Anyone up for a game then? I'm sending an email now with my notes and bugs. I think I'm probably the most difficult one because I don't have the sparkly nice expensive stuff like the others do (and quite frankly, my computer doesn't like me :P).
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I haven't decided for sure yet, but at the moment I'm thinking around $20 USD. The demo version will have multiplayer disabled and you'll only be able to play with Quick Start (i.e. no changing the game settings). There will also be nag screens; definitely when you exit the game, and possibly also when you start the game (though this one will be informational rather than nagging, and it'll be easy to dismiss it) and/or when you win a game.
Elation wrote: Crispy: I'd like to make an amendment to the bug report I gave you. Turns out the options screen bug crash only happens when you mess with Map type (uh, the one above map size)- all the rest of the options (like number of players etc.) work fine. Touching the map type bit causes the problem. But it's using exactly the same code as the other drop-down boxes... I don't understand. :-( That is helpful though, so thanks for narrowing it down. I'll see if there's anything different about the map size option. | |
Hm, I went to multiplayer for the first time just now. My results:
Multiplayer > Internet There's one listing: "210.9.141.180:7465; 2 players. In progress." (BTW, I think that clicking on listings should automatically add the address to the Join field. ;]) So I typed in the "210.9.141.180:7465" for the Join field, and pressed the button. About 15 seconds later, it gave me the "Can't open socket" error that was previously reported. Afterwards, I clicked on the Create option. Suddenly my window minimized and Windows Firewall was prompting for whether I should unblock, keep blocking, etc. the game. I chose to "Unblock." Then I tried to join again. This time, I got a new error. "NET2: the CheckSockets call failed." [Edit] After closing that new error popup, it presented me the old one immediately. | |
Same thing happend to me also, the server has been up for a couple of hours also. I think maybe someone else should try creating a game and post on here when they are hosting so we can try joining.
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Okay, I should be hosting now. Try it!
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(Edit: Also, it would be nice if we could specify a port to host on. Am I to assume I should have 7465 forwarded?)
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Eek, one more thing! I just noticed that there's no communication. :( Multiplayer games surely need communication.
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It works, I connected on to the game. I wonder if you close the server if it will stay showing on the hosted games list.
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You can speak by pressing Enter.
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Oh, okay. :)
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It needs a who panel and maybe let the the text that comes up when someone says someting stays until it gets deleted by someone else.
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Or perhaps there could be a chat log window? Something that could be opened and closed via another button on the right panel. It might also log other messages that get displayed (with timestamps!)
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When you press enter and just hold space and press enter again your name will just show up, you may not want that.
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Calus CoRPS wrote:
When you press enter and just hold space and press enter again your name will just show up, you may not want that. Oops. Thanks. I'm working on a better interface for the "who" list and displaying past messages. For now, hold down the tab key. Timestamps on chat text: Yes. Specifying port to host on: Yes, someone already told me about this. (And yes, you do need to portforward, sadly. There are ways around this which I'd like to explore at some point.) Clicking on a list in the hosted games list does type it in to the box, I thought. (Edit: Ah, it's broken. Crap.) | |
Bug Report:
After I have pressed End Turn I can still send out ships. | |
Actually wait a minute- there is a meta-server for game listings. Duh! How stupid am I? =/
I've been toying with the menu button design and some planets. Once I've got something I think is half decent I'll mail them over! | |
Thanks, Calus.
Elation - Awesome, I look forward to seeing them. =) | |
EEK!
At the end of that multiplayer session we just had, when people started logging out, I got spammed with the "sent to dead socket" error over and over. Then, any time I spoke, I also got the error again. Also, the menu that came up via Tab didn't update to remove the people that had left; it appeared as if everyone was still there. | |
Well, I've got a nice list of bugs to fix now. =)
Thanks Hiead, and thanks to everyone who was in that game. I got a lot of useful feedback out of it. | |
Defcon allows you to play free but with limited customisation (can't screw with many game settings) and multiplayer with only 2 people. If I were Crispy I'd probably do something very similar to that- one a few game options and limited amount of multiplayer slots if you don't buy the full version. But it's up to him...
The ability to play part of the game free is very important in the indie gaming market simply because they don't have the marketing power and riches of corporations like Nintendo or Microsoft. They can't spend millions of pounds on advertising so have to rely mainly on word of mouth, people trying the game out, reviews/features in game magazines/sites and maybe one or two little banner ads on gaming sites like penny-arcade.
edit:
Crispy: I'd like to make an amendment to the bug report I gave you. Turns out the options screen bug crash only happens when you mess with Map type (uh, the one above map size)- all the rest of the options (like number of players etc.) work fine. Touching the map type bit causes the problem.