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Poll: multiplayer or single player?

Started by vilvoh, March 05, 2009, 10:26:47 PM

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vilvoh

We have talked a lot about multiplayer in Simutrans. It was a very common request on the past, and now the development team has started to work on it (at least I hope so) However, I'm not really sure if I would really play Simutrans in multiplayer (online) game mode.

I must confess I'm an old school player. I haven't played with many multiplayer games, mainly mmorpg's, but I rather think Simutrans gives you a lot of hours of fun in single player. I'm not against multiplayer but imho it sometimes does not provide much more fun. Actually, it depends on the game but what do you think? vote and talk.. :)

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jamespetts

I'd like to try multiplayer, but multiplayer simulation games are often somewhat impractical from a time perspective, so I imagine that I'd play single player more often.
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isidoro

I also wouldn't dare play multiplayer.  I'm definitely not a social guy.  I'm more a Neanderthal than a Cro-Magnon. I don't like chats, facebooks, and similar modern devices...  Being naked in a crowded street and all that is for me one thing.

But one should try everything in (my only) life.  So, who knows?

Dwachs

I would like more a cooperative multi-player game than a competitive one.
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and maggikraut.

Zeno

I hardly will test multiplayer, as I like Simutrans much more as build what I want and like than in a competitive sense; so multiplayer hasn't many sense to me, not to tell my always incompatible timetables with everybody... so my vote goes for single player :)

wipi35

Agree with Zeno. Definitely single player.

VS

Both. Partly I share the views expressed by Zeno, but at the same time, IMO multiplayer would be something different - not necessarily worse.

A game running at a reasonable rate for online play would be for me maybe even more interesting right now, as I can't spend too much time playing in my usual "god mode".

100% agreed about cooperative vs. competitive. I would like to see more mechanisms allowing that - track sharing (without PA) and so on. But that is not so important in global perspective and right now.

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Skasi

#7
I voted on multiplayer, because everytime I am thinking of a random transport simulation (be it OpenTTD, or Simutrans) I wonder how much fun it would be to play Simutrans as cooperative as the #coop group plays OpenTTD.
Basically, the thing I like most is the passenger system of Simutrans that is way better than the concept of other transport simulations and still simple stupid. ("simple stupid complexity" is what I love)

I think most Simutrans players seem to believe that multiplayer games have to be competitive. That's absolutely wrong. Besides - I'm definitely not a very social guy either, nor do I have anything like a blog, or an account for anything else than forums or instant messengers, but a multiplayermodi is still a MUST for every modern game that is not very strictly based on a singleplayer concept.

Oh and I hope Simutrans will allow players to share a single company! :)


edit:
I forgot to mention, that same goes for every other tycoonish game. I'd love to build up a Rollercoaster Tycoon theme park, big Sim Cities, as well as epic realms/fortresses in games like Dwarf Fortress, etc with my brother and friends. I really wonder why others don't. :)

derajjared

   
I vote that the game has more than one player.
It would be fantastic that this game step by step, which takes place every day to reach one of the few games that take scores. that would be wonderful to play and navigate through the territory of the game and meet with other cities that you do not creastes but are developing and growing. this aria to simutrans not ask anything from other games.

colonyan

Just a random thought

Cooperative:A. Share map among players to develop cities together
                         Companies coexitst. (how to/ when to end the game?)
Competition:B.timelimit "score" comparison
                        same as A. but gives title of "winner" or "loser"
                    C.aggressive buyout eat or eaten competition using stock system.

At least in B & C, players will rush to serve the lucrative route as quickly as possible. To avoid game to become "who click fast game!?", auction must be
implemented. such as right to connect to city S,T,Y.... connect factories P,Q,R etc..

There also should be the reason why they compete for bigger income.
May be there starting fund is bollowed money & they should pay back etc...

At least if multiplayer is implemented it will start very simple.
                       

Bernd Gabriel

I voted for both.

I like to play my own simulation and to decide when to play (ok, most of the time my boss decides, when I can *not*  play).
If you followed my occasional posts, I'm simulating the same savegame for more than 360 ST years in the last 2 RL years.

But I'd like to participate at cooperative and competitive (internet and local area net) games as well.

  • "Cooperative" could be implemented as game option in a usually competitive game by a cooperation of companies/players.
  • Cooperations can start after all partners in spe have agreed
  • Each partner can abandon his partnership individually.
  • In case of a campain or if there is any other goal (including preventing bankruptcy), cooperating players/companies can only win (or loose) together as team. I think, this way will be more playable than 2 or more real players controlling 1 simutrans player/company.

The journey is the reward!

Mac_#71

too much AI players, and the map becomes a real mess!!
that's why I prefer single player

Severous

Hi

I used to moderate a forum on Railroad Tycoon2.  We organised many forms of cooperative and competitive games.

The common theme was a scenario designed by an experienced player which had a particularly interesting feature or goal.  Players all downloaded it and each played solo to see how they fared.  We evolved a set of  'fair play' rules which defined limits on the various game exploits/cheats. 

Sometimes we passed on a saved game for others to continue..more collaborative than competitive.  One event involved all playing a scenario for a set time. The 'best' result/save became the one we all then downloaded and continued for another set time. After that time the best was again chosen and we played on that ..and so on.

Modification and version control was a constraint and I imagine will be here in simutrans also.
Regards
Sev.

vilvoh

We already did something similar here sometime ago. If I'm not wrong it's called a collaborative game (link). As you said is a mix between single and multiplayer, and as far as I've people really like it. I encourage you to start one here, at Simutrans forum. I'm sure you will discover a lot of people interested on it.

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LeifInge

As I've mentioned earlier in an other thread: I would love to play a coop game of some sort. Either play one year each, or f. ex 15 years on the same map, who gets the most inhabitants and/or money.

mark

It also would be nice to build in a function to play together in 1 company or to have the option to coöperate with eachother.
And for the length of the game: Make a save function for multiplayer.

skreyola

A co-op game with corporate allies (e.g., stations within each other's catchment areas could transfer/share cargo) would be very interesting for a multiplayer game.
--Skreyola
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Dwachs

The multiplayer mode is designed that more than one player can play with the same company. So cooperate playing will be possible (some day...).
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and maggikraut.

wlindley

I really like the idea of Corporate Allies in a coöperative game -- and yes probably all that's required is to set any of your stations to be shared with whichever companies you like... or rescind that permission as you wish!

Railroad Tycoon's idea of letting other companies run across your infrastructure, for a per-mile rate, could be fun too.   You could even have a company that does nothing but run passenger trains, operating on the "host freight railroads" -- kinda like Amtrak (but with profit and without the defeatist attitude).

The Hood

I like wlindley's idea - it would resemble the current set-up on Britain's railways and indeed the set-up pre-nationalisation (especially pre-grouping).  Maybe several different states:
1) Total rivalry: no cooperation whatsoever
2) Interchange only: allow player 2 to build an extension to player 1's station and run vehicles to only player 2's part of the station, but allow interchange of passengers/goods (similar to current public player station concept).
3) Infrastructure sharing: allow player 2 to run over player 1's tracks and call at their stations, but pay a per-tile fee (could be either a fixed percentage of the maintenance cost of that vehicle, or could be fixed dependent on the waytype, or negotiable)

Each player could chose which state he wants to be in with each other player, and the highest common agreement of those states is what happens (e.g. if player 1 wants state 3 but player 2 only wants state 2, the 2 companies have state 2 between them).

jamespetts

There is a great deal to be said for allowing such co-operation: it would enormously enhance the enjoyment in a multiplayer game. The Hood's ideas are particularly well-developed. I suspect that it will be said by the main developers - with some justification - that the priority is simply to get Simutrans working stably and effectively over the network, but, once that is achieved, there is a great deal in the latest proposals that recommend themselves.
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jonasbb

I think the ideas of The Hood are great.

But I would prefer, if I could select these setting to each company.

The Hood

Obviously no point in doing any of my "wishlist" until network implementation is working fully and correctly.  Only it may have a bearing on how things are developed if anyone wants to take my ideas forward.  I was intending that you could select a different setting for each competitor, so players 2 and 3 could team up to compete with the bigger player 1 for example.

jamespetts

There are some very interesting possibilities with how the public service player could work, too, as representing a national government (allowing for intriguing machinations between the public and private sector). There is also the possibility of having a market in second-hand vehicles, and the ability for players to buy and sell parts of each other's networks which would all enhance multiplayer trade and commerce.
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Václav

Single ... because I have not anyone who can play it with me.

I think singleplayer should be main. Multiplayer can be toke as alternative to AI players - when AI is so poor (but I have to say I have not played against computer for very long time - so it might change).

Chybami se člověk učí - ale někteří lidé jsou nepoučitelní

werl

The AI players still aren't any good. I would love to try a multiplayer version. I would like a challenge. don't know how often I would play it, but it would still be fun to try.
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Lukewarm

I voted for both.

I only play Simutrans and Football Manager (due to my age and failing eyesight!).

Having played FM in an online clan (as well as in singleplayer mode), I can say that both options are great, albeit vastly different experiences.

I would imagine that Simutrans with a decent bunch of honest players would be a great way so spend an evening or ten!


AP

I vote Both, and pretty much agree with what Hood is saying.

I think the thing with multiplayer, whether collaboratively or competitively, but more importantly in the latter case, is that you have to resolve the issue of needing a "referee" - the one game I played here in that way was well controlled by the public-service player, but they take a very different role to everyone else (akin to the Dungeon-Master, I suppose, in D&D  ;D ). Ideally the game needs, as hood says, certain capabilities to avoid excessive use of the PS player (e.g infrastructure sharing).

For competitive play, I also wonder whether a control mechanism could be implemented... akin to getting acts of parliament for rail routes ... whereby the game locks players out of building on certain terrain squares (ie most of the map) until each get permission to build between Atown and Bville, at which point the appropriate sector of map is unlocked to the player concerned. Otherwise, it becomes a land grab, whereas ideally a company should have its bank balance checked, its reputation (happy passengers etc) before being granted further permissions.

Xelofino

Hi everyone (perhaps sorry for bad English)

I vote for both too. I think at it like that :
Today : Merkur and i are playing one savegame in which we are enemies and we look at the strategies of the other. Merkur plays it and saves it and puts it in our Forum where i download it and continue playing it. When I've done i put it to the forum and he downloads it. => We are to different companies so while I'm playing and the time is going forward he makes more money(or less)
Later(Multiplayer) : We could play at the same time and perhaps we could talk or chat with eachother (perhaps it will have some plus functions like chat). I don't think about being one company.

But i like playing Simutrans alone too!

It would be something new!

If I'm already here : Wouldn't it be nice to have environmental disasters like earthquakes and floods which are for example destroying your tracks? ( just a thought)

Xelofino

Bernd Gabriel

Welcome to the forum, Xelofino!

Don't worry about your English, this is an international forum ;)

Quote from: Xelofino on August 19, 2010, 05:40:22 PM
If I'm already here : Wouldn't it be nice to have environmental disasters like earthquakes and floods which are for example destroying your tracks? ( just a thought)

Simutrans is a construction and economy simulation, but not a destruction game. Therefore it is no place for disasters. Never ever.
The journey is the reward!