Confession of a Gold User – How to use gold appropriately.
I love CON. It’s a wonderfully designed game with lots of delicate balances woven into an intricate economic, diplomatic, and combined arms military simulation.As a former senior military officer, I appreciate how well the designers have integrated the importance of reconnaissance, intelligence, combined arms strategy, morale, resources, economic strength, and decisions on research, tactics, diplomacy, and unit types.The fact that the game also incorporates nuanced and balanced differences in three doctrines (Eastern Western and European) is remarkable.I want to see this game continue to improve and flourish, so I am happy to “confess” that I am a massive gold spender because I understand that my gold spending habits help this game survive and prosper.When I say massive gold spender, I am talking about something on the order of >1,000,000 gold in a single game, and occasionally three+ times that number.I’m not going to make an argument to defend my gold use beyond the fact that gold use provides revenue for the game to be developed/maintained. Everyone will do whatever they feel comfortable doing to play the game the way they want. It’s a polarizing subject with strong feelings from many in the community. I am quite sure I will be flamed extensively for even writing this article. What I intend to do with this brief article is describe some tips or advice on how to use gold effectively, how not to be a total jerk about it, show respect others playing the game we all love, and still give yourself a fun and exciting challenge.
First, let me debunk a myth that gold spending ensures a win. I have lost games that I spent large amounts of gold in because the other team was better organized, communicated with one another, better led, exercised skilled diplomacy, and in some cases, they just played better than I did with superior tactics.The secret to winning CON matches is to have an active and competent alliance. If you have a player or 2 that go inactive for a few days at a time, you will probably lose. If you have players that make bad decisions about what to build, where to focus their research, lack a plan of any kind, attack without a purpose, don’t understand stacking, and have no concept of combined arms strategies using air, land and sea power, then you will undoubtedly lose. If your team works independently vice as a unified organization, then you will probably fail. A player’s rank is the best indicator of the abilities of your teammate's understanding of the game mechanics, but rank alone doesn’t give insight into decision making, teamwork, and diplomacy. The very best way to increase your chances of winning games is to enter a game with people you play with regularly, then you have a massive advantage and probably win every game—these are the kinds of guys I have lost to no matter how much gold I spent.
There are a few problems with spending large sums of gold in a game, and this is the core of the discussion I wanted to have. The first is that many in the CON community will malign you for obviously spending stupid amounts of gold, calling it a “pay to win.”The second the risk of ruining the fun of others playing the game if you don’t play with at least a modicum of respect for others. And finally, there is an element of reducing the challenges inherent in the game by using gold to reduce those challenges. Let’s talk about each a bit with the objective of improving the choices we all make spending gold.
Let’s face it; gold use is going to draw fire from other players that either can’t afford it or refuse to do it. Many want to believe that they are losing games because gold users are “ruining the game”, when in fact their tactics are terrible, they are not working in an alliance or are part of a dysfunctional alliance, and oddly the most obnoxiously anti-gold also seem to giant jerks. Good players understand that gold is not going to win the game alone, and a team of 5 good players in a coalition with the right tactics is probably going to win 80% of the time regardless of gold use (20% of losses will be because there was another coalition better than they were in the same game). For this, my advice is to use gold in measured and discreet ways. Be reasonable and recognize that maxing out a research line on day 1 is probably not going to make any friends, and friends/diplomacy in this game is what wins games.
When you do spend gold and clearly have an advantage with unit numbers, strength, and composition, don’t be a 500 lbs. gorilla and just smash everything in sight. Recognize that the other players are an essential part of what makes this game great. ALWAYS be respectful no matter what happens or what is said in-game. Try to allow as many people to come along with you to the end. Be super-nice, especially to the jerks! I am 6’2” and weigh 220 lbs., am a combat arms soldier, I am fit and athletic with 30 years of skills in Judo and hand to hand combative techniques, so my instinct is to reach out and choke the life out of the bad guys. But I have learned that a better and more sophisticated approach is to be a gentleman to everyone whenever you have the option to do so. If you can, it's OK to take the “jerks” out first because they are probably making life miserable for everyone, but do it in a gentlemanly and fair way. Make friends with others. My objective was to allow everyone to learn and grow as a player. Still, some will just resent the fact that you spent gold. I just finished a game where I made friends with New Zealand early and we cooperated together until the end of the game. I helped to defend him against an overwhelming South American coalition that was going to kill him off, and it allowed him to play longer and learn more. He thanks me for a fun game and said he would look to play with me again in the future. BUT, in that same game, I have a similar arrangement with Chad and at the end of that, he said I was a player that was ruining the game and he would never play with me again.*sigh* So this is what a gold user can expect many of the players. In the end, just be nice to everyone no matter what is said and done in-game, and recognize that its other players that make this game great. If you only had to play against AI it would be a very dull game—we want other players because they will always be far more challenging, unpredictable, require us to be diplomatic, and give us the best gaming experience overall. Yes, even the jerks can help us have fun even if only because of the help you to be OK with the occasional ICBM landing on a capital—something I otherwise would never advocate using.
The impact on the game challenge with excessive gold use is also worthy of some consideration. Spending gold can help to compensate for lack of understanding of game mechanics or help overcome bad tactics/strategies. But it's not going to win the game by itself. I used gold early in my CON career to understand the game mechanics and experiment with different approaches, tactics and strategies. But I found that no matter how much gold I spent, I was never felt the level of a game challenge was low. The nature of a game with other players with widely different skills and abilities, and the potential for anyone to have been able to spend gold also, made me always feel challenged in every single game I have ever played. I never felt that any game won was easy. A few months ago I was playing Chad in an African coalition that was quickly picked apart by a very proficient EU coalition comprised of players who regularly play together. I decided I was going to prepare a good defense, and Chad is actually a remarkably good place for defense because of its terrain and river systems (except the coastal cities are vulnerable to shore bombardment as I soon discovered). This EU team rotated its leader in between games and the leader for this game was a nasty person who was Spain. Spain talked smack, was vulgar in his comments, insulted people…basically the kind of guy I despised. The rest of the EU team was super nice. My coalition melted before their relentless and superior tactics, and I started to set up a defense around my home cities using my understanding of terrain and combined arms strategies (and of course game mechanics). Spain opened his attack on me with an ICBM on several cities that I was well-prepared for. When the airstrikes and ground attacks came, I managed to beat them down so badly they eventually ask me for peace because the losses they were taking were putting them at risk from other coalitions. I made my territorial demands, offered a NAP, and insisted that their Spanish leader (the biog jerk) agree to them. Every one of the team members said they didn’t like how Spain played and that the respected me for being so nice about it and playing well—several invited me to play with them on another game, and they agreed that they would not be including the foul-mouthed and rude Spanish player again. Eventually, even the Spanish player was respectful to me because I won him over by just being nice no matter what he said. Now, I didn’t “win” that game, “losing” to the superior coalition, but I did learn a ton and it was one of the more memorable and fun games I have played.
So in summary, gold use is essential to keep the game alive and healthy, but it is also essential to have good players. Winning isn’t everything, and you should always strive to balance the challenge with your gold spending. And above all else, be nice to everyone no matter what is said or happens in-game, especially if you happen to be able and willing to spend gold to give yourself a competitive advantage. I humbly await the face meting anti-gold flaming, but hope for some intelctual and honest discussion.
I love CON. It’s a wonderfully designed game with lots of delicate balances woven into an intricate economic, diplomatic, and combined arms military simulation.As a former senior military officer, I appreciate how well the designers have integrated the importance of reconnaissance, intelligence, combined arms strategy, morale, resources, economic strength, and decisions on research, tactics, diplomacy, and unit types.The fact that the game also incorporates nuanced and balanced differences in three doctrines (Eastern Western and European) is remarkable.I want to see this game continue to improve and flourish, so I am happy to “confess” that I am a massive gold spender because I understand that my gold spending habits help this game survive and prosper.When I say massive gold spender, I am talking about something on the order of >1,000,000 gold in a single game, and occasionally three+ times that number.I’m not going to make an argument to defend my gold use beyond the fact that gold use provides revenue for the game to be developed/maintained. Everyone will do whatever they feel comfortable doing to play the game the way they want. It’s a polarizing subject with strong feelings from many in the community. I am quite sure I will be flamed extensively for even writing this article. What I intend to do with this brief article is describe some tips or advice on how to use gold effectively, how not to be a total jerk about it, show respect others playing the game we all love, and still give yourself a fun and exciting challenge.
First, let me debunk a myth that gold spending ensures a win. I have lost games that I spent large amounts of gold in because the other team was better organized, communicated with one another, better led, exercised skilled diplomacy, and in some cases, they just played better than I did with superior tactics.The secret to winning CON matches is to have an active and competent alliance. If you have a player or 2 that go inactive for a few days at a time, you will probably lose. If you have players that make bad decisions about what to build, where to focus their research, lack a plan of any kind, attack without a purpose, don’t understand stacking, and have no concept of combined arms strategies using air, land and sea power, then you will undoubtedly lose. If your team works independently vice as a unified organization, then you will probably fail. A player’s rank is the best indicator of the abilities of your teammate's understanding of the game mechanics, but rank alone doesn’t give insight into decision making, teamwork, and diplomacy. The very best way to increase your chances of winning games is to enter a game with people you play with regularly, then you have a massive advantage and probably win every game—these are the kinds of guys I have lost to no matter how much gold I spent.
There are a few problems with spending large sums of gold in a game, and this is the core of the discussion I wanted to have. The first is that many in the CON community will malign you for obviously spending stupid amounts of gold, calling it a “pay to win.”The second the risk of ruining the fun of others playing the game if you don’t play with at least a modicum of respect for others. And finally, there is an element of reducing the challenges inherent in the game by using gold to reduce those challenges. Let’s talk about each a bit with the objective of improving the choices we all make spending gold.
Let’s face it; gold use is going to draw fire from other players that either can’t afford it or refuse to do it. Many want to believe that they are losing games because gold users are “ruining the game”, when in fact their tactics are terrible, they are not working in an alliance or are part of a dysfunctional alliance, and oddly the most obnoxiously anti-gold also seem to giant jerks. Good players understand that gold is not going to win the game alone, and a team of 5 good players in a coalition with the right tactics is probably going to win 80% of the time regardless of gold use (20% of losses will be because there was another coalition better than they were in the same game). For this, my advice is to use gold in measured and discreet ways. Be reasonable and recognize that maxing out a research line on day 1 is probably not going to make any friends, and friends/diplomacy in this game is what wins games.
When you do spend gold and clearly have an advantage with unit numbers, strength, and composition, don’t be a 500 lbs. gorilla and just smash everything in sight. Recognize that the other players are an essential part of what makes this game great. ALWAYS be respectful no matter what happens or what is said in-game. Try to allow as many people to come along with you to the end. Be super-nice, especially to the jerks! I am 6’2” and weigh 220 lbs., am a combat arms soldier, I am fit and athletic with 30 years of skills in Judo and hand to hand combative techniques, so my instinct is to reach out and choke the life out of the bad guys. But I have learned that a better and more sophisticated approach is to be a gentleman to everyone whenever you have the option to do so. If you can, it's OK to take the “jerks” out first because they are probably making life miserable for everyone, but do it in a gentlemanly and fair way. Make friends with others. My objective was to allow everyone to learn and grow as a player. Still, some will just resent the fact that you spent gold. I just finished a game where I made friends with New Zealand early and we cooperated together until the end of the game. I helped to defend him against an overwhelming South American coalition that was going to kill him off, and it allowed him to play longer and learn more. He thanks me for a fun game and said he would look to play with me again in the future. BUT, in that same game, I have a similar arrangement with Chad and at the end of that, he said I was a player that was ruining the game and he would never play with me again.*sigh* So this is what a gold user can expect many of the players. In the end, just be nice to everyone no matter what is said and done in-game, and recognize that its other players that make this game great. If you only had to play against AI it would be a very dull game—we want other players because they will always be far more challenging, unpredictable, require us to be diplomatic, and give us the best gaming experience overall. Yes, even the jerks can help us have fun even if only because of the help you to be OK with the occasional ICBM landing on a capital—something I otherwise would never advocate using.
The impact on the game challenge with excessive gold use is also worthy of some consideration. Spending gold can help to compensate for lack of understanding of game mechanics or help overcome bad tactics/strategies. But it's not going to win the game by itself. I used gold early in my CON career to understand the game mechanics and experiment with different approaches, tactics and strategies. But I found that no matter how much gold I spent, I was never felt the level of a game challenge was low. The nature of a game with other players with widely different skills and abilities, and the potential for anyone to have been able to spend gold also, made me always feel challenged in every single game I have ever played. I never felt that any game won was easy. A few months ago I was playing Chad in an African coalition that was quickly picked apart by a very proficient EU coalition comprised of players who regularly play together. I decided I was going to prepare a good defense, and Chad is actually a remarkably good place for defense because of its terrain and river systems (except the coastal cities are vulnerable to shore bombardment as I soon discovered). This EU team rotated its leader in between games and the leader for this game was a nasty person who was Spain. Spain talked smack, was vulgar in his comments, insulted people…basically the kind of guy I despised. The rest of the EU team was super nice. My coalition melted before their relentless and superior tactics, and I started to set up a defense around my home cities using my understanding of terrain and combined arms strategies (and of course game mechanics). Spain opened his attack on me with an ICBM on several cities that I was well-prepared for. When the airstrikes and ground attacks came, I managed to beat them down so badly they eventually ask me for peace because the losses they were taking were putting them at risk from other coalitions. I made my territorial demands, offered a NAP, and insisted that their Spanish leader (the biog jerk) agree to them. Every one of the team members said they didn’t like how Spain played and that the respected me for being so nice about it and playing well—several invited me to play with them on another game, and they agreed that they would not be including the foul-mouthed and rude Spanish player again. Eventually, even the Spanish player was respectful to me because I won him over by just being nice no matter what he said. Now, I didn’t “win” that game, “losing” to the superior coalition, but I did learn a ton and it was one of the more memorable and fun games I have played.
So in summary, gold use is essential to keep the game alive and healthy, but it is also essential to have good players. Winning isn’t everything, and you should always strive to balance the challenge with your gold spending. And above all else, be nice to everyone no matter what is said or happens in-game, especially if you happen to be able and willing to spend gold to give yourself a competitive advantage. I humbly await the face meting anti-gold flaming, but hope for some intelctual and honest discussion.