Re: PBM vs. PBeM (costs)

From: deej@nvuxr.UUCP (David Lewis)

Date: Mon, 18 Jun 1990 15:16:36 +0000

In article <1990Jun6.043752.503@world.std.com>, jim@world.std.com (James D. McNamara) writes:
> Greg aptly stated in his article that one of the great costs of PBM is
> KEYPUNCH.  PBeM can reduce KEYPUNCH costs.
>
> As a player, I greatly appreciate the ERROR REDUCTION involved when
> submitting turns via Email...
>
> A benefit to the moderator is that he can spend his time doing what
> he wants, e.g. develop and extend his games, rather than the more
> mundane manual-entry chores.

The flip side is those game with a stronger "human element", where the
moderator does more than keypunch and develop software.  Games with the
possibility for narrative types of actions in addition to standard
orders, or games where certain types of errors can be mitigated by the
GM.  (For example: you're in sector X, and you want to move to sector Y.
Unfortunately, sector Y is two sectors away, you can only move one
sector at a time, and you inadvertantly omitted the transit sector.  In
a game where the orders are automatically entered into the computer and
the turn chugs through in "batch mode", you can have an error like this
at the beginning of a turn which causes the entire turn to go out the
window.  In a game where the moderator enters player orders, he can look
at and say "oh, he wanted to go through sector Z.  Is he/his crew smart
enough to figure out what he *meant* to do?", pull a random number,
compare it to some attribute of the gamepiece, and either "replot" the
movement or not.)

Again, like most things in the PBM/PBeM discussion, there are advantages
and disadvantages both ways.

--
David G Lewis					...!bellcore!nvuxr!deej
	(@ Bellcore Navesink Research & Engineering Center)
			"If this is paradise, I wish I had a lawnmower."

References

Re: PBM
wbock@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (Bill)
Tue, 29 May 1990 20:25:01 +0000
Re: PBM vs. PBeM (costs)
jim@world.std.com (James D. McNamara)
Wed, 06 Jun 1990 04:37:52 +0000
Re: PBM
deej@nvuxr.UUCP (David Lewis)
Tue, 29 May 1990 15:45:45 +0000

Referenced By

Re: PBM
wbock@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (Bill)
Tue, 29 May 1990 20:25:01 +0000
Re: PBM vs. PBeM (costs)
jim@world.std.com (James D. McNamara)
Wed, 06 Jun 1990 04:37:52 +0000
Re: PBM
deej@nvuxr.UUCP (David Lewis)
Tue, 29 May 1990 15:45:45 +0000