How is Land Combat Handled in PBEM Games?

[Suvorov928]

I am curious as to how PBEM games handle land combat, such as picking of chits, committing the Guard, Cavalry pursuit, etc. Are files swapped back and forth during each combat phase? How is cheating prevented? Any other info you would like to throw in would be appreciated as well.

[DodgyDave]

quite a few of us are so interested in knowing this, i asked in The War Room, perhaps wrong place, but i need to know, especially on the how to prevent cheating, as i have see that even in the regular boardgame :/

[fvianello]

All I know is that there's an game option:

PBEM Quick Combat: No file exchanges are required

So I presume that, by disabling PBEM quick combat, every player will have to send the file containing his chit choice for every combat he's involved.

Let's hope there are no bugs[8|] ...

[Marshall Ellis]

Bascially a chit is picked and a file sent over to the opponent who then picks a chit. Files are exchanged as the battle progresses. These files can be password protected if you wish. The battle is saved at each point to keep players from redoing their actions.
 
Keep in mind that when battling a minor with only one corps then the PC will assume control of the minor and have a quick battle. You can also select PBEM quick combat in the game options which will do the same no matter how many corps units are involved. Naval combats are always VS the PC which will assume temporary control of the non-phasing player. The file swapping can get time consuming so we included the quick combat option  to help streamline the PBEM games.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[DodgyDave]

if lets say france is attacking me in 3 places, will he then be picking chits for each one and sending turn to me, so i can pick my 3 chits and send him back results of first round for all three? or is it one battle at a time?

ohh, i note now, its going to be 1 battle at a time, pity, would think my way would be faster to send

[Mynok]

Does each day of battle still require a new chit selection?

[Suvorov928]

No.  Chit selection is for a full three rounds, which is a game rule.

Follow up tho.

So you say a file is exchanged as the battle progresses, meaning we will be exchanging files up to 3 times per combat? 

If that is the case, then I could care less about time consuming, as the combat phases was what really got most people into the game.  

[fvianello]

PBEM apart, I think the rules are:
1. at the start of the battle, each side choose a chit
2. A max. of 3 rounds of combat are fought with that chit
3. if at the end of 3 rounds (1 day) no side has been routed and both sides agrees to fight on, a new day i started and a new chit is selected

so I presume that in PBEM each side will draw a chit at the beginning of each "day" and fight with it for a maximum of 3 rounds

[JavaJoe]

ORIGINAL: HanBarca

PBEM apart, I think the rules are:
1. at the start of the battle, each side choose a chit
2. A max. of 3 rounds of combat are fought with that chit
3. if at the end of 3 rounds (1 day) no side has been routed and both sides agrees to fight on, a new day i started and a new chit is selected

so I presume that in PBEM each side will draw a chit at the beginning of each "day" and fight with it for a maximum of 3 rounds

The normal combat procedure is:
Attacker (the player whose turn it is) chooses a chit then sends this file to the defender.
Defender chooses a chit, fights the first round of combat, takes casualties then sends this to the attacker.
Attacker takes casualties fights the second round then sends this to the defender....so on back and forth until one side breaks or is eliminated.

Quick PBEM combat:
Attacker chooses chit then sends to the defender.
Defender chooses chit then all three rounds are completed with casualties automatically taken out. Defender then sends this to everyone.

If I recall correctly

[Suvorov928]

What prevents someone from reloading the PBEM file and make a different pick, if he guessed wrong?  I have played too mny games where people cheat, and this game takes up too much of my time to deal with cheaters.

[Cossaky]

ORIGINAL: DodgyDave
ohh, i note now, its going to be 1 battle at a time, pity, would think my way would be faster to send

It's necessary to fight one combat at a time since advances and retreats can potentially affect resolution of other battles (reinforcements, valid retreat paths).

[John Neal]

This is one of the main reasons why i want to exercise the PBEM feature.
I've played a few hours solitaire, and i get to select my battle tactics
as they occur.

But in an email game, my understanding is that the tactical choice
must be set ahead of time. So i'd like to play a game where we see how that works.

[John Neal]

ORIGINAL: Suvorov928

What prevents someone from reloading the PBEM file and make a different pick, if he guessed wrong? I have played too mny games where people cheat, and this game takes up too much of my time to deal with cheaters.

I agree, any game like this which is so involved, it has to be bullet-proof to cheating. Hey, i don't even trust myself.

[Marshall Ellis]

The pbem file AND the battle file advance as you go so they are progressing as you play. Next time you try to reload you should end up RIGHT back where you were. ALL game saving in PBEM is controlled by the engine and not the player.
 
AGAIN, I believe Richard (Monadman) mentioned this earlier. The game host has the power to replace players or let the AI play their turn so if you see a cheater, FRY him!
 
 

[DodgyDave]

but since game keep this in mind, would it not be better then, to cut down on each sending of a battle turn, that if you attack in 3 places or 8 places for that matter, you go into each of them, pick chits and once you are done with that, then send turn to the other guy or guys, they look at the battles and pick their chits, then send back, so if you attack in 3 or 8 places, you dont need to send 3 to 8 times as many emails about results, you can still take some time looking at each battle, to pick chits and consider your responce as you normally do.

ohh reminds me, will the others be able to see these battles after chit picking?

[Suvorov928]

No, as said before, each battle must be dealt with one at a time, because of certain rulles, like retreats.  Plus, after a couple of battles, depending on previous results, you may wish to pick something else.

I don't mind the file swapping, but my fear is/was someone receives the file, makes his pick and sees he picked wrong.  So he then reloads the file, picks a better chit and then wins the battle.

I think there is a way this could be avoided, but I am not sure how hard it would be to implement it?  I would email Marshall or Erik if they wish.

[carnifex]

There is really no way to avoid cheating.  A dedicated cheater would open up the combat file in 10 different computers and mail off the one he resolved to his best satisfaction.  Or some other way.

Anytime you're exchanging whole files (unlike TCPIP) it's easy to exploit.   Just need to weed out those ultra-competetive hyper people out is all.  Play with people you trust or people who seem casual - ie they won't expend effort to "win".