WWI: Centenial Edition

[Queeg]

What still baffles me, though, is how completely inept CE's devs, DigitalFroggies, have been throughout all this.  They haven't issued any informational updates that I'm aware of since the game got embargoed on Steam due to a legal challenge -- which was several weeks ago now.  I mean, just radio silence.  And even before that, their inability to communicate even basic information -- about updates, the state of the game, etc. -- was breathtaking. 

Queeg has done far more promo work for CE than they have themselves. 

I understand that this legal challenge is a very big deal for them, but jesus, it's not too much to ask to get a simple status update from time to time.  Threads on the CE Steam forum -- with titles like "Where did this game go?" and "Is this game dead?" -- are just testimony to how bad their post-launch support has been.

No arguments there.  Which just adds to the overall weirdness of the situation.  I said from the very beginning that I was skeptical that Calvinus could just up and sell all the rights to a third party - so it may well be that the legal challenge, whatever it is and whoever is making it, is a legitimate one.  And I can't complain about someone protecting their rights.

But the broader question is why did the game ever end up in this schizophrenic state?  I just hope cooler heads will prevail and the folks who are fighting will recognize that the only game with a future is CE and killing it won't help anyone.  The window of opportunity on the centennial of the The Great War and the corresponding interest in WWI games is closing.   

[sandman2575]

I also find it very strange that the game is now selling on Gamersgate, but was pulled from Steam, and yet you need a Steam key to activate it -- ??  Reading the tea leaves from Strabo (DigitalFroggies spokesperson), it sounded like Steam had pulled it because of the legal challenge.  And yet it's now OK for it to retail on GG?

[Queeg]

I also find it very strange that the game is now selling on Gamersgate, but was pulled from Steam, and yet you need a Steam key to activate it -- ??  Reading the tea leaves from Strabo (DigitalFroggies spokesperson), it sounded like Steam had pulled it because of the legal challenge.  And yet it's now OK for it to retail on GG?

Perhaps fulfilling a contractual obligation to GG?

Or perhaps an agreed way to gauge the interest in the game, so the parties involved know the value of what they're fighting over?

[sandman2575]

We can only wonder.  But if the latter, GG should really be selling it full-price.  Selling at $10, which is practically giving it away, is sure to attract customers who might have only been mildly interested in the game otherwise --

[W8taminute]

I'm wondering if I should risk the 10 dollars and get it while it's cheap on GG. 

[Queeg]

I'm wondering if I should risk the 10 dollars and get it while it's cheap on GG.

Well, you know what I think....   ;)

[JasonPratt]

I did this morning.

[steve58]

I'll probably get it as well before the sale goes off.  With the sale, 20% off GG Autumn coupon, and a few Blue coins I can grab it for ~$4.

[SirAndrewD]

I took advantage of the sale. 

Can't help it, when I see that $10 price point the red mist descends and I wake up next to a dead ho ....er... I mean a brand new game that I'll likely never play.

[W8taminute]

Add me to the list taking advantage before the price goes back up.   :)

[JasonPratt]

Crap, I totally forgot about the 20% coupon!! -- I picked up everything this morning on sale I cared to buy already (and didn't already have)...  :'(

[Boggit]

I have WW1 Gold, but is it worth buying the CE in the sale? Is it really a big improvement?

[Queeg]

I have WW1 Gold, but is it worth buying the CE in the sale? Is it really a big improvement?

Others can chime in with their experiences, but CE has been worth it for me.  I tried to play Gold several times over the years, on multiple different computers, and it was never playable - load times were long, the cursor was erratic and the overall performance sluggish.  I never got beyond late 1914 in the main campaign before giving up in frustration. 

CE, for me anyway, is like night and day different - the game loads in seconds and just works.  I sometimes notice a bit of a slow-down after an hour or so - the first sign is that the cursor becomes slightly imprecise.  When that happens, I just save, quit and restart - all of which takes less than 30 seconds since the game loads so fast.  I'm finally able to play the game the way it was intended.

Plus, CE adds a 1917 scenario and some graphics changes (the latter are nice but not, by themselves, a reason to buy the game). 

On the technical side, I have found a couple of settings in the Configurator menu that seem to make a difference.  First, set "load all map at start" to Off (the opposite of the preferred setting in Gold) and "disable vertical-synch" to Off.  In the Windows/Compatibility menu, I also check "disable display scaling on high DPI settings" (though I can't really point to any clear evidence that's necessary - just a tip I picked up somewhere). 

Finally, I have heard that CE doesn't work well with XP.  I've run it on Win 7 and 8.1. 

EDIT:  I guess the bottom line is that if you were able to play Gold and feel like you got everything the game had to offer, then there's probably no real need to get CE.  It's 90% Gold in terms of content.  But, if Gold was a game you always wanted to play but couldn't, then CE should easily be worth the $10. 

[Boggit]

^^ Thanks I appreciate the feedback. I might get it in the sale.

[tgb]

I just want to thank JasonPratt for his great tutorial.  I've bought this game 3 times now - when it originally came out with the sideways map, the Gold  upgrade, and now on sale at GG.  Every time I install it, play the "tutorials", try to make some sense out of the manual, start a scenario and try to push some counters around, get confused and frustrated, and uninstall. Thanks to Jason it's finally starting to come together for me.

Hey Jason - how about tackling WitP and WitE next?