What this Game is

rhodopsine · Post by **rhodopsine** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 11:24 pm

I for one, would like to be able to play a version of the game that is as close as possible to the original game as possible. Now, If it aint possible on some points, well, so be it and as long as the pc version is as enjoyable as the board game, that will be fine. I would like to have the opportunity to choose the options I want to play and those I do not want.

I've seen the corps figurine-like representation and I prefer the good old counters, but, that will not change the game by itself! And I`ll probably get used to it if I play with it.

After all, all I ask for is that the game is enjoyable and replayable. This, of course implies a solid AI. And if the looks is not quite what I expect and is the only real thing that displeases me, I'll live with it. There are so many other things that are more important for the enjoyment of the game than where is a city within an area or what do the counters look like!

Martin Paradis

ABP · Post by **ABP** » Fri Aug 22, 2003 11:28 pm

I think we all realise that the graphics are not nearly final yet, but MG have presented us with screenshots with one possibility and I for one only want to tell the direction I think they should go.
But still, its not about the single counter shape or appearance, more the complete feel. Again I stress that apart from all else should counters and map be in harmony.

pasternakski · Post by **pasternakski** » Sat Aug 23, 2003 12:49 am

ABP wrote:I think we all realise that the graphics are not nearly final yet, but MG have presented us with screenshots with one possibility and I for one only want to tell the direction I think they should go.
But still, its not about the single counter shape or appearance, more the complete feel. Again I stress that apart from all else should counters and map be in harmony.

Well said, and let me add my belief that form should follow function. Yes, we want a nice, attractive presentation of the game, but glitz or show, IMHO, should never get in the way of playability, UI, or straightforward presentation of information.

John Umber · Post by **John Umber** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 5:11 pm

Yorlum wrote:A possible idea regarding counters.

I can see both sides of the issue, those who'd prefer to keep the original style and those for whom a more artistic approach is preferable.

I own Hearts of Iron, by a publisher who I will not name It has a feature which enables you to switch counter views from one style to another. Could not something like that be done for EiA?

This "option" should be very wellcome, by me in any way.

The map looks very nice, but I am afraid the counters looks a bit out of place. They look like an older version of the game. Like something made during the early 1980:ies. Not the top of the art programming. Maybe it is just my personal view?

carnifex · Post by **carnifex** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 8:51 pm

Again, I would like to state that I don't really care how the counters look, as long as they are in an easily modifiable format.

Please check out the following site, which hosts graphic mods for Strategic Command (an excellent ww2 strategy game):

http://ww2n.com/schq/gfx/units.htm

Please note at the top of the page is the stock vanilla countersheet that comes with the game. Below that are the many mods available. If you want NATO symbols or if you prefer silhouettes, gamers themselves have provided the solution.

Please see also http://ww2n.com/schq/gfx.htm, which lists all the graphics mods. As you can see, this has provided customization and I believe has also greatly extended the life of this product.

I can only hope Matrix sees that the graphics files in EiA are in a simple non-custom format for easy modding.

Le Tondu · Post by **Le Tondu** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 4:17 am

carnifex wrote:Again, I would like to state that I don't really care how the counters look, as long as they are in an easily modifiable format.

Please check out the following site, which hosts graphic mods for Strategic Command (an excellent ww2 strategy game):

http://ww2n.com/schq/gfx/units.htm

Please note at the top of the page is the stock vanilla countersheet that comes with the game. Below that are the many mods available. If you want NATO symbols or if you prefer silhouettes, gamers themselves have provided the solution.

Please see also http://ww2n.com/schq/gfx.htm, which lists all the graphics mods. As you can see, this has provided customization and I believe has also greatly extended the life of this product.

I can only hope Matrix sees that the graphics files in EiA are in a simple non-custom format for easy modding.

You know I would have guessed that making the graphics easily modifiable would be the route of choice for a game like this. Heck, put up some stock counters and maps and then let us do the work to customize our game after it has been released. Deadlines would be a lot easier to meet then and gameplay would take the lion's share of the work. What could be better for gamers?

mmurray821 · Post by **mmurray821** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 7:15 pm

Le Tondu wrote:You know I would have guessed that making the graphics easily modifiable would be the route of choice for a game like this. Heck, put up some stock counters and maps and then let us do the work to customize our game after it has been released. Deadlines would be a lot easier to meet then and gameplay would take the lion's share of the work. What could be better for gamers?

Vive l'Modders!!

Miss3dQueen · Post by **Miss3dQueen** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 3:57 am

Pippin wrote:I find it amusing that there are still qutie a few users stuck in the old ways of demanding to play by slow e-mail, yet at the same time, get upset if the game is altered.

Some people just don't get the simple fact, that games made to be played in a group or (tcp/ip) do not do so well by e-mail, and modifications have to be done and elements thrown out or it would take two hundred years just to finish one game to completion.

I would hope some of these people learn to enjoy online play, instead of getting upset for not getting something that is physicaly impossible.

The way I look at it, there will be no pleasing these types no matter what trade-offs you do.

My, aren't we crabby!

Supervisor · Post by **Supervisor** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 7:27 am

VicKevlar wrote:. If you wish to do such things....take it to PM, IM or email. It is simply not tolerated.

Uh, isn't that what you should have done? Taken it to a PM? Wierd that you would say that and then post on a thread. Sad that this post will soon be deleted and it is also sad that this company has people here who are this unprofessional, I was really hoping that EiA would be taken up by programmers who cared, oh well. I was replying to a public insult that was first given to me, actually on several threads if you notice, as I am sure you are too ignorant and lazy to actually do your homework before you point your finger. Oh well Vicky. This is one customer gone.

carnifex · Post by **carnifex** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 7:45 pm

dude, stfu

i'm glad you're not buying this game - heaven forbid i should get involved with you by chance in some pbm game and then have to put up with your angry insulting crap because you don't agree with something

Hoche · Post by **Hoche** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:57 pm

carnifex wrote:dude, stfu

i'm glad you're not buying this game - heaven forbid i should get involved with you by chance in some pbm game and then have to put up with your angry insulting crap because you don't agree with something

I concur.

denisonh · Post by **denisonh** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:07 am

ryta1203 wrote:Uh, isn't that what you should have done? Taken it to a PM? Wierd that you would say that and then post on a thread. Sad that this post will soon be deleted and it is also sad that this company has people here who are this unprofessional, I was really hoping that EiA would be taken up by programmers who cared, oh well. I was replying to a public insult that was first given to me, actually on several threads if you notice, as I am sure you are too ignorant and lazy to actually do your homework before you point your finger. Oh well Vicky. This is one customer gone.

Unprofessional? As opposed to your "professional" approach?

That's novel.

dinsdale · Post by **dinsdale** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 10:03 am

Well I suppose a critical attitude toward this game is understandable, given that there is such a wide choice of Grand Strategy Napoleonic games out on the market today. :rolleyes:

I've been lurking in here a while and have read Marshall's monthly updates, his requests for input and the discussions which have followed. How can it be said that Matrix has been "secretly" creating the game?

It's little wonder that so few strategy titles are on the market today, and those that are released are usually thinly disguised alpha versions with promises of future patches. Who would want to bother when there is this much hassle for a game which isn't even near completion?

Matrix Games's recent Korsun Pocket has given me faith that they are capable of producing an excellent game, and that EIA will live up to that expectation. In the world of developers charging their customers $50 to act as testers for their shoddily thought out, and amateurly implemented garbage, where patches are greeted with thanks by customers who don't seem to understand that a fix is not an enhancement, and where FPS games cram the shelves in every game store, how about giving Matrix some slack and a little support for attempting to breath life into a currently dead genre

Le Tondu · Post by **Le Tondu** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 7:22 pm

dinsdale wrote:..........I've been lurking in here a while and have read Marshall's monthly updates, his requests for input and the discussions which have followed. How can it be said that Matrix has been "secretly" creating the game? ..........

dinsdale,

You are correct. Marshall has given us some information in his updates. In a very friendly manner, it came freely for a while.

Matrix Games reads our messages all of the time. Yes, they've asked for input and they've gotten it without reservation. We ask for input and we wait. The perception of secrecy may be an over-statement, but it is not one that hasn't been earned, in my opinion.

Basic information (the kind that all companies give out about their game) at times has, in my opinion, been lacking. I'm talking about such things as system requirements that had to be gleaned from a magazine article after much begging. I'm talking about conflicting information that has come from those very updates that you mentioned and what Matrix has on it's website about this game. I'm talking about questions that can be answered simply or with a "yes" or "no" type of answer.

My experiments on getting money to grow on trees has yet to bear fruit. I'm hoping that I will have success soon.

I'd be happy to spend what I earn with Matrix Games. Napoleonics are my passion.

Its just that I'd just like to have an accurate idea about what I'm going to spend my money on before I spend it. That is all. (I dare say that I am not alone.)

Folks here have said that they are going to wait until some others buy it first and then get the information that they need from those brave first ones. That is fine with me. ("Napoleon:1813" and other games come to mind.) No one wants to be led down the garden path again. If Matrix Games wants things to happen that way, I have no problem with that. I'll just wait and then make my decision. Meanwhile I'll keep coming back here to hunt for information that I want.

YohanTM2 · Post by **YohanTM2** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 1:27 am

dinsdale wrote:Well I suppose a critical attitude toward this game is understandable, given that there is such a wide choice of Grand Strategy Napoleonic games out on the market today. :rolleyes:

I've been lurking in here a while and have read Marshall's monthly updates, his requests for input and the discussions which have followed. How can it be said that Matrix has been "secretly" creating the game?

It's little wonder that so few strategy titles are on the market today, and those that are released are usually thinly disguised alpha versions with promises of future patches. Who would want to bother when there is this much hassle for a game which isn't even near completion?

Matrix Games's recent Korsun Pocket has given me faith that they are capable of producing an excellent game, and that EIA will live up to that expectation. In the world of developers charging their customers $50 to act as testers for their shoddily thought out, and amateurly implemented garbage, where patches are greeted with thanks by customers who don't seem to understand that a fix is not an enhancement, and where FPS games cram the shelves in every game store, how about giving Matrix some slack and a little support for attempting to breath life into a currently dead genre

Bravo...Bravo

YohanTM2 · Post by **YohanTM2** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 1:30 am

Le Tondu wrote:dinsdale,

You are correct. Marshall has given us some information in his updates. In a very friendly manner, it came freely for a while...I'll just wait and then make my decision. Meanwhile I'll keep coming back here to hunt for information that I want.

Compared to many other Game producers I think they have gone above and beyond the call. I will be buying the day they release.

Norden_slith · Post by **Norden_slith** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 4:00 pm

Pippin wrote:I find it amusing that there are still qutie a few users stuck in the old ways of demanding to play by slow e-mail, yet at the same time, get upset if the game is altered.

Some people just don't get the simple fact, that games made to be played in a group or (tcp/ip) do not do so well by e-mail, and modifications have to be done and elements thrown out or it would take two hundred years just to finish one game to completion.

I would hope some of these people learn to enjoy online play, instead of getting upset for not getting something that is physicaly impossible.

The way I look at it, there will be no pleasing these types no matter what trade-offs you do.

That's all fine and makes sence...but EiA is a title for a longterm game that offers something completely different in wargames. It's about interaction, chat, gossip, rumors and- oh yeah - war. But peace is much more prominent actually and so is diplomacy. All this in a LONGTERM game (And don't come running to compare it with Diplomacy either). Anyone who played a 7 players game, knows, it is a lifetime experience.So, this game goes against the grain in the PC industry, beeing a mulitplayer - longterm game, definitely a hard sell to the general audience.

Soooo, as you are using that title, there is a lot to live up to. If you called it "Nappyshooter" I wouldn't be here...

So my question is not about the details, but about the philosophy of this game. What are the outlines? It is obvious, that alterations are needed for any kind of PC-version, be it PBEM, online or hotseat... Will this game emphasis what EiA is all about or will this (ok, ok extreme) degrade into another WW2 clash for the 14 year old?

Personally, I hope for a slightly altered, PBEM-able game (to speed things up, something has to be altered, certainly), everything else is likely to be dissapointing as long as it carries the name EiA...

Norden

What this Game is

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