Matrix Games Forums

I'm not new to strategy games,but i just recieved my original copy of WAW.I do like it,but i was very frustrated,i'm having a hard time understanding research/development!It seems to be too complex,is there any tricks to this part of the game.I understand the movement phase,but the development phase is,to me very difficult to grasp!It is a shame because i do like the other aspects of the game!I went as far as uninstalling the geme out of sheer frustration!I've decided to give it another go with a clear mind!Any advice from WAW veterans would be greatly appreciated.

also do i have the latest version.?I've got 1.040

At the risk of making some players of this game mad, I will tell you this: I stopped playing this game because of not understanding parts of it, such as what you mentioned. When I bought it the specifications said that it was not that hard, but I have a much easier time playing "War In The Pacific" (WitP) than I do this game.

Lack of ToolTips and some menus not making much sense caused me to give up months ago, so I can't be too specific as it's been a while. Yes I read the docs.

Sorry for not telling you it's easy and just keep at it, not the case here.

thanks man,I WAS hoping someone would tell me"Yes there is a trick to it,here it is......"I'm not daft,i figured give it time,like other gamesw.!It 's a shame,because i like the way the other matrix games are!I hope that i didn't waste 70
$ some-odd canadian dollars(shipping,customs charges,not to mention the monthand a half waiting for it to arrive!It's a shame because i finally got the ok from a relative to use their credit card,plus all the games i could've picked on amazon.ca,the descriptions and pictures about the game turned me on to it!Not to mention the good reviews of mr grigsby helped me to choose!

Gary Grigsby is a gaming genius. I do believe this game is excellent, but not for me. I love the way it sounds when you do things, the way the menus are so quick and smooth, the graphics are good, the concept is good, but I just can't get anywhere with it.

I know what you mean about wanting to hear of a "trick", or "all you have to do is this..." but I can't help you there as I am stuck with the game too. Maybe somebody else will come along and enlighten us both. Research\Development stumped me too and seemed to not work right. Maybe I didn't spend enough time with the game?! I'm not helping you any in a positive way so I am going to shut my pie hole up now. [8|]

ORIGINAL: IGAKFB

also do i have the latest version.?I've got 1.040

Latest version is 1.202

About research/development what is it exactly that you don't understand?

You've got to purchase Research Points and then invest them in the attribute you want to improve: evasion, speed, attack, antiair...

As you improve the each specific attribute it costs more reaserch points to reach the next level, also everytime you get 5 more units of the same kind the new research threshold for achieving the next level increases by one.

I would recomend you to read through the manual carefully, and maybe more than just one time, it's not so difficult to understand.

Hope I have encouraged you some.

After all this talk I am going to reinstall it and try again. [:'(]

Larry I got your message in the mail before you edited it, this is the World at War forum unless I'm wrong since its over midnight here and I'm exhausted, therefore latest version for WAW is 1.202 and for A World Divided (its sequel) 1.011 which is still a beta.

That's why I edited my message as I realized we were talking about two different versions.

As someone who just started learning and playing WaW this past March, I agree the learning curve can be intimidating.  I found it helpful to read the manual and then just dive in and start playing against the computer (I recommend playing the Russians first because they are the easiest).  Do not bog yourself down by trying to win your first game, concentrate entirely on moving things around to see how the game works.  Intentionally make mistakes just to see what happens.  One of the best things to keep in mind while learning the game is that you can close out the game and load it back up again without saving your moves - this should encourage you to mess around to try and determine which units perform best versus other units (e.g., planes are good for destroying artillery, flak is good for taking out planes, infantry is good for taking out flak, artillery is good for taking our infantry...).
 
I also recommend ignoring production entirely (let the computer do all of it for you) until you get your head around the rest of the game first, otherwise it is very easy to feel overwhelmed by the game.  The manual provides a starting point, but it often can be confusing to interpret.  I have found this online forum to be a tremendous resource and almost always have been able find answers to my questions by searching this forum.  Having just gone through the learning curve you are considering undertaking, I can attest that it was definitely well worth it for me.
 
Hope that helps and good luck,
Bill

ORIGINAL: Vilhjalmr

As someone who just started learning and playing WaW this past March, I agree the learning curve can be intimidating. I found it helpful to read the manual and then just dive in and start playing against the computer (I recommend playing the Russians first because they are the easiest). Do not bog yourself down by trying to win your first game, concentrate entirely on moving things around to see how the game works. Intentionally make mistakes just to see what happens. One of the best things to keep in mind while learning the game is that you can close out the game and load it back up again without saving your moves - this should encourage you to mess around to try and determine which units perform best versus other units (e.g., planes are good for destroying artillery, flak is good for taking out planes, infantry is good for taking out flak, artillery is good for taking our infantry...).

I also recommend ignoring production entirely (let the computer do all of it for you) until you get your head around the rest of the game first, otherwise it is very easy to feel overwhelmed by the game. The manual provides a starting point, but it often can be confusing to interpret. I have found this online forum to be a tremendous resource and almost always have been able find answers to my questions by searching this forum. Having just gone through the learning curve you are considering undertaking, I can attest that it was definitely well worth it for me.

Hope that helps and good luck,
Bill

Bill;

First off I really appreciate the time you took to write all what you did. Second, this is excellent advice! I needed to be reminded of the things you said as I can get to playing a game, and I think I have to do it perfect or else. Intentionally making mistakes to find out how the program works or reacts is how I find bugs in the programs I write. However, I forget to do that when I play a game!? Thank you for reminding me of this.

I also forgot that this game allows you to set production to automatic. It has been quite a while since I played it. That's the advice I should have given IGAKFB instead of the negative advice I game him. I felt bad about the post I replied to him with after I sent it. After he spent his hard earned money on this game, I come along and give him bad news.

So thank you for this advice as I am going to take it and use it.

Larry.

Hi Larry,

I just wanted to touch base and see how you were getting along with the game. Any luck or any questions?

Thanks,
Bill

ORIGINAL: Vilhjalmr

Hi Larry,

I just wanted to touch base and see how you were getting along with the game. Any luck or any questions?

Thanks,
Bill

Well I appreciate you asking. I went through the tutorials again and there were so many things to remember that I figured if I have to memorize so much, I may as well go back to WitP. So I have been playing WitP again and having a good time. World At War is just not making sense to me. [&:]

UPDATE:
I tried again after I installed the patch 1.011. I just get tired of the many informative menus NOT having tooltips. To play it right, I would have to print the manual out and that's about 188 pages. Then use it while playing for a reference to learn all the menus. I printed the original one out long ago but this new one has added a lot. So I gave up again. Same old story here... blah blah blah. I'm a quitter.