How to PBEM Step by Step

[Cardinal Ape]

To my own shame I once did a bit of computer customer service. I remember that one of the most frequent errors in teaching someone something came from skipping a step because it seemed too simple or too obvious in my eyes. So, yeah, here is my attempt at creating a thorough set of instructions for PBEM. If I missed something - no matter how small or trivial - let me know.

These instructions will assume that you are using Windows.


From the beginning:

1) Before starting a game both players should verify that they are using the same version of the game. You can find your version by starting the game and clicking on the 'credits' button. It will be shown here:
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2) The hosting player creates a new game
- You can rename the game in the "Load game" screen
[ATTACH]36371[/ATTACH]
​- Only rename the game title from here, do not do it outside of the game. Example: 1861April Campaign renamed into UnionBill-vs-RebelTed


3) The hosting player sends the .hst file to the opponent. Using the above example, the file will be named: UnionBill-vs-RebelTed.hst

It will be located here:
<drive>:\Users\<username>\My Documents\My Games\Civil War II\CW2\Saves\UnionBill-vs-RebelTed\


4) The non-hosting player should create a folder to place the .hst file into.
-Navigate to <drive>:\Users\<username>\My Documents\My Games\Civil War II\CW2\Saves\
-Inside the \Saves folder create a new folder. This folder must be named the same as the game. Following the above example the folder would be named: UnionBill-vs-RebelTed


5) The non-hosting player downloads the .hst file and places it into his save directory. Located here:
<drive>:\Users\<username>\My Documents\My Games\Civil War II\CW2\Saves\UnionBill-vs-RebelTed


6) The non-host starts his game and issues his orders. Once done he saves his orders and does not process the turn.


7) The non-host sends his .ord file to the host. The file will be located in the same spot where you previously placed the .hst file. Located here:
<drive>:\Users\<username>\My Documents\My Games\Civil War II\CW2\Saves\UnionBill-vs-RebelTed\

The order file will be named UnionBill-vs-RebelTed~USA.ord if you are playing the Union. If you are playing the Confederates it will be named UnionBill-vs-RebelTed~CSA.ord


8) The host downloads the non-hosts orders and places them along side his own orders and host file. Located here:
<drive>:\Users\<username>\My Documents\My Games\Civil War II\CW2\Saves\UnionBill-vs-RebelTed\


9) The host checks the file names inside the save folder to make sure they are correct. They need to be exactly correct. Rename them if necessary. This is different then renaming the original game title and folder in step #1 and it can only be done outside of the game.
For example, if you named the title of your game UnionBill-vs-RebelTed then your files would be named:

UnionBill-vs-RebelTed.hst
UnionBill-vs-RebelTed~CSA.ord
UnionBill-vs-RebelTed~USA.ord

- Note: Depending on your Windows settings you may not see the last four digits, the .ord or the .hst. If you don't see them don't worry about it. Just check that there is a tilde (~) before the three letter faction abbreviation, not a dash. Another common thing to look for is a number inside parentheses, this needs to be deleted.
Example: UnionBill-vs-RebelTed~USA(1).ord needs to be renamed to UnionBill-vs-RebelTed~USA.ord


10) The host starts the game and selects the save to load. He verifies on the load screen that both factions orders have been recognized by the game by checking that the order icons are present for both sides.
As shown here:
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If both icons are not present then something has gone wrong in the previous steps.


11) The host select his faction and clicks play.


12) The host then process the turn. And goes back to step #3.

[Straight Arrow]

This is an excellent break down of how to PBEM.

Thanks Cardinal Ape.

[thebull0425]

Thanks to all that helped explain and guide my opponent and I through the process. You guys are great.

[Durk]

Cardinal Ape this is a brilliant and clear explanation. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain.
Joining the two threads on this topic, do zip, rar or use dropbox as otherwise your files get corrupted.
Happy pbeming.

[thebull0425]

Yeah, we weren't zipping and we were having all kinds of problems. We have been since, and it's smooth sailing so far.