Add time, Minus time

Before this argument gets personal, let me try to point out something, we all missed.

1. What is the purpose of the add time button in general?
To make a turn longer, it can be for a big move -thinking and executing, or other reason.

It can however be exploited and abused in many different ways than how it was intended to be. Even in consec game a player can use up all their add time then leave the game, because they got upset, and make everyone that left in the game wait for an extra 5-15 minutes.

There are many ways the add time button can be exploited, the best the game makers/programmer can do is to prevent this from happening or do something to the abuser.

The add time button was created and intended to help players in the game that need a longer time to make a big move. Its intention is clear

To make a turn longer

It was never and shouldn't be exploited to make yourself gain a secret extra turn in the game, or an extra turn for selective players only. It is not how the add time button intended to be.

Is that how we want our players to play the game and think it is perfectly normal to use the add time button in a way it is not created for, because using it such way can be a strategic move and add fun to the game?

If so then, does that means players that exploit the add time button in consec game to make everyone waits is acceptable?

You cannot say one is right and the other one is wrong, since both clearly violated the purpose of the add time button.

add time is the best of same time

I agree with supiachao's views.


I haven't really thought it through, but I think this may work. If you are doing a massive move, you can generally tell whether you are going to run out of time at least 45secs before you do so. Therefore this method would make those who needed to add time add their time before 30 seconds left, before the other players had ended their turn, so everyone would get the extra time.

P.S. One of the reasons why I was put off from playing sametime was because of people using add time after I ended my turn and gaining a massive strategical advantage. I feel that sametime needs to be accessible to new players and at its current format, adding time nearly always tilts games in the favour of experienced sametimers.

I also agree with supiachao!

It shouldn't be there the add-time in sametime games, it sounds a bit like a dirty trick.

Another suggestion I remember having seen somewhere is that noone can start or end turns in same time live games - they all start and end simultaniously.
In that case adding time is possible, but it'll just add time for everyone.

Although that means that ppl also must place troops, fortify, w/e at the same time

i vote no

@matty about not having to start or end turns, I still want the turn to end early if everyone is done so that players aren't needlessly waiting for the timer to run out. The details for how to do that have not been worked out.

What about this, you can only add time if none of the players have moved past the attack phase yet. So you would have to add time toward the beginning of the turn. This would eliminate the exploit of waiting until everyone else had ended their turn in order to get extra time alone.

today i feel a little philosophical. i looked in inner self and came to see a few things

i guess i had to look for an answer why im so upset off if an add time would be taking away and i found this which i guess its the reason. it took me to loose over 500 points if not more just to learn or get "exploited" while i was learnign from the guys that knew how to use add time in same time games. now now that i know how to use it u guys want to take it away of course i get upset

already lost myself what i wanted to say oh yeah well its not like like a few guys says its "wrong" having a same time add time option. i have to say nothing is wrong its jsut a diferent game  taking same time add time away its liek taking away from dotn wanna say names from a few guys ion this site the unlimited fortication option which gives them a lotttttttttttt of advantage over having such a speedy computer or they r speedy themelf dont even know the diference which one is it. anyway my point is we could take out add time but i want to ackowledge we r not making it better we jsut making it easier basicly we are changeing the game

from my point of view after the all the hard work learning i can basiclly predict 99% of the time when someones gonna add time of course someone times time is added when it doesnt even need to be added but then nothing has been lost so for the time that things could be in someones advantage ican again say about 99% predict when time can be added. So my part being upset is why i had to go all thru evverything and now someone cant handle it and we just gonn achange it especially if things are able to be learnt

to say again for final words we dont take form those few guys option unlimited just cause we cant handle their game of speedness now do we lol

PSS: im not so upset anymmore even if add time would really be away we just goona change the game and learn new rules we did once we gonna do it again but im saying its not about wrong or right its about to learn it or not and add time trick can be expertised 100% so noone could trick u so yessssssssssssssssssssssssss my emotional part : go learn it dont whine it

my appologies if i was too harsh again but i was caught in a momment

Sametime games are fun as they are, and I too have paid my dues losing 100's of games figuring it out, but i feel it needs to head in the right direction of it's namesake. When we add time, right after everyone's done, it's defeating the purpose of the format. same time, same turn. It's being played to get that consecutive advantage. It's not a fun game to play for new players when they don't know what's going on and feels like someones hacked the game or something. Only a few will persist and try to figure it out, but personally I would like to see more people wanting to play same time games.

also i like the simultaneous end turn Matty mentions. it may help with the glitch problem?

I'd like to hear the input of players like epic/spartakus/hooboy/davidekho/xania/

Ok, well so far no one has responded to my idea of allowing adding time but only if no one has passed the attack stage.

@Vexer, you mean like if another player ended his/her turn or glitched, then the add time button is not available?

That sound like a good plan, so glitched player has 1 less thing to be worried about.

But if so, people will start to think of another way, like ending turn faster (get an easy card) to avoid the other play to get enough time to make a big attack.

Assuming player B can only starts the game after player A started.

Player A can put player B on hold for 1 minute, then end turn super fast, so player B only have 2 minutes to attack without being able to add time. Then Player A may get to put player B on hold for every next turn, and continue this cycle.

I guess the changes that need to be made must be consider thoroughly so it is hard to exploit the game. 

The hold doesn't always last 1 minute. It's 1 minute or until the other player starts their turn. As long as you can click begin turn and add time in between the time the other player clicks begin turn and end attack phase then it will work. The only trouble you would have is that the game only refreshes every 5 seconds. You might not know you can take your turn until 4 seconds after the other player started their turn. If you really need every second then click back and forth between the chat and log tabs in order to refresh more often so that you'll know within 1 second when you can start your turn.

Just put this out in case most of you do not think about yet

In a same time it is almost impossible to attack from your cap without adding time (when others already end or stop attack phase) since others will take you out.

So most your suggestions here will reduce the game play significantly.

IMO, fixing the glitch that if you do not end turn, you end up skipping your next turn and getting 2 cards should be more important

I agree with Vexer's proposal to add time only if the others are still in the attacking phase.

@Supiachao - It doesn't look like a big deal: 2 minutes are usually enough to play your turn and in many situation you get more advantage on playing last since I don't think your player A can gain so much from that tactic.

In the other hand maybe it would be cool if a player can get a "solo" extra time when he kills someone, at list that one would be deserved and also would unblock the game from stalemating situations.