What if this game were ONLY PBEM?

[barbarossa2]

Hey there. I am just wondering about how many people would play this WWI game if it was ONLY play by email. That is, you could not play against the AI. Only against a player by email. I am just curious.

Please note... "Guns of August" is NOT only play by email. It does have everything. I am just wondering what if it were only play by email. How many would still have to have this?

QUESTION 1: That is... would you buy without AI, yes or no?

QUESTION 2: And what if it cost half as much without AI? Would you buy in this case, and would this change your decision? Yes or no?

QUESTION 3: Now, what if you had to email your turn to another location where the AI was processed and a file were returned to you? Thoughts?

QUESTION 4: What if Matrix were the only game company allowed to make "WWI" campaign games, and you knew you would never be able to play WWI campaign games in any other way than PBEM? Thoughts?

Yes. This is market research.

[TheHellPatrol]

ORIGINAL: barbarossa2

how many people would play this Napoleonic game if it was ONLY play by email.
Yes. This is market research.

Well for one your "market research" is skewed...this game is about World War 1...not Napoleon[8|][;)].
Secondly, to answer your other question re: email: Hell No! I detest multiplayer games.

[barbarossa2]

Thanks Hell Patrol. I did a copy and paste on this one. Corrected. ;D

[SMK-at-work]

QUESTION 1: That is... would you buy without AI, yes or no?

 
No

QUESTION 2: And what if it cost half as much without AI? Would you buy in this case, and would this change your decision? Yes or no?

 
No

QUESTION 3: Now, what if you had to email your turn to another location where the AI was processed and a file were returned to you? Thoughts?

 
Maybe....it would depend upon what turn-around time was like.  For me the main reason for having AI isthat I can play a significant part of a game without having to load files all the time or wait for someone else to do something.  If it's more than a minute or 2 then that's probably too long for me - I don't bother playing games that take several minutes to do AI turns as-is.

QUESTION 4: What if Matrix were the only game company allowed to make "WWI" campaign games, and you knew you would never be able to play WWI campaign games in any other way than PBEM? Thoughts?

 
then it would have to be an unquestionably brilliant game - IMO PBEM is too slow and intermittant to be the sole reason for buying a game.

[Adam Parker]

Q1. No.

Q2. No. The game is cheap now.

Q3. Definitely not.

Q4. Matrix doesn't make games.

[wurger54]

QUESTION 1: That is... would you buy without AI, yes or no?

Yes [:D]

QUESTION 2: And what if it cost half as much without AI? Would you buy in this case, and would this change your decision? Yes or no?

No

QUESTION 3: Now, what if you had to email your turn to another location where the AI was processed and a file were returned to you? Thoughts?

That sounds like a pain. It would have to be a good AI to make that worthwhile. I likely would never use it. [:-]

QUESTION 4: What if Matrix were the only game company allowed to make "WWI" campaign games, and you knew you would never be able to play WWI campaign games in any other way than PBEM? Thoughts?

PBEM is my prefered way of playing so no problem. Since the last WWI campaign game I'm aware of was AH's GOA almost 30 years ago. I think Matrix will have the monopoly in my life time. [8|]

[Adam Parker]

ORIGINAL: wurger54

PBEM is my prefered way of playing so no problem. Since the last WWI campaign game I'm aware of was AH's GOA almost 30 years ago. I think Matrix will have the monopoly in my life time. [8|]

Wurger you're not aware of:

Paths of Glory - GMT, The First World War - Phalanx Games, The Great War in Europe - 2007 GMT [X(]

[Joel Rauber]

Being an old board gamer, I have no problems playing a game without an AI, its called solitaire play, or now days sometimes referred to as hotseat play where you play both sides.

I would like it to at least have hotseat play.

I'd prefer to also have an AI, but its not a deal breaker for me. Particularly if it is an otherwise well thought out game. For me AI's are mostly nice for diddling around and learning the rules of a game. Its great for that, also, for exploring some decent FOW effects, solitaire play somewhat ruins FOW,

though the older I get this is less a problem as the short term memory fails[:D]

[wurger54]

[/quote]

Wurger you're not aware of:

Paths of Glory - GMT, The First World War - Phalanx Games, The Great War in Europe - 2007 GMT [X(]
[/quote]

Ah so! Thank you. [8D] The Great War in Europe seems similar in scale to 1914. Nice maps. [:D]

[Hanal]

It's an interesting question because I definitely would not buy any game that is PBEM only. HOWEVER if the subject matter was interesting enough, I might buy it for hotseat/solo play. GoA would be a perfect example of the latter, as I would buy it for solo play because of the unique topic. Hell, I played Avalon Hill's Guns of August solo many times, so why would not I want to take advantage of the a pc game in the same way? But again, this would be a rare exception.

[wurger54]

The only computer game I've ever bought that didn't have some type of AI function was a computer conversion of SPI's war in Europe. Played it strictly PBEM. Decision Games is in the process of upgrading it to Windows, but it still doesn't have an AI.

[justaguy93]

I'd be all about PBEM only games if it means we can get some classics computerized in a shorter timeframe and without the compromizes that can be necessary to give a computer a fighting chance.  I don't see it as any different than buying a good quality physical boardgame except that I might actually stand a chance of playing it for a change (the days of me and my friends standing over a table full of cardboard squares are dead and gone).

I have very little interest in hotseat games, too hard to coordinate an entire free evening...that and spending so much time waiting for the other player isn't that much fun.  PBEM is really the only way I can play games against other people period these days.  And since games seem to live and die with the AI, or be endlessly delayed because of AI issues, if PBEM only gets me some great wargames that i can play with friends for cheap, I'm all in favor of that idea.

-justaguy

[Franck]

Didn't read all the post... But by far the best boardgame ever made about WWI is Path of glory ( of those I have tried at least! )

[marc420]

1. No
2. No
3. No, yuck
4. that would suck as I wouldn't be able to play a WWI game

Look, first off, I've got a busy life.  I don't always have time to play a game.  When I get into a game, and have time to play it, I want to play it.  I might want to play a bunch of turns till 4am that day.  But then my life gets busy and I might not touch the game for a month.  Or maybe the next time I have time to play games I get into a different game.  If you can find me a PBEM or online opponent that fits that sort of schedule, sure I might like to play.  But typically any PBEM game I've ever started becomes a pain because now I'm committed to playing a game when I don't have the time and may have lost the interest.  Its having an AI built into the game that makes it possible for playing the game to fit my life.  Ever PBEM game I've ever been involved turns into a massive pain in my rear before its done.

Also, with regard to point 3, sometimes I want to play a game while sitting in an airport waiting area or other times when I travel for business.  Being forced to have an internet connection to play the game would probably be another deal-killer to me.  I can just see myself trying it when all I've got is some crappy wireless connection and cussing as the uploads constantly time out and the games stops dead on me.  That's a truly stupid idea in my opinion.

So, I would never buy a game without an AI.  And the quality of the AI is usually a big factor in my game buying decisions.  And generally I'm really sick of games that put lots of effort into fancy graphics and little to no effort on the AI.  I'd much prefer a game with very simple graphics and a smart AI. 

[StkNRdr]

1. No
2. No
3. Wouldn't do it
4. Wouldn't buy it