Children need not apply

[m10bob]

I dunno...maybe 2 years ago, Don and I exchanged a few private e-mails regarding the OOB's of the game..I mentioned having this huge, really thick copy of the U.S.Army OOB for WW2..He told me to hang onto it, as it was rare, and apparently expensive. (I had acquired it on a bargain table years ago.)
I was asked for some of the info in it, engineer units IIRC..At the time, I was going thru a major upheaval in my life, very stressing for my corner of the world, and I did not realize Don was putting something together on the magnitude of AE..
I showed him I was too busy for what he asked.

I missed the boat. My bad..

About a year ago, I finished my personal testings and other contributions to RHS and finally had time to catch up on the rest of the threads.
Alas, I learned of the AE project.

For nearly a year, most of us have been reading and anticipating the release of AE like a kid awaiting sale day at Toys 'R Us..
For some...the wait seems to have been too much a burden, and while this IS "only a game", it has recently devolved into some innuendos of project incompetence, and an apparent demand for its' release was made by the same person.
He tried to justify his argument, plaints, and demand in that pics of the box the program will be in has been on public display for months.
He then made it clear that he had completely misunderstood the reasons for the beta testers AAR's.

The beta team and management understand the players desires to see AE released, but in trying to keep us "in the loop", they very considerately posted the AAR's and other game observations, pics, maps, etc, allowing we gamers some insight into the project, and possibly helping to blunt the learning curve a bit.
I feel those postings will succeed with most, but that one recent posting, followed by his "justification statements" showed he had reached his personal limit, and he has apparently chosen to "take his ball and go home".
Some of us will miss him, he had much to contribute, but not this time.

I post this apology (of sorts), to the AE team, and management, and ask they not mis-interpret the motives of the rest of us, if we show an over-eagerness for the release of the product.

Thank you for giving freely of your own personal and unpaid time, for both the AE project, and your other contributions to this forum.

[bradfordkay]

Not wanting to pick on anyone.... I just wanted to reiterate my thanks to everyone involved in this project.

[Yamato hugger]

ORIGINAL: m10bob

The beta team and management understand the players desires to see AE released, but in trying to keep us "in the loop", they very considerately posted the AAR's and other game observations, pics, maps, etc, allowing we gamers some insight into the project, and possibly helping to blunt the learning curve a bit.

Thats exactly the purpose. So when you get into it and see it for yourself you wont have to ask so many "how do I" questions. If this thing ever does actually get released (its all based on Termmies whim, so it may very well be never [:D]) Im looking forward to playing more than just Dec 1941 and dont want to be answering a ton of questions. See? I have ulterior motives [;)]

And - thank you.

[Terminus]

What are you apologizing for, Bob? You haven't done anything wrong, and DaveB's behaviour isn't going to make the AE team work any slower...

[CV Zuikaku]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

What are you apologizing for, Bob? You haven't done anything wrong, and DaveB's behaviour isn't going to make the AE team work any slower...

You aren't going to leave us now, won't you?! mybe we have crossed the line, but... I'm sure that there was nothing personal in any of the arguments... and we have seen a hundreds of them on this forum...

[Terminus]

Huh?

[Graycompany]

They are trying a different tactic, they think if they get you distracted, you will slip up an announce the release date... (Loud Noise).... whats that? ...... there coming.......

[Nomad]

How can there be a release date for something that doesn't exist? As everyone in the know knows, there is no AE - it is all a big sham. [:D]

I don't think the people working on AE are going to let a few people making bad comments affect their work. It is unfortunate that the AI had to be redone and the project delayed. When it is ready it will be ready and many of will enjoy and only occasionally think to thank all of those who spent many, many hours testing and fixing the final product.

So, to all who are working on AE, one thank you in advance and can't some of you take 4 month vacations from your day job so you can work full time( 80 hours/week ) and get it done? [8D]

[Ron Saueracker]

In the immortal words of my favourite Jamaican Roti house dude....

"When it's done, it's done!"[:)]

[rhohltjr]

ORIGINAL: Nomad
... It is unfortunate that the AI had to be redone and the project delayed.

Stock Witp AI s***s.
Rock on Devs and Testers.

[Alikchi2]

I'd rather play a finished game. Have any of you guys tried to drive a car with missing parts recently? You don't tend to get very far.

I like waiting. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, you know. [;)]

[jwilkerson]

ORIGINAL: Ron Saueracker

In the immortal words of my favourite Jamaican Roti house dude....

"When it's done, it's done!"[:)]

But of course, it will never be DONE!
[:D]

[witpqs]

But of course, it will never be DONE!

Listen Joe, after AE is released: Take a week off. Seriously. [;)]

Then after all the patches, TV interviews, book promotions, movie deals, etc. take another week off before starting WITP-2. [:D]

[CV Zuikaku]

And what coul'd WITP2 bring us? If AE is that good as it seems... WITP2 coul'd probably give us a few more ships, a few more what-if airplanes... maybe ship crews... and that is it... 3D globe? Don't miss it. better looking graphics? Don't need it. 3D battles? That woul'd mean that a playing a full war campaign coul'd last for 10 years... I think the AE is as good as we coul'd ever get! [8D]

[pad152]

ORIGINAL: jwilkerson

ORIGINAL: Ron Saueracker

In the immortal words of my favourite Jamaican Roti house dude....

"When it's done, it's done!"[:)]

But of course, it will never be DONE!
[:D]

Just wait till players get a hold of it, then the work really begins![;)]

[vettim89]

ORIGINAL: CV Zuikaku

And what coul'd WITP2 bring us? If AE is that good as it seems... WITP2 coul'd probably give us a few more ships, a few more what-if airplanes... maybe ship crews... and that is it... 3D globe? Don't miss it. better looking graphics? Don't need it. 3D battles? That woul'd mean that a playing a full war campaign coul'd last for 10 years... I think the AE is as good as we coul'd ever get! [8D]

This is a joke. I don't mean this in any serious way, but since you asked:

How About:

* Non-generic aircraft loadouts for non-naval attacks (Napalm for CAS, parafrags for AB attack, Daisy Cutters, etc.)
* A complete new ASW system based on detection abilities of various sonars, better Mousetrap/Hedgehog use, etc
* Yes a 3-D map. WiTP the original is using nearly ten year old graphic engines. A lot has changed
* Yes better graphics and animations for surface and air combat (see above)
* Better logistics. Right now supply can be food, medicine, clothing, bombs, bullets, avgas, etc.
* Better combat systems. AE's focus has been on making the existing engine work better not replacing it with a better one

I am as grateful as everyone for the AE teams work. I am also grateful to Matrix games for their commitment to the project. Most software companies focus any patching solely on run time issues not actual content. Kudo's to Matrix for being so responsive

[Alikchi2]

* Non-generic aircraft loadouts for non-naval attacks (Napalm for CAS, parafrags for AB attack, Daisy Cutters, etc.)
* A complete new ASW system based on detection abilities of various sonars, better Mousetrap/Hedgehog use, etc
* Yes a 3-D map. WiTP the original is using nearly ten year old graphic engines. A lot has changed
* Yes better graphics and animations for surface and air combat (see above)
* Better logistics. Right now supply can be food, medicine, clothing, bombs, bullets, avgas, etc.
* Better combat systems. AE's focus has been on making the existing engine work better not replacing it with a better one

While we're playing WitP II pipe dreams:

Better weather modeling. At the very least include December 44 Japanese earthquakes and monsoon season in burma
Continually updated TROMs for all units
Better shipbuilding control for both Japan and the US (including the ability to choose between different contemplated variants of a class, cancel and prioritize vessels - I want my Montanas, dammit)

And yes, I know none of this can be done with AE. But my God, what a great game we'll have in 2013.

[witpqs]

Hey there is lots of stuff that didn't make the cut for AE and won't even make the cut for a patch. In addition there were things that it was found couldn't be done for AE because too much re-write is required. A simple example is the user interface and taking advantage of modern GUI stuff (I just ate a brownie - GUI stuff is good!).

You'll see lots of stuff discussed in the forums in one way or another as being "-2" material. Will there ever be a -2? Who knows. It's fun to dream. Frankly too, the more cohesive is this community, the better the chances.

[jwilkerson]

ORIGINAL: witpqs
Hey there is lots of stuff that didn't make the cut for AE and won't even make the cut for a patch.

At least 10s of 1000s of things did not make the cut ... maybe a 1000 or so did.

It is far easier to think of ideas than to implement them.
[:D]

[TMFoss]

There are lots of things that could be done, and it would be wonderful if at some point in the future they are done. However, there is a practical side (economics) to how far this type of gaming will go in the future. The clientele for this type of game is rather small, and should I dare say, aging. The younger generation did not play map based strategy games growing up, and even traditional board games they may have played have been given gizmos or even computerized. Many individuals of this video game generation want to play first person shooter games or top down view real time format games (awkward terminology-sorry). Map based Igougo games do not seem to be of much interest to them. I know there are some young players- so don't shoot, but unless new blood is brought in to this area- both as players and especially as designers- then the days of these types of games are limited. However, I fully intend to enjoy whatever the AE team releases in the near future and in the years to come, and am thankful for what they have already done. As glorious as the old games were, they were not practical. So, thank you for what you have done.