Why play PBEM?

[LouLong]

You can read Heihojin's answer again as I would have answered exactly the same way.
We tried to explain why we liked it because you seemed to wonder. But what's the point for you in coming here and just starting to abuse us PBEMers.

You are perfectly free to enjoy a 30-minute MP game with your friends. But that's just one way of playing Civ. And that does not please everyone. I played some MPs but got tired of the basic early military rush.
For me (and most PBEMers I guess), enjoying Civ is really playing the epic with all its techs, its different strategies, its diplomatic agreements,... something I have never seen in regular MP. Not that I call it bad, though, just different.
When I played a WWI PBEM, it took me 30 minutes once just to play one turn. So obviously our tastes in gameplay simply cannot compare.

 

[ranathari]

PBEM is basically the modern version of playing chess by post (which I have done in the past). You're right in saying that it takes forever but that is a large part of the appeal of the game mode: being able to really think about strategy and being able to mull ideas over before making a decision. Some of the most tactical and well-orchestrated games I've ever played in have been PBEMs.

 

[illumina]

He said "PBEM has been the foundation of multiplayer games" which is a fact.

You've been living in a dreamworld, Neo. Only in your detached reality has PBEM ever been anything other than obscure and irrelevant. Hello, McFly, Anybody home?

A 30 minute game of Civ. That's sad.

Yes, it is. I normally play for about 4-8 hours once i load up Civ.

When I played a WWI PBEM, it took me 30 minutes once just to play one turn. So obviously our tastes in gameplay simply cannot compare.

Why do you people think im the one who wants to play a 30 minute game? I Suggested 30 minute games for you people, because you all make it seem like you have less free time than the leader of a nation. I play for hours on end, i like to really get into the game, something you cant do with "PBEM".

Trust me, I've been playing these games probably longer than you have.

I'd just as soon have you remain stuck in your RTS wanna-be, adrenaline-junkie ways

It's because people like you play real-time online games, that people like us avoid it like the plague.

None of you know anything about me, yet you say things like im an 'adrenaline-junkie', 'ive played longer than you have' and 'people like 'you''? You've shown that the level of your intelligence is less advanced than... PBEM.


One thing has been made clear, for sure: PBEM players become very frightened and defensive when someone mentions that PBEM might not be the best way to play. God forbid that some of the few PBEM players still left might discover real-time Civ and leave your PBEM world. Its very strange how people who play a game thats all about technology still cling to their backward ways to the end.

Ive said all that i can about this subject, so im sure both you and me will be glad to know that this will be my last post in this thread. Have fun living in the past that never was, "PBEM".

 

[podbevna]

Illumina relax. You'll pop a vein or something...

I have never tried playing anything by mail (electronic or traditional). I have however observed my grandad playing chess with his friends abroad. He had his saturday ritual of studying the game and making a turn. It took an hour per turn and months per game, but gave him tremendeus pleasure.

He said he played some of the best games of his life that way, and he knows his chess. He was on the national team and still beats the hell out of me at 85.

Yes, I think I will try a PBEM game. I have no friends into Civ though, and no contacts, so I'm open to invitations.

 

[ZipZilla]

PBEM is just another way for people to play CIV 4 with friends who they would otherwise be unable to play with.

I've got a buddy that's married, has a kid, works 12 hours a day and goes to school, so YES he has a hard time finding the time for even a 30 minute game. So should he be denied of his CIV 4 fix? Hell No!!! Now he can contemplate it at work or whenever he finds the time to decide on his move and pass it to the next guy. That's insanely cool bro!

Here are my reasons:

- Play at work (gets past firewall and ip monitoring, attach to an email and wallah!)

- Play with friends who live in time zones outside your own.

Nobody is saying it's better, but honestly man... If you can't see there's a use for it. Give your head a shake, REAL hard.

It's almost like chess in a sense. You've got the 1minute speed games and then you have the untimed games. It's a whole different ball game amigo

ZipZilla

 

[.Shane.]

This could be a great, educational thread. Its too bad a few people (on both sides) get to caught up in hyperbole.

Speaking personally, PBEM probably wouldn't appeal to me, but hey, I've read enough here to be open to the concept. And, if in the end, its not for me, then who cares. I can still play Civ4 in the other modes and be happy and PBEM'ers can keep on keepin' on.

TBH, I'm glad they support this functionality.

A couple questions... At the start of the game, does it let you do several turns at a time? Like it runs a calculation and knows that the soonest possible time you could run into someone is X rounds then it lets you play X rounds at once? I'm thining there are too many considerations to make this idea not viable. Just thought I'd ask.

Vive le difference!

 

[Big J Money]

You've been living in a dreamworld, Neo. Only in your detached reality has PBEM ever been anything other than obscure and irrelevant. Hello, McFly, Anybody home?

What is this? That response doesn't even contain a statement. If what I said is incorrect, then prove me wrong. Accusing people of living in a "dream-world" without reason is an empty accusation.

None of you know anything about me, yet you say things like im an 'adrenaline-junkie', 'ive played longer than you have' and 'people like 'you''? You've shown that the level of your intelligence is less advanced than... PBEM.

I didn't say I've been playing longer than you, I said I probably have been. I made that statement because you seem to be lacking the knowledge of early computer gaming, which is something I was involved in. This led me to a conclusion. If I'm wrong, it would be very easy for you to prove it.

One thing has been made clear, for sure: PBEM players become very frightened and defensive when someone mentions that PBEM might not be the best way to play.

I can only speak for myself. I am not frightened. I am a little bit defensive, in that I am defending my point in the form of a debate. Also, you didn't say PBEM "might not be the best way to play". Re-read your own statements on the matter; they are much more extreme. It makes sense for us to defend something when it is attacked, but then....

Ive said all that i can about this subject, so im sure both you and me will be glad to know that this will be my last post in this thread. Have fun living in the past that never was, "PBEM".

....you didn't come here for a debate. It looks like you came here for a "drive-by".

=$=

 

[UglyElmo]

LOL good call Big J Money. I wish, at least, the quality of trolling would have improved by now, but it seems there are too many transparent troll wannabe's out there still.