I notice that there is little to no information for newbies to MP and thus I have written a guide. Perhaps someone could Sticky it up for all newcomers to see.
1a) But there’s never anyone in VNET This isnt so true anymore as it was in the old days, there are always people in vnet now in the later afternoon/evening. In recent times I can go on vnet in the evening and get a game within 20 minutes with a couple of people it realy is alot more popular than it used to be, now that it has been released in Europe. Just because there is no one in vnet at that time doesn't mean that there are not lots of people scurrying around outside trying to conquer the world. (read 1b for further explanation) BUB is often there to let you know who is about etc. But if you turn up at 3am USA time then yes, you are unlikely to see anyone.
1b)There is never any games on going on in vnet though
This is because once a game is launched it disappears from the game window. So there could be dozens of games going on in the background. Wait and see what happens. Sooner, rather than later, there will be a break or a crash then everyone piles back in, I've never waited more than 15 minutes before loads of people piling in.
2) So how do I get a game?: Generally the best way to get a game at the moment is to just turn up in vnet in the evening/ afternoon as you will get a game. Practice, iron out any technical problems, get some contacts and start playing regularly. Alternatively games are organised by setting a time and meeting in vnet and then switching back to a direct IP connection which is the screen before vnet. Players tend to turn up in vnet after 3pm CET/ 4pm GMT and about the same time in the US.
3) How do I get an IP address?: You already have one but unless you host you don't need one. If you want to host then type 'winipcfg' in your run.exe. You can find run.exe by pressing Start (bottom left) and then the first option on the pop up bar will be run. This will give you your IP address which you then give to the other players. Alternatively, press 'start', then run, then type in 'cmd', wait for the dos box and type in ipconfig. This is no longer so relevant now that the stability within vnet is fixed.
4) So what do I need to play? Well if you can run Eu2 well and you have a 56K modem plus and you are not trying to connect across the Atlantic you will be able to play. You will also need version 1.04 which you can download from this website. For further questions about the viability of 56K's check point 10.
5) How long do games take? How long is a piece of string? Basically games can last many hours but it usual when a good game is going to save it and continue another time when one or more parties have had enough or have to go. However, it is normal for a session to last 1-5 hours. Obviously a 1419 campaign is going to last somewhat longer than a 1795 game…
6) Do I need to speak English? If you can read this then you have enough English to play. There are lots of different language clans on the clan forum and there always seems to be someone who can translate
7) Why does it crash when I chat and what do I need to do? Chatting and lag seem to cause significant problems so sometimes you may find that chatting can cause crashes. This has largely been worked out now but it does sometimes happen. My theory on this is that when you load a game make sure that at if there has been any irregularities ie players coming and going, not loading properly etc its worth asking everyone to leave and then rejoin or just rehost. Dont change the selectable countries until everyone is loaded and ready to play. Sometimes the chat crash is caused as some players dont see other players due to the multiple changes which throws you out.
Other Crashes
a) Failure to connect. This is caused by players alt-tabing out of the host scenario select room when the game is started. Sometimes you will need to alt-tab out when you are waiting but let your host know that you are going away for a bit and let him know when you are back. However, failure to connect can happen for a number of other reasons that I have yet to work out.
Try exchanging files via ICQ. Direct load is unstable and can be interupted by newbies jumping in and out of the load page.
*CRITICAL* Do not alter any of the countries in the available list until everyone has loaded and joined. After this point do not let anyone else join, if you do, rehost.
When you are about to start type 'READY' and get everyone to respond in kind. Then you know everyone is there and ready.
Ensure your players do not alt-tab out when you are loading.
If you have any newbies or idiots jumping in and out explain that they are ******** your game up and tell them to stay still or leave for good.
If you have any doubts at all, at all, then ask everyone to leave, then you leave and then rehost and get everyone to rejoin. I have drastically cut my load lock rate back from about 40% down to about 5% by following these simple instructions.
b)General lag. Lag can cause crashes, if you have lag tell your host. Hosts should do date checks at least once a year if not more if players are lagging. This especially applies in large MP games. Sometimes your clock will stop, this could be that the host is alt-tabbing or it could be that you have stopped recieving data. Immediately tell everyone else in game.
c)Formation of Russia. If you have a Muscowy player when it becomes Russia then it can crash. Stop, save, switch to single player as Muscowy. Dont unpause. Select to become Russia. Save, return to MP and reload. Takes all of 2 minutes and all sorted.
d)Other Big grandiose events tend to crash the game at times. I have yet to build up a record of these.
8) What is PBEM? This a MP game where you all play the same simgle player game but pass on the file every 5-10 years and let someone else take over till its your turn again. It effectively makes single player games far more interesting. Its not true MP but well worth a look at.
9) What happens when I crash? Normal procedure is to return and regroup in vnet or to the given IP and await your fellow players whether you wish to play on or not. Otherwise they are left hanging around.
10) Will a 56K modem allow me to play? This really is the big question and there are a number of factors. EU pushes the 56K to its limits and pauses for 10 seconds or so every 3 months or so are sometimes needed. However, if you have a decent host 512K plus then games are realistic and can be crash free for hours upon end at good speeds. The right combination is critical. However, if you are on the same side of the Adlantic as the host and then are not more than 5/6 of you then a number of players with 56K modems is perfectly acceptable as long as the host has a decent connection. I've had a number of totally crash free games hosting 2 56K modem players and others at 2 months to 1 minute. But having a decent host really is critical.
11) Can I play across the Atlantic? No problem if you have a 128K connection speed or more. I use a 512K and I have no problems. Or if you are the only 56K in the game with a decent host on the other side.
12) What is ICQ and why do I need it? ICQ-Internet Chat Q is downloadable from
www.icq.com takes up little space, takes 1 minute to install, and is very handy for contacting other players and seeing who is and who isn’t online and for arranging game times. It is also enormously helpful in reloading the game, ie swopping files with the host, it can save hours in an evening. It would also help if you had MIRC, another chat relay system, that is similar to ICQ. I use ICQ to broadcast games so its worth being on- Or people can broadcast through me as I have a list of well over a 300 players.
www.mirc.com
13) I want to be China! Well, that’s fine if everyone else wants to play countries that end of the world too. If you want a good game of EU then you all need to be in the same place. There’s little point being the far flung corners of the world in 1419 as you will never interact and the MP experience will be lost. The best way is to either play in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Asia or the Far East in that order. Decide the area and then pick countries in that region
14) What speed to do you play at? Most people play at 2 months to one minute. This seems to work well for groups of 3-5 players. I have recently used 1:1 for 7-8 player games and it was very stable indeed.
15) Whoooh there, that’s too fast for me! I like to pause: No worries, you can pause and you will have plenty of time to sort everything out- The critically irritating rushes don’t really tend to happen in EU, its players are slightly more refined. However, dont abuse the pause facility, you should only really need to pause during critical events and during wars.
16) So how do I get a game? Well watch this board and ICQ me on 156454560 for Europe or Prince BUB for North America on 153167636 to get details of other players and upcoming games. Send me your location, internet speed access and I'll put you in touch with players who are currently playing alot and/ or looking for players.
17) I have a firewall will this stop me playing? It can cause problems due to the nature of the MP system that paradox use. They couldnt afford a license for more a more expensive software package so the result is that it can't penetrate some firewalls. JohnMk is the resident expert on this. Also if your having troubles with a firewall, Mauzzer says to do this:
"Ive asked this before in the forum but have found out, if you have a firewall which you control, open up ports 47624 and 23000-24000 and redirect them to your lan-ip. It works fine for me now=] "
18) But isn't it just all power mongering? Not at all, whilst some players like to expand, war exhaustion and other players will not feel the same way. There is some very intelligent game play going on.
19) I can only play for an hour or two Not a problem, people will be glad to have you on board to give you a game. But make sure you inform the host and pay attention to point 20.
20) Arrghhh, How do I chat ?????? Easy. To chat press TAB. Then type in what you want to say. However, if you can choose private messaging by deselecting countries on the MP list that appear when the chat box opens up.
Newbies tend to have problems with this so run a few checks to make sure that you have selected the correct countries before you start to unveil your master plan
Sometimes the screen locks up with the chat facility open. Its easy to get out of. Press escape.
21) I just want to have a go, get bored, start a few wars, lose them badly, upset the balance of the game and then just bugger off without saying goodbye in vnet/ email/ ICQ. Well, you would be letting yourself down rather badly for a significant number of reasons. Here are some EU MP Netiquette no-no's that you should try to avoid
A)Taking out lots of loans, invading someone, losing badly and then clearing off when you finally realise that you arent going to conquer the world in 10 minutes because human players are somewhat more challenging than the AI.
B)Playing like the game will end in 10 minutes. The person who takes over after you will not appreciate it and nor will your host. Ruining an economy to win a battle is totally out of order unless you know that you will be at the next session.
c)Clearing off without saying goodbye. If at all possible say thank you to your host via email/ icq/ message board etc its not hard as your host may simply want to let you know when the game is continuing. Or the host may come looking for you in the belief that you have crashed accidently, so save him time and try and inform him of the situation.
d)If you lose a game or a war try to take it gracefully, swallow your pride and accept that countries are not always equal. Storming out is just daft, you arent doing yourself any favours and no one will respect you. If you have an issue try to talk it through.
e)Dont abuse other players, the game is for fun, turning diplomatic pressure on is all good stuff but dont get nasty. Such beheviour isnt welcome and ruins the atmosphere.
Thats it for now. If you have any suggestions, comments or simple abuse then do get in touch.
Ben
Benmoores@korps.freeserve.co.uk
