Mail-order online games?

[Freshairkaboom]

With the introduction of online game speed, I think it'd be a perfect opportunity to introduce mail-order online games. What do I mean by that? Well, basically, you do your turn, save the game and then it is automatically transferred to someone else. Then they do their turn and send it back. No reason to stay at the computer at the same time.

This would be extremely helpful for people who are too busy to sit down and play for hours upon hours, but has a few free moments in their lives. It's also perfect with the online speed, because it packs so many moves into one turn, because you'll probably have lots of units, cities etc. very fast. Also you can finish a game faster, making it actually seem like a game that can end.

Common guys, start the hype with me.

[The Void Boy]

that's called a hotseat, Total War Players have been doing that exact thing in Total War: Medieval 2 for about 10 years now

[gachi is manly]

I think every Civ game since three has had something to that effect, but with more hassle involved because I think you had to access the save file from email.

Basically it worked like one person took their turn, game saved, emailed to the next person, they took their turn, etc. I don't know if the game automatically detected the emailed save file or if you had to manually access from your mail each time, though. I never used the feature.

[WimpyTheWarrior]

A lot of the older turn based strategy games encouraged PBEM (Play By E-Email), which sounds very similar to what you're interested in. In the early days honour was required to not peek at your opponents 'screen', but I recall some developers added password options. Check out the 'Opponents wanted' threads in the Matrix game forums[www.matrixgames.com]

I recall take up was pretty low and you could wait months for a reply. Sending the save files was via email and I agree with you it would be better to send save files in-game.

In the really old days (pre-computers) we would send paper instructions of our moves via snail mail for the paper and dice board games. THAT....WAS.....REALLY.....SLOW......

[Freshairkaboom]

Yeah, what I'm looking for is a system that avoids all that. Basically it remembers who you played as, sends it over, and it'll be just like loading in a saved game, except you wouldn't have to go out of the game to send it. It should be possible with today's programming options. Unless I'm badly mistaken here.

[Freshairkaboom]

Originally posted by Nuke happy:

that's called a hotseat, Total War Players have been doing that exact thing in Total War: Medieval 2 for about 10 years now

Yes exactly. Hotseat, except you're sending your game over, so you don't have to sit next to each other while the other person is doing their turn.

[The Void Boy]

Originally posted by Freshairkaboom:

Originally posted by Nuke happy:

that's called a hotseat, Total War Players have been doing that exact thing in Total War: Medieval 2 for about 10 years now

Yes exactly. Hotseat, except you're sending your game over, so you don't have to sit next to each other while the other person is doing their turn.

no its exactly the same,
https://youtu.be/KzX60Mxzq3A

[Viper]

That would be to slow in my opinion. Take 1 turn and wait.

[The Void Boy]

for those of you too lazy to watch an 11 minute video, he essentially says you get some friends together, set up the hotseat (this is in fact an option in Civ 6), play your turn, save the game and email the file to the next person in line, the next person plays his turn, saves the game, emails the file to the next person, this process will continue until either the game ends or someone dies of old age ( the latter could very well be an option depending on the amount of players)

[Sasquatch]

Nuke, they may call it hotseat in TW, but that's not hotseat in the Civ community, thats PBEM or Play By Email. Hotseat is where you have a game setup in a house and all players in that house take turns putting their butt in the "hot seat" to take their turn. One computer, multiple players. I'm sure PBEM is coming someday. People used to have civ parties and pay hotseat, or they would play by email for months and months on one game.

[The Void Boy]

Originally posted by Sacksquatch:

Nuke, they may call it hotseat in TW, but that's not hotseat in the Civ community, thats PBEM or Play By Email. Hotseat is where you have a game setup in a house and all players in that house take turns putting their butt in the "hot seat" to take their turn. One computer, multiple players. I'm sure PBEM is coming someday. People used to have civ parties and pay hotseat, or they would play by email for months and months on one game.

my point was this stuff already exists, all this guy is suggesting is to make what I said automatic. which if it were easy to implement, we would have had it years ago.

[Freshairkaboom]

Originally posted by Nuke happy:

Originally posted by Sacksquatch:

Nuke, they may call it hotseat in TW, but that's not hotseat in the Civ community, thats PBEM or Play By Email. Hotseat is where you have a game setup in a house and all players in that house take turns putting their butt in the "hot seat" to take their turn. One computer, multiple players. I'm sure PBEM is coming someday. People used to have civ parties and pay hotseat, or they would play by email for months and months on one game.

my point was this stuff already exists, all this guy is suggesting is to make what I said automatic. which if it were easy to implement, we would have had it years ago.

It shouldn't be so much harder than creating a small version of dropbox, then share a "game folder" with each other, and put the saved games into it. And then authorize the game files with your account, so you play as the same civ every time.

It would take my uncle, who was one of the people behind Among the sleep, maybe a month to complete, in his spare time. Now what do you assume it would take a large company on the clock?

[Davemented]

Originally posted by Sacksquatch:

I'm sure PBEM is coming someday.

I thought that about Civ5, and it never happened.

[Twelvefield]

You play PBEM Civ V by Giant Multiplayer Robot. As long as you don't go mentaloid with it, GMR is free. The big advantage to GMR is that you don't get multiplayer crashes and disconnects. For Civ V, that's massive.

I have no idea if GMR will do Civ 6.