A Little More About TEW, .400 Interviews Adam Ryland Options

[Lightning Flik]

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WARNING - LONG READ
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Taken from .400 Software Studios. I claim no rights to these interviews, but I post them up for the people who do not go to the site, so they know a little more about TEW.

Just so you know, I've combined Part 1 and 2 of this interview.

TC_Dale posted them up on .400's TEW boards.

Thanks Adam for giving us the time to ask you some questions about you,
Extreme Warfare Revenge, and Total Extreme Warfare!

Give us a little about you and your past history?

I'm 23, I live in Birmingham in the UK, have a degree in Computer Science,
and currently I work as a games developer in partnership with .400 Studios.
Before that, I was the chief editor on a couple of large commercial
programming web sites, which was a lot of fun. Games development has been
what I've always wanted to get into, so this is the perfect job for me!

I've been developing the Extreme Warfare series since the early 1990's.
Originally it was a card game, then when I started learning programming at
college I decided to turn it into a computer program. From there it ended up
as something of an obsession, and I've generally had at least one major new
release each year since then.



A lot of people in the Extreme Wrestling community was surprised to see
you take the game to another level. In fact, a lot of confusion is out there
about your "taking the next step". Would you like to clarify the move to a
paid version of your wrestling franchise?

Well, the decision was based on two key factors, one being that I simply
didn't have the time to continue working on the EWR series while it was
freeware, and the other that the chance to work on a game on a professional
basis has been a long-time ambition of mine.

In terms of development time, each version of EWR was generally taking about
six months to complete. So I'd be working eight or nine hours a day in my
day job, then coming home and putting a few hours into coding whenever I
could, then using up some of my weekend as well. So, in short, that would be
six months when I had virtually zero free time - I'd either be working at my
job, or working on EWR. That simply became impossible to continue. So, when
the opportunity to work with .400 Studios came up a few weeks before the
release of EWR 4.0, the decision was a complete no-brainer - as I could get
an income from the game, I'd be able to spend eight hours a day working on
Total Extreme Warfare, and still be able to have free time away from coding.

There is one point I'd like to clarify though, and that is that the freeware
Extreme Warfare series would have stopped after 4.0 anyway. There was simply
no way I could have found the time to do another game. So, those people who
are not willing to pay for TEW aren't really losing anything at all - they
wouldn't have had any more EW games to play anyway. Those who are willing to
pay will be getting an Extreme Warfare game that surpasses anything done
before, a game that I'm working on full time to make sure that it's worth
every cent of the price.



What will be the big difference between Extreme Warfare Revenge series
and the upcoming Total Extreme Warfare?

The all-round quality will just be on a different level entirely. Simply
put, EWR was a hobby game, TEW is professional. It'll be like comparing your
local independent wrestling federation to the WWE - no contest.



How did you get started creating games, and in particular EWR?

At college, we had to learn Turbo Pascal as part of the course; my way of
learning was to create a small game, and every time I'd learn a new
technique, I'd find a way to add it to the game in some way. A simulator is
perfect for that, as there's so many different areas that you can always
find somewhere to add a new technique. So, I took the basic ideas that I'd
come up with in the card game I'd recently made, turned it into a simple
simulator called Extreme Warfare, and built it up from there. That was the
first real program I created, and it just took off from there.



What is there about your work on Total Extreme Warfare that you are most
excited about?

The chance to start from scratch again is actually pretty exciting. I've
learnt a huge amount since EWR 1.0, but I haven't had a chance to add it, as
it would have meant a total redesign of the Extreme Warfare Revenge shell,
which I didn't have time to do. As I'm designing Total Extreme Warfare from
scratch, I can now add everything I've been saving from the very start.



You mentioned that this will be a total rewrite of the series up to now.
Why is it that you decided to go another way with TEW?

As I mentioned above, a big part of it is that I can now add everything I've
been saving since EWR 1.0 as I'll be redesigning from scratch. Also, there
are some features in EWR (in particular the TV networks) that I'm not happy
with at all, but are so tightly bound in the code that it'd be a huge task
to try and alter them. By starting from scratch, I can use my experience to
make them work right. The final point is that while EWR is technically
sound, the scope of the shell isn't huge - there's only so much you can add
to it without rewriting massive sections. As TEW will be a professional game
and will have a massive scope, a rewrite it necessary.



You seem to have an real interest in your fans and their input. How have
they affected your progression for the game, and the future for TEW?

A lot of the features that have been added in each iteration of EWR have
been a direct result of the Suggestions forum on the message boards. The
same will be true of TEW - I visit the forum every day and go through making
notes, and already a lot of the ideas have hugely influenced the game. For
example, there's a terrific thread regarding changing the booking screen to
work in "time slots" rather than segments - that really figured into my
design plans, and is almost certain to feature in TEW.



There are strong feelings for the sport of wrestling on both sides of the
fence, and for a wrestling simulation game. How will you try to bridge the
gap to bring in new fans as well as motivating your established fanbase for
your work?

The existing fans, the ones who have played EWR before, will know what to
expect - extreme attention to detail, customizing ability, ease of use, etc.
It's all the qualities that the EWR games have always had, but taken to a
new level. Plus, they won't have to put up with my crappy layout anymore, as
the .400 team will be having a hand in making the game look just as good as
all the other .400 titles!

For new fans, I think that as long as they have some interest in pro
wrestling, TEW will have something for them. One of my goals with the new
game is to make it a lot easier for people to decide how much they want to
do - so those who just want to buy wrestlers and put on shows will be able
to do that, and those who want to control every aspect of their company will
also be able to do that.



We are really excited to have you here, what brought you to .400, and
to develop Total Extreme Wrestling?

Well, having seen some other .400 titles in action, you have a perfect fit
with the TEW series - you're looking at detailed games, with unbelievable
depth, that really engage the player. I've often had people tell me how
they've lost entire weekends just playing EWR, and I think that's the same
for any of the .400 titles - they're games that you can just dive into and
spend hours with if you want. Those are the sorts of games I love, and I'm
sure that TEW will fit in nicely.



What are some of the things you are looking for with the initial release
of TEW? Is there something that you have wanted to do with the EWR franchise
but couldn't until now?

Well, one of the biggest features that I'm really looking forward to working
on is the "game world". Up until this point, all the EW games have been
North American only - with TEW, my current plan is to also simulate Japan,
the UK, and maybe some other countries too. I know that a lot of EW fans are
really into the wrestling scene in Japan, and I know also that a lot of my
fellow countrymen are going to have a blast controlling the promotions over
here, so I think that's going to be a really popular feature. I'm definitely
excited by it!

In our previous interview you hinted at big changes for Total Extreme?

AJR: There are a few areas that I'll be focusing on. The game world will be much more defined that in previous EW games, with geography playing a big
part. Statistical depth will be another, as not only will the in-game
characters be much richer in terms of information, but there will also be a
strong emphasis on historical data too, which is something that's never
really been done before. The other major area that springs to mind is that
TEW will include a multi-player feature, which should be very cool.



Let's talk about Game World. What are your plans for Total Extreme Warfare's
world that is different than EWR 4.0?

AJR: Well, firstly, the game world is much bigger, as it won't be confined to just North America like previous game. In TEW, the game world will
include Japan, UK, and Australasia, as well as the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Each of these areas will be divided into regions, which will be divided into
cities. The idea is that a promotion will have to build up fan bases in each
city, and gradually expand. In this way, TV shows will be far more important
that in previous EW games, as it will allow you to "hit" multiple cities at
once, due to the increased exposure. It will also mean there will be far
more territorial wars between promotions.



Are you planning on including features that fans have been asking for a long
time? Like, touring another country for a week?

AJR: You will be able to schedule shows anywhere in the world, so if the
user wants to hold a mini-tour of the UK, they can.



Will Dirty Tricks and Press Conferences make a comeback from EWD? What kind
of new feuds, if any, will be included in TEW?

AJR: I'm not sure about Dirty Tricks or Press Conferences yet, they'll be
something that will be looked at much later in the design process. "Feuds"
are being totally revamped in TEW, they are now "Storylines", and will be
far more detailed and flexible than the Feuds section from previous EW
games.



As the move into commercial gaming forces you to use fictional characters,
will we see completely new wrestler personalities or will a tyrant wrestler
by the name of Wipple Heisch become a 1-man glass ceiling?

AJR: I'm not sure about Dirty Tricks or Press Conferences yet, they'll be
something that will be looked at much later in the design process. "Feuds"
are being totally revamped in TEW, they are now "Storylines", and will be
far more detailed and flexible than the Feuds section from previous EW
games.



As the move into commercial gaming forces you to use fictional characters,
will we see completely new wrestler personalities or will a tyrant wrestler
by the name of Wipple Heisch become a 1-man glass ceiling?

AJR: At the moment I am planning on creating a new world of characters from
scratch, and not basing them on real people.



Will "house shows" finally get some respect in the game?

AJR: Yes, house shows will be a far more important part of the game, as they
will be a major factor in maintaining your popularity in cities that you
can't visit very often.



Will the wrestlers get better and worse depending on their stats and the
company staffing they work for? Or will a "Triple H" always have the same
stats no matter how old he is?

AJR: Wrestlers' statistics will change over time, just as they have done in
the past few EWR games. The severity of the changes will be based on
injuries, age, and the matches they are involved in.



Sometimes the game moved slow, and took a while to do things. How will you
speed up TEW with all the new graphics, interface, and photos you are going
to include?

AJR: The design has been improved so that speed won't be an issue in TEW, it
should run at a rapid rate on any decent PC. This is due to a change in the
way the files are handled.



How will I be able to get my "real" wrestlers in the game instead of the
default "fantasy" wrestlers?

AJR: Like every EW game, TEW will feature an editor that will allow you to
customize your data. Also, fan sites like RaveX will also feature stat
updates that will allow you to get "real" data to use in TEW.



What if I get fired in TEW? Will I have to start over again at the
beginning?

AJR: No, if you get fired you will be able to continue with the game, and
hopefully get hired by another promotion.



You also mentioned Statistical Depth as a category you were concentrating
on, could you go into more detail for us?

AJR: If we take the wrestlers as an example, they will be far more detailed
than before. There will be new statistics like Psychology, Basic Wrestling
Ability, and Athleticism, each wrestler will be able to have a his in-ring
style defined (so for example you could make it so that Big Show uses
headbutts, punches and slams, while Misawa uses heavy forearms and stiff
suplexes), and each promotion that he is in will be able to customize him to
a higher degree (for example, in EWR a wrestler had to have the same name
and picture in every promotion he was in, while in TEW you will be able to
have a different name and picture for every promotion). That applies not
just for wrestlers, but for every aspect of the game - there will be far
more depth to everything.



Can I get a history of a wrestler's matches, stats,etc.. over his career or
the last year?

AJR: You'll be able to get a complete history of every match booked by a
human player, and there will be a search facility so you can break it down.
So, you could easily find out every match Chris Benoit has been in since the
game started if you wanted to. You will also be able to do the same with
titles histories and a "user log file" - a complete history of every action
taken by the player.



Will you be able to export the results to a .txt or .html file so folks can
post their results on the boards or user created fansites?

AJR: There will be a HTML Output feature included in the game.



How much more statistical information will be available and/or editable in
TEW?

AJR: Almost everything will be editable. The only major thing that you won't
be able to change are the cities themselves, as they are set internally (to
be clear, you will be able to edit a specific city's statistics, such as its
population, you just won't be able to rename or delete them).



With all the new features, this will take up a lot more information, how
easily accessible with the info be for a Total Extreme Warfare player?

AJR: The game is being designed so that you aren't overwhelmed with
statistics. For example, when you view a wrestler, you'll only immediately
be able to see the "basic" statistics like name, age, brawling, etc. If you
then want to go into more detail and check out his contract specifics, his
injury status, etc, you simply have to click on the appropriate icon down
the side of the screen.



What kind of customizing will there be for TEW? What if I don't want to do
all the management duties? Can I just book matches like EWR?

AJR: I'm currently working with maximum customizability in mind, so that the
user will be able to do as much or as little as they want.



So how will Geography work in TEW and how do you plan to implement it?

AJR: As discussed earlier, the game will revolve around individual cities,
and a promotion's popularity in each one. On top of that will come extra
dimensions - for example, travel. While you may become huge in Mexico,
you're unlikely to tempt even a low-level worker who is based in Toronto
without a lot of money, as the travel is simply too great. It means that
local workers become far more important. There will also be differences in
each area - so while a lucha promotion might do well in Mexico City, it
might not do quite so well if it promotes a show in Tokyo.



Do I have to play in North America?

AJR: No, you can play as a promotion anywhere in the game world. You can
also turn off areas if you wish - so if you wanted to play an entirely
UK-based game, you could remove North America, Japan, and Australasia from
the game entirely.



So when the game starts, can I pick to be WWE or NWATNA or do I have to
start out as a backyard?

AJR: You can play as any promotion, or even start without any employer and
look for jobs later on.



There was an unrealistic scheduling bonus with EWR, a guy could wrestle for
3 organizations in one night, since he had an open contract. How is this
going to change if any?

AJR: It will be based on location. So a worker could work two shows in one
night if they're both in Tokyo, but if he's booked on the same night for a
promotion in Toronto and a promotion in London, he'll pick one or the other,
based on various factors.



Will there be any fed wars in smaller organizations? Or do you have to be a
National or Global Fed to have wars?

AJR: Wars will be based on location, so anyone even down to the smallest
backyard federation can have a war, if someone else is in their territory.



What if the wrestlers I want from out of my area won't come to my
local/area federation? Why do the ones that do cost so much more?

AJR: It's all about money, as in reality. If you're a Mexican promotion and
really want a guy who lives in Toronto, then you'd better be willing to pay
him enough to make it worth his while. He's not going to travel all that way
if you're only paying him $50!!!



In Extreme Warfare Revenge 4, you could advance offer a person, but signing
someone to your federation that had a verbal already was difficult, even if
you wanted to offer a written contract. What, if any, bidding process will
there be for workers, staff, etc?

AJR: It has been totally redone. Each character has internal AI to know how
much he is worth, and his demands will be based on that, taking into account
the travel involved, the contract type, the extra clauses (there are lots of
new contract clauses in TEW!), the company size, etc.



What will happen to previous features, like scenarios and feuds, will they
be changed or evolve into something new?

AJR: Scenarios are currently being designed, and should be a much
easier-to-use feature than previous games. Feuds, as discussed earlier, are
now "storylines", and will be a huge step up compared to EWR's feud section.



How will booking of matches change? Will you be able to address more than
one feud or storyline at a time?

AJR: The booking engine is being redone from scratch, but I haven't finished
the design yet, so I can't really answer anything about it.


Will the chance of having Tournaments be available in Total Extreme Warfare?

AJR: Yes. Up to 32 people.



You mentioned Multiplayer. This is a great addition! How will Multiplayer
work with TEW?

AJR: Multiplayer will be up to 4 players, and will be turn-based. Each
player will take control of one promotion, and it will be the same as
single-player, except that of course some of your opponents will now be much
smarter (well, maybe.). There will be an option of using passwords if you
want to make sure that another player doesn't mess about with your settings,
which will allow people to play across the Net, albeit crudely (player one
completes his turn, then sends the files to player two, who then completes
his turn, etc, etc).



Can you have 2 CPU opponents, and 2 player opponents in MP? Or does it have
to be all player characters?

AJR: It can be any combination you want. Any promotion not taken control of
by a human will automatically be computer-controlled.



Will everyone need a copy of the game to play multiplayer mode?

AJR: If they're playing on the same PC, then no, only one copy would be
needed. But if you're playing by sending the files to each other, then each
player would need a licensed copy of the game.



How will you be able to keep the "cheating" out of MP mode? What if I don't
have a third party program like RaveX or Arsenic's and my friends do?

AJR: There's no real way to block someone using an outside editor, but as
you would all be using the same files, it'd be easy to see. For example, if
Player 1 used an editor to make his roster full of people with 100 brawling,
when he sends the files to Player 2, it would be obvious he had cheated.



What would you rather do? Make TEW or be managed by Alexis Laree?( in fact
this one was asked many times...)

AJR: Alexis *every time* :-)

Discuss.

My thoughts so far: I must say that multiplayer is quite interesting development and I'd know exactly who I'd want my first three opponents to be. *looks directly at Zack Malibu, WrestlingDeacon, and madmatt2002*

More importantly, I find the change from segments to "time slots" might be a better way to go, depending on how that is played out. Being able to create a lucha libre or strong style fed might also be cool too. Also starting up a fed in a different country than the States is a nice thought as I'll be able to build the ultimate Canadian federation now to run rampant over the WWE.

[Mecha Mummy]

Holy fucking fuck, this is going to RULE. THE GAME NEVER ENDS, MWAHAHAHA!

[Guest_wwF1587_*]

well i better enjoy my social life while i still have it before this mother fucker comes out..

[Guest_El Satanico_*]

They may have done the impossible...and turned EWR into a program that may actually be worth $34.99.

I still won't buy it, but it's sounding good.

[Guest_Dave O'Neill, Journalist_*]

Tournament Option?

-Dave prepares to never leave house again

[Lightning Flik]

Still 34.99, but if it does most of what it says there, I'd pay.

I think multiplayer will be a totally interesting concept as you can either have everyone playing in the same area or in different parts of the world.

Also what I find interesting is that you can play with the whole world in mind, or just your little part of it. That will definitely be a unique aspect as you can make the whole point of a multiplayer game as building up your federation to be #1 of the certain area you play in.

[dubq]

I'm itching to see the graphical interface on this sucker and if they're incorporating any other sort of graphics into it instead of just text. The features sound mighty impressive, though. Imagine if they could amalgamate No Mercy 64, Here Comes the Pain PS2 and TEW into one game? Man, I would probably have a heart attack at the sight of it!

[Lightning Flik]

Imagine if they could amalgamate No Mercy 64, Here Comes the Pain PS2 and TEW into one game? Man, I would probably have a heart attack at the sight of it!

For that to happen we'd need someone other than WWE on top of the business. And that isn't happening anytime soon.

[Garth]

Any news on when this bad boys being released?

[Lightning Flik]

Although it says "Coming 2004", Adam was currently shooting for First Quarter of 2004.

[Guest_TheArchiteck_*]

Sounds pretty good.
He got me close to putting up 34.99 for it.
But i'm not sold until I see the interface.

[Lightning Flik]

If we knew what the other interfaces where (on the other games), we could make fair assumption of what we are getting.

Oh, and I must say that I'm almost willing. Almost.

[iggymcfly]

The time thing is the thing in EWR 4.0 that I thought needed to be changed the most. The idea that an authority figure making an announcement and an Iron Man match taking the same amount of time just doesn't work. If you could allot a certain number of minutes to every match, that would make things way better.

[Dr. Tom]

I plan to buy this game, despite my usual policy of not paying for software. The reason is simple: I've enjoyed quite a few of the past EWRs, which Adam worked on for free. Now that he has a chance to make money from the venture, I'd be a vulture not to support him by buying the game.

It surprises me that so few of you seem willing to look at it the same way.

[Guest_Dave O'Neill, Journalist_*]

I agree, plus the tourney option is too good to pass up

[Guest_TheArchiteck_*]

But yeah, have anyone played or seen any of the .400 games?

[dubq]

Imagine if they could amalgamate No Mercy 64, Here Comes the Pain PS2 and TEW into one game? Man, I would probably have a heart attack at the sight of it!

For that to happen we'd need someone other than WWE on top of the business. And that isn't happening anytime soon.

Not necessarily.. I just meant a game.. a console wrestling game with the graphics of HCTP, the engine of No Mercy and the complexity and customizability of TEW. I don't think that WWE has to be overthrown for that reason.. I think we just need Koei to do the job. Hell, those guys put in RIDICULOUS amounts of detail into their Sim games, I'm sure that if they teamed up with another studio to do a wrestling game [regardless of whether it's an official license or not] it would kick ass.

This post has been edited by mach7: Sep 5 2003, 03:10 PM

[King Cucaracha]

Tournament mode...multiplayer...fuck, I'd buy it right now if it was out.

I'm too lazy to check back, so I'll ask...Is that 34.99 dollars? And if so, he'll sell it in England, being English...and that's be about 25 pounds. That's nothing.

[Lightning Flik]

Tournament mode...multiplayer...fuck, I'd buy it right now if it was out.

I'm too lazy to check back, so I'll ask...Is that 34.99 dollars? And if so, he'll sell it in England, being English...and that's be about 25 pounds. That's nothing.

Multiplayer isn't online but you must just pass the files to a friend before he can continue playing.

At least that's what's on the table.

Oh, and Tom, I was only hesistating because I didn't have a job (at the time I made the posts from above). Now that I do have cash flowing freely, I'm willing.

Besides, I want the quad threat of the Fantasy Booking Thread. WrestlingDeacon, Zack Malibu, madmatt2002 and myself (only because I KNOW the game). It would be serious fun.

****UPDATE****

Here is stuff that is confirmed for TEW (from .400's website and forums):

Technical Game Info
=========

This game will cost $35.00/£21-£23. Also, for an extra $10.00/??? in pounds you can have the CD shipped to your home.
The planned release is in the first quarter of 2004.
Adam will now have some help, and he will also be working on TEW full-time.
While real wrestlers won't be in the database recieved with the game, some fansites may include updates
TEW will have a professionlly designed interface, a big upgrade from EWR.
The game will have both music and other audio effects.
Every aspect of the game world will be editable to the user's preferences.

Gameplay Improvements
=====================

Over 2,000 wrestlers will be in the database.
TEW will have new and expanded gameplay, including a comprehensive financial and merchandising model
More angles and matches will be included in TEW
In-depth wrestler and promotion almanacs that will track career history
The computer A.I. will be more advanced. It will be able to book cards, keep track of champions, and even protect their stars from being stolen!
Certain injuries won't prevent wrestlers from performing interviews, some will even allow the wrestler to perform with limited ability, while others stop wrestlers from doing anything.

Stat Changes
============

Mic Skills will now be a stat. Charisma will be for connecting with the crowd in TEW, while Mic Skills will be for the interviews.
Height and weight will be added as stats.

Extras
=========

There will be historical and fantasy scenerios


****UPDATE END****

[Lightning Flik]

Yes. I AM REVIVING THIS TOPIC FOR A PURPOSE~!

From TEW's own forums a moderator named Torri, "apparently, TEW is halfway completed".

Here is some more info for ya as we "Countdown To TEW":

The information i'm about to give you is a complete list of "IN RING STATS" that every wrestler will have. By the way, all of these are 0-100 stats

Brawling
High Flying
Mat Work
Chain Wrestling
Submissions
Power
Athleticism
Stamina
Psychology
Wrestling Basics
Toughness
Stiffness
Selling
Shooting Ability
Charisma
Microphone Skills
Desire
Superstar Looks
Sex Appeal
Menace

Pretty interesting stats, I must say. Desire? Sex Appeal? Wrestling Basics? Toughness? Chain Wrestling? Seems the stats have gotten a rehaul for the better.

OH... And for those wondering about some of the stats, a few words from the man himself.

The shooting stat is 0-100 as it is used to decide the winner in a legit shoot fight, as obviously the result isn't pre-determined.

Mat Work isn't the new name for Technical as such, no - a technical wrestler's key stats would be mat work, chain wrestling, and wrestling basics. Same with Speed, which would now be the equivelant of athleticism and high flying. The reason there is a more diverse selection of statistics is to better simulate workers. With just three stats (brawl \ tech \ speed) like in EWR, you had a lot of workers who were very close. With the stats being broken down more, workers will be more unique and therefore your strategy will have to be different. Although 20+ stats may look overwhelming, it's really not when you're in the game - as they're all on the same screen, it's very easy to "scan" through them to get an overall feel for the worker, and then to highlight key attributes that you are particularly looking for.

Oh, and toughness is a more overall quality - it works with things like working through injuries, etc, as well as in-ring skill.

So we can have LEGIT shoots in the game? Impressive! That will be quite interesting.

But this will definitely make choosing certain wrestlers that much more harder as they will be broken down to into what they are skilled in and are not. Should be quite interesting what the matchups are.

[Guest_TheArchiteck_*]

Thanks for the updates.

Seeing that the game will have such defined stats, this should make things a hell of a lot more interesting!
Having wrestlers actually vary in skills would be pulled off easier.
Sounds good, but I just have to see pictures of other .400 games, just to get an idea.

[Lightning Flik]

Why not just play one to find out?

Here's Tournament Dreams College Basketball: The Demo.

The full game, for three days.

http://www.400softwarestudios.com/redist/tdsetup.exe

[Guest_TheArchiteck_*]

Wow...58MB huh?
I leave that on for an overnight job.

Have you played it?
What is it like??

[Lightning Flik]

Wow...58MB huh?
I leave that on for an overnight job.

Have you played it?
What is it like??

No. I haven't.

For reasons unknown really. I probably should download it since I can. Then I'll get back to everyone on it.

[Lightning Flik]

Ok. Interface isn't bad. Actually quite nice.

The game is pretty well thought out in action and does exactly what it is supposed to.

Lots of options, lots of details to choose from and work with.

Quite interestingly, you can do just about everything, or as little as you want to: as Adam hinted to with TEW.

Overall, I'm quite impressed so far.

[Guest_mike mayhem_*]

I'm maybe thinking of buying when it comes out now, cos it sounds really good.

I like the fact we can have tours & house shows, it'll be fun to do that (IMG:http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

But if I dont buy it I hope it sells well for Adam (IMG:http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

[Lightning Flik]

COUNTDOWN TO TEW #3~!

You EWAchololics better appreciate all the time and devotion I give this.

As you know, usually Torri does the fortnightly Countdown feature, but my favourite stalker is on holiday, so i'm doing this one. In the style of mid-90's WWF though, i'll be billed as Fake Torri.

This Countdown is on MULTIPLAYER(!)

Currently the game supports up to 4 players, in a turn-based environment. To clarify that point, that means that 4 players cannot each be having their turn simultaneously - player 1 takes his turn, then player 2, etc. There are no advantages to what player number you are (i.e. Player 1 will not have "first pick" of all the good wrestlers). Each player takes control of one promotion (or can choose to start without a job) and all the other promotions are controlled by the computer. To prevent cheating, there is a password system in place, so that other players cannot take your turn and mess about with your roster.

EXAMPLE

To give you an idea of how it works, here is a brief description of how you would set-up and run a 2 player game between two people on different computers (please note, each player would need a proper registered copy of the game). Let's call player #1 Vince, and player #2 Steve.

Vince would start a new game, and specify that he wants to start a 2 Player game. Vince would be responsible for setting the difficulty level, and it would be his database that would be used. He would then pick the promotion he wishes to start with, and enters the password he wishes to use. Once he finishes, he clicks OK, and it goes to the screen for Steve to pick his promotion. Vince exits the game, zips up his save game folder (not the entire game, just the save game folder, which is only a few KB in size), and sends it by e-mail to Steve.

Steve receives the files, unzips them to his save game folder, loads TEW, and loads the game. As Vince has already picks his promotion, the game will load on the screen for Steve to pick his promotion. Once Steve has picked his promotion and password, he clicks OK. The game initializes all the data, and then starts the game.

As it is player 1's turn to begin with, Steve exits, zips the save slot, and sends it back to Vince. Vince then loads it up, enters his password, and completes his turn. He then zips it, sends it back to Steve, and Steve can then have his turn. This is the basic process - each player completes his turn, then sends it to the next player, and so forth. Because each turn is password-protected, no player can mess around with another's roster.

Incidentally, using the in-game e-mail system, you can leave messages\taunts for other players. 

Now, this does mean multiplayer games can take a while, as you have to wait for the other players to complete their turns, however that is unavoidable in a turn-based game like TEW. I have run a few test games, and it works best if you're both on-line at the same time, preferably with something like MSN Messenger to aid communication.

END OF EXAMPLE

To answer a few questions that i imagine will come up:

* Yes, you will be able to put other players out of business, by taking over their promotion. If this happens, the other player will not end up working for you, but will be made unemployed.

* Yes, you can make steal workers from other people's promotions. Basically, you can do anything to another human-controlled fed that you can to a normal CPU-controlled fed. The only difference is that the human-controlled fed will likely be a lot smarter than the CPU. Well, depends who you're playing i guess...

* If you are playing with just one player, the password system does not come into play, so no, you don't have to enter it every single day

* At the moment, i am not planning to allow players to be added to existing games. This is because it would be too easy to cheat by adding a player to a CPU fed, firing all the good workers so that the original player can hire them, then quitting.

* There will be the option for players to be removed from a multiplayer game. This is in case a game is going really well and one player decides he cannot continue, so as the remaining players don't have to restart the game.

* If you are playing a multiplayer TEW with other people across the Net, yes, each player will need a registered copy of TEW.

* Currently, there is no way to avoid people cheating by using an Arsenic-style editor. However, as you will be able to see other player's statistics, rosters, etc, it should be pretty obvious if they are cheating, as you will be able to see if a wrestler's spinal injury suddenly disappears, or if their top star suddenly ends up with 100% in every statistic.

OK, that's all for this time. The real Torri will be back for Countdown #4 in two weeks time.

There you go. It's not bad, but I wish more could be done with multiplayer.

Oh well. To whomever gets TEW also, I'm wanting to do a true multiplayer one, btw.

[Guest_TheArchiteck_*]

Sounds like a lot of effort.

I still don't get how the first player doesnt get first grabs at the best players.

[Lightning Flik]

Sounds like a lot of effort.

I still don't get how the first player doesnt get first grabs at the best players.

Ok. It wasn't mentioned here, but Adam commented on that.

He basically explained that in TEW, the wrestlers would weigh out the options and get back to you in a day if he joins you or not.

Hence, it's a level playing field as you need to cater to what is logical to the wrestler and not just be the first one to get the deal.

[Guest_OnlyMe_*]

Scotsman has a preview up

(IMG:http://www.scotsmanality.com/images/articles/20031008000942995_1.jpg)