Quote:
Originally Posted by CthulhuDreams
The main reason to use Llama server is reduced administration overhead
A) The host doesn't have to do any work unless a player drops out
Turn generation and mailings is done by the server. This is great if quick host is enabled and you have players in multiple different timezones, because it doesn't matter if I send the last 2h file in at 3am US time it will be generated and mailed out instantly, not when the host gets back from work.
B) Players can see that their turn has been sent to them by llamaserver, or that llama server hasn't got the turn they sent yet.
This helps a lot with modern email spam filters - as dominions PBEM games are mass mailings with attachments, they look and smell like spammers, and as a result they often get sucked into more aggressive spam filters.
C) If email doesn't work, llamaserver still does because you can direct download
My other PBEM game (which is direct mail) at the moment is on haitus because the hosts email service won't let him send emails. If it's hosted by llama server, you're in business.
IMHO these benefits are worth MUCH more than any cheating protection - the spam filter thing alone is a major issue with direct email games. I've been dinged for not sending a file before, when I had and the host's spam filter ate it which enraged me.
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I see where you're coming from, but my concern is more along the line of looking at it from the opposite perspective; what happens to the person who, through no fault of their own, has their car break down and misses the deadline by half an hour? That would lead to a stale turn, wouldn't it? This seems like the type of game where a stale turn could destroy you.
I actually wasn't that worried about the overhead I'd have to deal with... in a way, I was kind of looking forward to it; as I mentioned before, it almost reminds me of my Dungeon Master days, of which I have very fond memories.
I already fished a couple of pretender files out of junk mail... I'd think most computer literate people would know better than to not check there.
Anyways, if I'm the admin, I prefer a more hands-on approach, but I guess this is all a moot point, as we have someone who doesn't mind administrating from llamaserver, so I'm good to go
