ORIGINAL: madgamer
THANKS FOR ALL THE POSTS! I have a habit of looking at the world the world of games the way I want them to be rather than the way they are. Not having a really good ability to use the written language have not really stated my real view. In the real world it makes no difference what so ever.
When I install a game I expect to be able to at least know how to run the thing. I don't think I should have to go to a excellent forum such as this to learn how to even start the game. I had WitP for several weeks before I had an idea of how to play the thing.
I could not even start the Japan side because of the production rules/
I read all the posts that were suggested to help understand different partrs of the game but this just made me more confused than ever. Even with WitP it was a struggle as each time a patch or update or such came out I started the game again. I played the first six months so many time to try to under stand why things happened that were not understood by me.Why did these ships not load , why did these other ships not unload. I spent hours on the game that I should have been doing other things. Perhaps most of you have never had the frustration of really WANTING to learn a game and found you just could notn devote the time, effort or brain power to do so.
After a couple of years I thought If I tried hard enough I could play WitP and for the first time in my life I found a mountain I could not climb. I then was told that WitP was going to get a upgrade and was ecstatic but as time wore on and the design of AE was done in an entirely different way, one which perhaps will be used in the future. I could see that AE was going to be a game in its own right and much more complicated. My dream of having a game on the level of WitP that had corrections in the flaws was not going to be but instead a monster game requiring much more time and for me work was replacing it. I sort of lost it at that point and wrote the post that started this thread in a mental mood that well lets just say was not suited to the task of what I wanted to say.
I have been in touch with several former members of the forum who are like me and a couple of new players who expected to have tutorials to help learn the complications of AE. They had no idea of how to even start the game. I know what it is to spend hours and hours on a game as I have done with Oblivion. I wanted a playable version of WitP that I could handle. Well I can play WitP even though I do not understand why it does or does not do certain things and I can keep ahead of the rather dumb AI most of the time. It could also be that not doing better against the AI and only as the Allies when I wanted to play the Jap side but was frustrated by the production rules made me feel like a total moron and I wished to be like all of you who responded and have the ability to play AE by PBEM but I don't have on time alone let alone trying to grasp and do all the details of just one turn.
I see the future of games in AE as the design process works very well and there will be other games that are even more detailed in the future and this series will go on to bigger and better things but ZI am not of that generation that can or will devote 8 or 10 hours in a day for any game. Its just that I have like you a great interest in the pacific war and am not happy that I can't go along with the advances.
I have a confession to make to you all. I lost a good friend over AE because we were going to buy it when it came out and play. He bought it and understands most of it and has tried to help me do the same. I spent several of the last few week ends at his house trying but its to much for me. It would be nice in the future when the next engine is designed to allow some difficulty settings that the player can control for folks like me
So I apologize to you all for the rather insulting post that started this thread except for one thing. I would have liked to see a better way to get started like a tutorial or a special game designed for that purpose. Remember most of you have been playing for a long time and have a hard time understanding those new players who load up the game and have a difficult time knowing where to start. I am ashamed to say I read all the posts for WitP that were recommended and also for AE and they made me more confused than ever which kind of sent me off the deep end and I am sorry for that it demeans the players, the design team and the Matrix game company noe of which I intended to do.
your replies helped me see I was wrong in posting what I did. I will go on playing the Allies in WitP and try to be satisfied with that. Envy can be a terrible thing and you all deserve better, much better.
Madgamer
I accept your apology and in return apoligize for my rather vicious come back. Please don't think your the only one whose attention span and memory effects the ability to learn and play this or any other complex game. As I mentioned I am 67 and I too have troubles in that department. So I understand where you are coming from. It spills over into other activities as well. Setting up and running basic computer functions for instance. And then there is all the other new (and old) electronics and systems to try to figure out and REMEMBER what was learned in as few as a couple of days or a week. Or how about remembering a 7 digit phone number without looking at it over and over.
I am reminded of my father 15 or so years ago before he passed and his frustration and anger towards; ATMs, touch tone phones and a list of other items as long as my arm (except for carpentry). I use to say "Pop it's not that difficult" and so it has come to pass that I am in the same boat.
I know there are other here that still have their capacities (no we're not bumbling and/or demented) who are in and beyond our age group, but that's them. I sort attribute my lack of abilities to the killing of millions of those brain cells with beer and other spirits. But such as life.
Hey, if you already have AE, keep trying. I'm getting off just tweaking the data base with the editor and comparing it to the internet information. I remember hearing that exercising the mind is as important and exercising the body. My body is a mess but I am still working on the mind part.
Hang in there "old timer"
Buck
