Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Gary Grigsby’s War in the East: The German-Soviet War 1941-1945 is a turn-based World War II strategy game stretching across the entire Eastern Front. Gamers can engage in an epic campaign, including division-sized battles with realistic and historical terrain, weather, orders of battle, logistics and combat results.

The critically and fan-acclaimed Eastern Front mega-game Gary Grigsby’s War in the East just got bigger and better with Gary Grigsby’s War in the East: Don to the Danube! This expansion to the award-winning War in the East comes with a wide array of later war scenarios ranging from short but intense 6 turn bouts like the Battle for Kharkov (1942) to immense 37-turn engagements taking place across multiple nations like Drama on the Danube (Summer 1944 – Spring 1945).

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GamesaurusRex
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Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by GamesaurusRex »

I use Steam. I like Matrix. I like WITE. I think WITE is the best game effort to date on the subject of the Russian Front in WW2. The game interface is one of the better ones I've seen, considering the size and scope of the game. Matrix has been VERY supportive of efforts to refine and improve WITE's code. (This has impressed me and is a selling point.) I'd be happy to post a good review for WITE on Steam...

BUT...

Does the WITE program sold on Steam play nice PBEM with copies of WITE sold directly from Matrix ? CIVIL WAR 2 does not... much to my chagrin. I had to go through a convoluted and cryptic process to get a Steam Key from Slitherine and it STILL DOES NOT WORK. (The Steam Key worked and the Steam Copy was obtained, but even Steam copies on both ends don't work.) Perhaps, if Matrix put some pressure on Slitherine/Ageod to fix their Civil War 2 PBEM and Steam/Matrix playability issues I would be motivated to post a good Steam review for WITE. I don't want to be promoting games on Steam if such issues are not cleared up yet.
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heliodorus04
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by heliodorus04 »

They are both using the same version of the program.
I have already successfully played a PBEM game with my Steam version.
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by GamesaurusRex »

I assure you they are NOT the same version. The Steam code requires an entirely different front end "update" feature. In fact, that is one of the main points of Steam... it acts as an eternally updated "cloud" to maintain your games.

My specific question was with regard to Steam copies playing with Matrix copies. Civil War 2, for example must have matched copies or errors are thrown. Steam will also automatically update games every time you open Steam (unless your restrict it from doing so) and that could throw a wrench in an ongoing game of WITE.

As for the lag issues others have spoken about, I have not experienced that on Steam. It may be specific to their hardware.
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Helpless
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by Helpless »

Does the WITE program sold on Steam play nice PBEM with copies of WITE sold directly from Matrix ?

Yes.
Pavel Zagzin
WITE/WITW/WITE-2 Development
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by GamesaurusRex »

Great. Now if Matrix can just get AGEOD/Slitherine to fix their game that Matrix sold me.
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Freyr Oakenshield
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by Freyr Oakenshield »

Civil War 2, for example must have matched copies


What do you mean by that - that Steam user is not able to play against a non-Steam user?
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by GamesaurusRex »

ORIGINAL: Freyr Oakenshield
Civil War 2, for example must have matched copies


What do you mean by that - that Steam user is not able to play against a non-Steam user?


EXACTLY ! If your opponent has a Steam sourced copy and you have a Matrix sourced copy, you will have to go to the Slitherine website to obtain a Steam Key and then go to Steam, install Steam (if you are not already using Steam), and use the Key to install a Steam copy of the game to use to play it against your Steam sourced opponent. (Or he will have to buy a Matrix copy from Matrix to play against your Matrix copy.)

On a side note, the Slitherine "Universal Voodoo Site" to merge stuff... is anything but clear and intuitive. I managed to stumble through it... but I'm not really clear about the accounts I saw there or who set them up (I assume it was Matrix that did it when I purchased Civil War 2 from Matrix.) I think the data there was carried over from Matrix's files, but I'm not sure about it. Anyway, I managed to get into Slitherine's website to get a Steam Key, but it was not simple.

I'm not really enthusiastic about all these "universal mergers" (I prefer multiple password and ID barriers between all my accounts) and putting everything in one basket (ala Steam) is a bad idea. I had to do it long ago to play games with friends who were already on Steam and, as in this case, to get the Steam key from Slitherine. It's a security nightmare in the making. One thing you should be aware of is the major hacking issues that have plagued Steam lately with accounts being hacked through internally transmitted messages similar to email scams. They have been adding security steps to thwart it, but it still happens. You just have to be wary of messages from ANYBODY, INCLUDING YOUR "FRIENDS", because they may have been hacked and you must remember to avoid even mouseing over any link you see in a message, unless you are expecting to receive the message you see from the person who sent it WHEN YOU BOTH ARE EXPECTING IT.
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by heliodorus04 »

Welcome to the 2015 computer age.
Steam is the reason most PC games cost $20 less X-box/Playstation console games.
I realize change is not for everyone.
Far more people are going to be exposed to WitE via Steam, and that is a good thing for Matrix and 2by3.
I simply acquired my Steam key for the game, installed the Steam version, and now I play exclusively via Steam (so my hours can get logged).
I'm also trying to keep generally abreast of their forums to help new players and people being exposed to the game for the first time.

Voodoo is in the eye of the beholder.
Matrix didn't do this because it was bad for them.
Fall 2021-Playing: Stalingrad'42 (GMT); Advanced Squad Leader,
Reading: Masters of the Air (GREAT BOOK!)
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by loki100 »

ORIGINAL: Freyr Oakenshield
Civil War 2, for example must have matched copies


What do you mean by that - that Steam user is not able to play against a non-Steam user?

he doesn't have a clue what he is talking about, I'm afraid a common trait of his posts.

Since he is setting up ACW PBEM wrong, he's decided its something to do with steam-non-steam, which it really isn't. All he has to do is to follow the instructions provided rather than do what he thinks should be done.
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by GamesaurusRex »

ORIGINAL: loki100

ORIGINAL: Freyr Oakenshield
Civil War 2, for example must have matched copies


What do you mean by that - that Steam user is not able to play against a non-Steam user?

he doesn't have a clue what he is talking about, I'm afraid a common trait of his posts.

Since he is setting up ACW PBEM wrong, he's decided its something to do with steam-non-steam, which it really isn't. All he has to do is to follow the instructions provided rather than do what he thinks should be done.

Without insulting you, I'll just say that I'm not the only one that can't get it to work. So the problem is not unique to me. (Ask Wheat for example.)
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by VPaulus »

There's no difference between Steam versions and non-Steam versions.
To play PBEM/Multiplayer you only need to be sure that the game you are running is the same number version.
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by GamesaurusRex »

ORIGINAL: VPaulus

There's no difference between Steam versions and non-Steam versions.
To play PBEM/Multiplayer you only need to be sure that the game you are running is the same number version.
Then why does the Civil War 2 game throw errors and crash when you attempt to play PBEM between opponents who use one copy from Matrix download and one copy from Steam download ? (Both using 1.06.)

I won't detail the problem here as it is off topic for this forum and I have already detailed the issue for Joseph M on the CW2 forum.
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by VPaulus »

ORIGINAL: GamesaurusRex
ORIGINAL: VPaulus

There's no difference between Steam versions and non-Steam versions.
To play PBEM/Multiplayer you only need to be sure that the game you are running is the same number version.
Then why does the Civil War 2 game throw errors and crash when you attempt to play PBEM between opponents who use one copy from Matrix download and one copy from Steam download ? (Both using 1.06.)

I won't detail the problem here as it is off topic for this forum are and I have already detailed the issue for Joseph M on the CW2 forum.
Probably the issue is not related with being a Steam or a non-Steam version.
Only Pocus (our AGEOD colleague) can tell for sure what might be the cause of the issue you are experiencing.
In the event that your assumption about the CW2 issue is correct, we would need to fix it. [:)]
There should be no difference between Steam and non-Steam versions, otherwise we would be fragmenting the player base.
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by GamesaurusRex »

As a suggestion, you might ask Pocus to look into the way Steam installs the game. It may be that there is a difference where the files are installed that confuses the game if you try to use two different sourced installs. I have the 1.06 CW2 on two separate 64-bit machines running Win7 (one Matrix and one Steam) and the folder trees on the two drives don't look anything alike. In fact, I can't even find where the Steam copy is installed.
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by loki100 »

they are setting up the game wrong. See this post on the AGEOD forums which explains exactly their error and what they need to do to get it sorted out
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by Freyr Oakenshield »

ORIGINAL: GamesaurusRex

...I have the 1.06 CW2 on two separate 64-bit machines running Win7 (one Matrix and one Steam) and the folder trees on the two drives don't look anything alike. In fact, I can't even find where the Steam copy is installed.

Um..., how can you say that the folder trees are different if you "can't even find where the Steam copy is installed"?
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by GamesaurusRex »

ORIGINAL: Freyr Oakenshield
ORIGINAL: GamesaurusRex

...I have the 1.06 CW2 on two separate 64-bit machines running Win7 (one Matrix and one Steam) and the folder trees on the two drives don't look anything alike. In fact, I can't even find where the Steam copy is installed.

Um..., how can you say that the folder trees are different if you "can't even find where the Steam copy is installed"?
There appears to be no local installation of the game files for the Steam version. Maybe it is instanced from the cloud or possibly Steam has somehow encrypted it... I don't know. What I do know is that on the Matrix installed machine there is a "Games" folder and in it is a "CW2" folder with the game files in it. On the Steam install there is no such "Games" folder. I know where the "Save" folder is in both and have not had an issue with where to put the ".hst" and ".ord" files. That is not the problem I was suggesting. I was pointing to the possibility that some other part of the program was having difficulty.
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by Helpless »

Steam places them locally under "\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common"
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by GamesaurusRex »

ORIGINAL: loki100

they are setting up the game wrong. See this post on the AGEOD forums which explains exactly their error and what they need to do to get it sorted out
You are way behind the curve loki100 (you should rename yourself loki50)... that thread IS the one in which my opponent Wheat is discussing our problem and those are the exact methods we have been unable to successfully perform on turn three of the game.

By the way, your snarky, insulting posts have really added nothing to the discussion.
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RE: Reviewing WITE On Steam IF...

Post by GamesaurusRex »

Thanks Joseph M and VPaulus for the help. We seem to have resolved the problems now.
For the benefit of others, those problems were:

1) Anti-virus was preventing access to game files.
Solution: Exempt game files from AV program.

2) MS Outlook email program was randomly substituting a " - " dash for the " ` " tilde in the .ord files when emailed.
Solution: Use ZIP file compression to email files.

3) Game would randomly fail to write the new .hst file.
Solution: This was happening because non ZIPPED .hst file would be corrupted. So use ZIP file compression to email all files.

And now I'm off to the Steam forum to write a glowing review for WITE. [;)]
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