First time...Online...
 

Hello...

I am totaly new and i spent 3 days reading this stuff on the forums (I became insane from reading),and now I want to open my own game on game.dom3minions.com or join a started game...
So I need bunch of ppl with strong nerves,to make me a pro in makeing servers (I am verry slow on catching things)...XD...

I red a lot of rules what to post when makeing game,but I want to hear what is beter e-mail game or game.dom3minion.... game...
and your xp on problems that offten hapens in game...
And what about turns and makeing turns over...can i put some kind of time limit (like turn ends every 12h if players do not press redy or something)...
I had more questions but i forgoten because of all this posts that i red...:mad:

So pls if there is some good ppl that are willing to help a noob...I realy realy want to play dom online...
PS
sorry for bad english...

Re: First time...Online...
 

dom3minions has preset games, I think Gandalf adds new ones when there are no slots left. Most games, though, are PBEM on llamaserver. It's fairly easy to setup. You should probably start a thread proposing a new game there or look up for starting games or games looking for a permanent sub.
You might also want to hang out on the IRC. I hear some games are started from there and you can get feedback fast there.
And of course: welcome.

Re: First time...Online...
 

I suggest you look out here for a game to join for your first game. Just to get the hang of it without having to admin at the same time.

I prefer PBEM (play by email) on the www.llamaserver.net myself.

Re: First time...Online...
 

Welcome Tonno,

Watch for new games starting right here. You have to keep a close eye on it.

Re: First time...Online...
 

one more thing can any one say what is the difference between the PBEM and playing on the game.dom3....(I consider PBEM much more complicated)

O and I hope i will see u on the battlefield...:D

Re: First time...Online...
 

PBEM means that you get turns emailed to you and have to put the turn file into he proper game folder. When you've done your turn, you email the .2h file to the host for processing. Most games here are hosted on the llamaserver, which is highly automated, so as long as you know the directory for your game, it's really easy.

Direct connection games are rarer, but in those the game itself handles the sending and receiving of files. It also means password protection is required for all games or someone else could just download your files to look at your turn.

Re: First time...Online...
 

PBEM and Direct Connect both have their advantages and disadvantages, depending upon the game type and other factors. Neither one is more complicated than the other really. With Direct Connect, there is a bit more automation in that you don't need to manually move files around and your pretender is uploaded automatically. As Edi mentioned. :o

Re: First time...Online...
 

Ok that part I understand (I have red a lot of f... posts last few days...uff...)
And what about patches,I have red that on direct game server uploads patches automaticly...then what if in PBEM I do not have same patches as other players do I have to post that on the game topic...

Re: First time...Online...
 

Do you mean patches or mods? Official patches to the game are usually not an issue as they are generally infrequent and most players are up to date. The game itself usually won't let you play if you don't have the same mods/patches the server copy is using. The game admin should make clear what mods are needed in the game and will likely either post a link to them or attach them to the beginning of the thread. The opening/first post of a game thread here is your guide/roadmap to most games. Usually it will tell you/contain everything you need to know about a game.

The thread title itself can convey a lot of information as well: If you see (MA CBM 4/8 Recruiting) in a title, then you know the game is Middle era, uses the CBM mod, 8 players max, 4 slots open and still recruiting). IRC, team games, these forums, the wiki, the new player helpdesk, the manual, and many other resources are available to new players. NEVER feel intimidated about asking questions.

Re: First time...Online...
 

What has been posted is very helpful. But some minor points....

Im not sure that pbem is "most games" altho it might work if it was said as "most server hosted games in this forum". Even then Im not sure. Im fairly sure that most of the games done by small groups or from the various irc channels are direct connect. And my server, Dom3Minions, has never been busier (its almost entirely direct connect games). Both for the continually open games I host, and for special setup games such as you see in the forum here. Altho most of the special setup games on dom3minions arent from this forum since apparently there is no need for them here.

Personally I consider pbem to be a headache both to do and to run. I had given up on running them long ago setting up Dom3minions for direct connect, and was thrilled later when LLamabeast started his server to support pbem. People also like it because it has a menu of options for starting a game. I did a menu like that long long ago also but it doesnt work as well for direct connect games so now I just leave the options completely open to the person creating the game.

Playing direct connect is pretty simple. You use the Network option on the menu to connect, and then it plays like a solo game. You do need to know how to turn on mods (if that game wants to use some), create your god ahead of time with a password and save it. But you need to do that whichever method you choose to play multiplayer games.

Some like pbem for the "automatic backup" feature of having their turns in their email. But actually many direct connect games offer that also. Its very simple to have turns emailed out. Its just receiving player turns at the server that is a headache. Or they like it for the record keeping and admin functions they see implemented on llamaserver (altho those also are available or unnecessary for direct connect games)

If you want to try out both types for yourself before diving into multiplayer games then feel free. Here is a list of games that are always available on my system (a new one created when one of those starts). Pick one then read the How-To link. Id recommend playing a vsAI for this purpose since you can start it with just one player. If you get tired of it then just set yourself to computer player which will tell the game you are done and save me some cleanup.
http://www.dom3minions.com/HostedGames.htm

I suppose you can do the same on LLamaserver for pbem by creating a game and joining it twice but I cant speak for whether or not LLamabeast would like people doing that.

Re: First time...Online...
 

Personally, I prefer PBEM for large games that take a long time. It's especially helpful if you have iffy internet connections. Direct connect has one trouble. If your internet goes down you can't work on your turn. For lot's of players, that's not an issue but I live in a small town with pretty crappy phone lines and it's a big deal for me.

Doing a huge late game turn and having internet drop halfway on direct connect is not much fun.

Re: First time...Online...
 

Guys u helped me alot...I will tray to play some games to see how that works...

I have red a lot topics,I thought that I have a lot of xp and that I would kick *** in multyplayer, but damn there are some nasty players out there...

Again thx a lot for helping me out...see ya´ll on the battlefield...:D

Help...I can not find savedgames on my dom3 directory...:(

Re: First time...Online...
 

Linux? Windows? Mac? which version thereof?

Re: First time...Online...
 

Windows 7 does annoying things with the save folder. The trick is install dominions to c:\dominions and NOT to the program files directory. Because Win7 locks that one.

Re: First time...Online...
 

Same problem with Vista.

Re: First time...Online...
 

Not true. As long as you have made contact with the host, you can take your turn off-line. Same as PBeM, but without the hassle of transfering files. In fact, doing direct contact requires a much less stable internet connection than PBeM, because you need to be connected to the net about 10 seconds at most (and that if you are sending your turns from a steam-powered lap-top using a wirelss modem that has an upload speed of about 100kb/sec; anything faster and you need to be connected for a much shorter time :) ) as there is no need to first connect to the E-mail service provider and then download/upload the turn.

Ie, connect to the host machine, after turn is downloaded you can exit the game. Get back to game when you have time, click Continue Game from main menu and select the game your are playing. Take your turn, click end turn when finished. Connect back to the host, you will see the message "2h file uploaded" (ie your turn was uploaded to the host), and you can again disconnect if you so wish.

Personally I have an old (Bah, steampower, what modern humbug is that? Mice on a cartwheel was enough to power machines in my youth, and they should be enough now!) computer running in the garage as a Dominions3 host for the games run on the Paradox forums. It can handle two games at a time (a third game freezes it up, and the machine is streamlined to only host Dominions3 :smirk: ) so nothing stellar. I am pretty certain there are quite a few such "garage machines" hosting Dominions3 all over the world, not to mention Gandalf Parkers excellent service :up:, so I would dare to say *most* MP games actually are played as direct connect games. However, here on this forum, PBeM is the standard for longer lasting games, and that is due to the excellent service provided by Llamabeast and his Llamaserver :up:

I like Llamaserver PBeM games (especially the reminder e-mails Llamaserver is sending me when I am about to stall are golden :) ), but non-Llamaserver PBeM games are not that hot IMO. Direct connect games are just so fast and hassle-free to handle compared to PBeM games in general.

Re: First time...Online...
 

I have windows 7...Can i create my own folder with name savedgames???:D

I think this is a bit risky metod but I believe in your experience,so I will try the thing that mr.Jarkko says...

Re: First time...Online...
 

I am not familiar with Windows 7, but I am under the impression that it is very similar to Vista in the way it bungles installs. See the following post in the FAQ:

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showp...91&postcount=2

Hope that helps. :)

Re: First time...Online...
 

In all fairness, it should be mentioned that the arrangement has well known security reasons. As a NetCop I would feel lax in not recommending that it might be best to learn to live with the arrangment rather than go around it.

That said, Im not sure how it can be done with Dom3. The files arrangement is much in line with Linux or OSx but not quite close enough for me to have any ideas here. This might be what we have to do for Dom3. But I at least I would recommend that you wouldnt start applying the fix to everything on your machine.

That which security shall do, the search for easy administration shall undo.

Re: First time...Online...
 

Ok I have made savedgames folder on windows 7...

Here is the tip...
As I red that we can tray to instal the Dom3 file out side of Program fiels, so in c\ ...
After that just turn on the game and make a game,save it and turn off the game,go to the file of Dom3 and u will see savedgames folder...

Re: First time...Online...
 

Dom3 can run with environment variables which define directories of where to find the game exe, the game saves, the maps, etc. I tried to play around with it once but never got anything of much use to me. It might be a way to get Dom3 to work in a secure environment.
@HOME
/usr/local/.install_locations/%s
%s/.install_locations/%s
/dom%d
c:/temp%s
c:/temp
dominions3
DOM3_DATA
TEMP
DOM3_TEMP
/tmp/dominions3_%d
/tmp
~/dominions3/army.trs
~/dominions3
/usr/local/games/dominions3/army.trs
/usr/local/games/dominions3
%s/maps
DOM3_CONF
%s/savedgames
DOM3_SAVE
DOM3_MAPS
DOM3_LOCALMAPS
%s/mods
DOM3_MODS
%s/dom3config
writing config file
cannot create config file
datapath='%s'
confpath='%s'
savepath='%s'
modpath='%s'
temppath='%s'

Re: First time...Online...
 

VERY IMPORTANT

Looking for substitutes in a team-based game with an AI team...
4 human teams with 4 players,two more players needed,if possible one veteran and one mid skilled player :D

For more details
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=45227