Matrix Games Forums

WW I is on my "to buy" list but now "Gold" arrives. It sounds like the bugs couldn't be fixed so the game was dumbed down. Anyone play both yet? Is the old version still available?

Dumbed down? In what area? How so?

I have played the original hundreds of hours. I had the pleasure of getting into the beta testing for Gold and have been playing that for a few weeks. There is no doubt that the ai in the Gold version is vastly improved in battle management and considerably improved in an operational sense.

The known remaining major bugs (such as naval mines) from the original have been fixed-along with some new ones that cropped up. No doubt there will be a few more come to light as the game is played more, but the man is there to fix these as they appear.

In the Gold version you can use the old map if you prefer that layout (some of the die-hard board game fans apparently like it like that). Although the old version has a free patch that corrects the last big bugs, I don't know why anyone would want to buy the original game with Gold available. The new interface is superior-and you can use the old map if so desired.

ORIGINAL: lordhoff
It sounds like the bugs couldn't be fixed so the game was dumbed down.

Huh?

I'm thinking perhaps you should find a more reliable rumor mill. [:D]

By coincidence, i'm currently re-reading Keegan's First World War.....and then i notice the GOLD version of this game.

So.....any feedback by current owners on the yay-nay qualities of this game? Never tried a WWI sim before. (lol...given what i've read, it seemed a contradiction!.....lunge...die....move a yard....lunge die....retreat a yard)

Download the Gold demo at the AGEOD website, of course. Considering the quality, depth and potential moddability, it stands on its own and is a bargain at $40 for the serious wargamer.

Lighter fare, but still intriguing, is Guns of August here at Matrix. I "didn't get" that game at first, but after several game turns was very impressed with the richness of the decisions you make every turn. WW1 takes much greater study, but it has a good manual now, and the depth can get you "high" (my preferred buzz these days!)

Best to you!

ORIGINAL: Nikademus

So.....any feedback by current owners on the yay-nay qualities of this game? Never tried a WWI sim before. (lol...given what i've read, it seemed a contradiction!.....lunge...die....move a yard....lunge die....retreat a yard)

I think it's great so far.

Lots to learn (I like them tough) but pretty fluid in practice. It reminds me of AGEOD's other systems (like AACW, BoA series, Napoleon's Campaigns) but with more bells, whistles, and options. I'm still not sure if I want to use WEGO or IGOUGO w/ interrupts. I can see the advantages of both. I guess that's a good problem to have.

Generally, when one sees a word such as "streamlined", it means user options have been simplified, ie, dumbed down. From what you say, this is not the case. Lest many others be confused, AEGOD needs to rethink its advertisement wording. Really, how many times in the past has a good game been ruined because people complained it was too complex? The wording makes one think that this is the case. I asked to see what people who have played both think. I got my answer - not dumbed down. Some folks seemed to have taken it a bit personal, though. [:D]

ORIGINAL: lordhoff

Generally, when one sees a word such as "streamlined", it means user options have been simplified, ie, dumbed down. From what you say, this is not the case. Lest many others be confused, AEGOD needs to rethink its advertisement wording. Really, how many times in the past has a good game been ruined because people complained it was too complex? The wording makes one think that this is the case. I asked to see what people who have played both think. I got my answer - not dumbed down. Some folks seemed to have taken it a bit personal, though. [:D]

I totally agree with you [:)]

Yes, WW1 is a complex game, mostly because it's the porting to PC of a monster-complex boardgame! Nothing can be said more.
Dumbing the game mechanics of LGG (La Grande Guerre) means working out another game, surely not WW1.
For this reason, I always strongly adviced potential customers to try first the free Demo trial before puchasing the game: they must be aware of game complexity!

Does anybody know if the full game manual has changed much from the old verions to the Gold version?

ORIGINAL: lordhoff

Generally, when one sees a word such as "streamlined", it means user options have been simplified, ie, dumbed down. From what you say, this is not the case. Lest many others be confused, AEGOD needs to rethink its advertisement wording. Really, how many times in the past has a good game been ruined because people complained it was too complex? The wording makes one think that this is the case. I asked to see what people who have played both think. I got my answer - not dumbed down. Some folks seemed to have taken it a bit personal, though. [:D]

Sorry, I'd never heard that it was "dumbed down" or I would've been concerned, too. I just wasn't sure if you actually heard that or had just assumed. No worries in either case.


And the manual seems to have been tinkered with in the Gold edition, along with a specific Gold manual add-on.

The use of the word "streamlined", in this case, means exactly what it says-streamlined. There are several areas that have been made easier. However, anyone that had the old game must have grown tired of the somewhat repetitive messages-there were too many and often not all that pertinent. For me, that was the most aggravating aspect to the old game. If you deselected a message, then you would also loose important info-so you were sort of stuck.

In the Gold version, the messages are pertinent, and much, much less frequent. This equates to a significant streamlining-no dumbing down there. Someone put in a lot of work to improve that part of the game.