Multiplayer Setup

Setting up a multiplayer game is very similar to single player with some notable differences.

Note: You must be connected to Steam/Epic (depending on where you bought) in order to play online.

The first time you click on Multiplayer you’ll be presented with a GDPR dialog. You must accept this in order to continue. You only need to accept this once (unless you nuke your PC).

Join Game

Initially you’ll always be taken to the Join Game screen which lists any public games that are available.

There will always be a lobby setup by default to help jump start you in game creation. Any other public games will also show in this list.

Screen Overview

1	Map Name (Column): Lists the map being played in the multiplayer game.
2	Host (Column): Lists the username of the player hosting the game. Also displays what playstyle the host is looking for - see more below.
3	Players (Column): Indicates the number of current human and AI players present in the game lobby.
4	Game Time (Column): Shows how long the game has been running already. A ‘-' indicates the match hasn’t started yet.
5	Refresh: Force refreshes the lobby list from the server.
6	Join with Code: Brings up a dialog box where you can enter a unique game code to join a game.
7	Join: Joins the selected server from the list above.

Host New Game

This tab is where you can setup your own multiplayer game as host.

Since many elements of this window match that of the Single Player setup, we’ll only cover the differences here.

Screen Overview

1	Reveal Map on Lost: Enabled by default. Uncovers the fog of war across the entire map after you’ve lost the game (in fixed Team games, the entire Team must lose). You can continue on as an observer if you wish.
2	AI Hotseat: Enabled by default. Allows human players to join public games already in progress by taking over for an AI empire.
3	Human Hotseat: Enabled by default. If a human player drops from the match, allows another human player to join in their place, taking over their empire.
4	Public Lobby: Enabled by default. Makes your game lobby open to anyone. Disable this to create a private match - you will need to invite others to your game via game code.
5	Game Type: Let’s other players know what type of playstyle you’re looking for. This is for informational purposes only. See below for more info.
6	AI Takeover: Enabled by default. Allows an Unfair AI to take over a human player’s empire should they drop from the game for more than a few minutes.
7	Infinite Pauses: Enabled by default. When disabled, each player is limited to 5 pauses for the entire game.
8	Create Online Lobby: Creates an online lobby with the options you’ve specified.

Game Lobby

Once you’ve created the lobby you’ll come right into the game lobby view. Here you’ll find a lobby chat for everyone in the bottom left of the screen Apart from that, this screen operates very much like it did for Single Player with a few exceptions.

Screen Overview

1	Indicates a human player slot. The first entry is always the host of the game.
2	Indicates an AI slot. Just like with single player games, you can individualize each AI’s difficulty, race/faction, colors and play style. If you have AI Hotseat enabled, these positions can be taken over by incoming human players after game start.
3	Indicates an open human player slot.
4	Indicates a locked player slot. No one can join these slots after game start.
5	Game Code: A unique game code that’s automatically generated once you create the lobby. You can share this code with others so that they can easily join your game.
6	Player Ready: Indicates if a player is ready to start the match or not. The Host can always start the match regardless.
7	Start Game: We’re on our way!

It can take several minutes to get into a multiplayer game depending on the Host’s system and the Internet connections of all the players. The more players and game data, the longer this can take. Be patient.

Game Types

Casual FFA - Casual free-for-all for beginners. No set teams.

Casual Teams - Casual game where beginner players are part of teams.

Casual vs AI - Aka ‘compstomp’ where a team of beginner players faces off against AI opponents.

Normal FFA - Free-for-all meant for players of average skill level. No set teams.

Normal Teams - Team matchup of human players of average skill level.

Normal vs AI - A ‘compstomp’ where a team of average skill level players face off against the AI.

Expert FFA - Free-for-all for expert players only. No teams.

Expert Teams - Team game where elite players face off against each other.

Expert vs AI - An expert level ‘compstomp’ where humans face off against high difficulty AI.

Mentoring - Setup for mentoring and guiding new users in how to play the game.

Fair warning that Expert Teams games are quite cutthroat.