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Online Play and Virtual Units poll


hoggydog

How do you play SB Pro PE online?  

113 members have voted

  1. 1. How do you play SB Pro PE online?

    • I play regularly and am a member of a current VU
      24
    • I play regularly but am not a member of a current VU
      10
    • I infrequently play online but still consider myself a member of a current VU
      11
    • I infrequently play online and am not a member of a current VU
      24
    • I have never played SB Pro online
      45


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Amazed to see that 38% never play online. You (they) don't know that they are missing.

Well its not the easiest to get online with. You have to know of someone hosting know the IP and hope they are in your time zone or be ready to stay up late or get up early.

Would love to see a better way to find online games like a master server type setup. SB online reminds me of when I had dial up.

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Well its not the easiest to get online with.

Perhaps, if you are bone idle / lazy.

Yes there is no 24/7 adult child minding facility where you can just drop in when you are bored.

There are some 65+ pages of posts in the multiplayer section about Virtual Units, most of which meet weekly or more than once weekly and numerous multiplayer events.

Things like IPs and Time Zones are published - you just have to READ.

In early June we ran one for 13 hours.

Surely regardless of what time zone you are in you could have visited that!!!

I frequently meet up with people from the US, UK, Germany, Finland, elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand (all at the same "time").

What part of the planet do you live in that isn't covered by that grouping?

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Perhaps, if you are bone idle / lazy.

Yes there is no 24/7 adult child minding facility where you can just drop in when you are bored.

There are some 65+ pages of posts in the multiplayer section about Virtual Units, most of which meet weekly or more than once weekly and numerous multiplayer events.

Things like IPs and Time Zones are published - you just have to READ.

In early June we ran one for 13 hours.

Surely regardless of what time zone you are in you could have visited that!!!

I frequently meet up with people from the US, UK, Germany, Finland, elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand (all at the same "time").

What part of the planet do you live in that isn't covered by that grouping?

Hmm, well, with a jackass reply like that to someone you probably have never spoken to, is it any wonder that a new player reading that would not want to go to a Teamspeak channel that you were in, wondering if they would be lectured by a pompous ass? If you are a member or leader of one of these VUs, I say you represent them poorly and can be thanked for some people not attending their games no matter how well announced in advance.

Pii dont listen to all that crud. You don't have to read too far into many of those VU threads before you will see him telling everyone why he cant make it because the time isn't convenient for him.

Show up when you can and chances are you can get a game going with whoever is on the Teamspeak at that time.

Edited by Tank guy
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Perhaps, if you are bone idle / lazy.

Yes there is no 24/7 adult child minding facility where you can just drop in when you are bored.

There are some 65+ pages of posts in the multiplayer section about Virtual Units, most of which meet weekly or more than once weekly and numerous multiplayer events.

Things like IPs and Time Zones are published - you just have to READ.

In early June we ran one for 13 hours.

Surely regardless of what time zone you are in you could have visited that!!!

I frequently meet up with people from the US, UK, Germany, Finland, elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand (all at the same "time").

What part of the planet do you live in that isn't covered by that grouping?

"Perhaps, if you are bone idle / lazy."

seriously?!

Guess what? I don't have to get all lined up in a VU to play other online games.

I know you have a deep love for this sim but the MP connecting method is OLD hat. NO ONE (look I can bold words also)no modern game does it that way NO ONE And whats wrong with dropping in when I get bored? At least I can "drop in" If I really get into it then I'll seek out more serious players and groups. I also don't think I need to hunt out groups and schedule in "game time" with someone half a world away. I like to play when I have time I don't make time for playing games I play them when I have time.

And from the looks of the poll I'd say I'm not alone.

"In early June we ran one for 13 hours.

Surely regardless of what time zone you are in you could have visited that!!!"

Hmmm If I even had the game then I'm sure I didn't/wouldn't have felt I was ready to play with anyone so NO!!

Geeezzz!

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This thread is getting a bit heated. Not a great way to attract more online players.

The sim itself is not conducive to "dropping in" whenever there is a free moment. Briefings take around 20-30 minutes and most of the time it would do no good to have someone with no idea of the situation dropping in to grab a tank.

MP takes a big time commitment, and that's why it will probably always be a tiny fraction of the overall user base.

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MP connecting method is OLD hat. NO ONE (look I can bold words also)no modern game does it that way NO ONE

In order to break the ice... but it´s one of the most stable methods of connecting I´ve seen so far. Perhaps 5 disconnects and 3 problems in connecting to a server itself in the past 2,5 years and 500 online games. Not a bad quote in comparison to other "modern" online games.

If I think of TDU2, DCS, STO... pjuh :cul:

Ok, you have to be on schedule for a game. No problem here, cause it´s a German virtue :biggrin:

Ok, you have to know and install your network settings. In the modern time and Big NAS watching you... everyone should have basics in networking. Other games are not better (TDU2 with 10 port settings, better creating an open NAT??!!).

So the new version 3.0 will keep the stable parts of connecting method and additionally gives you the possibility for re- or later entry.

In normal environment of a homogeneous LAN for professional users, you won´t have such "private" connection problems :)

it would do no good to have someone with no idea of the situation dropping in to grab a tank.

Absolutely right! If I compare "public" ARMA gaming with SB... omg. After planning a 2-3h lasting attack, delay etc., communicating it to all participants and then in the hot phase three 16y old guys grab tank platoons with simply no idea of the sim and the plan? No... t(h)anks

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Absolutely right! If I compare "public" ARMA gaming with SB... omg. After planning a 2-3h lasting attack, delay etc., communicating it to all participants and then in the hot phase three 16y old guys grab tank platoons with simply no idea of the sim and the plan? No... t(h)anks

I would agree with your comments.

I have recently started playing napoleon total war.

And the behavior of some players in multiplayer is juvenile to say the least

They will drop from a battle if its not going there way. Some use offensive language

But for me it lacks the social interaction you will find with In a SB match

Yes if you want a battle pretty much any time of the day you will find one on there server Within minutes. The server speed is excellent I have not dropped once since i started

The SB community may be small but at least its Friendly (For the most part) LoL

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"Perhaps, if you are bone idle / lazy."

seriously?!

Guess what? I don't have to get all lined up in a VU to play other online games.

I know you have a deep love for this sim but the MP connecting method is OLD hat. NO ONE (look I can bold words also)no modern game does it that way NO ONE And whats wrong with dropping in when I get bored? At least I can "drop in" If I really get into it then I'll seek out more serious players and groups. I also don't think I need to hunt out groups and schedule in "game time" with someone half a world away. I like to play when I have time I don't make time for playing games I play them when I have time.

And from the looks of the poll I'd say I'm not alone.

"In early June we ran one for 13 hours.

Surely regardless of what time zone you are in you could have visited that!!!"

Hmmm If I even had the game then I'm sure I didn't/wouldn't have felt I was ready to play with anyone so NO!!

Geeezzz!

Even calm people can have their grumpy day...don't take that one too seriously.

What is valid though is that SB is not well suited for a drop in/off game style.

In order to play multy player you have to closely coordinate your fire and movement with the other players. You need to plan that in advance, you can't do that on the fly...comming in late, you don't know the plan==> this can(and will) spoil the fun for all other players. Well, everyone has another idea what fun is, but I think most "simers" will agree with me on this.

Good thing for players who can't stick to a scheduled game (as real life usually goes first), SB is also nice for playing single player. But in this case its usually more a "wargame" played in map view, then a tanksim.

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None of the poll answers fit me.

Here's what does.

I've been playing SB since about 2001 maybe before that, don't really remember. Until about 2005 or so I played regularly. Whole weekends would just disappear into MP SB. I was a scenario designer for one of the 1st if not the 1st MP campaigns ever run.

Then the old crowd, original SB1 players, started slowly going away and eventually I stopped doing MP too. There's a few of the originals still around; they know who they are.

Soon after SB went commercial the new breed of SB player that came on board was too independent, played like they were playing a first person shooter and just didn't get the concept that the sum of the parts was greater than the whole re: actual team play.

I imagine that those who grasp that SB is a military simulation and not a shooter (which some in this thread obviously dont get) have evolved to playing how the original crowd did - in fact I'm sure of it. From what I've seen y'all are even better than we were. I've considered jumping back in but I'm over 60 now and the reflexes aren't what they used to be. I'd just be a burden on any team. I rarely hop into a tank or bradley. On the tank range I can't even crack a score of 80 now when I used to be able to do high 90's and the occassional perfect score; like a said - a burden.

Now, I mostly play from the map; that didn't work well back then for MP and I don't imagine it would work well now.

Regarding virtual units: Never been real big on that. We tried back during the age of antiquity. Some had a bit of success but not many.

One wonders if VU's are more important to SB MP now?

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...

One wonders if VU's are more important to SB MP now?

Me thinks their benefit lies mostly in their "local" flavour.

They for example provide a platform for those who can only play at their local times (EU versus North america), or those who are not so well with the english language.

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Servus,

Perhaps, if you are bone idle / lazy.

Yes there is no 24/7 adult child minding facility where you can just drop in when you are bored.

There are some 65+ pages of posts in the multiplayer section about Virtual Units, most of which meet weekly or more than once weekly and numerous multiplayer events.

Things like IPs and Time Zones are published - you just have to READ.

In early June we ran one for 13 hours.

Surely regardless of what time zone you are in you could have visited that!!!

I frequently meet up with people from the US, UK, Germany, Finland, elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand (all at the same "time").

What part of the planet do you live in that isn't covered by that grouping?

I agree to 100%.

@Werewolf

You don`t have to be the 100% shooter. There are a lot of other interesting task during a big MP session like LNoT or NBG. You can support the engineers or recon guys or arty or other combat support elements. So if you see an

announcement for LNoT or NBG and you want to join, I`m happy if you join and can support me or us.

best regards

Duke

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I imagine that those who grasp that SB is a military simulation and not a shooter (which some in this thread obviously dont get) have evolved to playing how the original crowd did - in fact I'm sure of it. From what I've seen y'all are even better than we were. I've considered jumping back in but I'm over 60 now and the reflexes aren't what they used to be. I'd just be a burden on any team. I rarely hop into a tank or bradley. On the tank range I can't even crack a score of 80 now when I used to be able to do high 90's and the occassional perfect score; like a said - a burden.

Just passed 60 myself and I'm by no means the best player but I really look forward to my Friday night dose of tanks. You should definitely reconsider getting back into it. Scenarios are almost always undermanned and having a human player of any age is way better than leaving a vehicle in the hands of the AI. I am also convinced that things like this help keep my mind and reflexes as sharp as they can be, even if not as sharp as they once were. As the song goes "I may not be as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was." :)

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Hmm, well, with a jackass reply like that to someone you probably have never spoken to, is it any wonder that a new player reading that would not want to go to a Teamspeak channel that you were in, wondering if they would be lectured by a pompous ass? If you are a member or leader of one of these VUs, I say you represent them poorly and can be thanked for some people not attending their games no matter how well announced in advance.

Pii dont listen to all that crud. You don't have to read too far into many of those VU threads before you will see him telling everyone why he cant make it because the time isn't convenient for him.

Show up when you can and chances are you can get a game going with whoever is on the Teamspeak at that time.

I'll keep that in mind thanks.

I do kind of understand where they are coming from but I'm the type, and probably others also, that likes to try to learn at least a little before hopping in a serious game. But hey if they Dont mind a noob screwing up their battle plan who I'm I to complian :-)

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This thread is getting a bit heated. Not a great way to attract more online players.

The sim itself is not conducive to "dropping in" whenever there is a free moment. Briefings take around 20-30 minutes and most of the time it would do no good to have someone with no idea of the situation dropping in to grab a tank.

MP takes a big time commitment, and that's why it will probably always be a tiny fraction of the overall user base.

So password it. And correct me if I'm wrong but you can't just drop in anyways. I'm simply talking about an easier way to find and to connect with others. My original post had Nothing to do with just dropping in or out. You could have the same games you have today only you have server list. You click, you connect, and say, you can observe and when the current battle is over your there for the next one. Heck even if there isn't a next battle just watching a good battle would fun to watch and learn from.

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I do kind of understand where they are coming from but I'm the type, and probably others also, that likes to try to learn at least a little before hopping in a serious game. But hey if they Dont mind a noob screwing up their battle plan who I'm I to compliance :-)

So from the start maybe I should apologise for perhaps being too abrupt.

However this is not a product that supports random drop ins (and I for one am glad it doesn't).

Two reasons:

1. Up until the release of 3.0, you had to be included at the start to join - join couldn't join after the start, nor could you re-join if you connection dropped, etc. So that was a technical limitation.

We are yet to see how well this in implemented in version 3.0 and beyond.

2. The other reason is that alluded to above. Most missions require planning and a briefing and graphics and drop ins don't get any of that nor do they have any situational awareness.

Having said that, most of the VUs run training session as part of their calendar and even ad hoc affairs like "TGIF" are inclusive of new people.

All you need to do is say "I'm a new guy" and people understand and probably ensure you get a less demanding job.

For dates, etc. - Look in the Calendar, and look in the "Multiplayer Games / Engagements" threads.

For network setup, again there is a thread or you can use quasi VPN products like Hamachi.

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So password it. And correct me if I'm wrong but you can't just drop in anyways. I'm simply talking about an easier way to find and to connect with others. My original post had Nothing to do with just dropping in or out. You could have the same games you have today only you have server list. You click, you connect, and say, you can observe and when the current battle is over your there for the next one. Heck even if there isn't a next battle just watching a good battle would fun to watch and learn from.

But watching requires "dropping in" or joining a session.

Your idea assumes that someone somewhere is running a server farm 24/7 and the product doesn't work that way.

MP in SB requires that:

1. A person puts decides to run a scenario.

2. That person publishes a date, time (ideally both a briefing time and a start time), IP, etc.

3. People arrive for the briefing.

4. The mission starts.

5. Once the mission starts (currently) that's it. Those "on board" are "in" for the duration, others can't join, observe, watch, anything.

6. Under 3.0 we should be able to pause the game for others who have dropped to re-join without going back to the start.

Could that be used to allow late people to join, maybe.

Should it be used to allow random people to join later, IMHO, no for the reasons outlined above about planning. Maybe to watch - but it requires that the host pause the sim while the person joins and then un-pause and I suspect 20 players in the heat of battle wont want pauses every couple of minutes just so someone can watch, esp. if they leave 2 minutes later.

The sim (because its a sim, not a game) is not designed to be run 24/7 with computer generated scenarios running continuously.

I'm simply talking about an easier way to find and to connect with others.

It doesn't get much simpler than clicking on the Calendar (11 meetings / events in July) on the menu bar between "awards" and "new posts" or looking in the "Multiplayer Games / Engagements" threads (where frequent events are published or big events a published with lots of lead time).

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Starting in the next version, we will be able to pause the session and go back to pick people up. It's fairly disruptive so I doubt it will be used much beyond picking up someone that has dropped.

Too much data involved to have folks joining in progress just to watch. The scenario has to be downloaded from the host, and all the state data would have to be synced up.

Someday it would be great to have, but in the short term its not realistic.

Bottom line is: players have to make the effort to show up at a scheduled time. I see there are pick up games going on teamspeak as well, but I don't know how often they start.

Maybe something like hyperlobby would be possible some day, but I'm not sure it would be much better than using teamspeak. Either way you sit around for hours possibly to get a game in. Hence the need for scheduled events.

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So from the start maybe I should apologise for perhaps being too abrupt.

However this is not a product that supports random drop ins (and I for one am glad it doesn't).

Two reasons:

1. Up until the release of 3.0, you had to be included at the start to join - join couldn't join after the start, nor could you re-join if you connection dropped, etc. So that was a technical limitation.

We are yet to see how well this in implemented in version 3.0 and beyond.

2. The other reason is that alluded to above. Most missions require planning and a briefing and graphics and drop ins don't get any of that nor do they have any situational awareness.

Having said that, most of the VUs run training session as part of their calendar and even ad hoc affairs like "TGIF" are inclusive of new people.

All you need to do is say "I'm a new guy" and people understand and probably ensure you get a less demanding job.

For dates, etc. - Look in the Calendar, and look in the "Multiplayer Games / Engagements" threads.

For network setup, again there is a thread or you can use quasi VPN products like Hamachi.

Thanks but I Dont recall ever saying I wanted drop in drop out until you brought it up.

With that said I totally agree and see your points as valid. I have the network set and it was a bear since I have a router attached to another router that already forwarded the port. After i finally got it working is when I discovered the method used for game connections. I couldn't figure out why it couldn't find any games. You can see my post asking about it on simhq :-)

All I was trying to say is there are better/easier methods now days for finding games to play and ,sorry, but SB looks a little old hat in that department.

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