A couple of questions about the turnless mode

[Nostromo]

The IGN PTW preview states the following:

The more intriguing alternative is a turnless, "real-time" option. An individual turn runs on a real time clock and each individual unit moved must not be moved again until the length of a turn has passed. The length of each turn is proportional to the number of cities and units present in the world. As you advance through time and have more units to manage, you have more time between turns.

There you have it. So its basically like a conventional turn-based game, but with a time limit. Lets call it speed Civ. But, I wonder, can we ajust the speed of the game like in RTS games? Is there a pause button? Does the game pause at the end of each turn or is it continuous?

[Spiffor]

If possible, you should try to download the video, it shows turnless mode. Thare is no automatic pause at the end of each turn. Here's a descritpion of what happens in the video :
J. Morris founds Washington 4000 BC, and makes his worker and scout auto-explore : they both move normally (i.e 1 tile for the worker, 2 tiles for the scout, then they both stop). Then, JM enters Washington city screen, and modifies production. While he was doing this, the "turn" has ended, and we see the units moving automatically while he is in the city screen. Again, they move for 1 or 2 tiles and stop, waiting for the turn to end.

I think it will be possible to pause the game, as in any RTS. I heard the speed will depend of the number of units and cities. I'm not sure if it will be possible for the player to make it faster or slower though.

[Lucilla]

But will the time limit be the same for all players? Meaning:
If I have many cities and units, do I get more time or will the players with less units / cities have the same amount of time as the further developed ones (and therefore have relatively more time to think and react)?

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by Spiffor
If possible, you should try to download the video, it shows turnless mode. Thare is no automatic pause at the end of each turn. Here's a descritpion of what happens in the video :
J. Morris founds Washington 4000 BC, and makes his worker and scout auto-explore : they both move normally (i.e 1 tile for the worker, 2 tiles for the scout, then they both stop). Then, JM enters Washington city screen, and modifies production. While he was doing this, the "turn" has ended, and we see the units moving automatically while he is in the city screen. Again, they move for 1 or 2 tiles and stop, waiting for the turn to end.

I think it will be possible to pause the game, as in any RTS. I heard the speed will depend of the number of units and cities. I'm not sure if it will be possible for the player to make it faster or slower though.

I see... I checked out the video before, but I obviously missed some details. Thanks for pointing them out for me!

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by Lucilla
[...] If I have many cities and units, do I get more time or will the players with less units / cities have the same amount of time as the further developed ones (and therefore have relatively more time to think and react)?

If the IGN preview is correct, then the player with 20 cities should have more time on his or her hands than the player with 10 cities.

[Spiffor]

I don't see how it's possible, given that everybody plays at the same time (hey, that's the meaning of turnless ).
Maybe there will be "blank" spots for the players who have less things to do : the total turn lasts 30 seconds, but he should only get 15 seconds, then he can't do anything for the last 15 seconds.
I don't think so, it sounds boring. Plus, Firaxians showed a strong will to balance things between advanced and retarded Civs (research cap, tech devaluation...), so I think everybody will have the same time per turn. Just think of more time for the weak gives him a chance to come back as a power.

[alva]

Originally posted by Lucilla
But will the time limit be the same for all players? Meaning:
If I have many cities and units, do I get more time or will the players with less units / cities have the same amount of time as the further developed ones (and therefore have relatively more time to think and react)?

Seems like a good balancer to me

[DrFell]

Hope bigger civs get more time, it's **** having your turn end in the middle of a big well planned attack (possibly screwing the whole plan up).

[punkbass2000]

I wonder whether or not attacks will be made faster, as that can eat up time. Or will everyone just turn off animations to save time? That would suck, hopefully animations don't count as time against you.

[Mikhail]

actually, I'm kind of hoping in the multiplayer set up there will be a 'standardized' time you can set (i.e. 30 seconds per turn regardless of cities). I'm not looking forward for it taking 3 hours to move out of an age.

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by Spiffor
I don't see how it's possible, given that everybody plays at the same time (hey, that's the meaning of turnless ).

Not necessarily: everybody plays at the same time if you choose to play a "turnless/simultaneous turns" type of game. And I can see how that could be problematic, especially in a big game. But I think that the turnless mode wasn't meant for big and long games, it was meant for short games. I am also assuming that a turnless you go/I go type of game will also be an option. It's all speculation, of course!

[DrFell]

It would be best if you could switch modes during the game, so for example you could start the game of in turnless or simul, but then swap to turn based if you feel the need, without having to restart the game.

[Solver]

While I like the fast speed of turnless mode, I will clearly not be playing it much. PBEM and occasional normal game be it.

Will you guys play turnless or normal?

[Spiffor]

Solver :
I only have one friend who plays Civ with me (LAN) and he is reaaaaaly long during his turn. I think I'll play turnless if there is a way to make it slower.

Dr Fell :
I think the duration of the turn will depend either of the total number of cities / units, or of the number of cities/units of the best player. At most, the weak will have more time, but I don't think the strong will have less time.

Mikhail :
I disagree with you. It would be boring if the turns last 30 seconds at the very beginning of the game when you have nothing to do, and you won't be able to do anything right in the modern era with only 30 seconds.

Overall, I'm really convinced by turnless mode. I almost don't play RTS because it's a clickfest at the end of a game, and you can't do anything right. I think Civ3 turnless mode is a breakthrough in real time strategy : you have some time to act, even when you must manage a huge empire. I think many games will resue turnless mode in the future, it's far better than pure real time.

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by Solver
While I like the fast speed of turnless mode, I will clearly not be playing it much. PBEM and occasional normal game be it.

Will you guys play turnless or normal?

I agree that Civ is best played on standard, large or huge maps. Unfortunately, those games take eons to finish. Moreover, I don't seem to be able to control myself when playing one of those big games. I can't bring myself to play, say, one hour per week: when I play, it's minimum 4 or 5 hours. That damn one more turn effect... And, really, I don't have that much free time at the moment. Too busy. So I welcome the new options
introduced in PTW, options like turnless mode: they promise shorter games, a quick fix for busy gamers. Will I play turnless? Of course... if its any fun! BTW, as any of you tried the tiny maps? How long lasts a typical game on a tiny map?