Online massively-multiplayer Diplomacy?

All,

I have two questions:

1) Is there an online Diplomacy game which allows you to log in, meet
and chat with potential players, create a game (with other players, of
course), provides an onscreen map showing the current situation, allows
you to chat or send (private) messages to the other players in your
game, allows you to input your orders, automatically checks your
orders, and then spits out the results of the orders and updates the
map? I understand that there is some sort of "pseudo" online play that
facilitates play by email, does "judging," etc. I suppose I'm asking
if there is something that goes further than that? I suppose I'm
talking something on the order of the various yahoo games played
"live."

2) Is there a decent market for such? I don't mean money, of course,
just players who would be interested in playing under such a system?

I ask because such a system would be well-within my capabilities to
program, if it's something that isn't already being done, and if it's
something that is deemed necessary, desirable, etc. within the
Diplomacy community.

Thanks.

sbaker8688.RemoveThis@aol.com writes:

> 1) Is there an online Diplomacy game which allows you to log in, meet
> and chat with potential players, create a game (with other players, of
> course), provides an onscreen map showing the current situation,
> allows you to chat or send (private) messages to the other players in
> your game, allows you to input your orders, automatically checks your
> orders, and then spits out the results of the orders and updates the
> map? I understand that there is some sort of "pseudo" online play that
> facilitates play by email, does "judging," etc. I suppose I'm asking
> if there is something that goes further than that? I suppose I'm
> talking something on the order of the various yahoo games played
> "live."

There's nothing pseudo about the E-mail judge. There are specialised
clients for it that does some or all of the things you describe.

> 2) Is there a decent market for such? I don't mean money, of course,
> just players who would be interested in playing under such a system?
>
> I ask because such a system would be well-within my capabilities to
> program, if it's something that isn't already being done, and if it's
> something that is deemed necessary, desirable, etc. within the
> Diplomacy community.

Me and Daniel Luna (luna@diplomacy.se) are planning something like
this. It would allow play be e-mail as well as writing real-time clients
with maps, chat and so on.

You could drop as a line if you want to help (and wouldn't mind coding
in Erlang).

I would recommend that you get well acquainted with the e-mail judge
first, though. It's by far the largest system for playing Diplomacy
on-line, and thus the benchmark for any new projects in the area.