Panzer Man Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 Playing my fourth PBEM game and I came across an opponent who plays sloooowly...Over a month now on a 25 turn QB.He is getting beaten badly and I have noticed that twice now he has sent me files that were already played.I was hoping that the Movies were always the same,but I was wrong,every movie plays out differently. I am not saying he is being sly, but when you are losing what the Hay,play dumb and hope things play out better than before. In this case I liked the way it played out for me , so I went along with it.Anyone else come across gimmicks like this while playing PBEM games.? ------------------ "If Patton were alive today,he'd play Combat Mission." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 Well, my email only works when it feels like it, so the game I'm playing has had a few delays. Darwin, if you say anything about my email account, that Priest is gonna die for sure! You probably already do this, but if you number each file, it cuts down on the number of files sent twice. ------------------ No one but the enemy will tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you where he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. -Ender's Game [This message has been edited by 109 Gustav (edited 11-13-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Man Posted November 14, 2000 Author Share Posted November 14, 2000 Yeah Gustav,thats how I spotted it,he sent me a file numbered lower than the last file I sent him..I decided to play it out and liked the position I was in more than the last one I sent him..It just made me wonder if this happens to other players out there.. ------------------ "If Patton were alive today,he'd play Combat Mission." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gezeder Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 What a crazy thing to do! all that does is give you better odds of the battle looking good for you - now you get a choice of movie files - which one would you like today? I doubt he'd do something like that on purpose - probably an honest mistake - like Gustav said, mabye you should suggest an email numbering system to cut down on confusion for him..... Personally, I use BobVsFred1a, BobVsFred1b, BobVsFred1c, BobVsFred2a...... etc. Works pretty well..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juju Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Panzer Man: I was hoping that the Movies were always the same,but I was wrong,every movie plays out differently<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Correct me if I'm wrong anyone, but that is exactly the idea with a PBEM movie: That it plays out exactly the same, no matter how many times you run it. Otherwise you could just replay it and hope for a better result before processing the turn. So either I'm wrong, or something's rotten in Denmark. ------------------ Der ver zwei peanuts, valking down der Strasse, and von vas...assaulted! peanut. Ho-ho-ho-ho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gezeder Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 yes Juju, but it sounds like what is happening is Panzer Man's email oppenent is giving his orders again, then processing the turn and sending it off - sounds like Panzer Man's opponent is just confused to me - or he's trying a really really poorly thought out way of cheating! so Panzer Man is getting more than one "turn 4" (or whatever) to choose from, then he can simply reply to whichever one he wants too.... Hope this clears it up for you. (Hope I got it right!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karch Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 My friend and I give the game a one or 2 word description, number it, then initial it. DDay_ambush_01s DDay_ambush_02m DDay_ambush_03s DDay_ambush_04m ............. DDay_ambush_21s DDay_ambush_22m and so on.. and so on. This way the file is numbered, AND you know who sent it. So if the file with the largest number has your opponent's initial, it's your turn. Make sure you number your files 01 or 001 to start with, this way if you sort your files alphabetically, the newest file will always be the last (or first) in each game's list. If you just use 1, 2, 3, 4... 10, 11, 12 etc, 11 will follow 1 because computer file names sort alphabetically, not numerically. The word 11 will come before the word 2. Strange, but that's how it works. And by putting the game name first, all the game's turns are grouped alpha. It works for us. Scott Karch [This message has been edited by karch (edited 11-14-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Weiss Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 Hmm, interesting about the duplicate files. Never had that happen that I know of. But surely, it is all too often that when someone starts to lose, coincedentally their rate of play slows dramatically. Seems there is very little carry over from the old AHIKS days when it was understood that it was entirely appropriate and honorable to surrender in situations where you know you cannot win, rather than drag the game out. Negotiations with an opponent to end a game rather than continue it on off into infinity with little or not hope of changing the outcome is not particularly good etiquette. (This doesn't apply where one has a good chance to change the outcome). But, whether or not one is winning or losing should not alter the basic speed of the game agreed to when the game was started. At best, it is a statement as to the statesmanship of one's opponent. Now, things do happen to each of us wherein, life intercedes and each person should be able and willing to understand that. On the other hand, it is encumbent upon, and the responsibility of the person who's life has interceded to properly notify their opponent as to what is going on. I'm afraid that without a little sense of honor amongst the community, we risk a demise of PBEM into nothing more than two kids pissing over their marbles at school recess. ------------------ "Gentlemen, you may be sure that of the three courses open to the enemy, he will always choose the fourth." -Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke, (1848-1916) [This message has been edited by Bruno Weiss (edited 11-14-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterNZer Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 Guys, stick with 01 02 03 04 and so on. The application 'cm one click' which is being tested now will soon automate a lot of email and turn handling and it likes these easy numbers! I highly recommend it once it is released more widely PeterNZ ------------------ "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." George W Bush -Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wwb_99 Posted November 14, 2000 Share Posted November 14, 2000 Check the file properties of the files you recieve. It should be very easy to tell if he has recreated the file. And if he is crafty and covers his butt on that one, then the sizes of the files will not match (the 7-8 digit exact, not the 3-4 digit 'xxx kb'). And if he is cheeting, publish his name and hope that he is forever ostracized by the PBEM community (since he is too far away to be severely beaten). WWB ------------------ Ave, Caesar! Morituri te salatamus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwin Posted November 15, 2000 Share Posted November 15, 2000 Chances are your opponent is not trying to cheat and is making honest mistakes. I had one opponent who would send on average one file every 2 weeks or so. We had a game of chance encounter drag on forever. I just assumed he was a super busy person or possibly had a vicious wife who didn't allow him much game time. (that said, I prefer at least a transfer a day) A lot of people even though they were somehow able to find this board are as yet not comfortable with their computers and have difficulty with new things. Pbem is not at all a new concept but to the person just introduced to it... I suggest the greatest possible leeway with new opponents. If they fail to "get with it" you don't have to play them again. Perhaps we could introduce your situation as a way to put handicapping in the game, a certain amount of mulligans allowed relative to players strengths Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Man Posted November 15, 2000 Author Share Posted November 15, 2000 Thanks all,for your input.I believe he either lost the last file I sent him or didnt like the outcome and changed his orders and sent the file back to me. The reason I knew he sent an older file was because I numbered mine accurately and he sent an older numbered file.So when I played it,i noticed vehicles in different positions than the first time I played that turn,so I went along with it.Feeling it was more beneficial to myself.I am not saying he is cheating, he might have too many games going at once and erased my newer file. But it is a gimmick that someone who is losing might try anyway. And this is the 2nd time that it has happened in the same game.If this game ever ends I would not play him again.I also suggested that he should surrender or even request a cease fire and he got ballsy,saying he would fight to the death and if he changed his strategy earlier he would be crushing me..LOL...That just made me want to beat him more.I dont like that kind of nonsense..If you find a good PBEM partner keep him (or her),,I am fortunate to have found a good one and we have good battles every week.. ------------------ "If Patton were alive today,he'd play Combat Mission." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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