Information about new patch

[Matto]

I found this information on the MatrixGames forum ... like celebration your cooperation with Matrix and Slitherine ...

Please give as some information about new incoming (sure quickly incoming) patch ... thanks

[vaalen]

Thank you for alerting us to this wonderful news, Matto. I read the announcement at Matrix games, and it made my day. PON and ROP have been given up by Paradox, and they are back in the control of Ageod, and our very own PhilThib announced that there would be new patches for both titles. I am so happy about this.

PON is already a magnificent game, but it could use some love, and now it will get it!

My deep gratitude to the Phils, Ageod, Matrix, and Slitherine, for rescuing these games!

[BandC]

Totally agree with vaalen. Great news!

[Pocus]

I don't want to be a let-down, but we still won't be able to make major changes to PON for the time being. Just don't get the idea PON back to the stable means we will work weeks on it, in the midst of ACW2 development.

More realistically, it means that now there is no legal issue to publish patchs for PON (before, there was), and in the foreseeable future, there is no roadblock to patch PON regularly, with perhaps a major effort once ACW2 is released. Before, it would not have been feasible to do that.

[Matto]

Hmm, it sounds not so good, but is logical ...

[Prussian Konig]

I can wait until AACW2 is released Then you can work like a slave and get out a large patch of fixes for PON

[Moriety]

So,

How will you change AACW Ageod? My only two gripes with the original was:
1) Maintaining control of the Southern states
2) Playing as the Union gave a very short game

Creating a game that really represented the huge struggle they had in the first two years without the very limited incursions the South did (and annoying the Union players in the process) would be good. A balanced game that stopped the Union trashing the South in a year.
I loved the way you could build up your forces, but I'd won before I really begun.

Remove the limit on the types of troops you could order, it allows freedom of choice: you live and learn but have fun if you get it wrong (for an a-historical game). Change the costs of units if you think a choice (like Sharp shooters) will be more popular).
Allow greater railway building, it gives freedom of choice, again. (freedom of choice is always good, unnecessary restrictions are not)
More economic factors as well, as well as the actual European non-intervention. The French and British governments played an important role. British ship building?

I played a ACW game ages ago, back to the early '90's I think, it had two great features: Hospitals and recruitment centres, both were seriously important and effected the game, but again, playing as the Union I was able to trash the South repeatedly. The next ACW game needs to get the balance right, whilst giving the player freedom of choice! Let us make our own mistakes.

[Pocus]

You like freeform formats it seems, this is more the Paradox philosophy. You have more choices indeed, but in the end most players min-max things in an almost exploitive way. Without constraints, you'll not use more than 25% of the features of the game and only use the ones who are the most efficient, from a pure game perspective, disregarding history here. For example, are you pleading that the South should be able to industrialize rapidly and then launch a fleet of 100 Steam ironcladed frigates, and then make a major invasion around Boston?

[Moriety]

from a pure game perspective, disregarding history here. For example, are you pleading that the South should be able to industrialize rapidly and then launch a fleet of 100 Steam ironcladed frigates, and then make a major invasion around Boston?

Not at all.
The economy will limit the amount of things you can buy, I just like to choose what I spend the money on.
The South needs manpower far more than it needs warships. Manpower and the raider and blockade runner principal is well represented and realistic in AACW. I was thinking more on the lines of equipment and unit types!
(In past games I often found I'd used up the allowable limit of a unit type leaving some of my forces out of balance.)

[Moriety]

Pocus,


My feelings are this:
The best solution is a free form game and a historical game, if your money will stretch to both options it would be fantastic.
You have come closest to the definitive technical version of this war, but none have ever produced a technical and emotional version.
You speak to Yanks today and they still get heated about it. Incredible to us lot in Europe. We view it without emotion, they don't.
Tell them that the UK with a population of 40m lost 60,000 dead or injured in one single day in The Somme during WWI it means nothing, mention this second revolution they had and they go nuts.......