Do I hear crickets?

OzzyKP · September 14, 2003, 23:21

I knew the Civ2-MP vetrans hated Civ3, but I assumed new people would come in who liked it. Hehe, I guess I was wrong.

This game must really suck if even after the drop in Civ2 interest it is many times more active than this forum.

I still haven't played civ3, and after a disappointing look here, I don't have much interest to. The boycott lives!!

MotownDennis · September 16, 2003, 13:04

I was a huge fan of Civ I. I was a huge fan of Civ II. Now, I'm a huge fan of CivIII. Trust me on this one - Civ III literally blows all the previous versions away. Yes, there have been problems, but it is still a great game.

I'm not sure why there isn't much activity on this forum, because I can tell you that there are tons of people playing MP with Civ III PTW.

You really should check it out and decide for yourself!

Motown

Docker · September 22, 2003, 15:11

civ 3 is great as a SP game, but not sure it will work as MP as it would get too slow and tedious waiting betweein turns.

knighterrant · September 23, 2003, 09:22

I love CIV3. To me, its the best of the Civs by far.

I play it Multiplayer but for some odd reason, I can never finish an MP game. I always get to the point where bombers come in to play and as soon as one is used we get out of sync.

One would think the solution is to not use bombers, but I got an out of sync when taking a city with a tank then. It always happens with the bombers, but not always with the tanks.

In addition, since the last patch, after a while some really odd things begin to happen. I get civilizations constantly asking me for right of passage then they'll start asking for nothing at all. I just get the diplomacy window, a blank trading table and the choice to accept or deny the trade.

Rasputin · October 10, 2003, 21:54

what are the usual numbers of playersin civ3 MP , is it more duel 2 players or have people tried 7,8 9 or more players ???

alva · October 26, 2003, 12:27

For me it's a case of this game not really being suited for MP.
Even my PBEM turns in the ancient can take up to an hour, don't think many people would be ok with in an MP game

Wittlich · October 26, 2003, 13:08

I believe more life will return to this forum after C3C is released, since right now, the only thing we can do is speculate about the MP nuances of the game.

Rasputin · October 30, 2003, 02:09

Quote:

Originally posted by alva
For me it's a case of this game not really being suited for MP.
Even my PBEM turns in the ancient can take up to an hour, don't think many people would be ok with in an MP game

been in a few Civ2 MP games that get that slow , what with all the caravan movements and such like.

MalevolentLight · October 31, 2003, 17:17

unless you have a T3 connection with a 4ghz computer and 2 GB ram MP isn't playable. And I won't even go into the shitty chat that gets cut off and the ridiculous gameplay. The game was a dud and I don't think anyone is really surprised by it.

Franses · November 13, 2003, 19:42

It is not so much the game as it is the time needed to finish the game. My experience is that it is almost impossible to find players who are devoted enough to play this game on-line for 20 hours or so (and that is one to one, never finished a game with more than 2 players). That is why I started a one to one thread. I played some wonderfull games there. But even those games take up a lot of time and many people do not have that amount of time available. It's a pity since it is a great game to play in MP mode. Much, much better that in single player mode.

BTW, this is a problem of all these strategy games. I encountered the same problem with CTP. I hoped that a larger community would provide a better change of finding people that have sufficient time. Unfortunately the opposite seems to be the case.

Rasputin · November 13, 2003, 22:37

same experience with civ2.. current game i am in has been going for many weeks now, 4 hour sessions eachweekend, it just takes dedication... i wouldnt want a game that could be finished in one session

mrmitchell · November 30, 2003, 14:21

Hot damn, for a minute I thought this forum's name had changed to Civ3-Multiplying

(I figured this would be the best thread in which to post a useless comment like this one)

OzzyKP · November 30, 2003, 23:48

thanks

Rasputin · December 1, 2003, 06:26

so ozzy hows your civ 3 experience going now that you finally succumbed to the devil....

i hoping to get c3c before xmas and hope to finally get a MP game done.

Shogun Gunner · December 14, 2003, 20:56

I've played a few C3C MP games via the Internet recently. If you go to the gamespy lobby, you can see new games being opened on a regular basis. Using that as a basis, there are a lot of interest in playing C3C multiplayer. When I started a game, i got six people joining my game within two or three minutes.

However, most of the folks are looking for "ladder games". The first time I did this, I had no idea what a "ladder game" was. On my first visit to the gamespy lobby, I tried to join two or three games (that didn't require a password) and got the boot. Back in the lobby, I tried to ask what "ladders" where, but no one would answer me. Finally, by the third time trying to get into a game, the host of the game explained to me what ladders were and gave me the website to sign up...right before he booted me

Its all good.

Anyway, its still too easy to have problems in the game with multiple players. I wouldn't lay the blame on C3C....people have firewalls, antivirus software, bandwidth issues - to just name a few potential problems. In two of the three games I've been in, two had someone drop out to technical problems. One of those two games came to a complete stop (unsynched?) and abruptly ended - after investing two hours of gameplay.

Despite that, the games are fun...I really enjoy the simultaneous play style. Several times I ran out of time before finishing my orders and checking my cities. It really forces you to organize, concentrate and stay focused on your priorities. I actually enjoy that more than having unlimited time to calculate, recalculate, consult apolyton, etc before making a move. The fast action got my heart pumping!

So, OzzyKP, try it out with someone that you know from this site. Its worth a try!

I'm looking at an option to setup several computers in my house with a wireless network to get some LAN games going. I think that's probably the best. Less chance for comm breakdown, you can talk sh1t in person, shared experience, etc. I think Wittlich has a setup like this at his place.

OzzyKP · December 16, 2003, 23:07

Quote:

Originally posted by Rasputin
so ozzy hows your civ 3 experience going now that you finally succumbed to the devil....

i hoping to get c3c before xmas and hope to finally get a MP game done.

Its been pretty good. Gotten addicted to it just like civ2. At least so far. We'll see if it survives the test of time (pun intended).

I haven't yet finished a game to the end. Once I get on top and have conquered a few main challengers I get too bored to see it through to the end. Either by conquering the rest of the world, or sitting around till i can build a spaceship. Maybe thats a bad sign.

I'm still up for giving MP a shot.

I'm liking the Persians so far because of their UU. Dominating stuff. But I haven't played enough to really be familiar with everyone. The few games I've played seem to last forever. Does Civ3 take longer than Civ2?

Maybe its all those damn workers. I dunno.

MotownDennis · December 17, 2003, 13:47

Quote:

Originally posted by Shogun Gunner
However, most of the folks are looking for "ladder games". The first time I did this, I had no idea what a "ladder game" was. On my first visit to the gamespy lobby, I tried to join two or three games (that didn't require a password) and got the boot. Back in the lobby, I tried to ask what "ladders" where, but no one would answer me. Finally, by the third time trying to get into a game, the host of the game explained to me what ladders were and gave me the website to sign up...right before he booted me

Its all good.

Anyway, its still too easy to have problems in the game with multiple players. I wouldn't lay the blame on C3C....people have firewalls, antivirus software, bandwidth issues - to just name a few potential problems. In two of the three games I've been in, two had someone drop out to technical problems. One of those two games came to a complete stop (unsynched?) and abruptly ended - after investing two hours of gameplay.

I'm a member of the Ladder that you referred to. Unfortunately, the reason you were probably booted from the game is because, many times, non-ladder players become quite rude when told that a game is for ladder players. A few bad apples ruin it for players such as yourself. I can tell you that most Ladder players are very helpful and go out of their way to help MP "noobs". I'm sorry that you didn't find this to be the case.

With regard to your technical issues, yes these can still be a problem. This is yet another reason that people choose to play Ladder games. Most of the players are regular MP players and have their personal technical issues worked out. Also, people don't drop out of the game just because they have bad land. The players are, in general, more reliable.

I'm trying hard not to make this an advertisement (as I know that sort of thing is frowned upon on these boards), but I just felt the need to respond. Hopefully, you'll persist and discover what I did - MP blows SP away!

Here's hoping that your future MP experiences are more positive ones.

Shogun Gunner · December 17, 2003, 13:55

Hey MotownDennis! Thanks for responding. I'm curious about the ladder games. Is this simply a ranking system of Civ III players? Like an aggregate record and tiebreakers, etc? It might be interesting to people in this forum to see a description of this ladder system.

I wasn't mad about the boots... I understood that I was the new person in the environment and just hung in there until I got an understanding of what was going on.

Yes, I'm enjoying the MP. The only problem is really the time committment. It takes large blocks of time -- I don't want to be one of those people who just drop out of games. So I have been sticking with the MP Tournaments here at Apolyton and PBEM.

Wittlich · December 17, 2003, 14:09

Quote:

Originally posted by Shogun Gunner
... I think Wittlich has a setup like this at his place.

Yep.

MotownDennis · December 17, 2003, 14:30

Quote:

Originally posted by Shogun Gunner
Hey MotownDennis! Thanks for responding. I'm curious about the ladder games. Is this simply a ranking system of Civ III players? Like an aggregate record and tiebreakers, etc? It might be interesting to people in this forum to see a description of this ladder system.

I wasn't mad about the boots... I understood that I was the new person in the environment and just hung in there until I got an understanding of what was going on.

Yes, I'm enjoying the MP. The only problem is really the time committment. It takes large blocks of time -- I don't want to be one of those people who just drop out of games. So I have been sticking with the MP Tournaments here at Apolyton and PBEM.

Yes, it is a ranking system for players. I've also been playing Civ "since the Amiga", so I have a ton of SP games under my belt. Let me tell you, though, that I rarely play SP anymore. Competing against other humans is so much more challenging and fun.

Like I mentioned before, the moderators don't like advertising other websites on these boards. I'll tell you what - give me a time when you can be in the MP lobby and I'll try to be there to show you the ropes. You can find me there under the name "Mo D".

Once you get set up to play smooth MP games, you'll be hooked!

OzzyKP · December 18, 2003, 00:06

Sounds like the old Civ2 GameLeague from back in the day. Ah, good times.

Nice ladder sytem, and had tribes for a while too. The tribe play was real fun. Does the civ3 ladder have tribes? You should suggest it if not. Players form teams and compeat againste other teams on a ladder. Yum, in Civ3 we could do 4 on 4 games. That must be a blast.

notyoueither · December 18, 2003, 00:53

Quote:

Originally posted by MotownDennis
Like I mentioned before, the moderators don't like advertising other websites on these boards.

I didn't think Mark and Dan minded, when it is/was a niche not covered by Poly, like a ladder for Civ3 players.

Try them, you might find that they could be good neighbours. They might even offer a port in a storm should your ladder ever run into problems of a technical kind.

MotownDennis · December 18, 2003, 01:05

I just said that because I've seen such posts "censored" before. Maybe it was on a competing

site. Heck, it's worth a try I suppose. We give 'Poly enough pub in our forums.

The link is:
www/myleague.com/civ3players

Check it out if you want to find reliable MP partners.

Ozzy - there are "tribes" on this ladder (we call them clans, usually) that play the type of team games you're talking about. There is even a periodic Clan Challenge event where all the clans play in a formal tournament.

We'll also be competing in the upcoming C3C Demo game.

It is a lot of fun and, best of all, it's free! Sold yet?

Look me up if you decide to give it a try.

MotownDennis (Mo D)

notyoueither · December 18, 2003, 02:19

Hey, Motown, why don't you join one of the tournies Mark is running. Show us how it's done.

MotownDennis · December 18, 2003, 08:13

Yeah, I saw that there were some (1v1 I believe) tourneys being run here. I'll check it out.

Actually, I'm the Head Tourney Director of the Ladder. We run 3-4 tourneys a week, competing for cash and prizes (ok, maybe not cash and prizes, but at least fame and glory).