I enjoy this game quite a bit, and after playing a few single player campaigns I decided to jump into multiplayer. From the very beginning I found the game much more engaging and thrilling and I really enjoy it; however there are a few issues with the current multiplayer. Most of the games I have played are 6+ players so it may be different with smaller groups.



#1. A lot of players quit if they don't like their starting zone. I can understand the frustration about not being strong from the get go but you learn from being in those situations. From my experience it is pretty standard to have 2-3 players leave before turn ~50 in an 8 player game.



#2. A lot of players will simply give up or quit when they start to fall behind or they are struggling. Again I understand the feeling and the frustration, but it really takes from the thrill of the game to have people leave and just start a new game so abruptly.



#3. There are some bugs that cause the turn never to process and tend to end the game right there. Often someone will rehost the game but not everyone will come back.



#4. Games can last quite long, often a lot longer than I or others can potentially stay online.



#5. Disconnects, it happens in any online game.



I'm sure there are more to be named but those are the ones that I feel detract the most. From my understanding currently, if someone disconnects they can reconnect. Also, if there is an AI faction someone can join and take over the AI faction. I particularly like the idea of being able to jump into a game underway and play one of the AI, it brings unpredictability and a uniqueness to the game. The only negative with this though is that once someone joins the game and takes over the AI, the AI can no longer be played by anyone else; so if someone joined and played for a few turns and left, it was back to AI only and permanently (unless that same person rejoined later on).



My suggestion is to allow any currently AI controlled player be able to be taken over by someone joining the game. I believe this would be somewhat of a solution to people leaving the game prematurely while adding elements to different scenarios. I understand if someone disconnects that they wouldn't want some random person to take their spot over -- this can be solved with an allotted reconnect time or even just kick the new guy out if he reconnects. I'm sure the new guy wouldn't care too much since he is already joining a game underway anyway. It would also allow someone to rehost a game that had gone a ways but most had left, and relive that same period with a whole new touch or group of players. My original plan to counteract the issue was to just make a multiplayer game with all 7 AI and have people join to play whenever I was free to add a different element and feel to the game. I soon realized that once someone joined no one else could take over the AI and I was severely disappointed. It could also simply be an option enabled at the beginning of the match to "allow new players to enter game" or something like that. I understand that some players like the idea of a ranking system and it could be more of a custom option. Any input would be appreciated.