I logged on multiplayer last night (Australian time) and there was only 9 players in the Chat room and one game going.
Where is everyone?
This is a reasonably good game and I thought we would have a much larger multiplayer community than this!!
Same here for UK, only 15. There are loads of people in the US lobby but if I used that my game would lag so much.
Same here for UK, only 15. There are loads of people in the US lobby but if I used that my game would lag so much.
huh? US lobby?
I see 1 vs 1 room, Team Room etc.
Do you connect through the game for Internet play?
I neveer play this game multiplayer, but I am sure I am in the minority.
I neveer play this game multiplayer, but I am sure I am in the minority.
No, I don't play online either.
This game isn't seen as a proper strategy game, so it doesn't get the big numbers. I like it, I'm a pretty huge SW fan, but I'm not going to pretend it's on the same level as Warcraft III or Age of Empires. Those games keep a healthy online community.
This game isn't seen as a proper strategy game, so it doesn't get the big numbers. I like it, I'm a pretty huge SW fan, but I'm not going to pretend it's on the same level as Warcraft III or Age of Empires. Those games keep a healthy online community.
I'm not going to start a debate, but E@W/FoC is a proper strategy game. It just doesn't have the same kind of following the -Craft series or AoE has.
Perhaps that the time difference or the area you're in doesn't allow you to meet lots of local players.
I'm not going to start a debate, but E@W/FoC is a proper strategy game. It just doesn't have the same kind of following the -Craft series or AoE has.
I reckon it is too. What I was saying though, is it isn't viewed as one by the larger gaming community IMO. I'm saying that the hugely popular flagships of the RTS genre have more depth and replay value in a skirmish area.
I honestly don't think skirmish is the strength of EaW/FoC, that's why it's not as popular. GC matches are something different, and where I believe the true power of the game lies.
I just can't see a dedicated skirmish community being established on a very large scale in multiple areas of the world, like a Starcraft (still going) or an AoE/C&C.
I reckon it is too. What I was saying though, is it isn't viewed as one by the larger gaming community IMO. I'm saying that the hugely popular flagships of the RTS genre have more depth and replay value in a skirmish area.
I honestly don't think skirmish is the strength of EaW/FoC, that's why it's not as popular. GC matches are something different, and where I believe the true power of the game lies.
I just can't see a dedicated skirmish community being established on a very large scale in multiple areas of the world, like a Starcraft (still going) or an AoE/C&C.
Nice explanation of the differences. You are spot on GC is where this game shines.
not playing online last days, cause of one word: busy. busy with neverwinter nights 2 right now, so it could take a while :D
I agree regular skirmish is lacking but i guess that maybe because lack of units to build but foc improved on this some what.
I agree regular skirmish is lacking but i guess that maybe because lack of units to build but foc improved on this some what.
Agreed. EaW is pretty dull compared to FoC however balance has gone out the window. Compare EaW/FoC with Star craft; I think they got up to 1.05 AFTER they released broodwar (with relatively minor changes but this is probably going to need 7 or 8 patches to get right. It doesnt encourage people to play.
I just can't see a dedicated skirmish community being established on a very large scale in multiple areas of the world, like a Starcraft (still going) or an AoE/C&C.
I fully agree with you. The Total War Games are hugely popular yet in MP, they've been only so-so.
I guess that Petro should have concentrated on the key strengths of the game instead of trying to cater to an incredibly wide audience. The sacrifice of a good MP experience for an excellent and deep SP is better then an overall average mix of SP and MP. At least, in my humble opinion.
I'd love to play the game online but im terrible at it. I love it to bits but i know as soon as i went online i would get mullered in 60 seconds.
I fully agree with you. The Total War Games are hugely popular yet in MP, they've been only so-so.
I guess that Petro should have concentrated on the key strengths of the game instead of trying to cater to an incredibly wide audience. The sacrifice of a good MP experience for an excellent and deep SP is better then an overall average mix of SP and MP. At least, in my humble opinion.
I don't even think it's MP in general, but skirmish. I completely agree with your point about single player though.
Online skirmish is fun but if your new to the EaW universe then you will get slaughtered by the veteran players. Skirmish is a ridiculously fast paced set up, with the action starting mere seconds into the game. This is good for the action junkies but also bad cos the game can be wrapped up in just minutes with the rest of the battle being one sided for another 5-15 minutes.
So, what you end up with is two things;
1. Really intense Clan fights with equally skilled people
2. One sided walkovers where people just quit because they know they have lost within the 1st 5 minutes and don't want to waste another ten while the station gets taken out.
In EaW the connection problems forced a lot of people out of the game because they got sick of it, even I left at one point but oddly enough, FoC actually seems to have improved things a lot on the connection side of things. I played 7 games in a row the other night without a single sync or players dropping, and everyone of them started 1st time without even a test. Not sure how this has happened but it's a MAJOR improvement.
The majority of all players online can be found in the US server, if you go to options (online) then set the host location to US, you'll find them all in the 1 v 1 room. At peak times there can be as many as 150+ players not counting those already ingame.
so there are some things for you to chew on.
Most of the downsides to skirmish is the imbalances between races, though I havent seen much evidence of this yet so I can't really comment on it. EaW is pretty Balanced right now as far as space is concerned, I dont know about land as I hardly play land. Space in FoC is apparently imbalanced. Again I don't know about land.
If anyone wants to learn how to play the game online to a degree where you can hold your own, just give TFL a shout or some of the more solid clans and they should offer you some assistance, after all whats the point in owning people who dont know how to play it? I'd rather win my games through playing good rather than my opponent playing poor... if you get me?
I get you perfectly, and I'm also glad to see less synch errors and stubborn connecting players (it's also nice to see some old vets coming back :) ).
I don't even think it's MP in general, but skirmish.
I said that because I view skirmish as the MP part that was tacked on. To me, it feels like skirmish was only created to give MP a relatively well adapted game mode. At least, this is how I personally feel about it.
The big advantage games like Warcraft have are the custom games like DOTA and Footmen Frenzy.