How's the multiplayer?

[Singular They]

How long do matches really last? I saw estimates of an hour in the lead up to release, is that about how it's turned out? I would love a little shorter, 35 to 45, but is that not in the cards?

Also, how are queue times?

[Waterd103]

45 - 60 minutes
QM is so unpopulated that no games fire.
Custom games if at bad hours can take hours to start, at good hours generally you get a game in 30-60 minutes.

[Singular They]

Well that's unfortunate (about queue times). Oh well it was a great idea.

[Flap]

The discord is used to organise games. It seems relatively active.

[Niko Bellic]

Originally posted by Waterd103:

45 - 60 minutes
QM is so unpopulated that no games fire.
Custom games if at bad hours can take hours to start, at good hours generally you get a game in 30-60 minutes.

To be honest, I’m seriously concerned. The game developers clearly mentioned plans for a rating system in the game description on the store page. However, with an online where quick games are hardly gathered, and people are forced to wait for 30 minutes, these ideas become somewhat… questionable? Perhaps the developers were dissatisfied with how the early access release went and they’ve already shelved these ideas? Maybe it’s naive of me, but I would like to get some comment from the developers. I’ve already completed the game on easy difficulty and left a positive review to somehow boost the online presence. But now I’m not sure - should I continue playing, delve deeper into the game, and prepare for the fact that I can play this game seriously and in a few months enjoy real multiplayer with equally strong opponents without having to dance around in discord - or has it already become clear that this is hardly ever going to happen? Maybe not everyone will understand me, but for me there is a big difference - just getting a little acquainted with the game (which I’ve already done) or seriously playing this particular game.

[austincolevickery]

I feel like you should treat this more like a board game and plan on buying it for multiple friends. The cost of large scale space board games is around 100-150 dollars and they take 6 to 12 hours to play. This game played on the long version (150 points) with long turns can still be played in under 2 hours. I think it is worth it if you have a group of people to play with in a discord server. The communal aspect of this game is very good. But there really is not a fast enough queue for competitive solo play.