Matrix Games World in Flames: 7 Moments of Wow!

[RockKahn]

Maybe you could just consider learning the NATO symbols as a part of learning the game.

Everyone that knows the NATO symbols now, had to learn them sometime. If you're a wargamer, learning them is something you will probably find useful in future games you may want.

From what I've read, there are a lot of rules to wrap your head around to play this game, so learning the NATO symbols will probably be the easy part. Just print out page 213 shown above and lay it by your computer as a reference. I think we're all going to be looking through the rule book quite often for a lot of stuff.

[borsook79]

ORIGINAL: RockKahn

Maybe you could just consider learning the NATO symbols as a part of learning the game.

Everyone that knows the NATO symbols now, had to learn them sometime. If you're a wargamer, learning them is something you will probably find useful in future games you may want.

From what I've read, there are a lot of rules to wrap your head around to play this game, so learning the NATO symbols will probably be the easy part. Just print out page 213 shown above and lay it by your computer as a reference. I think we're all going to be looking through the rule book quite often for a lot of stuff.

Sure, I could. And I do know some of them, it's just that they do not incite my imagination and hence I prefer game that allow for other options... Anyway, I'm sorry everyone, but let's not make such a big problem out of it, especially since there is light in the tunnel - War in the East had only Nato, but there is a high quality mod made by somebody which provides icons

[composer99]

We must be about due for another moment of Wow! soon. [:)]

[bo]

2

[bo]

ORIGINAL: bo

Hi Boorsok

These are the icons Steve wanted to use like the Hummel representing a German artillery
unit and the Stug 111 you see was to be the 24th Panzer unit, but when he started doing the map to put them on he had to use a half of an ace to make the map to fit them on and thats not counting the Russian map yet, so in his ifinite wisdom he went and used those stupid nato icons Ugh! [;)] Will programers ever learn? [>:]

Bo

Will someone explain to me where the picture to this post went, if it was edited I would like to know why and by who, Steve said he didnt do it. And I would like to know the reason why.

Bo

[borsook79]

ORIGINAL: bo

Hi Boorsok

These are the icons Steve wanted to use like the Hummel representing a German artillery
unit and the Stug 111 you see was to be the 24th Panzer unit, but when he started doing the map to put them on he had to use a half of an ace to make the map to fit them on and thats not counting the Russian map yet

Oh, those icons look great, nothing too fancy but very informative!

[Philkian]

Learning to Play Tools



Because the game is massive, it can intimidate a new player. That’s especially true for someone who has never played the board game World in Flames. Therefore, the second moment of Wow is when you examine the tools MWIF provides to help a new player learn how to play.
To start, there are two types of tutorials


The first 10 are picture and text tutorials. They contain 125 pages of screenshots with accompanying text


about game basics: terrain types, unit types, countries, sequence of play, supply, zones of controls, and how to start a new game.

A second 10 tutorials are interactive



Each of them loads a game-in-progress and provides instructions for mouse and keyboard actions that let a player go through the elements of game play. For instance, there are instructions for moving units and engaging in land, air, and naval combat. Separate interactive tutorials help a player learn how to configure the map and forms to make best use of his monitor(s), place units on the map at the start of a new game, build new units, and engage in politics (e.g., declaring war, creating trade agreements). Each set of mouse/keyboard instructions has accompanying commentary which explains how and why the program responds to the given mouse and keyboard actions



But for players who would rather learn by watching and listening, there are 12 training videos covering the same material as the tutorials

The training videos take a player from the most fundamental elements of game play up through the most complex, such as air-to-air combat

and production planning decisions.

Another major feature that lets a new player ease into learning the game are the 80 optional rules.



Starting with the Novice Default Set of optional rules,



a player can learn game basics. After he has acquired mastery of the requisite tactics and strategies to play well at that level, he progresses to the Standard and Advanced sets of optional rules. Eventually a player selects his favorite optional rules and saves them as his personal set.

To help new players learn how to play well, there is a special section in the Players Manual that provides advice on Important Decisions. The material in that section covers: action choice, committing air units,



deploying naval units, using HQs and armor, air combat, naval combat, land combat, reorganization of disorganized units, production,



and US Entry.

The last details the advantages and disadvantages of decisions taken by players on both sides that affect when and if the United States enters the war. The Important Decisions section of the Players Manual synthesizes the expertise of a dozen experienced players of World in Flames.

[composer99]

I would have to say, MWiF stands out in terms of the effort made to bring players up the learning curve as gently as possible.

[texashopkins]

Two problems

1. You dont say what the tutorials use as options. After going through them and starting a game I found it to be very different than described. I am assuming because I chose the most basic level of options while learning.

2. Without even a rudimentary AI its very difficult to get feedback on how things work. I would love to be able to watch even a poor AI go through the paces.

tom

[bo]

ORIGINAL: texashopkins

Two problems

1. You dont say what the tutorials use as options. After going through them and starting a game I found it to be very different than described. I am assuming because I chose the most basic level of options while learning.

2. Without even a rudimentary AI its very difficult to get feedback on how things work. I would love to be able to watch even a poor AI go through the paces.

tom

Tex you should play me then, I am worse than a poor AI [:D]

Bo

[bo]

My dear Borsook. Here are other icons Steve was going to use until he found out that these are WW1 tanks.[&:]
Have a good day.

Bo

[baloo7777]

My mouth is watering (drool,drool)[:)] I will be a complete newbie, though from the tutorials printed here, it looks like you did a fantastic job of helping newbs (like me) learn the way the game works! I am hoping that using online play will be easily understood, and that there will be a way to identify an opponents experience/skill level.

[gwgardner]

Very impressive documentation and tutorials. Sets a new standard.

If WITE was priced at $89, this monster has to be more than that.

[Gooseberry]

Can't wait for this release.

A group of friends and I haven't played WiF for a long time. But we have been monitoring these forums and eagerly waiting for MWiF to be developed and released so we can start over.

This computerised version will make it a lot easier (without the board space, travel and time commitments)

Each one of us will be making a purchase and roaring to go!

[Philkian]

Maps, Units, and Player Interface


The third thing you will notice about MWIF is the maps, unit depictions, and player interface. Indeed, it is difficult to not notice the map, which is 360 hexes across and 195 hexes north to south


Only the polar icecaps are omitted from this world view. Of the 70,200 hexes, 5000+ contain hand drawn coastlines, with the scale of 136 pixels across (by 152 pixels high) representing ~90 kilometers each. Hex terrain and hexside terrain are similar to those in most wargames, but the inclusion of 250+ countries is unusual. Besides the major powers, there are aligned and neutral minor countries plus various ‘territories’ spanning the globe. As the war progresses from 1939 to the end, more and more neutral countries become aligned to one side or the other, bringing their units and resources into the war


Typical for a computer war game, MWIF has both global and detailed map views. But in MWIF there are 2 levels of zoom for the global map and 8 levels of zoom for the detailed map. The zoomed out version of the global map displays the entire map within the space available on a small monitor. It can show different views of the globe: terrain, weather, hex control, combat units, and convoy pipelines. The zoomed in version of the global map takes up more screen real estate, but provides more detail. In particular, it shows individual resources (oil and non-oil), factories, and the convoy pipelines that transport resources to factories


The detailed map’s levels of zoom range from one (17 by 19 pixels per hex) up to eight (136 by 152 pixels per hex). Most of the time the game is played at zoom levels 4 to 6. But there are times when zooming out to levels 1 or 2 to gain a wider perspective on the frontlines is useful. Likewise, zooming in to level 7 or 8 can be a great help when considering tactics for attacks on a densely packed frontline


Complementing the detailed map’s zoom levels are two levels of resolution for unit depictions. High resolution shows the unit’s name and bitmapped images for air and naval units. There are 1345 unique air unit bitmaps and 834 unique naval unit bitmaps. When you are using the detailed map’s lower levels of zoom, medium resolution for the units is better. It replaces the individual bitmaps with a generic bitmap for each unit type, leaving room for a larger font for the numbers. That lets you survey a large area of the engaged forces at zoom level 3 while easily reading the combat and movement factors of individual units


MWIF also has a flyout feature which can be toggled on and off


When activated, moving the cursor over a hex brings up the flyout form, which shows up to 9 units in the underlying hex at zoom level 6. Stacking land units is possible up to 3 in a hex and stacking air units is possible up to 4 in a hex. The size of the flyout form is dynamic, so, for example, if there are 4 units in a hex, a grid 2 by 2 containing the individual units is shown. With the detailed map at zoom level 3, you can use the cursor to examine the hexes in a congested frontline, moving the cursor along the frontline to see the units in each hex at high resolution and zoom level 6 in the flyout form.

The screen layouts and map views features are unique to MWIF. The size of the game necessitated adding these tools for displaying information on the screen. To tailor the game for the monitor(s) that each player has available, the screen layout tool was created. This lets you position the main form, the detailed map, the global map, and many other forms anywhere on the screens you have available


Players who have a dual monitor system typically put the global map on their largest monitor and most of the other forms on the second monitor. What goes where is up to the player. The program can save multiple screen layouts and bring up your preferred default whenever you start a game. If you are lucky enough to have 3 monitors, you could put separate detailed maps on two of the monitors, showing, say, China on one and France on the other. MWIF enables you to have as many detailed maps as you like, which comes in handy at times when examining a convoy pipeline stretching from Australia to the United Kingdom.

Undoubtedly the Map Views List is the most valuable new tool. Simply put, it lets you save the location and settings for the detailed map with a label. For instance, the Commonwealth player might have dozens of saved map views: Great Britain, the Lowlands, Gibraltar, Egypt/Libya, Burma, Singapore, North Atlantic, Bay of Biscay, Bay of Bengal, and so on


The list of map views is different for each major power


You can create as many as you want and modify them whenever you like. Then, by simply clicking on a label in the map views list form, the detailed map displays different battlefields around the world. Of course you can still scroll the maps using all the common tools for doing that in Windows. But map views make playing the game more pleasurable. A single mouse click gets you to where you want to go, and shows you exactly the part of the map you want to see.

The printed MWIF world map can be purchased separately. It consists of 24 map segments (6 east to west by 4 north to south), each of which is 42" by 27"


The screenshots for the printed map were taken of the MWIF detailed map at zoom level 8, the maximum. On the MWIF printed map the hexagon sizes are the same as those in the WIF board game maps, which makes them large enough to hold the WIF board game counters. Hence, you can play WIF over the board using a printed version of the MWIF world map.

[shaddock]

I don't suppose there is a price on the printed maps yet?

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: shaddock

I don't suppose there is a price on the printed maps yet?

There is, but I am not at liberty to say.[:(]

Philkian will post the pricing sometime 'soon'.

[shaddock]

That's quite alright. The fact that there will be one available is enough for me

[DQ2004]

Just a comment/feedback on the last map, not in relation to the printed maps (don't think I'll be getting those, I have enough trouble finding space to play the original game never mind it all on the European map scale!). I feel that the grey showing Axis (or enemy) control for helping to determine convoy arrangement to be a little light. I know I could darken that by changing my monitor contrast settings, but I would prefer not to have to do that. It just doesn't stand out that much, IMHO.

Otherwise the maps and the screenshots - definitely WOW!! ...this little black duck can't wait for November 7th!

Regards,
Toby

[shaddock]

Question about the printed maps. When I buy them, would I be allowed to have them copied, enlarged, and/or reduced?