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How Important is PBEM to you?

How Important is PBEM to you?

  • 1

    Votes: 18 56.3%
  • 2

    Votes: 3 9.4%
  • 3

    Votes: 1 3.1%
  • 4

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 5

    Votes: 4 12.5%
  • 6

    Votes: 1 3.1%
  • 7

    Votes: 1 3.1%
  • 8

    Votes: 2 6.3%
  • 9

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 10

    Votes: 2 6.3%

  • Total voters
    32
  • Poll closed .

Dave 'Arjuna' O'Connor

Panther Games Designer
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
3,415
Points
113
Location
Canberra, Australia
Website
www.panthergames.com
Hi all, I'm just trying to gauge how important you, our users, value having a Play By EMail feature in the game engine. If you can't live without it, select "10". If you don't want it at all, then select "1".

I'm going to use your responses to decide whether to bring this feature release forward or not.
 

Ripppe

Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2015
Messages
50
Points
8
Age
34
Location
Finland
Hard choice, as its very context sensitive. :) My personal insight is, that PBEM would bring a whole new experience to the Comman Ops, but what are the other features it then pushes backwards?
 

Rob

Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
155
Points
18
Location
Vancouver BC, Canada
Hi all, I'm just trying to gauge how important you, our users, value having a Play By EMail feature in the game engine. If you can't live without it, select "10". If you don't want it at all, then select "1".

I'm going to use your responses to decide whether to bring this feature release forward or not.

Hi,

For me, a PBEM feature would be a solid "nice to have" in project parlance. There are several others that IMHO are much more important........such as sequential tasking, triggers, a separate tracked movement type/class et al.

Just my opinion, other's will vary I'm sure. :p

Rob.
 

kipanderson

Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
114
Points
18
Age
66
Location
Surrey. UK.
Dave,


As with many voted a 1.


However, I would love to see CO2 have genuine WEGO feature. Genuine in as in CM turn based feature.


All this means is that you could set the game to pause at say every two hours. Then you give any orders you wish to, hit Go again and watch two hours play. Then give orders if needed hit Go again. and so on.


But importantly, during the two hour play through you cannot give orders. Do anything else, but not give orders.


When playing live against others incredibly relaxing way to play. Because you cannot give orders during play through you don’t sit there waiting to intervene and suddenly issue an order. You sit back a coolly review and enjoy the action. Players then give orders they wish too, if any, and hit GO. When both have hit GO off you are.


No need for play back. Would only take a small tweak. I think? Really just banning giving orders while game running until in the above example two hours are up.


But beneath the bonnet may be all sorts of horrors in coding. Above my salary level ; ).


In CM now never play anything but WEGO turn based mode after many years RT. Far more relaxing, and certainly in an operational game, to my mind more realistic within the usual limits of that word even in such a top end wargames as CO2.


Great game,

Lucky to have CO2,

All the best,

Kip.
 

rocketman

Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2016
Messages
100
Points
18
Age
52
Location
Sweden
Another variant of WEGO is what Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm uses, which is asymmetrical so that each side's force readiness, HQ units alive, command to units, morale etc. determines how often they get to issue orders (which in turn have delays). Then you sit back and watch. You can pause and check unit info, but never change anything. In that way force one can perhaps issue orders three times in every one time the other force can. Taking out enemy HQs is a big bonus.

What I like about WEGO is the dynamic caused by issuing orders and then having to live with your choices as they unfold. I'd like to think of CO2 as continuous WEGO. I have played Combat Mission 2 games for years and am only now coming to CO2. It's "turn-less" interface is what got me interested.
 

Takoda

Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2015
Messages
24
Points
3
Age
50
Location
Australia
I do like the idea of playing WEGO against a human opponent, the AI in Command Ops is clever enough to know when to retreat or hold when it finds itself in a detrimental situation, and this is extremely important when things aren't going to plan and you have to wait before you can issue new orders.
 

simovitch

Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2014
Messages
658
Points
28
Age
62
Location
California, USA
Hi all, I'm just trying to gauge how important you, our users, value having a Play By EMail feature in the game engine. If you can't live without it, select "10". If you don't want it at all, then select "1".

I'm going to use your responses to decide whether to bring this feature release forward or not.
I think the Audience sample is a bit skewed since people who like pbem would not likely be following this title. From a marketing point of view, it is essential to provide pbem capability because it opens up a significant wargaming market sector and provides a wider exposure to potential buyers.
 

Dave 'Arjuna' O'Connor

Panther Games Designer
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
3,415
Points
113
Location
Canberra, Australia
Website
www.panthergames.com
I think the Audience sample is a bit skewed since people who like pbem would not likely be following this title. From a marketing point of view, it is essential to provide pbem capability because it opens up a significant wargaming market sector and provides a wider exposure to potential buyers.
I do appreciate that Richard. Thanks.
 

kipanderson

Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
114
Points
18
Age
66
Location
Surrey. UK.
Hi,

Yup.. I would tend to say we are mostly in agreement.
Many fans of CO2, most probably, also are fans of CM and Flashpoint Campaigns. In all the options of RT, turn based WEGO and PBEM would be good.
PBEM doesn’t interest me because it’s too slow. But to my surprise many are fans I know from experience.
When starting from RT I would have thought WEGO was easy to add as an option. But may be wrong. Although unusual in not being a fan of PBEM am on firm ground with being a fan of turn based WEGO. Very popular amongst niche, high end wargamers. Whatever that means.

All the best,
Kip.
PS One added reason is that when playing any wargame you play several roles. Three or four. When playing CO2 I think of myself as primarily being the divisional commander. So issuing orders then waiting an hours or two for news to start to come in appeals to me.
 

john connor

Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
2,488
Points
63
Age
60
Location
Brussels
Seems to be some confusion - and I second what Richard said in connection with this, because it may be that the audience sample is behind the confusion. As far as CO goes there is no difference between PBEM and WEGO. Any PBEM functionality for CO would be WEGO, obviously, because it's a real time war game. I think it should be made clear that that's what you mean, Dave, and then, even within this audience sample, people might vote differently. Kip, for example, says he voted no to PBEM but want WEGO. But what you're talking about, Dave is a PBEM WEGO capability.

Peter
 

kipanderson

Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
114
Points
18
Age
66
Location
Surrey. UK.
Peter,

there Is no confusion.
By WEGO I mean turn based WEGO as in CM. You give orders and hit Go. Then after say two hours of game time the game pauses and you give orders then hit Go again.
PBEM doesn't interest me because it is too slow.
Now in order to allow PBEM Dave may well have to implement WEGO as above so that you save a turn and send it to your chum. I understand that may be the case.
But whether Dave decides to add PBEM or not I hope he will add turn based WEGO because whether playing against the AI or a human player live over the net I would prefer turn based WEGO mode.
That is all I meant.

All good fun,
All the best,
Kip.
 

john connor

Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
2,488
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Age
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Brussels
Ah. I see, Kip. Sorry. You were wanting an orders bar for a specified time limit for single player. Ok. I thought you were thinking there might be other modes of PBEM that would apply. I understand now.

For myself, I want to play this game against real live people. Doesn't matter how good the AI is, I want to play actual persons, and it's hard to do that at present with the multiplayer functionality that already exists, because it's all real time and there are difficulties putting that much dedicated time aside, plus time zone issus, etc. I have done it (but not enough, for those reasons), and it was a real blast, a superb game to play against humans, the very best I've played, no doubt about it. For me, there is no substitute to playing a human, and playing the AI, honestly, feels like practice, so I really do want a PBEM functionality.

Peter
 

kipanderson

Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
114
Points
18
Age
66
Location
Surrey. UK.
Peter,

no problem.
Forums and emails are not as good a way of discussing matters, any subject, as in a pub ; ).
All the best,
kip.
 

john connor

Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
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Age
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Brussels
But you can do what you want now, of course, Kip. Give your orders, run the game for 2 hours without interfering. No? Thats how i play it now against the AI, more or less. Long periods with no orders.
 

kipanderson

Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
114
Points
18
Age
66
Location
Surrey. UK.
Peter,

certainly...
But a formal WEGO feature makes the entire thing more relaxing. And for live games is superb. Incredibly relaxing but still immersive way to play CM live. And would be for CO2.
As above, because you cannot intervene and give orders you really do just sit and observe, concentrate on the action then give your orders at the enforced pause.
We will see. My guess will come one day. Only Dave would know and not saying for now.. ; ).
All the best,
kip.
 

GoodGuy

Member
Joined
May 20, 2015
Messages
443
Points
28
Location
Cologne
1

I missed the poll, no internet access for more than a week.:arghh:

.. I played like 1 or 2 PBEM "matches" in my wargaming career. Simo adds a substantial point for offering PBEM, actually, but - since there are a couple of other tasks (with higher priorities - imho, Rob mentioned some of them) on the list - it may be more beneficial to give the existing community/customers some "cookies" (some of the most anticipated features), first.

Just my 2 cents.
 

Daz

Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
861
Points
43
Location
England
I would go for a 5 I think Dave.

It would be nice to have but its not top of my priority list.
 
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