Matrix Games Forums

Hi everyone,

While you are waiting, please read the following if you are interested in immediately playing NetPlay when you purchase WIF.

We've been focusing on NetPlay all year to make sure it's good to go. Many tests have been done and games played, which allowed us to find and fix many, many issues along the way. Leading up to the Essen early access release, we thought we were good to go. The focus of development time has been on making sure any NetPlay bugs are addressed quickly and that NetPlay is as stable as possible. With a release that supports Solitaire, Hotseat and NetPlay this is obviously critical.

This morning some new NetPlay issues were brought to my attention. Some of these are new bugs affecting areas that were previously tested and found working, others are bugs we hadn't found yet thanks to the remarkable combination of options, scenarios and player actions that WIF contains. We had a discussion this morning to decide what to do, which really comes down to two decisions - push back the release or release on time.

The main issue with pushing back the release is that we don't have any other release windows available this year, so we would either have to push another game back to 2014 or release WIF in January. Neither of those are good options. The amount of preparation that has gone into this release on the warehouse and store side is such that even hitting the reset button once would mean a 2-3 week delay before we were all set for another release attempt. So we've decided to push forward but to fully inform our customers that we are shipping with some known NetPlay issues.

These issues will be our #1 priority and we expect to have an update available by the end of next week that resolves most or all of them. We're extremely confident in the solitaire/hotseat play and the NetPlay issues are not structural but rather related to rule/action/option cases during gameplay. We do not expect all customers to encounter these issues. We will address the known issues ASAP and any others as they come up. We're committed to prompt post-release support for WIF now and for years into the future.

WIF will also continue to improve through the post-release updates with new options, new features, up to 6 players for multiplayer and eventually AI, but our immediate priority will be addressing these recent NetPlay issues and making sure the NetPlay support works fully as intended.

I apologize for this late breaking news - it was not our intention to ship with any significant issues and with everything else ready for the release, this is a difficult decision, but we feel that with these issues coming to light just before release, going ahead with the release and full disclosure and full support is the best way to go. It's time to finally get this into your hands, but we want to share this late news before you make your purchase decision.

Regards,

- Erik

Right decision IMO. We don't wanna wait anymore.

You made the right call!

Cheers

FYI, I've also updated the product/store page with a link to this announcement.

Ok.....thanks for the information but will the product/purchase information on WIF be updated with this? Some people may not read the forum a head of time.

Ahh good. Your fast Erik lol.

Sir .. any specific's ... as to what exactly are the issues ...????
[&:]
IDG

Thanks for the head's up about NetPlay.

Gives me more time to come up with an ACME plan for mounting and setting up the 21' by 9' Map. [>:]

Good call, Rather know about some issues and still have the option to take it....those that want it perfect have the option to wait. We all win.

Death and Taxes and glitches with software.
They are all part of life grasshopper so accept them whenever they appear.
Save your anger for the things that really matter.

Best to release the game now and we can wait for Netplay to work. Considering the steep learning curve for WiF, even for experienced board game players, I think the time can be well spent learning the game and computerized game system. Then when it works on Netplay players will be more experienced and should have a more enjoyable net gaming experience.

Omnius

Sounds like the right decision to me. Those that have concerns can always wait for patch, but this way those that "want it now" can charge ahead.

Rick

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

Hi everyone,

While you are waiting, please read the following if you are interested in immediately playing NetPlay when you purchase WIF.

Possibly Silly qu but what is Netplay and does it allow more than 1 player per side?

At the moment you can play another person on the net in real time. That's NetPlay. Later this will be increased to up to 6 people and there will be PBEM (play by email) and a computer opponent too.

Cheers, Neilster

hmmm
That'll teach me to buy before enquiring as netplay is no real use to me.

Any idea of a date for PBEM? That looked pretty scary too from Shannon's forms.

GL with trying to get an AI that is worth playing without it having to resort to spamming endless units.

ORIGINAL: sillyflower

hmmm
That'll teach me to buy before enquiring as netplay is no real use to me.

Any idea of a date for PBEM? That looked pretty scary too from Shannon's forms.

GL with trying to get an AI that is worth playing without it having to resort to spamming endless units.

No time estimates on any of the additional features/capabilities.

I will continue to post monthly reports around the first of each month (there is a thread with that name) to keep the community informed on what I accomplish each month. I'll try to add some details on what I expect to work on in the following month.

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

No time estimates on any of the additional features/capabilities.

I will continue to post monthly reports around the first of each month (there is a thread with that name) to keep the community informed on what I accomplish each month. I'll try to add some details on what I expect to work on in the following month.

Never have played WIF before but game looks like THE WWII game and I would like to play it but I will not buy a game until PBEM option is available because it is, to my opinion, THE option for play this kind of game.
NetPlay in real time is ridiculous idea, to my opinion, so you should be quick as possible with PBEM implementation.

P.S.There is a great option called PBEM++ option from Slitherine where you are playing your turn whenever you want on official dedicated server so every known PBEM cheats are avoided. Hope you will have something similar controls to prevent cheating.

Hi Keyzer Soze,

NetPlay uses a similar dedicated server with an in-game forum and lobby. You can also save the game and continue it at a later date. The server automatically does the network routing, so there's no technical knowledge needed to play - not even your IP address and no router/firewall configuration. It is not PBEM but it's a better way to play WIF the way it's structured. When PBEM is implemented, it will include PBEM++ as well.

Regards,

- Erik

Hi Erik
Thanks for quick answer. As I have said, I’ve never played WIF so you are probably right but still you must have one thing in mind – players for this kind of game are usually older people and they usually don’t have time to seat and play many hours continuously. Also it is very hard for this people to know exact time when they will be available for play and how long. For example, I am one of this older people [:)] and it is much more suitable for me to have option to play when I want (and can) and with intermissions. That why PBEM is the best solution, to my opinion.

(bump)