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Looks nice, but the interface is hard to use

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 54 / 54
Date: December 28, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I've played Diplomacy for a large portion of my life, so I eagerly looked forward to Hasbro/Microprose/Avalon Hill's rendition of it for Windows. However, this edition doesn't really add to the game. What I most enjoyed was the four different kinds of maps, and the computer-arbitrated moves. What I disliked the most was the painful screen for handling negotiations with Computer and Human opponents. It drops clicks (and it's a several click sequence to send a proposal) and forces you to restart a sequence. Computer players get frustrated and leave the conference rooms. Finally, the AI of the computer, even at the highest difficulty level, doesn't play smart. Surely the computer players can tell when I'm approaching victory conditions and should start working concert with its oppressed friends and neighbors to prevent my victory. Surely the computer should know better than to enter orders that conflict with itself (and I don't mean other computer players, here). Sure the computer should know that expansion is the key to winning. I wouldn't buy this product except to support what's left of Avalon Hill.

Buggy, buggy, buggy

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 20 / 21
Date: November 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It'd be wonderful to have a computer game version of the board game Diplomacy, but this game is unplayably buggy.

Even with the latest patch (v1.1), the tutorial messages have spelling mistakes and odd characters in them. The rotation and scrolling of the game board are choppy and doesn't work properly. The avatar animations are silly and repetitive, but disabling them makes it impossible to do negotiations. At startup, the entire screen goes black for about 60 seconds before coming back up to the entry menu. And there's many, many other bugs.

I own several Paradox Interactive games and often find them to be buggy, but this one is unplayable. I give it two stars instead of one only because I desperately hope the next patch gets this game to the point that it is usable.

It really would be fun to have a computer version of Diplomacy, but this attempt by Paradox is too buggy to play.

Appalling & Absolutely Awful

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: November 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If I could give this PC game a lower rating, I would. Paradox Interactive has dropped the ball and is selling a catastrophe for $40. This isn't just a bad game, it's bad software outright. The poor user interface renders this PC adaptation simply unuseable - failure at almost every turn. But don't let these reviews fool you, the board game is wonderful (buy it instead or search the internet for a free Diplomacy software).

For a review I mostly agree with, go here:
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/diplomacy-2005/665958p1.html

Terrible Software - Very frustrating experience

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: December 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I don't generally complain about poor software development and user experience --- I've seen a lot of bad stuff --- but Paradox Diplomacy really takes the cake.

After buying the packaged software for myself, my Uncle and two friends, and upgrading via patch to version 1.3, we were unable to play on the Metaserver AND when we tried to play via LAN, one player kept being randomly disconnected.

The upgrade process and redundant registration process are a joke.

The slow load time is annoying. The AI is sub-par.

Buy the board game.

Like watching paint dry

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: July 07, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I had never played the board game, but I'd heard good things about it, so I bought the computer version in a store on impulse. It was one of the worst purchases I've ever made.

Usually when I play a strategy game I just dive right in and see how the computer players crush me so that I can get a feel for the game. I tried that right off the bat with Diplomacy: I made no alliances and moved no armies. The instructions had warned "you'll need to have allies in order to survive," so I expected to be wiped out in a few turns.

Nope. I watched turn after turn (year after year in game time) as the other players shuffled armies back and forth to no apparent purpose. After thirty "years" no one had conquered any significant territory, and I finally quit the game.

I played a few more times experimenting a bit. I tried raising all the players to the highest skill level. I tried making crazy bargains and alliances. I made promises and broke them. Still absolutely nothing of interest happened. It made for a lovely opportunity to contemplate world peace, but a fun game it was not.

I could have tried to conquer Europe myself, but with such pitifully uninteresting opponents I couldn't muster enough interest to try. I have no doubt the editorial review is right when it says you can win in twenty minutes or so, but I didn't see the point.

Not worth the money

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: March 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I suppose that if you have never played Diplomacy before, this game could be a good tool for learning how to move your armies and navies, how to transport, how to support a force, etc. But that is about it. I have never seen anyone playing this version game online, even though it is available at GameSpy. You are better off playing more traditional versions of the game.

I bought it in the hopes of having some decent solitaire play. If that is what you are hoping for, then forget it. The AI, even at its highest level, will not give you any sort of test. It is just about as idiotic as can be.

Diplomacy is such a great game. It is a shame that its PC version is so incredibly boring and unchallenging.

Copy of Avalon Hill's Board Game from 1980

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: November 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The premise is set in Europe pre WWI. There are 7 countries, each with 3 "armies" all are equal. From there it's played similar to chess, but since all pieces are of equal strength the only way to conquer is to gang up on a "square". One way to gang up is to get a rival to help you. But what you agree to and what you (or he) does may be two different things. Like chess the rules are simple but the execution is at any level.

The original game of Diplomacy was always intriguing to me and my friends, but the mechanics of submitting orders and resolving things and finding 7 friends at once made it somewhat unplayable.

This electronic version makes the execution of the commands much more straightforward. It allows for many types of pacts / treaties, either for a single move or a longer term general agreement. The AI allows you to play without requiring a group of committed people.

The sound and graphics are definitely basic. It's a real time game with no way to pause for a potty break. There is no review at the end of the game (like civilization) for you to see how things played out or what trechery happened. No stats.

It works, it's AI is good, but not great, but there are no perks normally associated with computer games, just the basic execution of the board game.

blankety blank blank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: January 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

it had great promise... but, alas alak, after spending a few hrs learning the tutorials and reading the manual, and having a few minutes of winning....it started showing what the other reveiwers c/o...multiple bugs, screw ups, frustratingly getting frozen, not allowing the player to make his moves during a turn, not alowing a easily readable playing interface....not letting you see what a fellow's treaty proposal is/was....i finally got so upset, i broke the CD and tore the box and manual into smll peices! i may not buy another avaon hill comp game in a long while!

Buggy and Slow

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 13
Date: November 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Yet another game apparently written without any concept of how do build a stable, reliable application. You'll do better to download just about any free game from the Web. Avoid!

Disappointing

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: May 20, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I am a long time fan of Diplomacy and have played by mail, face to face and by e-mail. So when I saw this game in a store one day I bought it on impulse. However it is disappointing. The computer player(s) is not gifted and it is easy to win. Add to this the unwieldy nature of the negotiation phase (often the computer player just walks away when you are talking to it) and I cannot recommend this for anyone other than novices.

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