I don't play multiplayer because....

[MrCynical]

The reason I don't play multiplayer much is that most of the 'games' seem to consist of very fast games dominated by tiny maps and early rushes. There is vastly more to civ than this, and I have no interest in limiting play to that style. Very few games make it much past the classical age, and I don't think I've seen any truly epic games except ones I've arranged in advance with my friends.

I have no interest in ladder games, or any game where someone gives up by turn 30 because they haven't got iron or copper.

 

[shumble]

One option that was left off the poll is:
Not being able to set aside a fixed block of time due to spouses and children.

I have very limited time to play games and so I do not think I could ever get on for enough time in one sitting to play multiplayer; although, I would love to try it. Sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[Zombie69]

If i want to play mutilplayer, i'll play Starcraft (which i think is the most perfect game ever created). Civ is best played singleplayer.

Besides, i'm getting too old for the multiplayer scene.

 

[SPQR300]

I tried to enjoy multiplayer, and I liked it much, BUT I decided not to play because:
-there were WAAAY to many technical problems:
-Out of Synchron
-5minute wait times, when someone is joining,
-freezing games, when I saved a MP game, I couldnt reload it, cause the turn timer freezed,
-game unplayable at late game, because people keep on joining
-you cannot close player slots
-you have to play 10hours, and you still havent finished a game
-absolute lack of modern era play
-diplomacy is way too easy and unrealistic vs. people, but it's not a negative thing...
-very bad players who are incredibly noob, or cannot speak English
-NO POSSIBILITY to pause the game for a nice 10-20minutes, then rejoin
you have to spend the whole day in front of the PC,
-ladder games suck, cause I am not gonna play a game through in one run
-want to play now and then 1-2hours, save the game, and host it next time, but it's not possible.
-and I forgot: join BUGS, BUGS, BUGS.

I gave it up after 3days of trying. I even wrote a quite long list of how to improve the multiplayer part for casual players, which everyone liked. http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=140503
The multiplayer interface we have now is really annoying and bad, pity that CIV4 is really awesome in MP, but only if you are an enthusaist, who is willing to play ladder games, and play 5-10-15hours in a row.

 

[WackenOpenAir]

Where is that one single most obvious reason ?

-Turn based games are slow and not very suitable for multiplayer.

 

[WackenOpenAir]

If i want to play mutilplayer, i'll play Starcraft (which i think is the most perfect game ever created). Civ is best played singleplayer.

Besides, i'm getting too old for the multiplayer scene.

Are you still playing starcraft ?
Must be like 7 years old now or so?
You are right though, it is the best game ever made. I quit playing 2 years ago (due to the lack of similarly skilled, english speaking and non cheating opponents) and still can't get it completely out of my head

 

[Zombie69]

Are you still playing starcraft ?

No, because :

I'm getting too old for the multiplayer scene.

I bought Warcraft 3 and never even played it once.

 

[WackenOpenAir]

Ah no, WC3 was not a good game anyway
I played about 200 ladder games in it to be sure.

Age doesn't need to stop you from multiplayer though. When i played starcraft, we had a reasonably mature community. It was just when that comunity fell appart that i could only find cheating korean kids and pro gamers with 250+ commands per second.

 

[Marcus Cicero]

I need the option: My wife won't let me!

I agree with what vbraun said way, way back: MP is too damned fun, if you ask me. If regular Civ is like digital crack, playing against real human beings is like a gallon-sized heroin needle.

THIS, hit the nail with the hammer folks...

 

[RX2000]

I dont play multiplayer very much because I rarely have the hours and hours it could take to do a MP game. Usually when I play I dont play for very long at a time. I dont like the feeling of being "tied down" to a game.... Like if I leave it would mess the game up for other people or something. So I just stick to SP usually. Only played a few games of MP, and usually just with my brother-in-law on a LAN.

 

[xGBox]

Because in the beginning, everybody I play with are so damn slow with their turns. It takes me a 1/3 of the time everybody else does per turn but somehow, some guy will actually need the whole 30 seconds PER TURN!

Really though, playing at my own pace is better.

 

[WackenOpenAir]

Because in the beginning, everybody I play with are so damn slow with their turns. It takes me a 1/3 of the time everybody else does per turn but somehow, some guy will actually need the whole 30 seconds PER TURN!

Really though, playing at my own pace is better.

30 seconds

When i play single player, the first turn takes about half an hour, sometimes up to 2 hours if i am planning to do it real good and use excel sheets.
After that, the time needed will increase from on average about 1 minute for turn 2 to 30 minutes for the late game turns.
And every 10-20 turns, i need to take an extra break for an hour to think about my long term game plans.
(that is for civ3, but it cant be so different for 4)

And maybe thats why i don't think civ is very suitable for multiplayer
It's like chess, it's a game where you are supposed to think carefully. Speed chess is rediculous. People destroying the game like that is a result of the hasty, flashy modern society

 

[xGBox]

I thought all you do on the first turn is make a city, set your other unit to explore, start building a warrior, and start researching something. That's four steps!

I mean, if you were taking everything into account such as trees, rivers, and resources you would need more time, but I thought this was something that could be easily eyeballed.

 

[WackenOpenAir]

I thought all you do on the first turn is make a city, set your other unit to explore, start building a warrior, and start researching something. That's four steps!

I mean, if you were taking everything into account such as trees, rivers, and resources you would need more time, but I thought this was something that could be easily eyeballed.

NoNo

Go read the civ3 gotm and sgotm forums and you will see what i and many others do in that first turn.

Civ is a strategy game, you need to make plans on both short and long term. Calculate the optimal actions to make those plans happen etc...
You do not always want to start with a warrior. You do not always want to research the same tech, you do not always settle at the place where you start, you do not always explore in the same direction.

Would you be happy if you elect a new government / president or whatever and they only need to spend 30 seconds of thinking before they make their decisions ? (Now maybe this is a bad example because in most goverments it actually takes years and years to get someting done )

 

[Seven05]

I've played plenty of Civ4 MP games but only with people I know. LAN games have worked best. Honestly, it's no different than any other MP game for me regardless of the genre. The fun comes from the people in the game with you, not the game itself. Hang around the forums for a while, chat with other people and you'll meet enough people with similar intrests. Get them together, get a decent voice chat program and run with it. It's a very easy game to play in short incriments or one or two hours here and there as long as it's with a good bunch of players.

Or, you can go into a "public" game and get fed up with the insanely high number of complete idiots that play games

Oh, and if you're going to add an option for those that can't play because their wife won't let them you need to add one for those of us fortunate enough to have a wife that not only lets us, but joins in on the fun too. Yeah, I got it easy, a "date night" for me is ording a pizza and playing BF2 on a private server with my wife and a bunch of our buddies from the net, jealous?

 

[zeeter]

too many skills that the multiplayer guys have that can be used as exploits against a multi-player newbie like me. Plus, like someone else said, it's better for me to be able to play whenever I like, for however long I like, and I can leave a game I'm doing poorly at without feeling guilty.

 

[Phoenix_56721]

Other?

I waiting for a Friend of mine to buy the game, then we will spend endless hours playing. The thing were looking forward to most is the new team options, we like to play against each other sometimes but we like to play as teammates against the AI in most games. Civ4 really made team play possible, unlike Civ3 which really didn't let you team up at all.

 

[Artanis]

I'm going to go with "I can't find enough people etc. etc. etc", because that's the closest I can find to "I have no internet connection at home right now"

 

[Fru]

Games don't have to start from scratch. And don't have to take all day.

We can make it how we like. All we need is time.

Who would like to play what against whom?

That would be a start.

As of now I'm up for:

- small maps (lower end system)
- quick paced game
- 3 - 5 hours per night, girlfriend permitting
- I'd like to see a game all the way through in 1 - 3 evenings
- any map configuration really, maybe even a scenario

Then I'll have a little break, watch any replays and discuss untill my next game.

Personally I'd like to play specific scenarios with as ballanced starting positions as possible. Playing the same scenarios will allow gamers a system of measure.

 

[SPQR300]

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