Tips for Starting a New Game

[marsupial311]

With TEW2016 coming soon, one of my biggest problems is getting through the first few months of a new game. I usually start with one or two storylines in mind but find it overwhelming coming up with something for my entire roster all at once without anything started (even with a Regional company). I don't really have problems coming up with storylines after I've been with the company for a little while because there's more of a flow with everything but starting everything up at the same time seems daunting and if my storylines flop I tend to lose interest.

 

Any tips for this? I recently tried to get a 21CW game off the ground but couldn't seem to get my storylines to work. It's my first try at starting with an entertainment fed above small so that might've had something to do with it. Thanks for the help guys.

[Benjamin4011]

<p>I understand exactly what you're referring to by, "overwhelming." I myself had to start and restart a huge amount of games in 2013 before the sheer breadth of the game world became less daunting and more manageable. I don't know if this tip will help, but for me, I found it much easier to deal with by creating a google Doc to keep my own personal tabs on both the current state of my fed, and my future plans.</p><p> </p><p>

So, for instance, in my longest and most accomplished game, I have a twenty-plus page document that tracks all my cards, my roster, storylines, etc. There was something more manageable to me about having my own document, rather than using the TEW interface to keep track of everything I had bouncing around my skull. This is not to say that there was any problem with the interface, but rather that my own plans for storylines, wrestlers and cards were easier for me to manage when reading them in my own words.</p><p> </p><p>

That said, I still don't always have something planned for everyone. For instance, in my current game, Nelson Callum is treading water: I don't want him to lose any pop, because I like him, but I can't formulate long-term plans for him at the moment, so for the past few months he's been getting wins over midcarders and doing almost nothing else. Eventually, I'll figure something out for him, but since I'm already hitting my mark for total storylines needed in my fed, I'm fine with just having him get some wins, a loss here and there, and otherwise put on decent matches until I can get him a proper storyline/push. </p><p> </p><p>

I hope this was of some help <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

[brat99]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="marsupial311" data-cite="marsupial311" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="41110" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>With TEW2016 coming soon, one of my biggest problems is getting through the first few months of a new game. I usually start with one or two storylines in mind but find it overwhelming coming up with something for my entire roster all at once without anything started (even with a Regional company). I don't really have problems coming up with storylines after I've been with the company for a little while because there's more of a flow with everything but starting everything up at the same time seems daunting and if my storylines flop I tend to lose interest.<p> </p><p> Any tips for this? I recently tried to get a 21CW game off the ground but couldn't seem to get my storylines to work. It's my first try at starting with an entertainment fed above small so that might've had something to do with it. Thanks for the help guys.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Absolutely what Benjamin said about Nelson Callum....taken a bit further; you don't have to have plans for everyone right out of the gate. If you don't have a plan for a random upper mid to midcard worker, use them to make your storyline workers look good while maintaining their position by beating guys further down the card. Another strategy I have employed when trying to push workers up the card is to look for free agents (often older workers) with decent pop and then sign them to short-term (3-9 month) contracts and then job them to the guys I want to move up.....this way I don't hurt my upper card workers all the while building up someone new. Just keep in mind that it is difficult to push more than one or two workers up the card without damaging those already in the upper card areas. Hope that made sense (and helps).</p>

[consortium11]

Any tips for this? I recently tried to get a 21CW game off the ground but couldn't seem to get my storylines to work. It's my first try at starting with an entertainment fed above small so that might've had something to do with it. Thanks for the help guys.

 

I've played quite a lot of 21CW games over the years, so this advice is tailored towards them.

 

The first thing I'd note is that I don't particularly like most the starting storylines for them. Faust vs Matravers is fine and makes sense but I just never really *got* Hot Stuff vs the Defence Force and the Dark Angel vs Everyone world title story never really seems satisfactory to me.

 

Keeping that in mind and your own point that you like to wait around a bit and get a feel for the company before starting storylines, my suggestion could well be simply to pull the plug on the existing storylines and have a couple of menace based ones to tide you over.

 

Ending the storylines immediately shouldn't hurt you too much; the heat for all of them is reasonably and no-one comes out too badly. And then over the next month or two you can play around with the company, discover who and what works for you and then start creating your own storylines.

 

What do I mean by using menace to tide you over? Well, it's sort of "cheating", but in these circumstances I think it's worthwhile. For 21CW you need to have three storylines at above 53 heat to avoid a penalty. Between Danny Paterson, Nightmare, War Machine and Brickhouse Balder (frankly you could throw some more names in there as well) you have more than enough workers with high enough overness and menace that they'll easily be able to get heat above 53 and keep it there through angles. Stick them in a story with anyone... it basically doesn't matter... and then put together angles rated on menace (and you can use the angle writer to create your own "cheaty" angles to make life even easier). Every week have three menace based angles, one for each storyline, watch the rating stay above 53. Keep doing that until you're happy you've got at least three good storylines to replace them then end those feuds (you can have a blowoff match if you want) and go with the new ones.

 

Is it "cheating"? Sort of; it's abusing TEW's mechanics to play it more as a game and less as a creative exercise. But it does give you the month or two you need to get a real feel for the company so you can create and run your own storylines.

 

-

 

In the more general sense, you don't need to have storylines for your whole roster. As wrestling fans we may love it when a promotion does that but as TEW players? It can be hard, hard work. All you need is three (perhaps four to give you a bit of leeway), at least mechanically. So to begin with at least, focus on three or four storylines at a time. The obvious thing to do is base them around titles (21CW have three so that's a good start right there) and then as you get more of a feel for the roster and the characters start doing so more character based ones. As was mentioned with the Nelson Callum example, almost all companies have a bunch of workers who are basically marking time at any given point; having matches but not really going anywhere with them (either up or down the card), just waiting for their next real story to start. It's not the end of the world if say Edward Cornell, Harry Wilson, K'Lee Hawkins and The Underdogs are just sort of there rather than having much direction... in many ways a team like The Pride are largely designed for that with those seemingly meaningless matches just being a way for Leigh Burton to get trained up by his more experienced partner.

 

Think about it this way; how often in wrestling is a part of a feud between two wrestlers one of them wrestling a third party and the other interfering in some way? You need those third parties for scenes like that to work... but the third party don't need to actually be involved in a storyline themselves. Adam Matravers having a one-on-one match with Edward Cornell where Faust attacks him after the bell needs Cornell as the third part... but he doesn't have to be in a storyline himself. It's ok to have some workers who from time to time are little more than a set of stats on a page, guys to be put in place when you need to book say an "upper midcard heel" but it doesn't really matter who.

[combolock]

If you have any sort of free time, I think you could write out your events in a document so you feel more attached to the product. If you have fun writing the events, the game goes by quickly. Good luck!

[Alucidus]

I get where you're coming from.

 

This is part of the reason why I personally don't use the C-Verse. It creates massive choice paralysis. I don't know any of these workers. I have no feel for them. I can't visualize the narrative I'm creating for them in my head.

 

You only mentioned your 21CW playthrough. I know a lot of people stick with C-Verse and that's great, but I think some people need the resonance of real-world mods. If you've never done so before I suggest trying that approach. If you have, then my apologies for making assumptions.

[lr10540]

I have a basic formula for my storylines. I usually run around 8, and 5 or 6 will get a match on the ppv.

 

1. World title feud

2. Main event feud (personal issue. may or may not be #1 contender)

3. Secondary title feud

4. Midcard feud (personal issue. may or may not be #1 contender)

5. Tag team title feud

6. Tag team title next contender feud (build momentum for next challengers)

7. Another midcard feud

8. Build lower card worker (like a dev callup or someone with no pop that you have big plans for)

 

Usually my ppv will have those top 5 feuds and usually the #8 feud as it's easier to build a worker with ppv wins. Using the #8 feud also allows a break between the main event and semi main.

 

For the rest of the roster, I just put on good matches for tv like an old school WCW or a present day NXT. Not everyone needs a story. I try not to have more than 4 to 6 main eventers or popular upper mids in stories at one time. It adds for realism for me and also allows me to make my Wrestlemania type card special by putting all the main eventers on one show. By keeping half your main eventers out of storylines you can also have good tv main events to carry grades without stressing who gets the W because they need the momentum to look good in the program.

 

As far as carrying stories along it's a lot easier when you have guys that aren't in stories. A heel can cost someone the match, open challenges, babyface asks for a shot after he's been on a roll bearing people week in and week out. For example I may have Angry Gilmore and Rich Money in a rivalry for the title with the personal issue being who's the best wrestler in the world. They both get wins in singles action every week (add their opponents as minor in the storyline) and trade insults before the ppv. They have their ppv match and Eric Eisen costs Gilmore the title. Eisen is pissed that he's been left on the sideline to rot when SWF is his promotion and Gilmore is getting all the fan fare. Eisen vs Gilmore would be my #2 feud. Meanwhile, Rich Money moves on as world champ. He could hold a celebration ceremony where his next challenger interupts him, we could have a little tournament, a four way match etc to set up the next contender. Do that for the rest of the feuds.

 

The longer you go and create allies and enemies, the easier it becomes to create issues. The starting storylines I usually end after the first ppv. From there I start following the loose template above.

[Self]

I make 4 storylines tops. I have vague directions for other wrestlers, but to make official storylines for everyone seems overly complicated.

[kingjames]

Been working with an Entertainment fed with CGC myself recently. Personally, I like playing entertainment/pop feds more than performance feds, if only because I'm a fan of a good wrestling storyline. This is how I've been booking, and I've been consistently getting show ratings high enough to push my fed's popularity.

 

One thing I would say is important is to find the guys who are over and keep them over unless you are specifically building someone else up. You can use their overness in angle segments, which are immensely important in an entertainment fed. Personally, I tend to book 60-70% angles/30-40% matches for TV and equal time angles and matches for PPVs, so having guys with good mic, acting, charisma and overness skills is important. I've pushed lesser in-performers over more skilled ones if they can consistently score high enough in their angles to increase their popularity. Note Star Quality will limit those gains, so in a lot of ways you can find a "ceiling" for guys who will be important but perhaps never main event material.

 

Menace is amazing because it's less limited by a worker's popularity. It allows you to build up a monster heel (or face, ala Undertaker) quickly, so long as they've got enough Star Quality. Keep them in the pre-show/post-show/away from the main event in squash matches to build up their in-ring abilities, if they've got the capacity to get better in the ring, and to keep their poor in-ring skills from tanking your match ratings. But definitely get them in angles where they are rated in Menace. The ratings will be fairly amazing, and build up the monster's Popularity very quickly. Keeping the monster's momentum high will make those gains come even faster.

 

This Menace worker might always be limited in matches, but if you can put them with a popular worker who is skilled enough, they can put on a good enough match to not tank your ratings. Once you've got them built up, have them lose to someone with about the same or lesser overness you want to get more over. The loss will sap the monster's popularity and transfer it to the less popular worker, but the menace rating will allow the monster to regain that popularity fairly quickly, which then allows you to repeat the process. Being able to beat a giant/monster after that monster's been billed to be unbeatable is a time honored way of getting someone over.

 

I want to echo the advice about not having storylines for everyone on your roster. If you have access to the WWE Network, or other sources, to let you watch Stan Hansen's WWE Hall of Fame speech, listen to it. Listen to him thank "the carpenters", the workers who spend their careers making other workers look like a million bucks. These workers are essential to every promotion, but they don't get stories. You'll want to have those carpenters on your roster. I tend to favor guys with decent to great in-ring skills, but shabby to non-existent Entertainment skills and low Star Quality. Their in-ring skills can be used in non-main event/dark matches to build the skills of workers who are less talented in ring but have the Entertainment skills and Star Quality that will allow them the opportunity to be future stars. I also look for good locker room guys for my carpenters, because they can keep the morale backstage up, and potentially help to cancel out stars with personality issues.

 

Don't fall in love with your workers. You'll get invested and want to see all of them succeed. This is, if not outright impossible, difficult to the point it may as well be impossible. Push the ones who have the tools you need to put on a good show, and let the others be your carpenters.

 

Generally, I tend to focus stories so all of my Main Event workers and most of my upper midcarders with good Entertainment/Star Quality are doing something, with up-and-coming midcarders involved in stories with "gatekeeper" midcarders or upper midcarders - guys with decent enough but not great Star Quality and Entertainment skills to let them find a generally stable place in terms of popularity, losing to get someone over and then building their popularity back up to their stable place before putting a future Main Eventer/upper midcarder over again. Everyone else gets their occasional TV time, but they aren't in stories until and unless they can be used to help push someone up the ladder.

 

It's been working pretty well for me so far. But don't be afraid to run a "test" of a month or two with a company to get a feel for the workers. Book them to emphasize their strengths and don't book them into situations where their skills are weaker, unless you're intentionally trying to build their skills (in which case, I put them on the pre-show/post-show).

 

Most of all, good luck and have fun!

[lr10540]

Another thing I do that I just thought about...

 

Figure out your main event for your big show of the year, and book those two as world beaters so by the time they start their feud, they're both icons or close to it. It really helps your big show rating as well as giving you a focus to center your booking every year.

[Remianen]

Any tips for this? I recently tried to get a 21CW game off the ground but couldn't seem to get my storylines to work. It's my first try at starting with an entertainment fed above small so that might've had something to do with it. Thanks for the help guys.

 

First of all, I would suggest running a test game to get to know the roster. One of the things that makes games easy for me is the fact that I know my roster (default and targeted) so I can plan things before game start. If you're playing a promotion for the first time, it might be a good idea to scout out their workers as well as any unemployed/underemployed talent you might be interested in. That to me is more than half the battle. 21CW is somewhat unique in that your top star is basically a wreck physically. But you can use him to elevate two or three workers (one as his ally, one as his adversary and one as his adversary's ally).

 

I probably approach games differently than most since my primary focus is on developing talent. My upper midcarders are essentially main eventers in waiting so as soon as someone retires (or gets fired), there are 5-8 people willing and able to step into the breach. But for 21CW, that approach would work best, since importing talent is by no means a quick fix but your local area is bereft of serviceable workers. If you bring a KC Glenn in (which I highly recommend), you'll have to build him literally from scratch since he has zero UK popularity. But pair him with Kathleen or Phoebe (or Melanie Florence) and you'll have an upper card star talent by the end of year 1. Unless I'm misremembering, KC's chief weakness is he's horrible on the mic. And that's really the key. I would start sending out offers immediately, just in case you hit a catastrophic patch and drop from Cult. In my game, 21CW is doing decently but they've bled off 5 popularity (72 to 67) in 9 months. Putting on TV shows rated 58-67 and PPVs in the low 70s, they've been slowly bleeding. But, that might be because someone stole most of their top managerial talent (*whistle*) and they haven't replaced them. So their angles have been 'meh', at best. Seems like their go-to angle was always a segment with just Kathleen Lee and Phoebe Plumridge but it always rated 80+ (seriously, on nearly every TV show they ran that skit). Kathleen is no longer with the promotion so now they just book brawls and angles with Phoebe and someone else, which don't rate nearly as high.

 

I also tend to disagree with most folks with regard to storylines. I typically have 3-4 top storylines and others that just hang around for development purposes. Besides the top 4, I use the other storylines as a sort of organizational tool. Since I tend to run multiple saves at any given time, I need a way to quickly figure out what I was doing without having to dig through histories. Storylines do that for me. They jog my memory. So typically every worker on my roster is usually in a storyline (even the managers, and I always carry A LOT of managers). Though I do carry folks who aren't necessarily going to be pushed to the top, those are usually older workers nearing the end of their careers (Lioness Mushashibo, Nikki Power, Kiko Sakakibara, Alpha Female, etc), likening it to passing the torch. But I don't job them and use them more as gatekeepers than anything else. They're crucibles and I treat them as such. For example, in my current game, Junko Hayakawa (at 49) and Seiko Nanami (at 45) are a tag team at lower midcarder putting the boots to the team of Ariel Breaks & Maria Guest, making them earn their way to the midcard. Miss Mexico is in the main event working Alina America and I teamed April Appleseed and Connie Morris to work Selina Svelte and Talia Quinzel. None of the vets are likely to get a real push (well, April might get a world title run but that's only to build and put over Lauren Easter) but they're useful and that warrants at least a 'paying your dues' type of storyline. But then, I don't usually have the luxury of picking and choosing workers with great star quality or even in-ring skill. Often it's one or the other, unless I'm playing a real world mod and the worker in question works for WWE.

 

Bottom line, do whatever strikes your fancy and learn from it. When I first started (with TEW05), I bankrupted or failed with six companies (AAA x3, 5SSW, NOTBPW, SWF) before figuring out a booking strategy. That was when I learned to, well, learn my roster and what's possible for them. You don't put your fireballing pitcher into right field. You let him/her pitch!

[marsupial311]

Thanks guys, lots of good info here. There's something about angles and storylines that was making it difficult to book those companies. I always had fun running pure feds (My two longest games were ROF in 05 and QAW in 10 where I ran them from Small to National in like six or seven years) because I can generally start them with a "Bound for Glory" tournament to figure out chemistry/potential/pushes. Maybe under my few main storylines I could do that with the rest of the roster to get a feel for them. I think I just have this hangup of "why am I paying people if I don't have work for them on a weekly basis" since it was easy to find places to shove everyone in matches in pure feds.