Centre's Guide to Server 4 Politics

[Centre]

Well, here it is. Whenever you hear "what happened to MM" or "Is TCx going to win the server", you now know where to refer people. The ultimate source in server 4 politics, this guide will answer all you questions about the big dawgs as well as the lap dogs scratching at your leg.

Each part will aim to include maps, history, political situation, leader analysis, and other fun tidbits.

**Disclaimer** So comments may and will be based on my experience, and I am a Hoof member. I will make a concerted effort to be as fair as possible.

Here we go!

TCx
TCE, TCW, TCG, TCA, TCWW, TCTW
317 members, 1855 avg pop



TCx..., where to start? By far the biggest 'good' alliance on the server, TCx has been able to attain almost complete dominance over the SE quad. Let's explore their history a bit.

TCE was the original wing, and has been a top alliance since the beginning of the server. As most good alliances, they needed to expand to bring more high level players, but how did they get to 6 wings? It began after the nano TCE-MM war, which lead to MM dropping all their wings. TCE quickly scooped up the good players who were lost in the aftermath, and took care of the rest. Their expansion jumped again when the geist/tHEM meta began to unravel. Those major players jumped ship to TCx in order to stay alive. The training wing and waiting wing were created to hold smaller players, yet they seem to either not get much training or will wait forever. Seems like a spot for their smaller members, pop stacking maybe?

The map is 50/50 for TCx. TCE, TCW, and TCG all have good clusters. Yet, the other 3 are spread all over the map. TCA can thank this to Spartan Empires rampant and illogical recruiting efforts.

The main leaders of TCx are those of TCE, as far as I can discern. Captain and Kracken are both rather easy to work and communicate with. They are not push-overs and have the capacity to handle the full plate they have been served.

One might think, "with all these new players and large spread, how could TCx ever remain stable?" Good question. They recently moved players to cluster them by alliance, as seen with the 3 well clustered ones. The key issue is the trouble that might come about with so many players from other alliances. TCx has already seen one break, where isotamia (a player with leadership status I think) split with a dozen players. While it took TCx awhile to respond, they eventually were able to cata these renegades.

As for TCx's army capabilities, it is the same with most alliances on the server, no one knows much except the poor farms. TCx is bound to have some large hammers, though lost a valuable asset when Mr. Rogers stopped playing and let his account be taken over by sitters. Various reports have shown some disorganization in timed attacks, with large spread times and prats in clears. Who knows. They have propelled Sara into #2 defender.

TCx is allied with Hoof, their western neighbor and only alliance higher ranked. This allows both alliances to concentrate on local issues. There are a scattering of other alliances which do no amount to much. S.o.G. amounts to the largest threat TCx has in the SE atm, yet there are scattered reports that they may fall under the TCx tag soon. TCx seems to wage a war of recruitment more than armed conflict.

TCx has positioned themselves to have a dominant control on the SE for awhile to come. They need to be careful of extending themselves outside the SE though, as they do not have the numbers or concentrated villages out there. It will be interesting to see how TCx will preform whenever a real battle comes about.


S.o.G. and wings
S.o.G., S.o.I., SoG-K, S.o.G.H.
169 members, 1,142 aver pop



SoG is the other factor in the SE, yet there seems to be no conflict between them and TCx, they may even join the SE meta.

The main back bone of SoG comes from the former SEA alliance. They decided to join the now failed geist/tHEM meta, yet split within a couple weeks. SoG benefited from their brief membership by picking up the top two players on the server, as well as others. They now hold tight in the SE, trucking along.

The main cluster of SoG is pretty good, yet they have a number of players an all wings scattered around their fringe. Those players might be in trouble if anything hits the fan.

The list for leadership is long, yet from observation, there are a couple central leaders. Atrowe is a good diplomat, though at times is distracted and has an odd elbow fetish. Shackleton knows his way around the server, and along with JBrooks provide strong, though at times conflicting advice. She, the stated main leader, did not impress me much from my only contact. Not rude, but desperate sounding.

The main issue facing SoG is whether to join the TCx meta, and their leaders are not all in agreement from reports. If they join, the SE is locked down. If not, the quad might finally see a little action.

SoG has shown some of their military force on AoM recently, with mixed results. Shack and JBrooks both have the ability to raise an army quickly if the need arises.

SoG remains mostly allied ot geist/tHEM remnants, which will not be much use to them. Their wings appear to be rather weak, perhaps remnants of old meta attempts.

The thing to watch here is their relation with TCx


ELITE
ELITE-N, ELITE-E
114 members, 1,707 avg pop



Elite, the fading star. Elite was once considered a top 4 alliance, but has slipped recently. Their tromping ground has included the NE, though IW and CMD are fast encroaching.

Elite seems to be losing members to the aggression of CMD as well as rather lethargic leadership. Reports say that CMD may be taking ELITE in as a wing in the near future, greatly consolidating the power in the NE. Will be interesting to see if the merger goes smoothly.

Some of their better members along with leadership have already crossed over, including the diplomat striker.

Their existing map cluster is pretty strong. Not too much fringe recruiting.

No intel reports have flowed their way to me about about ELITE military power, we I can not comment.

Key; will the merger happen and how will it go?


MM

Sidenote and History;

MM was a top alliance. Their leadership had real life issues come up and could no longer play travian. The alliance has essentially disbanded, while officially joining AoV. Notable members have also gone to Hoof and CMD.

Past history: MM was a NW alliance, and shared their territory with AoV. They began to take wings that were based in the SE. These wings, COL and SEC namely, were extremely autonomous. They decided to take a TCx dispute into their own hands, and attacked many of TCx's top players. MM realized how foolish their wing policy was, and subsequently dropped them. MM then followed a normal route, until its leaders became inactive and it is now in the process of dissolving.


NSR
NSR-W, NSR-E, NSR-C
146 members, 1,842 avg pop



NSR is the freshly reorganized AoV. The dominant force in the NW, NSR has not had much competition past their borders. MM, the only other major NW alliance, has disbanded, with many members flowing into NSR.

NSR has been a rather aggressive alliance. They have shown pretty good coordination in some practice cata runs, as well as hitting some PBROD villages.

Their map shows their restructuring went very well, with good wing clustering.

It is not always clear who the leader of NSR is, as each wing has a pronounced leader. However they operate, they do it pretty well.

They do have the loss rocket we all know and love as GSS, affectionately run by blah. Always leaving a cryptic comment or a random attack; NSR may have a future problem if they can not control their player. We'll see what evolves.

Overall, they have a good hold on the NW, especially with the incorporation of MM.

[Centre]

CMD
I am including IW as they work closely with CMD
CMD, IW
CMD: 35 members, 2,791 avg pop
IW: 59 members, 1,637 avg pop



Cute, huggley, and willing to spread their joy, CMD is by far the most elite group of players on the server. Having about 20 members less than most top alliances, they still have secured their spot in the top.

CMD came about with Hugglebear bringing together good players form other servers to come together. Their aggression is over-shadowed by their care for everything cute, yet I would not want to be a threatening player any where near their territory.

Their map is good, with clustered spots covering the NE.

CMD easily has the most powerful armies, especially for their size. Their communication only adds to the power they wield.

IW was a quiet power in the NE, and wisely decided to become close with CMD. While it was not a merger, it is probably the strongest ally in the game.

Hugglebear as a leader has an ear in everything, and always appreciated a friendly IGM.

The rumored merger with Elite would solidify CMDs NE dominance.


PBROD
PBROD, TMOD
117 members, 1,180 avg pop

http://travianmap.nl/data.php?ser=24...d&g=1&direct=1

PBROD, another example of when wings go bad. PBROD is a defensive oriented alliance, centered around the center.

For a while, PBROD was a single wing defensive powerhouse. They decided to wing up with BHOD. The decision proved ill-advised, as the wing could not overcome having a multitude of farms. BHOD was dropped a couple days ago, whil TMOD was picked up as a stronger wing.

Their map is a little worrying; it has a large spread. Favonious described it as a shot gun blast, good analogy.

Their leadership know their stuff, with rathe at the head. He is loyal to his players, though to times to a fault.

Overall a good core of players, though they have to exercise a little to keep off the fat.


M-E
M-E, M-E NW, M-E NE2
101 members, 1,173 average pop

http://travianmap.nl/data.php?ser=24...2&g=1&direct=1

M-E, another power in the NE. They were a wing of MM before the downsizing.

I don't know too much about them, as they are not close. Becoming independent a ways into the server, their network of connections appears to not be up to par. This could seriously hurt them.

The map is, well, scary. The main wing has a decent cluster, but the wings are simply frightening. A shotgun has a smaller spread.

The weak wings are obviously a larger liability than asset, due to both size and location.

It will be interesting to see how long M-E will stick around.


-=INV=-
INV, INV-C, INV-RUSH, INV-WP, INV~HV
226 members, 707 avg pop

http://travianmap.nl/data.php?ser=24...V&g=1&direct=1

INV, I will keep my personal views out of this, I hope.

INV is a SW based alliance, and has been around since the beginning. When 4hoa and UTF broke up, many of their members fled to INV. They made a brief appearance in the geist/tHEM meta, but were wise enough to quickly leave. The other curious aspect is from early on, INV decided to move out to the boonies, around -200 -200. Time will only tell if this approach will pay off.

Looking at the map, it is clear to see the migration policy. The wings are a bit disturbing, as they are all over the SW. INV may benefit from regional restructuring.

Originally, supremeone was their leader. He had a nasty little habit of not being too honest, but INV has since corrected their leadership.

They seem to have a knack for ECs, which is a tad confusing. Their armies have not seen much battle, and capabilities unknown, though estimated to be a click below average.

From reports, they work with Phantom a lot, and do hit Hoof every so often. INV does have some weight to throw around in the SW.

To watch; What will happen between Hoof and INV, and will the migration tactic work.


AoM
AoM, AoM-TCJ
83 members, 1,181 avg pop



AoM, always trying to fly under the radar.

AoM is a SW based alliance, predominantly on the eastern edge. They have recently taken in a wing, though have done so wisely. It is not spread all over, but well clustered. AoM's history only really has an early war against SMTH, which they won, and SMTH has recently quit the server.

Thanos, the leader, is a down to earth guy who can always be found on IRC.

AoM seems to be a little more defensive oriented, but can give a good warning to anyone who messes with their members.

The alliance has few allies, and seems to currently determining their future with regards to Inter-alliance relations.

Solid enough to stick around for awhile.


Phantom
Phantom
50 members, 1,191 avg pop



Phantom, the remnants of the original Ghost. Ghost started as a top 4 alliance. Since the beginning of the server, Ghost recruited up to 8 wings, spread all across the board. They fatefully decided into a meta with CP, INV, SEA, IMP, and others. Utter lack of communcation and the vastness of numbers lead to the downfall of the meta. Phantom emerged as the SW wing left.

Wild Bill and the ever present Whisperwoman took the reigns from Grym. Lead by this pair, the things never could be boring. The combination of aggression form Bill and literary smarts from whisper are definitely combination. They both were the leaders of Britania, which failed. To Bill's credit, he does appear to care or his members.

Phantom seems to be challenging some of Hoof's outer villages. We will see if they have the capability to continue.

The map is ok, though it tends to spread out at the ends.

Overall, the thing to watch here is whether Phantom's leadership will be able to keep them a float.


And now, for everyone's favorite alliance...........

HOOF
Hoof, Hoofwarz
113 members, 2,641 avg pop



Hoof, the bully of the server. I will try to be as objective as possible, I promise.

Hoof started the server as one of the top 4 alliances (Hoof, TCE, Ghost, and Elite). They were able to recruit well and were very aggressive in farming. An early issue with 4hoa lead to a small war, where 4hoa eventually disbanded. Other alliances (UTF, Tang, USSV) have all attempted mass attacks on Hoof, and have subsequently disbanded. Hoof has a couple other alliances in the SW to think about, and does not have a complete grasp on their quad.

The map shows a huge cluster around the center, with a strong presence in the SW. They do have the random scatterings of villages on their fringe.

I will not comment on leadership, too much bias both ways.

Hoof is allied to TCx, effectively eliminating any major conflict on the server.

Hoof has been able to show great coordination in some attacks. Darth Solo has been an obvious failing point for Hoof's military, easily propelling him to the number one defender.

The communication on Hoof is one of their greatest assets.

Overall, Hoof is in a good position. They need to lock down their quad first, then look to endgame threats. We will see what future interactions lead to.


So, now that the reviews are over, I will leave you with some comments on the history and the future of the server.

geist/tHEM Meta:

This was the first attempt of a major meta on the alliance. Members of Ghost, INV, SEA, CP, IMP and others all collaborated in an attempt to control the server. Their failings were many. The meta was not able to bring in enough top level players, it brought in too many players, and it lacked communication. The final nail in the coffin was when major wings decided to leave. Now, a geist tag usually denotes farm.

Areas to Watch

South East;

Will TCx be able to finish obtaining total control, and will they be able to break TAO?

South West;

Will Hoof be able to establish themselves in the whole SW? How ill INV's immigration plan work out?

North East;

Will CMD continue to gain control? Can they be stopped?

North West;

Will NSR (AoV) be challenged?

[i get by]

not bad... very unbiased and covering most major histories

[Knight]

Impressive!

objective and informative.. very nicely done.

[Tony B(C)]

I really enjoyed reading this, very informative and unbiased. Can you do my American Gov. papers?

[Count Vermandois]

Nice work Centre, good read and way to keep up on your history.

[Skiron]

Well done! Nice to hear someone noticed the merger . I'm tired of hearing, "Oh NSR, AoV just changed names". Anyway nice work.

[Tivoside]

Good read, well put together.

[Chupa]

Originally Posted by Centre CMD I am including IW as they work closely with CMD CMD, IW CMD: 35 members, 2,791 avg pop IW: 59 members, 1,637 avg pop Cute, huggley, and willing to spread their joy, CMD is by far the most elite group of players on the server. Having about 20 members less than most top alliances, they still have secured their spot in the top. CMD came about with Hugglebear bringing together good players form other servers to come together. Their aggression is over-shadowed by their care for everything cute, yet I would not want to be a threatening player any where near their territory. Their map is good, with clustered spots covering the NE. CMD easily has the most powerful armies, especially for their size. Their communication only adds to the power they wield. IW was a quiet power in the NE, and wisely decided to become close with CMD. While it was not a merger, it is probably the strongest ally in the game. Hugglebear as a leader has an ear in everything, and always appreciated a friendly IGM. The rumored merger with Elite would solidify CMDs NE dominance.

I'm very happy with the CMD / IW alliance. I don't think I've ever worked so closely with another group before with as much success without actually being under the same tag.

Also, kudos on the report Centre, you covered a lot of ground most previous reports haven't and provided more than just the basic numbers. Numbers get you so far individually - but without other major skills such as communication, coordination, and diplomatic ability, numbers don't mean squat - and you looked further into those things.

-Creature (IW)