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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2001 1:20 am
by Paul Goodman
Then, ReclusiveFool, you must buy virtually all BTS games, because Matrix doesn't have any for sale. Well, excluding the NA Mega campaign, which we all bought long before it was released, anyway.

Which brings me to my point, who is BTS games?

Paul

Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2001 2:10 am
by Paul Vebber
They make Combat Mission, and distribute TacOps. They have a few older games, but are pretty much focused on Combat Mission.

www.battlefront.com

Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2001 8:24 am
by Crocky
Hi Guys

Looking forward to this one unfortunate about Xmas but the wait will be worth it......

No Holidays until finished <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2001 12:09 am
by von Murrin
Originally posted by Paul Goodman:
Then, ReclusiveFool, you must buy virtually all BTS games, because Matrix doesn't have any for sale. Well, excluding the NA Mega campaign, which we all bought long before it was released, anyway.

Which brings me to my point, who is BTS games?

Paul

Paul Vebber beat me to it. BTS and Matrix are the two companies on the leading edge of wargaming as far as I'm concerned. I have four Matrix titles on my list to purchase as they appear. All that because I went looking for Pacific War one day and found the improved version by Matrix.

BTS is currently working on the next installment in the Combat Mission line. I highly recommend you take a look if you haven't already. It's quite a game.

Nathanael

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2001 11:36 pm
by madflava13
I've got to chime in here.. I've been absent for awhile myself. (I'll admit I'm pretty involved in Bombing the Reich right now - is that blasphemy?) Anyways, I've been patiently waiting for UV/WITP and I will continue to do so. The artwork looks great, and I'm sure the code will be top-notch. If it takes until next May, I'll still buy it. (Hope it doesn't tho!) Thanks for all the great work on Pacwar and SPWAW. Don't let the one bad apple get you down.

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2001 9:36 am
by moore4807
just my $.02 worth too-
BTS is Big Time Software (Over The Reich, Achtung Spitfire, The aforementioned Combat Mission...) I think they're refugees from Avalon Hill Games or something-I'm not entirely sure though. Good games anyway...

Anyway I applaud the troutsmack for Catdaddy
Keep up the good work Matrix- hope to see it soo, err, whenever its READY!!!! Very Big Grin...
Jim

PS. And lastly to Matrix and all of of you gamers out there
H A P P Y H O L I D A Y S ! ! !

[ December 11, 2001: Message edited by: moore4807 ]</p>

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2001 11:55 am
by Joel Billings
Happy Holidays! We appreciate your support and want to assure you that we are working hard on finishing UV. There are 3 programmers that are involved in wrapping up the last items and we really hope to get to a full beta soon. Pre-beta testing has been going on and we've now finished the 17 scenarios we expect to ship with the product (and made a good attempt to balance them). Other than adding email play and finishing the combat animations, we've got a current list of about 25 lesser items to fix up before we hit full beta. The AI is ready to be worked by the beta testers. The 139 page manual has gone through 2 edits already. As soon as we can we will get this product to beta and then out the door. Hopefully all of the extra time spent will be deemed to have been time well spent.

Joel

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2001 7:15 am
by von Murrin
Joel,

Good things are worth waiting for. I don't usually commit to game purchases before they're reviewed, but I'm confident UV is going to be well worth it based upon what I've seen and heard alone. It's on my list. Thanks for the update!

Nathanael

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2001 1:26 am
by Crocky
Hi Joel

Greetings and Merry Xmas to everyone from New Zealand.

Really looking forward to this one been lurking for the last few months and following its development. Now its close the damned impaitence thing starts to kick in. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

This will be the first game I have bought in 18 months since I got CM..... So having said all this lets get to the point any chance of a demo in the near future <img src="wink.gif" border="0"> You know just something to whet the appetite.

Any way your hard work is appreciated enjoy Christmas and have a good new year

Cheers Crocky

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2001 5:56 am
by Joel Billings
I don't think Matrix plans to post a demo, sorry. Possibly we'll get some new screenshots posted in the near future. We have a beta version of the manual now. I've always enjoyed reading manuals for board wargames. Do you think people would be interested in seeing the manual (it's about 20 Meg now)? If so, I can speak to David Heath about it and see if there's a way to get that out to the public while we're still testing the game. For now, here's a list of the 17 scenarios to wet your appetite:

Coral Sea: 1 May 42 &#8211; 15 May 42
Eastern Solomons: 21 Aug 32 &#8211; 31 Aug 42
Milne Bay & The Kokoda Trail: 21 Aug 42 &#8211; 20 Sep 42
Four Weeks of Hell 22 Oct 42 - 18 Nov 42
Road to Munda: 15 Jun 43 &#8211; 14 Aug 43
Operation MO: 1 May 42 &#8211; 31 Jul 42
The Turning Tide: 1 Aug 42 &#8211; 31 Dec 42
Green Hell: 1 Oct 42 &#8211; 31 Dec 42
Stalemate and Counterpunch: 15 Feb 43 &#8211; 15 May 43
Summer of 43: 15 Jun 43 &#8211; 15 Oct 43
Operation Cartwheel: 15 Jun 43 &#8211; 31 Dec 43
The Beginning Ends: 1 May 42 &#8211; 31 Dec 42
Fortress Rabaul: 15 Feb 43 &#8211; 31 Dec 43
Hard Road Ahead: 1 Aug 42 &#8211; 31 Dec 43
Clash of Titans: 1 July 42 - 31 Dec 43
Yamamoto's Prophecy: 1 June 42 - 31 Dec 43
Decision in the South Pacific: 1 May 42 &#8211; 31 Dec 43

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2001 7:04 am
by Caltone
Merry Christmas everyone.

Joel, reading the manual would indeed be a nice Christmas present! <img src="cool.gif" border="0">

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2001 7:06 am
by madflava13
I personally would love to see the manual now... I think it would do a lot to tide people over until the game is ready to be released. If its possible without too much of a hassle, I say post it.
Thanks again - can't say it enough - this is the game I think a lot of us have been waiting for for a long time.

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2001 12:46 pm
by Enforcer_TM
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE MANUAL as would 8 of my friends around the country that I am gonna be playing

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2001 6:41 pm
by David Heath
Hi Guys

The manual is being written now and rewritten as we get near the end of this project. I do not expect that there would be enough time to get a manual out before the game is done. I know its hard to wait but it will be worth it.

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2001 8:11 pm
by Paul Goodman
Seasons Greeting to All:

Joel: Thanks for the posts. Just curious... The Beginning Ends and Decision in the South Pacific have the same beginning and ending dates; what is the difference? It appears that many of the scenarios begin with a major battle (Coral Sea, Midway, Santa Cruz, etc.) judging by the starting dates and end in December '43. Are actual historical events presumed up to the starting point?

Paul

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2001 8:20 pm
by Rich Dionne
Paul,

"The Beginning Ends" covers the period 1 May 42 through 31 Dec 42 (Coral Sea - Guadalcanal campaigns). "Decision in the South Pacific" has the same start date but ends a year later on 31 Dec 43 (Coral Sea - Bougainville campaigns).

In most cases, actual historical events are presumed up to the scenario starting point. A notable exception is "Clash of Titans". In this one, both sides will have all their carrier forces (no Coral Sea or Midway carrier battles) so they can slug it out in the South Pacific.

Regards,

Rich Dionne

[ December 14, 2001: Message edited by: Rich Dionne ]</p>

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2001 9:51 pm
by Paul Goodman
Thanks, Rich. I did, indeed, misread the ending date for those two.

Clash of Titans sounds awesome. Quite an opportunity for the allied player to really screw things up! Hmmm, how to defend the supply line from Pearl and US? Saih Maayt, you're not leavin' town, are you?

Paul

Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2001 11:07 pm
by rough
Perhaps you need some beta testers? I volunteer <img src="wink.gif" border="0"> and assure you to test it thorougly.

Maybe those who waited so long should get a discount, I waited since the original PacWar came out. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2001 9:10 am
by Crocky
And if you are going to need beta testers they should come from the South Pacific region <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0">

Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2001 11:41 am
by Supervisor
I agree with everyone else's comments in reference to the issue of this game's shipping date. I'd rather the thing is done right than done fast. The "real world" companies aren't doing these kind of games anymore because the economics do not make sense for them. Matrix, Shrapnel, Battlefront, HPS and Schwerpunkt are doing a great job of providing games for their select audiences. Also, I've noticed that most of the "big" game companies like Sierra, Interplay, Talonsoft and SSI seem to be having problems supporting their products and remaining finacially solvent.