Play by e-mail

If you have been playing Panzer General 2 for any length of time, you come quickly to the realization that the A.I. (artificial intelligence) is a lousy opponent.

You've beat the snot out of the A.I. at 100% in all five stock SSI campaigns. You've been hailed the conquering hero at 50% prestige. You've succeeded at even ZERO prestige. You've won using no air force. You've dominated using no armor. You've triumphed using only recons, at 0%, with a blindfold on and your mouse hand tied behind your back and they STILL renamed the city of Savannah in your honor!

In short, you have exhausted the possibilities of play against the "stupid" computer. What to do? Throw out PG2 and take up Baulder's Gate? Let PG2 sit for a month or two collecting dust so that your skills deteriorate to the point where the computer is actually unpredictable again??

I think the best thing about Panzer General 2 is the almost limitless possibilities for playing the game in different ways. Yes, you can impose artificial restrictions on yourself in the number and/or types of units you will use, or the prestige you will receive. You can download new equipment or scenarios -- even whole campaigns. But in each of these cases, you are still at a decided advantage because you have a BRAIN! Nothing "artificial" about your intelligence. It's real. So, no matter how you try to tip the tables in the computer's favor, you are still bound to triumph sooner or later because you'll be able to think your way out of any corner you paint yourself into.

The answer of course is human competition. A human opponent can provide something that no computer can -- unpredictability, spontaneity, reason, and opinion. Don't give up on PG2 just because you've conquered all the frontiers and reached all the boundaries of versus-computer play. Learn to play against humans. When you do, the first thing you will learn is that the computer wasn't HALF the opponent you thought it was. The second thing you will learn is that you aren't HALF the panzer general you thought you were.

After awhile, the only reason you're doing so well at PG2 isn't because of your finely honed skills, but rather, it is simply because you know where every enemy unit is, where every enemy unit will be, and --perhaps most importantly-- where the enemy WON'T be, and what the enemy WON'T do. Playing against humans eliminates this "cheat" because you NEVER know what a human opponent might pull out of his sleeve.

There are a number of ways you can play against human opponents. You can play via LAN (local area network). But normally that means using your work computer, and your boss may not be too happy with that. And there are only so many players you can play against no matter how big your LAN is. Most of us don't have access to a LAN anyway.

Another option is to play via live internet connection using IP protocol. Some people swear by live internet play. Perhaps the best way to play is by using MPlayer. They have a site entirely dedicated to setting up live internet games. You can even play three- and four-player games in this manner, which is unparalleled fun! Another option is to play against another person whom you know also has Panzer General 2. You can simply connect using your IP number and play a game that way. The trick with that is finding other people who have PG2 and are willing to play with you. That's the main problem MPlayer tries to solve -- finding suitable opponents for you to play.

The drawback to playing via live internet connection is two-fold. First, you must be able to set aside a large block of time to play a game. Your opponents won't look too kindly on a player who has been known to quit in the middle of a game, regardless how good your excuse was. So you have to be willing to tough it out for the duration of the game if you ever expect to find an opponent willing to play against you next time. Secondly, the internet connection can be fragile. In my own experience, I've been able to keep a continuous connection between my computer and my opponent's computer only about one out of twenty tries. Lost connection is a very disturbing, but all too common phenomenon. There is no way to save an internet game if one of you wants to call it quits for the night, or the connection is lost. When the connection is lost, there is no resuming the game -- it's done. You have to start all over a-fresh. That can be VERY frustrating!

Some who frequently play internet games agree wholeheartedly with my assessment. Others insist that lost connections are much more rare when you use MPlayer. But no one denies that lost connections do occur -- and frequently.

There's no denying that there's nothing quite like being able to play a human opponent in real time. But you must be willing to spend the time it will require; you must realize the always-present risk of lost connections ruining the whole game; you have to be able to battle the boredom while you wait for you opponent to complete his turn; and you must realize up-front that there will be pressure (real or imagined) to complete your own turn quickly, which can lead to hasty decisions and poor play. Lastly, you must realize that there are very few evenly balanced scenarios. In almost every scenario one of you is going to have to be satisfied with playing the disadvantaged side.

The final option for human vs. human play is the e-mail game, other wise known as PBEM (play by e-mail). PBEM games can eliminate every single disadvantage to the internet game. In my opinion, playing PG2 by e-mail is the single best option for playing against a truly intelligent opponent.

In the e-mail game, you can sometimes find a day (or weekend) in which both you and your opponent have a lot of free time. In this case, you can play an entire game in a very short time (over the course of a day or a weekend, for instance). But if you are a busy person who doesn't usually have any large chunks of free-time, you can still play a game against another human by playing an e-mail game in which you simply play your turns during a ten minute break, or just before bed, or before work in the morning, etc. As long as you make it clear to your opponent up-front, you can wait a week or longer before you play your next turn. This is obviously not possible in an internet game.

You never have to worry about a lost connection, or losing your whole game due to crashes or interrupted games. Even in the worst case scenario, you can always just back up and start over with the last turn you played. If your opponent goes away on a two-week vacation, you don't have to scrap the whole game; you simply put it on hold, and continue right where you left off upon his return.

You have time to make sound decisions. You can study the situation like a chess master, making your moves at a leisurely pace with no pressures to hurry up and do your turn. If you make a mistake, at least you know it wasn't because you were rushed into making hasty and ill-advised moves.

And lastly, there is a way to play PBEM games which makes EVERY scenario completely balanced and fair! I'm referring here to the "dual" or "duel" format of PBEM games. In such a game, you actually play TWO games simultaneously. In one game you are the Axis and your opponent is the Allies in the given scenario. In the second game, you are playing the exact same scenario, but with the roles reversed. The winner is determined by which player finished in the fewest turns. There are many possible tie-breakers which can be used, but the most popular tie-breaker seems to be "number of units destroyed". In this way, even the most unbalanced and unfair game is 100% balanced and fair because you both have the opportunity to play each side. This is why it is called a "duel". It is also sometimes called a "dual" because you have two games going on at the same time.

In short, if you are looking to bring the challenge back to your PG2 gaming, and if you really, truly want to improve your PG2 skills, playing human opponents is the way to go. And for many people, playing by e-mail is clearly the best way to do so. If you have never tried playing a human opponent, you owe it to yourself to try it at least once to experience the enormous difference between playing the computer for the umpteenth time and playing against a live, thinking human with a brain.

1.) Probably the absolute biggest No-No in a PBEM game is to play your turn, exit and re-load the same turn to try for better results. If you do this on a regular basis, you are a stinking cheater, plain and simple. Even if you never get caught, I hope you don't take too much pleasure in whatever PBEM successes you have! And believe me, if you become known as a habitual re-loader, I hope you know Satan's e-mail address, because he's the only one who will ever play you twice!

Too harsh?? Nope. If you want to cheat, feel free. Play the stupid computer. He never cares if you cheat. Cheat to your little heart's content. Reload that puppy a hundred-fifty times to get the leader you want or the prototype you want. That's great. Have fun. That's what the game is for.

But if you have endeavored to play by e-mail, the logical assumption is that you have found increasingly little pleasure beating up on the stupid and predictable A.I. In other words, you're looking for a challenge. There is no challenge in reloading a PBEM turn just because something didn't turn out the way you had hoped, or you made a silly mistake. Live with it. Learn from it. But don't allow the temptation to reload win the battle!

2.) Of course, you should never change the prestige modifier in any PBEM game unless it was agreed to between yourself and your opponent. It is perfectly fine to alter the prestige. There are many good charts on how to modify the prestige so that a scenario is more balanced. But just make sure you are both perfectly clear that the prestige is going to be modified, and that both sides of the duel are set to the same prestige settings. Anything else is just plain despicable cheating! (and Lasse's "Cheat Checker" program can check on this too!)

3.) No illegal reconnoitering! This was tough for me at first, because I never thought of it as a "cheat" until I learned to play by e-mail. What I am referring to here is the movement of a unit (especially planes) over and over again, searching a huge sector, repeatedly canceling the moves when no new enemy units are spotted.

The single biggest improvement in playing against human opponents is the factor of the unexpected. Yes, your opponent just might be sneaking a unit around that seldom-used area of the map to surprise you in the flanks. If you really want to know, send a unit there legally. If you spot no one, don't cancel the move. Just think of it as intelligence gained and leave that unit there until next turn.

4.) Check the rules on cancelled moves. Some PBEM clubs do not allow cancellation of moves EVER. Not even to check the odds on an attack. Nor when you think better of a move. The "cancel move" button is strictly off-limits.

However, many individual players, outside the PBEM club setting, have no objection to "legitimate" cancellation of moves. Personally, I always allow my opponents to have "second thoughts" cancellations, or odds-checking cancellations. It doesn't bother me a bit. BUT... if you are going to play it this way, make sure your opponent knows and agrees it is okay to cancel these types of moves, AND you have to be careful not to get reckless and start violating the "illegal recon" rule (#3 above).

5.) Keep your opponent informed of large down-times you experience. It is just plain rude to engage in an e-mail game with someone and wait a month before sending your turns back to him! Obviously, if you can find an opponent on your own, you might make arrangements with him to play one turn every month, or even longer between turns. But in general, you should never let a turn sit in your inbox for more than a week without at least telling your opponent why you haven't gotten the next turn back to him.

Different players expect different things from their opponents. Some expect a new turn in their Inbox every day, or every-other-day, or once a week. The best way to avoid ill feelings is to simply communicate your own plans and expectations to your opponent BEFORE you start playing.

Also, different clubs have different rules for how long it is acceptable to wait before returning a PBEM turn. Check with the club's administrator or the rules section to see how long you can delay sending a new turn.

But if you are not playing through a PBEM club, the best thing to do is be in regular contact with your opponent, especially if you anticipate a lengthy delay in playing your next turn. That way he can at least seek a different opponent while you're away, or tell you to just forget about finishing the game. If you're the one causing excessive delays in the play, let your opponent decide how you will proceed (as far as quitting the game or waiting to finish it later, etc.).

6.) The last rule I can think of is to never... NEVER just walk away from a PBEM game without --at the very least!-- apologizing to your opponent for having to do so. While this is supposed to be fun --"just a game"-- it can be very frustrating to invest a bunch of time into playing a game, only to find out one day that your opponent has decided to not finish the game with you.

If you are getting annihilated in your current game, just bite the bullet. Keep playing until completion. You certainly have the right to play stupidly to "end the madness" quickly -- suicide is acceptable. :) You also have the right to make the most out of a bad situation and try to put up a valiant, if hopeless, defense. And the person who is doing the annihilating also has the right to offer "peace terms" (mercifully ending the bloodshed) on his own. But if you're getting beat, try to be a gracious loser. It's harder, but also more noble than being a gracious winner.

This is certainly NOT the definitive set of rules and etiquette on playing by e-mail. I have to believe that there are more complete sets of rules to be found in the web sites of various PBEM clubs. But I hope these general guidelines will start you on your way to being a courteous PBEM gamer.