SGS PBEM instructions
Foreword
This short document is designed to help you setup your PBEM matches. PBEM : Play By Email. A PDF version is if needed available here.
Step 1
On your PC (or Mac), create a specific folder where you will store your PBEM saves (both those of your game and those you will receive), as this is where the SGS PBEM system will go to get the data and information on your email games.
For example, you could use : C:MyDocuments/MyPBEM or C:MyPBEM or anything else you like.
Step 2
Select the Options, to configure the required information for an email game, in particular your user name (see 1 in screen below) your email address (see 2 in screen below), the path to and location of storage folder where your PBEM saves will be located (see 3 in screen below), as indicated in the previous step.
You may tick the check box (or not) an email client (e.g. Apple Mail, Outlook, Thunderbird). Please note that all this information is mandatory to start a PBEM game.
Step 3
To launch a new email game, choose first the scenario AND, if you are the one initiating the game, you must select the first side.
This is the constraint of PBEM. If you want to play the second side of the scenario, then your email partner should be the one to initiate the game. In short, the one who starts the game on his machine always plays the first side in the scenario. Then:
A – Check / click on the envelop below the second side’s emblem
B – Enter the name of your game in the popup windows that appears on screen ( e.g. NewPBEM1)
C- In the same window, you can select your opponent among those already registered there,
or you can create a brand new one by entering his player’s name (or nick) and his email address, and then by clicking on the + button to add him.
When done, just Click on the arrow at the bottom right of the window to launch the game.
Step 4
In the game, just play your first turn normally, till its end.
When the turn is over, you’ll see that the usual NEXT arrow has been replaced by an Envelope button.
Sending
When clicking on the enveloppe above, the game moves away from the current scenario and returns you to the main menu. IF you chose in the options that you were using an email client, the game will try to connect to it and send an email to your opponent with the current turn save as an attachment (as a Zip file).
IF NOT, you will see a message asking you if you want to open the folder (previously defined) where the game stored the turn’s save. You will need to get there and manually attached the save (a zip) to an email that you will mail to your opponent.
The save is usually named in a consistent way, as follows:
<Name of scenario>_<Name of game>_<Name of your side in game>_<current turn number>_Start.zip
Step 5
When your opponent receives the mail (be it automatic or sent manually), he needs to download the attachment (i.e. the turn save) and place it directly into the folder he has defined as the location of his saves for PBEM. From there, he should be able to load the game, play his turn, then send you back the save after his own turn, as show in step 4 above.
When you receive your opponent return mail with his turn attached, take the attached zip and drop it into your PBEM save folder (at root, no need to put it into any of the subfolders present), and that’s it (all is automatic, we thought about you!).
When your opponent receives the mail (be it automatic or sent manually), he needs to download the attachment (i.e. the turn save) and place it directly into the folder he has defined as the location of his saves for PBEM. From there, he should be able to load the game, play his turn, then send you back the save after his own turn, as show in step 4 above.
When you receive your opponent return mail with his turn attached, take the attached zip and drop it into your PBEM save folder (at root, no need to put it into any of the subfolders present), and that’s it (all is automatic, we thought about you!).
Open the game again, you’ll notice a little green envelope on the Load Game menu bar. Just click on it to access it.
When the Save menu opens, choose the email tab (on the top right) and select in the list the file received (the most recent will always appear on top), and then it is.. your turn to play again…
Etc… so on till end of game.
NB: in case you receive a save while the game is already working, and after you placed it in the PBEM save folder, you can go into the saved game list (ingame) and click on the small round « recycle » button (top right of the window) to refresh the save list.
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Other examples
In SGS Afrika Korps
In SGS Halls of Montezuma
In SGS Heia Safari
