Anyone want a real-time battle server for this game?

#1

I was just thinking, the challenges are not all that great for two reasons:

one, if you put up a challenge someone always knows a counter to it.

and two, its just not the same as being able to trash-talk your enemy and saying hopefull comments to your oppenent about that one cruiser thats taking a beating.

There are plenty of other reasons too im sure, but i cant think of any other major ones.

The nice thing about Gratuitous space battles is (at least i think) it wouldnt need much server requirements, since once the battle starts neither players are giving orders or things of the sort. There just has to be a chat-line between them.

At least in theory, this sounds easy. Im no computer programmer but it couldnt be all that hard. Im sure people would gladly make their computer a server volunteer.

Agreements? Disagreements? Angry mafia members?

#2

i forgot to say how this would be!

Basically, each side has 5 minutes to create their fleet. You have no info on what the other person is putting down, unless he tells you or something. Once the battle starts, it becomes an epic hopefull match of wondering if you put too many fighters or OMG they got BOMBERS! i forgot anti fighters! and etc.

#3

It would be interesting at some point to have something like a chat room where you can issue a live challenge. Your fleet versus their fleet. You both watch the battle, can chat during it, and then the game stores the results in your profile.

#4

Exactly my idea!

#5

Why limit it to two people. Make it a chat room, and make it possible to watch anybody else’s challenge. =)

#6

NOW that, is possibly the greatest idea.
Ever.
Of all time!

All you have to do is add betting (with the honor points) on who will win, and BAM! you have possibly the greatest game ever.

#7

This, or some PBEM-esque versus mode, would be the single greatest feature for the longevity of GSB’s play experience. You’d have to lock the play speed at a predetermined setting though, due to the outcome problems associated with it.

#8

Well there’s nothing really preventing you from getting like minded ilk on an IRC server for some of that.

I imagine that a small developer wouldn’t want the additional burden of policing online interactions. That can be an ugly proposition.

#9

They wouldnt have to police it, just set some rules and set some respected members of the community as moderators.

#10

It’s been done. But because any tournament requires a third party to receive fleet lists and run a battle on neutral ground (worsened because battles are non-deterministic - the bug was discovered via this type of organized play), it becomes a logistical pain. We used to have a couple of people willing to moderate special challenges and tournaments, but that ended before the beta did…

#11

Are we talking just 1 on 1 or possibly allowing team battles for those who want really large and gratuitous space battles? Although teamwork would rely solely on organising each members fleet to complement the rest, some really good combinations could spring up.

#12

Replace ‘easy’ with ‘near impossible’, because of the problem that makes the game have different results on different runs. positech.co.uk/cliffsblog/?p=359

It’s a worthy suggestion for GSB 2, though, IMO. Once the game is rewritten in a way that makes it deterministic (awesome for tourneys), this would become a lot more straightforward, that’s for sure.

#13

AH…

well heres what i think and correct me if im wrong:

Determistic games are kind of like statistics. If Cruiser A has 30 firepower, and enemy cruiser B has 20, Cruiser a will win every time

Random games are games that say; If cruiser A has 30 firepower, and enemy cruiser B has 20, then there is a higher chance of Cruiser A beating cruiser B.

But isnt this what most RTS games do already?
It puts in a level of randomess to it, like missles will get lucky strikes or missles will keep mising, and so on. And all of these games have multiplayer.

So why couldnt you just do the same?

Make a server, have both the people load up the same battle formations, keep updating with the other person, and so on, basically doing what normal online matches are?

But if there is no absolute way, then this feature MUST be added into GSP 2

#14

When a unit gets hit in one of those games, it does so on both computers.

The concern isn’t about random, it’s about the consistency of the game’s universe. The rules of the game are changing based on factors completely outside of the game.

#15

Ah…
Im still not following, what could be influencing it outside of the game?

#16

hi,

read the blog.

it might be desynch due to internetconnection, low framerate due to hardware, or any other problem every other multiplayergame out there has too.

greetings
driver

#17

How about the host computer calculates all the things that happen in the game then it is sent to the clients computer so there is no desync. Seeing as there is no control in this game I don’t see the problem.

#18

I have no idea how connection things work, but from my ears that sounds like a good idea.

#19

Yes, an alternative solution to the desynch issue might be to try and come up with some sort of recording/playback mechanism. e.g., maybe the game could record ship actions – movement, weapon firings, etc, then play it back.

Sounds like a lot of work, though.

The determinism problem is basically a show-stopper for using GSB as the engine for a bigger game, at least if it’s going to be multiplayer. Both players have to be able to see the same battle.