TCW Discussion Thread

[ampulator]

The strange thing for me is that I have grown to dislike TCW after each incarnation of the game. The first time I bought a game in this series was TEW07 and TCW was by far and away my favorite promotion.

 

When 08 came out, it was still a good promotion to play as but I grew to slowly dislike it because I kept on falling down to Cult.

 

In 10, I have come to despise it. I love the roster but I hate how the product was changed. There are other stuff that I hate about the promotion but I will leave my rants out of the thread.

 

TEW2005 Product

 

Key Feature: Mainstream

Heavy: Risque

Medium: Traditional, Comedy

Low: None

Very Low: Hardcore

 

TEW2007 Product

 

Key Feature: Traditional

Heavy: Mainstream

Medium: Realism

Low: Modern, Pure, Cult, Hardcore, Daredevil

Very Low: Risque

 

TEW2008 Product

 

Key Feature: Traditional

Heavy: Mainstream

Medium: Realism

Low: Modern, Pure, Cult, Hardcore, Daredevil

Very Low: Risque

 

TEW2010 Product

 

Key Feature: Traditional

Heavy: Mainstream

Medium: Realism, Modern

Low: Pure, Hardcore, Daredevil

Very Low: Cult

 

There is no product change between 2007 and 2008. However, 2010 is a harder product, considering you have a Heavy emphasis on Mainstream, but in a performanced-based product. It doesn't really affect your lower card that much, but in your main event, guys like Rocky Golden are going to suffer hard.

 

Oh yeah, look how much Risque has dropped, followed by Cult.

[dethklok26]

Here's my product:

 

Medium: Traditional, Cult, Modern, Lucha

Low: Everything else

None: Daredevil

 

I changed to this product via the editor, because I felt very handcuffed and was basically using my main eventers as mid-carders to keep ratings up. It results in a performance rated, sponsorship friendly product. The big problem with it is that most brutes are ineffective, with the exception of Eddie Peak.

 

I did what most did and had Minnesota turn on RDJ, putting the Syndicate over. I think created a special chamber-esque match with the winner getting a mitb style title shot. I put Wolf over in that, which then caused Tommy to go all Trips on him and have Keith take him out. Tommy beat Rocky the same night to become champ, and a few months later Wolf cashed in(he set the match up before, no surprise cash in, 2 month build) and won the TCW belt off Tommy in a surprisingly low rated match(80). He held it for a while, feuding with Tommy(which caused his ego to go up, he's become a real prima donna backstage). Eventually Bryan Vessey beat him and Tommy to take the belt for a bit. Tommy then screwed his way back to the championship. Then John Anderson beat him in the fall and held the belt until the new year. Tommy employed Eddie Peak to help him beat Anderson, but never paid up his promised title shot.

 

The 2nd week of the 2nd year, I'm still second place. Rocky Golden dies in a car accident, which is a big blow as he had really developed into a great performer. I had Peak beat Tommy at a memorial show for the belt. Peak has become a much nicer guy backstage. He held the belt a bit and Tommy got it back, thanks to a heel turn by Vessey(he puts on 100/A* matches with Peak). Now, Sean McFly has arrived to take the belt from Tommy, after winning the War to Settle The Score title shot.

 

My biggest problem is gimmicks. I can't pinpoint what works because there are no product guides for it, and the rating is very erradic.

[Lt. Lucrativo]

I've been playing TCW for while... does Benny Benson just seem to fail with anyone else?

 

I haven't had any idea what to do with him in TCW either, for the same reasons Self mentions. I'm only 6 months into my current game, but he's already lost a fair bit of popularity and hasn't really been involved in anything notable.

 

Since I just can't seem to take him seriously as a singles star, I'm planning on throwing him into a team with the newly acquired Art Reed. Since the two of them are close friends it ought to keep them happy, and I've always been a sucker for the wacky mis-matched tag team gimmick. I think there may be some potential there, as Reed can play a good all-business badass while I don't think Benson can ever get away from his fun-loving clown persona.

[Ping von Erich]

I've come to the realization I suck at TCW.

 

I do really really well with SWF right out of the box, but TCW? Jebus Crisp do I blow chunks.

[Bigpapa42]

I've come to the realization I suck at TCW.

 

I do really really well with SWF right out of the box, but TCW? Jebus Crisp do I blow chunks.

 

Where exactly are you coming up short? Match grades suck? Angles suck? Not getting the PST right?

[Ping von Erich]

My angles usually land in the mid seventies, it's my match grades that end up sucking wind. I'm pre-booking PPV's (well, the one I've run so far) I'm trying to be smart when booking. But right now after just the first PPV I've gotten mostly "might have hurt... " messages and a lot of my guys momentum is in the tank, or at least getting there. I'm just running the starting storylines, hired a couple people (Lover, Acid, Newton, Matt Keith, the usuals) not uber pushing any of them, all are at the appropriate level so that can't be what's bringing me down. My show ratings end up mid seventies. I mean, how can Ino versus Peak (with neutral chemistry) get a 67?

 

What the heck am I doing wrong?

[Bigpapa42]

My angles usually land in the mid seventies, it's my match grades that end up sucking wind. I'm pre-booking PPV's (well, the one I've run so far) I'm trying to be smart when booking. But right now after just the first PPV I've gotten mostly "might have hurt... " messages and a lot of my guys momentum is in the tank, or at least getting there. I'm just running the starting storylines, hired a couple people (Lover, Acid, Newton, Matt Keith, the usuals) not uber pushing any of them, all are at the appropriate level so that can't be what's bringing me down. My show ratings end up mid seventies. I mean, how can Ino versus Peak (with neutral chemistry) get a 67?

 

What the heck am I doing wrong?

 

Be careful, basically.

 

TCW in 2010 is performance over popularity. But that still means that popularity matters. So bear that in mind when booking main events and such. Peak and Ino are solid enough workers but not great. If memory serves, they start out around C+ and C overness respectively. Which means even though they are Upper Midcarders, they don't have the overness to main event TV at the start. I just got a solid B out of that match at the start of April, but that's with Peak at B+/A overness and Ino around B.

 

Getting the overness of the main guys up is key. Its a little bit easier if you are willing to do things "cheap"... such as liberal use of the "Face Off No Contact" angle. Or Brute gimmicks combined with Menace-based angles and squash matches.

 

Spam Tommy Cornell. From day one, have him in a match per show and at least an angle per show. The guy is not only an amazing in-ring worker but he's fantastic on the mic. Use that. I found it very very easy to get his overness up within a few shows. RDJ, Hawkins, and Minnesota all went up as a consequence. And you can then pass the overness around more. At the start of my current game, I had upper midcarders at C+ overness... now, I have guy auto-pushing to that at B+ overness.

 

Simply put, overness helps the match grades. Angles make gaining overness easier. And the opposite is true - lack of overness hurts match grades. So no matter how talented a guy is, a notable lack of popularity hurts his ability to put on great matches.

 

With that in mind, I usually limit the use of guys midcard and below on the main show. It doesn't meean they never get used on the main show, just that I'm only using a couple. So no heavy use of Aaron Andrews or Edd Stone right from the start, not unless you are very careful on how you do it. Those guys are kept happy wtih regular dark matches, then regular use on the B show once you can get one.

 

Don't be afraid to give away PPV-caliber matches on TV. Its almost necessary. This takes some careful consideration if you have the repeat match penalty on, but less so if its off.

 

Getting mid 70s in angles isn't bad, dependent on who is in them. But the likes of Cornell and RDJ should be able to pull high 80s grades right from the start if based on Enterainment. Be careful wtih the angles you use.

 

Hopefully that helps a bit.

[ampulator]

First, if it's TEW2010 product, then it's a performanced-based product. I don't think Ino or Peak's skills are good enough to pull off the better match. I swear, if Realistic was lowered to "Low", your life would be much easier over time.

[Ping von Erich]

Oh I didn't use Ino and Peak as a main event, that was just an example of the weird results of some of my booking. That was like second to last match of the night.

 

What booking notes should I be using?

[Bigpapa42]

Oh I didn't use Ino and Peak as a main event, that was just an example of the weird results of some of my booking. That was like second to last match of the night.

 

What booking notes should I be using?

 

That was one thing I forgot to mention! I tend to minimize. Usually just notate the winner, and maybe Call in Ring if they have the skill. I occassionally use Slow Build on longer (20 minutes plus) matches with two skilled workers, or Open Match if I'm okay with the winner getting less benefit. The occassional squash match gets the Domination note but that's almost always on the B show.

[dethklok26]

I've not run Ino and Peak together. Ino is my Kane, jobber to the stars. However, I've found that Call In Ring with Peak against other brawlers creates epic matches. He has mega-chemistry with Vessey for me, so I throw an occassional matchup between the two in to build up one or both of their current feuds.

[Teh_Showtime]

Peak, Ino, and Bach all are mega stars in the making

 

for me all 3 have had more than 3 B+ matches already (In july 2010) and not even against Cornell

 

Bach over Minnesota was an A(93)

 

Ino and Peak have the performance skills to pull out matches in the 70s with the AA division (Ino over Huggins was a 74) and Bach can go with the monsters as he's had good matches with Golden, and Fonzareli

 

also if you can get Vessey to increase popularity and have peak win the feud, Peak can have A popularity in no time

[Ping von Erich]

First, if it's TEW2010 product, then it's a performanced-based product. I don't think Ino or Peak's skills are good enough to pull off the better match. I swear, if Realistic was lowered to "Low", your life would be much easier over time.

 

This helped A LOT.

 

Such a tiny change with such a big impact on my match grades.

 

Thanks man!

[LiquidSwords]

I'm playing a TCW game right now and so far its my best game out of all of my saves. Rocky Golden almost has A overness across the U.S. and the rest of the main event is either at B+ overness or a mix between A and B+. I have a small development territory in my game as well.

 

The only issue that I am having is how to improve the All Action division and make the belt a little important (right now it is at D- title prestige). I am thinking about making the belt similar to the X Division belt in TNA. One of my ideas is to raid a few promotions outside of the U.S. to build up the division (mainly Mexico and Japan).

 

Would a promotion such as TCW be open to bring in luchadors and wrestlers such as Magnum Kobe? Also is it possible for me to sign Magnum Kobe to a written deal because in my game he turned down an offer from Burning Hammer.

[ampulator]

This helped A LOT.

 

Such a tiny change with such a big impact on my match grades.

 

Thanks man!

I know it's been a while, but anymore news on this?

[LiquidSwords]

I lowered realism in my game and it has made a difference in match ratings. Rocky Golden has been a decent champion so far in my game. Depending on his opponent he can at least have a B+ match. Then again I have his overness at A across the U.S. and B+ in Canada.

[ampulator]

Fair enough, but I think in Bigpapa42's diary, Rocky Golden's matches were, on average, a B. And I think his Golden was at an A even A* popularity.

[LiquidSwords]

Well I have been putting him against opponents that have top notch in-ring skills. Rocky is improving his in-ring skills but he will probably drop the belt to Eddie Peak at Total Mayhem.

[ampulator]

On related note, how's Eddie Peak and Rick Law doing?

[LiquidSwords]

Eddie Peak has A to A* overness in the U.S. and B+ overness in Canada. In other areas of the world he has D- overness. In my game he is feuding with Rocky Golden for the TCW World Heavyweight title.

 

Rick Law is at B+ overness in the U.S. and he is currently feuding with RDJ. Both workers have been cutting excellent promos against each other which has greatly improved the storyline heat in their feud.

 

I was high on Joey Minnesota until he started causing backstage problems (mainly incidents with workers such as Sammy Bach and Benny Benson) and declaring that he is the most important person in TCW twice.

[ampulator]

Eddie Peak has A to A* overness in the U.S. and B+ overness in Canada. In other areas of the world he has D- overness. In my game he is feuding with Rocky Golden for the TCW World Heavyweight title.

 

Rick Law is at B+ overness in the U.S. and he is currently feuding with RDJ. Both workers have been cutting excellent promos against each other which has greatly improved the storyline heat in their feud.

 

I was high on Joey Minnesota until he started causing backstage problems (mainly incidents with workers such as Sammy Bach and Benny Benson) and declaring that he is the most important person in TCW twice.

What about their match quality? it should be as good as, if not better than, Rocky Golden's matches.

[LiquidSwords]

Eddie Peak has been excellent in the first 4 months of my TCW game. He has been in 16 matches and his match quality averages to a B+.

 

Rick Law has been in 18 matches so far and his match quality is the same as Rocky with a B average.

 

Joey Minnesota has been in 16 matches and his match quality was good for the first two months at B+. Now it seems as if his quality is going down (last two matches were with John Anderson (C+) and Freddy Huggins (B-)).

[holydogg]

Does anyone is struggling financially with TCW?

 

First two months, I was 300k in the black.

Since I turned International, I was loosing 600k per month, so after two months, I'm near bankruptcy...

[Comradebot]

Does anyone is struggling financially with TCW?

 

First two months, I was 300k in the black.

Since I turned International, I was loosing 600k per month, so after two months, I'm near bankruptcy...

 

You shouldn't be losing money, so...

 

Are you using a drug testing policy? Those can be VERY pricey.

Are you running house shows? If not, you should.

Holding your events in the biggest arenas you can?

[Comradebot]

Oh, and what about backstage rules? Giving a bunch of perks to a large roster is bound to drain your cash.