PBW2

Enclosed you will find information on how to host a game.

Create the game on PBW2

1. Navigate to Games section and click on Create Game on the bottom of the page.
2. Fill in all required information. Important fields to note:
   • Savegame file name: This must match the name of the savegame when you create it in-game. PBW2 will generally require that the file name matches this value (minus the .gam extension).
   • Game Master Password: For all forms of automated hosting, this password record must match the game master password specified in-game.
   • Turn Processing Mode: If you plan to use the autohost, make sure to select something besides "Manual!"
     • Fully Automatic: This is the normal mode to select for an autohosted game. The autohost will process the turn after the time limit passes, or as soon as all players upload their .plr files.
     • After Last Player Upload Only (APLU): The autohost will only process the turn after all players have uploaded a .plr file. Turn duration will never be considered.
     • Timed Only: The autohost will process the turn after the time limit has expired. It will not check the status of .plr file uploads.
     • Manual: Game will never be automatically processed by the autohost.
3. After creating the game, wait for players to join. You must approve all players after they apply.

Collect Empire Files

Each player must create an empire file and upload it to PBW2. As a player, make sure to select the correct settings for racial and tech points. Otherwise, you will probably create an empire that cannot be used in the game.

Create the Savegame File

1. On the game details page, click on the "Download EMP Files" button to download a .rar archive containing the uploaded .emp files.
2. Set up a new savegame in SE4/5/etc., and choose all of the settings agreed upon with the players.
3. Add each saved empire file to the game in the Empires screen. Make sure to follow the exact order the players are listed on PBW2.
4. Make sure to enter the same game master password on PBW2 and in the game. Otherwise, you will not be able to use autohosting.
5. Make sure to enter the exact savegame file name you use when setting up the game on PBW2. If you do not remember what it is, you can find it on the "Upload Turn" page (this appears on the beta site; on the live site, you can find it in the url of the game detail page: "/game/savegamename"). Otherwise, you will not be able to use the game file with PBW2.
6. Configure the game for PBEM play.
   • For SE4, select the following options in the Mechanics screen:
     1. Different Machines
     2. Simultaneous Movement
     3. Manual File Moving
   • For SE5, select the following options in the Multiplayer screen:
     1. Simultaneous Movement
     2. Different Machines
     3. Manual File Moving

Once you are satisfied with the game setup, click on the Begin Game button. The game should exit, informing you of the creation of the savegame file.

Upload Savegame File to PBW2

There will generally be a collection of files starting with the game name in the savegame folder. These will include the .gam file, .mov and .cmb movement replay files, log files, and so on. You should compress all of these files into a ZIP/RAR/7z archive, and upload that to PBW2 instead of just the .gam file.

Turn Processing

1. Manual Processing
   • To manually process a turn, navigate to the game page on PBW2, and click the "Download Host" button under the game details. Extract the game files into the appropriate Savegame folder. Load the savegame in SE4/5 and choose player 0 (host) from the empires menu. Then, hit End Turn to process it.
2. Autohost Processing
   • Refer to Autohost article for information on automated turn processing.