Multi Player Guide

From Solium Infernum Wiki

Steps to setup a Multi Player game:

1. Create the Avatar you plan to use.
2. Select Multi Player from the main menu.
3. Select Host New Game
4. Enter the game name. It must be one word, numbers and letters only.
5. Pick the map size, type, places of power, and game length you want to use.
6. Under "Enter Your Email Address", click the red button to enter your name. Despite the label, it will never be used as an email address and you can just enter a plain name.
7. Pick the avatar you created in step 1.
8. For each player, enter their name. Again, it will not be used as an email address. I also tend to add a game identifier after the name, so that if multiple games are in progress, I can quickly determine which game a turn goes with. For example, for a player named Matt in a game called AncientBallad, I'd put the player email as "Matt_AB". You will see this name every turn and is your primary method of determining which players still need to respond.
9. If you have less than six players and want to include one or more computer AI, click on "Player Email" and it will change to "AI Player", at which point you can pick the AI to use.
10. Select Invite Players
11. The game will create a new folder for the game and a PlayerName.inv file for each player. You need to get these files out to the players. You can email them, or use a shared folder site like DropBox, or do anything thing else that works for you. As long as each player ends up with one .inv file they can use, it will work out fine. Each .inv file can only be used by one player or you will get a conflict in a couple of steps.
12. Each player will put their PlayerName.inv in a folder called _NewGameStarts. They can then start up the game (make a new avatar if necessary), and select Multi Player, then select Load Game and pick the game from the list. The only choice at this point will be to pick the avatar they want to use.
13. A new folder will be created and a PlayerName.trn file will be saved in it. They can then email, use the shared folder, or otherwise get this file back to you (the host). They will send this same file (updated version) each time they take a turn.
14. Save each of the trn files in your local game folder. When all players have responded, you can go to Multi Player, and Load Game, pick the game from the list, and it will show you the status of the players. If there were any problems with duplicate inv files, they will show up here. If all checks out, you can start the game (which is when the game actually gets built).
15. When it is done, there will be an updated GamenameMain.sav file that you can send to each of the players.

For each turn

1. Collect PlayerName.trn files from each player still in the game and save them in the game folder.
2. Start the game (place your orders) and click End Turn. If all turn files are present, you can click Process.
3. A screen with the results pops up. You can alt-tab out of the game to do the next step (you do not need to manually save the game at this point).
4. Send copies of the GamenameMain.sav file out to the players.
5. Wait for the replies and return to step 1. You may wish to place your own orders while waiting, be sure to manually save the game if you do place orders.

Script Errors

If you are getting a script error when clicking Start Game, it might be caused by having a sub-directory in the game folder. Just in general, anytime you are getting a script error with a game, remove all files except for the Main.sav, the player.trn files and your own .anc file and try again.