Yesterday night, however, I joined a 1v1 game against a host who labelled his game as 'Real Rookies Only.' We both assured each other that we were not wringers (sp???) hoping to inflict cruelty on a hapless newcomer. He told me he had been playing RoR for about a month.
The host -- I won't mention his name -- chose Reveal Map; Small Islands; 100 pop limit, with high starting resource levels (ie. when the game started I had about 1,000 food units, and similarly high levels of wood, etc -- see, I really am a rook 'cuz I don't know the RoR jargon for starting with non-default resources). # Anyhow, the host advanced to tool first, but I managed to go bronze several minutes before him. I loaded a transport w/ vill's to head to a small island that I thought was uninhabited -- by mistake, in the transport I included the 1st two stone throwers I had built from a seige workshop beside my dock. Turns out that when I landed the transport, it was right next to one of my opponent's storage pits, and my STs of course automatically started hurling boulders. A few seconds later, the host fired off a chat msg accusing me of not being a rookie player, and then he abruptly disconnected from the game -- robbing me of a decent chance at my first 1v1 victory. Weapons-wise, all I had in addition to the 2 STs were 3 or 4 fighting ships and about 6 cavalry -- for all I know my opponent had a huge military force lurking on the map somewhere. This opponent apparently believed that anyone able to launch an attack before him can't be a real rookie -- a silly attitude. And this is by no means an isolated incident -- in my few short weeks in the zone, I've seen several instances where a game has broken down over similar accusations. There's an analogous situation, it seems, among a certain breed of vets who -- as soon as they start losing -- yanks themselves out of a game after accusing their opponent(s) of using cheats. It really is a shame, IMO, to see such a wonderful game spoiled by players who can't seem to accept that they can --and will -- be beaten by opponents who are simply more skillful, or more lucky, or both, and who are not using any unfair advantage. Hell, it is just a game...sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. If a player can't do the latter gracefully -- and I am guilty of this myself all too often -- then he or she is taking RoR too seriously. Regards;
Bodia_boy
'Trust in Allah, but tie up your camel.'
- Old Muslim proverb