Where are the servers?

I checked out multiplayer today but the list only came up with two servers and both were empty...Is this game dead online or do you use something else to play iwar2?

For the most part, it's dead online, however many people play the What Rocks mod. I'll let someone else tell you about it because I don't know much.

Hi Macel, welcome to the forum. The standard on-line game has pretty well much died. But as EricMan said, there is an enhanced version called What Rocks. It's run by The Consortium, a German outfit dedicated to keeping the on-line game going.

They can usually be seen playing on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I also run a server on Thursday and Saturday nights - although I have been off-line the past three weeks, due to server upgrades.

The servers are generally running at around 10pm GMT. The only drawback is that both servers are based in Europe so if you're from the States or Australasia you'll find it difficult to play due to server lag.

You can get more info about What Rocks at this address mjrtom.bei.t-online.de/index.html

Thanks. It's a shame, because this game seems a lot better than some other games which are more popular online over here in America. Dunno why it has such a bad rep here (or should I say, no rep)

Yeah it is a shame. Even without the "rep". The American ownership of this game is by far the largest yet there's no on-line representation. And very little interest in it.

Anyone can set up a server for a game so if you know a few EoC gamers in your state, maybe you can whip up some interest.

Macel,

I agree that its a shame we haven't gotten more North American interest in internet play. I've gone looking several times for a game only to find nada. I always assumed it was my lousy, slow modem connection (the horrors of remote rural life). My solution has been to try to get a gang of local LAN gamers hooked on this superb game, and play scheduled sessions at a LAN gaming place. So far, no luck. Turns out that its just an issue of numbers. There aren't as many hardcore space sim junkies out there as I'd thought. There's no shortage of Trekkers, but there IS a shortage of good Trekker games (poss exception: Bridge Commander, but my jury's still out). Its much easier to get a 1st person shooter clan together than a space sim squad.

The second issue is marketing. Most game publishers hype the hell out of a game, release it (usually about 6 months before its ready), then leave it for dead about 6 months after it's out, hoping against hope they've made their money, so they can hype their next title. This leaves little support for online games that require more time to flourish. Allegiance tanked after, what, a few months? Another followed and died shortly after. Dark Space may be promising, but only if more people get into it, which isn't likely given its problems and steep entry learning curve. EOC is a game that is still building momentum more than a year after its release. The mod community is thriving. It should keep us all going for a long time yet.

I'm pretty sure we could roust up a bunch of Canadians interested in going at it internet style. So maybe its time we establish a schedule like The Consortium, only more North American friendly timetable?

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Hot4Darmat