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Post by Big Boss Man on Mar 16, 2020 16:42:09 GMT 1
#61: Moving titles, editing titles, owner preferences
Companies can now move title belts between themselves and their various child companies simply via the regular titles screen. This allows developmental titles to be get defended on main shows, main company titles to be taken out to child companies, the parent to buy defunct titles and send them out to their children, etc, etc.
To make life easier for database makers, when editing title belts the champion(s) can now be edited directly without needing to load a separate window, thus saving time and clicking. In addition, newly created titles no longer need to be saved and re-accessed in order to assign champions to them. These changes make things a little more user friendly.
The list of owner preferences, which controls what sort of company they will run, has been upgraded to both have more options and for the choices to be more intuitively named.
#62: Search by skill, technical wrestling, years of service
You can now search by minimum and maximum values for any of the various worker skill levels, making finding people significantly easier.
The Mat Wrestling, Chain Wrestling and Submissions skills have now been consolidated into one, a skill called Technical Wrestling. This change makes things more intuitive for players and reduces the workload on database makers, whilst removing a needless over-complication given that the three original skills were always considered as one by the game anyway.
Contracts used to have a 'years of service' value; this has now been replaced by a contract start date, allowing the game to calculate the years of service itself. This is both more accurate and means that database makers do not have to remember to update the number whenever they change the date.
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Post by Big Boss Man on Mar 16, 2020 16:42:44 GMT 1
#63: Skill comparison, popularity comparison, floating booking ideas
By popular demand, from the worker skills screen the user can now do a side-by-side comparison with the skills of any other wrestler. This is all done on one-screen and so this only takes one-click. This is very useful if you're debating who to push, who to sign, etc. As this and the precise searching that was announced yesterday wouldn't be viable if different workers are rated in different ways, this means that the fog of war system is removed and so you'll always see ratings in a 0-100 format. I don't really like to remove features, but as skill searching and comparison were two of the most requested additions and fog of war has never been particularly popular, I think this this change will have a positive effect overall.
In a similar vein, a side-by-side popularity comparison feature has also been added. This works in exactly the same way, just from the worker popularity screen, and again is very useful if you're having a dilemma about which of two workers you want to hire, push, etc.
A new feature related to the previously announced Talk To Worker is the ability to float booking ideas. This is done from the Booking tab in that screen. It means that you can float the idea of the worker unmasking, taking crazy bumps, putting somebody specific over, etc, and the worker will tell you whether they'd be willing to do it or not. Previously the only way you could find this sort of thing out would be to actually book it and see if you got a refusal. Therefore, by being able to ask in advance, it allows the user to plan ahead much more accurately and not get frustrated by finding that a worker won't do what they want.
#64: Worker promises
Workers and tag teams can now proactively approach the booker and offer to put a specific opponent or opponents over, in a feature that we're calling Worker Promises. When this happens the offer is logged in the Promises screen, which shows who has promised what and what the expiry is. The expiry is always in two parts: the number of matches it will last for and the amount of time.
If a worker or team have made a promise, it means that if you book them in a match against those opponent(s) where they'd normally complain about losing then the complaint doesn't happen. This lasts until the promise expires.
There is also a second flavour of this feature, which is reactive promises. The way this works is that you can approach a worker (via Talk To Worker) and specifically ask them to promise to put someone over, to which they can agree or disagree. The difference between the two flavours is that the proactive version is more powerful - it will almost always be for multiple matches and last a few months, meaning you can create a feud around it - whereas the reactive version is only for one match and lasts just one month.
The idea behind this is to add to the realism, potentially give you a way around situations where somebody refuses to lose, and means that your booking plans can potentially change to embrace promises that you didn't expect.
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Post by Big Boss Man on Mar 16, 2020 16:43:32 GMT 1
#65: Scouting, Pro Mode, Contextual Rosters
With Fog Of War not being viable in TEW2020 due to some of the other changes, its direct replacement is Scouting. This is a very similar system, with a few crucial differences that allow it to work within the TEW2020 framework.
Whereas the old Fog Of War used a combination of grades, textual descriptions, and numbers, the Scouting system instead is entirely numerical. The way this works is that you'll see a range, for example "Brawling: 23 - 40" meaning that the Brawling skill is somewhere between 23 and 40. It's not a case where it's automatically in the middle, so in that example it could well be that the real value is 24. As different wrestlers will use different ranges and number placement, it is not possible to simply memorise patterns - for example, if one worker has a range of "20 - 40" and you happen to know that the number is really 25, that doesn't mean that another wrestler who has "20 - 40" is also 25. The higher the Scouting level goes, the smaller the range, until eventually you reach maximum Scouting in which case you get to see the exact number.
Using this system means that it's like-for-like when doing worker comparisons, which is far more intuitive and visually appealing than having different data types. This also means that the new ability to search for specific skill values is still viable; for example, if you search for Aerial of exactly 50 then you'll return workers whose Aerial scouts as "40 - 60" (even if their genuine Aerial is only 41) because it still fits within the range.
Whereas Fog Of War would take a long time to reach completion, the new Scouting system is far brisker, and generally you'll get very close to full scouting well before the worker has reached the ten year mark of their career (at least in the modern era).
Under the new system, some items are exempt. In particular, things that are visual - for example, Menace and Sex Appeal - are not scoutable and so are automatically shown as their exact number, to simulate that you don't need to see someone in action to know how they look. Physical skills, such as Power, also now have their own separate scouting level, one which is significantly faster than the others; this takes into account that you don't need to see someone very much to get a good sense of how strong they are, whereas you do to gauge someone's technical ability, for example. The other categories are similar to their Fog Of War counterparts: In Ring, Performance (for the gimmick performance skills such as Babyface, Heel, Cool, etc), Entertainment, Broadcasting, and Refereeing.
Continuing the game's ongoing theme of being era sensitive, Scouting also automatically takes into context the time frame that you're playing in. So, for example, if you're playing in an historical scenario set in the 1970s then the spread of information is obviously far slower than it would be in 2019, so scouting takes a lot longer to happen.
As with the old Fog Of War feature, Scouting can be turned on or off via the Preferences menu.
Related to this is the new Pro Mode (NB: this name may change before release as I'm not 100% happy with it) option, again available via Preferences. Pro Mode requires Scouting to be active, and is for those players who like a bit more of a challenge or realism. The way this works is simply that no matter what a worker's scouting level is the game will never show their exact skill level - it will always have at least some vagueness (it equates to the penultimate scouting level). So, the result is that even when you're viewing a seasoned veteran you will always be seeing a range of values and won't know what level they're truly at, only an approximation.
Another new feature in TEW2020 is Contextual Rosters. What this means is that no matter where you access a roster from, you'll always have the appropriate options. For example, if you access your child company's profile via a link, you'll still find the option to recall workers, etc, just as you would if you'd gone in the "proper" route via the office. This is another quality of life thing as it just saves you a lot of clicking and frustration.
#66: Stored performance, contract offer auto set, editorial skill comparison
A worker's in-ring performance from each match, whether booked by the player or AI, is now stored and visible when looking at old match results.
When negotiating with a worker and being rejected because they want a specific amount of money there is now an on-screen button that will appear that allows the player to auto set the offer to match the worker's demands. This removes the need for remembering the value and typing it out.
The worker editor includes a version of the skill comparison feature that is in the main game, but includes the added ability to copy across the skill if needed; this makes skill balancing / filling in a lot quicker.
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Post by Big Boss Man on Mar 16, 2020 16:44:16 GMT 1
#67: Child company size, closing child companies, game world screen, sub-medium costs
I think I already alluded to this in a reply elsewhere, but to make it official: unlike previous games, a child company is no longer limited in how big it can grow.
If the parent company wishes, it may now choose to close down any or all child companies that it currently possesses. While a drastic move, this means that the company can respond to financial difficulties or effectively hit the 'reset' button if it wants to start again for whatever reason.
The game world screen has been totally overhauled. It now gives all the necessary information in one place, removing the need to open multiple windows, and has also been redesigned to better explain the game areas and regions in a user-friendly manner, such as giving definitions of key locations that fall within those boundaries.
To better simulate reality and to help smaller companies survive, sub-Medium companies no longer have ongoing monthly costs for things like admin and legal. These costs, where they exist, are instead primarily done on a show-by-show basis instead.
#68: Close company, more accurate visibility, young lions, in-game skin change
The user now has the option of voluntarily closing down their company if they're the owner.
When viewing a company's visibility (i.e. from the Size screen) it is now accurate to the day. This just makes things a little clearer for companies that run more than one show a week.
The young lion system is now no longer area-wide but can be set on a company-by-company basis, giving database makers and players a finer degree of control.
The user can now change the game's skin while within a save game, via Options. Previously you would need to exit back to the main menu to do this. This small touch just adds a little extra user friendliness.
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Post by Big Boss Man on Mar 16, 2020 16:44:53 GMT 1
#69: Popularity caps, crowd burn out, editing relationships, editing chemistry
In previous games a worker had a maximum popularity cap that would limit how well known they could possibly become. As this was fixed at the start of the game and so didn't take into account changes in context, this could both prove restrictive and lead to unrealistic behaviour from players. The new method is that the cap is now calculated on-the-fly with each segment based on many factors including the worker's current skills, destiny, and who he is working for. This makes for a more realistic and dynamic game world.
Crowds can now get burned out if forced to sit through far too much content, simulating the apathy that starts to build when real life shows go on for many, many hours.
The Edit Relationships section of Options has been upgraded both to be more user friendly (by giving the current relationship when two people are selected) and also to allow a relationship to be deleted (rather than just being able to be edited to something else).
Options now includes an Edit Chemistry button. This works the same was as Edit Relationships in that it allows existing chemistry to be added, modified, or deleted.
#70: Era details, name searches, AI tag signing, aggressive predator hiring, visible expiry dates
Clicking on the date in the taskbar during gameplay will now launch a window that gives you a breakdown of the current era, if any, and its related settings. This information was previously not available to the player without going into the editor.
Most screens that involve a list now include an on-screen name search; this allows you to type in any text and have the list filtered to only include items that include it. This is the same as with the search that you can do in TEW2016 via the website, but more useful as you don't have to switch to a different screen to use it.
The AI can now bias towards signing tag team partners of members of it roster if they are part of a known duo. This makes it far more likely that teams will end up in the same place.
The AI predator hiring, which is the code that allows bigger companies to go after major names, has been changed to make the AI far more aggressive. This will make the game more competitive.
Contract expiry dates are now visible via the Employment tab on rosters and profiles even for workers who you do not employ. This information was previously only visible via the editor and so this is more user friendly.
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Post by Big Boss Man on Mar 16, 2020 16:45:33 GMT 1
#71: Legacies, import employment history, default area status, worker overuse
The old legacy system was that a worker could generate a successor upon retirement or death if they'd reached a minimum Respect level. This system has been reworked so that the worker is now checked once a year between the ages of 30 and 50 - if they are still an active wrestler and have achieved an average of 60 popularity across any area then they can spawn a successor (once per career). This is both a more realistic benchmark and also means that potentially Worker Sr and Worker Jr can be active in the game world at the same time.
When importing a worker his or her employment history is now automatically imported at the same time, assuming the companies are also in the database. This saves database makers time.
Database makers can now set whether each area is active or inactive by default. This can be changed by the player when starting a new game, but saves some clicking if the database is specifically designed for a certain set up.
Overusing a worker on a show now reduces their momentum to simulate the fans getting sick of having someone shoved down their throats. In addition, rather than just being calculated at the end of a show, overuse is now monitored as the show progresses, allowing the reaction of the fans to get increasingly muted if they are seeing the same person over and over again. These changes therefore incentivise players to book more realistically.
#72: Belt prestige, randomness control, painkiller benefits, coming off steroids
The prestige of titles is now absolute, trending towards the recent ratings of matches it is involved in. This is different from the previous games, where the prestige was relative - for example, a main event title was always between 70 and 100 prestige even for the smallest of companies, whereas in TEW2020 it'd be quite normal for a tiny independent company to have a main title that's only in the 20s or 30s for prestige. This change means that titles can be compared across companies and that they are not restricted by their level.
The frequency of random incidents can now be set via the Options menu.
Being on painkillers now has advantages as well as disadvantages for workers, with their usage helping to 'mask' their true physical condition. This allows the worker to perform as if they're less physically banged up than they really are, thus producing better matches. The downside remains that their usage can spiral and lead to long-term problems with addiction.
When a worker comes off steroids there are now extra features in play. Not only will you generally see those workers experience a drop in their physical abilities and physique, but often they will also end up dropping a size category. This provides a more realistic simulation.
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Post by Big Boss Man on Mar 16, 2020 16:46:22 GMT 1
#73: AI pushes, AI feuds, new nationalities, starting money, inactive alliances, player job applications
The AI can now assign hidden push / de-push data to its workers, allowing them to be booked in certain ways. For example, a new signing can be given a "strong opening" push that means they'll rarely if ever lose for the first few months that they're with the company, a promising young talent can be strapped to the proverbial rocket so that they rise fast through the rankings, or an ageing veteran can be given "phase out" instructions where they'll start losing more and more to gradually move them down the card. This allows the AI to have a more realistic long-term plan.
The way AI feuds are handled has been completely redone, allowing them to be better integrated into the booking engine and allowing for 'triggered' feuds, such as when a tag team breaks up.
Over fifty new nationalities have been added, taking the total number close to 200.
Companies can now be given an exact starting amount of money via the main editor, rather than needing to take one of a preset selection.
Alliances that close are no longer automatically deleted, instead remaining in an inactive state so that their data and previous members can still be viewed by players (just like how you can still view closed companies).
When the user applies for an owner or booker position, they are now automatically given a slight advantage to make it more likely that they will get the job rather than a similarly skilled AI character. This allows players who get fired or start unemployed a better shot at staying engaged with the game world.
#74: AI releases, new match aims, manager upgrades, picture requirements, eye candy penalties, financial warning mails, venue name size, body type change detail, new language, tag team copying, battle scores
The code that governs how and when the AI makes releases has been totally overhauled to be both more realistic and far faster to process.
Two new match aims, Hardcore and Deathmatch have been introduced to help give more possible content types.
Previously managers could only really be promoted if they were being used in angles; this has been reworked so that their performance at ringside is taken into consideration, allowing for managers to get over and improve their skills even if they're not being specifically used in angles. This makes managers a more useful and evolving part of the game.
Via Options, the user can now set the game to not generate workers unless a suitable picture is found for them. This is useful for those who find pictureless workers a distraction or immersion-breaking.
Companies are no longer penalised for using Eye Candy matches in immediate succession or to a cold crowd if their product means that those sort of matches are a major part of what they are about.
In previous games it was sometimes difficult to spot when a company was in financial trouble until they had already gone bust. There is now the option to be e-mailed whenever a company reaches the stage of getting financial warnings from the bank, making them easier to identify and exploit.
The maximum possible length for venue / location names has been increased from 30 to 75 to allow more real world places to be included. The maximum size of the profile text for each venue has also been increased from 250 to 1000.
When the user is mailed to say that a worker has changed body type the text now specifies what they were before, making it easier for the user to understand whether it is a positive, neutral, or negative change.
With the addition of India as a game area, Hindi has now been added as a new language. This allows the new area to be better simulated.
The editor now allows database makers to copy tag teams, saving time as they no longer need to be filled in by hand each time.
The scores for the monthly area and regional battles are now shown on-screen, giving the user a clearer picture of how close the companies came to each other.
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Post by Big Boss Man on Mar 16, 2020 16:48:54 GMT 1
#75: The remaining minor features
When viewing a company's history, the user can now order the list by type and rating, date, or attendance. This makes finding things much easier than in the past.
The ability to differentiate between loyalty and the Japanese-style 'true born' has been added, allowing better simulation of reality.
The new Company Info screen, available from the office or child company screen, allows the user the ability to quickly edit basic details such as the name and logo of the company. Previously this would have required the use of the editor and so makes the game more user friendly.
The editor now allows multiple records to be copied at the same time, a change that potentially saves an enormous amount of time for database makers.
Workers can now choose to go away on hiatus during gameplay; previously this was limited to being preset only.
Eye candy based matches are now only limited if the company's product is not based on risque adult content; this allows certain companies to function better.
Workers are now allowed to take multiple crazy and stunt bumps per show; previously this was limited to one per show.
Rather than sit around clogging up the database, older valets / managers who relied on their looks but now have very little to offer will tend to leave the business instead, opening the way for younger talent.
The worker names section of the database has been upgraded and enhanced to include more possible groupings with a finer degree of control.
The owner's 'favours' selection has been moved to the booker's section for better realism, renamed to Hiring Preferences, and the selection has been expanded to allow for a greater degree of accuracy.
The in-built roster sizes that the game uses for calculating the numbers used in a company's hiring and firing dealings have been increased to better simulate reality.
Minimum ages can now be set for when a worker will be able to become an owner or head booker. This allows characters to be given the necessary skills but to not necessarily use them until they've reached an appropriate age, stopping business-minded young wrestlers taking over companies at an absurdly young age.
The files for potential event and TV show names have been combined, significantly cutting the amount of work database makers have to do (by removing duplications) and also allowing TV show names to be divided by gender.
By request, when adding new tag teams the user is automatically shown information on the chosen workers' respective disposition, perception levels, and brands, plus information on any existing tag teams and already-found experience. This removes a lot of clicking, searching, and remembering.
Giving road agents or referees a massive workload on a show will harm their performance due to overwork and stress. This stops players from relying only on one or two people to do everything and forces them to play more realistically. The better at their job they are, the more a worker can handle, and the smaller the company the lower the workload per match.
The 'super predator hiring' feature, where opposing companies can react to human-controlled companies making contract offers to top talent, has been upgraded to be less one-dimensional and to make the AI a little more aggressive about taking on the player(s), especially when they have either a competitive advantage or have a negative relationship.
The age spread used for newly generated workers has been increased so that they are not always going to be in the narrow 18-21 range. This allows for more realistic character generation as older people can get into the business.
The storyline screen now explicitly tells the player when the last advancement and major advancement, if any, happened, giving both the show name and date; this makes it easier to judge which storylines have been neglected.
A sixth user talent, Silver Tongue, has been added, giving the user the ability to talk workers into booking decisions like being unmasked or taking stunt bumps.
User talents have been altered, with a key change being that only successful shows count towards giving the user bonus points, rather than every show as it was in the past. In addition, the user talent screen has been redesigned to be more intuitive and to include everything on one screen.
The maximum length for an event has been expanded from four hours up to a possible eight.
The maximum length for a TV show has been expanded from three hours to four.
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Post by Big Boss Man on Mar 16, 2020 16:50:17 GMT 1
#2: Recently added features
Today we'll be going over the first three of the features that were added while the journal was on hiatus.
Booking Analysis: The booking analysis tool has been significantly upgraded, now warning players in advance about things like worker overuse, booking complaints, and other potential penalties. In addition, there is now an on-screen warning to alert players if there are items in the booking analysis that they should look at, removing the need to check it so often.
Complete All Signings: When in the Decisions screen, the user can now choose to automatically complete all worker hirings / resignings that are awaiting action. This potentially saves a huge amount of time, particularly at the start of games or when you've founded a new company.
Audience Boredom: Fans can now get bored of a company if it is producing mediocre or uninteresting programming. If this happens, there are knock on effects on merchandise sales and sponsorship income, meaning the company starts paying a financial price. This stops companies resting on their laurels and punishes those who are on auto pilot.
#3: Recently added features (part II)
Minimum Skills: By request, active workers now have minimum levels that their skills can fall to, rather than potentially reaching absolute zero.
Time To Hang Up The Boots: Workers will now better take into account their in-ring levels when considering whether to retire. This means that workers who have severely deteriorated to the point of no longer being able to put on passable matches can call it quits.
Manager Analysis: As a side addition to yesterday's booking analysis change, that tool also now takes into account the passive use of managers (i.e. the manager is at ringside with a client but not actually doing anything in particular). Previously the analysis would not explicitly take into account that they are still in use, so this removes that confusion for players.
Road Agent Advice: When booking the road agent will give the user input on stamina and psychology issues. This removes the need for guesswork or remembering exact figures, thus making it a little more user friendly.
#4: Recently added features (part III)
Auto Fill Hall of Fames: The mass editor now includes the ability to create a company's hall of fame from scratch by looking through title histories; this potentially saves a lot of time for database makers.
Gimmick Body Types: Gimmicks now have an additional setting whereby you can set what body types are viable to make them work. This adds an extra level of detail, as it allows, for example, only muscular or ripped workers to use gimmicks like Power & Paint.
Fire Sales: AI companies in financial peril now have the ability to potentially sell off venues and dojos / performance centres in order to raise emergency cash and, for the latter, cut monthly costs.
Offering Cash Boosts: Companies can now offer other companies (as long as they're not hostile, a child, or a parent) a free cash boost via the Relationships screen. This can act as a good way of improving diplomatic relations, be a way of helping keep a company in business if you have use for them (such as being a place you send workers to develop), or just be a way to help out to be nice.
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Post by Big Boss Man on Mar 16, 2020 16:51:43 GMT 1
#5: Intro screens, talent trades
Over the weekend I completed a feature that is comparatively small but that I suspect will prove very popular - intro screens. The way this works is that there's a new subfolder in Pictures called Intros. When a user starts a new game, right before the avatar selection, TEW will check whether there's anything in that folder. If there isn't, it's ignored. If there is, however, it will load them up in alphabetical order for the user to see. The user can skip back and forth through them or exit at any time.
This system allows database makers to have custom-made introductory splash screens, which can therefore be used for all manner of things - whether it's just a title page, a couple of pages describing the setting or backstory, background information on major characters or scenarios, etc. Each graphic is 1000x500, and there's no limit on how many you can put. As I said, it's a very simple idea, but one with a lot of potential to allow for some creative and interesting applications, and leans into the fact that we have a very graphics-heavy community.
The other feature that I've been working on (it's mostly finished, I'm just testing it at the moment) is an upgrade to talent trades. The big change is that there are now three types, which are:
Talent Trade: This is what you're familiar with; you offer workers from your roster in exchange for workers from someone else's and they get taken on loan for a limited number of dates.
Talent Offer: This is where you offer a worker or workers from your roster to someone else for a loan period, but don't ask for anything in return. This can be because you want to send out a rookie to gain some experience, because you want to help out an ally by giving them temporary access to a big star, or anything else you can imagine.
Talent Swap: This is an old-school feature in that you propose permanently swapping a worker or workers from your roster for a worker or workers from someone else's. This is potentially great if both sides have workers who are talented but have grown stale, as they can both benefit from getting fresh new talent they can use.
Given the changes, I've also redone the AI entirely to make the opposition smarter about what deals it will accept. As before, you can still make all of these talent trade options with AI or human-controlled companies. I've also made the limits on how often you can do these a little looser to allow more freedom.
#6: A peek-behind-the-curtain look at gimmicks
One of the things I wanted to do in this second phase of the journal was to give people more of a 'peek behind the curtain' when it comes to the creative process and what me and my development team talk about, so that's what this entry will be about.
One thing we've been kicking around is a big change to the way gimmicks work. Below I've given a (mildly edited) version of the 'concept post' I made about it so you can see what sort of thing we consider, how things get built, etc. The general feeling is that this could be quite a cool change, although no final decision has yet been made and I certainly haven't yet nailed down precise details or an exact implementation. I thought posting it would give people a nice look behind the scenes and also be a nice way to take the temperature of the board with regard to whether this would be a welcome change or a step too far.
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