WIEC-COMPUTER WAR IN EUROPE

Updated 050321
  1. TITLE: Computer War in Europe (DOS application)
  2. PUBLISHER: Decision Games (DG), computer format of SPI's War in Europe with various errata sets incorporated.
  3. SCOPE: World War II in Europe including Western Front, East Front, North Africa, the Middle East, and the far north; 1939-1945.
  4. RULEBOOK VERBAGE:
  5. GAME BOX VERBAGE:
  6. YEAR PUBLISHED (EDITIONS): 1998. Last version published 2.01. Only one published edition Decision Games. Designers Notes and history of CWIE is taken from Web Grognards.
  7. CREDITS
    • Program Design & Programming: Gregory J. Ploussios
    • Production & Marketing: Christopher Cummins & Callie Cummins
    • Quality Assurance: John S. Hess
    • Photos & Churchill speech: Archive Graphics
    • Mars Theme: Jack Hines
    • Original Board Game: James F. Dunnigan, Irad B. Hardy, Redmond A. Simonsen, Tom Walczyk, Edward Curran, & Steve Bettum.
    • Wargame Academy WIE page
  8. NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1 (solitaire), 2, or 3.
  9. WGA COMPLEXITY SCALE (1-10): 10
  10. TYPICAL PLAYING TIME (HOURS): All War in the East, War in the West, and War in Europe scenarios are present. In a WIE 2 player game, one player is axis, the other is both Allied and Russian. By default Neutral Russia play is computer managed unless control from turn 1 is given to the russians. As multiplayer games are typically played PBEM, the agreed upon turnaround determines the game length. Some send multiple turns a day, some a week, some weekly. As the full campaign is 297 player turns, a game is a long term commitment where real life priorities may intervene. Another concern is when the game is 'terminated' (when the Germans cant win, Russians offer no significant resistance, or to the final conquest).
  11. MAP SCALE: 40-60 nautical miles (changing scale with longitude).
  12. UNIT SCALE: Task forces of individual ships from aircraft carrier to destroyer escorts. Air points represent 10 planes. Ground battalions to divisions.,
  13. TIME SCALE PER TURN: 1 week with cycle every 4 turns; 4 air/sea turn per lunar cycle , 1 land turn per lunar cycle (13 lunar cycles in a year).
  14. NUMBER OF GAME TURNS:
  15. ARTICLE LISTING: Click here
  16. GAME INVENTORY: Two diskettes; the rulebook exists as a text file which is also accessed within the program.
  17. WBC & AVALONCON HISTORY: Not Applicable
  18. PBEM TOOLS:
    • CWIE is a PBEM tool. It is recommended files be zipped prior to sending as certain mail programs/email servers put text messages into the message body making it unusable. My naming convention incorporates the game turn. i.e. if it is send to the German player for his 11/3/41 turn, the file is named 41113.zip
    • No Java application VASSAL module at this time.
    • The War in Europe mailing list is an independent e-mail group that discusses both the computer and board game versions of War In Europe. There is an online, www accessible archive of this list. To participate you must subscribe to the list from the e-mail address that you will use to contact the list. To subscribe send e-mail to either: warineur-request@halisp.net or warineur-digest-request@halisp.net (digest version) and put the single word 'subscribe' in the message body. Leave the subject line blank and disable any signature bloc. You will receive an info packet as confirmation of your subscription.
  19. PBEM OPPORTUNITES: Contact Wargame Academy if interested.
  20. WARGAME ACADEMY COMMENTS: Do to the including of the KC errata/House rules into the coding, this should be considered version 2.5 of the WIE rulebook evolution. I have completed eight campaigns to date and typically have three 2player and one 3 player game in progress although real life frequently intervenes. The program is strongly recommended for purchase for anyone with BWIE experience. When I 'discovered its existence' I bough copies for my out of state BWIE opponents. The program moves phase by phase as per the boardgame, will pull up the corresponding rules section via the 'help' button, and possesses several options to be considered. Be forewarned, combinations of certain options have decisive impact on the game.
    One the negative side there are several 'issues' with the program from my BWIE point of view. Many of the rules in BWIE are not enforced in CWIE (i.e. German RR units can be transported by Italian navy to North Africa). Additional critical rules as discussed at length in the BWITE/BWIE designers notes, such as the Russian severe weather and supply rules, are merely options in CWIE. Of great irritation, the KC errata/house rules have been coded in with great impact to the play. Additional 'misses' involve the repair of strategic bombing which makes this Allied effort almost pointless. As these are hard coded into the program, they cant be 'fixed'.

    An entire different discussion is directed to knowing your opponent for a game with 297 player turns and the corresponding player commitment A player agreement is recommended to find an opponent with similar mind set. Are BWIE rule restrictions to be used or is anything CWIE allows ok? Will the game be played to conclusion or simply until the German cant win and loses interest. Will the Allies play to the end or merely until the Russian becomes ineffective? Although uncommond in BWIE circles, when playing Computer players, it is recommend to discuss if CHEATING is an understood concept. Die rolls can be manipulated by redoing the order and number of events (port suppression, attacks, fortification attempts, etc); risky high yield attacks can be attempted and the file reloaded from an earlier point if unsuccessful. One the wielist posting was by a player convinced breaking/altering the code to his advantage was ok as a reward for knowing how. Keep in mind some computer gamers experience is limited to computer AI opponents where anything is ok, recovering from disaster from a save is standard practice and real person opponent considerations (ethics, social skills) are lacking. Before making a 1+ year commitment to a game vs an opponent with no face, a bit of interviewing may save a lot of grief and wasted effort. Many SPI BWIE will only play others of the SPI BWIE generation usign CWIE as a PBEM interface for this reason.

    A related topic is a list of fatal errors a player can make which may negate the value of the game. Many serous error are also possible the may greatly limit the competitive nature the the game/match as well. A list of such items, in addition to BWIE/CWIE issues, CWIE flaws will be added to this page with the help of contributions from the wielist group.
  21. WARGAME ACADEMY GAME TOOLS: Computer War in Europe, working on a Java version true to BWIE with additional options based on aspects from other game titles.
  22. WIE email list: There is an online, www accessible archive of the list at www.halispnet/listserv/warineur. To participate you must subscribe to the list from the e-mail address that you will use to contact the list. To subscribe send e-mail to either:
    • warineur-request@halispnet OR
    • warineur-digest-request@halispnet (digest version)
    and put the single word 'subscribe' in the message body. Leave the subject line blank and disable any signature bloc. You will receive an info packet as confirmation of your subscription. As with any email group, it is as valuable as its membership.
  23. (CWIE2): The development web site for the new version of Computer War In Europe has been launched. The game will be released in December 2005 by Decision Games. The site will serve as a distribution point for information on the game's development, and as a CWIE2 collection point for feedback from the gamer community on possible changes and inclusions in this latest version from the War In Europe family of board and computer games. If you would like any more information, or to offer any suggestions or comments, please contact Karl Lean, Lead Developer Computer War In Europe II.

 

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