Shannon V. OKeets
Posts: 22095
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: offline
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I thought what I would do here is give a sort of after action report on using NetPlay. Not the games themselves, but the experience of playing World in Flames using the Internet and NetPlay.
Finding an opponent doesn't seem to be that difficult. Or at least it wasn't for me. But then I am semi-retired and have a lot of time free everyday of the week.
Because I am in Hawaii, it seems that all of my games start in the early morning, Hawaii time.
1 - My opponent in the Calgary. Canada likes to play on weekend afternoons. Given the 3 (4) hours time difference, that translates as 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning on the weekends.
2 - My opponent in California liked to play weekend evenings, which was weekend afternoons for me. Occasionally I would have a 4+ hour session with Finn (Calgary) followed by 4+ hours with Justin in CA. Justin hasn't been around for several months now (family commitments).
3 - My opponent in Texas likes to play in the afternoon during the week before his daughter comes home (he's retired). So that means 8:00 AM for me - usually Mondays and Wednesdays.
4 - My opponent in Spain and I have worked out 7:00 PM until 11:00 PM Valencia time, which is 8:00 AM to noon Hawaii time. Those games are also during the week because he is retired. I am having trouble fitting sessions in for him [I do need to work on code occasionally ].
5 - My opponent in Australia starts his day early (well before 6:00 AM) so we start at 6:00 AM his time on weekends, which is 10:00 AM my time the day before. So if he wants to play on Saturday (his time), that is Friday my time.
In summary, you just work out what time is convenient for both of you and set a specific start time for each session. Scheduling the next session at the end of each session.
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We have been using Skype for verbal communication. Skype is free and I have had no difficulties with it for any of my games. Typically, one of us sends a text message to the other player using Skype, which generates a 'ping'. The other player responds by "placing the call" using Skype. That is just a click of a button.
Once Skype is up and running we chat for a few minutes, make sure we are both using the same version of MWIF and figure out which saved game we are going to restore. It is important to check the Next Entry #s for the saved games. MWIF will not restore the game if they do not agree. But other than that, restoring a saved game is not much different from restoring a Solitaire game.
The program prompts you to sign into the Private NetPlay Forum and once both players are connected, one of you gets a prompt that the second player is connected. Again, a simple mouse click restores the game. We have never has any problems with the Matrix server with restoring or running a game.
Starting a new game requires both players to have registered their program with Matrix, using the same User Name and Password that they have with Slitherine/Matrix. If for some reason you decided to use a different user name or password, then it will take some effort to get them to match. Other than that quirk, starting a new game is pretty easy. One person creates the new game (he needs to know the other player's user name). The second player just logs into the Private NetPlay Forum and waits for a prompt from the first player. That's it. The game starts on both computers simultaneously.
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As the game progresses through the sequence of play, the deciding major power switches back and forth between the two players. While the US sets up its units, the Axis player can see which units are being placed where. Then the USSR sets up. After they are done, the Axis player sets up Italy, and so on. Nothing really different here from playing solitaire, except that half the decisions are being made by someone else (what is he doing ).
As in Solitaire, the program makes automated saves of the game roughly for each phase of the game. Those saved games are made on each computer separately, prefaced with "NP - " and terminated by the major power's abbreviation (e.g., CW, Ge, Ja). This means they will not overwrite any of your Solitaire saved games. But if you are playing multiple games (like I am) you have to be careful to set aside any saved game you do not want overwritten. This is important for me when I am trying to have a set of saved games for debugging.
During play, you will see everything that your opponent does - if you look. He might place a unit off somewhere that you don't expect. This is different from playing over the board, where you can watch his hands at all times. As the Axis, I often use Ctrl U and filter for Commonwealth Transports, AMPHs, and Liner, to see where they are taking land and air units. Reviewing the position is important. Yesterday I got blind sided by France reorganizing a bomber so they could fly a Ground Support bomber and then send a fighter as an escort. I thought the fighter wouldn't be able to get to the land attack to threaten by bombers. Tsk, tsk, sloppy on my part.
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I have tried to make a habit of doing specific saves (to supplement the automatic ones). I name them X - S - T# I# - phase of the game. For instance: G - S - T2 I7 Land Movement. The program appends text fore and aft so the full file name becomes "NP - G - S - T2 - I7 - Land Movement - Ge.GAM". These sort in the file folder alphabetically which makes it easy to find a specific game when restoring or reviewing.
About Reviewing NetPlay games. You will only be able to see your information (the Axis can't see the US Entry marker values). You can't advance the sequence of play either. But you can figure out where to attack/defend, where to move next, what to build, and a whole slew of other stuff. It is possible to spend hours reviewing a game in progress, sigh, 
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What I have tried to do here is give you a quick overview of playing using NetPlay. If you have questions, please ask. [No I am not looking for more opponents.]
_____________________________
Steve
Perfection is an elusive goal.
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