Playing a Game

The following image depicts the NetPlay game window:

NOTE: The user has the freedom to move the chat window to any location, resize and reshape the chat window, or may choose to hide the window with the option of displaying it again at a later time. This image represents one possible layout.

During a game, you and the opposing manager take turns making your decisions, just as you would when playing someone who is sitting right next to you. On each play, the offensive manager cannot choose tactics until after the pitching and defensive tactics have been received from the other manager. When baserunning and throwing decisions are needed during a play, each manager must wait until the other has made a decision. A stoplight icon (located in the upper-right corner of the play-by-play window in the above image) tells you whether it's your turn to make a decision (green light) or whether to wait the opposing manager (red light).

But DMB does not impose any unnecessary limitations here, either. While trying to decide what to do, or while waiting for the other manager to make a decision, each manager can be sending a chat message, looking at the boxscore, flipping to the replay of the last event, or calling up a player profile. In other words, DMB won't let you get ahead of the other manager in the flow of the game, but it won't stop you from thinking and browsing independently, either.

After both managers have entered their tactics, the host's computer executes the play and sends the play-by-play commentary and a coded description of the play to the remote machine. The remote computer uses that information to update the state of the game and all relevant statistics. The result is that both managers have independent access to the stats and everything else about the game.

During the selection of game tactics, your opponent never sees your mouse cursor or your hands moving over the keyboard, so there's no possibility that your tactics will be revealed too early.