Hubert Cater

Actually SeaMonkey I think this is a great idea and with everything going on at my end it really wasn't something I had even thought about yet. I think Bill is going to drop these guys a line to see if they are up for it, as I think it would be nice to start this with the next game played, i.e. with the next build as Bill has got already a few balancing changes he prefers implemented, and we'll go from there. We'll keep you posted

The AI tended to put an emphasis on defending cities even if that meant with air units when nothing else is available but you are right it can lead to some unfavourable situations for the AI in terms of its behaviour. Initially I've removed this for the upcoming WWI release but left it only in the case of capital cities but I suspect that this will also be a similar issue so I've removed it all together for the new game.

Hi Canuck97, I can't say just yet if there will be a retail partner for SC WWI but as with all Battlefront games if you prefer to order a hardcopy CD with a printed manual this is always an option as well as the direct download option. I hope this helps, Hubert

FYI, the first trailer is up and can be seen here:

The quick answer here is that this game was started about 2 years ago using the SC2 engine with the current setup. Good question and we should have something in the next few weeks that outlines all the differences or I should say 'New Features' but off hand I can mention that we've got a few new research categories such as Gas and Shell Production as well as Trench Warfare. There are new rules for Artillery and Rail Guns so that you can stockpile shells between turns and fire off as many as 10 shells on a single turn per Artillery unit. Units can also build trenches, which were of course critical to WWI, and then we've incorporated a new feature for National Morale that is tied into overall unit losses, resource losses, as well as resources that are captured and enemy units that are destroyed. There are also key objectives that can increase/decrease your national morale which if it gets too low will affect the fighting spirit of your units in the field or possibly even cause you to surrender/lose outright. That and much more Hubert

Unfortunately a more detailed map is no longer automatically created since as the maps became bigger the process became too slow on lower end machines, so to answer your question there is no in game way to generate a more detailed map at the moment.

We'll likely have more screenshots in the coming weeks including a WWI media trailer for the game... stay tuned!

Nothing official to be included just yet but if time permits we just might have a surprise that will make WWII fans happy

Hi Iron Ranger, Thanks for the kudos and I hope you had a great New Year as well Hubert

Hi Amadeus, Can you be a bit more specific as to what qualifies as a 'better' overview map? It will help me answer the question more appropriately, thanks! Hubert

As far as I remember this is not possible in the Global release but in the upcoming WWI release we have added this feature which came in handy in helping to better represent the Russian revolution, i.e. the creation of Finland (from Russian territory) when Russia withdraws from the war.

Welcome back and I think your best bet would be to just fire off any questions you might have as the forum members are usually a very receptive bunch to these types of queries.

I believe it goes from Moscow to Sverdlovsk and then Novosibirsk assuming they are still both available. If for example, Sverdlovsk is already taken before Moscow then it would go to Novosibirsk. As far as I know they would not return to their original capitals if liberated.

Still too early to say as we are in the testing phase, betas will see it in the next build, but as soon as it is finalized I'll be happy to provide more details.

Hi Calculon, They are not officially supported but I have heard of some success by using the various Windows emulators for the Mac. Hope this helps, Hubert

Thanks for the kudos gentlemen, and while I definitely agree that this is probably going to be the best SC release so far, I really can't take the credit for the quality of the game play on this one. Sure the game uses the SC engine and I've done quite a bit of coding to get the game to work just right for WWI, but this one really is Bill Runacre's vision and design and he deserves all the credit here. Much like his design for the Pacific release this one is going to be very impressive on so many different levels. Glad to hear your games have been a blast so far as well Abukede

In terms of speed the AI animation does slow things down a bit but I will also be introducing a few new items based on some of these suggestions, which is the option to hide the AI move as well as to suppress all popups/messages in game as that slows down the AI turn as well. I'll look into adding a sound to let you know when the AI turn is completed for those that like to Alt-Tab away from the game. The nice thing is that I continue to find ways to speed up the AI turn with now quite a few options available to the player for fine tuning as they prefer.

Ok Rambo, I've got to admit, that one made me laugh as it is one of my favourite movies. mttodd99, agreed with SeaMonkey and abukede, supply is likely the culprit along with the terrain being an issue here for you.

Good one SeaMonkey

Glad to hear it and your welcome

I can confirm that a retreat option will be available for the first time in the Strategic Command series with this release

Just heard back and if all goes well it should be available later this week on their retail website.

Of course my opinion is heavily biased but here is a verbatim quote from our Beta Forum regarding the game play and design of the up coming WWI release: "Very fun action so far. I actually think it's more enjoyable than SC Global... because in some respects your choice of targets/strategy is wide open." I'll just add that while WWI will be a new topic for some players I really do think Bill nailed this one with the map size, which will be the biggest SC map yet, and with his very well researched and flexible game play all rolled into one. I really do doubt it will disappoint Hubert

Glad to hear it

Usually that would be the case but I won't completely discount other factors like a small byte change to the file via email transfers that might also produce this message. If in doubt, ask your opponent to compress the saved game file (to see if that helps maintain the integrity of the email file), or to send over the campaign file they are using just in case they have changed something on their end that does not match your end.