If you want to play multiplayer - dont buy it

[kojusoki1]

It so bloody laggy that it is COMPLETLY unplayable.

Wait for the patch, check the forum and buy only, when such "brillinat guys" like me, who bought the game in the very few hours after the release, say its FINALLY OK....

or waste money

[VadeS]

Have not tried yet ... but after all lags may reflects delay in giving orders [:D]

[kweniston]

Don't buy it for multiplayer, because it has a software lobby only. Once the funding for the lobby dries up somewhere in the future, multiplayer is gone.

[IainMcNeil]

Guys if you are having a problem please report to the tech support forum. The lobby is much improved on previous versions and it is much easier to play than ever before because of the routing server which avoid the need for bypassing your NAT firewalls.

[rmdesantis]

I have to agree with the original poster, although for different reasons. There is a lag, but that is something that can be tweaked and fixed. My problem is that the multiplayer game is largely unplayable due to fatal errors that occur. These have been reported to Matrix/Slitherine (check out the tech forums and you will see). If you only want to play one battle against an opponent, you might be able to get it to work, but if you want to invest the time in playing campaigns (as I do) then you may be in for disappointment. I really do believe that the multiplayer mode was not well tested because we found problems (my friend and I) within the first 30 minutes of playing the game and now the game has no value at all for me until they patch the program. It's a pity because it looks like a lot of hard work went into it, and I hope that the fix is fairly simple but so far, no patch is forthcoming. So, like the OP, I feel that as an early adopter (I bought the game the morning it was available) that I am giving Matrix/Slitherine money that they really haven't fully earned yet.
 
The bugs that are coming up are not things that are frustrating but can be dealt with while waiting for a patch (like tanks taking a strange path) - these are game stoppers in that they cause the program to completely crash (a variety of internal errors, etc). There is nothing the user can do in this instance, and the game is rendered unusable.
 
In short, if you want multiplayer, don't buy this game.... yet. Wait until they fix the problems. I hate having to pay to be a beta tester, but I guess this is a lesson for me to learn.
 
Mike

[VonManstein]

The big problem its your bad, really bad lobby for MP, who works bad. Its imposibble play in MP.

[vinss]

That lobby would be great for CC3. But if you ever seen a MP lobby in any other game, you would never agree on this less-than-basic lobby. No ping, no game info, no chat, no map name, nothing...
Please guys patch this game before chistmass!

[PipFromSlitherine]

You can chat in the lobby by hitting Enter at any time. The crash issues are something that wasn't seen in the extensive testing which happened, and we are working to get a fix out as soon as possible.

Iain has given the reasons for the new MP system, and we are going to work on dealing with any issues that you guys are seeing so that everyone can enjoy easy and smooth play. The more information you can give us on specifics the better.

Cheers

Pip

[VonManstein]

Yesterday, I was try to send or open a new post in the MP lobby, and another internal error appears: More or less, impossible to send or post the new message...

This afternoon, I was try again to play H2H, and the game go out to the screen during the date transmission, before star the battle.

[PipFromSlitherine]

ORIGINAL: VonManstein

Yesterday, I was try to send or open a new post in the MP lobby, and another internal error appears: More or less, impossible to send or post the new message...

This afternoon, I was try again to play H2H, and the game go out to the screen during the date transmission, before star the battle.

Can you give us the exact steps to recreate the lobby error. That is, what you need to press to cause a crash if it is repeatable.

With regard to the pre-battle issue, do you mean that it timed out while sending the initial data set?

Thanks for the details, they are very useful.

Cheers

Pip

[rmdesantis]

I'm sorry, but I have to ask. The problems that people are posting re: multiplayer issues (internal errors, lag time, etc) have come up so soon after launch that I wonder how intensively the entire multiplayer experience was tested. Did people really play a complete campaign game, for example, as beta testers H2H (through the mutiplayer lobby)? And they did not find these problems?
 
Mike

[Pvt_Grunt]

ORIGINAL: rmdesantis

I'm sorry, but I have to ask. The problems that people are posting re: multiplayer issues (internal errors, lag time, etc) have come up so soon after launch that I wonder how intensively the entire multiplayer experience was tested. Did people really play a complete campaign game, for example, as beta testers H2H (through the mutiplayer lobby)? And they did not find these problems?

Mike

Hi Mike

I was a BETA tester and I did not play any online games. There was no specific instructions to do so. I normally play (95%) of my CC as single player so I concentrated on finding errors in the graphics, strat map, supply map coding and the like.

I wish in hindsight we had done more multiplayer testing, obviously.

During testing the programmer was very receptive to changes, fixes, etc so I am confident a patch will be out soon.

Grant.

[kojusoki1]

Guys,
How about some discount on the next CC release for those who bought the game before patch fixing multiplayer comes out?
I think even the smallest one will be something to show that you do care for you custmores...
Michal

[IainMcNeil]

There was a significant multiplayer test, though not all beta testers took part in it. We're trying to work out why some of you have issues that we don't see. E.g. The team were online at the time of release and played a number of games against the community with no issues. Our best guess right now is that the beta team was mostly based on the US and the issues are related to connecting to the server from Europe and the rest of the world. Whatever the cause is we'll find it and get it fixed so please just bear with us. Thanks!

[kojusoki1]

It was Warsaw-London connection disaster
We both play WaR,TLD and LSA with completly no problems.

[IainMcNeil]

OK thanks for the info - we're looking in to it and that does match up with our initial thoughts.

[z1812]

I have a few Matrix/Sliterine games. I see that each has their own multiplayer room. Why not one room where all players can go to meet an opponent that you access through each game. That way there will be more players to meet and arrange games with.

In other words 1 lobby for all Matrx\Slitherine games. More convenient for players, and I should think more efficient for Matrix and Slitherine.

[rmdesantis]

In my case - I am in Ohio and my friend in NY City. Unless your lobby routes us through servers in Europe, then we were in the US.

The problem for us, quite specifically, was in running a campaign. We simply could not get into the second battle without the error. The first battle went fine. So my question stands - how extensively did playtesters actually test multiplayer in Campaign/Operations? Did people actually play an entire campaign/operation?

[PipFromSlitherine]

ORIGINAL: z1812

I have a few Matrix/Sliterine games. I see that each has their own multiplayer room. Why not one room where all players can go to meet an opponent that you access through each game. That way there will be more players to meet and arrange games with.

In other words 1 lobby for all Matrx\Slitherine games. More convenient for players, and I should think more efficient for Matrix and Slitherine.

Because different games have different game setup requirements. You could have a single lobby, but you would spend half your time asking people what game(s) they had or wanted to play. I'm not sure of the utility of a single lobby.

Cheers

Pip

[PipFromSlitherine]

ORIGINAL: rmdesantis


In my case - I am in Ohio and my friend in NY City. Unless your lobby routes us through servers in Europe, then we were in the US.

The problem for us, quite specifically, was in running a campaign. We simply could not get into the second battle without the error. The first battle went fine. So my question stands - how extensively did playtesters actually test multiplayer in Campaign/Operations? Did people actually play an entire campaign/operation?

Does this issue still occur if you make use of the quick fix zip which is posted in the Tech Support forum? This fixes a campaign crash which could well be the same problem you are seeing.

Cheers

Pip