MERGED: Overall Speed of Play (poll)

[tubby_bartles]

I *love* MULE and remember playing it for hours on and old Atari 800.

I had forgotten how *slow* it was to play a full game, though. We used to play a single game over lunch hour.

In today's world, there's no need for it. So much of it can be skipped. You need some sort of "speed mode". Here are the things that could be skipped with an appropriate click:
1. If you are playing a robot, a click should show what the robot did rather than make you wait through the bot's whole entire turn.

2. When preparing for your own turn, it should just show the event as a line immediately rather than scrolling it. No need to wait for it. At the very least, let me click to immediately go to my turn.

3. The countdown of 4 seconds to my turn should be skipped if I hit the space bar.

4. When there is no auction for a particular item because it is out, no need to go through the whole auction. Just say it's skipped somewhere on the screen.

5. The production process is agonizing; rather than do all players entering it, can skipping the production just be a setting at the beginning of the game for the player that initiates it?

6. It should be possible to opt out of an auction (up/down/left?). If all players opt out of an auction or only bots are left, just show the result rather than showing the auction.

Two other features that don't speed the game up, but help alot:

7. If I accidentally hit the return key, the game gets stuck in a mode where space and arrows only type those things in the chat box. That's agonizing if you accidentally do it during your turn. Chat should be turned off so you can't accidentally hit it when you're in the middle of an event where you're timed.

8. I remember the biggest annoyance with the original game is that when you clicked up or down to choose buyer and seller, then wanted to be first off the mark, you'd accidentally switch from buyer to seller or vice versa. That was not a behavior that should be brought over to this version. Somehow allow choosing of buyer or seller, with a *default* being determined by whether you are over or under. Once all players have chosen, *then* count down from 2 to the actual running.

Thanks so much for bringing MULE back. I missed it...

Tubby

[DiNo]

I don't have the time to give my opinion on all this right now, but I totally agree with 8.

This was fine for an offline game, but with latency, it's awful. With a bad host, when the countdown reach 0 for me, the host's already selling things. Maybe you could, ie, press spacebar to confirm your position as a buyer/seller, then keep an arrow pressed to start running immediately after countdown.

[Ramerco]

Just FYI, in full screen mode there is no chat window distraction.

[bobc455]

I think the slowness was what made some of the original game enjoyable. However, you make a few good points:

1. If you are playing a robot, a click should show what the robot did rather than make you wait through the bot's whole entire turn.

Agreed on that one. No need to watch them walk around. And especially no need for a countdown for the mechtrons...

2. When preparing for your own turn, it should just show the event as a line immediately rather than scrolling it. No need to wait for it. At the very least, let me click to immediately go to my turn.

I dunno, again I kinda like the drama of suspense.

3. The countdown of 4 seconds to my turn should be skipped if I hit the space bar.

6. It should be possible to opt out of an auction (up/down/left?). If all players opt out of an auction or only bots are left, just show the result rather than showing the auction.

Again, I'd vote for the look/feel of the original on that.

Otherwise, some good ideas there. See you on Irata!

-BC

[Robbie]

I think the slowness was what made some of the original game enjoyable. However, you make a few good points:

1. If you are playing a robot, a click should show what the robot did rather than make you wait through the bot's whole entire turn.

Agreed on that one. No need to watch them walk around. And especially no need for a countdown for the mechtrons...

You can use settings. There is an option for showing computers part or not. In a hostet game, the setting of host decide if this is shown or not.

[tapir]

I agree with the OP.
Especially in the auction phase there are few places where waiting is really really unnecessary.

[trouba]

How about these?

- In the midle of auction, press button to return immediatelly to your base buy/sell position.
- In the buy/sell position, press button to opt-out from auction - you declare you won't buy/sell anymore. When all players opt out, the auction ends immediatelly.
- Please skip last turn auctions, they are pointless now.

- An option to show random events in chat window and not as a scrolling text would be nice 

[Karawane]

Hi, there is and idea that would speed up the game considerably: Let auctions end before time if there is nothing left to trade (only possible when the store is empty on that particular trade item).

One of M.U.L.E.'s clones "Subtrade" implemented this feature and it significantly speeds up auctions.

[Big Head Zach]

This would only happen in the case that there are all Sellers and everyone's completely out of goods, or all are Buyers and the Store is empty. In all other cases, there may be a severe unlikelihood that anyone would sell beyond their surplus or buy above their shortage from someone who is price gouging, but the time should still have to tick off, just in case.

[mikman]

Since there is no collusion (users had to push buttons), auctions could implement a push button to skip remainder of auction sort of thing, all users push and auction will be skipped...

[Karawane]

This early ending of auctions is not just a wild idea; it's experience. It works well in "Subtrade". Often, you don't have any Smithore or Crystite in the store and all sellers have run dry. This is where the auction should end. Since this is commonly the case, a full game of 12 months is reduced by about 15 (or more) mins in playing time. We have tested this some while ago with "Subtrade". (Ok, it's probably not THAT important for the new M.U.L.E. as compared to the old original where the clock ticked slower; but anyway, in my first games here, some people have already noticed the unneccessary waiting time.)

[vaylen]

I vote for it.  But then again, I'd love to skip the auctions in turn 12.

[Intergalactic Mole]

Hi, there is and idea that would speed up the game considerably: Let auctions end before time if there is nothing left to trade (only possible when the store is empty on that particular trade item).

One of M.U.L.E.'s clones "Subtrade" implemented this feature and it significantly speeds up auctions.

Not sure why anyone hasn't already stated: According to the OPs question... This already happens. If the store has nothing to sell, and everyone else is on the buy line (which is automatic if they have nothing to sell) the auction is skipped ......

[Karawane]

Hi, there is and idea that would speed up the game considerably: Let auctions end before time if there is nothing left to trade (only possible when the store is empty on that particular trade item).

One of M.U.L.E.'s clones "Subtrade" implemented this feature and it significantly speeds up auctions.

Not sure why anyone hasn't already stated: According to the OPs question... This already happens. If the store has nothing to sell, and everyone else is on the buy line (which is automatic if they have nothing to sell) the auction is skipped ......

This is not what I meant. The auction is only canceled if there is already nothing to trade at the start of the auction. I was talking about the situation when the players have run dry, hence the auction has already begun and somebody has sold something. This happens usually in Smithore and Crystite auctions. Worst case is a single player having one unit to sell; he sells and afterwards everybody has to wait for the complete time to run through. If the auction is stopped when there is nothing left to trade, the game gains fluency. It's an idea taken from the M.U.L.E. clone "Subtrade".

[Intergalactic Mole]

Ah, I see what you're saying. Yes, that should save a few seconds here and there.