What is World War One Centennial Edition ?

[Philippe]

I noticed that this game has gone on sale at Gamersgate for $16. I also noticed that Matrix is listing WW I as discontinued. Does that mean that the game has been sold to a different pulbisher (Plug in Digital) and that support for this game has ended ?

Here's the text of the blurb at Gamersgate:

quote

World War 1 Centennial Edition is the latest and improved edition of 2008’s release World War One, the ambitious game covering all of the Great War 1914 to 1918.

New features:

Graphically:
Game has a new look showing the elevations and trees better. * All leaders portraits recreated in colour from historical picture
All units portraits have been redone
Content
New 1917 scenario, all theaters included.
More accurate OOBs
New Intro Video
New Engine Improvements:

Much faster engine (x5), compatible with Windows 8 and Windows 7
Dynamic display of weathers (rain and snow) - Enlarged screen resolution to accommodate latest PC standards
Better handling of sprites and description of moves
More AI improvements making the game much more challenging
All fixes as received from players since 2008, to improve game play and experience, and previous changes since game launch included in both versions
And Always …Key Features

The game is played in alternating phases of giving orders followed by simultaneous execution, with an original three-modes turn-base resolution
A large selection of Scenarios (10) and Campaigns (6)
8 playable major nations, dozens of different troops, planes and ships, hundreds of military, economic, political and technological events, over 200 historical leaders with unique abilities
An original diplomatic system, with your ambassadors to send all over the world to alter the balance of power between the Entente (i.e. Allies) and the Central Powers
Organize armies, manage supply, produce munitions, recruits and new weapons, use sea and rail moves, and put the best leaders in command (if politics allows), take care of your nation’s will to fight!
Break the trench warfare deadlock by pursuing technological research or fighting the economic blockade
Play secret stratagems to influence the course of events with famous characters like Lawrence of Arabia, Mata Hari, Lenin or the Red Baron
Fight for victory: it can be military or political, as national will, population morale and parliament all play a crucial role.
Playable via LAN or over the Internet in multiplayer mode

unquote

I really don't feel like shelling out $16 for a game I already own. What exactly is going on here ?

[ERISS]

" DRM:Steamworks (Requires a third-party download and account)
Note: This product requires a third-party download and account "
Not for me. Steam saves my money.

[wodin]

Also at Steam. DO we owners get a steam key??

[H Gilmer3]

I just saw this on sale at Gamersgate and came immediately to ask what is this? Is it the same as WW1 Gold?

[Greybriar]

I just saw this on sale at Gamersgate and came immediately to ask what is this? Is it the same as WW1 Gold?

World War One Gold Edition is now marked (Old) at GamersGate and is unavailable for purchase. However, there is a box to check "Alert me on release," whatever that means. Its Key Features:

Played in alternating phases of issuing orders followed by simultaneous execution, with an original three-mode turn-base resolution
A large selection of Scenarios (10) and Campaigns (5)
Eight playable major nations; dozens of different troops, planes, and ships; hundreds of military, economic, political, and technological events. Over 200 historical leaders with unique abilities- An original diplomatic system featuring ambassadors to send all over the world to alter the balance of power between the Entente (i.e. Allies) and the Central Powers- Organize armies, manage supply, produce munitions, recruits, and new weapons. Use sea and rail moves, and put the best leaders in command, if politics allow. Sustain your nation’s will to fight!
Break the trench warfare deadlock by pursuing technological research or fighting the economic blockade
Play secret stratagems to influence the course of events with famous characters like Lawrence of Arabia, Mata Hari, Lenin, or the Red Baron
Multiple paths to victory: it can be military or political, as national will, population morale and parliament all play a crucial role
Playable via LAN or over the Internet in multiplayer mode for up to 4 players

Which looks very similar to the And Always …Key Features section of World War One Centennial Edition:

The game is played in alternating phases of giving orders followed by simultaneous execution, with an original three-modes turn-base resolution
A large selection of Scenarios (10) and Campaigns (6)
8 playable major nations, dozens of different troops, planes and ships, hundreds of military, economic, political and technological events, over 200 historical leaders with unique abilities
An original diplomatic system, with your ambassadors to send all over the world to alter the balance of power between the Entente (i.e. Allies) and the Central Powers
Organize armies, manage supply, produce munitions, recruits and new weapons, use sea and rail moves, and put the best leaders in command (if politics allows), take care of your nation’s will to fight!
Break the trench warfare deadlock by pursuing technological research or fighting the economic blockade
Play secret stratagems to influence the course of events with famous characters like Lawrence of Arabia, Mata Hari, Lenin or the Red Baron
Fight for victory: it can be military or political, as national will, population morale and parliament all play a crucial role.
Playable via LAN or over the Internet in multiplayer mode

My guess is World War One Gold Edition was given a few tweaks to turn it into World War One Centennial Edition and make a few bucks for AGEOD due to this being the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I. That's nothing new. PC game makers have been doing things like that forever, so I can't say I blame AGEOD.

[H Gilmer3]

Do you really think it is an Ageod update? I'm not being smart, it just seems weird that they would update it to "Centennial Edition" and not announce it. And if you look at the version on Gamefly it says Digital Froggies in the lower left.

I do agree and it makes sense that it would be called Centennial version on the 100th anniversary year.

[H Gilmer3]

Ok, confirmation that they bought this from "the original developer". So, that means if you want it, you are starting from zero. more than likely.

[fred zeppelin]

Screenshots on Steam show at least one new scenario and different artwork. Looks like a (somewhat) new release. I'm in.

[Thronfolger]

I've read your postings with great interest, as I'm still playing WW1 Gold with great pleasure - apart from the occasional crashes on my W7/64 machine.

Does anyone know, if this game is still supported by Calvinus? Can we expect further patches?

[leaddernoir]

Hopefully someone from Ageod will be able to clarify what this product is. There does not seem to be any forums at Digital Froggies Inc and I am curious as to whether the Centennial edition is an upgrade from the original La Grande Guerre or from the Gold Edition? It is also interesting that it is half the price of the Gold Edition.


Edit: the Steam forums answers pretty much all of the above.

[Greybriar]

....the Steam forums answers pretty much all of the above.

Do you mean this post?

Game Philosophy and Content
Our philosophy is to take what we call "vintage" games, i.e. games that were develop some years ago, and to bring some improvement to their content and designs.

* A first objective is to make sure those games work on recent O/S such as Win7 or Win8, as this was not the case when the original engine was released
* A second objective is to improve the game speed and ease of play
* A third objective is to update the looks for some parts of the game, such as units or maps, as they are those players see the most.
* Last but not least, we'll had some new content validated by the original game developper as much as feasible.

Otherwise, we try to keep the game as close as possible to the very first design (not any subsequent version of variant however).

[leaddernoir]

Thant would the one Greybriar

[Thronfolger]

Do you mean this post?

That sounds very promising - I must admit - I still love & play WW1 Gold

[solops]

So are we going to get a patch from Gold 1.08Q?

[Thronfolger]

So are we going to get a patch from Gold 1.08Q?

I really hope so - maybe Calvinus can tell us more...

[calvinus]

Hi all, WW1 Centennial Edition is a new and separate game. I ceded all rights to another company, nothing related to AgeOD, and with no commitment for me (being out of business from PC games already for some years), except for the required knowledge transfer, of course.

This company worked out a brand new graphic engine supported game, much faster and more stable than WW1G, with new graphics, a much improved map, more animated sprites, etc. etc.

I have no idea if that company is going to deliver any "kit" to upgrade WW1G to WW1CE, and if this can be done...

[Thronfolger]

Thank you very much for ypur kind reply Calvinus. Sorry to hear, that you are no longer responsible for WW1 - I still enjoy playing it. Apart from some crashes of course...

[Thronfolger]

O.k. I can update you on this game now, as I purchased it yesterday

My recommendation is: don't buy it - it's not working. The first impression was very positive - the first turns worked impressively fast, but then the whole thing slowed down to nothing. Freezes, freezes, freezes.

If you already own WW1 Gold - stick to it!

[bob.]

O.k. I can update you on this game now, as I purchased it yesterday

My recommendation is: don't buy it - it's not working. The first impression was very positive - the first turns worked impressively fast, but then the whole thing slowed down to nothing. Freezes, freezes, freezes.

If you already own WW1 Gold - stick to it!

Yep, freezing all the time. Also, a bit annoying: there is no actual Steam integration even though it's Steam-only! The Steam "game" is just an installer that then installs the game somewhere else and you can run it without Steam. It's just weird - why even have Steam then in the first place!

That said, it has received some nice improvements especially visually. Once the freezes are fixed I will have a lot of fun playing through The Great War yet again.
And this re-release has made me realize just how great this game still is. IMHO no other game actually portrays WW1 as well as this one... well, I hope AGEOD will change that of course!

[H Gilmer3]

Their guy on the Steam forums said they are working on the Steam issues. Hopefully, working on all the other issues as well. I'm holding off for now. They are a new company and this was the first project. Hopefully, they will get everything worked out and will become a successful company.

[bob.]

Their guy on the Steam forums said they are working on the Steam issues. Hopefully, working on all the other issues as well. I'm holding off for now. They are a new company and this was the first project. Hopefully, they will get everything worked out and will become a successful company.

IF the developer will support the game at least for a while after release, fix it and maybe even improve it more, then it will turn out to be a fantastic remastering of the game.

Unfortunately, I have experienced enough new game developers abandoning their subpar first efforts after a short time that I can't yet say I trust "Digital Froggies" to do that.

[fred zeppelin]

I've been lucky so far. A few crashes but not much more than with the Gold version.

[vaalen]

Stable? I cannot even get it to run on steam.And I am not the only one, others have mentioned the same problem on the steam forums. I got so annoyed I uninstalled the whole thing on the same day I bought it. I wish I had not relied on what you said below, it is useless to me. I should have waited. Yes, I made sure I installed it properly. And my windows seven gaming system runs just about every other game without problems. I hope they will fix it so I can actually run the game, and stop the constant freezes people are mentioning on steam and here, maybe I will give it another try. But for now, I am very sorry I bought it.

Hi all, WW1 Centennial Edition is a new and separate game. I ceded all rights to another company, nothing related to AgeOD, and with no commitment for me (being out of business from PC games already for some years), except for the required knowledge transfer, of course.

This company worked out a brand new graphic engine supported game, much faster and more stable than WW1G, with new graphics, a much improved map, more animated sprites, etc. etc.

I have no idea if that company is going to deliver any "kit" to upgrade WW1G to WW1CE, and if this can be done...

[vaalen]

I bought it, unfortunately. I cannot even get it to start.

[Thronfolger]

I bought it, unfortunately. I cannot even get it to start.

@vaalen: check the configuration tool - and turn the function "loading maps at start" off - maybe it works then. Had the same problem...

[Thronfolger]

IF the developer will support the game at least for a while after release, fix it and maybe even improve it more, then it will turn out to be a fantastic remastering of the game.

Unfortunately, I have experienced enough new game developers abandoning their subpar first efforts after a short time that I can't yet say I trust "Digital Froggies" to do that.

@bob.: I agree with that. I really hope, that this game will be playable some day, because it's a great game!!! I suppose that the WW1 engine is a beast of it's own class

[vaalen]

@vaalen: check the configuration tool - and turn the function "loading maps at start" off - maybe it works then. Had the same problem...

Thronfolger, Thank you. I may give it a try. Do you know where the configuration tool is located?

[Thronfolger]

Thronfolger, Thank you. I may give it a try. Do you know where the configuration tool is located?

You are welcome Just press the Windows-Start-menu (all programs - there you should find a folder named World War One Centennial - click on that folder - then you are done - you will find there an exe.file called "Configure Game" - press it and change settings as you like.

However I played a few rounds and still always run into freezes, which is very annoying.

[Random]

There is no help here except from other kind users like Thronfolger but real Tech Support is available at the website here:

Neuronzone Tech Support

They also sell it at their web site for those who dislike dealing with Steam.

-C

[vaalen]

You are welcome Just press the Windows-Start-menu (all programs - there you should find a folder named World War One Centennial - click on that folder - then you are done - you will find there an exe.file called "Configure Game" - press it and change settings as you like.

However I played a few rounds and still always run into freezes, which is very annoying.

That is easy, and thanks again. However, I may wait to install it until they have fixed the freezes, which drive me crazy. It is ironic that it is supposed to be more stable than World War 1 gold, which is mostly stable on my system.