Happy Birthday, TOAW III!

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Happy Birthday, TOAW III!

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Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/5/2007 11:15:20 PM

JAMiAM

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That's right, folks. Today, TOAW III turns 1 year old! I know that the Matrix's rerelease of the Campaign Series will steal a bit of thunder, and it's not entirely coincidental, as Matrixgames likes to plan their wargame releases around D-Day...

Anyhow, I digress.

Let me thank all who have labored over this project for the last 20 months or so. I'd like to thank Ralph Trickey for stepping into Norm's shoes, and quite honestly, doing a damned good job of filling them. I'd like to thank all the testers for the project, who have been so diligent with bughunting, both before and after release. I'd like to thank all the scenario designers; those who granted the rights to use their creations, as well as those who have taken to the new features in TOAW III, and designed new scenarios for it. I'd like to thank the staff at Matrixgames for their assistance in producing this product, as well as all the community contributors, whose various labors went into the game. I'd like to give a special thanks to David Heath, for having the funds and courage to invest in a title that had sat dormant for so many years, occupying an increasingly less visible spot in Talonsoft/Take-Two's stable of titles. Thanks for keeping the faith, and rescuing this old nag from the glue factory, Dave!

Most of all, I'd like to thank each and every buyer of the game who voted with their hard-earned cash to "invest" in this game. I hope that your time and money has been well-spent and that none of you have found it to be wasted.

Cheers!

James A Mathews

Post #: 1

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 12:59:49 AM

Telumar

Posts: 2236
Joined: 1/3/2006
From: niflheim
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It's a great game and we know we're more or less addicted

... Happy birthday TOAWIII!!

I'd like to thank all the other addicted for having a great time and James and Ralph (haven't seen you for quite some time here) and the TOAD crew for the dedication and certainly Matrix for bringing back life into this.

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Post #: 2

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 1:52:56 AM

AlvinS

Posts: 665
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From: O'Fallon, Missouri
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I purchased this game after only having the first version of TAOW, and what a difference. It is now occupying all of my gaming time now and into the forseeable future.

Great Work and Thank You.

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AlvinS

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Post #: 3

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 2:19:12 AM

Veers

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I don't have any elegant words, but Kudos, boys.

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Post #: 4

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 2:30:17 AM

Silvanski

Posts: 2506
Joined: 1/23/2005
From: Belgium, residing in TX-USA
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Great game!

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Post #: 5

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 3:02:02 AM

ralphtricky

Posts: 6685
Joined: 7/27/2003
From: Colorado Springs
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Telumar

It's a great game and we know we're more or less addicted ... Happy birthday TOAWIII!!

I'd like to thank all the other addicted for having a great time and James and Ralph (haven't seen you for quite some time here) and the TOAD crew for the dedication and certainly Matrix for bringing back life into this.

I've been lurking, trying to get some work done.

I agree, it's the fans that make the hard work worthwhile, without them and their support, this job would be any fun.

One thing I've been working on is enhancing the flanking rules. The way they are now doesn't always make sense, I think that the new rules make a lot more sense, and are going to add something positive to the game.

_____________________________

Ralph Trickey
TOAW IV Programmer
Blog: http://operationalwarfare.com
---
My comments are my own, and do not represent the views of any other person or entity. Nothing that I say should be construed in any way as a promise of anything.

(in reply to Telumar)

Post #: 6

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 4:26:58 AM

Veers

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Cool.

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Post #: 7

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 7:42:42 AM

Reggy

Posts: 21
Joined: 5/7/2007
From: Canada
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Thanks. Its the ongoing support and improvement that makes these games great. I'm torn though between TOAWIII and the revised Campaign series that was just released. Oh well...

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Post #: 8

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 8:49:58 AM

JAMiAM

Posts: 6165
Joined: 2/8/2004
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Reggy

Thanks. Its the ongoing support and improvement that makes these games great. I'm torn though between TOAWIII and the revised Campaign series that was just released. Oh well...

No need to tear yourself up deciding. Buy both! Buy TOAW III now, and the CS release in a few weeks, after the updated and repaired version is available. They both will give you years of gaming pleasure.

(in reply to Reggy)

Post #: 9

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 11:21:52 AM

Marc von Martial

Posts: 10875
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From: Bonn, Germany
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God, another year passed like an eyeglimpse.

Happy B-day

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Post #: 10

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 12:32:04 PM

Telumar

Posts: 2236
Joined: 1/3/2006
From: niflheim
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: ralphtrick

I've been lurking, trying to get some work done.

Good news indeed.

So, what do you post here? Back to lurking and work with you!

quote:

ORIGINAL: ralphtrick
One thing I've been working on is enhancing the flanking rules. The way they are now doesn't always make sense, I think that the new rules make a lot more sense, and are going to add something positive to the game.

You (or was it James?) pointed this out somewhere somewhen iirc in the gamesquad chat, but i don't remember. Would you bother to point it out again? Provided you can already tell something definite (official or semi-official)..

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Post #: 11

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 6:12:19 PM

Veers

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If memory serves the basic premise was an improvement on the fact that defending in a vertical line is easier than defending in a horizontal line. So, perhaps you'll need 4 sides to do a flanking attack, instead of just three...

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If you wish to learn more about EA, feel free to pop over to the EA forums Europe Aflame Forums.

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Post #: 12

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 9:04:38 PM

sapper32

Posts: 1197
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From: Warminster England
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Ive being missing out on this game for nearly a year damn,TOAW III is turning me into a recluse brilliant game love it cheers Ian

(in reply to Veers)

Post #: 13

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 10:30:08 PM

Karri

Posts: 1137
Joined: 5/24/2006
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: ralphtrick
One thing I've been working on is enhancing the flanking rules. The way they are now doesn't always make sense, I think that the new rules make a lot more sense, and are going to add something positive to the game.

That is not enough! No more food for you! WORK HARDER!

Seriously though, this is the only strategy/operational/tactical game I play anymore(wait...are there any others combining all these?)...and apart from TOAW the only game I play is occasional FPSs. For such an old game it's a true gem.

Btw. are there any plans to update the event system to truly make the game have strategic options? And how hard would it be to rewrite completely? I am thinking something similar to what you see in Paradox Entertainments games...

(in reply to ralphtricky)

Post #: 14

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 10:48:58 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Karri
....And how hard would it be to rewrite completely?

Yeah, how hard could it be to rewrite this Toaw thing completely. Say translate it to C++ and build it again from the ground up. Couple of weeks? Maybe a month?

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Post #: 15

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/6/2007 11:04:31 PM

Karri

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With coffee, I'd say a full day. But I was wondering if the vent system is that closely tied to the engine itself that you need to rewrite the whole thing...or just the event thing.

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Post #: 16

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/7/2007 1:29:17 AM

freeboy

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Joined: 5/16/2004
From: Colorado
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".. Just the event thing" hehehehe lmao, if you think the event thing ais a "just" seems that a rewwrite would probably be a justifiable new title with you earning some serious royalties!

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Post #: 17

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/7/2007 6:03:11 AM

ralphtricky

Posts: 6685
Joined: 7/27/2003
From: Colorado Springs
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Karri

quote:

ORIGINAL: ralphtrick
One thing I've been working on is enhancing the flanking rules. The way they are now doesn't always make sense, I think that the new rules make a lot more sense, and are going to add something positive to the game.

That is not enough! No more food for you! WORK HARDER!

Seriously though, this is the only strategy/operational/tactical game I play anymore(wait...are there any others combining all these?)...and apart from TOAW the only game I play is occasional FPSs. For such an old game it's a true gem.

Btw. are there any plans to update the event system to truly make the game have strategic options? And how hard would it be to rewrite completely? I am thinking something similar to what you see in Paradox Entertainments games...

Actually, what someone would need to do would be to add support for a scripting language like Python, or better might be support for a .Net language like C# or VB. It's not difficult, just a bit tedious to expose all the interfaces, and make sure that the new stuff works, while the old stuff continues to work as well. You'll also have to lock down security so that the scripting language can't break anything on the user's computer.

Not that I've put any thought into it or anything...

Python like Civ IV does would be pretty easy, C#/VB would be harder to set up, but faster and more flexible. I don't know of anyone else that's gone to that extreme.

Ralph

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Post #: 18

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/7/2007 6:25:49 AM

ralphtricky

Posts: 6685
Joined: 7/27/2003
From: Colorado Springs
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Veers

If memory serves the basic premise was an improvement on the fact that defending in a vertical line is easier than defending in a horizontal line. So, perhaps you'll need 4 sides to do a flanking attack, instead of just three...

Something like that. It's actually simpler and more complex

It as nothing to do with now many sides you need, and more about whre the defenders are. To me, it feels more realistic that the current attacking through two non-adjacent hex-side rule, and is pretty intuitive once you think about it.

Ralph

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Post #: 19

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/7/2007 6:27:31 AM

ralphtricky

Posts: 6685
Joined: 7/27/2003
From: Colorado Springs
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

quote:

ORIGINAL: Karri
....And how hard would it be to rewrite completely?

Yeah, how hard could it be to rewrite this Toaw thing completely. Say translate it to C++ and build it again from the ground up. Couple of weeks? Maybe a month?

Well, Technically, it IS C++ now, and has been since right after I got the source code. It only took me a couple of days. Converting it to good C++ with objects, etc. is going to take a bit longer.

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Post #: 20

RE: Happy Birthday, TOAW III! - 6/8/2007 10:47:56 PM

parusski

Posts: 4804
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From: Jackson Tn
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quote:

ORIGINAL: sapper32

Ive being missing out on this game for nearly a year damn,TOAW III is turning me into a recluse brilliant game love it cheers Ian

Same here sapper32, but my wife gets annoyed when I say things like "our supply line is stretched thin" as I look into the fridge. Or if I tell her to make her flower beds deeper to prevent tanks from rolling over them. Very addicting.

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