C3C on LAN

[Fake Boris]

I have tried to play C3C on my home LAN, and everything works fine, except for an annoying problem: when giving an order to a unit it takes a long time before the unit reacts, like half a second or so, as if I was playing C&C on a 14.4 modem.

Is this normal? my network is AFAIK flawless, the ping of the other computers is always 30 or lower.

BTW is there a way to know the ping times within Civ3 and not in a command prompt?

[Dauphin]

I think its the game coding, I experience the exact same problems.

[Fake Boris]

[JimMac]

Although I have enjoyed playing a few LAN games, I have to say that the MP code is not very inefficient.

There are many 'quirks' in the way C3C handles MP:
>The unit delay is far longer than it should be for a TBS game.
>Battles are often resolved off screen, leaving the player to wonder what exactly happened
>Lack of pop-ops not only reduces the flow of useful information, but also reduces the fun from game 'feedback'
>Lack of a simple turn based system in the manner of nearly every other TBS game,-see HOMM, AOW etc is a disapointing omission
>Increased Aggression levels from the AI civs in MP. I also believe that the AI civs in MP do not keep to their treaties etc in the way they do in SP. This reduces the diplomacy options and turns C3C into a Wargame, not Civ.
Despite these quirks, I still enjoy it!

[barbeerhj]

They are down right BARBARIANS !!

I remember I multiplayer game where several AI's decided it was in their best interest to triple team me because I demanded a Spanish swordman exit my territory.

Only through the confederation of me and several other **HUMAN** players that I was able to save my skin and preserve the status level in the region.

Although, I think this makes the game much, much more interesting when you are playing against highly cantankerous AI's and deceptive humans. It adds an element of fear and ambiguoity, knowing that the AI is not a "reliable machine."

But I still chuckle to myself when a coallition developes against me simply because I ticked off a emotion human or aggressive machine.

-Ron

[JimMac]

Yeah, I can see how you could find the game more "interesting" if the AI is totally unreliable,but for the peaceful builder orientated player like myself, it can be irritating.

Let me give some examples;

In all the (admittedly few) LAN games I have played nearly EVERY single time I first meet an AI civ they will demand a Tech from me, I refuse and they declare war. Now, this would be sensible if they were more powerful than me, but most times they are not. In fact one AI civ that did this was so much weaker than me that it practically committed suicide as it attacked my walled cities defended by pikemen or musketmen with Archers then Warriors.

As for diplomacy,I am not sure what happens but it almost seems that the AI assesses each turn whether or not to keep to any agreement that you have with it. In my current LAN game (my brothers and I play 3 or 4 hours of the same game each weekend) the Ottomans are at war with me. I thought that I could do with some help so I signed an Alliance with the Mongols against the Ottomans. (The Mongols wanted a tech, Monotheism IIRC and some gold). FIVE TURNS LATER, the Mongols DEMANDED Theology from me, I refused so they declared war on me! I cant remember this sort of thing happening in SP.

As I said previously; in LAN play C3C turns into a war game.