Multi-Player Caveats

[Zorachus99]

Hi,

I've been following in 'lurk' mode for a few years, as I gave up again on hope. After all I've been waiting 22 years.... I've grown old, and Windows 95 doesn't exist any longer.

Beyond the present aches and pains I have a few questions about multiplayer.

1) PBEM: 2 Players only? Totally ok with it if so

2) Online: 2 Players only at release?
2a) To convince people to buy the game, more than 2 players would be really good
2b) I've got several people I can browbeat into buying, but what would happen if:
i) A player quits and the remaining players want to continue (assuming a 4 player game moving on with 2 or 3)
ii) A player quits and someone else wants to take his position (assuming 2+ player game)
iii) FWIW 5&6 player games are incredibly difficult to organize in the 'real world' can we have more players soon?
iiii) I am extremely bored with 2 player games, the plotting, organizing and arguing are the meat of any fun group of friends. Playing 1v1 is so bad, you can do better by not talking sadly. But 2v2 games quite a bit of fun for balancing player skill and reducing the onerous task of moving 1000's of counters in real time. Not to mention the psychological warfare part of it

I'd like to selfishly add, keep getting those walks in

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Zorachus99

Hi,

I've been following in 'lurk' mode for a few years, as I gave up again on hope. After all I've been waiting 22 years.... I've grown old, and Windows 95 doesn't exist any longer.

Beyond the present aches and pains I have a few questions about multiplayer.

1) PBEM: 2 Players only? Totally ok with it if so

2) Online: 2 Players only at release?
2a) To convince people to buy the game, more than 2 players would be really good
2b) I've got several people I can browbeat into buying, but what would happen if:
i) A player quits and the remaining players want to continue (assuming a 4 player game moving on with 2 or 3)
ii) A player quits and someone else wants to take his position (assuming 2+ player game)
iii) FWIW 5&6 player games are incredibly difficult to organize in the 'real world' can we have more players soon?
iiii) I am extremely bored with 2 player games, the plotting, organizing and arguing are the meat of any fun group of friends. Playing 1v1 is so bad, you can do better by not talking sadly. But 2v2 games quite a bit of fun for balancing player skill and reducing the onerous task of moving 1000's of counters in real time. Not to mention the psychological warfare part of it

I'd like to selfishly add, keep getting those walks in

I have the design worked out for that, but not the code. Up to 6 players over the internet will be added post-release at no additional cost.

The general design is that one player on a side is the team leader. If players leave, then the team leader can assign someone else to pick up the game for the absent player. If the team leader leaves, then another player on that side can become team leader. There will have to be a provision for sending a saved game to the new player to get him/her started. That's the tricky bit of code since saved games record which major power(s) the player restoring the game controls.

[petracelli]

Really pleased to read this is in hand Steve as wif is best served as a 4 player dish!

[petracelli]

Steve

Can I make a suggestion that any member of a team should be able to log on or reply to a qiestion about CAP.

Cheers

Phil

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: petracelli

Steve

Can I make a suggestion that any member of a team should be able to log on or reply to a qiestion about CAP.

Cheers

Phil

Players already have the ability to turn off CAP questions: by air mission phase, by major power. So if you so not want to be asked, that subphase can be skipped.

CWIF had some stuff about "lending units" to other players on your side (i.e., between major powers), but that got pretty confusing pretty fast.

I think just keeping the decision making locked in for the player who owns each unit is a better way to go. It avoids: "I thought you were going to do that!" and "Why did you move my units? I was planning on ..."

[petracelli]

Sounds like you have dealt with that really well already.