= = = #25 EDITION: December 15th, 2020 = = =
Table of Contents
Section 1: Latest updates review
Section 2: Hearts of Iron tournament
Section 3: Sneak peak: new Strategies
Section 4: Interview with DireWarlord99
Section 5: Want to get involved?
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting -- Sun Tzu.
Latest updates review
Dave and the entire AtWar team have been busy these past few months. Fixed issues and new features added to the game, in case you haven't noticed, here is a detailed list of updates:
- Map/scenario editor:
- Neutral player back on editor: Finally, mapmakers can now add neutral events on the scenario editor.
- "Websocket Closed" error fixed: This annoying problem has been fixed and luckily no one else will lose progress in the editor because of this error related to the size of the data to be saved.
Quality of life:
- Expandable chat box in Lobby: You can now expand the message box in the game Lobby, making it easier to view older messages or if there is a large flow of messages.
- New option for starting money: From now on you can configure your games on the map to start with "1000" funds, which is now the lowest acceptable value for maps.
- Chat icons: You can now use ProtoShop to purchase exclusive icons for your nickname.
- atWar Lottery added: Users can now push their luck on the atWar Lottery and win tons of ProtoCoins!
Strategies:
- Game content update #5: Find out more HERE.
- Game content update #6: Find out more HERE.
Discord:
- Community events: If you are not already aware, there are a series of weekly events taking place on our Discord server. Find out more HERE.
Bug fixes:
- "Ignore Spectators" button fixed: The Spectator button issue has been fixed and you can now mute them again.
Hearts of Iron tournament
After many ups and downs, bad and incredible moments, the Hearts of Iron: atWar Edition tournament has come to an end and I would like to thank absolutely ALL the participants who dedicated time, strength and camaraderie for us to have a fun event. I warmly thank all the Captains, even though some were dissatisfied, I am grateful for having believed in the tournament. Shout out to Phenomenon,, for having won first place; The Sailors,, for reaching second place; The Washed Ups,, for winning third place; Imperial Academy, Mysterious Outlaws, Le Kebabs, Enigma,, and Grand Troll Brigade, for participating in this epic event!
Check out an interview with The_Empirezz, Captain of the gold medal team: Phenomenon.
Estus: What is your general opinion of the tournament?
The_Empirezz: The tournament was a very good idea, I appreciate the effort that was done in hosting such an event for the community. There is alot of players that wish to play these type of events, me included. The execution of the tournament was a bit rough, however I believe many lessons can be learned from it for future tournaments. In general my opinion of the tournament is mostly positive.
Estus: As the leader of the tournament winning team, do you think that one of the two factions (Allies/Axis) has any kind of advantage over the other?
The_Empirezz: I don't think any faction has a particular advantage in terms of winning, assuming both teams are skilled. My team discussed a variety of strategies for both teams, and the allies team seemed to have more liberty in options available to them.
Estus: Any feedback about the World War II: 1939-1945 scenario?
The_Empirezz: I do not have any particular feedback for the scenario itself.
Now a second interview, but with AIex, Captain of the silver medal team: The Sailors.
Estus: What do you think about The_Empirezz leadership?
Alex: Most of the scenario players are in his clan so he can just get whoever he wants. I don't feel like it was The_Empirezz doing something special, just him having more manpower.
Estus: What would you do different?
Alex: I would have done nothing different... I am pretty sure that I would have won the tournament if Same didnt quit the game.
Estus: Any feedback about the World War II: 1939-1945 scenario?
Alex: The CAS (Air: Special Attack) being able to carry the Anti-air unit is very "normal" as we can see on this screenshot.
Estus: Do you consider CAS carrying the Anti-air a design flaw on the scenario? Or glitch abuse from your opponent?
Alex: It should have been fixed before the tournament even started... I dont know why that bug or whatever you wanna call it is still in the scenario...
Estus: Was Phenomenon victory based on an unfair move?
Alex: I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say they didn't know that. This thing isn't supposed to even exist, but anyways, that problem with the CAS shouldn't exist.
Sneak peak: new Strategies
Behind the smoke screens on the horizon are gears working silently on new content for AtWar. On the 2020 Christmas, Dave and the Game Meta Team proudly present a brief preview of two new Strategies that very soon (before the new year) will be available in the game: Aerial Defender and Covert Operation.
Interview with DireWarlord99
Estus: Please, tell me a brief summary of your history playing atWar and how you started venturing throught the map/scenario editor.
DireWarlord99: I started playing atWar about 7 years ago. By the time I reached Rank 6 and started playing with the scenario community, learning maps and trying to understand all the mechanics of the game. About 5 years later, I took a break from atWar for about half a year. When I at last returned, I was wondering if I could make my own maps as I felt atWar scenarios could cover a huge range of themes. When the new Beta map editor was available, I spent hours working on maps, slowly improving and producing better content over the last 2 years.
Estus: What led you to start your series of maps based on the Warhammer lore?
DireWarlord99: The Warhammer lore-based maps started after my work on the Lord of the Rings: Battle of the Five Armies. During this time I had been getting into the history of the people of Bretonnia due to my obsession with mounted knight combat. I remember wanting to make a map where players could play as kingdoms and just smash other players with a ton of knights. This is what resulted on me launching my first map: The Unification of Bretonnia. From there, I started doing major conflicts all over the Warhammer world, leading to the series we now have today.
Estus: How do you plan and balance your scenarios?
DireWarlord99: Like all maps, it starts with an idea, often a major conflict between two powerfull sides. First I research the lore of the region I want to work with... Then I decide which parts of the lore I want to use and which parts I make up (fanfic). Then I find a good background image and get right to work with creating country borders with a reliable source of information on hands. Once the cities, borders, and units that I want are done, I spend hours creating each individual factions, testing the income and armies of each faction and how deadly or underpowered they are going to be... And then I make changes before publishing the scenario. Most of the units and factions are based on the lore and how each army in the war opperated. For example, the skaven are considered to be swarms of rats rushing their foe, so I allow skaven factions to be able to spam hordes of very weak units to overwhelm their foes. Finally I release the scenario and playtest them with the community for a final balance. It takes about 20 playtest sessions until the map gets properly balanced.
Estus: What should players expect from your scenarios?
DireWarlord99: Players can expect a few things from my scenarios: 1) A variety of units that have different ranges, HP and critical chance that allows for players to make armies of cannon fodder with a few elites to help in major battles. In addition, the unit rosters allow a variety of in game strategies to be used. This allows players to not be limited to play with the Imperialist strategy and can use other ones like Perfect Defence or Relentless Attack. 2) No General unit. Hero units are instead used to represent Generals. Hero units have high HP, high critical chance, low attack and defence stats, and can carry other units into battle. They are just as valuable as Generals and do not require a Premium subscription to get their special benefits. 3) Awesome Buildings and events that makes every spot feel unique and encourages players to play till around turn 25, when all events for all factions end. 4) Teamwork. Many of the maps force players to work and coordinate as a team in order to achieve victory on several fronts. Dawn of Chaos and the Fall of Ulthuan (two of my personal favorities) are maps that require a ton of teamwork from players to take down stronger foes. Finally, players will always be able to find a spot on any of maps for any skill level. All of the maps have small and easy to understand spots as well as large, powerful, and high difficulty spots.
Estus: Do you have any plans for the future?
DireWarlord99: Currently my plans are to rework my old Warhammer maps with the new skills I have gained throughout these past two years of mapmaking. Unification of Bretonnia was recently reworked to be called Warhammer: Unification with the help of Pyrrhus and WHITE to make it of the same quality as my other maps. While the maps are being fixed, I've launched my own tournament called the Fall of the Unifcation of Chaos, where 2 community favorites and 1 of my personal favorite maps will be played to prove who is the best in the Warhammer series. The special reward is that each player on the winning team will have a unit dedicated to any of the factions on any of these maps to forever cement their legacy and skill! I encourage people to go check it out in the hopes of getting more and more people interested in the series.
Want to get Involved?
If you would like to get involved in helping atWar in any of the following:
- AW Radio
- Atwar Times Network
- Translations
- Events
- News & updates
Please contact Estus or Croat and they can get you set-up.
Credits:
• Estus
