Live Games, Replays, and Esports, oh my!

Hello, beta fans! We, with help from our lovely friends at Challengermode, have developed a few things that youve been asking for! So, lets take a deep dive into all the new features that should help out our more competitive fans!

Live Games? Are the games.alive?

Haha, no, dear reader, thats what we call the new multiplayer time format! Many of you have been asking us for faster games, so weve added these new Live Games to satisfy you, which will replace the 5 minute timer option. Somewhat like chess tournaments, Live Games give you a timer of less than 1 minute for your turn at the start, and any time unused rolls over to the next turn. Also, youll get additional time for each city and unit you have, so you can get the opportunity to move your massive army across the map without stress, assuming youve been taking quick turns. These changes should keep things flowing smoothly, while also putting on the pressure of a merciless turn timer.
What about players who dont take their turn? Their turn gets skipped immediately, and theyll have 3 skips total (represented by those white dots next to the timer) before theyre kicked from the game. Any kicked players have their empires sit frozen, unable to do anything unless you attack them, so theyre turned into little more than a roadblock toward victory. :)

Replays? Like, Replay replays?!

Yes, replays! Ever want to show your friends the next time you lose to Midjiwan in a Random Match? Well, now you can! With our new Replay feature, multiplayer games you complete will be saved and can be shared with all the lovely people on the internet!
When watching a replay, youll be able to see whos turn it is, what they can see, their research, and other such things! You'll also get the power to fast forward, rewind, and pause! And, lastly, you can even favorite your most amazing victories and defeats with a handy heart, so theyll always be around! Each replay is saved to our servers with a link, so all you have to do is copy it and share it around for anyone to see!

Now, what about Esports?

While this particular patch will primarily add Live Games and Replays, Challengermode has been laying the foundation for in-app tournaments and events! Yep, sometime in the future, well be allowing you to join tournaments hosted on their platform from within the Polytopia app, itself, and there might even be a chance for prizes! Well be talking more about this later as we get closer to it, but for now, know that these ingame events are on the horizon!

So, how do I test these new features?

If youre already in the beta program for Diplomacy, then you dont have to worry about anything. Live Games and Replays have automatically been added to the beta for you. For everyone else, the only beta open right now is the Steam beta, which has unlimited slots. Heres how you get in: Open Steam > Right-click Polytopia > Choose Properties > click Betas > Use the beta access code TestDiplomacy to join the beta! We cant wait to show you all that we have in store for the future! Well be adding more to both these new features and to the beta as a whole, so expect bug fixes and balance passes for Diplomacy very soon. And yes, the changelog: - Added "Live Games" - Removed 5 minute timer - Added Replays - Additional bugfixes and improvements -Zoythrus