multiple accounts

I find it surprising that this game allows for multiple accounts. I can only assume it is because it is new and you want it to appear that there are more players than there actually is.

I have played a lot of games like this one and I have never heard of such a thing. Having more than one account will get you banned in every other game out there.

I dont like this policy at all.

After thinking a little more I suppose this policy could also be to have more villages so that there is more activity and theoretically making it more fun. Either way I still dont like it.


Edited by joekewl - 07 Apr 2010 at 22:52

Well, Lorna has put it reasonably succinctly (if a bit abruptly).

Data is hard to come by, but a 2007 UCLA survey showed that (in the US) whilst nearly 80% of households had at least one computer, only some 25% had more than one computer.

We know that multiple members of a household often want to play the same game, and this is especially true if it's a browser-based MMO one, because concurrency of access isn't so critical (ie it's not like trying to play 2 WoW accounts on one computer!).  So households with only one PC gravitate to MMOs like Illyriad if they want to play the same game.

Until we have multiple server instances up and running we didn't want to limit one-PC households from playing.

However, it is distinctly possible that Server 2 (and servers thereafter) will have a one-account restriction, but we're a way away from there.

We are, however, actively monitoring usage of the multiple account system, especially regarding the rule "2. Towns set up largely for the purpose of sending resources to your primary town are not permitted. If you infringe this rule you will receive a warning, and if you continue to infringe this rule, a suspension or ban."  and we expect to come out with some concrete guidelines on what entails "largely for the purpose of sending resources".   iirc, Travian used to define this as 'sending no more than 1 hours worth of your city's production to the same city in a 24hr period', and this might be the route we go down.


Edited by GM Stormcrow - 07 Apr 2010 at 23:42

joekewl wrote: haha, ok, if thats how you want to call it. Its not about multiple people... there are provisions for that as well. Its about multiple accounts per person. It is a difficult thing to police but I know of several players with more than one account. They are the same player not spouses or roommates.

It's not "a difficult thing to police", joe - it's an impossible thing to police if an individual is determined to run multiple accounts on the same server - and pretty much any game (that doesn't require a client download or licence key system) that tells you otherwise is simply not being truthful.  I think you'd be surprised at the number of players with multiple accounts on the same server in games that supposedly "enforce" a single account rule.

So yes, we could have put in an unenforcable, arbitrary rule that "people can't have multiple accounts on the same server" when both we - and they - know this is in practical terms an impossible rule to monitor or enforce.  Or we did as we did, bit the bullet and said "we permit this on this server" which is what we preferred to do.


Edited by GM Stormcrow - 08 Apr 2010 at 08:03

Hola,

Also most of the players from Webfusion all play on the same IP address.

If this was limited most of us wouldn't be able to log on :(

Telemikus wrote: Hola, Also most of the players from Webfusion all play on the same IP address. If this was limited most of us wouldn't be able to log on :(

Hey Telemikus,

Just borrow the server's IP address - we can't block that one

EDIT: For those who don't know, Webfusion are our (truly wonderful, excellent, beyond compare) server provider and hosting company for the gameservers.


Edited by GM Stormcrow - 08 Apr 2010 at 12:07