Time for a New Monarch?

“Alot of people seem to be sick of the current Monarch and are saying it in private channel. But lets actually bring this in to the public and do something about it,” began Stephen James Bloor (Establishment).  Is this the true feeling of the kingdom?  Well, let’s take a look at some facts and opinions and see.

 Well, as tiresome as some people may find Kathy’s reign, it is not the longest reign in KOTW history.  Let’s look at the top three longest reigns of the monarchy (note: two kings Brian and Craig Parrish are excluded from this analysis as their records have been lost.)

• The longest period of consecutive days as King or Queen was by Kim Williams who reigned from October 24, 2007 - December 3, 2007.  However, totally, Kim was queen for 60 days.
• Kathy has the second longest reign of consecutive days, having been queen since April 24, 2008.  She has been queen for a total of 22 days.
• Yohanes Hermawan only reigned for 10 day periods at the longest, but he was king for a total of 22 days as well.

So, as we can see, Kathy’s reign has not been the longest in either consecutive days or total time.  But perhaps it isn’t the length of time that is wearying the people.  Maybe things have changed since Queen Kim’s reign.  Actually, this probably is true.  The queen or king plays a much more significant role than they once did.  The main reason for this is they simply have more publicity and opportunities for propaganda.    As Janet Hurely said, “I still don’t like nor support the “Queen of Firsts” column in The Record, which inspired me to start the group, along with others who agree, many of which have been playing for a while I might add.  If The Queen is entitled to promote herself in a blog, then we are entitled to join a group to discuss future plans. Nothing wrong with that, we deliberately didn’t even make it secret.”  The queen being able to promote herself over an extended period of time is one of the reasons some people are tiring of her as queen.

The group that Janet is referring to is a group she created called, “Best to Shut Up.”  Their purpose?  As their group page says, “For supporters of a new monarch and a free press.”  Currently there are 28 members, and that number is growing.  Members include leaders of alliances such as Establishment, Remnant, Exodus, and other key independent players.

Why don’t they just dethrone Kathy?  The problem is, Kathy has 205,266,961 more gold than the second place citizen, Joe Sciarrino.  Then it comes to the question of who the next monarch would be.  Will it be Joe, Princess Sam’s boyfriend Nicho Kelly, or Dulitha?  In order to overcome Kathy, these players will have to work together.  The question is…will they?

Letter from Concerned Citizen: The Queen, Her Consort, and Their Reign of Terror

The following article was sent to Crown Prince in protest to Queen Kathy’s post about the Remnant in her paper. 

So apparently the Queen is of the opinion that,

“Will they do what we have seen so many times? Will they run and hide in other alliances on a temporary basis only to emerge later as a united front? Will the make friends with others, gain their trust, and then leave them once it suits to get back together? We’ve seen this tactic before. We’ve seen alliances join others for protection only to leave them high and dry after stealing secrets and coveted alliance information.” (In reference to the Alliance the Remnant)

So wait… Exiles are hiding in other alliances and I don’t see her verbally attacking them…hmm must be because their leader is working with her consort that she do not mention their actions…

“Or will they simply stay together under a new name, as to get away from all the agreements that they have with alliances. After all, your alliance may have an agreement with Remnant, not whatever the new name of the alliance will be. A technicality, but a deal breaker nonetheless.”

From what I hear her dear consort attacked his own friends just the other day. He struck down what? 3 friends in one night? Who has Remnant betrayed? Have they broken their pacts with VC and Exodus? I think not. Nor did they break their pact with the former alliance Outlaws. And how can she condemn Vic Woo for taking 5 Remnant BS and them letting him rejoin when Kanul of Anarchy is at this moment doing the same. Why has he not been called out too? He has taken 9 BS from his own alliance in the last two or 3 days, and was welcomed back. Again she is calling out the flaws of Remnant and ignoring even worse flaws within other alliances. Where is the justice the Queen claims she stands for? Where is she getting her information because it is clearly flawed. Why is the Queen allowing one alliance to do the thing she is condemning another for?

“Have no fear, The Record will print a complete list of those Rems who were part of this reign of terror … regardless of the alliance of which they are part. And should they decide to stick together, then The Record will hope to include the new alliance’s information.”

Also, who will keep an eye on her and her consorts reign of terror? Does he not rival Remnant in BS? Does she not now have 17 CL’s? Did He not destroy a whole alliance without remorse while bottom feeding? Does she not tell her consort when her loyal subjects are coming out of protection? He seems to be picking them off right as they come out… Des she not take gold from her subjects but give no protection or gold in return? Did they both not abandon VC? So far all I have seen are 2 very selfish people who take and take and enjoy having power over the citizens of this great kingdom. All of her decrees have been to her benefit to protect her and her consort.

“The Record just hopes that none of the Remnant plans were spoiled through the release of this item. Perhaps this will cause them to be a little more tight lipped. Perhaps they are unaware of the informants in their midst … Don’t worry, Remnants, The Record will keep THAT secret.”

And I am sure the ranks of her alliances are not as secure as she believes. Trust me. They aren’t. Maybe the Queen should look inside for spies before speaking out spies in other alliances. Hmm and what does the public think of its Queen spying on them?? If she were truly a good and loved queen then why would she need spies? If you are truly the proper Queen you would love ALL of your people including Remnant.

I call for a show of support in the removal of a Queen who supports tyrants, takes from the people but gives no reward for your loyalty, abandoned her own alliance VC, and spies on her people. I call for a new Queen or King to step forth. One who can be trusted to work for the people in the name of ALL people, instead of for him or herself and their consort under the guise of it being in the name of the people! It is insulting to have a Queen who claims to be for the people but is instead using her people and their loyalty to her own ends.

Sincerely,
An Extremely Concerned Citizen

(Note: The Crown Prince assumes no responsibility for the posts sent to them, does not necessarily agree with the ideas presented in the post, and is honor-bound not to disclose the author of any anonymous article under any circumstance.)

Happy Mothers Day

Just wanted to say thanks to all the moms that put up with their kids and husbands playing KOTW 24/7 and for being understanding when we take up the computer all day because of an alliance invasion!  We love you, and happy mothers day!

Wanted: Dave the Rave

Nicho Kelly of the Remnant placed a bounty on the BS of Dave the Rave today.  “I will pay two million gold to each person that takes Dave The-Rave’s battle standard. That is all.”  But for those of you who find this tempting, don’t ignore Dave’s warning, “When you come to get my standard people, ask yourself one thing - why is someone who has 138 awf’s want me taken out.
That is because im currently on 43 IA’s and growing and if you have my BS u get sabbed ovr n ovr losing lots of structures.
Nicho i aint ever gonna stop until the BS is dropped, good luck attacking and defending with no barracks. ha ha”

Have fun you bounty hunters!  His link is:

http://apps.facebook.com/kingoftheworld/ViewUser.aspx?uID=590013074

Do you believe in love?

Many would call it impossible, or at the very least, unlikely.  How could someone with only 100 million gold hope to make someone king when the current queen had over half a billion?  Well, Sam Blake is trying to do just that.

Sam joined KOTW on Valentines Day as a present for her boyfriend Nicho Kelly.  Her goal?  To make Nicho king.  For the past several months, she’s been working hard to produce the most gold she possibly could.  She doesn’t ever intend on being Queen herself, simply satisfied to see Nicho be king.  On May 6th, Matthew R. (formally in the top ten, but inactive) returned to send his gold.  Now with 160,520,669 , she is still 301,583,921 short of her goal.  However, she is asking for KOTW to help her achieve her dream.  “As my motto says ‘Believe in Love? Send me gold!!’” commented Sam.

It still may seem like an impossible task, but in the words of Will Cather (a 20th century author), “Where there is great love, there are always miracles.”

Inside the Mind of Dulitha Ranatunga

It’s been said that in order to understand William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, you must first unlock his mind.  Well, KOTW is certainly not Shakespeare, and Dulitha is definitely no Hamlet, but the principle still applies.  Welcome back to another installment of Inside the Mind…

Dulitha Ranatunga, a 16-year-old from Australia, may appear to be a normal teenager, but when it comes to KOTW, he’s a dominating player, a force to be reckoned with with.  Dulitha began playing about a week after KOTW was created in order to beat his brother Thav.  Since then, he’s become a strong offensive player, wIth his 165 AWFs and 63 captured BSs. 

While not arrogant, Dulitha does enjoy his reputation.  “Favourite part of KOTW would have to be my influence, the fear of me and respect for me. I’ve always wanted it in a game, this is the only game i’ve actually achieved it. I’m surprised every time a random listens to me and tells me they worship the ground I walk on. “

Dulitha is in an alliance, but it’s his own…by himself…appropriately named, ME.  “I’m in an alliance all by myself because I’m awesome That being said, i pay the alliance tax, and could very well be in the best alliance out there. As to why? It all started out when alliances first came out, it was more of an explanation early on, and I fought against the likes of Alexandria (mainly Kim), Exodus (mainly sjb and bowman) as well as Sparta and some others. Got so much positive feed back from it and had fun that I’ve stayed fairly independent ever since.”

But Dulitha, and consequently ME has a special plan for world domination and destruction.  In approximately 100 days, Dulitha plans to destroy the world with teargas.  “The official plans for the alliance of me have been released (2nd of May, 08).
First 10 days: Swapping to CCs, target: 40 CC.
Next 10 days: Building 180 Dorms, 360 Farms, 100 RF
Next 50 days: Earning 20 mil/a day. target: 1 Billion Gold.
Next 25 days: Swapping to TGR. Get your gas masks ready.
Shortly after that: World goes boom. Bye bye every scholar and soldier in the game.
Next 20 days: Attaining 1000 farms.
Win.
This plan involves having 180, 000 SCHOLARS. Donations are welcome. Plan goes active soon.” 

Will it work?  Possibly…possibly not.  But that’s what is going on in the mind of Dulitha Ranatunga.

Time Stops

Time mysteriously stopped today starting at about 2:26 EST or 11:26 KOTW time.  Citizens were panicked.  Some tried to casually ignore the situation by reading the newspaper.  Others tried to calmly speculate as to what the problem was.  “i heard don is trying to be more personal with the game and he will be putting a special greeting on each players wall everyday at maintenance.” said citizen David Zissman.  

“I think it is server overload that occurs around maintenance,” Eric Axilbund commented. 

“Phew. I thought I broked it!!” Hope Stewart laughed while Justin Wigtion shifted the blame, “Lets just blame it on someone, like Gareth lol.
No offense Gareth, but you’re probably used to it.”

Still others reacted more emotionally.  “i need to yell, im getting withdrawal symptoms…does anyone have a brown paper bag? to stop me hyperventaliting???” Aaron Jackson screamed as he rocked back and forth uncontrollably in his chair. “[I'm] going to start banging my head off my walls in a min.”

Finally, the words of the creator Don put the world at peace, “I’m looking into the problem now. Thanks for your patience.”

In the words of Aaron Jackson, “Patience?? You have no idea how this is affecting us Don!” Oh well…

Calm Before the Storm?

I don’t know if anyone else has felt this, but I certainly have in the past few days and weeks.  Things are pretty quiet.  Yes, there have been upsets on the KOTW discussion boards and occasional attacks here and there, but no full out stay-up-all-day-and-night-’cause-your-alliance-needs-you wars!  KOTW has seen many phases like this before.  Often an extended period of war has been followed by an extended period of peace.  Then, before we know it, it’s full out war again.  But who will start it this time?  And who will be fighting in it?  KMD?  Anarchy?  Remnant?  Age of Heroes?  For now, we’re only left to wonder.  It’s just the calm before the storm…

Goodbye Carly

KOTW has lost another dear player, Carly Bryant.  Carly had been playing for several months.  She started in Exodus and then moved to Caledonia during the Exodus split.  From there she went to Knights of the Round Table, and then created her own alliance.  She left the game for a time due to cancer treatments, but returned just over a month ago.  She lost her battle against cancer on April 30.

Carly was a special KOTW friend of mine.  We met first in Exodus, but when I left to join Ross and Jason in Caledonia, she was one of the first people to come along.  She was dedicated to the game and loved the people in it.  She was loyal and someone I could rely on to be there for me.  She was a beautiful friend…  And Carly, since I didn’t get to say it to you before, I’m going to say it now:  Goodbye, I love you and miss you!

Carly’s link: http://apps.facebook.com/kingoftheworld/ViewUserWall.aspx?uID=1179202299

Bottom Feeding?

In another KOTW paper, the author brought up the topic of bottom feeding.  He saw it as one group of people taking advantage of another, weaker group of people.  Those who bottom feed “have no honor.”  In the KOTW discussion boards as well, the topic of bottom feeding has at times surfaced.  This got me thinking…a lot of people and alliances bottom feed.  Many people see bottom feeding as dishonorable, but it’s still legal.  Should it be?

There are ways to both justify and condemn bottom feeding.  For those who would try to justify it, one could say that bottom feeders do not truly have an advantage at all.  The way points are calculated, a bottom feeder won’t have any overpowering military power.  Their AWFs and troop numbers easily match those surrounding them.  For example, one player may have 2 AWFs and 15k troops whereas another player in range of them has 12 AWFs but only 6k soldiers.  Therefore, a bottom feeder truly has no military advantage over the others in their rank.

However, bottom feeders do have knowledge that other players in near rankings do not.  They know what gives them points, what the ratios and formulae are, and what buildings will help them most.  With this knowledge, they can easily win a “battle of wits.”  Also, many bottom feeders have alliances with high AWFs to back them.  They, unlike many low ranked independent players, can afford to attack with all they’re troops, knowing that their alliance will be there to back them.  This makes it very easy for them to win BSs and increasingly difficult for them to lose their own.

I realize this isn’t a full analysis of the rights and wrongs of bottom feeders, and there are many other opinions out there, so I want to open this up for discussion.  Do you believe bottom feeding is wrong?  If so, what steps should be taken to stop bottom feeders?