WIR Ideas

[The Oak]

Some ideas I had: (some are WIR v 10.0 ideas)

-Portraits of the generals for easier identification.
-Improved pictures of the vehicles and planes.
-A larger and more detailed map.
-German or Russian "march music" during your orders phase, and combat sounds during the combat phase.
-Some combat graphics of the engagement in progress (i.e. such as how it was done in Risk, perhaps with the possibility of deciding tactics for the engagement; show 1 "tank" or "soldier" per BN in a combat scene); more "official" looking combat reports (perhaps with voice over by a staff officer).
-Have an Standard Operating Procedure menu (such as in TACOPS) that allows you to specify the tactics of your corps when they fight their "hypothetical battles." i.e.: Specify a mobile or fixed defense, commitment of reserves, etc.
-News reel footage when a major event happens (like the capture of Kiev, the surrender of Stalingrad, etc)
-A "staff" function to give you reports on Intelligence, Operations, Logistics and Personnel.
-A production "button" in order to give detailed orders to your "minister of production."
**Perhaps combining Grigsby's "West Front" and "WIR" (with North Africa) into a mega game of WW II (I always hated the theoretical West and South Fronts, as well as the air war in Europe).
-Divisional symbol icons or pictures on the divisional menu to help with visual identification.
-German or Russian airborne capability.
-The inclusion of engineer battalions for river crossing, entrenchment, railroad repair, bridge demolition, etc.
-Siege guns (such as the Karl mortar).
-A map and report "print" option.
-Halftracks, or some differentiation between armored and motorized panzer grenadiers.
-SP artillery such as the Wespe and Hummel (what if they were produced in greater numbers?)

Some of these ideas may be feasible, while others may not. I think the overall game engine is solid, I was just thinking of some additional "control" and options, as well as some eye candy (not that eye candy is everything, however I can't stop marveling at my "Panzer Companie" of Panther As and Gs as they prepare for combat in "Combat Mission.")

I also wanted to know if it would be possible to have more control over unit organizations: i.e.: be able to change Panzer Division tanks strengths from 2 battalions, to 3 battalions, etc. I was always curious about changing unit OOBs would affect the course of the war (i.e.: scrapping the LW field divisions, keeping the cavalry divisions when you are the Germans (for security and screen missions), dissolving or expanding the WSS, adding assault gun BNs to the infantry divisions earlier in the war, being able to form brigade size kampf groups to act as fire brigades (by pulling assets from divisions, and having the ability to dissolve the kampf groups after their mission is complete while the game is in progress). I wanted to have the ability to "rest and refit" divisions as the Germans did (when the Germans reformed the 1st CAV as the 24th Panzer, or when they changed the LAH from a PzGren to a Panzer DIV. I wanted to be able to do this at my discretion, not by a timetable in the game. Basically the ability to form (name and organize), attach, and dissolve battalion, brigade, and division size units during the war.
Equipment production is also something I was interested in: Grigsby's West Front included the Sturmpanzer IV (Brumbar), as well as Nebelwerfer Battalions and Brigades. I thought it would be neat to have vehicles such as the Sturmtiger, Panther II (Schmallturm 88mm), etc. as options for early production.

[Ed Cogburn]

Lot of good stuff here Oak, but there are no more additions to the update being planned. They are working now on getting the scenarios updated and fixing bugs. This isn't a full remake, like War in the Pacific is a full remake of Pacific War. You'll have to harass MatrixGames and get them to commit to a full remake of War in Russia, or a European theator game, which is also something that has been talked about in earlier threads in this forum.

[Vinnie O]

Gee, the FIRST thing I do is turn off the SOUND. People really LIKE music while playing the game??

Much of the rest of the stuff, like letting the Germans have Tigers in 1941, is easy to do with the existing editor (EditWir.exe) by just changing the "delay". And since divisions always fight within corps, the difference between having a StuG battalion ASSIGNED to one of the divisions and having it ATTACHED to the same corps is a matter of aesthetics.

But I'm all in favor of a game that covers everything that "Third Reich" did, but plays like WIR.

[Ed Cogburn]

Originally posted by Vinnie O:
Gee, the FIRST thing I do is turn off the SOUND. People really LIKE music while playing the game??

Huh? The game doesn't have sound.

Much of the rest of the stuff, like letting the Germans have Tigers in 1941, is easy to do with the existing editor (EditWir.exe) by just changing the "delay". And since divisions always fight within corps, the difference between having a StuG battalion ASSIGNED to one of the divisions and having it ATTACHED to the same corps is a matter of aesthetics.

Seems to me, much of what he asked were good ideas, and by the way, just changing delays is not good enough. The upgrading process for tank/ac equipment is hardwired into the game, so often these changes can't be done correctly without changes to the game itself.

But I'm all in favor of a game that covers everything that "Third Reich" did, but plays like WIR.

A lot of us want this.