Can't find people to play with

[ChrisSkyRo]

Can you guys tell me what is the most played version of The Battle for Wesnoth and at what time I can find more players (don't forget to mention the time zone) ?

[EarthCake]

The most played version is 1.14.7, or total 1.14, and there are most players at 18 UTC. (At least I think it should be, can't tell when here is night)

[octalot]

All public games (ones that allow spectators) are recorded on https://replays.wesnoth.org/

There's a lot more games on 1.14 than 1.12. As for what time has the most players, I suggest looking through the last few days of replays and considering which game style you like to play.

[Wayirr]

I think that, the problem is 1.14 server has mandatory registration now, which limits number of players, adding a significant barrier to online play. However perhaps you should create game instead of waiting for somebody else to do it, it should work.

[EarthCake]

Exactly! There are some people that enjoy playing Wesnoth, but they don't want to register to play multiplayer, so they can't.
It should be the same as in 1.12, where people could freely play multiplayer without registering.

[Pentarctagon]

If someone really doesn't want to create a forum account, then that's of course up to them. It takes about a minute though, so it's not a significant barrier in any sense of the word.

[josteph]

It should be the same as in 1.12, where people could freely play multiplayer without registering.

What do you propose to do about the spam problem that caused us to require registration in the first place?

[EarthCake]

I do not know about any spam problem. Can you tell me more about it?

[Pentarctagon]

The problem wasn't really spam so much as our multiplayer server software can only ban by IP address, which is trivially bypassed and meant that it was effectively impossible to keep problematic users off the server. Requiring a forum account means that bans are not able to be bypassed simply by changing your IP address on a VPN or proxy. Additionally, it is possible for more than one person to have the same IP address, so banning by IP can also result in other people unintentionally being prevented from being able to join.

[Byron]

I've never played multi-player, but I did spend one night observing several games.
The chat was so crude, vulgar, & homophobic that I had no desire to sully myself by joining.

[Pentarctagon]

I've never played multi-player, but I did spend one night observing several games.
The chat was so crude, vulgar, & homophobic that I had no desire to sully myself by joining.

That kind of behavior is definitely against the Community Guidelines, so reporting those players either via PM here or from the server with /query report <message> is encouraged

We can't address problems that we don't know exist and aren't told about.

[EarthCake]

I've never played multi-player, but I did spend one night observing several games.
The chat was so crude, vulgar, & homophobic that I had no desire to sully myself by joining.

That kind of behavior is definitely against the Community Guidelines, so reporting those players either via PM here or from the server with /query report <message> is encouraged

We can't address problems that we don't know exist and aren't told about.

Those people may know each other and they are familiar with that behavior. If they said something that was vulgar to you, surely, report them, but please note that if they didn't address you, they might know each other and are known with that behavior.

[Pentarctagon]

I've never played multi-player, but I did spend one night observing several games.
The chat was so crude, vulgar, & homophobic that I had no desire to sully myself by joining.

That kind of behavior is definitely against the Community Guidelines, so reporting those players either via PM here or from the server with /query report <message> is encouraged

We can't address problems that we don't know exist and aren't told about.

Those people may know each other and they are familiar with that behavior. If they said something that was vulgar to you, surely, report them, but please note that if they didn't address you, they might know each other and are known with that behavior.

Hence the exception:

If you put a password on your game and disable Observers, so that you are sure that only people you know are okay with your behavior will see it, then feel free to behave however you wish while playing the game.

[EarthCake]

If someone really doesn't want to create a forum account, then that's of course up to them. It takes about a minute though, so it's not a significant barrier in any sense of the word.

I have just remembered something. There are some kids that play this game, however forum registration doesn't allow (not that this cannot be breaken though) to join if you are not at least 13 years old.

[josteph]

If someone really doesn't want to create a forum account, then that's of course up to them. It takes about a minute though, so it's not a significant barrier in any sense of the word.

I have just remembered something. There are some kids that play this game, however forum registration doesn't allow (not that this cannot be breaken though) to join if you are not at least 13 years old.

We require registration on the MP server to prevent spam. Registration requires the registrant to declare they're age >13 because of COPPA.