Messages: 957
Registered: August 2012

Lt. Commander

skoormit wrote on Tue, 05 August 2014 18:04

I blame kids these days. They'd rather play Nintendo.

Not nintendo, but they do soak time...

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Tue, 05 August 2014 20:08

ManicLurch
Messages: 462
Registered: May 2009

Lt. Junior Grade

Most younger people want to be able to start playing a new game right away. I think Stars has too much of a learning curve for most players. I have introduced it to a few people and they don't seem to get past the tutorial. Most new x-box, Sega, etc games you can just start playing with little to no instruction.

I think many would get hooked on Stars, if we could only convince them to get past the tutorial, play some solor games, then a few human games, etc. I think that is too much for many, they will lose their attention somewhere along the way.

Just my hunch.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Tue, 05 August 2014 20:09

ManicLurch
Messages: 462
Registered: May 2009

Lt. Junior Grade

Quote:

players that don't like SAH

What's not to like about SAH? Seems ideal to me.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Tue, 05 August 2014 22:18

Ron
Messages: 1238
Registered: October 2002
Location: Collegedale, TN

Commander
Forum Administrator

ManicLurch wrote on Tue, 05 August 2014 20:09

Quote:
players that don't like SAH

What's not to like about SAH? Seems ideal to me.

There are some who don't like the hosting process on SAH, or maybe me, or both and that's ok.

Ron Miller
Stars! AutoHost

[Updated on: Tue, 05 August 2014 22:18]

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Wed, 06 August 2014 09:02

nmid
Messages: 1608
Registered: January 2011
Location: GMT +5.5

Commander

I was just uploading a turn and I noticed the massive spring-cleaning.
While the cleaning was nice, the fact that there are only 40 active players made me pause for a sec... Darn it.

The game is perfect for a few hours of relaxation, hours that you can generally plan out....instead of the time soakers that other games generally are Mad

I know my minefields.. but I'm a chaff sweeper.
I used to curse when I got stuck in traffic... till I realised I AM traffic.

[Updated on: Wed, 06 August 2014 09:02]

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Wed, 06 August 2014 09:26

XAPBob
Messages: 957
Registered: August 2012

Lt. Commander

But the time soak is drip, drip, drip with Stars.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Thu, 07 August 2014 17:36

skoormit
Messages: 665
Registered: July 2008
Location: Alabama

Lieutenant

XAPBob wrote on Wed, 06 August 2014 08:26

But the time soak is drip, drip, drip with Stars.

It will drip as fast as you let it.

I've found that I'm often happier in the long run if I give myself a strict time limit when I play my turns. Sure, I mess up a few things. I don't get perfect mineral balance, sometimes I leave pop crowded on a breeder for a year, sometimes I don't optimize research for tech breakpoints.

But I still get just as much enjoyment from the game. And that enjoyment mostly comes from thinking about the current game situation during times when I'm not sitting and playing. Scheming and planning, in other words.

What we need's a few good taters.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Fri, 08 August 2014 02:21

XAPBob
Messages: 957
Registered: August 2012

Lt. Commander

skoormit wrote on Thu, 07 August 2014 22:36

XAPBob wrote on Wed, 06 August 2014 08:26
But the time soak is drip, drip, drip with Stars.

It will drip as fast as you let it.

I've found that I'm often happier in the long run if I give myself a strict time limit when I play my turns. Sure, I mess up a few things. I don't get perfect mineral balance, sometimes I leave pop crowded on a breeder for a year, sometimes I don't optimize research for tech breakpoints.

But I still get just as much enjoyment from the game. And that enjoyment mostly comes from thinking about the current game situation during times when I'm not sitting and playing. Scheming and planning, in other words.

Yep - but even so it's a regular time soak which isn't always easy to accommodate with family commitments...

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Fri, 08 August 2014 03:37

m.a@stars
Messages: 2768
Registered: October 2004
Location: Third star to the left

Commander

Ron wrote on Wed, 06 August 2014 04:18

There are some who don't like the hosting process on SAH, or maybe me, or both and that's ok.

SAH has run games for more than a decade. It's always been a great "powerup" for the game itself. But maybe it's time for an overhaul? There's been plenty of suggestions over the years, from more flexible scheduling to easier scenario creation or "modded" games and whatnot. Dueling

Also, the game itself has a lot of competition, from easier "casual" timewasters to splashier battlefests to 3D MMORPGs and everything. Gamers of the XXI century expect a lot from their "game time" and while Stars! can deliver a lot perhaps it falls short in some crucial aspects that need "propping up". That could be where SAH shines agan, even if it takes some effort. Sherlock

Last but not least, perhaps the isolated player communities would benefit from more contact? Those other sites could have links to SAH, and SAH link to them somewhere? The wave

So many Stars, so few Missiles!

In space no one can hear you scheme! Deal

[Updated on: Fri, 08 August 2014 03:38]

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Fri, 15 August 2014 13:21

Inquisitor80
Messages: 115
Registered: February 2004
Location: The dark places in betwee...

Warrant Officer

m.a@stars wrote on Fri, 08 August 2014 02:37

Last but not least, perhaps the isolated player communities would benefit from more contact? Those other sites could have links to SAH, and SAH link to them somewhere?

there are other sites? blasphemer

my googling turns up nothing active

- Inquisitor80
___________________________________
We must move forwards not backwards, upwards not forwards, and always twirling, twirling, twirling toward freedom.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Sun, 17 August 2014 06:03

m.a@stars
Messages: 2768
Registered: October 2004
Location: Third star to the left

Commander

Inquisitor80 wrote on Fri, 15 August 2014 19:21

there are other sites? blasphemer

my googling turns up nothing active

There used to be a lot (polish, french, german, russian, spanish), some with "autohosting" features, even, but they seem all defunct, and my googling turns up nothing new. Sad

So many Stars, so few Missiles!

In space no one can hear you scheme! Deal

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Mon, 18 August 2014 00:05

neilhoward
Messages: 1112
Registered: April 2008
Location: SW3 & 10023

Commander

There were a few sites I remember that did new game invitations, but they more often than not ended up playing on SAH, if not actively participating in the forum. There used to be a java web based client (ran hosting and play without downloads or serials) but that went toes up about ten years ago.

IMO Stars! and SAH are great. I would be thrilled for the opportunity to help rejuvenate the ranks. There are other multiplayer space strategy games floating around that could use a place for players to get together to put games together. Is there a chance we could start a forum channel just for organizing other (non-Stars!) games. If a few of us actively advertised this new service (writing reviews and comments on various boards) we might attract some new blood. Just something to kick around.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Mon, 18 August 2014 04:16

m.a@stars
Messages: 2768
Registered: October 2004
Location: Third star to the left

Commander

neilhoward wrote on Mon, 18 August 2014 06:05

we could start a forum channel just for organizing other (non-Stars!) games. If a few of us actively advertised this new service (writing reviews and comments on various boards) we might attract some new blood.

Cross-pollinating, proselytizing... sounds good! Twisted Evil

So many Stars, so few Missiles!

In space no one can hear you scheme! Deal

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Tue, 19 August 2014 01:34

Coyote
Messages: 906
Registered: November 2002
Location: Pacific NW

Lt. Commander

Looks like we need to start organizing more games, then...

And yes, the idea of drawing activity with a few other games could be neat too!

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Tue, 19 August 2014 05:06

neilhoward
Messages: 1112
Registered: April 2008
Location: SW3 & 10023

Commander

Coyote,

I will work on getting some new blood, while you should work on getting some bad blood. Twisted Evil

Get some of those kids from ##stars with heavy experience to challenge us to a game. HWF vs. ##Stars. That should be a riot.

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Re: Stars! AutoHost now under 10 games

Thu, 19 November 2020 12:58

ricks03
Messages: 225
Registered: January 2012
Location: NC

Officer Cadet 1st Year
Creator of TotalHost and Stars! utilities
Forum Administrator
Stars! AutoHost Administrator
Created TotalHost and Stars! utilities

Ron wrote on Tue, 05 August 2014 22:18

ManicLurch wrote on Tue, 05 August 2014 20:09
Quote:
players that don't like SAH

What's not to like about SAH? Seems ideal to me.

There are some who don't like the hosting process on SAH, or maybe me, or both and that's ok.

I like Ron! I just wanted a site with some of the specific play rules we used when managing a game manually that weren't available on SAH. I wanted those manual steps/features moved to an automated process to remove "host errors".

It wasn't until I had access to the decryption code that I could really start extending the feature set to solve many of the common complaints about Stars! Now it provides a place to add new features as I learn more about the Stars! file structure. Mind you, that didn't happen until far too late in the history of Stars!

https://www.irelandbybicycle.com
http://totalhost.sinister.net:999
https://github.com/ricks03/TotalHost

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