Wargame adjudicator
eddys...@hotmail.com
I don’t know if anyone in here is familiar with the AH Diplomacy game
and the email adjudicator programs that have been developed for it –
basically it comes down to this : in Diplomacy all players mail their
next moves/orders to a central location where the structured messages
get parsed and processed, the outcome/current situation is then again
mailed to all participants for a next turn.
If you want to have a look such an adjudicator application and setup
go here : http://www.njudge.org/
It occurred to me that a similar type of system could be used for
other wargames too. Imagine an East Front game where the map is
divided into a number of areas. Corps/Army sized units occupy those
areas and can be given various commands like move, strategic move,
probe, attack, defend, support followed by a destination area – in
essence creating a <unit> <action> <area> order structure which can be
composed and send by email. The adjudicator program collects the
mails, processes them and sends an updated map and unit status to all
participants.
Ok, so what’s the difference between this and a pbem only wargame ?
Well, for starters : the game could be played without a client
application – it could be entirely run by email – you get the map/
picture and a list of your units in your inbox, you take your turn by
adding orders and destinations to the unit list and send it back. The
adjudicator is located on a server somewhere and for a modest fee of
$5 /month it provides a forum to find opponents and processes the
mails, maybe a ladder for those who like that sort of thing etc. To
hook players and make them comfortable with the system the first month
could be free.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Dav Vandenbroucke
>Ok, so what�s the difference between this and a pbem only wargame ?
>Well, for starters : the game could be played without a client
>application � it could be entirely run by email � you get the map/
>picture and a list of your units in your inbox, you take your turn by
>adding orders and destinations to the unit list and send it back. The
>adjudicator is located on a server somewhere and for a modest fee of
>$5 /month it provides a forum to find opponents and processes the
>mails, maybe a ladder for those who like that sort of thing etc. To
>hook players and make them comfortable with the system the first month
>could be free.
This is a real back to the future idea. There were wargames like
this, once upon a time. They started out as postal games and migrated
to email when it became more popular. I've played GDW's Assault! this
way, and FASA's Centurion. However, they never caught on. These
days, people who want to play by email use Cyberboard, Vassal, ADC,
etc. One could easily make those double-blind, by sending the files
to a moderator. The trouble is either a) finding _three_ people to
play a wargame--and one of them not a real player, or b) getting
people to pay for the service, when people are so used to getting
things for free.
Dav Vandenbroucke
davanden at cox dot net
eddys...@hotmail.com
<dav_and_frances_vandenbrou...@compuserve.com> wrote:
> This is a real back to the future idea.
Whew, for a second there I thought it was just a plain stupid idea :)
> There were wargames like
> this, once upon a time. They started out as postal games and migrated
> to email when it became more popular. I've played GDW's Assault! this
> way, and FASA's Centurion. However, they never caught on. These
> days, people who want to play by email use Cyberboard, Vassal, ADC,
> etc. One could easily make those double-blind, by sending the files
> to a moderator.
Yup, but in my proposal you basically buy an automated moderator for
$5 / month.
> getting
> people to pay for the service, when people are so used to getting
> things for free.
PC wargames are not free, yet people buy them to have an opponent
ready and waiting whenever they feel like playing a game - otherwise
everyone would simply be playing Vassal and Cyberboard games.
Maybe I didn't stress it enough but a major factor for me would be
that it would be playable by email - no dedicated client application
required - that way, whenever and wherever you have access to your
mail you can play a turn. Also, the adjudicator would enforce the
game's rules, which Vassal et al only marginally achieve. Add cheat-
proof to the equation and I think there might be a market for such a
system
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Giftzwerg
@t42g2000yqd.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com says...
> > getting
> > people to pay for the service, when people are so used to getting
> > things for free.
>
> PC wargames are not free, yet people buy them to have an opponent
> ready and waiting whenever they feel like playing a game - otherwise
> everyone would simply be playing Vassal and Cyberboard games.
The lesson of WORLD OF WARCRAFT is that people will pay *tons* of money
for gaming services - so long as the product offers a top-shelf gaming
experience.
The problem is building something *really* compelling, not getting
people to pay for it.
--
Giftzwerg
***
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Raging Tiger
You just described Kreigspiel. Been around a bit longer than anyone
here can directly remember.....