Open invitation to civ5 multiplayer

[KM]

I first wrote this as an open answer to a certain player obout the lack of competition in civ5 MP. I am sorry about that. It got out all wrong.
This is what I should have written.

This is the reality of Civ5 MP. We are maybe about 100-150 players who are active in the so called “pro civ5 mp community” and none of us are pro. The crème de la crème are actually amateurs. Most of us are 30+, Most of us got full time jobs, hobbies (apart from civ5), we like to go out and have a beer with friends once in a while, we got girlfriends or wives, maybe a kid or two and a dog. We are all amateurs who try to cram in a bit of civ5 between cooking for the family, do our jobs, walking the dog and drive the kids to school.
Most of us hang out in two chat rooms. NQ and CP. We play various types of games and most of us are nice players who welcome new members with open arms. Our chat rooms are what the built in Civ5 lobby never became and with it s current layout not have any chance to become. A place where MP players can find good games of any type with other players who enjoy the game, who won t quit at first obstacle and where people (mostly) behave like adults.

The SP player base is much larger than the MP Player base. The civ 5 MP thought have a lot to offer that the SP doesn’t have. It is in a way two different experiences of CIV5.
I don’t know the reason why so few play MP.

Maybe it is because some think they are not good enough. I can tell you that you are, or at least will be after a couple of games.

Some might have tried it out but gotten tired of not finding good games using the built in lobby. Well that is very different from the experience you will have if you join the two main multiplayer groups and use the chat rooms provided to find good games.

I would like to send an open invitation and a challenge to all SP players to try out MP with us who play in the NQ and CP group. You might find that you will perform better than you think and challenging in a different way than SP and that you actually will enjoy it quite a lot.

You can find the groups here:
Civplayers CP
For this one you will need to register at the website. Easy and takes only a few minutes. They got a ranking system so most of the games played with the group will affect a score on the webpage. Here you can find good duels, 2vs2, 3vs3 and something called CTON (named after a legendary civilization player) CTON is basically a game with several players involved with very strict rules that are meant to make give the game a time limit.
www.civplayers.com
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/civplayers
http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198021954438
Civplayers Steam Chat steam://friends/joinchat/103582791431089902

The NQ group (NQ)
This group is like the name hint a group for players who are tired of people quitting all the time. This is the place to find good ffa-games (free for all games, that is all victory conditions, possibility to make alliances etc) without the risk of people quitting on you.

You can find them here:
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/NO_QUITTERS
They also got a steam chat you can find it from the group page

 

[KM]

For a thread to live there always have to be something to debate or a question to answer. So here is the question.

To all of you who only play SP. What are your reasons for not playing Multiplayer and what do you feel is needed for you to try it out?

 

[HansA]

For a thread to live there always have to be something to debate or a question to answer. So hee is the question.

To all of you who only play SP. What are your reasons for not playing Multiplayer and what do you feel is needed for you to try it out?

The main reason that I don't play MP is because I'd have to quite now and then to feed a baby, working, ...
I never see a way to have 2-4hours time to do MP.

I hate it myself when people quite in the middle of the game, so rather don't do it to someone else either. I normally love MP tho, but CIV V would take to long.

 

[KM]

HansA: In the CP league you can play turn limit games. for example there are people playing 120 turn limited games where winner is decided by score at the end. Those games usually are finished within 2 hours. But like you say. You probably will need two hours of consecutive game time for MP. But you do not need 4 for some game settings.

 

[CatGarfield]

For a thread to live there always have to be something to debate or a question to answer. So hee is the question.

To all of you who only play SP. What are your reasons for not playing Multiplayer and what do you feel is needed for you to try it out?

My reason for not playing MP is that I simply can't find the time to engage in a game lasting several hours nonstop. It seems I always have something else to do at the same time, and have to be away from the computer every now and then for various reasons. In my way of thinking, I would really be a pain in the butt for the other players, so I've never even tried MP. Just checked my Steam account, and found out I have more than 1700 hours playing time, and can honestly say that no more than 10 per cent of that has been "active" playing. The rest is from the game running in the background while I'm doing something else.

So, in other words, I'd love to try MP, but out of courtesy towards the other human players, haven't engaged myself in something I'm not sure I can finish. The AI in SP doesn't mind me slowing the game down by being away from the computer.

 

[Aldor]

I haven't played MP yet. Mostly because of two things I guess:

First that I don't like to make a big commitment in time if I am not sure I will actually be able to play through. One of the nice things about playing Civ5 SP is that you can just walk away if you find its time, need a break, and of course if things don't turn out as you want.

Second, I don't like the idea of simultaneous turns. I'm not the guy with the quickest reactions, and losing a move due to that does not appeal to me at all.

That said, I'd still like to try MP. Perhaps a duel or small game would last short enough to do on a weekend.

 

[KM]

Aldor: You are more then welcome to join NQ and CP, If you are short on time I recommend a duel sicne you will most probably be able to finish one in less than 2 hours.

Simultanious moves are indeed an important factor in MP. sometimes it turns into a bit of a clickfest. One thing commonly practised is double moves. that is moving just before turn timer ends and then again the first second of the next turn with the same unit. For example moving in and pillaging an iron resource the last second of a turn when there is no time for the oponent to react and then out again the first second of the next turn.

This is a part of the MP strategy and I can udnerstand that some people dislike it. Just like SP, MP got it s pro s and con s.

 

[The Pilgrim]

MP is a different game. I don't see any reason to learn a new game while I still have lot of fun playing the old one. When I get bored with SP probably I'll start playing MP, like it was with Civ4. I'm not there yet.

 

[Greatsword]

First that I don't like to make a big commitment in time if I am not sure I will actually be able to play through. One of the nice things about playing Civ5 SP is that you can just walk away if you find its time, need a break, and of course if things don't turn out as you want.

/signed

You are more then welcome to join NQ and CP, If you are short on time I recommend a duel since you will most probably be able to finish one in less than 2 hours.

perhaps I should give it a try; there shouldn't be any harm except an easy win for my opponent

 

[peddroelm]

because I haven't found any good recordings of civ V MP on youtube

 

[Shylock76]

Have to say i dipped in to the lobby once or twice and it looked quite dead but i'll check this out. As with some of the other posters, finding a number of hours consecutively where the wife wont be on Facebook or something needs doing can be difficult and i'd rather not tarnish an mp game by logging in only to find I have to disappear 45 mins later....but i'll try and book some time to jump in and have a look

 

[KM]

Have to say i dipped in to the lobby once or twice and it looked quite dead but i'll check this out. As with some of the other posters, finding a number of hours consecutively where the wife wont be on Facebook or something needs doing can be difficult and i'd rather not tarnish an mp game by logging in only to find I have to disappear 45 mins later....but i'll try and book some time to jump in and have a look

I hope you do. But skip out on the civ loby this time and go straight for the NQ or CL chat lobby

 

[OverWind]

For a thread to live there always have to be something to debate or a question to answer. So here is the question.

To all of you who only play SP. What are your reasons for not playing Multiplayer and what do you feel is needed for you to try it out?

I tried it once. And I'm going to try it again. But the reason I don't play more, is how uncertain the amount of time is. I don't want to be a quitter, and sometimes I have maybe 3-4 hours to play. But what if the game takes 6 or 8? There's no way to know. And that's why I'm only going to play in weekends where I know I have A LOT of hours available.

But also. I play LAN. Actually we're going to be 6 people at my place this weekend playing Civ. We even bought trophy's for the winners (we're going to be 3 teams with 2 players on each).

(The plaque reads "Ultimate badass at Civilization")

disclaimer: and no we're not really badass compared to the general MP population.

 

[tommynt]

How u get to know 5 other "nerds" in RL?

Ok dont want sound offensive here, but really - I maybe got 2 friends playing video games and they just play "cooler" games?
I rember time in my teens when we had LAN sessions, but guys "obviously" wanted play shooter or a action packed strat game like LOR.

Actually there is some envy here

 

[OverWind]

Well. I guess I'm just lucky knowing the right friends - 3 of them are childhood friends. And the other 2 are friends of one of them, though we've played 4-5 LAN games of Civ 4 together, so I know them pretty well by now.

It's really funny playing Civ in LAN, and each team is gonna sit in a different room in the appartment, so no one can look at screens or overhear tactics

 

[chazzycat]

I am curious about multiplayer sometimes, until I remember the turn timer and simultaneous turns. To me, that kinda defeats the purpose of playing civ. A huge part of why I love turn based strategy is the relaxed pace, so I can sit there pondering strategies at my leisure. If I want to play a competitive adrenaline-fueled clickfest, there are better games available, like starcraft.

Thanks for the invite though.

 

[tommynt]

If I want to play a competitive adrenaline-fueled clickfest, there are better games available, like starcraft.

ON higher lvl play civ mp it REALLY isnt a clickfest anymore, both players will move their units clever so they cant be killed by some fast/doublemove there will allways be backup units so u can exchange units 1 by 1 each. Turn timers are long (bit too long), so enough time to think in between for both.

Bascially games come down to who can get more science/production ... stronger units or well sometimes attacks more clever (usually with ranged units positioned well). Well to just - who - is the better civplayer.

And why not play starcraft instead civ mp? As other have mentioned - those games got bad community, and also BIG communities, I like the smaller ones where players know each other. Also even when firaxis did bring a pretty unfinished producut I dont want support blizzard even more.

I played a bit sp today (GOTM 22) and in evening some duels (few short, 1 longer which had to be saved) and the fun, the "thrill" of mp is just something totaly different - its now a real GAME - in singleplayer u cant really loose - u just click some stuff - playing singleplayer feels more like watching tv, and actually more like a bad movie not like the newest blockbuster. People REALLY like watching bad movies?

 

[OverWind]

I played a bit sp today (GOTM 22) and in evening some duels (few short, 1 longer which had to be saved) and the fun, the "thrill" of mp is just something totaly different - its now a real GAME - in singleplayer u cant really loose - u just click some stuff - playing singleplayer feels more like watching tv, and actually more like a bad movie not like the newest blockbuster. People REALLY like watching bad movies?

I think you mistake your reason for playing Civ for everyone else's reason. There's lots of reasons to play single player. Personally I think it's quite cozy to take your time to build up your empire and see where it takes you. I love multiplayer (LAN) too, but mostly for the same reason actually.
I used to play StarCraft 1 A LOT, and I was really really good at it, but since then I can't really be bothered to play the amount of time it takes to be really really good at multiplayer in games.

 

[Tabarnak]

Some players just like to challenge or to be challenged. They need to compare themself and see how they can ameliorate their gameplay to effectively beat the best players someday.

Some others just don't want that and prefer something more soft and without constraints. These players can appreciate multiplayer but only to find some fun and online chat. Worse of them are those who really don't care and quit at the first rock they receive on their head.

Personnally, i think that players who don't care of multiplayer often don't care of any multiplayer games at all. It's only a matter of taste.

 

[Smokeybear]

Aldor: You are more then welcome to join NQ and CP, If you are short on time I recommend a duel sicne you will most probably be able to finish one in less than 2 hours.

Simultanious moves are indeed an important factor in MP. sometimes it turns into a bit of a clickfest. One thing commonly practised is double moves. that is moving just before turn timer ends and then again the first second of the next turn with the same unit. For example moving in and pillaging an iron resource the last second of a turn when there is no time for the oponent to react and then out again the first second of the next turn.

This is a part of the MP strategy and I can udnerstand that some people dislike it. Just like SP, MP got it s pro s and con s.

Never played MP Civ, but I'm curious- why couldn't they just keep it turn-based, where you make your move, then the other player makes theirs? Do you think it would have been a better experience if they had? It would seem a whole lot more fair and sensible, to me.