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Firaxis is producing a new CIV program- a Persistant Turn-Based Server- to allow for play faster than regualr PBEM, but permitting higher quality, full length gameplay than you'd find in a quick online MP session. The Pitboss beta was made public last week- we're (the testing community- basically anyone interested in it) trying to determine right now if it is ready for long-term stable games yet.
The features aren't too well advertised, but basically it should make PBEM type games go a heckuva lot faster. If you can get all the players online at the same time, you can play dozens of turns in an hour. Any other time you just need to log into the server and play, no fuss with an email save. And there is an automatic timer that can be set to any # of hours, with the Pitboss 'nexting' the turn for the slackers who can't be bothered once a day to check in...
I expect games to move from the old < 25% finish rate to over 75%, and be measured in length by months instead of years.
All that's needed is everyone on 1.52 and a Windows machine that is on the net 24/7. The program is able to run on lesser machines than a full game needs because the server does not deal with graphics. PTBS allows you to play group sessions or whenever-you-log-in, either way as much as you want, whenever you want. It can also be saved to restart the session at a later date and/or on a different machine.
It will also fulfill the function of a turn-tracking thread- it can send out automatic notification when your turn becomes available (and perhaps a warning if your turn timer is about to expire?). However this looks completely broken in the current beta, so I don't know the specifics.
Play sessions are just one of the features- the turn timer and ability to play without loading a save are enough that the only reason I can see people playing true PBEM anymore would be if someone has to play on a machine that doesn't have a direct internet connection.
Another feature is the ability to play persitant games in simultaneous turn mode. If the haphazard approach to combat mechanics doesn't bother you, any player is allowed to log in at any point during the turn and make moves in any order. With normal (SP style ;-) sequential turns, you can still log in at any time, examine the map and your cities, issue build and move orders, and plan a research path, but units only move and production only happens once the player before you has ended their turn.
One other thing- its not clear yet if an elapsed timer would just skip the player's turn or have the AI play it. Hopefully the final version will allow you to choose...
The beta of Pitboss is available at CFC here. Having the executable is only necessary for the player setting up the game. Everyone else just joins like a normal MP game.
The features aren't too well advertised, but basically it should make PBEM type games go a heckuva lot faster. If you can get all the players online at the same time, you can play dozens of turns in an hour. Any other time you just need to log into the server and play, no fuss with an email save. And there is an automatic timer that can be set to any # of hours, with the Pitboss 'nexting' the turn for the slackers who can't be bothered once a day to check in...
I expect games to move from the old < 25% finish rate to over 75%, and be measured in length by months instead of years.
All that's needed is everyone on 1.52 and a Windows machine that is on the net 24/7. The program is able to run on lesser machines than a full game needs because the server does not deal with graphics. PTBS allows you to play group sessions or whenever-you-log-in, either way as much as you want, whenever you want. It can also be saved to restart the session at a later date and/or on a different machine.
It will also fulfill the function of a turn-tracking thread- it can send out automatic notification when your turn becomes available (and perhaps a warning if your turn timer is about to expire?). However this looks completely broken in the current beta, so I don't know the specifics.
Play sessions are just one of the features- the turn timer and ability to play without loading a save are enough that the only reason I can see people playing true PBEM anymore would be if someone has to play on a machine that doesn't have a direct internet connection.
Another feature is the ability to play persitant games in simultaneous turn mode. If the haphazard approach to combat mechanics doesn't bother you, any player is allowed to log in at any point during the turn and make moves in any order. With normal (SP style ;-) sequential turns, you can still log in at any time, examine the map and your cities, issue build and move orders, and plan a research path, but units only move and production only happens once the player before you has ended their turn.
One other thing- its not clear yet if an elapsed timer would just skip the player's turn or have the AI play it. Hopefully the final version will allow you to choose...
The beta of Pitboss is available at CFC here. Having the executable is only necessary for the player setting up the game. Everyone else just joins like a normal MP game.
) and because I would like to see PiTBoSs take off like a rocket, I want to ask a few questions:
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