Advance Wars: with online multiplayer!

[WhiteShark]

I can play if I don't have to actively be paying attention all day

You don't. Wraith made a bot for IRC that pings you when it's your turn, and these big group games last multiple days anyway.

[Kalarion]

I can play if I don't have to actively be paying attention all day

You don't. @Nemesis wrote a bot for us that pings you on your turn. In practice, most full turns took an hour or two. Just check the MP HQ channel every hour or so.

[WhiteShark]

most full turns took an hour or two

I'm sure by this you mean round, not turn, because each turn was more like 10-15 minutes tops unless the player was afk.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

The second HQ FFA, this time featuring @Kalarion, @GhostCow, @Norfleet, @Gregz, and me, has concluded with me as the victor. Good game everyone. I know it was a bit rough for the new guys but hopefully you now have a better grasp on the game for next time.

We'll start the next group game sometime tomorrow. I need a headcount, though, so watermelon this post if you want to play. I'm also thinking about doing teams instead of FFA this time, so let me know what you guys think. @Val the Moofia Boss @maidenhaver @Oyster Sauce are you guys in?

What time were you planning to start? I'm free after 6 PM PST

[WhiteShark]

What time were you planning to start? I'm free after 6 PM PST

Well that's perfect because I just woke up. Lobby is up and invites are out. Join up!

[WhiteShark]

@Val the Moofia Boss I also recommend getting on IRC and joining #mphq so wraith's bot can ping you.

[WhiteShark]

FFAHQ Round 3 has concluded, a bit sooner than expected. It turns out there was a capture limit of 36, so, much to my surprise, I won in the middle of my turn while fighting with Norfleet for the remains of GhostCow's base. Good game @Kalarion @Oyster Sauce @Val the Moofia Boss @Norfleet @GhostCow.

Round 4 will feature TEAMS because I want to try them. Feel free to suggest any other settings you'd like: CO tier, map size, capture limit or no capture limit, unit limit, stealths banned or unbanned, etc. I'm available to start as early as Sunday 15:00 PST, but we'll see when works for everyone else. Watermelon for interest.

If anyone, particularly the new players, wants help or advice, let me know. I'd be happy to go over strategy/tactics/openings or to look over the replays to see what went wrong.

[WhiteShark]

TeamsHQ Round 1 has concluded with Team A (GhostCow and I) the victor. An interesting match! It was @NotOrange's first game ever, not counting the tutorial in AW1, but nevertheless he put forth a great showing, destroying my poor teammate in short order. I went over the replay with Orange afterward and concluded that his mistakes were largely of the small and tactical variety, so with practice, he should go far. Good game @Kalarion @Val the Moofia Boss @Oyster Sauce @NotOrange @GhostCow.

Because of time zone differences we're going to have two group games running simultaneously going forward, HQ and HQ ALTER. Anybody is welcome to play in either, but ALTER is meant for people who can play during EU hours, mainly for the sake of @madbringer.

Watermelons for interest didn't work last time, so I guess I'll just trawl for players in IRC tomorrow when the US crowd is back online. The ALTER game should also be starting within the next day, but the slots are already full.

[jcd]

Count me in. I'm up for some slower paced PBE games (a couple of turns a day, I guess). My nickname is jcd.

[jcd]

I've played quite a few games and I'm having a lot of fun. I'm not doing particularly well, but I expect I'm going up against people who have been playing this game for years. How come Nintendo hasn't sent the lawyers yet?

[WhiteShark]

I expect I'm going up against people who have been playing this game for years.

Probably. AWBW has been around since 2004. You can check your opponent's profile and see his rating and match history. There are apparently only ~1600 Global League players worldwide, so most are likely veterans to one degree or another.

How come Nintendo hasn't sent the lawyers yet?

That's a good question. It's not for profit, for one, but I suspect the real reason is that they don't care about the IP very much. Days of Ruin almost didn't get released in Japan, and it when it did, it was years after the US and EU releases, and as a digital reward only. Reboot Camp was done by a western dev and wasn't released in Japan at all.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Gratz to team Kalarionis/OysterSauce/NotOrange for their victory in the 3v3

[WhiteShark]

Val beat me to the punch, but yeah, r4 of TeamsHQ concluded with Team KalariOrangeSauce as the victor. Congratulations!

The American hours HQ game is now called PRIME. We've already started the fifth round of PRIME with the same members, but I accidentally titled it r4 and not r5, which will no doubt confuse me as I archive these. There is also now a third HQ game called STAR, so in total there are PRIME, ALTER, and STAR. More will be added as necessary. @jcd if you're ready to join one of our games let me know and I'll get you in on the next game that works for you.

[jcd]

@jcd if you're ready to join one of our games let me know and I'll get you in on the next game that works for you.

Okay, I can play the next one.

[WhiteShark]

I added a game mechanics FAQ to the OP. It's composed of stuff I've been asked frequently and also some more esoteric interactions about which I got curious.

[jcd]

I added a game mechanics FAQ to the OP. It's composed of stuff I've been asked frequently and also some more esoteric interactions about which I got curious.

This is great but I wish a lot of this stuff was available in the game. I need to look up shit on the wiki constantly, and I expect it'll take me a while until I remember everything, and I used to play AW on the GBA a lot. I get it that veterans don't need this stuff, but they could just turn it off. It should also be easier to overlay enemy movement ranges onto the map, considering how crucial it is for strategy.

[WhiteShark]

It should also be easier to overlay enemy movement ranges onto the map

Are you aware you can click and hold on enemy units to see their movement ranges? Maybe I should add that to the FAQ.

[maidenhaver]

It should also be easier to overlay enemy movement ranges onto the map

[jcd]

It should also be easier to overlay enemy movement ranges onto the map

Are you aware you can click and hold on enemy units to see their movement ranges? Maybe I should add that to the FAQ.

Yep, but I'd like to see the ranges of several units at the same time. Can you do that?

[WhiteShark]

Yep, but I'd like to see the ranges of several units at the same time. Can you do that?

Not to my knowledge, but that would be helpful. Unfortunately it's closed source, but there's a chance they would add it (eventually) if you suggested it to the devs.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Gratz to team Kalarionis/OysterSauce/NotOrange. The Yankees win again.

That map had a lot of mountains and forests, and hardly any airfields. It takes a long time to move enemies to the frontlines while the defender has the advantage being able to park their units on the defensive tiles. Guess the lesson learned (along with the last game) is that you need to build up a humongous army before launching an offensive like that. Also, someone was using an ability that was often dealing 4 damage to all of our freshly built units sitting on top of factories, which added up. Guess the way to deal with that is to have a cheap infantry unit sitting on top of the factory tile that you don't care if it gets hit (and is cheap to repair), so new expensive units that are produced spawn off of the factory tile and don't get hit by that power.

[Oyster Sauce]

In 7-9 days when our armies finally collide I'm going to destroy you NW/SE fuckers

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Good game to team @NotOrange @Kalarion @GhostCow!