PBEM Battle Files

Matrix Games Forums

Forums Register Login Photo Gallery Member List Search Calendars FAQ

My Profile Inbox Address Book My Subscription My Forums Log Out

PBEM Battle Files

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Empires in Arms the Napoleonic Wars of 1805 - 1815 >> Tech Support >> PBEM Battle Files

Page: [1]

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

PBEM Battle Files - 1/2/2008 2:21:18 AM

Trin

Posts: 25
Joined: 12/17/2007
Status: offline

We started a PBEM game over a lan to help me learn the basics of how the PBEM game works. There were only two human players. We learned the hard way on encountering our first non-automatic battle that you can totally wreck the game if you don't stop and exchange the battle files correctly. As one player was clicking end turn for the AI players, a message popped up to "send battle file to France". Feeling totally confused because he was an ally of France at the time, he clicked OK. Then he clicked off end turn on the next few AI powers and sent the files on to France....

France then ran the game, loading files up to its turn... After all this, its of course too late to run the battles. It ended up with an error message box that totally locked (and ended) the game.

Wouldn't it make more sense for the game to be unable to proceed to the next turn, if its waiting for a battle to be resolved?

Post #: 1

RE: PBEM Battle Files - 1/2/2008 4:02:32 AM

Monadman

Posts: 2085
Joined: 12/6/2005
From: New Hampshire
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Trin

We started a PBEM game over a lan to help me learn the basics of how the PBEM game works. There were only two human players. We learned the hard way on encountering our first non-automatic battle that you can totally wreck the game if you don't stop and exchange the battle files correctly. As one player was clicking end turn for the AI players, a message popped up to "send battle file to France". Feeling totally confused because he was an ally of France at the time, he clicked OK. Then he clicked off end turn on the next few AI powers and sent the files on to France....

France then ran the game, loading files up to its turn... After all this, its of course too late to run the battles. It ended up with an error message box that totally locked (and ended) the game.

Wouldn't it make more sense for the game to be unable to proceed to the next turn, if its waiting for a battle to be resolved?

Did you have more then one battle during that land combat phase and after concluding the first is that when you experienced this problem? If so, then the bug is when there is more than one battle to be fought and the player clicks the end current phase button. If not then it sounds odd because the program will not allow players to end the land combat phase using the �end current phase� button while there is an unresolved battle file in the battles folder.

Richard

_____________________________

(in reply to Trin)

Post #: 2

RE: PBEM Battle Files - 1/2/2008 4:11:06 AM

zaquex

Posts: 368
Joined: 11/30/2007
From: Vastervik, Sweden
Status: offline

There was 3 battles in that Phase all belonging to the unplayed power Prussia.

A popup showed asking us to send the battlefile, pressed ok and a new popup showed, to us at the time it looked like it was the same so without really thinking we pressed it again and a third popup showed and when this was ok'd the game progressed as normal� with next two countrys land phases.

The client never seemed to ask for any additional input, wich i guess it should have done.

Another rather annoying thing we noticed is that we keep getting very different information in our log files. The player that is actually running the unplayed powers (after he has done his part but before the next human controlled player) seems to get the normal logs as when the game is playd as singleplayer game. While the logfile for the player who load the pbm files get almost no information more than for example:

x plays diplomacy
x finnished diplomacy
etc

This includes for example info about naval battles forced by the falling of a city with docked ships that are blockades even if the "next human player" is involved in the battle.

Seems also that diplomatic information involving the next phasing human player is missing like broken alliances etc (not 100% sure about what exact information without going home and trying to load up the game).

Regards

zaq

< Message edited by zaquex -- 1/2/2008 4:23:24 AM >

(in reply to Monadman)

Post #: 3

RE: PBEM Battle Files - 1/2/2008 4:51:53 AM

zaquex

Posts: 368
Joined: 11/30/2007
From: Vastervik, Sweden
Status: offline

Another anomoly in my oppinion:

Same game, I was allied with the unplayed prussia and had ticked grant vol access. Prussia was DOW'ed and requested my help (annoyingly I had forgot to tick support prussia vs spain who declared war so ) I broke my alliance.

Months later I the political landscape had changed conciderable and I was no longer keen on giving prussia vol access, but when prussia asks for access its automaticly granted. As my alliance with prussia at this point is broken and Prussia no longer appear as an ally on my diplomacy screen i cant untick the grant access box... annoying.

Also this grant or not grant if not allied seems to be resolved with a throw of the dice even between human controlled players (might be wrong but it appears like that) I would suggest that the option to grant or not grant access to all major powers always should be available regardles if they are allied or not.

< Message edited by zaquex -- 1/2/2008 4:56:35 AM >

(in reply to zaquex)

Post #: 4

RE: PBEM Battle Files - 1/2/2008 2:18:12 PM

Trin

Posts: 25
Joined: 12/17/2007
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Monadman

Did you have more then one battle during that land combat phase and after concluding the first is that when you experienced this problem? If so, then the bug is when there is more than one battle to be fought and the player clicks the end current phase button. If not then it sounds odd because the program will not allow players to end the land combat phase using the �end current phase� button while there is an unresolved battle file in the battles folder.

Richard

There were three battle files - none were resolved. Perhaps it makes a difference that the 'end current phase' was for an AI player, not a human player, but the game definitely allowed the phases to end and move on to the next players turn. I'm not even sure that there should have been three battle files - one was for an area where Prussia had walked one of its Free State units into a garrison of one...didn't I read somewhere that battle files would only be swapped for battles where there was more than one corp defending/attacking?

When the files got to me at my turn, three areas had yellow markings around them but no battles could be initiated so i decided to finish 'my' land turn to see if the battles would then happen in my own land combat phase - that's when the error window popped up and couldn't be closed, effectively hanging the game.

(in reply to Monadman)

Post #: 5

RE: PBEM Battle Files - 1/2/2008 3:40:13 PM

Monadman

Posts: 2085
Joined: 12/6/2005
From: New Hampshire
Status: offline

Ok got it guys, I was able to duplicate what you reported and found that during a PBEM game involving an AI major power, when the AI major power was attacking a human player the program would advance the game without resolving the battles.

Thanks

Richard

_____________________________

(in reply to Trin)

Post #: 6