MP on Internet : why so few connected ?

[Terrapod126]

Hi to all,

I really wonder why there are so few people connected to play Civ 3 Conquests on Game Spy Arcade.
You reach a maximum of 100 players at sometimes...If u compare with other games such as Counter Strike with up to 20 000 players connected at one time, that's simply ridiculous !

Hence my question : is there any other place on the Internet where I can play online with other players ? I'm getting fed up with queuing up for hours on Game Spy Arcade, waiting for sbdy to come and play.

Thanks for your help lads.

 

[Doshniel]

You know, there's no other place to go. So try to get to know someone and play a serious game with that guy, prefarably save.

 

[TrailblazingScot]

Originally posted by Terrapod126
Hi to all,

I really wonder why there are so few people connected to play Civ 3 Conquests on Game Spy Arcade.
You reach a maximum of 100 players at sometimes...If u compare with other games such as Counter Strike with up to 20 000 players connected at one time, that's simply ridiculous !

Hence my question : is there any other place on the Internet where I can play online with other players ? I'm getting fed up with queuing up for hours on Game Spy Arcade, waiting for sbdy to come and play.

Thanks for your help lads.

Counter-strike you can join or leave anytime you want to without seriously ruining peoples games. The game takes a long period of time and is pretty slow paced throughout and is in most regards more fun against the A.I as the game is faster, in most cases more difficult, can be taken at your pace, with the rules you want and the A.I never gives up.

 

[lastride63]

LOL So you think MP against human players isnt difficult huh? I guess you havent been playing the right people. And you will cause problems by leaving or quitting during a game. It isnt cool to start a game with 5-8 people then leave the game because your land isnt good, you are beside aztecs, or some other lame excuse Please, play MP more and you will find it very challenging and very unpredictable. I mean, what fun is playing the AI when you can predict what it will do? Come on to GameSpy and join the Civ3ladder league. This is open to all who read this. We are the place for MP play. Hope to see you there

 

[Marauder13]

Moin!

The "bad starting point" Argument is a vital point when it comes to internet MP. I desperatly search for GOOD Maps that have at least a quite equal Starting Location.

Any Idea? It would also reduce the ****** Quitters!

 

[Craigbob]

:: Gives Lastride high five::

Actually, we play epics that run along the same guidelines as your sp games do. They are played in 2-5 hour increments (on average, sometimes longer) and are played to completion.

As for playing the AI being more fun than a human..........that's just weakness you're showing. Try playing a group of real people, where diplomacy means something, troop movement is logical, and trading had more depth. You can hoot and holler all day, but playing sp is just manipulating a string of repetitive actions in your favor.

Also, our short games for daily play have intensity and excitement that could never be accomplished in sp.

 

[Craigbob]

And as for "bad starting locations", the ultimate skill learned in multiplayer is the ability to adapt and manage a "sub-par" starting location. I know there are always exceptions to the rules, but anyone can beat the pants off a stupid AI with a perfect starting location (which you have restarted the game until you see one that fits your liking.)

 

[TrailblazingScot]

Originally posted by lastride63
LOL So you think MP against human players isnt difficult huh? I guess you havent been playing the right people. And you will cause problems by leaving or quitting during a game. It isnt cool to start a game with 5-8 people then leave the game because your land isnt good, you are beside aztecs, or some other lame excuse Please, play MP more and you will find it very challenging and very unpredictable. I mean, what fun is playing the AI when you can predict what it will do? Come on to GameSpy and join the Civ3ladder league. This is open to all who read this. We are the place for MP play. Hope to see you there

I've probably played more MP than you (played Civ from day 16 of its release and test PTW and Conquests multiplayer in the betas prior to the official release) and that ladder has hardly been run well from my experience. I had 22 wins, 2 losses and they scrubbed all the results and they seem to have mislaid my other account (after the results scrub) that had two wins on it, I'll prefer to play for fun as and when I can if I have to.

EDIT: Maybe I'm being too harsh here, but it hasn't been an well run ladder as far as my personal experience has been concerned.

Seriously, people do down the A.I but it is better than most humans IMHO as humans give in far too easily.

 

[lastride63]

Ya...maybe my 800 MP games against non AI players is just not enough to tell the difference between the AI and human players And the ladder IS well run, just because you had a bad experience doesnt mean everyone has, IMHO

 

[TrailblazingScot]

Originally posted by lastride63
Ya...maybe my 800 MP games against non AI players is just not enough to tell the difference between the AI and human players And the ladder IS well run, just because you had a bad experience doesnt mean everyone has, IMHO

800 MP games...jesus how many hours have you played for?

In total I would think I have played some 60-70 MP games and on average they last 3 hours, the longest one lasting 20 hours...

 

[Craigbob]

If I only had played 60, I'd be scared too.

 

[TrailblazingScot]

Originally posted by Craigbob
If I only had played 60, I'd be scared too.

Who says I'm scared, I just think that is alot of free time in the last two years used for one purpose. Now, it was time spent down the gym to get in shape so he/she could beat me up, THEN I'd be scared.

As it is, I'd glibly say, you've played 800 games to lose like this

 

[Terrapod126]

The aim of my query was, and still is, to understand why so few people were and are playing MP with Civ 3, although I find it being such a more fascinating and interesting game than the classical "shoot'em all" one can find through Internet.
Hence if you could stop your endless and meaningless quarrel, and participate more positely into the current debate, that would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your comprehension.

 

[Dease]

Well I recently got cable internet (FINALLY) and I was thinking that I would always be playing civ 3 online. But then I log onto gamespy and there's only 65 people on and only about 3 or 4 games! I never did play a game then and I've never played a mp game since then. I would think that the game would have more than 65 people playing it online considering this site has 45000+ members. I may eventually play a mp game but I doubt it because 1. I'm a person who has been playing for years yet only plays at regent, and 2. None of my freinds have Civ 3

 

[lastride63]

Actually kitty it has only been 7 months Now about why so few people are in the GS lobby I cannot say. I know there are thousands of SP players so it must be something. It may be the annoying way it takes a while to get a game started, it could be the lag and connection probs that plague Civ Mp, or it may be the fact that many just dont want to play a 3 or 4 hour game in one shot. It would be great if more peeps would play MP but as it is we(MP players) still have lots of choices for games and always play everyday

 

[CanuckSoldier]

Well the ladder has 953 members(453 active in the past 3 weeks) and 143921 matches played in the past year. Not bad for a turn based strategy game.

The reason you may not "see" many people in Gamespy is because inprogress games don't show up. Civ is a peer to peer MP game, GS is just a chat server and game launch service, and even then most people use direct IP and don't even bother with making a room.

Civ is the best TBS of all time, but it's still a strategy game and it just doesn't attract the adrenaline junkies that the FPS games do, anyone can and does play them. Civ is an intellectual game, but if you stick around awhile we are far more dedicated a community than you will find anywhere.

CS

 

[Craigbob]

Originally posted by kittenOFchaos

As it is, I'd glibly say, you've played 800 games to lose like this

.

Huh? Lose like what? (Don't understand.)