>Noble points are not the problem. I believe that the single biggest
>problem in olympia is the fact that old players who got a jump on
>the "lair cleaning" during the first few turns have a serious
>advantage over either players who did not participate (largely their
>fault) and newbies (faultless). This is particularly true as it
>allowed the "capture" of NPC's and control devices, along with
>prisoners. Thus some of the old factions have in excess of 50
>controlled units, something they did not get through accumulating
>NPs. While I enjoy the game tremendously, IMHO their is a serious
>flaw in how "labor assets" can be accumulated.
>
The older players indeed have serious advantage, but hey, why do we play
this games if not to overcome challenges. Sure, I would have loved to
test my skills on an even playing field against the group of older
players, and perhaps someday I will, but at the same time success will be
sweet indeed if I can overcome the inherent disadvantages that "newbies"
have in Olympia. I'm not going to brag about my acomplishments here, but
let's just say that at some point I expect to be able to present at least
a major annoyance to anyone I choose to annoy, no matter how established.
Success in a game like Olympia is based on the skill of the player, not
when he/she starts.
Not to say that there aren't problems with Olympia, but noble points,
IMHO, aren't one of them. That system works for me. Much worse is that
a noble with 10,000 dragons can enter an Inn... ;-)
Seriously, Rich, if you're reading this, my biggest problem is that
access to the areas where advanced magic can be learned are so easily
restricted. That, I think, is the major advantage the older players
have, and it isn't fair. Either it should be harder to restrict access
to Faery and the Cloudlands, or the magic skills taught there and only
there should be made available in other locations.