IKE: add PBEM/hotseat multiplayer to any scenario

[musurca]

Hey, glad you like it! For DLC scenarios, I'm actually not sure what happens to the copy-protection when the scenario is passed through the script and saved again. Absent an official answer from the developers, the safest answer is yes, all parties involved need to own the DLC.

Keep in mind that converting existing scenarios may not be as simple as running the IKE Lua script, as there may be some pre-existing scripting which could break, or at least cause problems during a multiplayer match. For example: when making the "Shamal, 1991" scenario playable from the Iraqi side, I had to manually remove some code which randomized the length of ready times for Iraqi aircraft, as it would have been frustrating for a human player controlling the Iraqi side to wait for hours to use his units.

For more on this, check out pgs. 9-10 in the IKE Scenario Author's manual.

[nukkxx5058]

Yes, this PBEM mod is incredibly good and fun to play ! Thank you so much for having developped it !

And thanks too for explanations about DLC scenarios an Lua.

One more question : can you explain why in 'duelists', the taking-off planes and helicopters won't make noise anymore ? If I start the scen in solo, the mp3 sounds are launched, not in PBEM ? Any reason/explanation for that ? Or is it just me ?
thx

[musurca]

One more question : can you explain why in 'duelists', the taking-off planes and helicopters won't make noise anymore ? If I start the scen in solo, the mp3 sounds are launched, not in PBEM ? Any reason/explanation for that ? Or is it just me ?

If I understand you correctly, this is likely a side effect of the way in which the PBEM Limited Order mode is implemented (behind the scenes, you are being shifted to a temporary allied side after giving orders), and is unavoidable.

[nukkxx5058]

OK, I understand, I noticed the sides were shifted. This must be the explanation. Thanks for the explanation.

[musurca]

Boo! If you thought this thread had become a haunted house, I’m happy to scare you with the release of IKE v1.4, just in time for Halloween. Players can download the latest PBEM scenario pack, and PBEM scenario authors can grab the updated code and manual.

Here are the major changes:

I go, you go? No! WEGO!

The major new feature of this update is an additional order phase at the end of each player's turn in Limited Orders mode. Furthermore, all scenarios in the IKE Scenario Pack have been changed to give each player two order phases per turn—which means therefore that these games will officially be played in WEGO order.

What is WEGO? Instead of each player giving their orders in alternating sequence as in previous IKE versions, both players will now give all their orders simultaneously in sim-time, as pictured below:



This is a huge step forward for the game, and all credit for the idea goes to @nukkxx5058, who made the initial suggestion and pushed me to implement it.

Welcome! Bienvenue! ¡Bienvenido!

IKE messages have been translated into French and Spanish, thanks to the volunteer efforts of @nukkxx5058 and Jorge Arraya respectively. If you’re using the appropriate locale settings within Windows, you should now see the correct text for your language.

Loose change

* All scenarios in the Scenario Pack have been updated to DB v491.
* The minimum CMO build is now 1147.34 (coinciding with the Steam release of the Red Tide DLC).
* Spanish airbases in "Canary's Cage" can now be attacked by NAIL
* Many bugs have been fixed, including an issue with random number generation, and a major one that would occasionally leak reference points to your opponent (thanks to Jorge Arraya for tracking that down).

v1.4 has been a real community effort; thanks again to everyone for your ongoing support. And if you’ve never played a PBEM game before, it’s a great time to start, as this release is the most fun and stable one yet.

Other news:

Players on the CMO Discord have been asking about the possibility of running a PBEM tournament. We are going to make this happen. Watch this space for more news soon.

[BradOrbital]

Very nice! Well done and thanks again for this musurca. Appreciated.

[KranS]

Thank you for your great work!

[nukkxx5058]

ORIGINAL: musurca

Boo! If you thought this thread had become a haunted house, I’m happy to scare you with the release of IKE v1.4, just in time for Halloween. Players can download the latest PBEM scenario pack, and PBEM scenario authors can grab the updated code and manual.

Here are the major changes:

I go, you go? No! WEGO!

The major new feature of this update is an additional order phase at the end of each player's turn in Limited Orders mode. Furthermore, all scenarios in the IKE Scenario Pack have been changed to give each player two order phases per turn—which means therefore that these games will officially be played in WEGO order.

What is WEGO? Instead of each player giving their orders in alternating sequence as in previous IKE versions, both players will now give all their orders simultaneously in sim-time, as pictured below:



This is a huge step forward for the game, and all credit for the idea goes to @nukkxx5058, who made the initial suggestion and pushed me to implement it.

Welcome! Bienvenue! ¡Bienvenido!

IKE messages have been translated into French and Spanish, thanks to the volunteer efforts of @nukkxx5058 and Jorge Arraya respectively. If you’re using the appropriate locale settings within Windows, you should now see the correct text for your language.

Loose change

* All scenarios in the Scenario Pack have been updated to DB v491.
* The minimum CMO build is now 1147.34 (coinciding with the Steam release of the Red Tide DLC).
* Spanish airbases in "Canary's Cage" can now be attacked by NAIL
* Many bugs have been fixed, including an issue with random number generation, and a major one that would occasionally leak reference points to your opponent (thanks to Jorge Arraya for tracking that down).

v1.4 has been a real community effort; thanks again to everyone for your ongoing support. And if you’ve never played a PBEM game before, it’s a great time to start, as this release is the most fun and stable one yet.

Other news:

Players on the CMO Discord have been asking about the possibility of running a PBEM tournament. We are going to make this happen. Watch this space for more news soon.

Thank you for the credit for the idea of the end turn orders but you are the man [8D] ! Without you we wouldn't be able to PBEM. IKE turns an already fabulous sim into an absolute all times #1. The winner among the winners. You just added the only one thing missing in CMO: turn based multiplayer. I'm having a LOT of fun playing with IKE.

Thank you so much for that! It's invaluable

[musurca]

I've just put out a new hotfix release, IKE v1.41, to patch some bugs and exploits caught by eagle-eyed tester @nukkxx5058. Players can download the updated scenario pack here, and PBEM scenario authors can grab the code and manual here.

* FIXED: information about enemy contact knowledge leaking into the message log
* FIXED: scenario messages could hide the End of Turn notification
* FIXED: could continue playing after scenario's end
* FIXED: French language typos. (Mon Dieu!)

[GolasYH]

Have played PBEM scenarios with some of my friends, that's a whole new experience, thank you for your excellent work!
Maybe it's better to indicate that all players should check ahead that their C:MO are in the same version(as many players usually update manually from the forum and some small variation is unavoidable, and this did happen when I was PEBMing)? I haven't seen any illustration like this till the current version of the manual.

[musurca]

Maybe it's better to indicate that all players should check ahead that their C:MO are in the same version(as many players usually update manually from the forum and some small variation is unavoidable, and this did happen when I was PEBMing)?

Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, you're right— I've been meaning to create some documentation for players to warn them about issues like this. There are a few important points to note:

1) Every player in a PBEM game must use the same version of CMO as the host (the person who played the first turn). You will see an explicit error that tells you if there's a version mismatch.

2) Every time the host plays a turn, the CMO version required by the PBEM game will be set to whatever version of CMO that the host is currently using. (IKE v1.42, which I'll release very soon, adds an explicit warning to let the host know if the current version of the game has changed.)

3) If the official version of CMO changes involuntarily (i.e. pushed through Steam) and it's NOT currently the host's turn, then the host should replay their last turn to "upgrade" the current PBEM game.

[musurca]

I'm happy to announce the release of IKE v1.42. As usual, players should update their official scenario pack, and PBEM scenario authors can find a new code release and updated manual. A quick summary of what's new:

Enter the Middle Kingdom

IKE messages have been translated into simplified Chinese (thanks to @cristianwj), and players using the Chinese (Simplified) locale in Windows should see the translations automatically. The IKE Scenario Author's Manual has also been translated into Chinese (thanks to @GolasYH).

Duel over the Desert

A brand new scenario, Twin Head Dragon Exercise 2021 (author: @cristianwj), has been added to the PBEM scenario pack, bringing the total to 12.

Twin Head Dragon Exercise is a symmetrical A-A/A-G duel between two identical PLAAF forces over the deserts of Western China. It's a lot of fun to play, and a great introduction to using PLAAF units. Give it a shot!

Compromised steel removed

As we approach the start of the first PBEM tournament, I've been busy hardening IKE, tearing out bad steel and old equipment, in order to give you guys the most fun and stable experience possible. This release includes the following important fixes and tweaks:

* A warning is now displayed when the host updates their CMO version during a PBEM game;
* Order phases no longer occasionally disappear on highest time compression in 1147.35+;
* Error messages printed to the exception log during heavy combat have been fixed.

Other news

* As mentioned above, TitaniumTrout aka Yooper, the proprietor of Weapons Release, has been kind enough to organize the first-ever PBEM tournament for Command players, called COMPLEX. Make sure you sign up before the games begin on December 1st! (And please thank TitaniumTrout for putting this together!)

[musurca]

Season’s greetings, everyone! I’m happy to announce that we’ll be stuffing one last release into your stocking for the holidays: IKE v1.5 is out now, with code and manual ready for download as well as the updated scenario pack containing 14 PBEM-ready scenarios. Some of the highlights from this release include:

Support for variable turn lengths

I’ve finally implemented what may be IKE's most frequently-requested feature— variable turn lengths, in which turns may vary between two different amounts of time: a longer Intermediate length (usually around 30-60 min) to resolve the simulation more efficiently when enemy units are out of range, and a shorter Tactical length (around 10-15 min) for more granular control of high-intensity combat encounters.



In this mode, the game begins in Intermediate time, but any player may put the game into Tactical time at the start of their turn if they anticipate needing more control. The game may also return to Intermediate time later, based on a vote on which all players must agree.



While the scenario author can enable this mode by default from the IKE Wizard, the players may also choose to use this mode on their favorite scenario by changing the recommended settings when starting the game.

You’ll notice that the scenario pack now has variable turn lengths enabled by default on most of the medium-length and long scenarios (e.g. Canary’s Cage, Malvinas - The Pincer), whereas fixed turn lengths are retained on the shorter scenarios (North Pacific Shootout, Red/Blue Hawaii, etc).

More useful reports

The report at the start of your turn will now announce any successful strikes (i.e. weapon impacts) made by your units during the off-turn, as well as any damage received by your ships, submarines or facilities.



Two new scenarios

Red/Blue Hawaii, 1985

Yes, it’s our COMPLEX tournament scenario, now available for non-contestants to play along from home. In this symmetrical “CMANO-a-mano” setup, two equally-matched US carrier groups fight it out to the death over the Hawaiian islands.

The Bear and the Eagle, 1987

It’s a furball over central Europe in this late-Cold War-era scenario contributed by @Eskild, in which advance USAF aircraft contend with the latest Soviet jets as both sides attempt to strike each other’s command-and-control facilities while protecting their own. Check it out!

New special actions

By popular request, I’ve brought some of the Special Actions available in the tournament edition to regular IKE, including the ability to resign, offer a draw to your opponent, or change your password to show a turn to another player.

Bugs squashed & outdated features removed

I’ve fixed a number of annoying little issues, mostly involving games between players using two different locales. I’ve also removed support for Unlimited Orders mode, aka "turn-based real-time” play. While this was the very first mode I implemented when I initially wrote IKE, it never really made any sense for PBEM use, and wasn’t really used after Limited Orders was possible. Stripping it out makes the code easier to maintain, and also streamlines the IKE Wizard for scenario authors by removing unnecessary clicks.

IKE v1.5 has turned out to be another great community effort. Thanks to everyone in the CMO/PBEM and Harpoon V Discords, as well as all of the COMPLEX participants, for their suggestions. Very special thanks go out to @nukkxx5058, for his help and ideas while testing the variable turn length feature (as well as his ongoing French localization), and @cristianwj, who translated the entire revised scenario author's manual into Chinese at very short notice.

When I posted the first version of IKE here back in January, I didn't think it would be much more than a fun little curio for Lua enthusiasts. Now—almost a year and 2900 lines of code later—it's been incredibly rewarding to see your videos, screenshots, and AARs of PBEM games, as well as play the custom scenarios you've created for IKE. I hope you enjoy this release--and best wishes in the new year!

[musurca]

Hi, sports fans-- happy to say that IKE v1.51 has just been released into the end zone and is currently being cited for excessive celebration. PBEM players can download the updated scenario pack, and scenario authors can pick up the new code release. If you're a scenario author whose work is not in the official scenario pack already (i.e. on Steam), it is highly recommended that you update your scenario for v1.51, as this release fixes a pretty critical bug that may otherwise ruin your players' day.

Here's what's in the release:

Highest time compression back on the menu

I've fixed the bug in which "fire" time compression would sometimes blow through the final order phase, or else get into an endless loop at the end of the turn. To fix this, I had to entirely rewrite the way that events in IKE are dispatched, and the result is both more stable for you and a lot easier to maintain for me. Everybody wins!

Tweaked turn reports

Infrequent (but not entirely unheard-of) incidents of friendly fire used to fall under both "Losses" and "Kills," which was accurate, I suppose, but somewhat confusing. Fratricide incidents now have their own heading in the turn report.

Beyond this, I've also changed the way that incoming weapons hits are reported. You used to have perfect information about the class of weapon that struck or destroyed your units in the turn report, e.g. "CV Saratoga hit with AGM-84 Harpoon 1B". From now on, you'll only see that your unit was hit with a "missile" or "bomb" unless your side had more precise information about that weapon at the time of impact (classification level >= 3, to be exact).

New scenario: En Garde, 2013

All-time MVP @nukkxx5058 has converted Miguel Molina's classic scenario about a face-off between UK and French naval forces during the 2013 EN GARDE exercise. Check it out!

In other news:

As we approach the COMPLEX tournament semi-finals, those of you watching from home (and have thus far resisted joining our Discord channel) may be curious to see how the games have been going. Here are a few links from players who have been documenting their matches thus far:

@nukkkxx5058 vs. thingymabober: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94i_ye-7Ck4
(Commentary in French, but you can view subtitles auto-translated into your local language with Settings -> Subtitles/CC -> Auto-translate)

@cristianwj vs. Lamb (@baboeska): https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1EU4y1K7pR/
(Commentary in Chinese, but if you're an experienced player you'll be able to tell what he's doing)

AARs by Lamb (@baboeska):
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=5134040
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=5134096

[musurca]

"Move fast and break things," they said... well, I did, so here comes IKE v1.52, a new release that fixes everything I broke last time—and adds some fun new stuff for your troubles.

The critical bug with saving in the middle of a Setup Phase is now fixed. Beyond that, three new scenarios created or converted by tireless PBEM booster @nukkkxx5058 have been added to the scenario pack, including:

Bersama Lima, 2003 (author: Paul Bridge)
A PBEM conversion of the CMO Standalone Scenario, featuring an air and naval clash between UK-ANZAC forces and the Chinese PLAN off the coast of Brunei.

Sahel Slugfest, 2021 (author: WarfareSims/Matrix Games)
Slug it out with a friend in a multiplayer conversion of this classic Command LIVE DLC scenario, in which China and France fuel a proxy war between their client states Sudan and Chad. NOTE: the Sahel Slugfest DLC is required to play this scenario.

(Thanks to Slitherine/Matrix for allowing us to distribute the above!)

Gaddafi's Legacy, 2024 (author: @nukkkxx5058)
A massive, original PBEM scenario in which a revitalized Libya, bolstered by Russian and Chinese hardware, attacks French-supported Tunisia. Featuring both air and ground warfare between 1,300 units over 2 days, this scenario is an absolute monster, and the ultimate challenge for hardcore players!

[musurca]

Hi, PBEMers-- we "March" on with a new release: IKE v1.53, which addresses critical bugs. Hope everyone in the community remains safe given current events.

Highlights:

* critical bug that caused player turns to be skipped has been fixed (thanks @nukkkxx5058 and @cristianwj for finding that one).
* setup phase overrun exploit has been fixed.
* Gaddafi's Legacy upgraded to latest version (@nukkkxx5058).

[ETF]

Amazing!! Thanks so much....this Mod should be already incorporated into the Vanilla version. You need to be on the PAYROLL

[aerosky]

That is great, thank u!

[HalfLifeExpert]

I'll finally take a look at this.

Just a quick question. To install this mod,(just use it) do I just need to add a file into the LUA folder?

I also assume I should have a separate scenario folder for IKE scenarios?

[musurca]

To install this mod,(just use it) do I just need to add a file into the LUA folder?

I also assume I should have a separate scenario folder for IKE scenarios?

No need to install anything — everything is built into the scenario code. You can just start up any of the scenarios in the IKE Scenario Pack as you would any solo scenario and it will tell you what to do.

I do find it useful to have a separate scenario folder for PBEM scenarios but that’s up to you. I also keep a “PBEM In” and “PBEM Out” folder to keep track of ongoing games but again, that all depends on how you like to organize things.