Matrix World in Flames

Started by JudgeDredd, June 26, 2014, 12:46:17 AM

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dinsdale

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on October 14, 2018, 04:21:52 PM
No chance...this game is dead to me.

5 years to fix netplay. 5.years.

I registered at Matrix in 2000 or 2001 and read about this game, followed development for years. Gave up on it about 2008 or 9, or whenever Empires in Arms came out as a sampler for the disaster this one would be.

What's amazing is the complete lack of shame. The game is still on sale at full price, years after they pushed it out broken with the vague promise that AI would be worked on soon. They should give every buyer their choice of 2 or 3 other games for putting up with waiting 5 years for multiplayer to work.

Grim.Reaper

Quote from: dinsdale on October 15, 2018, 06:29:49 PM
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on October 14, 2018, 04:21:52 PM
No chance...this game is dead to me.

5 years to fix netplay. 5.years.

I registered at Matrix in 2000 or 2001 and read about this game, followed development for years. Gave up on it about 2008 or 9, or whenever Empires in Arms came out as a sampler for the disaster this one would be.

What's amazing is the complete lack of shame. The game is still on sale at full price, years after they pushed it out broken with the vague promise that AI would be worked on soon. They should give every buyer their choice of 2 or 3 other games for putting up with waiting 5 years for multiplayer to work.

Although I would have loved an AI, I knew buying into it that it wasn't included so I can't complain about that...but my hope was to learn the game in general.  One of my biggest concerns from the start was that it appeared nobody ever completed an entire campaign game.....so how would they know if no issues at the end of it?  Could never bring myself to playing it knowing I could get deep only to get some major issue.  Not to mention the technology on that game that long ago was a dinosaur, can't imagine how it will even hold up in the future.

Guess I never have to worry about that since I'll never install that crap on my PC again:)

Toonces

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on October 15, 2018, 04:20:46 AM
Quote from: bbmike on October 14, 2018, 05:48:40 PM
Maybe, but he's still pecking away at it. You have to give him credit for that at least.

nope, no credit from me....although i appreciate his passion ( or insanity) doesn't ease the complete mess of a game it was and the fact years later still releasing things to even try and hit original release items.  and don't forget, on top of that we got to pay a premium price for it.  they knew it was completely broken (how could they not since years later still broken) but yet released it and offered no help to their customers to make things right.  instead they said trust us, everything will be fixed in couple of weeks.  obviously, the developer knew that not to be true.

sorry, this one will never be given any credit by me but maybe that is just my hang up.

^ This.
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bbmike

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on October 15, 2018, 04:20:46 AM
Quote from: bbmike on October 14, 2018, 05:48:40 PM
Maybe, but he's still pecking away at it. You have to give him credit for that at least.

nope, no credit from me....although i appreciate his passion ( or insanity) doesn't ease the complete mess of a game it was and the fact years later still releasing things to even try and hit original release items.  and don't forget, on top of that we got to pay a premium price for it.  they knew it was completely broken (how could they not since years later still broken) but yet released it and offered no help to their customers to make things right.  instead they said trust us, everything will be fixed in couple of weeks.  obviously, the developer knew that not to be true.

sorry, this one will never be given any credit by me but maybe that is just my hang up.

The bold part is the only credit I was referring to. I agree on all points.
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Pete Dero

World in Flames Update NetPlay Ready 03.00.01.00 is available!

http://www.matrixgames.com/news/2820/World.in.Flames.Update..NetPlay.Ready.03.00.01.00.is.available!

NetPlay is fully working!  Now you can play World in Flames online against other players with all the assistance the computer adaptation can provide to your game.

To celebrate this key milestone, World in Flames will be on sale for a week! From April 9th to April 16th you'll have the chance to take this incredible wargame at 60% off! You cannot miss this chance!

€ 91.99  € 36.99    

ArizonaTank

Quote from: Pete Dero on April 09, 2019, 11:02:50 AM
World in Flames Update NetPlay Ready 03.00.01.00 is available!

http://www.matrixgames.com/news/2820/World.in.Flames.Update..NetPlay.Ready.03.00.01.00.is.available!

NetPlay is fully working!  Now you can play World in Flames online against other players with all the assistance the computer adaptation can provide to your game.

To celebrate this key milestone, World in Flames will be on sale for a week! From April 9th to April 16th you'll have the chance to take this incredible wargame at 60% off! You cannot miss this chance!

€ 91.99  € 36.99    


Are asynch PBEM games possible? or just "real-time"?
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From what I read, just real time.
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Yskonyn

Will you get the hardcopy books for that 37 coins?
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Pete Dero

Quote from: Yskonyn on April 09, 2019, 02:29:06 PM
Will you get the hardcopy books for that 37 coins?

Add 6€ for boxed edition.

smittyohio

Quote from: Pete Dero on April 09, 2019, 11:02:50 AM
NetPlay is fully working!

I wonder what "fully" means to them....

Staggerwing

Quote from: Pete Dero on April 09, 2019, 02:34:18 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on April 09, 2019, 02:29:06 PM
Will you get the hardcopy books for that 37 coins?

Add 6€ for boxed edition.

for those of us who already have the hardbacks, can we at least get a nicely bound rules supplement?
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JudgeDredd

Quote from: Pete Dero on April 09, 2019, 02:34:18 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on April 09, 2019, 02:29:06 PM
Will you get the hardcopy books for that 37 coins?

Add 6€ for boxed edition.
There's not a chance in hell those books are up to date. Rather than helping, I imagine they'd be a huge hindrance by being misleading in so many places.
Alba gu' brath

Moreb

Here's my take on it all. Years ago I used to print off the rules to WiF and skim through them with the hope of one day learning the system. It was the 'other' game while I was buying up ASL stuff and the guy at the hobby shop I bought my things from called it Wallet in Flames. It really didn't seem any more expensive than what I was putting down for ASL and some others really but I never did pick it up.

Had the free version of CWiF that was nothing but incomplete that I briefly looked at.

Years later when I saw that Matrix, a company that I had bought many games from and one that I had respected, was going to work on it I was really excited. After several years of development I was able to get in on the beta only to quickly realize I was way out of my league. How could I help when I didn't even know how to play? I was an absent tester although I did check in now and then. Since I never learned the game, and still don't know how to play, I did want to help out in some way. So I took the Manual, combined it into a single pdf and created hyperlinks for the whole thing, a task that took me a couple of months of the most mundane tasks. But I am proud of it because I hyperlinked not only the Table of Contents but every single rules reference and the expansive index too.

What does all of this mean? Not much other than I was able to see the inner workings of the testers and I really do have a lot of respect for the work several of them have done out of love for the game. I understand how people fel burned by Matrix for how they handled the release and I can't say I blame them. Although this is merely speculation because it was never stated to any of us I feel like WiF became a runaway train with a release that could not have been slowed down for whatever reason. The testers clearly knew it wasn't ready for prime time as several have stated publicly long ago.

There is a lot of hard feelings and blame when it comes to MWiF. I can certainly understand that but I have to give credit to the programmer for sticking to a task that is maybe a bridge too far. Did he under estimate what it would take? Ambiguity does not translate to 1's and 0's.

Will a known system of it's scale and complexity ever be attempted again? I'm not sure. It would be easier to make one from scratch in some ways than to have to conform to an already rigid system never laid out to be done digitally. Who will attempt one again especially considering the super small niche it occupies?

So again, while I can't blame people for being sour at Matrix for the communication and the state of release among other things concerning MWiF, I take no pleasure reading it from people I respect and like here. Hopefully it becomes what people want of it one day.

Maybe I'll stick with it then and finally commit to learning it?
When dongles fly? - mirth

Grim.Reaper

regardless of the developer, this game will never get praised or played by me.....it is now six years after release.  i certainly blame matrix more than the developer since they never attempted to find a way to make good with people who spent at least a $100 on a game that clearly was years away from release ready and seemed to try and cover it up by saying things would be fixed in short order after release.  no doubt in my mind they knew that was not possible and still didn't bother to refund or do anything to make situation fair, they simply stopped talking about it and slipped away besides the developer.  the look and feel of the game even back then felt like ancient technology (think they use borland development tools the were popular back in the 1990s) so cant imagine it will even age well.

people certainly can support them and even buy it now on sale, but this purchase was my single worse experience from matrix and has made me pause ever since on making a lot more purchases from them.  all they had to do was be honest and somehow make good with the customers and i probably would have forgiven.  heck, they could have simply given a 30% off coupon for to people for something else which they now freely give away annually..., but even something that small would have gone a long way.

sure i have bought things since from matrix, but i would have bought more and thought less about it if they would have handled better.