Matrix Games Forums

A poll if you will.....who prefers which method of play?
...and why.....

I like on-line when it works. Often, games are interrupted by disconnects.

PBEM if some decent guidelines can be had without too much trouble.

Does combat net have a future? It is down as much as it is working... or so it seems.

This would be a very good feature if it worked.

PBEM - A friend and myself have been playing PBEM games pretty much non-stop since SP1 was released! The VCR (now that it works pretty reliably) is a beautiful thing! No more long emails explaning what just happened in the turn just completed. <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0">

Pbem by all means. It is just not practical to expect players to have enough time to sit down for hours and play out a game. It is true you can save the game but often time goes by and it is 2 a.m. and you have to get up at 6! Also it is difficult to play fellas on the other side of the planet unless it is by pbem. Pbem allows everyone to play everyone else. Also I don't like to play under the clock as you do online. I need to think things out rather than by by gut feelings.

I used to play tcp/ip all the time with sp3, But spwaw seems to take longer to play for some reason,Perhaps due to more infrantry combat, plus there are still alot of strange things that still happen in online spwaw, so Now I prefer pbem, I just dont have the patience to sit down for 6-8 hours a session anymore.

I prefer the Pbem. It is a slower pace o think thigs out a little and the emailing comments when sending the file back get pretty interesting. Helps build a solid friendship alot of the time. Rather than bang, bang move on to the next opponent.

I prefer PBEM. One reason is I don't have a good enough connection to play online. Another is with PBEM you get to know you opponent a little and make new friends (hopefully). <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0"> When your work odd hours and are playing someone in a different part of the world, you can play whenever it is convenient for you. Setting the rules up front is a big help and tends to reduce the mis-understandings.

I like PBEM because im old and slow .....lol (39) by Computer RTS or 3min and under standards. I like to plan out everything down to firing ranges. just not possible in a 3 min turn. Also in a fast timers game the Allies suffer alittle due to the fact that infantry and tank planning take more time. I find that in TCP games the biggest tanks take the hills and are basiclly king due the fact of limited time to react and plan effective defences. Email gives one the time to develope a plan. of course i cant ever remember playing a tcp game with CC on. (thats a whole other subject.) <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0">

TCP-IP I play with a friend who lives nearby so there's no time zone problems and we usually play 2 or 3 hours a night and usually get through a game a week. We hardly ever get disconnects and save after every turn just in case. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

I play TCP/IP because

-It lets you control opportunity fire.
-You see enemy movements.
-There's no time to micromanage everything, you have to divide your time and prioritize like a real leader would.
-You can have 4-player team games and co-op against the computer.

BTW, you don't have to save every turn manually, the autosave does that for you (slot0). If you lose connection, have the host just send that file to the players and you can continue normally.

I prefer, no doubt of it, to play online. It is more intensive game than by email, a kind of game i kinda start to loose interest by the time, and u can play a small intensive battle in 1 hour controlling more aspects and feeling the adversary on the other side (0 size map, 1400 points and 5 mins per turn, 12 turns, are my favourite settings so the games become fluent and very fun). For bigger games, no doubt of it, PBM is the only option since i wont sit in my chair and wait 1 hour online for the other to make a complete move of his army in his turn.

TCP/IP, I use an older machine as a secondary, it's fun to be able to shout comments to you opponent. PBEM games lent themselfs to larger games where it take a much longer time to make your move. Anyway I like to watch what is happening, the sound of a shot as you wait for your turn adds to the tension.

PBEM is my choice as it allows me to choose the time and play at any pace I wish. That being said, any good war game should always offer both PBEM and TCP/IP.

PBEM...i can loose at a pace of my choosing...thanks, Mark, Steve, Scott, Mosh, and all the others who have beat the hell out of me in
a friendly PBEM game <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

bump....

Is this all the interest in playing against human competition? Didn't realize most of the play is against the AI.......

any other thoughts?

Joe Osborne

I think alot more play pbem and online than have posted here, In fact i know of at least 7 (my current opponents)

PBEM.
1)fits much better with my playing schedule.
2)I'm a very slow thinking man and pbem gives me all the time i need to think abt the move
3)Most of my..foes are living on the other side of the ocean,and it's almost impossible to find an agreable time frame for both
4)playing online it costs a lot of money for most europeans, which pay for the time of connection..

I've been playing since SP1, and until recently, almost always against the AI. However, now that I have played PBEM, I find it very hard to go back to the AI, just not as fun. Human opponets are much more interesting to play. Don't think my schedule would allow online play, but it sounds fun.