tcp/ip Net Play For Space Empires IV

[MasterDave]

Laz,

Keep in mind that we are not talking about a zero-sum game here. If Malfador were to implement TC/IP, it would not mean the end of PBEM. I can definitely see how that would be a better format for someone who lacks the time or willingness to play a game for hours at a time. Many of the Kali Moo2 gang were adults (at least I am) with full-time jobs, and families/girlfriends to keep happy. We were still able to find time (a few hours on a weeknight or longer during a weekend) to play multi-session games. The quake kiddies for the most part do not have the patience for a turn-based strategy epic like Moo2 or SE4 anyway.

In a network setting, I would hope that people would keep their turns down to five minutes or so during the mid-game (quicker early) in order to keep the game moving. PBEM is probably a better option for the more methodical/perfectionist types who want to attend to every detail every turn. Against the AI, I usually take about 3-5 minutes per turn, but occasionally have that "monster turn" with ship designing, colony queuing, building atmosphere converters, etc which can Last as much as half an hour. In a network setting, people would probably have to better learn to spread these activities over several turns to save time. Tactical combat would probably be something only used in a two-player game only, so players three, four, and five are not kept waiting. Even in Moo2, which generally had far fewer ships in a battle, waiting for tactical combat in a game with more than two people was the biggest "bummer" (although with the chat feature we could plot and scheme against the two players in the battle while they were fighting).

I still feel that TC/IP is the only major element missing from this game. If Malfador adds that, then SE IV can become truly great in the minds of more of its current fans.



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