Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Gary Grigsby’s World at War is back with a whole new set of features. World at War: A World Divided still gives complete control over the production, research and military strategy for your side, but in this new updated version you’ll also be able to bring spies into the mix as well as neutral country diplomacy, variable political events and much more. Perhaps the largest item is the ability to play a special Soviet vs. Allies scenario that occurs after the end of World War II.

Moderator: MOD_GGWaW_2

Nefarious13
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 2:31 am

Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Nefarious13 »

Ok. You grognards out there be nice. I love Combat Mission BB and AK and GGWAW but in GGWAW I hated the combat animations. I felt they were too static. I know it shouldnt matter but could you inform me on whether or not they have been updated for this new game? Thanks.
User avatar
Marc von Martial
Posts: 5292
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2001 4:00 pm
Location: Bonn, Germany
Contact:

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Marc von Martial »

No combat animations in the sequel at all.
Syagrius
Posts: 165
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 5:39 pm

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Syagrius »

ORIGINAL: Marc Schwanebeck

No combat animations in the sequel at all.
No animation at all? You should at least keep the animations of the original WaW no?
Vive l'Empereur!!
Forwarn45
Posts: 718
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2005 1:53 am

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Forwarn45 »

ORIGINAL: Syagrius
No animation at all? You should at least keep the animations of the original WaW no?

Agreed. You should at least leave the option for players who want to use it. I confess that although the animations are cheesy, I often play with them on. I usually click the box to close the animation when combat starts -- except for big and important battles. I sometimes watch these because I like the drama of seeing how the die roles go rather than instantly knowing how the battle resolves. It's kind of like rolling the dice in Axis and Allies. A little silly maybe, but there's no harm in leaving it in -- right?
User avatar
Joel Billings
Posts: 33034
Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2000 8:00 am
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Contact:

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Joel Billings »

We wanted to spend time adding a lot of new information to the mouse over text in the combat report screen and we have increased the amount of unit graphics in the game. We could not afford the time and money to add animation graphics for all the new units and given the hit we took on the cheese factor we decided to dump the animations. We decided the focus should be on improving the things that most people use and have asked for at the expense of the animations. The animations was something that was just too time consuming and expensive to get right, and given it was all show and no player input, it lost out.
All understanding comes after the fact.
-- Soren Kierkegaard
User avatar
Grotius
Posts: 5842
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2002 5:34 pm
Location: The Imperial Palace.

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Grotius »

Fine with me, Joel. I never played with the animations on anyway. I understand why some folks might be disappointed, but I suspect most of us won't care. I'm glad resources are going into other things.
Image
Nefarious13
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 2:31 am

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Nefarious13 »

Sorry Joel. But I won't buy it without animation. I know people enjoy wargames with just tiles etc, but that's not me. Depth without any attempt at immersion for me does just not work.
Syagrius
Posts: 165
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 5:39 pm

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Syagrius »

ORIGINAL: Nefarious13

Sorry Joel. But I won't buy it without animation. I know people enjoy wargames with just tiles etc, but that's not me. Depth without any attempt at immersion for me does just not work.
You got a point there. Same for me. I guess I will buy the original WaW instead.
Vive l'Empereur!!
TexHorns
Posts: 243
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:19 pm

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by TexHorns »

Count me in the no animation is okay crowd. I definetly prefer the depth of play to acting out battles in animation. If the battles were ala COG where you actually fight them out tactically (not a bad idea by the way) then the animations would have a purpose. Another idea would be to let the player "roll a die" to determine the out come of the battle. Strat o matic baseball on computer actually let's you roll dice on the computer to get the result.
We're gonna dance with who brung us.
User avatar
Joel Billings
Posts: 33034
Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2000 8:00 am
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Contact:

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Joel Billings »

Hopefully we'll have a demo after the game is released so you can try it and see if it works for you without the animations. I can understand though that different players have different interests and desires in a game.
All understanding comes after the fact.
-- Soren Kierkegaard
Ancient One
Posts: 178
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2000 8:00 am
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Ancient One »

It doesn't really matter to me. When I first got WaW I had the animations on, however they eventually got tedious so later on I played without them. I suspect most people are the same way.
Petiloup
Posts: 505
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2006 11:10 am

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Petiloup »


True that sometimes I keep the animations for some suspens. Sill nice for ship attacks but if AWD is getting rid of the flaws of WAW at the price of animations then fine by me.
mikwarleo
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2006 3:50 am

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by mikwarleo »

I'd have to see the game to come to a real conclusion but initially the idea of taking the animations out all together rather than improving them seems a big mistake to me. Even with the 'cheezy' animations of the current game I often watch the animations as it gives a (very limited) sense that you're watching the battlefield.

Whether it's realistic in programming terms or not in an ideal world I was wanting better gameplay and better animations from the sequel. I'm sorry to be a neg-monkey but the sequel is going to have to provide a lot in gameplay terms to see me part with another round of cash for what appears to be (from the screenshots I've seen) a very similar looking game.

I find it funny that several posters from the 'no animations is ok' camp say that they "suspect that most people feel the same" as them. Based on what exactly? And *if* they're right how much does that have to do with the fact that the current animations are so 'cheezy'? I don't expect it will happen or have any effect but what about a poll?

User avatar
Joel Billings
Posts: 33034
Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2000 8:00 am
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Contact:

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Joel Billings »

In the ideal world, with unlimited resources, of course adding better animations would be great. We don't live in that world and it was exactly because we wanted to focus on more gameplay changes/improvements that we made the decision to cut lose the animations as too expensive. We know we will lose some players because of this, but it allows us to make what we think is overall a better game. The animations were good for some things, including instructing beginners on how the flow of combat works, but I think most people turn them off for most combat once they get used to the game. I could be wrong about that, but we got a lot of criticism for the cheesy look of the animations and making them better would have been difficult for us to do (especially having added a lot of new weapons art to show improving units, a new feature that many asked for). Since many players of AWD will have played WaW, we think players will be ready to do without the animations. I too wish we could have afforded to do great animations if only to entice the casual players. On the other hand, we really think that for as good as WaW gameplay was, AWD is many times better (more options, more features, more possible and varied strategies, more realism).
All understanding comes after the fact.
-- Soren Kierkegaard
mikwarleo
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2006 3:50 am

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by mikwarleo »

I hope you're right and will enjoy playing such a game. :)
CTB123
Posts: 74
Joined: Mon May 27, 2002 5:43 pm
Location: Iowa, USA

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by CTB123 »

I have no problem with the animations being taken out, especially with limited development resources available.  I usually have them off anyway as they strike me as a little hokey.

I am very happy to see unit icons are being updated to reflect tech changes through the war.  That is a a very welcome FUNCTIONAL upgrade.

Tony
User avatar
sveint
Posts: 3773
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2001 10:00 am
Location: Glorious Europe

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by sveint »

Would it be possible for modders to add animations?
User avatar
Joel Billings
Posts: 33034
Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2000 8:00 am
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Contact:

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Joel Billings »

Unfortunately no as the entire option no longer exists in the game. With the new suppression rules, there is more to combat now that the animations would not show. I'm not sure what would happen if the old code was hooked up and allowed to try to run at this point.
All understanding comes after the fact.
-- Soren Kierkegaard
Forwarn45
Posts: 718
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2005 1:53 am

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Forwarn45 »

Given the responses here, it might be worth investigating adding back the old animation code as an optional feature with the default set for "off." You might avoid the criticism of "cheesy animation" if this isn't a standard "feature" a reviewer would use, while still appeasing those who like to have the animation.

But I'll buy the game in either case. [;)]
Syagrius
Posts: 165
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 5:39 pm

RE: Please don't yell at me for asking this!

Post by Syagrius »

Yeah, good idea. Options are always the best solution.
Vive l'Empereur!!
Post Reply

Return to “Gary Grigsby's World at War: A World Divided”