Is this true?

[Valandil]

You do not have to write scripts. It might help though.

I personally like scripts, as do lots (I think) of this community. To some extent you are back in the 80's. Welcome to the past. Take care not to change anything, lest you destroy the future.

[Caduceus]

Valandil said:
Welcome to the past. Take care not to change anything, lest you destroy the future.

Ah crap. I think he stepped on a butterfly.

Ooh. Watch the ripples!

Seriously, I leave hosting to the more technically minded folks around here. You can also read the manual closely about this subject and many will volunteer to walk you through the process.

[quantum_mechani]

Hosting doesn't need scripts, and is not (in theory) hard at all. Any difficulties tend to be with trying to host over the internet through a router or network.

[Frostmourne27]

TC/IP games need no scripts 90% of the time, unless you wish to speed things up with command line switches and the like. However, it is very simple to set up a TC/IP game without anysuch things. A hamster could probably do it. What is your problem with PbEM? Alright, big games are a mess, but a two player PbEM game is simple and easy. It's not like a multiplayer game will really go fast though. PbEM is probably where most people will use scripts. A script that automates the file moving tasks (and even hosting) can be set up. I believe gandalf has a thread posted about this. Such scripts are virtually incomprehensible to all us hamsters out here though, so most people leave hosting of big PbEM games to the more technologically adept.

[Cainehill]

Yeh, you don't _need_ scripts. But scripts let you make sure the game gets restarted if the Dom3 process (program for you non-techie types) dies or the machine reboots, help you ensure that turn files and other critical files are backed up, etc.

And they let people run actual game _servers_ capable of hosting multiple games at the same time, with players able to create new games via a web (or other) interface.

As far as PbEM games go, I'm not sure you even really need scripts for them either - a good enough mail client can do about 75% of the work required. Again, scripts can help automate things and prevent human error.

[Arralen]

How to set up a Dominions MP game :

1 PC has to be set up as "host", though one player might play on this machine, too. You'll have to start 2 instances of Dom3 on this machine. The instance which runs as host does not need a seperate KEY - only the player (clients) need one each.

For hosting, you might make a seperate shortcut with the following command line options (especially handy if you plan to host more than once):
PATH\dom3.exe -fsmw --tcpserver --res 800 600 --port 4000 --noclientstart

This will start up Dom3 in a small window, without sound and music, and will take you directly to the "enter game name" screen (hint: if you want to continue an old game, just use its name). After you entered the game name, the server is waiting to accept connections from the clients. On top of the window it will show the local ip and the port its running on (set to 4000 by the command line switch).

LAN MP game
Now start up Dom3 on the different players PCs and chose "network game, connect to server", type in the IP and port number given by the server.
If you're playing on the same comp the server runs on, use "127.0.0.1" for the IP, or "localhost" if that doesn't work.

Internet MP game
If you're playing over the internet, you'll need the internet IP your host PC is using. Let the player (clients) connect to that IP.

When all players are connected, hit "start game" on the small server screen.


Scripts are only needed for a dedicated Dominions server machine, set up to host several TCP/IP and/or email games at once, partly or fully automated.