Pause Functionality

[Mega Byte]

F5 was pause on the old C-64 version.  I'm fine for this to be a AI only feature.  But it would be nice to have some Pause functionality.  You could set it so that only the HOST can pause, but the players could request it at some time.

[MrBrown]

For singleplayer, PAUSE ist a must-have.

For multiplayer it would be nice-to-have, but I guess it would be easier if every player had to press SPACE to get ready just before the countdown to his turn and after the production phase.

Theoretically that could be abused, but you have to draw a line somewhere. M.U.L.E. is quite popular at the moment, but not that popular that it attracts hordes of griefers.

[Bertoid]

Yeah, I was playing multiplayer the other day and had to run away for a sec, while other planeteers were going.  When I came back, my guy was already in the store, eating time.  Now I acknowledge that it's my responsibility to be there for the game, but if I had had to press space to start, instead of having the 4321 countdown, my character would have sat there for 10 seconds until I came back.  If the multiple other players complain, they can simply kick me out.
To summarize, I'd like it if the 4321 turn start countdown was replaced with a "press space to begin" notification.

[rommager]

Of course, I have my own opinions here...  

How about making the pause take effect at the next opportunity in multiplayer?  Pausing right in the middle of an auction or when someone is in their development phase is not good.  If you pause, it should kick a "all users press button to continue" at the very next opportunity.  The pause would kick in as follows when the pause is requested:

Land Grant phase - pause would occur after land grant is completed
Land Auction phase - pause would occur after the current auction is completed
Development phase - pause would occur after the current player has finished their turn
Production phase - pause would occur after the development phase finishes
Auction phase - pause would occur after the current auction finishes, but before the next item goes up for auction
Summary screen - Leave as is

Also, The pause should not occur until the game needs input for the requesting player.  For instance, if I finish my development, and need to go take a leak, raid the fridge, etc, I can hit my pause button and the other players can continue playing without me.  If I don't get back by the end of Production, then the game should give the "press button to continue" maybe with an indicator that I am paused.

I do like having a time limit on pauses.  Once the pause actually occurs, give the user 2 minutes to continue, or other players can vote to continue the game by either 1) kicking the player or 2) continuing without kicking them out.  The time time limit can be shorter (like 10-30 seconds) when requested in the middle of a phase (such as in the middle of the auction phase), which would help to curb abuse by crappy players.  The important factor is that the time limit is actually a grace period - it just allows other players to "unpause" after the grace period expires.

Each player can either get so many pauses (or timeouts) in a game, or alternatively have 3 minutes of total grace period time.

Also, during the "press any key to continue" it would be nice to have a "dinger" or some way to make noise in chat, but only when waiting for all players to hit the button.  That way, if someone is daydreaming, the other players can get their attention.  The dinger would not be available any other time except during the "press button to continue" prompt.  This keeps noise abuse down by obnoxious people.

This is also a great solution for single player, as the AI should just press the button and wait for other players, just like on the summary screen.  As far as overriding the pause, the AI would not get a vote to override, hence the way this works for single player.

Let me know if you think this sounds fair, or if you see any flaws in this idea.

[Enlightenment]

.
YES....NEED PAUSE KEY IN SINGLE PLAYER MODE!!!

[IlTimido]

Agree.
Our children need the pause button.
Guys, to be honest, who plays at planet mule?
I bet the average age is 35-45 and I bet that the most of us have a family and children (and a wife :-)) that sometimes need immediate attention!
So please, at least in solo mode, add this feature.

Another great feature would be the "save and quit"
The user can save the current game and then automatically quits: then he can reload that saved game only once in order to continue the match.

Btw thanks for your great Planet Mule!
*bows*

[C64]

For multimode, its time to kill pause.  Holding your wee is part of game strategy.  Not even at the end of the round, show must go on!!!!  Games are pushing 75 minutes easy, c'mon, we need to get that under 60.

[Makelith]

For multimode, its time to kill pause.  Holding your wee is part of game strategy.  Not even at the end of the round, show must go on!!!!  Games are pushing 75 minutes easy, c'mon, we need to get that under 60.

As great of a game as MULE is there are still things in this world that are more important.  With my experience playing there have been a few occasions where someone needs to go AFK (away from keyboard) for a bit, and most if not all are understanding.  I do know that it's open to abuse, and thankfully I haven't seen it abused in the games I've been in.

As far as skimming the time down I do have a few suggestions.  Being able to skip over your own news, or AI news, or skip the AI turn completely (and by skip I mean not having to watch it, it still happens)  Less time in land auctions, also skipping the crystite round completely if nobody has any.  Beyond those suggestions I can't see speeding the game up anymore, if you don't have 90mins to play then don't play, or play a training game with less rounds.  MULE can't be rushed, it shouldn't be rushed, it should be savoured... Mmmmm

[leahcim99]

You hit the nail on the head....to play a round of Mule you need 90mins...if you dont have it, as suggested by Makelith - play a training round.

Alternatively, would be nice if you could play a 6 round game against 3 AI in tournamnet mode - this would allow players to an option to allievate the boredom that sometimes occurs while waiting for a game or allow players to get in a quick one if they do not have 90 mins.

I actually look forward to shutting out the world for a few hours while I play Mule - fortunately my kids are older and I can usually deal with any issues while the other players are doing their developments.

As to a biological break...most everyone seems to be understanding if you need to hit the can....just let other players know so as to alllow them the opportunity to grad a beverage, raid the fridge, or hit the bathroom.

As stated, most all of us are over 30 or 40 with families and responsiblilties (and some like rodz older than dinos) - I dont think that people will abuse the goodwill of others...

IF we do get some boneheads, we will isolate them by not playing with them.

As long as we all are generally in agreement around "breaks" - why bother with pause.

If you have a major issue and need to pause...let players know and again, we are all adults and we will understand - if you have too many major issues...others will not play you and the problem will sort itself out.

Mule - Good for Minds

[pintman]

Searching the forum for a pause functionality, I found this thread. What about the option to pause a single-player game - i.e. only A.I. opponents?