An "early end" option for MP battles is needed.

[Gunner24]

I hope I'm not asking for something we already have !.....but in an MP battle today we had the situation (which will happen a lot) where to all intents and porpose the battle was over, with scattered units left on both sides, but with a serious amount of time left untill the battle ended, this would take perhaps another hour - even at 6/60 speed.

We need some way to EITHER to admit defeat and end the battle, OR, some system that will generate a battle result BEFORE the last second of time is up......so when it's an obvious result the battle should end and declare a winner, otherwise long MP batles are going to be even longer than need be.......we played 8am to 3pm and it took 2 hours of real time - another hour of real time on top would be "wasted" time.

[Count Miloradovich]

I agree with you Gunner24  but how to determine when the battle is over.At one point you thought it's over, but half an hour later, the guard turned the situation, and I thought we lost.In the end we won, but barely.Maybe add an option "end of the battle" and when all players check this option game stops and the results from that moment become official.

[Gunner24]

Agreed, this is not a simple matter, things can, and do, and will change, from minute to minute, but to carry on with so few formations on the battlefield seems a littel like "to the last man" in TW, I would not expect many people will want that.

If it were possible the best way would be for the program to make the decision, something like an auto full rout of all remaining units at a certain stage........it could cause all kinds of problems if it's up to the players to agree, one may want to carry on to that last man standing.......an "admit defeat" would even have problems and neither side may be prepared to admit defeat untill their last man was killed !.


This is a big difference to an SP game - that can be ended anytime.

[Hook]

best way would be for the program to make the decision

It already does.  If the game hasn't decided a winner, then it's far from over.  You'd be surprised at how the tide of battle can turn.  Many times I thought I'd lost but played it through and ended up winning.

Five hours of battle will be over in 30 minutes in 06/60 speed, if it goes to the end.  If one side is losing as bad as you think, then it will be over before then.

It is considered impolite not to let a battle play out in most serious wargame communities.  However, if both you and your opponent want to quit, pause the game and look at the analysis screen and it will tell you who was victorious.  It won't give you a level of victory, but consider that a penalty for not letting the game play out.  If you end a battle way too early, one side can have up to a 10:1 advantage in the points, which I don't think you want.  It makes it easy to cheat if one side decides to throw the battle to give the other an easy win.  This can't be fixed.

It may be possible for JMM to add an option to play the battle out at maximum speed without displaying it, but don't be surprised if the victory goes to the side you thought was losing.

Hook

[Gunner24]

It already does.  If the game hasn't decided a winner, then it's far from over.

 
I agree, but there were not many units left in a fighting state.

You'd be surprised at how the tide of battle can turn.  Many times I thought I'd lost but played it through and ended up winning.

I don't think I would, I can see how the balance can change back and forth as situations change.

Five hours of battle will be over in 30 minutes in 06/60 speed, if it goes to the end.  If one side is losing as bad as you think, then it will be over before then.

Good point, 5 hours is 300 minutes, at 10x speed is 30 minutes............the sides were about even so we should have finished it, but when there are so few formations left in any kind of fit state to fight it seemed a bit of a waste of time, but having thought more about it you are correct - we should have finished it.

It is considered impolite not to let a battle play out in most serious wargame communities.

 
Yes, people who have played MP game for several years know this, maybe people new to MP don't.

However, if both you and your opponent want to quit, pause the game and look at the analysis screen and it will tell you who was victorious.  

That is what we did in this case, I was losing and was happy to agree an eraly finish - it makes no difference if win or lose in a "one off" test battle.

It won't give you a level of victory,

It did, I took a screenshot of the F7 stats :

It may be possible for JMM to add an option to play the battle out at maximum speed without displaying it, but don't be surprised if the victory goes to the side you thought was losing.

Your suggestion to play to the end is better then, looks like we need to allow more time for MP games, or set the battle time shorter, or play at faster speed......we were two real hours for about a five hour battle.

[Hook]

At 62% loss I'm surprised your side wasn't already in full retreat.  If you still had some corps in defensive lines, it may have kept the battle running instead of ending it early.  At some point, everyone but defensive lines  get retreat orders.  When everyone on at least one side has a retreat order, the battles end.

At least that's how I think it works.

Hook

[Gunner24]

Sounds sensisble to me, I have not seen the French % lose figure, but I would expect they were roughly the same, maybe a little bit less, I would guess about 55-60%......it would be interesting to see the actual figure. 

Defensive lines do seem rather powerfull - so far.

[Gunner24]

Here is the French result, which is different from the Russian result, because the battle was ended before the end - something to be avoided in future I think.

French result :


Russian result :

[Uxbridge]

We need some way to EITHER to admit defeat and end the battle...

Why not if both Commanders agree? There are historical precedents - if each side begins withdrawing to its lines and neither attempts to interfere with the other then gradually they pull apart. Maybe agree a truce to swap prisoners and identify the dead. A draw.

[Gunner24]

Why not if both Commanders agree

There is no reason why not, if both agree to end it can be ended, as we did in this example, but as Hook explains both sides may both see a different result, but if one side does not agree to an early ending even if the result is obvious, then you have to play on......which I now think is the best option anyway, but it may take some time even at 6/60 speed.

[Hook]

The analysis screens might show different results if fog of war is in effect.  This shouldn't be the case if the battle is ended by the game for whatever reason.

Hook