PBEM Sequence

Post here to meet players for PBEM games and generally engage in ribbing and banter about your prowess.
Post Reply
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

I'll make a few comments on the PBEM system, as I think it's great but it's not typical so it may be confusing to some.

Since this is a "WEGO" game we saw that we could allow players to always be e-mailing two files at a time after initial setup, rather than one at a time. This speeds up play considerably.

The basic idea is that if there are two phases to a turn and you have your opponent's file with his orders for the first phase, you can complete your orders for the first phase, watch the execution and add your orders for the second phase. Then send both phases to him. He watches the first to see what happened. He then adds his orders for the second, watches the execution and gets to put in his orders for the first phase of the next turn. etc.

This makes for speedy PBEM play. The only exception is at the very beginning. You have to both agree on a scenario, then both do setup at the same time, then one player gets both setup files and starts with one phase of orders for Turn 1, before sending it off. From there on, it's always two phases at a time as noted above.

So here's the basic sequence:

1. Both players agree on a scenario and agree who plays each side
2. Each player separately starts that scenario as a multiplayer PBEM and completes their setup
3. Player 1 sends his setup file to Player 2, so that he has both setup files. Player 2 now has both setups and can do the Orders Phase for Turn 1. He sends Turn 1 Orders to Player 1.

--- That concludes the initial setup portion, from here on it rolls...

3. Player 1 loads Turn 1 Orders, adds in his orders, watches it execute. He then continues into Turn 1 Reaction and puts in his orders for that. He then sends those two phases to Player 2.
4. Player 2 gets to watch Turn 1 Orders execution, enters his orders for Turn 1 Reaction, watches that play out. Then puts in his orders for Turn 2 Orders and sends back those last two phases.

... etc.

Regards,

- Erik
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

Ok, I've decided to do a picture tutorial as some folks have reported confusion on how this works. I'm going to walk through the first two turns of a PBEM game from both sides.

First, select a scenario and pick sides. Both players agree on this.

I'm going to be both virtual players, let's call them Andrew and Bob. They agree on the scenario "Return Road to Kharkov". Andrew will play Germans, Bob will play Soviets.

Andrew launches his game and clicks on the Multiplayer button.

He types in a name for his game (in this case "AndrewvsBob") and a password (in this case "test"). He then clicks on New Game.



Image
Attachments
PBEM1.jpg
PBEM1.jpg (222.96 KiB) Viewed 949 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

The scenario selection screen show up, and Andrew chooses "Return Road to Kharkov" as the German Side, as agreed.



Image
Attachments
PBEM2.jpg
PBEM2.jpg (206.24 KiB) Viewed 948 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

This brings Andrew to the Purchase screen and he purchases his forces and clicks Start to do his Setup.

Image
Attachments
PBEM3.jpg
PBEM3.jpg (207.49 KiB) Viewed 948 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

Andrew now does his Setup. When he's done setting up his forces, he ends the setup phase and receives a prompt to send his file to his opponent. Since this is the Setup phase and he has nothing else to do, he's done.

He exits the game and e-mails the Setup file in his /PBM/Outbox folder to his opponent.

Image
Attachments
PBEM4.jpg
PBEM4.jpg (215.93 KiB) Viewed 948 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

Bob just received Andrew's Setup file. He saves the file to his /PBM/Inbox folder. Files you receive go in the Inbox. Your own saves to send out are found in the Outbox.

Bob does exactly the same thing Andrew just did, except that he does his Setup for the same scenario from the Soviet side. He decides on "BobsTurns" as his game name and also on "test" as his password.


Image
Attachments
PBEM5.jpg
PBEM5.jpg (224.67 KiB) Viewed 948 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

Here's where things get different. Bob completes his setup and gets the message to send it to Andrew.

But Bob also already has Andrew's setup file. So he can keep going for the next phase.



Image
Attachments
PBEM6.jpg
PBEM6.jpg (196.52 KiB) Viewed 948 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

Since Bob already has both Setup phases, he can also do his Turn 1 Orders before e-mailing both his Setup Phase and his Turn 1 Orders back to Andrew.

So after exiting to the Main Menu, Bob clicks the Multiplayer button again.

He sees his own Setup phase, so he clicks on it and selects Load Game.





Image
Attachments
PBEM7.jpg
PBEM7.jpg (226.07 KiB) Viewed 948 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

He is then asked which file to Merge with it. Since it's the Setup phase, you merge your opponent's Setup phase with it. You always merge the same turn+phase with the same turn+phase. Bob selects Andrew's Setup phase and enters his own "test" password and clicks on Merge Files.



Image
Attachments
PBEM8.jpg
PBEM8.jpg (222.13 KiB) Viewed 948 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

The scenario immediately loads and puts Bob in his Turn 1 Soviet Orders.

Bob completes his orders and ends the phase. He once again gets the message to send his files back to his opponent, Andrew.

Since Bob has no more phases of Andrew's to merge, he is now done and sends both his Setup and Turn 1 Orders to Andrew.



Image
Attachments
PBEM9.jpg
PBEM9.jpg (288.39 KiB) Viewed 948 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

Ok, back to Andrew and the Germans.

Andrew just got an e-mail with Bob's Setup Phase and Bob's Turn 1 Orders. Andrew puts both of these in his /PBM/Inbox folder.

Andrew launches the game, clicks on Multiplayer and chooses his own Setup phase to Load (currently still the only file in his Outbox).





Image
Attachments
PBEM10.jpg
PBEM10.jpg (226.63 KiB) Viewed 950 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

This brings up his Inbox and he carefully clicks on Bob's Setup phase so that he can merge it with his own. He types in his "test" password and clicks Merge Files.





Image
Attachments
PBEM11.jpg
PBEM11.jpg (223.78 KiB) Viewed 950 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

This immediately loads the scenario and puts Andrew in his Turn 1 Orders. He now enters his orders and when he clicks to End the Phase, he gets the dialog reminding him to e-mail this file to his opponent Bob.

However, Andrew just merged his Setup files. He has not yet merged his new Turn 1 Orders with the Turn 1 Orders he received from Bob, so he can do another phase.



Image
Attachments
PBEM12.jpg
PBEM12.jpg (165.1 KiB) Viewed 950 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

Since he still has Bob's Turn 1 Orders to merge with the Turn 1 Orders he just finished, Andrew does that. He's back at the Main Menu so he clicks Multiplayer again and this time he chooses his Turn 1 Orders to Load.



Image
Attachments
PBEM13.jpg
PBEM13.jpg (200.94 KiB) Viewed 950 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

He then selects Bob's Turn 1 Orders to Merge Files. (always merge the same turn and phase with the same turn and phase)



Image
Attachments
PBEM14.jpg
PBEM14.jpg (195.83 KiB) Viewed 950 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

This immediately loads the Scenario. Since Andrew is now past the Setup phase and merging the two Turn 1 Orders files, he starts by watching the Turn 1 Orders replay.

The screen starts with the replay ready to run. Click the pause/play button to start it.

Image
Attachments
PBEM15.jpg
PBEM15.jpg (160.81 KiB) Viewed 950 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

During the replay, you can pause it, change speed, etc. as normal.


Image
Attachments
PBEM16.jpg
PBEM16.jpg (161 KiB) Viewed 950 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

Once Andrew finishes watching the Replay, he clicks the Continue button.



Image
Attachments
PBEM17.jpg
PBEM17.jpg (161.35 KiB) Viewed 950 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

This brings him to his Turn 1 Reaction Phase. Andrew does his reaction orders and when he clicks to End the Phase, he gets a reminder to e-mail his file to Bob.

Since Andrew has no Turn 1 Reaction Phase from Bob yet, he's now ahead of Bob again and is done loading and merging files. Andrew sends both his Turn 1 Orders and Turn 1 Reaction files (the two newest in his /PBM/Outbox folder) to Bob.


Image
Attachments
PBEM18.jpg
PBEM18.jpg (165.88 KiB) Viewed 950 times
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
User avatar
Erik Rutins
Posts: 39324
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2000 4:00 pm
Location: Vermont, USA
Contact:

RE: PBEM Sequence

Post by Erik Rutins »

Bob now receives an e-mail from Andrew with Andrew's Turn 1 Orders and Turn 1 Reaction. He saves both files to his /PBM/Inbox.

Bob's own most recent file is his Turn 1 Orders, so he starts by Loading that and Merging it with Andrew's Turn 1 Orders. As with Andrew, this starts him off at the Replay. Once he's done with that, he clicks Continue to do his Turn 1 Reaction.

When Bob finishes his Turn 1 Reaction, he gets a message reminding him to send it to Andrew. But he's not done, because he already has Andrew's Turn 1 Reaction so he has one more file to merge.

Bob goes back Multiplayer, Loads his own Turn 1 Reaction, Merges it with Andrew's Turn 1 Reaction and watches the Replay. After the Replay, he Continues to his Turn 2 Orders phase. Once that's done, he's now ahead of Andrew again and has no more files to Merge.

Bob now sends his Turn 1 Reaction and Turn 2 Orders (the 2 newest files in his /PBM/Outbox) to Andrew.


And so it continues... let me know if you have any other questions.
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


Image

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.
Post Reply

Return to “Opponents Wanted”