How to get into MP

I'm actually wanting to start some games just for players like you this weekend, especially since so many new players are coming online with the steam sale. I'm hardly a pro but I know how ICO and multiplayer work and have a couple dozen games, and if no one better is going to do it I may as well.

I'll probably make a thread here and on the steam discussion boards when I have a specific time in mind.

Short of studying replays, it's probably best to just dive right in and study the replays from your games.  Be patient and understand that you have to suffer your  nooby lumps while you learn how to play it against thinking opponents.  If you work at it and study the replays you can get up to speed quickly.  I've seen people go from "new to online multiplayer" to "respectable" within a month or two.

I Will be Hosting some New Player 5v5 MP games this weekend, but could use some help if anyone want to help me out. Goafan77 whats your ICO nick if you dont mind me asking.

LS612 or anyone else for that matter pm me or add on steam (JinglyCat) and i ll get you going.

WHen i started playing Sins in January (Yay for Steam sales lol!) i had 0 experience and have only watched 2 youtube videos, but the community were kind enough to help me out and not to kick from multiplayer games so i would like to return the favour when possible.

GoaFan77, except when I want to try out some new strategy or do something crazy.  I never played a whole lot and its probably been a month or two since I last played on ICO, but chances are in any given 5v5 game someone will have played with me before.

I was thinking of setting it up as having two experienced players as captains, who would then basically tell the new players how to play an MP game. They'd play as normal but would try not to totally kill any noobs, always let them fortify or flee their homeworld for example.

what times are there usually games?

Most times, but you might have to wait for 8-10 people at non-peak hours. Best times are Friday and weekend evenings during weekends.

What times would this occur?

Well, we've already had a few. We might do the same thing next weekend if there's demand. I'm usually around sometime between 10pm to 1am EST.

What settings do you guys usually set for online games? And how long do they last?

All faster, no pirates, locked teams, no other victory conditions. Even the 5v5s last less than 2 hours, but that's because the team that is clearly losing is expected to gracefully surrender to keep the games shorter, if only after suicide their remaining fleet in one all out battle. :p

I'm just used to normal speeds...xD Afraid that as soon as I start people will be coming out of nowhere and bombarding my planets in seconds or something. xD

Really? I could not stand normal speeds even when I first got the original Sins against the AI...

Yeah, you should definitely start playing on fastest. Some weird lag compensation mechanism also causes the early part of an MP game to play faster than normal (it feels like you're on 1.5x speed setting or something), so it will feel incredible fast paced for you.

Remember Goa....some of us come from TBS....

Normal will always be normal to us.....

dont know if any of you can help, but i have an hp laptop that whenever i try to play multiplaywr games with, it wont let me.when i log on to ironclad online through sins, it tells me im logged on, but to my frienda it says im not even though we added each other as friends that same minute. please help... impeding my ability to play sins! also has connecting problems with minecraft.

Hey guys, I've owned Sins for awhile, love the game, but now I want to get into the MP aspect?  Any idea how I should get started?

Play a small game, 2v2 or 3v3...hope one of your teammates is nice and gives you tips...

Get a mentor or well known player to get you introduced and into the community. There are threads about it and lots of people offering their help. In my experience as long as you know the basics you can straight into 5v5, as 2s and 3s tend to be terrible games most of the time. There are exceptions though of course, just ask Seleu and his pirate game...

David is a classy pirate!

Ah ok, thanks for the help.

Host games with titles like "3v3 noobs only".  That way you can play against other new people and  you would be justified in booting out any skilled players who join.