I've been thinking similar thoughts on game-driven automation, and knowing that bots are not allowed, it could only be done by an 'expert' NPC role in the city, perhaps using researched technologies and a building.
However, if such a thing were to appear (and I expect it will not), it would have to give a mediocre result, rather than the best result. I say this in the interests of game balance, because you want people to be able to find their own opportunities to do better than others (given a level playing field of opportunity), and having advisers of limited usefulness gives players the headroom to make a difference.
Also, the advisers cannot be too good at scheduling long build queues, because that would allow players to build without interacting with the game (players would be sleeping on the job!), and it would allow 'fraudulent' accounts to be created easily.
I actually have no objection to the long growth path that is open to a player. The same opportunity is offered to all players. I see objections where new players look at established players and see the capability gap: they think it is unfair that they can't yet play with the big toys. Conversely, I see the oldest players observing newer accounts growing more quickly than they themselves could. Broken Lands is a good response to these objections. Indeed, I believe there should be a new continent/server every couple of years, so that a land can be populated without the 'I'm powerful only because I got there first' advantage that is a consequence of a long growth period. For this to work, Illy needs a fast-growing player base: enough to keep filling continents, so that new players can grow in a lively land of opportunity.
Last, a slightly controversial statement: this game needs patience, time, a reasonably analytical or mathematical approach, and gratification is not instant. Illyriad is not for everyone; other games may satisfy their needs, and people should play whatever engages them. It's fine to say "this is not for me"; I just hope that before people reach that point, they gave it a good try.
Having said that, there might be scope for a 'Minillyriad' variant, where build times are shorter, buildings can only go to level 15, and the settler function is more generous. It would result in a very fluid game, but perhaps one where being offline for two days is disasterous.
Edited by Albatross - 19 Mar 2013 at 23:23
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is the game becoming too complex?
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Albatross wrote:
