Seems to be pretty stable

[Adam Parker]

Well, I'm running this game sadly on an "old" rig now - P4 2.8G with 512 Ram, 128M nVidia. I've got all graphic settings on and running with high detail - and the game appears less sluggish than the original W@W. My map scroll is still a bit jerky when crossing the entire globe but the mini map helps there.

I still don't know what to make of the game [;)] but I've a feeling that once the nuances become known on reading the rulebook, there's going to be a lot of fun in there.

I'm very interested to learn what led to creating the AWD game though as opposed to updating the original WaW? Is it a case of there just being so much more now? Is there an article somewhere that sheds light on this?

Thanks,
Adam.

[WanderingHead]

ORIGINAL: Adam Parker
I'm very interested to learn what led to creating the AWD game though as opposed to updating the original WaW? Is it a case of there just being so much more now? Is there an article somewhere that sheds light on this?

There may be a few places to learn a bit about what's going on in the developers' heads. One place I know is the Developer's Journal at 2by3:

http://www.2by3games.com/devjournal/index.html

[Adam Parker]

Thanks WanderingHead.

What a great link for which I'm very much obliged:

We realized that this was much more than a patch for World at War. It was really a completely new project starting off from where WaW 1.200 ended. We spent some time kicking around design ideas, and by January we were ready to start coding the new game. We were lucky to have the help of Jan Sorensen. Jan runs the ladder for WaW on the Matrix forum and is an outstanding WaW player. He also happens to be a very good programmer. So Jan helped out initially by giving us feedback on our initial design ideas, and then jumped in to help code some of the WaW patch, giving Keith and Gary more time to work on AWD and CW. By March, all work was focused on AWD and CW had to be put on hold. Jesse LeBreton, known for his Franco’s Alliance mod of WaW, helped out by providing us with some graphics for the map changes we wanted to make. This allowed us to move forward without waiting for our artists to be available, which was greatly appreciated.

So what’s in AWD and how is it different from WaW? Well to get the complete story, you should visit www.matrixgames.com and look up A World Divided. short list would be that you can now play scenarios that start from 1939 to 1946. You can complete a normal scenario as the Allies, and if you win, go right into a face-off between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union (makes for changes in the normal end game strategies as you have to defeat the Axis while preparing for the next war). Neutral countries now can lean toward one side or the other, and these leanings can change based on player actions. The leanings are important in order to gain economic benefits and/or eventually gain new Allies from these neutral countries. US and USSR production and entry into the war has been made dependent on War Readiness Levels that are influenced by time and world events. Random political events such as border wars between the Soviet Union and Rumania and Coups in Yugoslavia and Iraq add increased variability and replayability as every game can be different.

Spies and signals intelligence have been added to provide ways to see through the fog of war, steal technology from opponents, and gain combat advantages. Combat and Movement changes have been made to increase realism without dramatically increasing complexity. New rules allow the generation of veteran and elite units, and new art has been added to show the improvement of certain weapons as they gain strength through research. Players can also choose to play with NATO unit symbols if they wish. Victory rules have also been changed to include victory points for capturing key territories and to factor in the Axis high-water mark in games in which they do not reach their automatic victory goal.

Well, maybe it’s not so short a list. In fact there are many other changes and improvements in A World Divided, so if you enjoyed WaW, you should really enjoy AWD. If you haven’t tried WaW, AWD gives you a lot of additional reasons to take the plunge.

So yep, that explains it [:)] . I'm having the rulebook printed professionally as I write. Should be a good investment - game download less promo plus printed manual ~$64AUD. And that explains that guy's post whose game is currently well into the 1950's! Very cool stuff.

Assuming the game remains stable and majorly-bug free, it is worth the full price of ~$90AUD (which includes the cost of properly printing its manual of course). A better investment to a wargamer imo than Civ4, Medievil Total War 2 and such all launched at $99AUD.

Appreciate the help I'm getting on these forums as always too.
Adam.

[christian brown]

Well, there you have it, very much worth the money (just be careful not to over-distance your wife over it[;)].)

[Adam Parker]

Wanted to report that this game is still running very efficiently.

Unable to gauge any play bugs but in terms of interface, map scrolling and nil CTD's 2by3 you've done very well.

This is what a sequel should feel like. Ambitious enough but not in any way foolish to spoil the thematic feel and introduce system instability-mayhem.

There are a series of typos and poorly worded phrases in the rules text. So that should be an area for tightening up with future projects. Other than that, your rulebook is not over the hill with hype, contains some nice trivia and is very manageable to print and own.

Now that said, would you consider buying back the second copy of W@W Original that I bought solely in to get its now defunct rulebook? [;)]

Adam.