[wakey]

The basic concept needs changed. Even when XP was introduced so you no longer had to play with the intention of complete annihilation of the player you were attacking it was still the easiest and safest way. So it was all too common to find players hitting those much smaller than themselves often in conjunction with another planet with the sole aim of wiping out the planets fleet if they weren't able to run their fleet. Once you lose all your fleet your rounds basically over and for many newer players it is enough to drive them away.

We need a game that forces smarter attacks and prevents complete annihilation while encouraging alliances of a similar level to go at it in a big way as the round developed. How to achieve this however I'm not sure but without a fundamental change its always going to be a game that almost requires it to be treated as a full time job rather than something that's fun