I am not posting to cause flames. This just needs to be said. I tried to start a game with 3-4 people last night and it was a disaster. If the two other guys there weren't so patient, we couldnt have even got past square one. It took us three hours just to start a game. The game then crashed after half an hour. When I say it took us three hours, Im talking three hours of game crashing. This is the most unstable multiplayer code Ive ever encountered. This urgently needs to be addressed, its crazy! We all had good cable connections too, yet network latency was still a great problem.
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Yeah that was really annoying. The most annoying part about it was when we finally got to play for a little while (even though the other guy dropped, which was to bad) it crashed right. There is no point in playing a m-player game when you can't even get 10 years into the game. This problem really needs to get addressed and fast before some players lost interest in the game.
Trouble is the kind of brain power needed to do those kinds of codings as well as some of the other RTS games is only in demand like in 1,000 companies now..... Wonder if Stockholm has their share...
Actually....
It shouldn't be that tough to get it working...
Most of the MP code are pretty common and there are several libraries available out there...
For me the most difficult part is the instability of the game in multi-tasking. If you could run the game in a window and for example ICQ at the same time it would be much easier... Or even have a ICQ-like message system within the game......
It shouldn't be that tough to get it working...
Most of the MP code are pretty common and there are several libraries available out there...
For me the most difficult part is the instability of the game in multi-tasking. If you could run the game in a window and for example ICQ at the same time it would be much easier... Or even have a ICQ-like message system within the game......
I was the guy that dropped.
but the next day I played a game with some other guys for hours with no drops or crashes. sometimes it works good, sometimes not, lol
but the next day I played a game with some other guys for hours with no drops or crashes. sometimes it works good, sometimes not, lol
Yes, that is strange. I have also played alot of LAN games without too many problems. Very, very strange.
Multiplayer shortcomings
Hi,
Yes I agree with previous posters. The lack of a stable multiplayer environment makes it hard for me to recommend this game to my friends. The only reason I want them to get it would be to beat them, right
.
Europa Universalis faces two challenges:
1) Get a patch out for multiplayer mode or the game will never ever take off. All the most successful games nowadays have a strong support multiplayer capabilities (Age of Empires, Quake III, Alpha Centauri). Disregarding this is not only stupid, but could spell financial troubles for the company aswell.
2) Some kind of dedicated server/matchmaking must be introduced. Right now it is too hard to find someone to play with....not that people try that much with the inherent problems in multiplayer mode though...
Personally I think it is more important with multiplayer support than a strong AI. Look at Australian Design Group that are ready to ship the computer version of the World Acclaimed Strategy game of World War II (World in Flames). They decided to start shipping the game WITHOUT AI, but support for multiplayer....
Thanks
Sea Hawkh
Hi,
Yes I agree with previous posters. The lack of a stable multiplayer environment makes it hard for me to recommend this game to my friends. The only reason I want them to get it would be to beat them, right
.Europa Universalis faces two challenges:
1) Get a patch out for multiplayer mode or the game will never ever take off. All the most successful games nowadays have a strong support multiplayer capabilities (Age of Empires, Quake III, Alpha Centauri). Disregarding this is not only stupid, but could spell financial troubles for the company aswell.
2) Some kind of dedicated server/matchmaking must be introduced. Right now it is too hard to find someone to play with....not that people try that much with the inherent problems in multiplayer mode though...
Personally I think it is more important with multiplayer support than a strong AI. Look at Australian Design Group that are ready to ship the computer version of the World Acclaimed Strategy game of World War II (World in Flames). They decided to start shipping the game WITHOUT AI, but support for multiplayer....
Thanks
Sea Hawkh
- Dec 14, 1999
- 22.073
- 262.732
When you say it crashes before you even start.. What are you doing then?
Just sitting in the lobby talking or alt-tab out from the game to icq?
Just sitting in the lobby talking or alt-tab out from the game to icq?
Possible Aid for Multiplayer
I spent alot of time on the Zone. thats Microsoft gaming zone....Zone.com anyway, when I want to play EU I head to the strategy section of the Lan Direct play section of the zone. I meet a friend in there and from there we goand pick one of the rooms. We have found that its far more stable. Of course the main problem is finding opponents, but I am getting used to the AI.
Good Luck, and remember to duck.
I spent alot of time on the Zone. thats Microsoft gaming zone....Zone.com anyway, when I want to play EU I head to the strategy section of the Lan Direct play section of the zone. I meet a friend in there and from there we goand pick one of the rooms. We have found that its far more stable. Of course the main problem is finding opponents, but I am getting used to the AI.
Good Luck, and remember to duck.
To Johan
Once the host launched, the load screen comes up with the picture of the village. The load bar at the bottom (which goes through things like loading sprites, and loading scenario, etc) locks up before the launch. Going back to the lobby wasnt an option, we had to exit the game (I ctrl-alt-delete, the only way I could get out) and meet back at ICQ.
Didnt have any problems the next day, or the next, though. May have been one of the others, even if it was assumed that the "new guy" must be causing the problems, lol.
Once the host launched, the load screen comes up with the picture of the village. The load bar at the bottom (which goes through things like loading sprites, and loading scenario, etc) locks up before the launch. Going back to the lobby wasnt an option, we had to exit the game (I ctrl-alt-delete, the only way I could get out) and meet back at ICQ.
Didnt have any problems the next day, or the next, though. May have been one of the others, even if it was assumed that the "new guy" must be causing the problems, lol.
Not sure about you but...
Last night my friend and I played a great game using the Internet IP connection option and played for 5 hours straight without a single problem.
Maybe we were just lucky
Last night my friend and I played a great game using the Internet IP connection option and played for 5 hours straight without a single problem.
Maybe we were just lucky
[I spent alot of time on the Zone. thats Microsoft gaming zone....Zone.com anyway, when I want to play EU I head to the strategy section of the Lan Direct play section of the zone. I meet a friend in there and from there we goand pick one of the rooms. We have found that its far more stable. Of course the main problem is finding opponents, but I am getting used to the AI. ]
- I just checked that place out. How did you get the room to register EU? I only had the option to host Sudden Strike, AOK, and Baldur's Gate.....
- I just checked that place out. How did you get the room to register EU? I only had the option to host Sudden Strike, AOK, and Baldur's Gate.....
LAN problem
I tried several LAN games, but every time I registered a crash, in particular I could not see the other Pc's and I tested several crash while I was in the host/join windows.
I already updated the game with the most recent patch and all my pc's have the prerequisites requested.
What should I do? I have a north american version of EU.
Regards
Stefano
I tried several LAN games, but every time I registered a crash, in particular I could not see the other Pc's and I tested several crash while I was in the host/join windows.
I already updated the game with the most recent patch and all my pc's have the prerequisites requested.
What should I do? I have a north american version of EU.
Regards
Stefano
Well, a few things which seem to crash the mp game every time:
- Task switching (OS is windows 2000)
- ICQ. In any shape or form, even if it's just sitting there.
- Firewall apps. no surprise here, though zonealarm seems to adapt to it once you set it up.
- Task switching (OS is windows 2000)
- ICQ. In any shape or form, even if it's just sitting there.
- Firewall apps. no surprise here, though zonealarm seems to adapt to it once you set it up.
Hello all,
I have had the opportunity to play quit a few multiplayer games and have found a few problems and a few solutions. The game doesn't like anything running when you start a multiplayer game, so you have to control-alt-delete everything except EXPLORER and SYSTRAY.
The game doesn't do well with alot of players, I have been successful with two or three player games, each of us have widely different machines also. With more players or when the game gets into the late 1600's we experience game ending lag and lagwarping. What's lagwarping you say, well its when one player(usually the host) is a few months or even years ahead of the other players on the calendar, and to fix it the host pauses the game to allow the others to catch up. Once caught up you can start the game, but again as the game drags on into the later years the lagwarping becomes even worse. We have surmised the problem is the enormous amount of information the game has to crunch for all the AI countries out there (the tech, trade, wars, colonization...ect) and if one of the human players goes to war, hang it up, major lag-o-rama.
In any event its a great game, my friends and I can't get enough, it's sad about not completing some games do to the lag monster, but we struggle on in the hopes Paradox fixes it. Oh by the way, we've been experimenting with the fantasia game, we can edit the file to place us closer together, so we can battle each other after expanding and building up for a couple of years without fear of lag. The down side ofcourse is that we don't have many AI countries to play around with. Hope this helps.
Traveler
I have had the opportunity to play quit a few multiplayer games and have found a few problems and a few solutions. The game doesn't like anything running when you start a multiplayer game, so you have to control-alt-delete everything except EXPLORER and SYSTRAY.
The game doesn't do well with alot of players, I have been successful with two or three player games, each of us have widely different machines also. With more players or when the game gets into the late 1600's we experience game ending lag and lagwarping. What's lagwarping you say, well its when one player(usually the host) is a few months or even years ahead of the other players on the calendar, and to fix it the host pauses the game to allow the others to catch up. Once caught up you can start the game, but again as the game drags on into the later years the lagwarping becomes even worse. We have surmised the problem is the enormous amount of information the game has to crunch for all the AI countries out there (the tech, trade, wars, colonization...ect) and if one of the human players goes to war, hang it up, major lag-o-rama.
In any event its a great game, my friends and I can't get enough, it's sad about not completing some games do to the lag monster, but we struggle on in the hopes Paradox fixes it. Oh by the way, we've been experimenting with the fantasia game, we can edit the file to place us closer together, so we can battle each other after expanding and building up for a couple of years without fear of lag. The down side ofcourse is that we don't have many AI countries to play around with. Hope this helps.
Traveler
Experiences in MP gaming
Well, I've to say it: the only reason for what I've not abandoned EU MP gaming is because it's a heck of a good game. Any other game with such a great number of crashes in MP sessions would have a very short life in my hard disk.
I've been playing on a regular basis (almost every night) many campaigns (mostly IGC) with an average number of 4 to 5 players, with a varied range of speed connections: from modem 56k to DSL 256 kb/sec.
Well, you guessed it: lot of crashes...but fortunately this game is so involving that we keep reloading and restoring again and again...
The tech requirements to play MP, as stated in the game box, is not only a somewhat cynical sentence (512 kb/sec! it's like saying "...to play this awesome 1st person shooter with all graphical options you need a Silicon Graphics Station..."), but it can be wrong.
One of the regular players has a 56k modem. We're playing a 5 players campaign, and this dude had NEVER a crash. This has brought me to think that the speed of the connection is not the most important aspect, but the RELIABILITY of the connection.
I'm not a tech wizard, so I haven't any idea about what this means, but I think it's curious enough to see cable and ADSL connections ranging from 128 to 256 kb/sec causing some crash now and then, while a simple 56k modem has never lost connection (or been dropped to the desktop) in any of our long game sessions.
Hope this may be of some help in the search of solutions to the MP unstability of EU gaming.
Well, I've to say it: the only reason for what I've not abandoned EU MP gaming is because it's a heck of a good game
. Any other game with such a great number of crashes in MP sessions would have a very short life in my hard disk.I've been playing on a regular basis (almost every night) many campaigns (mostly IGC) with an average number of 4 to 5 players, with a varied range of speed connections: from modem 56k to DSL 256 kb/sec.
Well, you guessed it: lot of crashes...but fortunately this game is so involving that we keep reloading and restoring again and again...
The tech requirements to play MP, as stated in the game box, is not only a somewhat cynical sentence (512 kb/sec! it's like saying "...to play this awesome 1st person shooter with all graphical options you need a Silicon Graphics Station..."), but it can be wrong.
One of the regular players has a 56k modem. We're playing a 5 players campaign, and this dude had NEVER a crash. This has brought me to think that the speed of the connection is not the most important aspect, but the RELIABILITY of the connection.
I'm not a tech wizard, so I haven't any idea about what this means, but I think it's curious enough to see cable and ADSL connections ranging from 128 to 256 kb/sec causing some crash now and then, while a simple 56k modem has never lost connection (or been dropped to the desktop) in any of our long game sessions.
Hope this may be of some help in the search of solutions to the MP unstability of EU gaming.
As players on the MP side of the equation, we have found significant trouble only once, and this appeared to have more to do with the general health of the net that day than connections, however, based on some of the comments from the rest of our regular gaming group, let me follow up on some of the comments made above and indicate suggestions for those who may have what we think are the neccessary technical conditions to at least improve if not perfect the MP experience until coding improvements are made.
1)Machine Conditions:
Tijlehto is correct on all three points he makes. We eliminate any of these conditions, and hosting should prefferably NOT be done from behind a firewall (no matter how adept the programmer).
2)Game Settings:
We do not play any faster than 1 minute = 2 months, NO ONE uses the pause button EVER, and unless we have 8 players Spain is run by the AI. (An 8 player where Spain is human-controlled should probably be played at 1 = 1. Its slow, but its also sure!).
3)Speed:
The Host machine has GOT to be nimble. I would suggest no less than 128 and prefferably 256 megs Ram and somewhere above 800 mhz. All similar connections are adviseable (e.g. all wideband or all dial up), and wideband is probably neccessary for more than a couple of players.
Until there is an improvement on the way the engine handles data processing and transmission, we have found these rules help us get along. Hope they help out someone else!