Modding to balance game

World in Flames is the computer version of Australian Design Group classic board game. World In Flames is a highly detailed game covering the both Europe and Pacific Theaters of Operations during World War II. If you want grand strategy this game is for you.

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vonpaul
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Modding to balance game

Post by vonpaul »

Question, will you be able to add 'house rules' or MOD MWIF?

Playing my first game of WIF for ages (through Vassal) against a very experience opponent and getting absolutely hammered as the european axis. He has mentioned that the game is very anti-axis.

I don't think i've been making too many mistakes as such, and trying to follow historical timeline as best as WIF allows, (heavy poland - probably overcommitted) forced to attacked denmark in first turn due to WIF rules (hate the FE rule, much better in 5th would love to MOD this out).

So i'm wondering if modders will be able to implement 'house rules' that alot of people play - Not that the house rules are helping me in my game :)

Cheers,
Paul

P.S. If anyone wants to offer any advice for my Vassal game I'll take that too :)

Playing with a bunch of house rules, but I assume the standard game allows a very heavy anti-italy offensive by France/CW.

CW invaded and killed my unit in northern Denmark, so I'm stuck in attrition war in the baltic. Italians boxed up in Italy due to being outnumbered 3-1 and Allied divs are running rampant all over the Med.
CrusssDaddy
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RE: Modding to balance game

Post by CrusssDaddy »

Go off script - your opponent probably sees that you're historical, and has the jump on you at every turn. Instead of trying to conquer the world, go defensive. Turtle up in Italy and let his divisions flit around the Med. You have to close up the Baltic - combo of subs and tac air with NAV factors is needed to out-of-supply Denmark, then run the tanks in. Suicide your surface fleet if you have to. Then go on a convoy rampage with those subs. Your Barbarossa might have to be more defensive in nature - rush to the rivers, then hold. Build a couple forts every turn.
Shannon V. OKeets
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RE: Modding to balance game

Post by Shannon V. OKeets »

ORIGINAL: vonpaul

Question, will you be able to add 'house rules' or MOD MWIF?

Playing my first game of WIF for ages (through Vassal) against a very experience opponent and getting absolutely hammered as the european axis. He has mentioned that the game is very anti-axis.

I don't think i've been making too many mistakes as such, and trying to follow historical timeline as best as WIF allows, (heavy poland - probably overcommitted) forced to attacked denmark in first turn due to WIF rules (hate the FE rule, much better in 5th would love to MOD this out).

So i'm wondering if modders will be able to implement 'house rules' that alot of people play - Not that the house rules are helping me in my game :)

Cheers,
Paul

P.S. If anyone wants to offer any advice for my Vassal game I'll take that too :)

Playing with a bunch of house rules, but I assume the standard game allows a very heavy anti-italy offensive by France/CW.

CW invaded and killed my unit in northern Denmark, so I'm stuck in attrition war in the baltic. Italians boxed up in Italy due to being outnumbered 3-1 and Allied divs are running rampant all over the Med.
House rules are not part of MWIF. There are 80 optional rules which can be used to provide play balance between players of unequla experience/skill. However, I, personally, do not want to get into which optional rules have what effect.[;)]

===
The problem with programming house rules is that they are often very flexible. As the game goes along, situations arise which were not definitively decided upon at the start of the game. It's not quite like "Calvin Ball" (from Calvin and Hobbes, where new rules are invented every 3 or 4 seconds), but players are people, language is naturally ambiguous, and things just have to be "worked out" between the opponents. A major difficulty for me in programming MWIF was to have adjudications made for numerous small, very unlikely events, that RAW did not define in detail. House rules would be much worst.
Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.
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vonpaul
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RE: Modding to balance game

Post by vonpaul »

Thanks Steve, might have to insist next game for no house rules in prep for mwif.
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micheljq
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RE: Modding to balance game

Post by micheljq »

I don't agree really with your opponent about the statement this game is very anti-axis. At least in our campaigns Axis wins way more often than Allies. Experiences vary a lot from a group of players to another.
Michel Desjardins,
"Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious" - Oscar Wilde
"History is a set of lies agreed upon" - Napoleon Bonaparte after the battle of Waterloo, june 18th, 1815
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coregames
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RE: Modding to balance game

Post by coregames »

ORIGINAL: micheljq

I don't agree really with your opponent about the statement this game is very anti-axis. At least in our campaigns Axis wins way more often than Allies. Experiences vary a lot from a group of players to another.

Certainly in our group the outcomes have been pretty balanced, with 3 of the 6 games we have played ending in Axis victory. WiF is quite clever in how it allows the Allies to emerge with a clear advantage by the end of most games, so that the Axis aren't necessarily trying to win the war in the later turns, but rather are trying to hold on to more of their gains than they are expected to.
"The creative combination lays bare the presumption of a lie." -- Lasker

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Blorsh
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RE: Modding to balance game

Post by Blorsh »

I think most of the player try to win the war, and this is no the same as win the game.
Shannon V. OKeets
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RE: Modding to balance game

Post by Shannon V. OKeets »

ORIGINAL: Blorsh

I think most of the player try to win the war, and this is no the same as win the game.
I agree.
Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.
Palle
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RE: Modding to balance game

Post by Palle »

The consensus on the WiF-list back when I was active was that if anything WiFFE is, as earlier versions, pro-axis. But also that in game terms a more historically balanced and realistic game would see the Axis wasted much much earlier and with basically no chance at all at winning the game.

OP, I refer you to the WiF list archive, I will bet anything that you can find all possible strategies and ideas for all powers covered there; it is a treasure of strategical and tactical advice.
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