posted 02-20-99 09:06 PM ET     

So how does moving a unit into an empty square call for a data transfer. For that, there should be no data going to any other computer. No single other faction has my maps or even explored in the center of my empire. So that unit should not need permission to move cause there is no way there could possibly be another unit that is trying to move into that same square. You have to write better code to fix this. Units should not seek permission to move when it is know that there is no other faction unit that could possibly be there.

I had the beta to this game but I went out and purchased the retail version so I could play with my friends cause it was stated the retail version would have a patch that would make multiplayer games go faster. Well, its still way to damn slow! Sorry for the bad language, but common. How much data really needs to be sent to another comp for moving a single unit to another empty square where it is totally know there is no other human player near by (no data at all should be transferred for that).

Lets say I am moving a rover into another humans territory and no other human is able to see it there except that one. Now, does data about my movement go to ALL the other computers or just the one that would actually need to receive that data because he may have a unit there or maybe trying to move a unit into the same square. And if I am altering my city resources production, why does anyone of the other humans need to know about that. There should not be any data going to any other comp when I alter my workers working the land or change my production. Now common, I know you guys can program better.

At the end of every turn, the computer of each player should no where ever other unit is on the whole map (but not show the human sitting at the computer of course) so that when I move say my scout, and there is another human players scout with 3 squares in-between us, and we are not on roads, then my computer should no that I can only move my scout one square and he can only move his scout one square, so that when I move my scout, it should be totally free of having to worry about moving into the same square as another, so thus there should be no data transfer, because if we both moved towards each other, we still would have 1 square in-between our units, so we could not even see each other. If we had only 2 empty squares in-between us and then moved towards each other, we would then be able to see each other, so my computer would send that small amount of data to that other human players computer only(to no others), that I moved unit 11232 from map square 241,234 to map square 242,234 (that should be all the data that needs to be sent, just that one sentence). His computer should already have the full data on my unit and so can compute which way my unit would be facing and any other such calculations. All the computers would have to send is which unit moved and where it moved from and where it moved too. No other data needs to be transferred. At the end of the previous turn, he should have gotten a full detail spec of what the unit is, its name, attack, defense, chassis, special abilities etc and its health power and its moral level. Then this data would not have to be sent again, unless of those attributes changes (the global map of every unit could possibly be update only once every 5 turns, every turn for units know to be near other units). The only data that should need ever be sent concerning that unit to another comp is its location, its moral level if changed, or if its health has changed (if it was attacked by a mind worm say and was damaged).

Of course if I create a new unit and move it immediately on mag tubes to next to another humans city, then my comp should know that his comp does not know of my units existence and in that cause would send the data immediately to his comp only, or possibly to his allies if they could also see the unit. Then once his comp has the full detailed spec of my unit, my comp should know that and would only have to ever transfer to his computer again where that unit moves to and only other data if one of the specs on that unit changes.

That�s all I have to say. Please make this a reality.