The future of Command Ops

[dazkaz15]

What you are forgetting ulisian is you can have as many games, with as many opponent going at the same time as you like, or more likely as availability permits.
So even if one game becomes boring, maybe in one of the others things are happening at a much faster pace.
If you have an opponent that has the time it could almost be continuous.

If you then find a regular opponent, maybe you could get together for a HTH in real time, if you can both find you have enough time?

PBEM doesn't have to replace HTH it can compliment it.

Edit: What would be even better is if you could mix and match.
i.e. Start a head to head, game then continue via PBEM until you can both get together again, and continue you battle in real time.
Or if you find your opponent boring to play in real time because they spend far to much time paused, as you surely would if playing me, you could continue the match PBEM instead of abandoning it altogether.

[dazkaz15]

ORIGINAL: ulisin

3.
During MP you can stop and think, but you have to consider your opponent!
So you don't think too much, and this is very realistic!!
Thinking a lot, as we do with pbem, is not realistic, not at all!!!

Don't forget even on the slowest speed the game is still accelerated about 10:1 (my maths is not good, need verification on that figure)
So even though it may be more fun for you to play like this, don't think that it is a realistic representation of time.
When played at this speed it is more akin to an RTS. Lots of people enjoy this style of fast thinking game play, so I take nothing away from it, its just that I prefer a much slower pace.

Edit: My biggest gripe about playing HTH is actually the fact that you can't see in detail the whole map at the same time, and its very easy to miss things that are happening in a sector that you are not concentrating on.
The replay ability of the turn, on PBEM would allow you to pick up on these to get a much better understanding of what is going on overall.

[z1812]

@ulisin

No one is suggesting that PBEM replace RT online games. Only that it would be a choice people could use if they wished.

As Dazkaz15 so astutely pointed out it could be also used to compliment RT online play. If an RT online game could not be completed then the players could continue by PBEM and shift back to RT online when time allowed.

[DakaSha]

Since I would think the chance of getting a random battle, and especially random map, generator are close to nil, I wanted to ask whether the map and scenario data is exposed in such a way that would allow third parties to create tools to create random scenarios. (And maps for the ambitious)

[Arjuna]

ORIGINAL: DakaSha

Since I would think the chance of getting a random battle, and especially random map, generator are close to nil, I wanted to ask whether the map and scenario data is exposed in such a way that would allow third parties to create tools to create random scenarios. (And maps for the ambitious)

Miquel,

Please look into this and see if this is something we can do easily.

[ulisin]

ORIGINAL: dazkaz15

Edit: What would be even better is if you could mix and match.
i.e. Start a head to head, game then continue via PBEM until you can both get together again, and continue you battle in real time.
Or if you find your opponent boring to play in real time because they spend far to much time paused, as you surely would if playing me, you could continue the match PBEM instead of abandoning it altogether.

agree, it could be a clever mix

[DakaSha]

ORIGINAL: Arjuna

ORIGINAL: DakaSha

Since I would think the chance of getting a random battle, and especially random map, generator are close to nil, I wanted to ask whether the map and scenario data is exposed in such a way that would allow third parties to create tools to create random scenarios. (And maps for the ambitious)

Miquel,

Please look into this and see if this is something we can do easily.

I ask because it seems quite the waste to have the most advanced, non scripted AI around, only to confine it to fairly static, scripted scenarios.

I understand that a lot of people WANT to play these static scenarios, but many people (me included) want to be surprised with every game. Your AI is able to adapt to anything so why not let it have some fun too?

If random scenarios mean less expansion sales (who needs more scenarios for 30 bucks if you have unlimited random ones at your disposal), you could always add new random scenario generator features with the expansions. It would get me to buy them

In any case there is obviously no RSG, so I'm guessing there never will be. If however you manage to expose the data for maps and scenarios, I would def work on at least a scenario generator, time permitting. I'd even take a stab at a map generator if I wasn't busy with college.


As a side question, not that it matters for third party tools, what framework/language is command ops made with if you dont mind me asking.

[ulisin]

I think we should ask multi - multiplayer game

(like SCOURGE OF WAR system)

rather than asking pbem


to play LAN is realistic, intersting, funny and exciting
pbem is very boring
-)

and, of course, random scenarios, yes!