Lord Ith wrote:
Honestly, this isn't a game you would get a lan party together for.
Well, my Lord, it's not quit true.
Massive Assault CAN be a good LAN-party-style game, in fact.
Put aside the LAN's internet connection issue (it's impossible only when the party is taking place somwhere outside in the woods, etc.), I can tell you this:
In our office during the testing period the developers were having exactly those LAN-party spirit, organizing a sort of round-robin tourneys. Imagine: each of 5 participants challenges everybody else, thus everybody is having 4 games. And the players start making their first turns to somebody - thus, in spite of the turn-based manner, EACH OF THE PLAYERS is INSTANTLY engaged in playing, because out of 4 opponents there is ALWAYS somebody who has returned you the turn while you were making your previous turn - i.e. as soon as you finish your turn, you can immediately start making the next turn to another player.
Thus, the whole bunch of people are sitting together (beer, chips, etc., you know), yelling at each other, teasing, joking, bluffing, etc.
This Secret Allies concept gives a lot of topics for discussion, and the players will have something to discuss until the very end of that round robin, like:
"Damn! Where is your last Secret Ally?"
"Oh, here is your last one... I suspected it was there"
"Try to guess where my last one is?"
"Hey, stop driving me crazy and disclose your Medium country!"
And Tactical aspects also give enough reasons for intense talking:
"Oh, NO! Oh... Oh... that was my Transport full of Tanks..."
"Don't you think that 4 Carriers is too much?"
"I bet you would never capture this plateau"
"John, catch the turn... there's a surprise for you..."
So the developers claim that Massive Assault LAN parties can be fun!