Release Countdown! TOAW 3 Feature Preview #1

[golden delicious]

ORIGINAL: benpark

I think a few of us are lapsed CoW players here, so the changes don't have the impact that some of the fanatics are maybe seeing. The changes seem fairly subtle so far.

No... the changes are pretty subtle so far. In fact, my understanding is that this is going to be the mode for Matrix's first release. The key point is the prospect of ongoing support for the product.

[ralphtricky]

ORIGINAL: golden delicious

ORIGINAL: benpark

I think a few of us are lapsed CoW players here, so the changes don't have the impact that some of the fanatics are maybe seeing. The changes seem fairly subtle so far.

No... the changes are pretty subtle so far. In fact, my understanding is that this is going to be the mode for Matrix's first release. The key point is the prospect of ongoing support for the product.

That was the original intent anyway. To my mind, the major change (the one I spent the most time on, anyway) was in updating the AI, Elmer. You probably won't find the AI talked about much in the forums. Right now, the forums are almost exclusively PBEM.

The last Elmer was pretty seriously broken. Norm was aware of some of the problems, but didn't have time to fix them before shipping, since they would have broken several scenario's balance. Since this is a 'new' product, I felt free to fix the bugs, and add some improvements of my own.

I don't know exactly how well Elmer can play now, especially if people start designing for Elmer. I know that I've played Korea against the new Elmer, and it feels a lot different now. My memory of playing with the COW version was that it was a cakewalk, right now, I've almost been kicked off of the mainland entirely. Ive got a toehold on Pusan, and control a strip of the south.

Arracourt as the Germans is tough. You can get a draw easily, or moderate victory with a little luck, but a decisive victory isn't nearly as easy as it was in COW.

I'm also a 'casual' player, not a 'veteran' TOAW player, so I've added some little things to TOAW for beginners. For example, if your cursor is over an enemy unit, it will show the name, if spotted, like it used to. But if it isn't spotted, it will now show the unit type instead of 'unknown.' That's for people like me that don't have memorized the symbole for 'Motorcycle recon', etc. I've also 'borrowed' some hotkeys from other games. The veterans won't notice most of these changes, but the casual users will.

[*Lava*]

ORIGINAL: ralphtrick
To my mind, the major change (the one I spent the most time on, anyway) was in updating the AI, Elmer.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who will be grateful for your work.

Thanks,

Ray (alias Lava)

[benpark]

Thanks for the information. Improved AI will be enough to get me to repurchase the new and improved version.