MANUAL for Eagle Day - Bombing the Reich

[medaloffairness]

Maybe it is to early to start a discussion about that but I think it is an important topic to talk about.

The last manual for Bombing the Reich was a really good one. I hope that everyone here in the forum agrees when I say that a good manual is also responsible for the good gameplay and spirit of the game.
I think that the game Uncommon Valour Campaign in the South Pacific didn`t impressed me that much because of its not detailed Manual.

While reading the threads in the forum I learned that Matrix Games will make the manual... I hope they do a good job with it otherwise all the detailed work on the night fighters (and big discussions about them), the discussion about tactics, the huge amount of different planes and the well thought mechanics in the game will be less honoured because the player will not use them in the right way because they don`t know the possiblities.

Example: I had a question concerning the production of planes because I told that the production of planes were spread after the Big week... HARD Sarge told me that this is or will be reflected in the game...nice....very nice...
So, if you don`t know that this will happen, than you probably will give up after the major air assembly sites are destroyed because you doubt that you will recover from it during the 700 days campaign...

There are other things as well, which I didn`t knew although I played the game very intensiv... so please don`t give away the chance to fascinate your players with a manual which don`t tell you these things because all the great effort you invested in the details of the game will not be honoured adequately becuse the players don`t know them...

Sorry for opening a new thread...[:D]

Best Regards Chris

[wernerpruckner]

There is so much in the game that is not explained [X(]
but many people will never recognize several of those things

I think to cover all that is in BTR would at least give you around 10 books.

Book 1: A/Cs and their stats, pro and cons ( at least 500+ pages )
Book 2: Radar, RCM and ECM ( 200+ )
Book 3: BC doctrine and usage in BTR ( 150 )
Book 4: 8th and 15th AF - what do do with them ( 500+)
Book 5: targets and sites in BtR - reality vs fiction, pro and con of the choice of sites put into BtR ( at least 5000 pages )
Book 6: usage of F/Bs and tactical Air Forces (350+)
Book 7: NI vs NF - reality vs fiction ( 1000+ )
Book 8: industry and production in BtR - a short story ( 1000+ ) ( long story 10000000+)
Book 9: numbers in BtR - fatigue, morale vs experience (150 pages)
Book 10: German forces in BtR (1000 pages )

and we´d need probably several 100 booklets:

sweeps - pro and con
backdraft
strategy and tactics of the Germans
same for the Commenwealths
same for the US
ground combat in BtR
Flak in BtR
Choice of targets / strategie pro and cons

and so on.....

[:D][:D][:D]

[medaloffairness]

Thanks for the prompt reply,
 
then I order book 1,2,3 and 10...
 
but anyhow... do you really think that there is no way to get used to the mechanics of the game?
 
Best Regards
 
Chris

[JamesM]

A good thing about allot of the old manuals was the history blurbs that allot them had or the interesting oddities that occurred. The second incarnation of CAW when it first came out and BTR were a good examples of this. So will the matrix edition include the history blurb in this incarnation of BTR?

[Hard Sarge]

Luckaly for people who like to read, I am not the one writing the manuel, so I can't really say what will or won't be in it

but, it was told to me, that it should be a good background on the old game and then adding in what we have done, changed, added

now how that will be put togeather and worked out, I am not sure

if we are lucky, not too many HARD_Sargeisms will slip in

(LOL, during the testing for FOF, I kept saying I Wanted them to Add a HARD_SargeVille to the map, made lots of requests, lots of AAR and added it in and stuff like that, then one of the betas came out with a new map and every place on the map was HARD_Sarge, now that was fun, but we couldn't show it off)

[fochinell]

(LOL, during the testing for FOF, I kept saying I Wanted them to Add a HARD_SargeVille to the map, made lots of requests, lots of AAR and added it in and stuff like that, then one of the betas came out with a new map and every place on the map was HARD_Sarge, now that was fun, but we couldn't show it off)

I can see the BTR reports now: '32 B-17G bombing Hard_Sarge'.. 'Bombs fall in Hard_Sarge area'...

[Hard Sarge]

ORIGINAL: fochinell

(LOL, during the testing for FOF, I kept saying I Wanted them to Add a HARD_SargeVille to the map, made lots of requests, lots of AAR and added it in and stuff like that, then one of the betas came out with a new map and every place on the map was HARD_Sarge, now that was fun, but we couldn't show it off)

I can see the BTR reports now: '32 B-17G bombing Hard_Sarge'.. 'Bombs fall in Hard_Sarge area'...

Naw

I would make it unbombable, can't be doing damage to HS_Ville

[Speedysteve]

You mi-stype Gavin it would be "'32 B-17G bombing HARD_Sarge'.. 'Bombs fall in HARD_Sarge area'
 
That's better[;)]

[wernerpruckner]

ORIGINAL: medaloffairness


but anyhow... do you really think that there is no way to get used to the mechanics of the game?

the game engine is quite simple [:D]
but hard to master[:'(]

[Akmatov]

Given the great amount of work put into this simulation, it really would be a pity if the players were not given some guidance on how best to enjoy and appreciate the effort via a good manual. 
 
Given much of your audience, I'm not too concerned about a mini-history book feature.

[Justascratch]

Agreed. I know that writing ones own version of historical events, even within the confines of a game manual is infinitely more fun than explaining menu options, general tactics and designing detailed charts and graphs for players to pour over - but the historical stuff is really best posted to the games website. Let's make the play manual all about play value.

[Gil R.]

ORIGINAL: Hard Sarge

Luckaly for people who like to read, I am not the one writing the manuel, so I can't really say what will or won't be in it

but, it was told to me, that it should be a good background on the old game and then adding in what we have done, changed, added

now how that will be put togeather and worked out, I am not sure

if we are lucky, not too many HARD_Sargeisms will slip in

(LOL, during the testing for FOF, I kept saying I Wanted them to Add a HARD_SargeVille to the map, made lots of requests, lots of AAR and added it in and stuff like that, then one of the betas came out with a new map and every place on the map was HARD_Sarge, now that was fun, but we couldn't show it off)

Hah! As soon as I saw the title of this thread, my first thought was, "I wonder if Hard Sarge is writing it."

[Hard Sarge]

ain't you got a class to teach or something ????