Alpaca: 10 player game to test new server(started)

[llamabeast]

Hello everyone, I've actually been away from the internet for almost a day, but it looks like everything's been fine in the meantime.

Um, I can't read Spanish, sadly, so your contributions are lost on me. Maybe I'd better go google...

Xietor, according to the log it received two 2h files from you. It says it replied to the first with a receipt confirmation, and to the second with a "Revised 2h file received" message. Did you never get the first message then? Odd.

The server checks its e-mail every 5 minutes. Given the time e-mail takes to go back and forth, I reckon that means on average you'd expect to get a confirmation within 5 minutes, and always within 10. If you don't get one within 10, something's probably up.

[DrPraetorious]

Well, this works well, but people aren't taking their early turns very fast.

While there is little theoretical difference in the speed at which people can take turns, PBEM vs. IP, people aren't playing very fast. For example, the last people to take their turn is very seldom taking two turns in quick succession, for whatever reason.

So, if I were going to use a system like this to save bandwidth (or for the convenient autonotification, which is nice), I'd start using direct connection, get the first dozen turns or so out of the way at least, and then switch to PBEM.

Of course, I am not a patient man.

[llamabeast]

Fair enough, good point. I guess the advantage with a direct connection is that if you're the last person to take your turn, you straight away automatically download the new turn, and it's impossible not to look at it, and then it's very hard not to take it - so people tend to immediately take the next turn.

Myself I can't offer a direct connection (stupid university firewall) but I guess it'd be possible to do a bit of teamwork to start the game on someone else's computer and then transfer it to the llamaserver. It'd be very easy to transfer - I just need the ftherlnd file.

By the way, are people using the website? Myself I find myself checking it loads, but I don't know if everyone else has found it.

Incidentally you can go straight to the Alpaca page at
http://www.llamaserver.net/gameinfo.cgi?game=Alpaca - for some reason that doesn't appear in your address bar normally (anyone know how to fix that?), but if you follow that link once you can then bookmark it.

[Tyrant]

The obvious answer for next time is to start with a 3 hour blitz. Cultilvate serenity Dr. P.

I check the site, it's the key feature of the set up IMO.

[Xietor]

I can host the game for a blitz. let me know. cable connection, decent machine, and i have forwarded port and am actually hosting a blitz 1 on one game right now.

Maybe some time this weekend I can host(you need to transfer me the files and help me set it up) and we can do a 3-4 hour blitz with 5 min time limit per turn.

I would not actually time it, but if one person is taking 10 minutes longer than the rest, we may have to ask him to speed up a bit.

[Valerius]

I check the site. That way I can see that I'm one of the last people to take their turn. And that is precisely the issue for me. While I can see the appeal of a blitz session I don't have time for them. Once every 24 hours I can get a turn in. But, to schedule a specific time to play for a few hours? No. And, whether it were IP or PBEM that wouldn't change. Thanks for hosting, llamabeast.

[llamabeast]

Yes, I think a blitz will have to be a suggestion for a future game rather than something we can do for this one. The chances of finding a time we could all do would be pretty minimal. Myself I visit my girlfriend at the weekends / she comes here, and while she actually quite likes Dominions (to my great surprise) I think a blitz might be pushing it.

[llamabeast]

I see you staled, RZ. Hope it wasn't due to any kind of technical issue.

[Reverend Zombie]

llamabeast said:
I see you staled, RZ. Hope it wasn't due to any kind of technical issue.

I definitely submitted turn 2--did you get that one?

If we're talking about turn 3, my stale would be because I forgot to check my email before I went to bed last night.

[llamabeast]

Yep, turn 2 was received fine - hopefully you'd have got a receipt e-mail when you sent your turn in? But turn 3 I think you staled.