16-06-2003 15:21									#1
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Hey all,

Just a small question to clear something up for me. How does the handicap bonus work in Rise of Nations exactly?

Thanks.

	16-06-2003 15:40									#2
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good question Mr. McWho.

quite frankly...i have no idea, and would also like to know

	12-07-2003 00:57									#3
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Sorry I missed this question back in June. Here's the low down --

The handicapping system gives players the option of giving their opponents a boost in their resource income. By selecting a +2 by your name in the setup screen, for example, you are giving other players a small resource boost. Each point represents a small percentage increase to the rate at which their resources come in.

If you have a group of players of varying skill levels you can work the handicapping system like this to help even things up:

Joe_Expert +10
Fred_Beginner ...no handicapping selected
vs
John_Intermediate +8
Mark_Intermediate +8

So this 2v2 game has the expert player giving both of the Intermediate team guys a +2, while Fred_Beginner is enjoying a +8 to help make up for his lack of skillz. You will have to tinker with things if you're playing with your friends naturally and find the right numbers to give you a good game.

	12-07-2003 05:41									#4
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Thank you for answering my question Graham. Does clear it up now.

	13-07-2003 11:10									#5
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How much of a bonus does each + give? Is it linear?

I often offer handicaps to new players in the 1v1 games I host, but most of the time they don't know how to spend all those extra resources. I also find there seems to be a pretty significant difference between +5 and +15 -- +15 gives an insanely high bonus -- and it's 5 points away from the biggest handicap!!!

I agree with the approach I've seen suggested elsewhere that rather than giving extra resources to new players who might not be able to keep up with them, the handicap should reduce the resources obtained by the player with more experience. Perhaps it could even make research slower, too, like a scaled version of the expensive & slow research option.

This way the expert player would have to make do with less, and the less skilled player wouldn't be overwhelmed and end up building a dozen forts or a wonder in every city.

	15-07-2003 02:31									#6
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I think the way the handicap is set up now, the burden is kind of on the newb because he has to play differently than he usually would because he has extra resources. The expert can just do the same thing he does every game, knowing that the newb probably won't spend all of his resouces promptly and efficiently.

	15-07-2003 02:43									#7
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Yes. Might be advantageous to give units slight damage increase for beginners too.