Coop mode

[Mars123321]

Hello

I would like to buy this game, but before I do it I want to know if this game has Co-op multiplayer mode

If coop is present, how does it work?

Can I and my friend play campaign in Co-op?

 

Thank you

[AttorneyAtWar]

No, there is no co-op mode.

[IICptMillerII]

As Raptor said, there is no co-op mode. 

However, there is a way to force a type of co-op. If you play a PBEM, instead of giving orders and then hitting the red button to hand over the game to the opponent, what you can do instead is save the game, then send the save to a friend. When he opens it up, he can then give his orders to his units on the map, then hit the red button and send the completed turn to the opponent. I've played a battle like this before and while it did take longer to do turns, it was a lot of fun. 

To be clear, you have to decide who is commanding what. For example, each person could command a company. You will still have full access to giving orders to every friendly unit on the map, so you'll have to adopt an honor system so that neither player on the same side messes with the others units. 

As I said it takes longer than a traditional PBEM, is more of a roundabout way of playing, and has more administrative overhead. But if you are ok with all those things, it can be a lot of fun. 

All of that said, if the game having true co-op is make or break for you, I would recommend holding off and maybe starting with the demo's for now. There are no future plans to add co-op to any of the CM titles either. 

[Bud Backer]

I’ve done COOP play with @IanL in a head to head game against two opposing players, in the manner described by @IICptMillerII.  It is easy to do and a lot of fun. While the game doesn’t have a specific mechanism to do it, that is not an impediment to making it work for you. I highly recommend it. You can do this as long as it is turn based and not Real Time. And yes, it should work in a campaign as well. 

[A Canadian Cat]

6 hours ago, Mars123321 said:

Can I and my friend play campaign in Co-op?

 

1 hour ago, Bud Backer said:

And yes, it should work in a campaign as well. 

 

Just to clarify - there is no head to head PBEM play for campaigns. Apparently it is possible to create a campaign to play head to head in hot seat mode but I have never done it and it is unclear if there are released campaigns that support that mode.

To play co-op campaign you can play turn based and save files as discussed for PBEM but you and your partner play against the campaign AI. In that case you would have to save a turn in the preview phase so your partner can see the replay and then save and exchange a command phase save file to give orders.

[DerKommissar]

Always wanted coop in my wargames. I'll have to try out these workaround. While remembering to save during preview and then sending the file over email, every minute, sounds like a bit of a hassle. Still, more "coop" than Graviteam. Just curious, any recommended forum for finding players for "coop" games?

[Mars123321]

Thank you for replies!

[IICptMillerII]

9 hours ago, DerKommissar said:

Always wanted coop in my wargames. I'll have to try out these workaround. While remembering to save during preview and then sending the file over email, every minute, sounds like a bit of a hassle. Still, more "coop" than Graviteam. Just curious, any recommended forum for finding players for "coop" games?

You could try The Few Good Men (http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/thefgmforum/)

Its a wargaming club of sorts that primarily play CM. Could be possible you find someone there who would be willing to try co-op with you. Otherwise, do what I did and make your friends buy CM 

[Bozowans]

One time I played a pretty extreme version of coop, where each side of the battle was controlled by a different big group of people. There were platoon and company commanders and so on, and each tank would be controlled by a different person. I was a company commander and had 3 people under me. It was absolute chaos and kind of hilarious, and honestly seemed more realistic as well. You had orders being confused or misunderstood, people arguing about orders or not responding, and then the collective trauma of seeing their units get blown to bits, and the overall morale of the group rising and falling with each turn.

I never played any kind of coop with just one other person before. That actually sounds pretty fun.

[DerKommissar]

12 hours ago, Bozowans said:

One time I played a pretty extreme version of coop, where each side of the battle was controlled by a different big group of people. There were platoon and company commanders and so on, and each tank would be controlled by a different person. I was a company commander and had 3 people under me. It was absolute chaos and kind of hilarious, and honestly seemed more realistic as well. You had orders being confused or misunderstood, people arguing about orders or not responding, and then the collective trauma of seeing their units get blown to bits, and the overall morale of the group rising and falling with each turn.

You just described my dream multiplayer wargame experience.

[LongLeftFlank]

I am sure the programming challenge is not inconsiderable -- finite brainjar hours -- but I feel the addition of even basic pbem coop play mechanics would breathe a lot of new life into the system, and the community.

Even having some friendly forces AI programmed/controlled could add new dimensions -- allowing a designer to assign a player a specific role within a larger operation rather than needing to micro the whole force. Faster play, more fun for those who choose it. Endless possibilities here, and seemingly well within existing design parameters of the engine with some help from newer generation computing power. Fwiw

[John Doe]

Does anyone know of any DAARs or AARs of such an event?

I would love to read something like that, let alone be a part of such event.