ORIGINAL: lancerunolfsson
Lava actually does make a good point. MOST people that buy the game do play mostly against the AI. At least if the distribution is anything like in Board Games. At one point Strategy And Tactics Magazine feed back suggested that fewer than 20% of the games they sold got played anything but solitaire. An interesting stat would be How many people even visit forums let alone actually play PBEM vs how many games are actually sold. My guess is that if sales where restricted to the "TOAW (oranygame)Comunity" There would not be enough money to make it worthwhile to the publishers. In my own real world contacts I know 5 guys that have bought TOAW in some morph. I make six, of those I have played hotseat with 2 and PBEM with 1 and he was one of the same guys I played hot seat with. The ballance have all only played the game vs AI. NONE have joined a club or post on boards. ALL have exactly the same complaints about the game that I do e.g. too much information presented in a format that renders it useless, to all but the anal retentive and not enough hard information. For what it's worth these guys are all Hard core Historical Board and or Miniature gamers they are with the exception of 1, all much more hardcore computer gamers than I am. I think of my self as a hardcore Wargamer that plays Computer wargames when something better isn't happening.
I don't know about wargamers, and unfortunately I can't remember where I read it (perhaps Gamespot) that industry-wise (computer game industry, including wargaming) the figure was at 70% AI players about 10 years ago. That same 70% played AI, and AI alone. If the figure were as high as 80% truly, then that would show you that of that 70%, and some of the remaining 30%, were obviously people who had played both ways. Of course to read some of the forums at websites, particularly this website, and more particularly, more unbelievably, with the game WITP (surely the awfullest example of a game to play through PBEM in the history of mankind) you wouldn't know of many AI players by the vocalness of PBEM'ers . All it shows me is the guys who don't play AI are more vocal, perhaps even more outgoing, but then again they have to be to get a game.
(If there was a monster that could be played vs. the PO, my next post on here would be several days from now... [;)]
