Manual combat only between Human Players.

Manual combat only vs AI (Used primarily in Classic Turns)



Always Use Auto Combat (in a live multiplayer game with more than 2 players, this was basically the only way to play)

Combat Turn timer, scales with the number of units in a battle



World Turn Timer scales with the size of your empire (number of colonies and units)

Hi there and welcome to this week’s Planetfall development journal. We’ll be taking a look at the Adaptive Multiplayer system which combines Age of Wonders’ live simultaneous, classic turn and Play by Email system in one flexible whole. Its a comprehensive system with Triumph co-founder and tech director Arno van Wingerden the lead, along with members of the tech team, Lascha, Michel and Jack. As far as we know its a first in the genre and we’re quite excited about it.Planetfall introduces a new type of cloud-based online play where players are freely able to switch between classic turns and simultaneous play pending their availability.Is it hard to get your friends together at the same time? You take their turn whenever you have a spare moment after getting the notification email, or stay online until the other player’s finish their turn.But when all participants are available at the same time (like in the weekend) the game can switch to simultaneous turns at the click of a button. In this mode everybody takes their turn at the same time for a faster game experience.Multiplayer is cloud based. Even though it is not your turn, you can log in to your online games at anytime. You can view the lay of the land and plan your next move. You can observe the moves of others within your field of vision and chat to other players who are online at the same time.All online game states, including the “Play by Email” classic turns where players don’t have to be online at the same time support manual tactical combat. Players get combat turn notification just like when its a world map turn. Of course battles are resolved faster when the players involved in combat are online at the same time, which is now possible using the login anytime Adaptive Multiplayer.Manual Combat can make sessions last long and or involve waiting for players, especially in games with more than two human players. The following options help reduce the amount of battles in game:In Planetfall we have added a new system for you that that gamifies the number of manual battles, the Combat Cards System.Combat Cards determine the number of times players can use manual combat in a multiplayer game. Each manual battle that delays the game for others costs a card. This makes multiplayer games go faster as they require you to think carefully about which battles you play manually. For an observing player, it makes watching battles more exciting as the stakes are high in the battles that do take place.All players are given a number of combat cards at the start of the game, cards regenerate after a number turns have elapsed. Both the starting amount and the number of turns before a card regenerates can be configured by the host in the Turns Tab of the Scenario Setup. Cards do not regenerate over their starting maximum.Note that Player VS AI battles in the PBEM style Classic Turns do not cost a card as they do not require the other players to be online.Here are some call outs from the game setup scree:The game supports up to 8 online human players, out of a total of 12 factions on a planet. (so 8 persons + 4 AI players is the max).Single computer “Hot Seat” multiplayer is accessible from the regular Advanced Scenario Setup: Select “Scenario” from the main menu, choose a planet, press Advanced and assigning multiple “Human” Players in the Commander Slots.This locks players into fixed teams of opponents, disabling diplomatic state changes between -and within the Teams for a head to head experience. Of course you can mix human and AI players within Teams.: Want to play coop? Put yourself and a friend a in fixed team and pit yourself against a group of AIs. The number of AI factions of course has an effect on difficulty.Controls Victory Modes, RMG, as in stand alone advanced settings.Turn and Tactical Combat Settings, including Turn Timers.Advanced RMG Settings as in single player setup.We’re looking forward to challenging you in game. The team at Triumph already has done many practice rounds at the office.