As you may have seen in the multiplayer threads myself and 06Maestro have been trying to organise an mp game over the last few weeks with difficulty encountered due to timezones and availability. Nevertheless we persevered and achieved our matchup yesterday.
I can say that the initial successes were most pleasing.
Once I'd received Maestro's IP and Port, finding his game in the MP section was easy and stress free. We also managed to connect without any issues.
The canvas for our battle of wills to be painted upon was the 'Serbian' scenario in Wego mode. (although there was some confusion to at this point considering we both thought we were playing a/a)
What followed was a relatively fast paced contest, (I say relatively because I am not the quickest of cats) Where we encountered only two problems.
The First: The Military phase not moving into the Reinforcement phase until some of the interceptions I'd set had been cancelled. (I don't know if this was because I'd set them in the wrong turn or that the AI considered that phase unfinished.)
The Second: By far the most frustrating, My reinforcement phase ending without my consent. This happened twice in two different games.
Still, this was a positive beginning. More so due to my AH Major Victory
![Winner :winner:](./images/smilies/winner.gif)
![Big Grin :D](./images/smilies/biggrin.png)
As we now had that game under our belts and we were both feeling suitably confident we decided to move onto the ultimate test. One Full turn of the GC in a/a with everything checked, apart from 'Simple Supply Lines'.
This is where things started to go downhill...
In the first attempt at the GC we managed to get as far the Diplomacy phase before Maestro's game crashed. Before it crashed he'd had some issues with a sticky cursor.
Next attempt, We got onto the Military phase of Early August 1914.
I was CP and, rather strangely, I got to go first with AH in Serbia due to use of the Koenig Plan. Maestro was using the Grand-duke plan so I am uncertain which of us should of being going first, or whether it mattered as their on different fronts and Mandatory attacks in Early August 1914 are considered to be simultaneous. (?)
I conducted my moves clicked enact and all the animations moved to there locations but then reset to there starting points. So no battles happened.
Even though this was obviously an error the game still allowed access to other screens; munitions, research etc.
Possibly the most confusing and what I consider to be what caused the problems is that certain armies which should be locked were not.
In my warplans I'd opted for Diplomatic Poker as the Germans and had successfully brought Italy onto the CP's. The reason I mention this is because AH 7th and 8th armies which are usually locked were not and as you know in a/a mode you have to activate all your armies before you can pass the turn over to your opponent. So when I tried to send a corp into 7th HQ reserves my cursor got stuck in a fist and I was unable to move it. Although I could still scroll the screen using the arrow keys, which caused me some bemusement as the towns, Armies, sea mines etc moved with the screen.
I had to turn my computer off due to the game not letting me quit properly, alt-control-delete etc.
So we tried again (Same plans, same options etc) and this time we did get the battles in Serbia which went off without a hitch.
But the problem of armies which should be locked were yet again not. In early august I enjoyed the additional movements of AH 7th 8th Armies, Italian 1st and 2nd and also Turkish 3rd and was in the process of moving the 4th when the game did exactly as fore mentioned.
I think it necessary to mention that Armies which should be locked on the fronts which had mandatory attacks were locked.
After another reboot we decided to go back to the Serbian scenario but using a/a. We changed round teamwise. This time we seemed to be progressing quite well although the problems which occured in the Wego happened again.
Then the game crashed for me at the beginning of October but the AI took over and I was left twiddling my thumbs and missed the big battle for Belgrade. But thats not a particularly huge gripe only because it shows that unless its the hosts computer which bombs the AI does take over from a joining player if theirs crashes.
I hope this rather lengthy post at least highlights some of the issues and apologise if this just seems like a catalogue of woes. I also apologise for a lack of accompanying screenshots.
I will also add that I have no intention of giving up on this game, I can only imagine how much work has gone into it and I am in agreement with Maestro that the multiplayer side of this has the potential to be amazing.
Both of us encountered situations which can only be attributed to a human player: In the GC, Maestro gave me a bloody nose in Serbia before retiring 'in good order' leaving me already doubtful as to the gains I could make in the long run if I was to be hard pressed by The Russian offensive in the East.
Or: When, in the Serbian Wego game, I was able to switch from a fast aggressive attack in the opening turns to a measured defense in the latter.
So, as problematic as the mp might be you have an absolute gem of gaming potential. In the future I think we shall stick to the Wego for some of the larger scenario's for now. But perseverance is the order of the day!
A l'avance!
![Scheval2 :dada:](./images/smilies/scheval2.gif)