Operation Torch Multi-Player Features and Scenario Guide!

[sukhoi]

D-2 before Operation Torch, the first expansion for Gary Grigsby's War in the West, lands on your computer!

It’s high time to give some extra details of the new features introduced in Operation Torch. Along with the multiple new single player scenarios, we’ve worked hard to enhance the multiplayer system. The result is that Operation Torch owners will now have access to a full messaging system, will have the chance to join bigger games including 3 or 4 players and also play as co-operative air and ground commanders with another human player against the AI!

In these new game modes, players actually split control of the air planning/execution and ground movement/combat phases. So communicating well with the other general is now crucial to coordinate perfectly aerial and ground operations.

And that’s not all! We are happy to share in advance the e-book version of the Operation Torch manual. You’ll find more details about the gameplay innovations brought by this expansion and a deep historical introduction to the scenarios included. Please click here to access the manual online.

Get more information about the game from its official product page.

[wpurdom]

It appears that there is no campaign game to take one from Torch into Italy. Are there plans for that, and, if so, what time frame can we anticipate?

[Joel Billings]

No plans for that kind of campaign. We're moving back east after Torch.

[Erik Rutins]

Some multi-player screenshots from the announcement:

[KWG]

ORIGINAL: Joel Billings

No plans for that kind of campaign. We're moving back east after Torch.

OURRAH! OURRAH POBIEDA!!!

[Erik Rutins]

MP Screen #2:

[Erik Rutins]

MP Screen #3:

[Rongor]

ORIGINAL: Joel Billings

No plans for that kind of campaign. We're moving back east after Torch.

Could you outline this decision a bit?
As much as I welcome hands returning to the eastern theaters, why didn't you include a campaign depicting the whole War in the West ending August 1945, now starting with Operation Torch?
I guess many would have enjoyed that. Imagine the endless amount of possibilities the player would have faced, trying out different strategies and countless "what if" approaches.

Honestly I am surprised there won't be such campaign. Playing Op. Torch will be only half the expected fun now, I was really looking forward to a consistent campaign.[:(]

[RedLancer]

The biggest factors were time and complexity.

Firstly to create a campaign that starts in Nov 42 really requires a much more developed naval module. Adding in such a module is not trivial as it would impact the whole game. Whilst designing a naval module is a dev responsibility ask yourself how you might create one within the current construct without undoing all the other aspects of the game. I know the game pretty well and it took me 18 months to dream up a construct that might work but that is no further than scribbled notes.

Secondly and cognisant of point one the challenge of reverse engineering the AI to start earlier and be able to launch an invasion is also considerable. It is a policy decision to ensure that all the scenarios can be played by the AI on at least one side and for campaigns ideally both. It is quite possible to create a Nov 42 campaign scenario that is intended for H2H play only on the assumption the players invoke a number of houserules to mitigate the high level of naval abstraction and I stand ready to guide any memeber of the community that wants to do so as my number one priority is now looking East.

[tm1]

hi all
I understand a lot of people are keen to get back to the Eastern Front me included and I no its been asked quite a bit in recent posts for some 1940-42 scenarios in north Africa which I'm all for most heartily as well but to which the answer to that is not at the moment so ok so how about operation Case Yellow or operation Punishment, you really don't need a naval module for either of those campaigns also look at how many small scenarios could be available to create also.
Regards

[Erik Rutins]

The #1 reason is really the need to add a more full naval game to take that step. That would make a lot of sense if we were heading earlier in the war, but without that it is an enormous amount of work just to expand the campaign to Torch (in the way that players would expect). As Red Lander said, if you are willing to live with some house rules, connecting them up is quite possible but we could not do it to the standard you would expect from us without putting in those other systems.

With that said, there are other plans in the works which I can't discuss yet that may satisfy your wishes, but 2by3 are focusing on the Eastern Front and Steel Tigers after Torch.

Regards,

- Erik

[bairdlander2]

ORIGINAL: Joel Billings

No plans for that kind of campaign. We're moving back east after Torch.

Is the end goal still an entire Europe campaign starting in '39?Im sure I read that here several years ago after WitE was released.

[RedLancer]

There are so many things we want to do but time is always the factor as many of us have day jobs. We did consider Case Yellow but after four turns without a naval module then what? Also the data work for 1940 needs considerable work.

As an aside the game has a very powerful editor which is used in its standard form to create all the scenarios we create. It is quite possible for the community to create their own scenarios and War in the East and War Plan Orange demonstrate that Matrix/2by3 are very supportive of those wishing to pursue their own development challenges.

[Devonport]

Do we have an ETA for tomorrow?

[KWG]

ORIGINAL: Devonport

Do we have an ETA for tomorrow?

And what TIME will that be in Birmingham, Alabama?

[jacktimes2]

Agreed. This may be the question of unbridled fiends, but exactly what time tomorrow? I am in EST (-5).

[Joel Billings]

I have no inside info re the exact time, but in my experience they are usually up by 1000 California time, which means 2000 GMT. Hopefully it will be earlier.

As for plans going forward, we plan on continuing to use (and improve) the map we are using for WitW that covers all of Europe and North Africa. Over time, exactly how much of WWII gets played out on this map is really a question of development resources, time and technology change. As stated above, War Plan Orange came about because a War in the Pacific player thought he could take WitP and with a bit of modifications create WPO. WitPAE was the result of some WitP community members banding together and becoming a dev team devoted to expanding WitP. Exactly how far we go with WiE will depend on the interest level of the community and the progress of technology. We have a sound base to build on, and we can already see building scenarios with both the Western Allies and the Soviets (on the same side) against the Axis. There are many people that work with Matrix including ourselves that would like to see North Africa and the Med get full treatment. It's hard to say where things will go. The good news is that there are a number of very interested and dedicated individuals that are willing to contibute their time to see these games get made.

[Rongor]

Well, thanks a lot for explaining your thoughts behind all this!

As long as you guys continue to develop the overall War in Europe project, I am confident we will see satisfying releases in the future and tomorrow!

[gregb41352]

Any further developments on the possibility of selling the hard-bound manual
separately to those of us who wished we purchased it in the first place?

[Joel Billings]

As far as I know it will be in the next batch of manuals that will be made available. Don't know when this will happen, but I'm guessing it will be before the end of the year. It clearly makes the most sense for Matrix to do this for WitW given it's got the biggest printed manual and I'm sure Matrix would like to be able to sell their inventory of manuals to interested customers.