Ialysos Newspaper #1

DeletedUser1048

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Ialysos Newspaper

By Joseph Nieves and R.H.Stogus​


Issue 1: 5/30/18

Table of Contents
1.Top 10
2. Interviews
3. War Stats and News
4. Map Stuff
5. Memes

Welcome to the first issue of the Ialysos Newspaper, made by Joseph Nieves and R.H.Stogus. Today, we’re going to cover what is going on in this world. I wrote most of the newspaper while R.H.Stogus did all the non-Grepo related stuff.

It’s been one month since the beginning of the world US71 Ialysos. The settings are:
Speed - 1; Unit Speed - 1; Alliance Limit - 50; Beginners Protection -7; Morale Active; Revolt; Night Bonus: 0100-0900; City foundation: 8 hours

Without further ado, let’s get to it!​


Top 10
Note: I chose not to do a top 12. Back when I started playing a Top 12 made sense, as there was much more parity. Worlds today are extremely top heavy, with most of the Top 12 having little chance of doing anything noteworthy. In Ialysos, the #1 alliance is 7.63 times bigger than #12 and 3.2 times bigger than the #5 alliance. That 7.63 gap is about the same as the gap between #12 and #36. The 3.2 gap between top 5 alliances is the same as the gap between #5 and a hypothetical alliance ranked #13 that would have about 75000 points. I’m not saying this is a bad thing. All it means is that there are not really 12 top alliances. In this world there might not even be 6. However to avoid being too radical I created a top 10.

  1. MANBEARPIGS- Based in Ocean 55, they have the best core of any top alliance. Their war against Praetorian Guard has gone well, as they lead in both cities taken and in players acquired from the enemy. A strong alliance that’s fully loaded...watch out for them.

  2. Praetorian Guard- Everyone’s favorite alliance to talk about, both because of their “if it’s not blue it’s red” mentality and their founder’s presence on the external forum. They were busy over the Memorial Day weekend. First they lost some players after a successful op against them by MANBEARPIGS and the Blood alliances. Then they rebounded, bringing top players from Scary Name Here into the fold. This move helped strengthen the core of an alliance that was too spread out. I don’t know how many tricks they have up their sleeves, but they have shown they could weather a storm. That should help them as things pick up.

  3. Blood Brothers- Based in 54, Blood has a solid core and a dominating presence in 54. With the collapse of Scary Name Here they are now the only top alliance with two branches. Like MANBEARPIGS, they have had success against PG. As things are right now I don’t see any threats to their survival.

  4. Blood- Same as above.

  5. Overdose- Their cities in 44 are bunched up, but their 28 in 45 are very spread out. They are in the middle of a two other top alliances, but are in a pact with both. Since they are relatively untested in this world, it’s hard to say how well they will fair. As long as the whole ocean is friendly, there only real concern is keeping cities in 45 safe.

  6. Chalcidian League- Spread evenly across Ocean 44. Like Overdose they have done close to zero fighting against the other top alliances as the result of a 3 way pact. This seems to be a pretty uneventful ocean, so their biggest threat could be dying of boredom.

  7. Republic of Caledonia- Read 5 and 6, more of the same here. On the bright side the 3 of them have more time to prepare for Wonders than the rest of the top alliances.

  8. supernova- Based in Ocean 45. Outside of the top 3 alliances they seem to be the only other top group that is doing some fighting, though it’s solely against alliances outside the top 10. They share the ocean with PG, which could possible set up a conflict between the two once their focus is away from MANBEARPIGS and the Blood alliances.

  9. HYRDA- Spread evenly across Ocean 54. Seems to be avoiding any conflict with Blood, the only top alliance near the majority of their cities. They should grow just fine while Blood is focused on PG. After that, I’m not so sure.

  10. Gray Sails- Based in Ocean 45, they are a newly formed alliance composed of ex-Scary Name Here players. It’ll be interesting to see how they perform after the split. They have some good players so they should stick around, whether it’s in this alliance or eventually in another.
 

DeletedUser1048

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Interviews
We have interviews from players in 4 different alliances, one of which doesn’t really exist anymore. The interviews were done a few days in advance, so I wrote “Several Days Later…” before some questions to reflect that these were new (at the time) situations that came up. Thank you to the 4 people who took the time to answer some questions :)

Interview with Meg TheBeagle of MANBEARPIGS:
Joseph Nieves: So we're almost a month in, what are your thoughts on the world so far?

Meg TheBeagle: I haven't played Speed 1 since Pi. I am very afraid that I'll forget how to play fast before the next Speed 3 revolt world opens.

I find myself actually relaxing and getting sleep due to night bonus. I don't think this is a good thing. I might be losing my edge.

I see some players who are obviously spending their trust funds to grow and I've seen this type of player go out in a flash of light. With wonders ~22 months away, staying power will win this world.

Joseph Nieves: Which endgame do you prefer, Domination or World Wonders?

Meg TheBeagle: I really like the concept of the Domination endgame. I look forward to trying Domination so I can compare.

I always felt that building wonders was boring. Been there, done that, and got a few crowns along the way. Wonders are a necessary evil, IMHO, but hoping the new endgame will get us something different.

Joseph Nieves: What in your opinion makes a good alliance? And what makes your alliance the best (or one of the best) in Ialysos?

Meg TheBeagle: I've been lucky to have always had good leadership. The leaders in my alliance are what makes it good. We pride ourselves on being trustworthy and playing the game honestly. We have a core team that has played together for many worlds and it helps that we know each other and the strengths each brings to the game. Not all of our core leadership has chosen to play in Ialysos but we will all be together again.

We have vision, make and execute long-term planning, and have fun. There are very few arguments among the team members but that may be because of our open communication and transparency. We can plan and pull off attacks in a structured and timely fashion while including everybody on the team to participate.

And we don't MRA.

Joseph Nieves: Is your alliance at war with anyone? If so, who?

Meg TheBeagle: I'm not going to answer who our enemies are - stay tuned.

Joseph Nieves: What should a person do if they encounter a ManBearPig?

Meg TheBeagle: If somebody meets a ManBearPig, just hit reset now and give up.

Several Days Later…

Joseph Nieves: It seems fair to say that Praetorian Guard is bleeding right now, losing cities and players at a higher rate. What are your thoughts on the struggles they are going through? Will things get better for PG or is this the beginning of the end?[/b]

Meg TheBeagle: I honestly don't know. I'm not familiar with most of their players and have no information about their organization.

I do know that on other worlds, the guys who come out big and tough and MRA from the get go kind of peter out. I'm not saying that this what happened to PG.

Interview with FermentingFruit of Blood Brothers:
Joseph Nieves: What are your views on the world so far?

FermentingFruit: So far, I’m pretty impressed actually. Normally there’s only 2-3 alliances by this point that actually look like they have a good chance to go far, but with this world I’d say any of the top 4-5 (not counting academy/sister alliances) have a good chance to make it far, and I’m expecting some good wars down the line, something I haven’t gotten to see in a while so I’m really excited for the future of this world, and can’t wait to see how it plays out.

Joseph Nieves: Which endgame would you prefer, Domination or World Wonders?

FermentingFruit: I think I’d prefer WW honestly, Domination doesn’t seem like anything that special, just an extended version of the regular game with a crown at the end. At least with WW there’s something special you have to do, and with WW I’ve seen massive full-scale alliance wide battles for control over one or two cities to try and disrupt control over the islands, and I don’t see that happening with the domination game mode, I like they want to try something special but I don’t see it being that special in the end.

Joseph Nieves: What in your opinion makes a good alliance? And what makes your alliance the best (or one of the best) in Ialysos?

FermentingFruit: Well, I’ve got the same answer for both questions. Leadership. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how good your individual players are, because without good leadership those players will have no direction. Good leaders are the ones that inspire, lead from the front, and are also there to lend a helping hand and teach the newer players, and that’s exactly what we have here. If you look at alliances like Skull and Bones, they already crumbled because their leadership was terrible, but here at Blood we have the same leadership core that we have in Rizinia, where we all but physically have the crown. We have the experience and the knowledge, and since we’ve played a world before together we know each other’s play styles and build off of that, and we pass all of that onto the players and that’s what will make us last a long time.

Joseph Nieves: Is your alliance at war with anyone? If so, who?

FermentingFruit: Right now, just PG, but then again who isn’t at war with them lmao

Several Days Later...

Joseph Nieves: It seems fair to say that Praetorian Guard is bleeding right now, losing cities and players at a higher rate. What are your thoughts on the struggles they are going through? Will things get better for PG or is this the beginning of the end?

FermentingFruit: I mean it was destined to happen from the start. They only ever had two players who I’d consider good, and that’s only because they golded to the point where they had no competition, and because of that they thought they had no competition. They attacked everyone, and made a lot of enemies. I saw Tbom bragging on the forums about a “super pact” being made against them, and that’s not true at all. They just managed to piss off everyone in the world. Their leadership also needed work, tbom seemed like a newer, younger player (not saying there’s anything wrong with playing young, I’m 20 now and started at 14), and he was cocky, and made it known. He felt that everyone was beneath him, which just made more enemies, and cost him in the end. Now comes the fallout period, and we’ll see how things change up and we’ll go from there.

Several Hours Later...

Joseph Nieves: I was wondering if your comments still stand after they got those Scary Name Here players.

FermentingFruit: I think it bought them some time. Clearly a last ditch effort to stay afloat by PG, and by Scary. Even if they have more players they’re still losing cities left and right, and we’ll have to see how it plays out but I think it was just a last minute attempt to keep them going.
 
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DeletedUser1048

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Interview with GrepoSoldier of Scary Name Here (now in PG):
Joseph Nieves: What are your thoughts on the world so far?

GrepoSoldier: It has been a lot of fun so far. The speed is dampering to us players that do not spend much gold. With no morale, a lot of players seem to leave faster, there is no chance of the top 10 guys vs an entire alliance. Some people already have 800 sling nukes with LS escorts and cats. While some people with the same start date and no gold have 200 sling nukes with 5LS escort. There is an imbalance. Not that gold users should be shy of spending, but a lottery system or gold given to players for getting to certain point levels or something to ensure that this world does not die. My biggest fear of the world is going to die.

Joseph Nieves: What you're proposing could very well be a thing one day.

I don't know how long you've played but way back when (as recent as 5 years ago maybe) there used to be a way to get free gold. Players could fill out some surveys from third party websites, or get free trials of different services. You would receive gold upon completion. The system wasn't exactly perfect though. It didn't always reward gold and some of those surveys just kept going and going with no end in sight. As for the free trials it required you to give credit card information to some relatively unknown websites. But at least players had the opportunity to earn some gold if they put the time and effort in.

You can feel free to respond to the above if you want, that was me getting a little nostalgic. The next question is: Which endgame do you prefer, Domination or World Wonders?

GrepoSoldier: I like the idea of domination, haven't played it yet. But would like to see a mix of world wonders and domination. Would be very entertaining i think. Also, a speed 1 world to end in 6 months would be cool. It wouldn't get outrageously intense with tons of hours having to be put into it. And you'd finish the world.

But, I've been playing for about 8+ years. I use to fill out those surveys, about 50% of the time id get the gold. It would be cool to see top 5 alliances receive gold to play in the next world as well, it would keep people coming back. If you finish a world and get 800 gold. You would certainly come back to spend it! Nobody leaves gold on the table haha.

Joseph Nieves: A speed 1 ending in 6 months would be something. Then again the idea of any world ending in 6 months would have been crazy if you take a trip down memory lane. If it was just 6 months it might be fast enough to keep casual players in the game longer.

A gold prize for the top alliances seems like a great incentive to retain players. Nothing speaks quite as loudly as gold.

What in your opinion makes a good alliance? And what makes your alliance the best (or one of the best) in Ialysos?

GrepoSoldier: A good alliance, in the old days! Consisted of good heart and love for the game. Respect for other alliances. Activity wasn't a problem.

Now it is just who is spending the most. Haha i buy gold, but not enough. We will do well in this world. And it will be a fun world. But an alliance consists of good activity, and good communication.

Joseph Nieves: I definitely agree with that, it's a pretty stark contrast to the current time.

How did you guys come up with your alliance name?

GrepoSoldier: Really, just a whim. Couldn't think of a scary name. Lol.

Joseph Nieves: Is your alliance at war with anyone? If so, who?

GrepoSoldier: We are at war with the praetorian guard. They are good. Real good. But spread very thin around the map.

Several Days Later...

Joseph Nieves: What are your thoughts on the merger into Praetorian Guard?

GrepoSoldier: It was the best move to maintain a balanced and fair word. Its now MBP/BB/B all vs PG. i mean. If we didnt make a move we would just watch pg fall then get targeted by the superpact next.

Interview with Tbom9 of Praetorian Guard
Joseph Nieves: What are your views on the world so far?

Tbom9: Its shaping up to be quite the fight, even though there are so few players committed to the world. I can see a group or two dominating the whole map easily.

Joseph Nieves: On the external forum, you voiced your support for the Domination end game. In your opinion, what makes Domination better than World Wonders?

Tbom9: I've been playing since basically the beginning of the US grepolis servers, and I have never liked WWs. I believe that it promotes too much simming and hand holding in the end. Domination just sounds great on paper right now compared to what we've got.

Joseph Nieves: What in your opinion makes a good alliance? Also, what makes your alliance the best (or one of the best) in Ialysos?

Tbom9: A good alliance is all about activity and efficiency. That's why small groups of great players can do so much better than the masses.

Joseph Nieves: So is that why your alliance does not engage in diplomacy, because it would be less efficient?

Tbom9: That is because of a game style that we all agree on as an alliance. Pacting just means reducing your opportunity for BP and in turn hurting your growth in the long run. We are open to diplomacy in very limited cases, but not in general.


War Stats
Note: I refer to MANBEARPIGS and the Blood alliances as the “super pact” throughout this section. It was used to make things easier to read, and is not an endorsement of said term.

Praetorian Guard vs. MANBEARPIGS and the Blood alliances:

PG trails 7-20. This means for every 1 city PG takes, they lose approximately 2.86 cities.


Now just to make more numbers that may or may not mean anything:
  1. When factoring in that the “super pact” has 2.4 times more cities than PG, than the adjusted number would be 1.19...this would mean that if they had a similar number of cities, PG would likely conquer 1 “super pact” city for every 1.19 cities lost. So PG would still be losing in that scenario.
  2. If we only factor in that the “super pact” has 2.33 times more points that PG, than the ratio would be 1.23 PG cities lost for every 1 conquered.
  3. If we only factor in that the “super pact” has 3.29 times the number of players that PG does, than the ratio is .87 ratio in PG’s favor. Meaning PG loses .87 cities for every 1 city they conquer.
  4. If we only factor in that the “super pact” has 1.89 times the number of top 100 players (in points) as PG does, then the ratio is 1.51 PG cities lost for every 1 conquered.
  5. If we only factor in that the “super pact” has 1.46 times the number of top 100 players (in bp) as PG does, then the ratio is 1.96 PG cities lost for every 1 conquered.

If we were to average all those number then for every 1 city PG takes, they lose approximately 1.35 cities. What does it mean? It means that the score is lopsided because the “super pact” has a numbers advantage. But we already know that. Other than that all it suggests is that the “super pact” would still be winning, conquering 35% more cities, even if everything else above was equal.

Note: The above numbers were created at 6:30 EST on May 30. Also I'm not a statistician so I'm not saying any of these numbers mean anything.

If you read that all, congratulations. I wrote all that to make it seem like the war section was filled with action. In reality that’s the only war between top alliances right now :D


War News: Musical Chairs

MANBEARPIGS and the Blood alliances have been putting up a crooked number against PG, which led to an exodus from PG. About a dozen players were out of PG in a period of 24 hours.

Shortly after that, PG added some of the top players from Scary Name Here. It’s always hard to predict how two groups will mesh together, but at the very least it will buy them more time. This applies both ways though. If those PG players in the "superpact" were quick to join when things got tough in PG, they could easily do the same down the road.

This is not a criticism of any of the players or alliances, but rather something I’ve seen happen in other worlds. Absorbing another alliance always introduces new personalities into the fold, and some may not be compatible to the ones currently there. So I just wanted to bring up the possibility.

Right now though, both moves look like good ones considering the circumstances. The "superpact" added quality players while PG lost quality players because of those defections. This will definitely help them in their war against PG. Then PG acquired much needed help, recouping some of the lost fighting power that they had suffered earlier.


World Map

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Memes
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I hope you enjoyed this issue of the Ialysos Newspaper. Special thanks to those that agreed to do interviews. The plan is to do 1 newspaper a month, so if it was bad it'll be a while before your eyes bleed again.
 
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DeletedUser16091

Guest
What a wonderful newspaper! I applaud all your hard work and effort putting this together. Thank you!
 

DeletedUser13955

Guest
Nice, this world seems to be taking a turn towards some fun. but i think everyone should keep a eye on OD an its allies flying under the radar ;) they are cored as if they are 1 alliance. which i like lol no one really noticed or took heed of what they've been doing. 44 is deff locked down by that 3 way pact cant wait to see how they move the rest of the world
 

DeletedUser1048

Guest
Yeah with all the focus on PG, they have gone unnoticed. Which gives them time to expand wherever they want and stockpile on troops for when they face another top alliance. Though I much rather see them involved in a bloody conflict right now :D
 

DeletedUser13955

Guest
^^ i like the PG business going on an am glad they havent toppled like alotta rank1's when pressured. They did what i asssumed would end up happening the scary/PG but its a smart move, bought them time to reset the lines.

i like what i see an hope this world continues to Show me alittle more of how Grepolis should be played. More alliances held out than i img'd. which makes for a interesting mid-world coming up ^^
 

DeletedUser1048

Guest
^^ i like the PG business going on an am glad they havent toppled like alotta rank1's when pressured. They did what i asssumed would end up happening the scary/PG but its a smart move, bought them time to reset the lines.

i like what i see an hope this world continues to Show me alittle more of how Grepolis should be played. More alliances held out than i img'd. which makes for a interesting mid-world coming up ^^

Yeah when I saw the defections I was thinking "here we go again." But credit where credit is due, they made a smart move quickly and were able to right the ship.

I've also been pleasantly surprised with this world so far. My only concern is that this world seems a bit low on players. I worry this world might die young.
 

DeletedUser13955

Guest
Indeed, but more survived longer than i thought so we could see a miracle lol. an yep credit to securing them a rear, being hit on all sides gets annoying no matter how good you are, but they went n showed everyone they arent your typical frontrunner soo ^^
 

DeletedUser11833

Guest
Wow, I havent seen this much forum activity in a long time! Props to you Joseph and Stogus! Thanks for all the credits too guys, just letting yall know we are stronger and better than a few days ago, regardless of what has happened.
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DeletedUser13955

Guest
Wow, I havent seen this much forum activity in a long time! Props to you Joseph and Stogus! Thanks for all the credits too guys, just letting yall know we are stronger and better than a few days ago, regardless of what has happened.
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Wouldnt have it any other way mate
 

DeletedUser1048

Guest
Excellent read. I look forward to the next issue.

Thanks for reading.

Wow, I havent seen this much forum activity in a long time! Props to you Joseph and Stogus! Thanks for all the credits too guys, just letting yall know we are stronger and better than a few days ago, regardless of what has happened.
smiley_emoticons_skullhaufen.gif
smiley_emoticons_steckenpferd.gif
smiley_emoticons_viking.gif

It's always nice to see these forum wake up a little. I hope so, this world would not be as exciting without you guys.

good read :)

Thanks for reading, and welcome to the forum. Well actually you could have read the forum as a guest in the past so maybe I shouldn't go by the join date :D
 
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DeletedUser1048

Guest
Does anyone have information on the merge between Wooden Nickels (formerly supernova) and Bad Pennies (formerly Gray Sails)? Or on who I should contact for information? If so please let me know.

Edit: You can also contact me in game, my IGN is Cachet.
 
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DeletedUser11560

Guest
Also, if you know anything about the wars that are going on in the world, message Joseph Nieves as well.
 
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