Hello all and welcome to part 3 of the multiplayer development log. We will be showcasing the match statistics available during a multiplayer campaign. Todays screenshots are all from a real multiplayer match, played internally.

• Multiplayer part 1: an introduction A look at what the multiplayer campaign is and what a turn of playing looks like.
• Multiplayer part 2: a match in action A first look at the info you get to see about your opponents.
• Multiplayer part 3: game history and end-of-game You are here A look at in-game player statistics and the History page.
• Multiplayer part 4: customization and matchmaking
• Multiplayer part 5: questions & answers An overview of community questions that were answered previously. Make sure to put your questions in the comments!

During a match it is helpful sometimes to take a look at what has happened so far. Maybe you are playing multiple matches at the same time and need a refresher. Maybe you want to estimate your opponents next move. Or you just like to reminisce about the match events.

The history page

Introducing the history page. The match history will be accessible from the townhall, showcasing the statistics of the match so far. The four history categories are Profits, Stocks, Land and Upgrades.
First off, the Profits history gives a nice overview of how much money has been earned by everyone each round. Not doing too great on stocks so far? Theres no shame in gloating about that one round where you beat everyone out on profits either way. If youre the strategical type, you can glean information about your opponents off this page by cross-referencing it with the other pages.
Next up is the Stocks history page. The line chart represents the number of stocks owned by each player, and the money stacks the offer made to win the auction. This screenshot taken from one of our internal test matches showcases a dangerous and bothersome phenomenon. Inflation! Since human players earn more money than the rivals in the average single player campaign, the stock prices skyrocket rather quickly. Beware of this, and dont be afraid to shell out some extra cash to win an early auction. It might save you later on! Be wary though, in doing so you will yourself become an accessory to inflation.
The Land Auction history. It shows you how juicy the oil plots that everyone digged have been. And of course what they were willing to pay for it. Dont make the mistake of directly correlating the oil supply values and auction bids though! The players didnt know the exact oil values when making their bid. The bids are quite useful for determining how high players are willing to go though. As you can see, in our test match no-one was willing to bid that high for land. But being picky can make a big difference in the amount of oil you get! The potential profit difference between a plot of land with 45,000 or 55,000 barrels of oil is much more than $2,000. So dont be afraid to follow the inflation when bidding on land. Getting the best plot counts double. More oil for you, less for them. You can have your milkshake, and drink it up too!
Finally, the upgrades history allows you to see what upgrades have been bought in each year by a player. Its not necessarily useful to the match at hand, but you can at least use it to copy someone elses starting upgrades for your next match if you're not happy with how your initial level plays out. As usual, you can still view the total upgrades purchased by clicking the scroll in the town.

The end of the game

After the final auction concludes and the winner is declared, you get to relax for a moment. Sit back and watch the end-of-game cinematic, where your stats scroll by one final time and your achievements get celebrated.
With the dust settled, your match stats get added to your profile. Dont mope if you didnt win. After all, what counts is that you had a good time. Thanks for reading! Remember that there are 5 blog posts planned in total. The last one will be a Q&A where we answer as many questions as possible, so make sure to ask away in the comments. The multiplayer Steam playtest is still planned to be held in Q1 of 2022. Until the next one!

[ 2022-01-21 08:30:46 CET ] [ Original post ]