Pitboss Diplomacy Game

[Robert]

Let's brainstorm here about a Pitboss Diplomacy Game.
Most Diplogames get problems because players get time problems, their schedules change through the game, etc.

A pitboss game can a solution!
The game starts with 1 session, after that it just continues turn by turn. Every turn takes as long as it needs (all players have finished their turn), diplomacy and story telling just continue during the week. People can even post small stories based on something that only happened in 1 turn.

We can write about ongoing battles, post screenshots, etc.
People get the time to think through their turns as long as they want.

We just need a server that runs a pitboss server, I have such a server, not sure if it'll work though. (have to test that)

I hope that we can get some vets who want to be in this game to showcase about story telling and diplomacy.

Anybody likes the idea?

[OzzyKP]

I like the idea.

(not for me though)

[Pinchak]

Funny you mention this. I was just thinking about this idea today while at work.

Also, I just inherited another computer (slow, but perfect for hosting a pittboss game). After my move (may 3) I would be willing to host it. I have hosted a pittboss game in the past and am familer with the technical side of it.

The only catch is, if I host it, then I would organize it. This would mean filtering for dedicated players (ones who write stories, and vote), editing the ozzy point system (minor changes which could be discussed), and devising a working fix for the infamous pittboss "double turn" exploit.

[Robert]

What's that exploit?

[Heraclitus]

I've never played a pitboss game. How does this work? I'm not quite sure what you mean by "possible to take as much time as you need"...

[Toni]

"double turn" exploit.

Well it is a cheat some people do in pitboss games CS. They double move on you meaning they wait until you end your turn and then they move. This happens mostly at the end of the timer, which gives the cheater the opportunity to move again in the beginning of the next turn before the other player has taken his turn, thus the exploit.

The way to fix it is for the host to set rules (no double moving during war time in a game)

[Toni]

And yes i will be interested in a diplo pitboss game Makes my life much easier with the wife.

[Pinchak]

I've never played a pitboss game.

If not for the exploit, probably the best format to play Civ4. Someone hosts the game, which then is up and running 24/7. You can log in anytime and play your turn. After a perdetermined set time (usually 24 hours) the turn ends and the next one begins regardless of who has or has not played their turn.

The way to fix it is for the host to set rules (no double moving during war time in a game)

Easier said then done. Just trust me on this, the double move thing is a major headache and not easily addressed with a simple rule. We should consult Snoopy349 about what has proven to work best with regards to this exploit. He is the pittboss guru so to speak (at least here on Apolyton).

[Robert]

The exploit is that I just wait till the time-limit is over, then 5 secs before it's over, I move my unit, then I wait 5 seconds, and I move it again, long before my enemy shows up. Correct?

Is it possible to play without a timer? (and thus wait every turn till everybody has played?)

[OzzyKP]

That exploit exists in regular MP too, but I can see how it is worse in pitboss.

[Heraclitus]

Originally posted by Pinchak


If not for the exploit, probably the best format to play Civ4. Someone hosts the game, which then is up and running 24/7. You can log in anytime and play your turn. After a perdetermined set time (usually 24 hours) the turn ends and the next one begins regardless of who has or has not played their turn.

That sounds great.


I soo want to play that. Its perfect!

Does removing the timer fix the problem like Cybershy sugested? I'm sure there would be no problems finding a group reliable enough to do turns every day.

[Pinchak]

The exploit is that I just wait till the time-limit is over, then 5 secs before it's over, I move my unit, then I wait 5 seconds, and I move it again, long before my enemy shows up. Correct?

Pretty much, yes that is correct. There are been EXTENSIVE threads in the past on how to best address this problem, and to my knowledge no SOLID solutions have been developed.

Is it possible to play without a timer? (and thus wait every turn till everybody has played?)

Yes you can play without a timer, but this effectively hijacks the game when one player goes on vacation for example. Due to the speed of game progression (roughly one turn a day), usually you can que up your civ for a few days if you can't play.

[Heraclitus]

Isn't there an option for to empower someone to force end turn?

[Robert]

regarding 1 turn a day, maybe that's not so bad indeed.
Many things can be automated. Sometimes it wouldn't hurt at all to not play for 3 days.

We could make rules for warfire, like players who are in war aren't supposed to play from 1 hour before the end of the turn till 1 hour after the beginning of the next turn.

Or even more simple: don't play 2 turns after each other when at war. Let there be a 1 or 2 hour gap between your moves.

In diplogames I think it should be possible to live up to those rules.

[Robert]

Does the pitboss server run on a specific port, or on the usual civ port?

If it runs on a specific port, then I can easily set my server up to run a pitboss server. I have a server running 24/7 anyway, it's a pretty good pc, p4 3,2 ghz 3GB RAM.

Since I never use the pc for other uses (it doesn't even have a screen/keyboard/mouse) it's perfect.

I sugges we wait till the patch has come and then try to start such a game.

Since it'll take that less time (assuming people will automate a lot) people like Ozzy should even be able to join it (hint!)