Firaxis: Will PtW be playable behind a NAT router? / in-game match-making

[kring]

Will we have to Pay for Internet MP?

Does this mean we will have to pay to play PTW MP over the internet? Aside from whatever costs incurred for having an ISP, if any?

I would like to play MP, but I am not going to pay extra for the privilege. I am sure some sites are willing to host it for free, if that is the case.

Will we have to use the Arcade if we want MP? Or will other options be allowed?

[Lucilla]

Thanks for providing that info, Franses. I'm getting a clearer picture now.
As I don't know Gamespy (shame on me!), could somebody please explain how that works?
Do I have to use their service to play MP over the internet and do I have to pay for it?
If so, are there other service providers or could I even establish my own game session if I know the other people's IPs?
If I use Gamespy's service, will I be able to play with other Gamespy players, only?

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Lucilla
As I don't know Gamespy (shame on me!), could somebody please explain how that works?

you have a small utility that shows you which other people that want to play the same game with you and manages the connections between the two of you

Do I have to use their service to play MP over the internet and do I have to pay for it?

as Jeff posted, you can use the in-game match-making which will be free

If I use Gamespy's service, will I be able to play with other Gamespy players, only?

most probably yes

[MarkG]

Re: Will we have to Pay for Internet MP?

since Jeff's second message is not in huge letters and you probably came here form the first news item on the issue, i'm replying to this too

Originally posted by kring
Does this mean we will have to pay to play PTW MP over the internet?

NO

there will be an in-game match-making interface which will be free

even with the Gamespy option, you can use their utility for free. You can pay a one-time fee of $20 to help in the further development of the utility and get rid of banners that are shown inside the utility before you start playing(and of course NOT inside the game!)

[Franses]

Mark,

You may be right about the two different options but I expect that Jeff in his two posts meant that:
1. Firaxis will use gamespy
2. Firaxis will offer an in-game match making interface using gamespy but avoiding the adds.

Hope you are right though . Certainly it that means that it will be easy to play using ICS.

[aebrahim]

Firewalls aside, if at least the host has a real IP, will this work OK with NAT if the others don't and are not on the same LAN??

[Franses]

Aebrahim,

I think it will, but at least you must have the authority to alter the settings. But... we will have to wait untill we can try it ourselves.

[fred]

I use gamespy often and no you do not HAVE to pay for it.

If you pay you dont get adds, and you get the newer versions earlier.

Now I expect if they include Arcade support then one of two things will happen.

Either Firaxis gives you a free copy of Arcade (newest version), very unlikely.

Or

As Jeff said there will be an ingame launcher. The majority of multiplayer games have ingame launchers, but programs of gamespy are also supported. Programs like gamespy offer an advantage over most ingame launchers since they seem faster, they search for servers better, have more options about filters (which type of servers you are looking for) and are more streamlined.
Of course the ingame launcher will be fully functional, and really gamespy just adds fluff to your multiplayer experience. Most people could live with an ingame launcher with out ever really caring about the extra features other launchers have.

I have problems logging into multiplayer games that use MSN or another type of server. Games that run through Gamespy though I have found have less problems going to. I think Jeff was just pointing out the ease of use of Gamespy Arcade as a game launcher, which some may wanted to launch their multiplayer games.

[MarkG]

franses, i think it will be just like fred described it here:

As Jeff said there will be an ingame launcher. The majority of multiplayer games have ingame launchers, but programs of gamespy are also supported. Programs like gamespy offer an advantage over most ingame launchers since they seem faster, they search for servers better, have more options about filters (which type of servers you are looking for) and are more streamlined.
Of course the ingame launcher will be fully functional, and really gamespy just adds fluff to your multiplayer experience. Most people could live with an ingame launcher with out ever really caring about the extra features other launchers have.

the gamespy utility includes it's own browser, a buddy list with instant messenger abilties(i think) and other stuff like that

[Solver]

Markos, you been having some GameSpy experience?

[MarkG]

i just downloaded it, installed it and looked around. didnt try to start a game or anything....

[Solver]

Which can mean it wouldn't work .

[jdd2007]

Re: Re: Will we have to Pay for Internet MP?

first of all, what do u mean by ingame matchmaking

Originally posted by MarkG
even with the Gamespy option, you can use their utility for free. You can pay a one-time fee of $20 to help in the further development of the utility and get rid of banners that are shown inside the utility before you start playing(and of course NOT inside the game!)

ingame advertising, civ-style:

"you have captured paris. would u like to rename the city Pepsi land?"

new city improvements: mcdonalds, starbucks and temples; courtesy of walmart

new unit: verizon wireless man. moves around the map saying, "can u hear me now?"

new wonder: disneyland

features: advisors badger u to try aol. (400 hours free!)

great leader units: the green giant, bazooka joe and the seven up guy

[Lucilla]

Originally posted by Solver
Which can mean it wouldn't work .

True, I still don't know whether the routing through my firewall will work.
If I understand it correctly from Franses' post, I would have to open specific ports when using Gamespy. But do I have to configure port forwarding then as well? How do I do that if I get my internal IP via DHCP and don't know which IP to forward to? My firewall doesn't support specifying DNS names instead of IPs for port forwarding...

And what happens when I use the PtW built-in matching? Will the same ports be used or will they be random (worst case scenario, I'm not going to open up all my ports!)?

[ydiiby]

Originally posted by fred
I use gamespy often and no you do not HAVE to pay for it.

If you pay you dont get adds, and you get the newer versions earlier.

If you don´t pay (money) for a piece of sotware and this software has advertisements, you are paying with your privacy and security.