vonNichts
02-10-2004, 01:12
Too bad one cannot play MTW campaign multiplayer But then again, it would soon become pretty boring to wait for the other players battles every turn. And this, I suppose, is an important reason for why it wasn't implemented. However, there are potentials solutions to the time problem in a combined turned-based/realtime strategy game such as Total War:
1) NO BATTLES
Automatically resolve all battles and just play on the strategic map. (Boooring)
2) DUEL BATTLES
Allow maximum two human players, and automatically resolve all battles except the ones where they both participate. (Great improvement, since the human-human battles are the most interesting anyway. Too bad with only 2 human players though...)
3) TIME PER TURN
Use a fixed time (like 15 minutes) per turn. A player can choose to command a battle or manage the campaign map during that time. The battle clock can be accelerated to save real time. (Still, 15 minutes times 100s of turns is a lot of hours... Could work on limited scenarios though).
4) VOTE ON TIME
Let the human players after every turn vote on how much time will be available for the next turn. Say between 1 and 30 minutes. The actual amount of time available would be the average of those votes.
5) CHESS TIME
Use a fixed time per player and game. Each player can then choose how/when to use the time he/she has left. When the first player is finished (clicks on stop), the time will start to tick for all others.
During internet multiplayer campaigns, new players could join in to take over AI-factions, as the AI would take over factions from humans who disconnect. Thus a campaign could outlive the players (like nations outlive their kings) and last for very long.
Do you think any of these approaches would be playable? Are there better ways? Or are multiplayer campaigns unfeasable?
1) NO BATTLES
Automatically resolve all battles and just play on the strategic map. (Boooring)
2) DUEL BATTLES
Allow maximum two human players, and automatically resolve all battles except the ones where they both participate. (Great improvement, since the human-human battles are the most interesting anyway. Too bad with only 2 human players though...)
3) TIME PER TURN
Use a fixed time (like 15 minutes) per turn. A player can choose to command a battle or manage the campaign map during that time. The battle clock can be accelerated to save real time. (Still, 15 minutes times 100s of turns is a lot of hours... Could work on limited scenarios though).
4) VOTE ON TIME
Let the human players after every turn vote on how much time will be available for the next turn. Say between 1 and 30 minutes. The actual amount of time available would be the average of those votes.
5) CHESS TIME
Use a fixed time per player and game. Each player can then choose how/when to use the time he/she has left. When the first player is finished (clicks on stop), the time will start to tick for all others.
During internet multiplayer campaigns, new players could join in to take over AI-factions, as the AI would take over factions from humans who disconnect. Thus a campaign could outlive the players (like nations outlive their kings) and last for very long.
Do you think any of these approaches would be playable? Are there better ways? Or are multiplayer campaigns unfeasable?