Some noob questions about multiplayer

[MrCrow]

Hi all,

I'm having a lot of fun playing this game by myself, but now I'm curious to try the multiplayer mode. I've read something about the PBEM++ system but I've still some questions about it. Keep in mind thet I've never played an online game with a system different from the classic head-to-head in real time, even with other turn-based games. So it's my first time with the PBEM++ system.

So these are my questions:

1) is there any time limit to play a turn? For example, if it is my turn, I've to play it in less then x days until it expires?

2) if there is an expiration time to play a single turn, what happen after it expires?

3) if there is NOT an expiration time, what can i do if my opponent doesn't play his turn for a very long time? Can i left the battle or it will remain hanged for an undefined time?

4) is there anything that can lead to an automatic ban?

5) just for information, I've read that PBEM++ is a modern version of the classic PBEM; can someone explain to me which are the differences between them?

Thank you,
MrCrow

[rbodleyscott]

Hi all,

I'm having a lot of fun playing this game by myself, but now I'm curious to try the multiplayer mode. I've read something about the PBEM++ system but I've still some questions about it. Keep in mind thet I've never played an online game with a system different from the classic head-to-head in real time, even with other turn-based games. So it's my first time with the PBEM++ system.

So these are my questions:

1) is there any time limit to play a turn? For example, if it is my turn, I've to play it in less then x days until it expires?

Not inherently. However, if one player does not play a turn for 7 days, the other player can claim the game as abandoned. If you are unavoidably unable to play for 7 days, telling your opponent in game chat should be sufficient for him to wait till you return.

The automated Slitherine tournaments have overall time limits for each round, and if that expires the player who was sitting on the game for longer overall gets timed out. The other player will get a BYE if insufficient turns have been played, and the timed out player may have his scored reduced depending on how many turns were played. If the timed out player played less than 6 turns in a round, he will be dropped from the tournament and not included in the draw for the next round.

2) if there is an expiration time to play a single turn, what happen after it expires?

There isn't.

3) if there is NOT an expiration time, what can i do if my opponent doesn't play his turn for a very long time? Can i left the battle or it will remain hanged for an undefined time?

The battle will be removed from the system after about a month, or you can claim it as abandoned by you opponent after 7 days. The latter is currently not working for Medieval.

4) is there anything that can lead to an automatic ban?

Deliberately crashing the game and reloading a turn in the hope it will play out more in your favour. Reloads are tracked by the system and can lead to a ban if deemed by the monitors to probably be deliberate.

5) just for information, I've read that PBEM++ is a modern version of the classic PBEM; can someone explain to me which are the differences between them?

The difference is that the data is sent back and forth automatically by the game and game server, not by emails.

[Ray552]

MrCrow:

1) No time limit to play a turn, but after seven days without any turns played, the person who is waiting for the other player can use the "End Stalled Game" button on the "My Games" screen to remove the game and send it to the "Completed" page.

2) and 3) I believe (but not sure) that the system will end a game and send it to "Completed" if there are no turns taken by either player for thirty days.

4) I don't think there's an automatic ban by the system, but I'm sure if people complained about an abusive player ("Git gud, n00b! u suXXor!"), Slitherine might have something to say to him. Hopefully you won't see any of that...

Some suggestions:

In non-tournament games, consider posting or accepting "mirror matches" in the lobby, where each player plays both armies in two separate games on the same map. That way, no one can complain about getting stuck with say, Ligurians against Parthians on a Steppe map

Check out SnuggleBunny's YouTube channel for videos of FOG2 (Ancient and Medieval) MP games.

It's traditional to post "Good luck, have fun" ("glhf") or something similar in the text message box when starting your game. Whether you and the other player choose to have a conversation is up to both of you, the interaction can range from "glhf" at the start and "gg" at the end (and nothing in between), to discussions of "best opening lines from crime fiction novels."

[Edit] Oops, RBS posted most of this already...

[MrCrow]

Thank you both!

Regards,
MrCrow

[MrCrow]

After trying the multiplayer mode and fighting some battles, i want to write just some personal considerations about what is missing in my opinion.

I personally suffer the lack of:

1) a generic lobby chat in which players that are online in that specific moment can talk in group or directly to arrange for the creation of challenges. It would be very useful.
2) the possibility to instantly remove a challenge that I've both created and joined. I think that this feature (the ability to fight a battle by yourself controlling both sides) is there to allow people to do some test/practice. But i find confusing that you can't remove it instantly and, if you surrender, it counts as "completed" like it was a battle between another player.
3) the possibility to have challenges in which the creator choose just the faction that he wants to use and then the other player choose the other when he accepts the challenge.
4) a report that state how many battle you won and loose. After a battle is completed, the result is not even reported in a column inside the "Completed" lists
5) a player ranking system or something similar. When i play with someone, I've not idea of his experience level. It would be useful to create more fair challenges
6) the possibility to set a battle time in days that automatically ends the battle if you reach it (something similar to the "round time" used in tournament).

Anyway I've really enjoyed the time spent playing online and i will for sure continue

[Ray552]

About your item #2 - you don't have to create a game in multiplayer to play both sides, you can do that in single-player using the "hotseat" mode.

The hotseat mode is activated by a button in the right column of "Game Settings and Preferences". It will stay on for one game, then switch off after the game is completed.

About #5 - as I mentioned above, the only way I can figure out to provide a fair challenge is to post mirror matches. I'm not sure how knowing the other player's experience level would help, since you have no control over who is going to pick up your posted challenge anyway (unless you have regular practice opponents, then you can set up password-protected matches between yourselves.)

There are player rankings in the manually-run tournaments hosted on the Ancient and Medieval forums (not the automated Slitherine tourneys, which use the Swiss system), and players in those tournaments are organized into divisions by experience, and promoted or relegated depending on their performance.