add PBEM/hotseat multiplayer to any scenario

[Tacops1964]

Why aren't more people talking about this PBEM method?

[JFS737]

What is PBEM Method?

[Tacops1964]

Found pbem method in "Mod and Scenario " section of this website

[JFS737]

Pretty interesting, turn based. Could be fun, need to find scenarios nobody has played and ones designed from both sides... and then lots of patience? If it goes well, I'm sure we'll hear more.

[Sardaukar]

It looks damn cool, link to thread is:

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4948663

[KungPao]

yes, that's brilliant and fantastic
anyone want to have a PBEM game now? [8D]

[kevinkins]

Has anyone played this system to a scenario's end head to head with another gamer? I think the Command developers would be very interested in first hand experiences. We all would be interested for that matter. This could be a way to maximize Quick Battles if they could be played from both sides. When games like Combat Mission are played via email, the battles are often produced via the QB generator. Quick Battles will not produce an analytical result, just some beer and pretzels fun.

[musurca]

I'm the author of IKE (the PBEM system for CMO). To answer your questions, yes-- a bunch of people on the CMO Discord have played entire games to great effect. I've made a number of changes in response to feedback from the playtesting sessions, and I'm pretty happy with how the system works currently. It's in a good place and I recommend jumping in if you're curious.

I've included a pack of five scenarios with it so you can get started right away. While these are PBEM-conversions of existing CMO scenarios (Duelists, Canary's Cage, etc), I've added randomized starting positions so you'll still face a serious and novel challenge each time you start a game against a live opponent, even if you're familiar with the setup.

Re: your idea regarding Quick Battles— yes, it's entirely possible to start a PBEM game with a scenario that's been generated programmatically and that sounds like a great idea. The release includes a manual for scenario authors that should get you started.

While it's fun to play classic CMO scenarios, I'm hoping to see people start making scenarios designed for PBEM-- island warfare, 1v1 carrier battles, coalition warfare, etc. The possibilities are endless!

[kevinkins]

Hi musurca, thanks for getting back. If you or those players could post After Action Reports on completed scenarios it would be great. Nothing formal. Just a few paragraphs on the experience in general. For example, how long did it take to run the scenario to completion with respect to the size of the scenario. I don't expect CMO, to be all that different compared to other PBEM wargames. But it would be interesting to hear from those who have tried out your system. Oh, are you saying Quick Battles can be played head to head using your system? If so, would each side be able to select their OOBs separately?

Kevin

[musurca]

Would be great to see some AARs if the spirit moves them! But I really recommend just jumping in, as a lot of questions can be answered by playing with the system for a few minutes (even in a game against yourself). The main thing is that if you just want to play, you don't have to install anything. You can just download the scenario pack, start a game, and send the save file to your opponent, and it all just works.

To make this process easier, I'm hoping to get a dedicated thread on this forum for PBEM opponents where people can just upload their first turn and have someone pick it up. (I've also asked for a #PBEM channel in the Discord as well.)

As for the time to run the scenario, it depends on the turn length. For longer scenarios like Canary's Cage (2 days+ long) I set the default turn length to 90 min. But in scenarios like North Pacific Shootout (6hrs long), the turn length is as short as 20 min. This default value is set by the scenario creator, but can be changed by whomever starts the game. So it's really up to you, and depends on how much time you want to spend playing vs. how much granularity of action you want to have. I go into this a little bit on page 4 of the manual included with the release.

Turns used to take a much longer time, but since I've introduced the new Limited Order system (explained here) in the latest update, the game moves much faster.

As for your Quick Battles question, yes, although it would require some scripting know-how to set it up. In the next release I could include a Lua template for making PBEM Quick Battles if there's demand.

[Meroka37]

Nice, I will check it!

[thewood1]

I'll be curious to see how many people take advantage of this. Its a great job and a very creative approach.

[Sardaukar]

It is indeed very nice addition.

[ETF]

REALLY WOW !!!!

[ETF]

This should be PINNED? Moderators?