WITE vs. WITP

[Ebusitanus]

This gives me flashbacks from the time I used to play GDW Europa series "Fire in the East" and then the primitive "War in the east" for PC which had Guderian´s face on the box.

[V22 Osprey]

War in the East is great game.It's a nice shift of focus on the land war. It's nice having land units being represented by a full counter with information than a little box with an X in the little bottom left or right hand corner of a hex like in WitP:AE. The graphics in WitE are nice, crisp, and modern looking. It actually *looks* and feels like game designed and released for 2011.

WitE and WitP:AE are the only 2 main games I play now, with some Counter Strike Source and WinSPWW2/MBT on the side.

[Jakerson]

I think it is easier to learn to play WITE than WITP simply becouse naval and island hopping war is more complex in nature than land war.

Anyway both are great games.

[berto]

I have no interest in the Russian Front, so for me it's WITP:AE hands down. In fact, I'm so much into it that I'm now playing both WITP and WITP:AE! [X(]

[V22 Osprey]

ORIGINAL: berto

To amuse my (bored) self over the past week or so, I have been tracking the "Users viewing this topic" count for both the WITP:AE and the WITE fora. Interestingly, no matter the time of day (I have checked this several times daily, including overnight; I work nights), the ratio of WITE forum visitors to WITP:AE visitors is consistently about 3 to 2. That is, lately about 50% more people are visiting the WITE forum than the WITP:AE one.

Might we expect the WITE advantage to increase or decrease over time? Will WITE gain in relative popularity, or will interest in it slacken as it loses its "new kid on the block" status?

BTW, I agree with this. Once the excitement and shock of WitE being finally released calms I'm sure the WitE forum will die down significantly. Presently the only reason why the game has a ton traffic is the fact that it's at the top of the list and easy to get to. The original AE players will also come back considering of the people in the WitE have AE as well as WitE.

[jomni]

I'm seeing more and more WITP players on the other side.

[Canoerebel]

Since it's a new and well-done game, that's to be expected. The question is whether it will have the legs that AE has.

It's great to see old-fashioned (so to speak) hex-based games still being produced. How fortunate are we that Matrix (and a few others) are still around? Opening a new hex-based war game reminds me of Christmas in the 1970s, when I got Avalon Hill's Blitzkrieg.

Eventually, somebody's going to go forward with a refined AE that does a more complete job of melding the oceanic parts with the ground war (ala WITE) so that we have something even more intoxicating, captivating, mesmerizing, and addicting. We'd all better be about 70 years old, divorced, and in good health. We'll have to renounce our children, citizenships (no jury duty!), personal hygiene, though. We'll become very strange but happy hermits.

[Canoerebel]

P.S. And that version had better not have pilot training!

[oldman45]

I think I will wait till next Christmas [;)]

[pws1225]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Since it's a new and well-done game, that's to be expected. The question is whether it will have the legs that AE has.

It's great to see old-fashioned (so to speak) hex-based games still being produced. How fortunate are we that Matrix (and a few others) are still around? Opening a new hex-based war game reminds me of Christmas in the 1970s, when I got Avalon Hill's Blitzkrieg.

Eventually, somebody's going to go forward with a refined AE that does a more complete job of melding the oceanic parts with the ground war (ala WITE) so that we have something even more intoxicating, captivating, mesmerizing, and addicting. We'd all better be about 70 years old, divorced, and in good health. We'll have to renounce our children, citizenships (no jury duty!), personal hygiene, though. We'll become very strange but happy hermits.

Hey, that's me already (almost)!

[Puhis]

Both WitP and WitE are great games. I'd say East is slightly better as a game, it's easier to play, feels more modern and have better AI. And it doesn't take years to finish the war...

IMO WitP is more of a PBEM game, while WitE is an AI game.

[EUBanana]

I bought WITE, but communists versus nazis doesn't really do much for me unfortunately.

Also I like to play with boats rather than deal with walls of Soviet rifle divisions.

I've tried to get into it but not managed it yet, maybe one day. Seems like a good game if you're in to what it offers, but like WITP you need the enthusiasm for the setting to get over the hump of the learning curve, and my enthusiasm for the Eastern Front is not, I fear, up to the task.

[Jakerson]

ORIGINAL: EUBanana

I bought WITE, but communists versus nazis doesn't really do much for me unfortunately.

Also I like to play with boats rather than deal with walls of Soviet rifle divisions.

I've tried to get into it but not managed it yet, maybe one day. Seems like a good game if you're in to what it offers, but like WITP you need the enthusiasm for the setting to get over the hump of the learning curve, and my enthusiasm for the Eastern Front is not, I fear, up to the task.

I play war-games from strategic reasons I do not care much about witch side I play or ideology behind it. Eastern front is largest and most intense land war campaign ever happened on earth. I’m just glad that somebody is making great games about this subjects I do not need any other reasons to support projects like WITE.

I just hope it sells good so we can have more great games like that in the future... There is not too many hard core strategy game developers out here anymore at this era. Im just glad that somebody is making more complex games than Sims and other main stream stuffs.

[LeeChard]

Ships and planes will always be my first love but I bought WitE for a change of pace. I've dabbled in it and I like the fact that you can jump right in and play it without micromanaging(I like micromanaging ships). But i'm in the last year of a GC of WitP and I'm
afraid if I get into WitE too much I'll lose my train of thought. So it's on the back burner for me.

[RJL5188]

war in the east is just plain awesome...best ground wargame around...

war in the pacific AE is also awesome...best air-naval game around...

not much else to say

[stuman]

ORIGINAL: rjl518

war in the east is just plain awesome...best ground wargame around...

war in the pacific AE is also awesome...best air-naval game around...

not much else to say

Succinctly put.

[invernomuto]

ORIGINAL: Puhis
IMO WitP is more of a PBEM game, while WitE is an AI game.

Could you please explain? Isn't WITE good in PBEM?
Thanks.

[whippleofd]

What I find unique about WiTE is that you can B&P it if you so desire to just push counters around or immerse yourself into the details. Because of the great control the player has in the handicapping system you can tailor it to suit your current gaming needs. It's like a small editor inside the game that I have not seen in other games.

For instance:
1) What if the Germans had better prepared logistically and not just for a 5 month war? You can test that out by changing the logistics level they receive, but leave everything else the same.
2) What if Stalin had not sacked all the competence out of the Army? Change the morale of the Russian units but leave everything else the same.

You can tailor the Morale level, fort build level, logistics level, transport level and admin level from a range of 400 to 25, with 100 being historic. You can let the HQ's run the support units, or you can micro-manage it to your AE content. And you can change these settings every turn if you wish.

All in all I find it a GREAT addition to my gaming library. Considering that for the past three years I've only played WiTP, AE and now WiTE; that makes it in exclusive company

Whipple

[TulliusDetritus]

ORIGINAL: Puhis

IMO WitP is more of a PBEM game, while WitE is an AI game.

I would say it's the other way around [&:] WitE: 222 turns the whole campaign: I did start a PBEM. But I always avoided a WitP PBEM (2, 3 years to finish?).

Said this, to me WitP is more attractive, mostly because you have naval / air / land operations. WitE is (as it should be) a massive continental war. I really like it though, now trying to stop the fascist hordes with my many Soviet hordes! Leningrad and Moscow will NOT surrender [8D]

[Oleg Mastruko]

ORIGINAL: Puhis

Both WitP and WitE are great games. I'd say East is slightly better as a game, it's easier to play, feels more modern and have better AI. And it doesn't take years to finish the war...

IMO WitP is more of a PBEM game, while WitE is an AI game.

I strongly disagree. WITE will be, or it already is, the best PBEM game in current Matrix catalog in my opinion.

WITE features this new "semi automated" PBEM play over Slitherine server, and for such an early iteration I am surprised how well it works, and how easy it is to get into.

Also, WITE's biggest campaign is "mere" 225 turns long. For us who went thru 900+ turn PBEM campaigns in WITP this will be a child's play [:D]

Another thing - WITE actually offers a dozen or so very manageable smaller scenarios that are already very popular and extremely enjoyable in PBEM (in WITP, all everybody ever played was big campaign).

I played tons and tons and TONS of WITP PBEMs back in the day (some of you probably remember me), but in PBEM department WITE wins, hands down.

It also wins in the AI department as well, although reasons for this are quite simple and obvious - it's much easier for AI to play a two dimensional land campaign than it is to sensibly coordinate Pacific and Asian War.