A Little Lost In Australia

[CraigInTwinCities]

Hey all.

 

I have owned TEW2008 and just recently upgraded to TEW2010.

 

The new game has a lot of new elements, but I'm a bit befuddled and wondering how to up my performance.

 

Here's the basics of my situation.

 

I chose APW in Aussieland.

 

I cut some of the fat from the roster and booked about 6-8 months when suddenly Swoop McCarthy was swiped from me by RAW. I almost lost a couple others but somehow avoided it.

 

I then realized I was (by default) at war with RAW and DIW.

 

So then I struck back and signed away about 5 for RAW's top workers. (Captain Wrestling II, Forgue Element, Dazzler, Molokai Milk, etc.) I devastated their roster, taking away anyone with good ratings.

 

I also started locking my roster and new signees up to long-term contracts. (15-24 months instead of 9-month deals).

 

Now, I'm not signing them to salaried deals or even exclusive (except by default when it's another promotion's star).

 

However, here's my main problems...

 

1) I'm used to starting small with APW, but usually in a year, I could grow enough to secure a TV deal, which gave me a weekly show so that I could grow APW's popularity outside of Western Australia more aggressively.

 

However, I'm almost 2 years into APW in 2010, and even the VERY SMALL TV networks are saying I'm not "prestigious enough" to deal with on a TV show. This never happened in 2008, so I can only assume it's because Aussieland is now crowded with 4 promotions instead of one.

 

2) Even though I have pretty much every top-rated (in abilities) star Down Under, how can I be so stuck-in-neutral in terms of prestige and popularity?

 

3) No matter how great my roster is, I can't seem to get a single match rated higher than a C+ and no card rated overall higher than a D+

 

4) I've been primarily using unchained storylines surrounding the belts and the top competitors for each belt.

 

5) I only have 12 events a year without TV... so with RAW on TV every week, it seems almost impossible to "break through" in popularity. It seems like with RAW running four weekly shows plus monthly events, it's going to be way hard to get APW over enough for a TV deal.

 

6) I seem to be STUCK at drawing 600-700 attendance per event in Western Australia and much worse (29 in Eastern) everywhere else. And if I neglect Western to build Eastern, when I come back a month later, I go back down to the low end of 600-700.

 

7) The AI seems to have some weird advantage in signing away talent. They are making predatory bids on my stars, even when they're signed up for 15+ months and nowhere near the end of their contracts. If I "request negotiations" with them, the stars always turn it down, but it seems to make them wait until the end of their contracts to choose between RAW and APW. But man, 2 months into his new contract, Captain Wrestling II is already being offered by RAW, and I *just* outbid them for him... it's weird. Doesn't "15 months left on your contract, paid better than anyone, and holding the APW Commonwealth Belt" buy you anything? LOL...

 

8) Even though I decimated RAW's roster of great stars (and I just signed Swoop back to APW) they're still filling 2,000-seat venues and getting decent TV ratings (though middle-of-the-road reviews).

 

9) I feel like there's something I'm missing about booking and how to get starts rated higher than C+ on momentum, as well as how to get matches and shows rated stronger than that.... I browse the forums here and see people talking about this at a level that's a bit over my head, so...

 

10) One upgrade I made right away was I hired the BEST road agent (Original Lone Rider B+ as road agent) in all of Down Under and put him in place. The default RA was a C+ so it was a big upgrade. So I should be getting B+ matches at least some of the time, right?

 

11) I pay attention to booking notes from my road agent, good/bad chemistry reports and the like.

 

12) I've had a couple stars leave because I was doing step-by-step story-lines that are prewritten into the game, but they get temperamental about losing. One guy actually walked out on me... that's when I went to unchained stories so that if someone gets snipey about losing, I can alter the booking...

 

13) How are Road Agent notes supposed to be used? I tend to use them to indicate who should win, but that, as I've said, seems to tick temperamental stars off. (I also try to appease stars by using Open Match, sometimes Protect or something. I usually tell the game to Script since none of my roster is all that good at Call In Ring. And I indicate the type of finish I want, sometimes, like in cage matches.)

 

14) I guess in the end, I'm just not sure what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong; I kind of wish there was some kind of tutorial on booking, getting the most out of your stars, avoiding having a loss make some worker pissed off, etc.

 

The game is loads of fun, but I want to get better at this, and grow APW, and while I'm doing some things right, I suspect there are some basics (like booking) that I'm all wet on, and it's holding me back....

[Rathen4]

I'll answer what I can - I love the Australian scene and APW in particular!

 

 

1) The Bloke Channel, the very small channel you're talking about, needs a popularity of 35.1 and a prestige of 20. If you've not got both of those, they won't negotiate. If you've got both of those, I have no idea!

 

2) Wrestlers do have a cap on popularity, but I'd be surprised if all five have this. That's interesting.

 

3) This is pretty usual - don't worry about it. D+ shows should still be more than enough to grow your popularity.

 

4) Seems sensible enough!

 

5) Yes, it is hard to overtake RAW. For now, focus on getting that TV deal and stealing away their guys. Just keep chipping away at them.

 

6) This is just one of those unfortunate things, and I'd suggest bi-monthly shows if you can afford it.

 

7) Your contracts being for 15 months mean nothing, unfortunately. They are signed to PPA or exclusive PPA, which means another company can make an offer for them at any point. Because the big three in Oz are all at war, the PPA system is kinda useless as one worker will only work for one of the three as a result. But this is why they (and you) can steal.

 

8) If you keep stealing their guys, they will decline. It'll be slow, though. Just keep plugging.

 

10) Nope, it's not really as simple as that. A road agent contributes a good bump (if you have the dirt sheet function turned on), but would not raise a C+ match to a B+ match.

 

11) Good - sensible use of these are exactly what is necessary.

 

12) This is one of the flaws of the pre-written storylines, and to be honest I avoid them at all times now.

 

13) My ideal formula for APW matches was Script, Open Match, Slow Build (for matches of 16 minutes or not). However, I've been recently told about "Decisive finish", which gives far more of a popularity boost to the winner (but also more pop lost to the loser). Open match does not put a worker over particularly well.

 

Any more questions post away

[BHK1978]

Okay I am not an expert at this at all, so some of what I say might not be right. However, you helped me on the other site in the past so I am going to try to help you with what I think I am right about.

 

3) No matter how great my roster is, I can't seem to get a single match rated higher than a C+ and no card rated overall higher than a D+

 

I think this has more to do with promotion popularity and worker popularity than the quality of workers that you have on the roster. What I mean by that is if I were to run an MAW game I the best I could hope for is D ratings for my matches. If my promotion was more popular and my workers more popular I could re-book the exact same show and I would get a better rating. Now I am not sure if I am right on this but I think that is how it works.

 

6) I seem to be STUCK at drawing 600-700 attendance per event in Western Australia and much worse (29 in Eastern) everywhere else. And if I neglect Western to build Eastern, when I come back a month later, I go back down to the low end of 600-700.

 

What is the maximum size show you can run? Sometimes it is just a matter of changing the levels on your show up a notch. Once again I was running my diary game and I saw a jump in attendance one month and during the next month I lost about one hundred fans.

 

I kept on racking my brain as to why this happened. And then I realized that for the event that I drew a large audience I had the show size set to medium. The other event after it was set to small and that was the difference. Once I changed all my shows to medium, my attendance was back up again.

 

So just go into schedule and look at modify event tab. Click on that and you should see a note on the top of the screen telling you what the maximum level you can set your shows to. Upon seeing that just go down to the size menu and change it if you can.

 

7) The AI seems to have some weird advantage in signing away talent. They are making predatory bids on my stars, even when they're signed up for 15+ months and nowhere near the end of their contracts. If I "request negotiations" with them, the stars always turn it down, but it seems to make them wait until the end of their contracts to choose between RAW and APW. But man, 2 months into his new contract, Captain Wrestling II is already being offered by RAW, and I *just* outbid them for him... it's weird. Doesn't "15 months left on your contract, paid better than anyone, and holding the APW Commonwealth Belt" buy you anything? LOL...

 

What kind of contract is the AI offering your workers? Are they offering them P.P.A. contracts? Or are they offering them Written contracts? If they are just P.P.A. contracts you do not need to worry. Yes you just outbid them, but the company can still come in and offer them a contract at any time because they are not locked into a written deal with you.

 

12) I've had a couple stars leave because I was doing step-by-step story-lines that are prewritten into the game, but they get temperamental about losing. One guy actually walked out on me... that's when I went to unchained stories so that if someone gets snipey about losing, I can alter the booking...

 

This could be a popularity issue as well as a personality issue. Most upper card workers will not do the job to people who have less popularity than they have. You will run into a few, Steve Flash seems to be someone who does not care who he loses to. Sometimes the worker just has a crappy personality and just does not want to lose.

 

13) How are Road Agent notes supposed to be used? I tend to use them to indicate who should win, but that, as I've said, seems to tick temperamental stars off. (I also try to appease stars by using Open Match, sometimes Protect or something. I usually tell the game to Script since none of my roster is all that good at Call In Ring. And I indicate the type of finish I want, sometimes, like in cage matches.)

 

This is something I often question myself. I pretty much do what you listed, I pick the winner, I usually call it in the ring and that is about it. I hardly ever do Open Matches and I never protect because I tend to get negative feedback from the Road Agents when I do that.

 

And that is pretty much all I have to say. Once again I might not be right about what I said above and if I am wrong I am sure someone will come on here to correct me. I just hope that this can help you out a little bit.

[scorpion]

A trick I use on keeping your own guys from being stolen- If you see a company you are at war with offer one of your workers a contract, request negotiations at the same time. Since its PPA deals you don't have to be in the last 28 days to offer a contract.

 

Then when that decision comes up read the top paragraph of the negotiation screen. It will tell you who, if anyone you are competing with to sign the contract. More often than not it will be nobody, even though the other company requested negotiations. Its as if the worker told them no thanks to negotiate solely with you. You can then negotiate a new contract if you want or just exit out. Exiting out does not void your current contract.

 

If it is a competition then you will have to outbid to keep them. I've only rarely seen this happen though.

 

Edit: this doesn't necessarily work with companies bigger than you

[denzil85]

For road agent notes, less is often more, by limiting the number of notes that you make, the road agent and your workers can work on making the best match that they can. In every match I book, I try to stick to:

Winner

Keep Strong/Dominate (depending on the match circumstances)

Call in Ring/Script

All Out Match/Work the Crowd/Slow Build (depending again on circumstances)

 

And then use interferences, match endings, crazy bumps or whatever else as and when they're needed.

[NewZealandfan]

<p>Few Things I have found in APW that work for me</p><p> </p><p>

1) I dont run tag teams untill atlest Cult</p><p> </p><p>

2) I split up The Melbourne Blondes by haveing Rick turn about 5 months in and I always get A* momentum</p><p> </p><p>

3) Swoop is not the be all end all Blake Belushi, Harry Simonson,Lanny Williams can all be built into what I call the foundations of APW to get you to cult.</p>

[D-Lyrium]

Alyx Macquarie is also a great prospect if his destiny rolls are good. By which I mean, he starts off solid anyway (for Australia...) but a bit of luck will make him great in a few years.

[CraigInTwinCities]

<p>I appreciate all the feedback so far.</p><p> </p><p>

Another thing I noticed... some stars... Captain Wrestling II and Kerry Banks in particular ... seem to have very low stamina. CW2, especially, any match over 10 minutes, he "was tiring visibly by the end of the match."</p><p> </p><p>

Which really makes it hard, with him as champ, to do the best matches like ladder, iron man, etc....</p>

[NewZealandfan]

If you protect him in the Road Agent notes that helps with that

[CraigInTwinCities]

<p>Another item:</p><p> </p><p>

I get this in the show notes all the time:</p><p> </p><p>

"The angles used did not live up to the standards set by the in-ring action" or words the that effect.</p><p> </p><p>

Huh? Is that an effect of booking, the performers used, or ... ?</p>

[denzil85]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="CraigInTwinCities" data-cite="CraigInTwinCities" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="31189" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Another item:<p> </p><p> I get this in the show notes all the time:</p><p> </p><p> "The angles used did not live up to the standards set by the in-ring action" or words the that effect.</p><p> </p><p> Huh? Is that an effect of booking, the performers used, or ... ?</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but that means that your average angle rating was lower than your overal show average, or something like that. Using angles that match your wrestlers strengths better might help fix that, if possible. For example, try not to use anything less than Main Eventers or Upper Midcarders in angles rated on Overness, for example.</p>

[D-Lyrium]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="CraigInTwinCities" data-cite="CraigInTwinCities" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="31189" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Another item:<p> </p><p> I get this in the show notes all the time:</p><p> </p><p> "The angles used did not live up to the standards set by the in-ring action" or words the that effect.</p><p> </p><p> Huh? Is that an effect of booking, the performers used, or ... ?</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> This means, as noted above, that the overall average of your angles was lower than the overall average of your matches. It's not a huge penalty (unless your angles REALLY suck and your matches are all MOTYC's <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">) but it's something the game thinks is worth you bearing in mind.</p><p> </p><p> It's basically telling you "this show would've been a tiny bit better if some of your angles didn't suck so much".</p><p> </p><p> As for the stamina issue, the Protect note should help, but their stamina should improve naturally if you keep forcing them to go a bit longer than their limit. If you want longer title matches, I'd put the belt on someone else until Wayne and CW2 get up to fitness. Which could take a while... but they're young. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"></p>

[CraigInTwinCities]

<p>I've had a couple PPVs that I booked during gaming time today, and they went down a bit better thanks to the advice here. My angles are now matching the in-ring stuff and giving the shows a lift.</p><p> </p><p>

Also, I'm more careful about who to do angles on.</p><p> </p><p>

With Swoop back at the company, I booked him to lose in a 5-man match on this first show back (a #1 contenders match), but had him beat down the winner... then, after the main event, I had him run-in and beat down CW2.</p><p> </p><p>

(Yes, he's a heel now.)</p><p> </p><p>

In the second event with Swoop back, I centered everything out of the ring around the main event.</p><p> </p><p>

I had Swoop demand a match with CW2, arguing he should be the rightful #1 contender. My authority figure (Kate Avatar) agreed so long as he signed an agreement that if he gets hurt, he can't sue APW.</p><p> </p><p>

Then in another segment, Swoop signed the agreement.</p><p> </p><p>

Between the next match, I had Swoop cut a promo on the triangle ladder match main event.</p><p> </p><p>

Then I had AER (Artemus someone?) run a promo on it, too. Then CW2.</p><p> </p><p>

Swoop, AER and CW2 are three of the strongest talkers in AussieLand.</p><p> </p><p>

I then ran a music video on the triangle match.</p><p> </p><p>

All these segments came between different matches.</p><p> </p><p>

I then ran the match (D+) and had an angle at the end where, despite winning, Swoop beat down CWII after the match (to set up a short feud).</p><p> </p><p>

So Swoop's back to being the APW Commonwealth Champion and he can do 30-60 minute matches much more easily than CW2.</p><p> </p><p>

That card had a couple C+ promo spots and overall the show was a strong D+, one of my better cards to date.</p><p> </p><p>

I still wish I could get a C-/C/C+ card, but at least I'm not getting D-/E+ right now...</p><p> </p><p>

I also took the advice about switching all my events to medium, though it took me a while to figure out where/how to do that. Haven't run a show since doing it, though...</p><p> </p><p>

Keep the tips coming!</p>

[CraigInTwinCities]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Rathen4" data-cite="Rathen4" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="31189" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>The Bloke Channel, the very small channel you're talking about, needs a popularity of 35.1 and a prestige of 20. If you've not got both of those, they won't negotiate.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Well, I don't know about those numbers, but currently in my game, APW is ranked 25th worldwide.</p><p> </p><p> Momentum is D-, Prestige is F+, Popularity is D-</p>

[funkyzafara]

35.1 is D-, 20 is E+

[CraigInTwinCities]

So how does one raise prestige?

[NewZealandfan]

Just by keeping booking good cards building your company there no quick way to do.

[CraigInTwinCities]

<p>YES!</p><p> </p><p>

I just signed Mark Misery away from RAW. He was their head booker and I just through RAW into such chaos, it made the Web report! Whoo!</p><p> </p><p>

And all I needed to do was make him a midcarder!</p>

[Eidenhoek]

<p>Heh, I did that to APW and DIW as RAW soooo many times.</p><p> </p><p>

Yet, their popularity/prestige never dropped ?_?</p><p> </p><p>

Even when APW couldn't run a show, no hit to their popularity...</p>

[CraigInTwinCities]

Yup. That seems to be the case for me, too.

 

 

They signed Debonair David Peterson off the unemployment line as their replacement and the RAW show continued, unaffected.

 

(I cut DDP right away, preferring The Original Lone Rider as my head booker, since he's rated higher than any other head booker in the great Down Under.)

[Rathen4]

Head booker? Do you mean Road Agent?

[CraigInTwinCities]

<p>Ooops you're right. I'm using Kate Avatar as APW's head booker.</p><p> </p><p>

But everything else I've been talking about (me stealing/signing RAW's head booker, them signing DDP as their replacement) was about the head booker position.</p>

[CraigInTwinCities]

<p>Quick question:</p><p> </p><p>

Would I have better results with repetitive booking penalty turned off?</p><p> </p><p>

Because apparently I can only book the same combination three times in like a 9-month period or I get hit with a penalty... and it'd be hard to really play out a great feud like that...</p><p> </p><p>

I mean, in real life, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho feuded for at least 6-9 months a couple years ago, and because they delivered, it never got old for me.</p>

[Eidenhoek]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="CraigInTwinCities" data-cite="CraigInTwinCities" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="31189" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Quick question:<p> </p><p> Would I have better results with repetitive booking penalty turned off?</p><p> </p><p> Because apparently I can only book the same combination three times in like a 9-month period or I get hit with a penalty... and it'd be hard to really play out a great feud like that...</p><p> </p><p> I mean, in real life, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho feuded for at least 6-9 months a couple years ago, and because they delivered, it never got old for me.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Technically, if you keep putting on better matches, you'll be fine regardless.</p><p> </p><p> But taking off Repetitive Booking (and maybe Perfect Show Theory) will make it easier, yes.</p>

[Spud1305]

Just started a game with APW, 3 shows in and its started off not too bad. Had 2 C- shows and a D+. I signed the Lone Rider for Road Agent and brought in Victor Goliath as a Backstage Interviewer. Sadly Dingo Devine's contract was running out and negotiations broke down so he is on his way out but I have signed Kerry Wayne, Monday Next and the Next Big Things Tag Team (Nicky Gilbert & Rod Sullivan). Main storyline is still Swoop vs. Nathan McKenzie. Big Mac attacked Swoop for the first 2 shows so they had a match on the 3rd show that Swoop won. Prior to the match, Swoop was giving an interview which was interrupted by a debuting Monday Next.

Big Mac destroyed Swoop after the match by putting him through a Table, so the plan is at the next show to have a tables match where I'm going to have Monday Next interfere and cost Swoop the title, leading to the two having a short feud. I'll have Big Mac keep the title for a while and see how things go.

I've never really tried the Australian scene but after reading this thread and Rathen's APW dynasty I'm having a blast.