What do you need to know to play EU2 MP?
(for technical stuff, see the second post in this thread)
(to see how to join longterm games, see the third post in this thread)
1) *NOBODY* selects a country before the host says it is ok to select (this is known as RULE 1).
2) NEVER use another persons nick. Using your Paradox-forum nick is the preferable way, and practically everybody do so (altough there are a few exceptions to that, but even then it is nice to tell what name you use on the forum).
3) Games usually start in V-Net, wether they are pre-arranged games or "V-net games". The host sets up the game, others join.
4) Do not forget RULE 1 !
5) NEVER leave the game set-up if someone is downloading. If you are told "Private game, please exit", then you should ask "Is it ok to leave or is someone dl:ing?". You won't get into the game because of that, but everybody will remember your good manners (and next time you might get to play with that bunch).
6) If you join a long term game (probably as a sub) ask the host which country you will play. Don't start moaning if the country in question doesn't suit your tastes, that simply is bad manners. Also, remember to ask if there are any rules for the game that you need to observe and what the regular player was up to.
7) When the game starts, press TAB and type "in" (and press enter). Do absolutely nothing with the mouse until the host tells everybody is in. If you click on *anything* before everybody has joined, the game might crash. You *may* chat with others, including private-messages, but as everybody is reporting in, your message might go unnoticed in the plethora of messages.
8) No matter what you do, you will be kicked around in your first game(s). Don't fret because of that. You are used to win in SP, but humans are much smarter than the AI. So when you get kicked around in MP, don't get angry or take it personally. The learning curve is hard, but if you so want, you also do learn *fast* from these experiences.
9) Don't ruin your nation. If you are losing a war, make peace. It is better to cede a province than to have your nation ruined. The game lasts long and you'll get plenty of chances to get even.
10) If you are playing with a bunch of stupid a**holes who just want to ruin your country, don't fret. First of all probably you are wrong and they are not ruining you (even if it certainly might look so). It is better to ask for a rehost so you can leave the game. Explain that your nation is unplayable, wish the others a good game, and let them find a replacement. If they ask you to play until peace, then do so (this will show you know good manners).
If nobody of the attackers tell you (after several attempts from you) what their peace-demands are, you actually might happen to have fallen into a game where a bunch of friends just want to kick the outsider in the guts (I've played quite a few MP's and only *once* do I think that has happened to me). It is also important to answer anybody asking *you* what your demands are (when you are winning), or you might be seen as the a**hole who just wants to ruin that players country.
11) DO NOT PAUSE. If you urgently need to get the game paused, ask the host to pause. If the host is temporalily AFK or is not able to see your messages, then pause until the situation is cleared with the host.
12) Don't alt-tab out of the game. The game might crash if you alt-tab.
13) If you have to go somewhere for a moment (toilet, eat, fridge etc), type AFK and how long you intend to be away (for example "AFK 2 minutes"). DO NOT PAUSE. If something happens to your nation in the meantime, the others (presumably the host) will pause the game. When you get back, press TAB and type "back" so that others know you are back again.
14) If you possibly can't wait until re-host before you have to leave, explain the situation to others (preferably telling the time you have to leave BEFORE the session start) before leaving. It is considered very rude to leave the game if your country is at war.
15) Economics is VERY important in longterm MP games. If you lose the economical tech-race in MP *or* you get your inflation up, you will be very hard-pressed in the end-game. Good economics should always be your primary goal. Strong economy is the key to a good and decisive performance.
16) When chatting privately, use either * or pm to denote that it is a private message. This way you too will know when you get a private message. Some players have agreed to use ** to denote a message that is sent to allies only. For example "*My country is ready to hit Poland now, are you in?" or "**OE is sending threats, are you guys backing me?"
17) If you are in a long-term game and you get the save from the host for next session, DO NOT read the history log from the host's save. The host's save will include all his/her private messages, and it is considered very rude and impolite to read them. Also, if you save the game yourself, DO NOT read the history log past the previous rehost, because that's where you will again start to see the hosts private messages. E.g. the last rehost was in 1641, you saved the game in 1652 -> it is ok to check the history log between 1642-1652, but NOT 1641 or earlier.
18) BE THERE ON TIME! If a game is supposed to start at 20:00, then it means everybody should have by then joined, downloaded the save etc, and the game is ready to be launched. During rehost you shouldn't go afk, unless you are pretty damn sure you'll be back in 30 seconds. It is VERY frustrating to wait for that one player who is late or who decided to go to the toilet during rehost.
Read Mower's guide to newbie multiplayers
Some MP acronyms
MP Multiplayer
SP Singleplayer
AFK Away from keyboard
tabbed Has alt-tabbed, which is a no-no!
RULE 1 Somebody just broke RULE 1 (NEVER select a country until the host says so).
reselect You have to reselect your country -> click on another country, then again the country you intend to play with (this may be necessary for example when somebody broke RULE 1).
sub A substitute in a long-term game. A sub is supposed to know the house-rules in effect and the strategies of the regular player. If not sure what you should do as a sub, try to keep inflation low + economic research up + take Centralization when possible + try to stay out of wars + stay calm -> this may not result in the best possible gaming experience, but everybody who was in the session will know you can behave
V-net game A casual game that people who happen to be in V-net decide to play. Used often as an opposite to planned longterm games. "V-net games" tend to sometimes (but definitively not all the time!) be short-termed, people back-stabbing others and ruining their countries. The hardcore MP'ers might also use "V-net game" as a slander, e.g. "Last nights session was worse than your regular V-net game."
dling or dl:ing Downloading the save from the host. *NOBODY* (including the host!) must choose a country before everybody has downloaded, and only the host knows when everybody has finished dl:ing.
rehost The host saves the game, exits back to V-net and hosts the game again. This may be needed for example when a player has crashed. Usually a rehost is not done immediatly if the crashed player is not at war -> this can be very frustrating for the crashed player who sits and wait in V-net, but do not fret!
pm or * The message preceded with either of these is a private message. Note that some people use a text followed by * to mark a spelling error, e.g. "I wnat Hanover" and after noticing the error: "want*"
lag 1) Internet lag can cause all sorts of problems and can also allow several exploits. Any action you carry out in game has to be accepted by the host computer before it is carried out in the game on client computers. This means, for example, that if you click "promote tax collector" once and see nothing happen it doesn't mean your click didn't work, it just means that the promotion hasn't yet propagated back to your own machine. If you keep clicking until it works, you may have wasted several lots of 50d. Similarly, if you keep clicking on the "take loan" button until it works, you will find that you will go bankrupt sooner or later. Lag can be lowered by one of four actions: a) the host slows the pace of the game b) a player constantly suffering from lag tries to get his connection ok (it can sometimes happen to almost anybody, sometimes a reboot is all that is needed) c) the host is changed d) the number of players is dropped.
lag 2) A message sent by a player suffering from lag. E.g."LAG! I can't retreat!!!". The host should react by slowing the pace.
Edited spelling errors.
(for technical stuff, see the second post in this thread)
(to see how to join longterm games, see the third post in this thread)
1) *NOBODY* selects a country before the host says it is ok to select (this is known as RULE 1).
2) NEVER use another persons nick. Using your Paradox-forum nick is the preferable way, and practically everybody do so (altough there are a few exceptions to that, but even then it is nice to tell what name you use on the forum).
3) Games usually start in V-Net, wether they are pre-arranged games or "V-net games". The host sets up the game, others join.
4) Do not forget RULE 1 !
5) NEVER leave the game set-up if someone is downloading. If you are told "Private game, please exit", then you should ask "Is it ok to leave or is someone dl:ing?". You won't get into the game because of that, but everybody will remember your good manners (and next time you might get to play with that bunch).
6) If you join a long term game (probably as a sub) ask the host which country you will play. Don't start moaning if the country in question doesn't suit your tastes, that simply is bad manners. Also, remember to ask if there are any rules for the game that you need to observe and what the regular player was up to.
7) When the game starts, press TAB and type "in" (and press enter). Do absolutely nothing with the mouse until the host tells everybody is in. If you click on *anything* before everybody has joined, the game might crash. You *may* chat with others, including private-messages, but as everybody is reporting in, your message might go unnoticed in the plethora of messages.
8) No matter what you do, you will be kicked around in your first game(s). Don't fret because of that. You are used to win in SP, but humans are much smarter than the AI. So when you get kicked around in MP, don't get angry or take it personally. The learning curve is hard, but if you so want, you also do learn *fast* from these experiences.
9) Don't ruin your nation. If you are losing a war, make peace. It is better to cede a province than to have your nation ruined. The game lasts long and you'll get plenty of chances to get even.
10) If you are playing with a bunch of stupid a**holes who just want to ruin your country, don't fret. First of all probably you are wrong and they are not ruining you (even if it certainly might look so). It is better to ask for a rehost so you can leave the game. Explain that your nation is unplayable, wish the others a good game, and let them find a replacement. If they ask you to play until peace, then do so (this will show you know good manners).
If nobody of the attackers tell you (after several attempts from you) what their peace-demands are, you actually might happen to have fallen into a game where a bunch of friends just want to kick the outsider in the guts (I've played quite a few MP's and only *once* do I think that has happened to me). It is also important to answer anybody asking *you* what your demands are (when you are winning), or you might be seen as the a**hole who just wants to ruin that players country.
11) DO NOT PAUSE. If you urgently need to get the game paused, ask the host to pause. If the host is temporalily AFK or is not able to see your messages, then pause until the situation is cleared with the host.
12) Don't alt-tab out of the game. The game might crash if you alt-tab.
13) If you have to go somewhere for a moment (toilet, eat, fridge etc), type AFK and how long you intend to be away (for example "AFK 2 minutes"). DO NOT PAUSE. If something happens to your nation in the meantime, the others (presumably the host) will pause the game. When you get back, press TAB and type "back" so that others know you are back again.
14) If you possibly can't wait until re-host before you have to leave, explain the situation to others (preferably telling the time you have to leave BEFORE the session start) before leaving. It is considered very rude to leave the game if your country is at war.
15) Economics is VERY important in longterm MP games. If you lose the economical tech-race in MP *or* you get your inflation up, you will be very hard-pressed in the end-game. Good economics should always be your primary goal. Strong economy is the key to a good and decisive performance.
16) When chatting privately, use either * or pm to denote that it is a private message. This way you too will know when you get a private message. Some players have agreed to use ** to denote a message that is sent to allies only. For example "*My country is ready to hit Poland now, are you in?" or "**OE is sending threats, are you guys backing me?"
17) If you are in a long-term game and you get the save from the host for next session, DO NOT read the history log from the host's save. The host's save will include all his/her private messages, and it is considered very rude and impolite to read them. Also, if you save the game yourself, DO NOT read the history log past the previous rehost, because that's where you will again start to see the hosts private messages. E.g. the last rehost was in 1641, you saved the game in 1652 -> it is ok to check the history log between 1642-1652, but NOT 1641 or earlier.
18) BE THERE ON TIME! If a game is supposed to start at 20:00, then it means everybody should have by then joined, downloaded the save etc, and the game is ready to be launched. During rehost you shouldn't go afk, unless you are pretty damn sure you'll be back in 30 seconds. It is VERY frustrating to wait for that one player who is late or who decided to go to the toilet during rehost.
Read Mower's guide to newbie multiplayers
Some MP acronyms
MP Multiplayer
SP Singleplayer
AFK Away from keyboard
tabbed Has alt-tabbed, which is a no-no!
RULE 1 Somebody just broke RULE 1 (NEVER select a country until the host says so).
reselect You have to reselect your country -> click on another country, then again the country you intend to play with (this may be necessary for example when somebody broke RULE 1).
sub A substitute in a long-term game. A sub is supposed to know the house-rules in effect and the strategies of the regular player. If not sure what you should do as a sub, try to keep inflation low + economic research up + take Centralization when possible + try to stay out of wars + stay calm -> this may not result in the best possible gaming experience, but everybody who was in the session will know you can behave
V-net game A casual game that people who happen to be in V-net decide to play. Used often as an opposite to planned longterm games. "V-net games" tend to sometimes (but definitively not all the time!) be short-termed, people back-stabbing others and ruining their countries. The hardcore MP'ers might also use "V-net game" as a slander, e.g. "Last nights session was worse than your regular V-net game."
dling or dl:ing Downloading the save from the host. *NOBODY* (including the host!) must choose a country before everybody has downloaded, and only the host knows when everybody has finished dl:ing.
rehost The host saves the game, exits back to V-net and hosts the game again. This may be needed for example when a player has crashed. Usually a rehost is not done immediatly if the crashed player is not at war -> this can be very frustrating for the crashed player who sits and wait in V-net, but do not fret!
pm or * The message preceded with either of these is a private message. Note that some people use a text followed by * to mark a spelling error, e.g. "I wnat Hanover" and after noticing the error: "want*"
lag 1) Internet lag can cause all sorts of problems and can also allow several exploits. Any action you carry out in game has to be accepted by the host computer before it is carried out in the game on client computers. This means, for example, that if you click "promote tax collector" once and see nothing happen it doesn't mean your click didn't work, it just means that the promotion hasn't yet propagated back to your own machine. If you keep clicking until it works, you may have wasted several lots of 50d. Similarly, if you keep clicking on the "take loan" button until it works, you will find that you will go bankrupt sooner or later. Lag can be lowered by one of four actions: a) the host slows the pace of the game b) a player constantly suffering from lag tries to get his connection ok (it can sometimes happen to almost anybody, sometimes a reboot is all that is needed) c) the host is changed d) the number of players is dropped.
lag 2) A message sent by a player suffering from lag. E.g."LAG! I can't retreat!!!". The host should react by slowing the pace.
Edited spelling errors.
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