Boltinho

I've just seen this. Really cool to see that some of my old stuff is still being used and played with in the TEW world. My CVerse XL mod was a lot of fun to make so I'm glad it's not totally dead. Great work on the mod. I'll be having a play around with it later one Also - there were originally challenges to go for each of the promotions in the mod. Some of them might even still be relevant. The post was on this page: http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?t=523204&page=2

OK I ran World War. And the results were... mixed. I was really happy with the individual segment grades [the hot stuff break up angle was pre-match not post-match but whatevs]. But I'm confused about the overall grade. Top matches were 84, 76, 71. Top angles were 88, 82, 77. Definitely NOT set to "ensemble" for either. I thought "regular" was similar to the old main-matches-count-more. Is that not the case?

Thanks dude. Some excellent suggestions there. Apollo/Misery does make a lot of sense. Normally I'd have a trio of them and Brickhouse. But with the 3 man army AND Hellbound AND Ed's crew there's already a lot of heel stables. Will definitely use some of this though. Thanks

My card for World War: Ed Cornell [C] vs Tommy Cornell in an "I quit!" match for the 21CW World Championship Tommy's going to win this. For now... Ed's stable will fall apart a little in the aftermath as he turns on even his friends. He'll be left with just the silent Doomsday as his ally. Men of Steel [C] vs the Underdogs vs Crouching Sifu Hidden Storm vs The Red Devils 4 way match for the 21CW tag titles Probably going to put the belt on Storm/Sifu. The tag belts have been downgraded a bit with the Men of Steel holding them. I'd like to build them back up Adam Matravers vs Hot Stuff in a handicap match Buff is going to turn on J-B leading to the breakup of Hot Stuff. Not quite sure what they're all going to do next. Apollo Prince vs Daniel Black Francis Apollo has been gold. Really, really good angles. He'll be getting another good feud. Even if he does have to try and do something with Brickhouse... Bedlam [C] vs Sebastien Koller for the 21CW UK Championship The Hellbound have been trying to abduct/kidnap/turn Seb. But Seb is a superstar so... Another case of me wanting to elevate all my belts a little. Wade Orson vs Rolling Johnny Stones Wade is my next top face. Tommy and Adam are not getting younger [Tommy already gets dinged due to physical decline]. This was a placeholder story for him and he'll win comfortably.. Leigh Burton vs Luke Cool This is a problem because heel/heel but they've both been excellent. Leigh is a future champ for me so he's getting a clean win too.

Oof. I'm really not sure much can be done with Brickhouse. He's basically built so he can only ever be a squash monster. Unless you get super lucky with his potential. And sticking him in a tag with Apollo just doesn't fit with that. Oh well. I'll give it a go! The tag teams at 21CW are really an important part of the company IMO. Ab Flawless, CSHS, Hot Stuff are all really, really good. Throw in the Red Devils and the Underdogs and you've got a good division. As soon as you take the belts of the Men of Steel. Their time will come but it's not now. You need those 2 solid tag grades per show in the early game. Especially as the title bio says it's traditionally been a very strong division.

<p>Great news - Brickhouse Balder and Apollo Prince have great chemistry as partners!</p><p> </p><p> Bad news - Brickhouse is such a fatty he can only go 7 minutes in the ring.</p><p> </p><p> I am not sure what to do with this</p>

<p>OK. Looking for some input here chums.</p><p> </p><p> Mark Misery and Vicki Company just got divorced.</p><p> </p><p> They could have warned me.</p><p> </p><p> Im thinking of putting Mark in a tag team because he desperately needs someone else to help him out. Maybe Brickhouse? </p><p> </p><p> Vicki is a good manager so she can move onto a bigger gig. Maybe Beast Bantom? Or Brickhouse? Or even Ruin?</p><p> </p><p> The other question - do I make a storyline/angle out of it? Or just split them up and move on?</p>

<p>My development company has on the roster:</p><p> Dreadnought</p><p> James Diaz</p><p> Charlie Corner</p><p> Original Sinner</p><p> Primetime Jack Pryde</p><p> Thorsten Sigurdsson</p><p> Blue Dragon</p><p> </p><p> So of course the main event in their first show was Sharif winning the title over Bat Cooper.</p>

Louis Figo Manico would fall in that category too. His bio hints pretty heavily he was planning on coming back to the biz but never quite got round to it. Rather than absolutely wanted to never work in it again.

Anyone experimented with comedy matches in 21CW? Seems like it should be a significant part of their shows. But I haven't got round to it yet

Phoebe Plumridge has a hot new catchphrase. She's such a good asset anyway and it really seems to be helping her.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="ElSheriffo" data-cite="ElSheriffo" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="48006" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Just decided to start up a quick game with 21CW to give them a go and had The Minor Annoyance show up on my Hidden Gems list, first time I've ever seen him appear there. Now I have to give him a run against some of the super heavyweight monsters</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> This is gold.</p><p> </p><p> Sign him. Stick him in a tag team with Brickhouse Balder or Gorilla Lee or Roly Muckletruck. </p><p> </p><p> All would be a ton of fun</p>

Gah. The network vetoed running a cinematic graveyard match on TV. Or a buried alive match. Or a casket match. There goes my Grave Digger plan.

Compten Valence got a big ol' destiny roll. He's going to be good. And just to cap it off Tommy Cornell took him on as a protege. Being Tommy's protege is pretty massive news around the rasslin' world right?

<p>Yeah - I was referring to them in relation to other workers.</p><p> </p><p> For a random undercarder with good menace then using it will be a good thing for him to do.</p><p> </p><p> But the old trope of "young menacing guys get over as support for established star" is really hard to pull off. Because the fact they're not over drags down angle ratings. </p><p> </p><p> Let's use Faust and Grave Digger as an example again so I'm clearer.</p><p> </p><p> The old approach [and one I think is strongly rooted in reality] is that Digger hangs around and gets over by being associated by Faust. Digger doesn't do much and if he's asked to talk or wrestle he's a bit of a problem. </p><p> </p><p> I don't expect Digger to add anything to a Faust angle at all. He's way less over so even if his menace and SQ are great then he shouldn't be expected to add a bonus.</p><p> Cool.</p><p> </p><p> But at the moment Digger pulls down Faust Angles by about 15%. Enough that in a big company [which needs storylines to stay above 65] it's a problem. Because unless Faust [or anyone else of course] is a guy that churns out 75+ angles the Grave Digger drag is likely to keep them under the threshold for hot storylines.</p><p> </p><p> I do not want or expect Menace to b a cheat code. it was overpowered.</p><p> </p><p> But "menacing undercarder gets over by shadowing stud" is tough to pull off right now and I think that's a problem. </p><p> </p><p> You can still do it - but at the moment you need to accept the drain they have on angles - or put them in as unrated. I don't really like either of those options. I'd much rather they got over slowly and steadily without dragging segments down.</p><p> </p><p> But failing that how have people booked around it? That was the original question.</p><p> </p><p> The options I see are:</p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li><br /> Get monsters over by squash matches and a long, slow burn<br /> Put them in programs with stars - and accept the drag on grades<br /> Avoid monsters and use other, more bankable assets<br /></li></ul><p></p><p> </p><p> Given that 21CW in particular is very well-stocked with young, menacing undercarders this seems a good question.</p><p> </p><p> Mostly what people have said to me today is "Use option 1 and give them squashes" which is fine for one or two of them. But 21CW have many. Grave Digger, Blackheart, Gorilla Lee, Assassin, Ruin, Mass Hulk, Kelvin Badberry, Doomsday, War Machine, Roly Muckletruck, Brickhouse Balder... </p><p> </p><p> So either one of the biggest companies in the world has a serious roster problem. Or there's another route I'm overlooking.</p>

1) "Monster" gimmicks usually come with bonuses for squash matches Yep. Still useful for companies with one monster who can squash someone every week and get over. Nice. 2) Menace IS a shortcut if they have low popularity. Well yeah. But so are other skills [mic skills, sex appeal, high flying, etc] Obviously having good menace is better than not having a trump card. It's just that any other trump card is better. 3) Menace, by its nature, is a weak way to book an angle. I know this is how it works now. I just think it's been nerfed too hard. Having a lone guy ONLY rated on menace in a solo angle is boring. I get that. Having a really menacing unknown dragging down an angle where a star is doing all the talking... I don't think that's right. 5) Just look at your math and you'll see that no, menace is not worse than overness. Obviously pop is better than menace. Pop is better than anything. That's the game right? The point is - menace has been nerfed SO hard. It is what it is. No point complaining about it. My question is - are there viable ways to use it now? You used to be able to get low-ranking guys with menace in big storylines. I don't know if that's still viable. I don't think so but I'd love to be proven wrong! As I understand it mic skills are waaay better than menace. Entertainment splits 40/60. Menace just 25/75. And guys with good mic skills tend to be better workers. So the likes of Phil harmonic, Beau Bolder and Dangermouth are better prospects than Blackheart or Grave Digger. That feels like it should be true in some companies but not others. Old Skool USPW or 21CW were built on big, scary guys being able to get over regardless of other skills. Giant Redwood and T-Rex were national stars. Darryl Devine couldn't get over. I'm not sure the current game mechanics match up with c-verse lore.

Nice. Tribal Warrior makes a ton of sense. Any old ex-US big boy workers really. I'm struggling a little bit with mid-range heels so things like this are perfect as short-term fixes. These guys, Stevie Stoat, Nigel Svensson and Merle... All perfect for bringing in for a month or two.

Thanks for sharing. Im going back and collecting old renders and alts at the moment. Some awesome ones here. Lone Wolf is a fave. Thanks for sharing

Yep. That works. Always has. But it works on anyone and everyone. So what is the benefit of being a monster?

I mostly agree with Bull. But two parts to my thinking: Ratings: I don't really care about the number. You're right - the monster will still gain pop. Unless it drops one of my most bankable stars to angles under 65 [i.e. a hot storyline]. If my star is prevented from being in hot storylines because he has a menacing entourage then bye bye entourage. Squash matches / managers: These get anyone over. Doesn't matter if they're a 7 foot monster or a 5 foot wimp. So you can get anyone over by feeding them victories. But the whole point of monsters [in TEW and RL] is that it's a shortcut. Being big and scary means it's just so, so much easier to get over fast. Otherwise promotoers just wouldn't bother with big guys with questionable talent. And that's where I am now. I love big scary guys. But if they offer me no benefit over another prospect then why bother? Adam clearly thinks monsters should be a viable shortcut because the database is full of them. But they don't seem to offer a viable upgrade. In simple terms - it's no easier for me to get Blackheart over than it is Evan Alpass. Which doesn't seem right to me.

If you've got established managers then maybe. I'll certainly experiment a bit more. But you'll still have the problem of 25% menace, 75% pop right? For example in 21CW: Jon Faust [mid 70s pop, 70ish entertainment, good momentum, great gimmick] cutting promos. His angles rate 70ish in a vaccum. His lackeys are: Bedlam [menace 80, SQ 51, pop 66] Grave Digger [menace 95, SQ 85, pop 39] Backheart [menace 90, SQ 68, pop 29] If those guys are rated on menace [or anything] Faust's promos drop to 60ish. So I'm better off having 3 guys with a great look being unrated than having them rated on menace. Menace is useful for guys who are already over - but it doesn't help them get over. Which in my mind is basically the point of menace in the first place. This can't be right can it?

Giving serious thought to bringing in Chris Caulfield for a mini run...

I thought this warranted a thread of it's own as it's such a huge part of the game [and the wrestling biz]. I'm fully in favour of how angles were fixed in this version of the game. Not being able to have huge winz for someone standing around for 10 minutes looking scary/famous clearly makes sense. But the downside is that it's much harder to build monsters right? Big, scary, tough looking guys [who may or may not be able to wrestle or talk] have always been a shortcut to heat and that's not going to change. So What are the best ways to simulate that mechanically now? I've run into a few obstacles so far so I wondered if anyone could help build on this. 1. The new way menace angles are calculated [menace 25%, pop 75%] means that menace is always a 2nd best to overness. A menacing unknown is just not going to give you huge ratings. I'm torn on this. I sort of think there's value to "Woah! I've no clue who this guy is but hes 7 feet tall, with glowing red eyes and he's towering over the champ. How's hr going to fight that?" 2. It seems to me so far that unknown monsters tank angles. Which is a problem. Because surely being scary in angles is the way they get the pop in the first place to not stink up angles? "Evil McEvilface is promising to bring in a new age of fear? It would be scary - but I've never seen that 7 foot guy in a black robe standing behind him. So meh." 3. This is a negative chicken/egg isn't it? Menacing unknown will be bad in angles until he's over. But he can't get over because his angles are bad. The way to get round that is to have him win squash matches until he is over - but that's true for everyone. So how does his menace help? I'm just struggling a bit here. It feels like the oldest, most popular trick in the booking game has suddenly become really hard to pull off. I'd love to hear how others have approached it - and turned monsters with no pop into real assets.

The SWF AI in my game just formed a team of: Remo Primus Allen Big Smack Scott Kurt Laramee OK so they're called The Knights which is sort of lame. But what a great stable.

Also - I figured out a flaw in the PPV schedule. At the moment the Cornell Cup [a tag team tournament] is in April. With Partners in Crime [AI instruction is all tag matches] in May. One of them needs to move surely? I'll probably move PiC back to July and bring London Calling forward. I don't want to move PiC further back because you've also got Dangerous Alliances [all 3 vs 3 matches] in September. So it'll be: Cornell Cup - tag - April London Calling - May War Drums - June Partners in Crime - tag - July We Will Rock You - Aug Dangerous Alliances - trios - Sept