Do you play against the AI?

[Terminus]

ORIGINAL: Joe D.

OK, but once you're on the Matrix site, not checking-out AARs, tech support or just being curious about what everyone else is doing seems almost isolationist.

It's not like (strictly) AI players have to go out out of their way to get here; forums are a great place to pick up tips and amusing tidbits, trivia, etc. Besides, where do they go w/a game question?

Of course, there's the occaisional "sting" posting ...

Maybe they don't go anywhere with questions...[&:] Anyhoo, I have no problem believing that the majority of WitP customers have never set foot in this place; that's up to them.

[33Vyper]

I have never played PBEM as I have never had the time to devote to keep it up regularly.

I am proably missing something by not playing PBEM...as I have read many fantastic AARs. But it is more of a time issue for me. I have not had the time to play regularly and the AI will wait for me to play a turn or 12....but a live opponent might get a bit miffed if I had to make him wait 2-3 weeks between turns.

So for me I would love a WITP2 and be willing to spend a pretty penny....but it must have some sort of AI.

[Reg]

ORIGINAL: Joe D.

If they don't come to the forum, how are they getting news of new patches; is there a 2By3 site where they can get patched-up?

I've seen a couple of gaming sites that carry Matrix patches. The trouble with those guys is you can't be sure that they are hosting the latest release (which they weren't).

Also as far as the casual gamer being up to date - they aren't. I have a couple of friends who owned UV but I was surprised that they weren't that interested in patching up to the latest. Not everyone is as dedicated as us I suppose... [8|]

(Edit: which is also a big argument to get it right the first time, as these guys won't be back if they get a bad experience...)

[BrucePowers]

Every PC game I have owned (from Masters Of Orion and Railroad Tychoon to my Matrix games) I always checked for patches.

[decaro]

Years ago, I bought my first Matrix games at an Electronics Boutique, but now I rarely see Matrix titles in retail stores here in New England.

As many players today have broadband/dsl, they buy games via digital download, so they're probably checking the forum for patches as well.

Anyway, I was surprised to see from the survey that just under half the players polled exclusively play the AI, which is generally considered a (much) weaker opponent than a person.

[wdolson]

These days few game companies support a game past the first year or so.  People who are buying WitP today probably are buying it from the website and probably find out about the patches from the game information page.  Those who bought the game early on may not be aware that it is still updated and assume that WitP is now unsupported like most game titles that old.

I have checked some games for patches, oddly I never thought about it for some others.  I never patched UV when I played it.  I'm not going to bother now since I haven't played since buying WitP.

Bill

[Freddy Fudpucker]

I only play against the AI because I would be unable to commit to a pbem game.

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: wdolson

... I have checked some games for patches, oddly I never thought about it for some others.  I never patched UV when I played it.  I'm not going to bother now since I haven't played since buying WitP.

As a UV player, I can say that under v. 2.5, the game is still worth playing. However, the UV forum doesn't have nearly the activity as this forum, and there have been times that we UV players have felt like second class citizens, as if we were all expected to upgrade to WitP.

And please don't read anything personal into this post; it's just an observation on my part as a UV player.

For the record I've also played PacWar, which can be considered a "primitive" version of WitP.

[BB56]

For various reasons, I only play as Allies against the AI.  I'm currently playing CHS on Hard and in 4/42, I still hold Manila and Bataan and the IJA just took Rangoon.   Yes, the AI can be better, but as I'm not the greatest tactician, I find the game both fun and challenging, especially with all those subs off Townsville and me having a limited amount of good ASW assets.

[mlees]

If I may stray OT a little bit, but I was wondering...
 
Does WiTP still sell, after all this time? Is there a steady number of new buyers?
 
I am amazed (and pleased) that WiTP still gets support from the developers.

[Mike Scholl]

ORIGINAL: mlees

If I may stray OT a little bit, but I was wondering...

Does WiTP still sell, after all this time? Is there a steady number of new buyers?

I am amazed (and pleased) that WiTP still gets support from the developers.

I believe the original designers/developers "bailed" on this project years ago..., and all recent patching and support has come from a group of player volunteers led by Joe Wilkerson. But don't quote me on that.....

[decaro]

That's interesting because not long ago some "volunteers" developed the 2.4 series of patches for UV; untested and unfunded, the patches proved disasterous and required a comprehensive 2.5 fix.

Some of us suspected the reason it was finally fixed was because of the ongoing development of Carrier Force, which is based on the UV game, i.e., many UV players would be reluctant to buy CF if the 2.4 series "fixes" were never addressed.

[mlees]

Ah. Thanks, Mike. I forgot about that.

Do you know if the game still has sales?

[Mike Scholl]

ORIGINAL: mlees

Ah. Thanks, Mike. I forgot about that.

Do you know if the game still has sales?

Not a clue..., except that one of the Matrix Guys mentioned it being "on sale" for the holidays. Guess that implies they are still selling some....

[Sonny II]

I think the fact that folks are still working on it and the code has not been released to the public (there was talk of this a year or so ago) would indicate that there is still some market for the game.

[Joel Billings]

Yes the game still sells some every month. I'd guess that 70-80% of the eventual lifetime sales have been achieved to date. There's nothing else like it so it should continue to generate sales for awhile. Yes there are some "volunteers" that continue to work on the game, and we're happy that they are doing so. I think Gary would have lost his mind if he had continued to work on WitP (I know I would have).

[Sonny II]

ORIGINAL: Joel Billings

Yes the game still sells some every month. I'd guess that 70-80% of the eventual lifetime sales have been achieved to date. There's nothing else like it so it should continue to generate sales for awhile. Yes there are some "volunteers" that continue to work on the game, and we're happy that they are doing so. I think Gary would have lost his mind if he had continued to work on WitP (I know I would have).

Now it is time to lose your mind on the new WiR or whatever it is going to be called.
[:D]

[Peter Fisla]

I only play against AI and I enjoy it and no the AI is not perfect...but I'm still having lots of fun. As an experienced develper I understand very well how difficult is to write a decent AI for any wargame. Never mind a game with such a huge scope as WitP...seriously! It could always be better but there is only so much a current CPUs can analyze/perform with such a dynamic world in WitP. I let the Friendly AI handle, Dutch, Chinese and British Forces. I only handle Australia and North East Sector. So this kind of helps to level the field a bit

[Andvari]

Like so many others, I play the AI out of convenience, although I have just started a PBEM.
 
I had WitP for a year before I joined the forum. The Matrix site had the available patches I needed, but because WitP was so complex and the manual so...bad/obtuse/vague, I turned to the forum for help. What a godsend. I had never joined a forum before for any of the dozens of games I have owned.

[Rainer]

Peter,
you should set Control Zone S also to Human Control.
There is a confirmed bug which makes AI interfere with your actions in Northern Australia, Papua and New Guinea.
Again, ONLY when Control Zone S is left under Computer Control.

During the first couple of weeks it doesn't really matter, but when you start to operate in the Port Moresby Area the bug hits. Examples: Air Units reset given targets, LCUs reset given orders. Ghost Units appear in several places.

Having said that: I am a convinced Allied Human against Japanese AI player (currently April 4, 1945), and I use the same settings as you do (British, Chinese handled by AI), except Dutch East India (Sumatra, Java, Borneo) because of the bug.
Cheers
Rainer