Aging Token Madness

[sage3]

I think that there needs to be a cool down on gaining Aging Tokens. In my current game, I have a 20% accrual rate... but I've received 1 each of the last three turns (not an unlikely cluster given many turns in a game). Perhaps following any turn in which you receive a token, you either cannot receive a token, or the accrual chance is significantly reduced.

[devoncop]

I think that there needs to be a cool down on gaining Aging Tokens. In my current game, I have a 20% accrual rate... but I've received 1 each of the last three turns (not an unlikely cluster given many turns in a game). Perhaps following any turn in which you receive a token, you either cannot receive a token, or the accrual chance is significantly reduced.

That is an option already in the game set up screen.....

[sage3]

I think you mean the slower progress and decadence option? That's not quite what I'm asking for, although I might try that at some point. I'm saying that, on normal mode (how I assume the game is intended to be played), the random loss chance is on a cool down, so that it can't / is less likely to occur in the next turn.

[devoncop]

Ah okay.

Though the game is balanced in the slower option mode too.

I am not sure I agree though....in effect a nation is still being rewarded for having a relatively high decadence and low culture if they get a free pass one turn in two under your suggestion.

Typically this is caused by expanding too quickly (especially into none objective regions), failing to create provinces from regions to halve the decadence asap, not putting pops into culture if necessary to raise culture generation, build culture buildings etc, etc....

To be fair no nation needs to be in the bottom 1/3 of the table generating regression tokens for 3 consecutive turns given remedial measures.

[sage3]

To be fair no nation needs to be in the bottom 1/3 of the table generating regression tokens for 3 consecutive turns given remedial measures.

That's not the case, however. There is no such limit that keeps tokens from appearing in subsequent turns. Given any three turns, and a 20% chance (which isn't great, isn't terrible - in this case, I have provinces, civies and building producing culture etc.), there's a 1:125 chance of this occuring... (which seems low right?) But given a selection of many turns, and a truly random distribution, the chance for cluster actually substantially higher, and it's pretty bad when it occurs.

[devoncop]

To be fair no nation needs to be in the bottom 1/3 of the table generating regression tokens for 3 consecutive turns given remedial measures.

That's not the case, however. There is no such limit that keeps tokens from appearing in subsequent turns. Given any three turns, and a 20% chance (which isn't great, isn't terrible - in this case, I have provinces, civies and building producing culture etc.), there's a 1:125 chance of this occuring... (which seems low right?) But given a selection of many turns, and a truly random distribution, the chance for cluster actually substantially higher, and it's pretty bad when it occurs.

Have you taken multiple non objective provinces in a short period of time may I ask..? Otherwise I am wondering why your decadence is evidently too high given you say you are producing culture ?

Obviously out of the bottom 1/3 of the CDR table you will never pick up a token.


(Please understand I am in no way criticising your play style, just trying to figure out how to explain and help with your issue) .
I am no strategic genius but in 3 games I have been playing with Dacia,Egypt and Epirus I have never been in the bottom 1/3 for more than 2 consecutive turns.)

Bear in mind though that the devs have said decline and fall and hopefully renewal is part of the unique design concept.

[Blathergut]

Is there somewhere in game to see what is affecting/causing decadence and by how much?

[sage3]

To be fair no nation needs to be in the bottom 1/3 of the table generating regression tokens for 3 consecutive turns given remedial measures.

That's not the case, however. There is no such limit that keeps tokens from appearing in subsequent turns. Given any three turns, and a 20% chance (which isn't great, isn't terrible - in this case, I have provinces, civies and building producing culture etc.), there's a 1:125 chance of this occuring... (which seems low right?) But given a selection of many turns, and a truly random distribution, the chance for cluster actually substantially higher, and it's pretty bad when it occurs.

Have you taken multiple non objective provinces in a short period of time may I ask..? Otherwise I am wondering why your decadence is evidently too high given you say you are producing culture ?

Obviously out of the bottom 1/3 of the CDR table you will never pick up a token.


(Please understand I am in no way criticising your play style, just trying to figure out how to explain and help with your issue) .
I am no strategic genius but in 3 games I have been playing with Dacia,Egypt and Epirus I have never been in the bottom 1/3 for more than 2 consecutive turns.)

Bear in mind though that the devs have said decline and fall and hopefully renewal is part of the unique design concept.

This is not my point though. Just that, despite a relatively low chance, because of the way statistical clustering works you will see "streaks" like this that always tend to be negative. The streaks will actually be common (because "random" doesn't mean "even"), but the streaks are quite impactful on game play. A mechanism to make this moderately less random (such as a cool down) will smooth out the spikes.

[devoncop]

If you are speaking more of the likelihood of occasional "clustering" then of course you are correct.

I am playing a Dacian game right now where I am waiting to pick up a couple more progress tokens and have failed on 7 occasions to do so with a 25% chance but that of course works both ways ....It is just as likely I could pick up 3 progress tokens consecutively in my position of you could not pick up any regression ones for several more turns than the % chance implies.

The process of a nation tends to be in bursts through the actions of great men and women at particular times (or idiotic ones )so I am comfortable with this and will take the rough with the smooth.