Multiplayer - how many?

[Smecty]

Hi Jerome,

I've just downloaded ZunTzu and am extremely impressed: this is the easiest-to-use PBEM aid I've found yet. I've got to get some image-editing software so I can create a few gameboxes (having already done a CyberBoard one for GMT's Tigers in the Mist).

That said, I have a few questions:

1. Does ZunTzu support more than two players in multiplayer mode?

2. How would one create a "countersheet" for a Euro game that uses a lot of wooden block pieces rather than cardboard counters?

3. This is sort of an extenstion of question #2 above: many of my games have long sinced been punched, with the "tree" thrown away (or destroyed in the process of punching out the counters). Is a scan of the counter tree essential for creating the counters, or could they simply be laid out side-by-side on my scanner for imaging?

Thanks for this very impressive piece of software!!

Thanks,

Smecty

[Jerome]

Welcome, Smecty!

1. Does ZunTzu support more than two players in multiplayer mode?

Yes. The only limitation is the bandwidth of the Internet connection of the hosting player.

2. How would one create a "countersheet" for a Euro game that uses a lot of wooden block pieces rather than cardboard counters?

If you can't scan the pieces, you can work from photographs. I've seen some impressive game boxes made that way.
Then use a bitmap graphics editor (such as the GIMP or Adobe Photoshop) to create a composite image of all the pieces. The pieces should be arranged in a grid pattern (just like counters on a counter sheet).
I assume that the outline of the pieces is not rectangular so you'll have to provide a mask image to indicate to ZunTzu how to cut the pieces out.

3. This is sort of an extenstion of question #2 above: many of my games have long sinced been punched, with the "tree" thrown away (or destroyed in the process of punching out the counters). Is a scan of the counter tree essential for creating the counters, or could they simply be laid out side-by-side on my scanner for imaging?

The creation of a game box for ZunTzu from unpunched counter sheets is easy and quick. Another benefit is that unpunched counters are naturally sorted (and documented if the "tree" has text).
If your game is punched you can still scan the counters and create a composite image (see my explanation for question #2 above). It's more work obviously.

You can scan all your counters in one go by laying them side-by-side on your scanner. Be careful though when scanning the other side: it's not enough to flip each counter. You must also reverse its position on the scanner glass (just like what would happen if you flipped a whole unpunched counter sheet). You can avoid that problem by defining one counter section per counter instead of a single counter section, but you will then have to enter a lot of coordinates, which may be the best solution anyway if your grid pattern is not regular enough.
Hmm... I'm not sure I'm clear here.

[Smecty]

Hi Jerome,

Many thanks for the very quick response with the good news ... all of it!

Smecty

[Jerome]

Just so you don't miss the last bit of information: I was editing my last post while you were posting your message.