Murat
Posts: 803
Joined: 9/17/2003
From: South Carolina
Status: offline
|
ask what can you do for Marshall! OK the original was way better but still...here are some things that I, as a casual observer and a complete simpleton in the the programming world (I can make this ship here -<== - - - Land on this moon here ( using BASIC oooooo  ), think may help Marshall in making some changes:
1) A COMPLETE NEWBIE TO EIA as in you have never seen a map or touched a counter or even had someone try to teach it to you using napkins, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard packets, salt, pepper and Happy Meal toys at the local McD's NEEDS TO look at the manual and make a list of questions on the confusing parts. Original EIA rules are more complicated than several laws and when I first started playing I spent several nights reading them over to get to know them better and even then it still did not prevent going back to them during the game so look over the EIANW rules and say what needs more explaining. ALSO try to do a Quick Start Guide, what do YOU feel are the minimum things you need to know to dive right in. That way people who want to learn by making mistakes can do so and the people who want to know every little detail first can do so too.
2) MARSHALL (hehehe, sorry just the thought of me telling Marshall what he has to work on again I am sure made him cringe after my years of 'hurry up hurry up hurry up'  ), WHEN HE IS READY FOR IT, should set up an AI recommendation thread for each nation, maybe with a sticky, so that everyone can clutter it with a ton of suggestions that he will then have to sort through and decide what can be programmed in and what makes the most sense and balance those and make changes that will be universally commented on as 'adequate, but not what I would have done being the uber lord of EiA that I am' )
3) EVERYONE GRIPING ABOUT THE AI should back off. We have like 20 something threads about how bad the AI is and have been told on numerous occassions that it will be looked at so calm down. Be part of the solution not the problem. Keep playing the AI and running it over. Try to learn all its errors. Make notes of what it does wrong. Get ready to provide some constructive input when Marshall is ready for it. Make this a better game. People are die hard fans of it for a reason and there is no reason that the community cannot be a great aid (greater aid? I think we have helped some already) in making improvements.
4) EVERYONE IN THE TCP/IP DEBATE needs to change their discussions towards, 'how can the game be played faster?'. I am in 5 PBEM games and a crippled sloth could travel the world faster than the moves do in some of them.  If you can program go to 5, if you cannot, then just a quick message saying 'has anyone thought about doing X' will suffice and believe me, plenty of people here have thought about TCP/IP which also has 20 something threads.
5) PROGRAMMERS (not Marshall), nothing personal but it is not your game, you did not program it and you are wasting your time saying 'I would have done it better', even if you only say it to yourself. Unlike many here you have the specific knowledge that will help Marshall. Look at what people want and again, be part of the solution. Do not just say, programming that would be cake, form up a plan for how that could be done and maybe just shoot Marshall a PM saying 'Hey I have a few ideas on how to get TCP/IP in really easy if you want them. If he doesn't, don't take it personally and flame him or keep sending him PMs every day saying 'why haven't you begged me for my infinite wisdom' because he is busy getting that from my brilliant and insightful posts
6) VETERANS need to keep playing. We are the fans, we are the ones that love this game, we are it's zealots and evangelists  so we need to help bring out in others the obsession that the board game brought out in us. This is not done by flaming noobs or calling their ideas or comments on game features moronic or retarded despite the fact that manual clearly spells out the answer on page 462 under section 18.17.2.1.5.2.4.4.1. If anyone is going to find a bug it is us. We know what is supposed to happen and how it is supposed to happen. We are used to reading the Code of Napoleon, EIA version and we are the ones that can look at the manual and spot deviations. Even I, as virtually flawless as I am  have made an error by making assumptions about something in the manual and posted it as a bug  . Just keep playing and noting the bugs BUT take the time to make sure someone else is not already discussing the same bug in another thread, noobs to the forums can get away with this some, we should not.
7)  FOCUS ON THE CORE of the game. For now I would write down everything you think can be an improvement but only post on things that affect playability. Things like launching the game, manual confusion, crash errors. While several of us here may be concerned about Napoleon's picture having him in the wrong hat (that's just unacceptable ) many others pull this number the minute we start talking  . So try to make the game PLAYABLE first. Once it can be played, move on to how it can be played better (TCP/IP, AI). Then start the nitpicking cosmetic stuff (fix Napoleon's hat!). If you are ambitious, feel free to post a MOD for the cosmetic stuff. A good example of something a programmer type could do (maybe, not sure how hard this is) is to create the 1792 scenario in their spare time. An example of something anyone could do is try to address the manual concerns of the newbies. Marshall can focus on core changes, everyone gets a new scenario on a new game engine without having 1792 taking up Marshall's better used time making the core work.
*) This is the most disgusting smiley on the board, kudos to whomever made it: 
just my $2 ("I want my $2" - name the movie ) because $.02 doesn't buy anything any more. Also Napoleon's hat is fine.
< Message edited by Murat -- 1/5/2008 9:02:06 PM >
|
Printable Version
Ask not what Marshall can do for you, - 
). A good move is like fine wine or art: to be savored & relished, or crafted into a thing of beauty. This doesn't happen much when sitting down at a table cranking out phases.
Does that make me abnormal?
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread