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DD696 -> RE: Im-Possible WITP News (12/2/2007 6:10:39 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Mike Scholl
quote:
ORIGINAL: DD696
Now that there has been a good discussion on the possible WITP news and since my cat "Too Much Trouble" (black of course in honor of Halloween today) is off the keyboard at the moment, I'd like to give my take on this potential news. Note that it has never been said that any "product" is coming before Christmas, only "news" of some sort. The actual "product" may be a ways down the road yet. There have been a few hints given.
Two of the major programmers, Don Bowen and MichaelM, have been mostly missing in action for the past 14 months. Don has just recently been popping in and poking and prodding the poor inmates of this zoo. JWilkerson has been strangely quiet for the past few weeks and not even chastising the various fanboy cliques, let alone enforcing the "issues not people" edict. A progammer or two or three can do quite a bit of programming in a year's time. Might it be that the ground combat system has been substantially tweaked? Or numerous other bugs have been stamped out (hopefully)? Waypoints have been added? Or could it be that the database limitations have been significantly done away with so that more land, air and sea units can now be added to the game (this is one I would really like to see)? Could it be that (much to the disgust of the majority of posters here) the AI has been vastly improved (another item that would greatly improve the game)? Could it be that we could now have an editor that will work on a game in progress in order to do away with all those restarts that have to be done due to data errors (I personally would pay a four figure price for something like this)? Could we now have variable allied production facilities? All of the above? And more? Less? What are we willing to accept? Obiviously any little morsel will please us to some extent, but this appears to be a big bite of ?????. My personal fear is that those of us who play the AI are going to be shortchanged since we don't make near as much noise as do the PBEM clique.
Andrew Brown has been working on his "new map" for even longer, and CHS has been dormant for two years come next February. One hint has been that the map is getting even larger. Could it be thirty mile hexes, or even twenty? Maybe it could even outdo RHS and give us the Azore Islands on the map (surely that is as important as South Africa and Madagascar)? Is a greatly new and improved CHS about to become an official add-on? TreeSpider made an attempt to improve CHS and after a couple updates to his mod he went missing in action, gone since last June. Is he a part of this?
Pry had a project to update the stock database and he has not been heard from since last December.
The main tester has been very quiet for a long time now also. Who else have been missing in action over the past many months? What are their specialities? There is an official gag order out on this project which makes it our duty to attempt to speculate wildly. And how much are we going to be willing to pay for whatever it turns out to be, for it must be too good to be free.
New and scaled art? Better animations? Hourly turns? A muzzle for Terminus?
This is an interesting piece of speculation..., but before getting too enthused I would point out that the same data could be used to support a theory that these very active players got tired of all our nonsense and are off by themselves having a private multi-player e-mail game for their own enjoyment. One certainly couldn't blame them..., we can be a pesky and annoying bunch.
I would certainly be willing to bet a case of the finest Jamacian rum that my statement has far more truth in it than yours, other than the fact that no muzzle could possibly keep Terminus in check and that I will grant that we can be a pesky and annoying bunch.
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