RSW

Version 1.0.5.x adds two big new features to RSW.

First, RSW now supports human-drawn maps, instead of using computer-drawn maps for every game. When you set up a game you can select which kind of map you want, and you can select among the available hand-drawn maps for your particular game. There's also a new game customization option to "reveal maps", which eliminates the tedium of moving worlds around to untangle connections in the client, since when this option is enabled, the worlds will automatically be placed in the client according to the map layout.

There are a number of hand-drawn maps already available--you can inspect them from the link labeled "View the available RSW map sets" on your home page--or, you can draw your own! The new RSW client adds a menu option called "New RSW map" to the File menu of the game list window. From here you can plot out your own favorite game map, and upload it to the server for use by yourself or others when you're done. I've put together a short YouTube video to illustrate how easy it is to design a grid of squares or, really, any repeating tile pattern.

The second important new feature is "Team games." In a team game, players start out the game already assigned into two or more teams. Depending on the game settings, you can either choose your team when you sign up, or the server will randomly assign them. All the members on the team will either win or lose as a unit--the team's final score is the average of all of the players' scores. During gameplay, the server will automatically send all teammates' reports to everyone on the team, eliminating the need to send turn reports back and forth. Teammates' orders are visible to all too.

Team games are designed to minimize the risk of grossly uneven alliances forming within a game. By pre-assigning the teams evenly, the server can guarantee that alliances are more-or-less evenly matched, at least in terms of number of players and character types.

Enjoy!
David

What triggers the win in a team game - an individual score (then the winning team is determined by the average score) or is it triggered by the team's average score?

El
Somnos

The former: the win is triggered by an individual's score crossing the finish line. Then the team's average score determines the rankings.

David

Some more people have been asking about this, so let me clarify: there is a difference in the scoring rules between a multi-position game and a team game.

In a multi-position game, which is where one player controls multiple positions in the same game, only a player's lowest score of all of his positions' scores counts towards victory. This is obviously a good idea--it compels the player to play all of his positions equally well, and not to simply mine one of them for resources and let it rot. Of course, the winning strategy is then to get all of your positions to have as high a score as possible.

In a team game, where different players are each controlling their own position, but are bound to win or lose as a team, it is the team's average score that determines victory. Not lowest. The reason for this change is simple: if we had used the lowest score, the team would be too vulnerable to griefers, people who would sign up to join a team and then willfully not play. Or dropouts. With the average score instead, a team might still suffer due to a griefer or a dropped position, but it won't necessarily be insurmountable--the rest of the team may be able to score big enough to overcome the weight. But at the end of the day, this change doesn't really affect that much; the winning strategy is still to get all of your players to have as high a score as possible.

Of course, a multi-position team game is also possible, in which the team's final score will be the average of each player's lowest-scoring position. But now we're just being silly.

David