FAQ - Multiplayer

1. How do I start a multiplayer game?

• start the game
• click 'Multiplayer Scenarios' in the main menu
• click on 'create new user' if you don't have a login name
• if you've created a new user, type in your username & password in the boxes provided, then click 'login'
• if all's well, you will get a screen saying Welcome, [Username].
• now click on the tab 'lobby' at the top of the screen
• you will come in a chatroom-like area, team up with some other players
• if you host the game, you click 'host game', type a title, select skill level and protection level
• you come in yet another area. Select a campaign and difficulty level at the bottom of the screen
• go to the 'player options' tab somewhere halfway the screen, and select your city and zodiac
• you'll probably see other people listed there too as they join
• if everyone has selected their city & zodiac, the host can click the 'start game' button to start the game :)

2. How do I chat with other players? Is there a built-in chat?

Yes, there is. Press [Enter], a brown banner will appear at the bottom of the screen. Type your message and press [Enter] again to send it. The chat messages you send are displayed at the top of the screen, the same way as the normal 'banner messages'.

3. I miss the little banners all the time, and have to ask the people to type their messages again. This is very annoying.

It is, indeed. That is why the game features a very handy Chat history feature. To access it, click the "Message History" button in the lower-right corner of the screen. On the message history screen, you will see the chat history button.

4. I was playing a military game and I wanted to coordinate my actions with an ally. But the chat is for all players! How do we deal with that?

There is also a private chat option. It is located on the Empire map. Select a city to communicate the message to, and click the "Diplomatic requests" button. A send private message button will be there. Keep in mind, however, that private messages are sent with an emissary, with all the resulting inconveniences: they cost 100 cash to send, and they take time to arrive. Such is the cost of war.

5. I can't trade with other players in multiplayer. When I build a trading station, it says I can't sell anything!

Right-click on the trading station, click one of the words "nothing" under exports. That will bring up a list of goods you can sell. Select the one you want to sell. After that, the person "on the other end of the deal" will see the good you selected under the "Imports" header in the Trading Post with your city. Set the quantity you want to sell, and change the word "Not Selling" to "Selling". You are ready to sell the stuff to the other city.

6. But the goods I am selling show up in red. And the traders are not buying anything.

That means that the other person has not set the good you want to sell to "Buying", or the price he is willing to pay for the good isn't high enough. Use the in-game chat to inform them of that.