Matrix Games Forums

How about an ability to change the game date? For instance, if a group of players agree that they are not planning to do anything significant over a winter, the host could set date and phase ahead several months, for instance to leap frog across a relatively dull season, and be another way to keep things focused on the active, fun parts of the game.

Reinforcements would have to roll over to the first non-leap frog reinforcement phase, and the host would use the money editor to take away supply cost estimates provided by players. Obviously, you could not leap frog across an economic phase.

This is often what happened with the old board game, when players simply agreed to move the game ahead months at a time. All we need to a way to change the date, and to roll over reinforcements. How hard can it be?

This can sort of already be done with the skipping mechanism. Not exactly, but it does allow you to skip any months you don't want to play.

Not really Neverman, I'm talking about skipping 3 months at a time, land phases, everything. Even games with good skipping practices, can't skip 3 months in a blink of a eye.

The skipping mech in place now is about as close as you will get to that. It gets real tricky when you want to start skipping land and eco phases. You must be careful here because someone could fall into instability/fiasco and not have any control to adjust IF you skipped long enough. I could see someone agreeing to this then debating it after they did fall into instability/fiasco and shatter their nation!

Not to mention that forage/supply decisions are VERY dynamic in Winter months!

Marshall, wouldn't leap frogging ahead just freeze the game were it is until the next eco phase? (I'm not suggesting to leap frog across an eco phase, a host would not be able to dial past eco phases).

Well, how would you account for the eco if you skipped several months or are you saying max months 2?

I'm saying that you would not be able to move the clock forward past an economic phase. The most you could do would be to move it to the end of the land phase in front of an economic turn (after the economic turn, the host could then leap forward again if the players wish).

Changing the date of the game is likely very easy. It may be slightly harder to push forward all the reinforcements to next non-leaped reinforcement phase, but it can't be that hard, and could speed things up in a pretty big way.

It would help for those games where everyone is afraid to skip in case the other guy takes advantage of them. If everyone is frozen, then there is no way to take advantage.

It would also be good for those end of game periods, when there are just a few months left, and everyone know who has one, but wants the game to calculate/declare the final winner, instead of the players themselves.

I would have to automate the supply stuff somehow???

Actually this could work as also the ability to skip the land phase. I would think you could have some check boxes for supply options. First do the Auto Forage. Then allow a check box somewhere where you could pick Forage any corps with a forage roll of 5 or better, 4 or better ect. Next pay for all other corps. Any corps that does not meet any of these conditions will attempt a forage roll and suffer any losses. Right now the manual method of a turn where I am not doing anything is hit the AutoForage button, then hit end turn. If I missed someone then I hit the manual go ahead.

Actually if we set up the ability to skip a land turn, can we have the game tell us the Supply situation? When you check the skip land option, have the game offer to do a supply check for you? This is also a situation where I wished the game made more use of colors and would point out No Supply available units, paid for supply, and units that could auto forage.

Thanks
Larry W. Rose

Hi Marshall
ideally, yes, perhaps as per Larry's suggestion. But we can get by by using the money editor to subtract a manually (player supplied) entered esimate of the supply costs. Figuring out the supply cost is straight forward, and everyone will know if a player provides a false amount.

ORIGINAL: Marshall Ellis

I would have to automate the supply stuff somehow???

Maybe a time machine function with eco prediction mech could work. The eco predictor would assess ahead of time the money impact of supply, etc so that someone can accurately see if he should agree to skip forward? This probably would not work unless I installed a supply order option for each unit as well!

Your approach would be a lot more complicated than I was thinking, but the automation would be a nice feature. I'm ok with something relatively manual, and no using the time machine to go past eco phases (i.e. you are more or less limited to a time leap of 3 or less months), allowing the hsot to manually enter suppyl costs, and players to work out supply losses on their own (i.e. by moving factors in garrisons, and then "removing" the garrison).

If you are thinking of supply sensitivity per unit, you could add a column to the unit list text table, which would players could use to enter in the number below/above which foraging losses might occur. As with reinforcements, the player could then decide what foraging losses to take during the first non-time machine phase. However, I don't know if you want something this complex.

DB:

I'm thinking of ALL that could be done so parts of this could be implemented a little at a time!

That's likely the best approach is to go one item at a time. In addition to changing the date, the one thing that would be needed is the ability to "save" reinforcements until the first non-time warped reinforcement phase

(we could also use this code in "regular" skipping (non time machine mode) to delay cavalry reinforcements a month, cutting out a lot of reinforcment phases during regular play if there was a box on the skip reinforcements button to delay cavalry reinforcements a month).

Yea, it needs to be looked at in detail before I say yea to this! So many troops, money, food, time and so little time! Huh? LOL! You know what I mean...

I'm thinking that the ability of the host to change the date, combined with the ability to "save" reinforcements to later reinforcement phase might not be that difficult.

And if it takes 2 or 3 dull game months out per year, then if might save about 25% of the game play time, which is similar to sim dip, but with much less programming effort (although I think sim dip and eco are also badly needed).