Posted by: Gabethebaldandbold
« on: February 12, 2020, 03:08:46 PM »So we would be playing Ascendency of Alphas from the one HFY fiction story? my tip is to go for big dakka.
One concern I haven't resolved is anti cheat. The approach I described makes every player the Server of their own universe, meaning with a tiny database update they can generate a god fleet to send to someone's universe. I can encrypt the database for multiplayer, but if someone wants to cheat, it won't be difficult. Which is one reason why the host of the player needs to be able to kick another player and their fleets out, and lock the wormhole for that player. I haven't thought about how to stop smaller, difficult-to-notice cheats though. Like, if nobody is nearby and you add 100k duranium to Luna or free fuel to a stranded fleet, how is anyone going to notice you're giving yourself small advantages?
I'd like to recommend an alternate paradigm, Simultaneous Turn-Based 4X Multiplayer. This is typical turn-based multiplayer except that every player submits their turns. . . simultaneously! This means that you drastically cut down on the long wait times that can make MP in games like Civ such a slog. A shining example of the genre is the Dominions series
There would be a list of every player in the universe, and whether or not they are ready for time to advance (and, secretly, they will have recorded how much time they want their next pulse to be. ) Once you've clicked 'ready', you stop spending your budget.
While I'm here I might as well mention I've got a few exciting new ideas about how one could feasibly support multiplayer in a game like Aurora4x / Quasar4x. (Calm down, this is years away, if ever) The showstopper is timing right? Each player needs wildly varying amounts of time to pass in game, wildly varying amounts of time to spend issuing orders, and wildly varying schedules in real life. Here's how I would do it, *if* I were to do it. Initially, it would feel like a single player game. Each player would start in their own universe, their own save file. They are the host of that universe. Occasionally, you can discover a wormhole that can take you to someone else's universe. This wormhole will be open if the other person is currently playing and otherwise closed. So if it's open, you can send a fleet through, and that fleet will now exist in their database (save-game) and be deleted from yours. You can only see and communicate with that fleet as long as the wormhole is open. Fleets disappear ("go out of phase in the quantum realm?") if someone logs off. Abuse-prevention code would be added as needed. Time is entirely independent between universes. The host can close a wormhole at any time, which is equivalent to switching to offline play. Their fleets in other worlds disappear to limbo, as do other players fleets in the host world.
Guests would have a limited budget on the amount of time spent on issuing orders per in-game-day. The host of a universe dictates the budget, and will hopefully allow for some wiggle room per verbal agreements. Obviously a lot of real-time out-of-character communication should be taking place in a discord or wherever, to help coordinate the timing. There would be a list of every player in the universe, and whether or not they are ready for time to advance (and, secretly, they will have recorded how much time they want their next pulse to be. ) Once you've clicked 'ready', you stop spending your budget.
I would want AI to play a huge role in both helping to protect weaker players, keeping stronger players in check, and providing a common enemy for players to work together against. I have more details written in my notes but I don't want to derail my own thread. (Please start a new thread if you wish to talk about this further)