Timed Turn Civ III Multiplayer

[DarkCloud]

This should be an option for Civ III to allow civ III multiplayer games to progress fast, perhaps one game in an hour.

Thus the games would be faster paced and decisions would have to be make quickly!

[Kassiopeia]

How would you accomplish this? Online? I always thought that online was a nonexistantly supported option with TBS
I don't think that's a good idea, maybe three hours. If there are about 400 turns, that's way to little time per turn, especially in late game.

[Footie Mad]

Im all for this as an option, especially useful when you get the knack of everything and everything goes real speedy with shortcuts-keys and all.

[Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS]

Timed turns and simultaneous moves will be a part of multiplayer, but in reality it doesn't significantly reduce play time (at best ~15%). Often MP games take longer anyways because of having to coordinate multiple play sessions with multiple people, not to mention disconnects and restarts. For the average customer winning a solo civ3 game by space race, on default settings, can't really happen in one sitting. MP is the same way. We've got a pretty different approach to simul-move, and features like alliance simultaneous moves will reduce game time even more. The SMAC favorite of dynamically increasing turn timers will be present as well.

While these areas of MP aren't being ignored, most new stuff will be in turn based. Civ3 is a turn based game at it's heart, and we believe it can be a great internet game without ignoring or sidestepping that fact.

Jeff

[DarkCloud]

How about this then:

4000-2000BC- 3 Minutes
1999-0 AD- 6 Minutes
1-1000 AD- 10 Minutes
1001-1300 AD- 15 Minutes
1301-1600 AD- 25 Minutes
1601-1800 AD- 35 Minutes
1801-2000 AD- 45 Minutes
2001-2050 AD- 55 Minutes

[DarkCloud]

Originally posted by Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS
Timed turns and simultaneous moves will be a part of multiplayer, but in reality it doesn't significantly reduce play time (at best ~15%).

This sounds good. Hopefully it will reduce play time more, however

While these areas of MP aren't being ignored, most new stuff will be in turn based. Civ3 is a turn based game at it's heart, and we believe it can be a great internet game without ignoring or sidestepping that fact.

Jeff

Well, this sounds good. Besides, I've never played Civ II Multiplayer
The only MP games I've played are Starcraft and Total Annihilation!

-Thank you for posting on Apolyton and for posting a response, we appreciate it

[Footie Mad]

Well they have said that they are bringing something totally new to multiplayer so, in Firaxis we trust. Nice knowing someone from Firaxis takes the time to answer some questions

[TechWins]

Timed turns

I'm glad timed turns are in but shouldn't be a given that they will be in the game? Considering they were in Civ2MGE.

With this info. it seems that MP not coming as an expansion is diffenent.

The SMAC favorite of dynamically increasing turn timers will be present as well.

This will really help things out a lot.

Something that if implemented correctly could be a great addition into MP, pre-turn unit orders. So lets say you are waiting for your turn and you know that you want your legion to move to x tile you move you give your unit the order to move to x tile. This could be done by simply doing it the same way you would when it's your turn. When it then becomes your turn the unit will automatically move to x space. It's just a thought.

The more you can plan when it's not your turn the less amount of time your turn will take. Something that adds to this goal is city build ques, which thankfully will be in Civ3.

Oh yeah, thanks for posting Jeff. Could you give us any more insight in when the Civ3 site will be up? Possibly a more precise date, such as sometime this week, next week, not saying soon or sometime in the near future. That would be nice, thanks.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS
Timed turns and simultaneous moves will be a part of multiplayer, but in reality it doesn't significantly reduce play time (at best ~15%). Often MP games take longer anyways because of having to coordinate multiple play sessions with multiple people, not to mention disconnects and restarts. For the average customer winning a solo civ3 game by space race, on default settings, can't really happen in one sitting. MP is the same way. We've got a pretty different approach to simul-move, and features like alliance simultaneous moves will reduce game time even more. The SMAC favorite of dynamically increasing turn timers will be present as well.

While these areas of MP aren't being ignored, most new stuff will be in turn based. Civ3 is a turn based game at it's heart, and we believe it can be a great internet game without ignoring or sidestepping that fact.

Jeff

that is interesting

maybe it only felt much faster using simultaneous turns

it would be interesting to know the phsycology of that

I agree that I found SMAC better ballanced in TBS rather than Simu

Jon Miller

[cyborgasm]

features like alliance simultaneous moves

, i don't play Civ 2 MP, but this sounds new doesn't it? Could this mean that in an alliance, you and your partner can actually controll each other's peices? That would be cool.

[ChrisShaffer]

While these areas of MP aren't being ignored, most new stuff will be in turn based. Civ3 is a turn based game at it's heart, and we believe it can be a great internet game without ignoring or sidestepping that fact.

Well, this is great news. I'm just champing at the bit wondering what the "new stuff" will be....

[Admiral PJ]

it would having special ally player simultaneous turns.. helping you coordinate troop movements and attacks by seeing what each others doing as it happens.

It would be interesting if this could happen with enemies too, so if an enemy cavalry emerges and moves next to your city you can retaliate before it attacks in that same move.. That would solve one of the main combat problems in civ - maybe in Civ4 tho.
You could also use this in single player, just allow units in sleep mode to be moved during an enemies turn if something comes into range of them,
your unit could just run away, or usefully if its a fighter jet attacking soldiers near your base your plane in standby sleep mode could wake up and you could use it to fly over the soldiers to attempt to defend them in air (not able to attack though as they are at a disadvantage as doing a emergency manoeuvre etc)

Admiral Pete author of Mantra and the 3d Voxel graphics engine QM

[Daniel Frappier]

Jeff,

Did any of you guys ever played tournament Chess ?

I guess not because it got a great time system that would be extremely beneficial to Civ III.

Any unused time is carry over from turn to turn.

What is the big deal you might ask ? The big deal is that it lets you set a very fast time limit, then by saving a few seconds here and there you can accumulate a good deal of time that you can spend when you need it. example: to launch a full scale invasion.

It rewards good time management and was found to be the only way to go for chess. It is the most efficient way to have the player do a maximum of things in the minimum of time.

[DarkCloud]

Originally posted by Daniel Frappier
Jeff,

Did any of you guys ever played tournament Chess ?

I guess not because it got a great time system that would be extremely beneficial to Civ III.

Any unused time is carry over from turn to turn.

.

That is a great idea.

[Ecthy]

sorry Daniel F, I didn't get the point in that one... exactly WHAT makes you save time?

I'm sure there's a simple explanation. There must be one, i feven DarkCloud got the point