Computer-assisted games (online)?

Richard Thu Jan 30, 2014 12:25 pm

For a long time now I've had the idea of playing an umpire-managed multi-player game in the usual fashion, except that it would be conducted online, which avoids the problem of arranging a venue.

I do not know what software would be suitable for that, though; I imagine some kind of "online meeting" package, with a whiteboard of sorts to display maps. Teamspeak may also be a possibility of course.

Does anyone have any suggestions for suitable tools? Here are my basic requirements:

A membership site, with the usual registration and log-in facilities.
Communication via Instant Messaging (Chat - written orders) or VoIP (voice - radio).
Group management will be necessary, so that umpires can chat amongst themselves and communicate separately with the players/teams.
Map display, editable to show unit dispositions and ideally scaleable to allow users to zoom in/out.
Record-keeping so that the umpiring duties are spread around.
Event-driven game management

These are some of the desirable features:

A Save/Restore game state option, to allow a game to take place over several sessions
Automate message management (queuing), so that couriers etc. may be automatically delayed or captured, possibly with a random element
Line-of-sight unit detection, for scouts/observers.
Automated conflict resolution - calculations, according to some rules.
API to permit third-party development of extensions.

I may well launch this as an Open Source project but I would welcome any pointers to stuff that may already be 'out there'.

Thanks ...

Richard

Update: I have now created a GitHub project for this.