Alternative History

[kahta]

I frequently build alternative history scenarios in WITE, including upgrading technology earlier, greater quantities of advanced german equipent, more lend lease equipment, additional units from other fronts, different OOBs, and more. I've even tried adding allied expeditionary forces to the eastern front (I wont pretend that was a success).

Will any of that be dramatically changing in WITE2?

Will there be any ability for players to change armored vehicle types, similar to the way swapping aircraft types work in WITE 1?

Will there be more customization options or an ability for players to manipulate rules more so than in the WITE editor?

How will the event system be handled? Will that be editable?

Will the Soviets have a theater box or concept related to their far east theatre?

How will the western air war be conceptualized? Will it cause lower production if a factory is bombed? Will it require a diversion of aircraft from the eastern front?

Will players have the ability to assign aircraft to different theaters? For example, could the axis assign more aircraft to convoy interdiction in an effort to cut off the lend lease supplies?

What does "success" in the Mediterranean look like if axis chooses to dedicate more resources there? Is there a way to take the Suez and force the UK out of the war? Would Italy then be free to dedicate more soldiers to the East?

I'm really looking forward to this game. The only games I play are WW2 strategy games and I've probably got hundreds of hours in the WITE editor.

[RedLancer]

Samuel

Thank you for all the questions. As we are releasing a series of posts on new features I'm not going to steal my own thunder by answering those you have posed about the Events System and the Theatre Boxes. You'll just have to wait but I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I can however answer a bit more about the ability you'll have to create your own scenarios. The WitE2 editor, as part of the game engine, is a development of the original WitE code via WitW. In broad terms we have merely added more elements rather than taking stuff away (although some cut/copy/paste/insert/delete buttons have been changed following lessons learned from data mishaps). The WitE editor has ten top tabs. WitE2 has eleven with a further six screens you can access to edit elements like events and air operational groups. All the scenarios were written using the same toolkit as you'll have access to.

For someone with a focus on 'what if' you'll be glad to hear that the production and morale multipliers are no longer hard coded. If you want the Germans to strike oil in 1943 then that is now a possibility. Events are editable as are who goes into what Theatre Box and can leave or not. We have split air frame and chassis production from the final vehicle (as it was easier to control historic production) but there is no way to change what is exactly built outside of the editor.

The structure of devices, ground elements and aircraft and TOE(OB) has not significantly changed although a huge amount of the underlying data has been substantially revised and improved so bringing any of your previous work across won't be a straight cut and paste. A number of tools to help navigate through the data have been added. A new TOE(OB) chain screen allows you to follow the development of TOE(OB)s through the data in a much easier manner. You can also now rename units and that can be triggered by date, TOE change, withdrawal from a theatre, depletion or destruction.

In summary the editor is a new world in its own right well worth exploring.

[kahta]

John,

Thank you for the thought out response.

Would it be possible to get some kind of early access to the game/editor so I could create an alternative history scenario that could launch with the game, or maybe shortly thereafter? I would love to volunteer to beta test the editor itself.

[kahta]

I don't have enough posts to share a file or post a URL, so I sent a few examples of what I have done as a PM.