Angles what do they all mean

[mcorey]

My question is on angles and getting better ratings and understanding how they work and how they relate to worker skills.

 

1. I have seen some angles (for example Attack Angles) have the Role as Catalyst or the role as Attacker. What is the difference? Does it effect how the angle is played out/received? This is the same for Support and Catalyst are interchanged in some angles. Subject I understand is usually someone not ON SCREEN and Cavalry is a SAVE.

 

2. The Rated On criteria. This is know is key and I can't seem to figure this one out, especially with regards to Entertainment, Acting, Overness, and sometimes Microphone. I know this relates directly to a workers's skills (like Microphone), but the others I am not sure which skills? Where do I find a Worker's Overness rating? I have read that I should put workers in angles which work best for the skills, so a worker with high Menace should be in Menace angles, thus Rated On should be Menace, however a Post Match Attack is usually Overness, so should I make angles with Post Match Attack with Menace Rated On?

 

3. Follow up to question 2 how is Entertainment and Overness skill for a worker determined?

 

4. Also from what I have read 6 minute angles is what I should have. However I am confused is it 6 minutes for momentum or 6 minutes for building skills, or both? Sometimes a setup angle for 6 minutes just to move a story line seems rather long. There are some angles which the max is only 5 minutes.

 

5. The actual angle itself is supposed to help tell the story, with the commentary, but does that matter from a game standpoint/mechanics? What I am asking is I need an angle for a backstage beatdown which involves 2 attackers and 1 victim. Does it have to have say backstage beatdown or have commentary about a beatdown? Can it just be a an angle with 2 attackers and 1 victim?

[praguepride]

My question is on angles and getting better ratings and understanding how they work and how they relate to worker skills.

 

1. I have seen some angles (for example Attack Angles) have the Role as Catalyst or the role as Attacker. What is the difference? Does it effect how the angle is played out/received? This is the same for Support and Catalyst are interchanged in some angles. Subject I understand is usually someone not ON SCREEN and Cavalry is a SAVE.

 

They don't really "mean" anything game mechnic wise. The role titles are purely for your imagination so you can figure out who's doing what. Attacker is someone attacking, victim is the victim, calvary is the back up. Catalyst is the person who "initiates it." He throws the first insult, things like that. Support back the Catalyst up while the Subject is the target of the Catalyst. Again, these have NO impact on the angle itself. They're there purely for your understanding of the purpose of the angle.

 

2. The Rated On criteria. This is know is key and I can't seem to figure this one out, especially with regards to Entertainment, Acting, Overness, and sometimes Microphone. I know this relates directly to a workers's skills (like Microphone), but the others I am not sure which skills? Where do I find a Worker's Overness rating? I have read that I should put workers in angles which work best for the skills, so a worker with high Menace should be in Menace angles, thus Rated On should be Menace, however a Post Match Attack is usually Overness, so should I make angles with Post Match Attack with Menace Rated On?

 

Entertainment is a combination of all the entertainment skills. It means the guy is talking, acting, using the microphone, the whole package to engage the audience.

 

Overness means that the worker is relying on his popularity to sell the angle. So if a worker just appears on camera and the crowd pops, that's overness. This could also be him shouting a mantra or something. This is usually used when the worker is being talked about by other workers (the name drop) or is doing something else (like fighting someone) and the camera just has him on video.

 

Acting is where the worker has to act without speaking, so to speak. By default only used for selling really bad attacks like being blinded.

 

Microphone is just mic work, usually used for interviews and play-by-play commentary. Basically they're talking but they're not appearing on camera because then it would involve facial expressions, posture, body language, and that all gets wrapped up in "entertainment."

 

Menace means the worker is looking particularly mean. Can be used in attack angles for a monster crushing his opponents.

 

3. Follow up to question 2 how is Entertainment and Overness skill for a worker determined?

 

Overness = popularity.

Entertainment = a weighted average of their entertainment skills (charisma, microphone, acting)

 

4. Also from what I have read 6 minute angles is what I should have. However I am confused is it 6 minutes for momentum or 6 minutes for building skills, or both? Sometimes a setup angle for 6 minutes just to move a story line seems rather long. There are some angles which the max is only 5 minutes.

 

Neither. 6 minutes is needed to factor into the show grade. You can build up skills on 2 minutes I think and momentum is based off of letter grades. The max 5 minute angles are there because they're transitions, not "key components to a story"

 

5. The actual angle itself is supposed to help tell the story, with the commentary, but does that matter from a game standpoint/mechanics? What I am asking is I need an angle for a backstage beatdown which involves 2 attackers and 1 victim. Does it have to have say backstage beatdown or have commentary about a beatdown? Can it just be a an angle with 2 attackers and 1 victim?

 

/nod. Some members of the board just create a series of generic angles because they don't want to bother sorting through the "fluff"

 

An angle that has 2 workers rated on overness has the exact same impact whether it's those two shaking hands or beating each other up. The reasn why there's so many different kinds of angles is to help the player keep them sorted. Some hangles hype up other matches and do improve the match heat (hype angles, typically) while many angles have combinations of on screen/off screen/turns so there's a reason why there's so many. But if you don't like using those, then feel free to create generic "Worker 1 rated on Overness, worker 2 rated on entertainment" and you can use that whenever you want.

 

The game isn't "smart" enough to know the difference in the angles, it just looks at the mechanics part of it (is it setting up a match? is someone turning? is someone onscreen? what are they rated on?)

[mcorey]

Thanks so much for you response. However I still want to make sure I am understanding this. Overness = Popularity. Popularity is broken down by regions, so for example my worker is a C rated popular in the Southeast region his overness is C if I am doing a show there. So an angle based on Overness for this worker is not so good, he has an E for entertainment and E+ for microphone, however he has an A for Menace. Should I have him in only angles where he is rated on Menace? So if I want him in a post match attack, I should create an angle with he as a Catalyst/Attacker rated on Menace?

[Derek B]

Thanks so much for you response. However I still want to make sure I am understanding this. Overness = Popularity. Popularity is broken down by regions, so for example my worker is a C rated popular in the Southeast region his overness is C if I am doing a show there. So an angle based on Overness for this worker is not so good, he has an E for entertainment and E+ for microphone, however he has an A for Menace. Should I have him in only angles where he is rated on Menace? So if I want him in a post match attack, I should create an angle with he as a Catalyst/Attacker rated on Menace?

 

Overness will be based on the overness/popularity (the two words are interchangable) of the worker in the region you are holding the show. So if you are holding a show in the South East then their overness in the South East will be used for everything they are in during the show. If you have your event in Puerto Rico then their Puerto Rican overness will be used for everything.

 

You can take huge advantage of this to get very high ratings out of worker with high overness in just one area. Puerto Rican Power in the Cornellverse has always been hugely over in Puerto Rico, meaning you can get great grades out of him... and use him to put other people over there too. Tis very useful sometimes.

[mcorey]

So in your example Puerto Rican Power in Puerto Rico is extremely popular (over). He can help other wrestlers who are not as over based on his overness, so going back to my example above (the attack angle because it is easiest to explain), I have the Puerto Rican Power with an B+ for overness against a guy with a C for overness, but an A for Menace. My attack angle with my menace guy on Puerto Rican Power should be Attacker rated on Menace and the Victim Puerto Rican Power rated on Overness. Correct? If my victim had a high Entertaiment rating (B or more) the attack angle should have the Victim rated on Entertainment?

[Derek B]

Rating people on their highest statistic will provide the best results, yes.

 

Whether you SHOULD rate people on those stats is up to you. It's hard to be able to justify a victim being rated on their mic skills (for example) even if they are yelling about being in pain. It's up to you on how far you want to milk your strengths really.

[mcorey]

I apologize for so many questions, but I really am trying to grasp this game as there are so many moving parts.

 

Anyway, you said Raing people on the higher statistic will provide better results. Will it also provide momentum to the storyline, workers? How about skill improvement for the workers in other areas? Finally in my example the Menace guy is hated but will his Overness go up?

[Hyde Hill]

Overness is independent of Heel/Face. As a heel he will be hated even more after that angle and by more people (hopefully) which means his overness has gone up. It will also provide momentum too the worker and also on a storyline if at least 2 of the workers in the angle are involved in the same one. Being in angles improves entertainment skills even if they are not rated on that. Matches improve wrestling skills.

[crownsy]

if i could tack on a question to the OP's thread, as a newer player:

 

can anyone who makes the generic set ups explain how i make one for menace?

 

I can't seem to find out how to make one of those...do i just pick rated on entertainment?

[Derek B]

if i could tack on a question to the OP's thread, as a newer player:

 

can anyone who makes the generic set ups explain how i make one for menace?

 

I can't seem to find out how to make one of those...do i just pick rated on entertainment?

 

No, you don't pick entertainment.

 

Each person in an angle can be unrated or rated on 1 of 6 things as laid out by PraguePride above: Overness, Entertainment, Microphone, Acting, Sex Appeal or Menace.

 

They are set and can't be changed to suit you, you need to write new angles if you want anything that isn't already there in the database for you. You can do this through the main database editor (and then importing your new angles into your game via options during the AM or the import data button during the PM) OR you can write them in the games yourself during the PM part of the game.

[mcorey]

So if he is a heel and he is really hated his overness (pop) in my region could give him a grade of A, correct? If the angle is not rated on overness for a particular worker will the overness go up or down?

[Greg McNeish]

Any worker in a angle that's at least 6 minutes, and is higher than their current Popularity, will gain Popularity (Overness), regardless of what they are rated on in the angle.

[Derek B]

So if he is a heel and he is really hated his overness (pop) in my region could give him a grade of A, correct? If the angle is not rated on overness for a particular worker will the overness go up or down?

 

All angles (and matches) will factor overness in to some degree. An A* menace worker won't get A* performance in an angle if fans have no idea who he is (F-) but he will still perform well in the angle. Depending on your product it's likely to be somewhere in the middle, so about a C-/D+ if it's only him in the angle being menacing. This will often be higher for promotions that rate higher in performance than popularity and lower if the opposite is true.

 

The length of angles will affect how much momentum and overness is effected. 5 minutes should have some effect depending on the result of the angle. More than that and it will have an effect on the show rating too, just as matches do.

[mcorey]

Again thanks everyone for your help and guidance. I have some new things to try.

[D-Lyrium]

Overness is an older term used in older games when Momentum didn't exist as a statistic. Overness and Popularity are, for all intents and purposes, the same thing. How popular your worker is in any given region.

 

So an angle where a worker is rated on Overness is one where the worker isn't actually doing much other than simply being there (sometimes not even that!). For example, if he's being beaten up in an attack, or being talked about by someone else in an interview, or a highlight video is aired for him, he'd be rated on Overness, because that's all that's important. The fans will react to him based on how popular he is. Momentum factors in too, but let's not get ahead of ourselves...

 

Microphone is used wherever a worker is talking on the microphone (and that's ALL he's doing). For instance, in a backstage interview the interviewer would be rated on Microphone skill, because generally that's all they do. They're not being particularly entertaining, their overness isn't particularly important, and neither is their menace. They're just talking, conducting an interview. So that's all they're rated on. Same for a segment where two announcers talk about something that's just happened, or that is happening later on.

 

Entertainment is similar to Microphone skills, but encompasses more than just that, it involves charisma and acting skill too. Generally speaking, any wrestler, manager or authority figure who's cutting a promo or anything else with a prominent speaking role uses Entertainment rather than Microphone skill. Think back to The Rock's promos. They'd be full of his catchphrases, mannerisms, pacing around the ring, raising eyebrows, getting the crowd to chant things. That's Entertainment.

 

Menace is where the worker involved doesn't talk much, but does something that makes them look scary, impressive or badass. Brock Lesnar's debut on Raw, where he hit the ring completely unannounced and utterly destroyed all four participants in a tag team match that was going on at the time, for instance. He'd be rated on Menace there. The big, mean, bodyguard glaring at the camera while his manager or client cuts a promo would be rated on Menace (think Problem Solver era Tyson Tomko, with Christian. Or Kane with Paul Bearer, or Lesnar with Heyman). Or the Mark Henry/Test Strong Man contests on Smackdown with them taking turns to lift increasingly impressive weights, for instance, that'd be rated on Menace. Anything where someone's doing something impressive or scary.

It should be noted that in the default database, there aren't many (any?) angles rated on Menace, since 'Rated On: Menace' was added quite late in the development cycle. So you might have to make your own.

 

Sex Appeal is something that's been ignored so far. But to be fair it's pretty self explanatory - Sex Appeal is for roles where their only (or at least, most important by far) job is to look pretty. Girls in Bikini Contests, backstage catfights, valets who don't talk but are only there to look pretty, etc. Sex Appeal can refer to male roles as well, however that's very rare. Mainly due to the majority of the audience being male and partly due to no males in the Cornellverse having a very high SA stat in the first place...

 

Finally, remember that all angle roles are rated on Overness to some degree. Obviously Overness-based roles are rated 100% on Overness (well, nearly. As I mentioned, Momentum plays a part, but Momentum plays a part in absolutely everything a wrestler does, so...). But Menace, Microphone and Entertainment-based angles will all be rated higher if the worker has a higher popularity. It's just not as interesting to hear some random jobber talk about some other random jobber, even if he's the most entertaining guy in the world, compared to hearing The Rock talk about Jericho.

 

Remember also though that TEW is all about relativity. Just because your workers "only" have D popularity doesn't mean you should never do angles at all if you're a small promotion. If you're Regional, having D popularity is perfectly fine for an upper midcarder, so don't be put off if you "only" get a D+ rating. D+ is good for a Regional fed.

If you're still getting D+ at National, THEN start worrying.

 

One last thing, obviously it's your game and you're welcome to create and use angles however you like, but bear in mind that the roles exist for a reason. If you have an attack angle and have your victim rated on Entertainment just because he has high Entertainment skills, then the angle might well do better than if he was just rated on Overness, but... well... that's not terribly realistic, is it? Unless of course he was attacked during a promo, in which case he's a Catalyst and not really a Victim, so that's fine. Likewise, having a guy cutting a 20 minute promo rated on Menace just because his menace happens to be A* is just cheap.

The game is generally more fun when you use the angle roles as intended instead of trying to maximise ratings. Not saying you're doing that or 'accusing' you of anything, just making the point.

[Remianen]

Microphone is used wherever a worker is talking on the microphone (and that's ALL he's doing). For instance, in a backstage interview the interviewer would be rated on Microphone skill, because generally that's all they do. They're not being particularly entertaining, their overness isn't particularly important, and neither is their menace. They're just talking, conducting an interview. So that's all they're rated on. Same for a segment where two announcers talk about something that's just happened, or that is happening later on.

 

The exception to this would be talk shows. Think Piper's Pit, The Cutting Edge, the Highlight Reel, etc. In those cases, the interviewer would be rated on Entertainment (since it's not a 'straight' interview, it's an entertainment segment).

 

Sex Appeal is something that's been ignored so far. But to be fair it's pretty self explanatory - Sex Appeal is for roles where their only (or at least, most important by far) job is to look pretty. Girls in Bikini Contests, backstage catfights, valets who don't talk but are only there to look pretty, etc. Sex Appeal can refer to male roles as well, however that's very rare. Mainly due to the majority of the audience being male and partly due to no males in the Cornellverse having a very high SA stat in the first place...

 

An example of this would be Rick Rude and Val Venis, in the past (with the posedown and bringing a woman in from ringside) as well as The Godfather. 'Narcissist' era Lex Lugar as well. For the women, think Extreme Expose, Diva Strip Poker, and stuff like that.

 

Remember also though that TEW is all about relativity. Just because your workers "only" have D popularity doesn't mean you should never do angles at all if you're a small promotion. If you're Regional, having D popularity is perfectly fine for an upper midcarder, so don't be put off if you "only" get a D+ rating. D+ is good for a Regional fed.

If you're still getting D+ at National, THEN start worrying.

 

Read the parts I bolded. No, seriously, read them. Now read them again. Okay, wait an hour and come back and read them again. I say that because this question pops up a lot and it's something that really is easily answered. Too many folks think a E+ is bad for their mom & pop local promotion. It's not. In fact, it's darn near awesome. Anyone who has raised a promotion from nothing can tell you that with 0 popularity, an E+ rated show gains you MAJOR. Don't expect to be putting on B rated shows at Small. That's a totally unreasonable expectation.

 

As for menace angles, those are easy to put together. Here's an idea for a menace interview angle for a worker with a mouthpiece:

 

Catalyst - Entertainment - On Screen (the manager)

Support - Microphone - On Screen (the interviewer)

Subject - Menace - On Screen (the worker)

[mcorey]

This is all great stuff. Thanks.

 

I have one question, shich I asked earlier and I guess I am a little confused and this goes back to the Catalyst role vs Attacker role.

 

D-Lyrium stated "Unless of course he was attacked during a promo, in which case he's a Catalyst and not really a Victim, so that's fine"

 

What is the difference? Is there some effect on how the angle works and/or is received if the Catalyst role is used over the Attacker role?

[D-Lyrium]

Oh yeah, I was going to clarify that but then I got sidetracked with another rant.

 

As far as I know, the actual effect the different roles have is minimal, if not completely non-existant. It just 'feels' better to have the Attacker be the guy attacking people, and a victim getting beaten up.

 

Perhaps certain roles are rated better according to disposition or the storylines that are going on, maybe even product. If a Heel is the victim in an angle, for example, it might have a lesser impact. Or an 'Attack' angle with no attackers or victims might not work so well. I dunno. That's pure speculation, and quite possibly bollocks. I've never noticed much of a difference, but I haven't experimented a great deal to be fair.

 

Although I think 'Support' roles still have less of an impact on the angle. They used to in older games (but TEW05's angle system resembled old abandoned catacombs, many brave warriors got lost forever trying to figure it out ).