Newbie PBEM Tutorials

[Enigma_Nova]

I want to host a series of PBEMs for the point of teaching newbies how to play.
The PBEMs will be open-information and feature explainations of each turn.
Any outside comments/plans on the turns in these games are welcome.

I need Players and Maps for these.
Any skill level is okay, so long as you can explain what you're doing and make the turn publically available.

[Commy]

As you of all people should know, I'm stupid. So let me bluntly ask: what is a PBEM?

[Dis]

play by e-mail

[Quango]

How exactly do PBEM's work?

In the game would you go to multiplayer, load the game, play one turn, save and then email it on?

How long do these games take? It seems like it would be quite a while.

Also, this being my first post here, I'd like to thank everyone for the glut of information on this site. I had just started playing SMAC again, and I've learned a lot of new tactics from what I've read here.

Quango

[GeoModder]

Well, basically you answered your own question.
That's the way PBEM goes. Just don't forget to press 'end turn'... Still happens to me now and then.

As for how long games take: depends on how many players and how offen they post turns, not to mention the map size. I have the impression that anything above 4 players is quite slow. My first PBEM is now on turn 48 with 4 players, and we're busy since march 18.

[Googlie]

One of the best explanations is in the game's "readme" file:

Originally published in the readme File

Select Multiplayer from the main menu and then Hotseat/PBEM. Each player has an opportunity to select a password on their first turn to provide a level of privacy. Leave the field blank to bypass this feature.

When a player ends their turn, a prompt will appear for the next player. If playing PBEM, select Save and Exit. The game automatically exits, at which point you should email the resulting save game to the next player (as indicated on the last on-screen prompt).

Most features of the game are identical to non-simultaneous multiplayer games. A notable difference however is Diplomacy, which can now takes place over several turns. After contacting another player, make your selections and hit End Transmission. When the other player's turn begins, the diplomacy window will appear with your proposal. Negotiations can take place over any number of turns.

[Quango]

Originally posted by GeoModder
As for how long games take: depends on how many players and how offen they post turns, not to mention the map size. I have the impression that anything above 4 players is quite slow. My first PBEM is now on turn 48 with 4 players, and we're busy since march 18.

Thanks, that was what I was wondering. It seems like it would take about a year to complete a game this way. I'm not sure if I have the patience to play that way.

Quango

[GeoModder]

Well, multiplayer games progress way faster then the usual single player games. Some of us are already on level 4 techs, even when playing on Transcend, and most PBEM's seems to end in a worldwar around the time Mind/Machine Interface is discovered by someone.

But it is really a good teaching for playing your turns as perfect as possible since you can spend more time to them.