TEW2016: Tutorial For Beginners

[Adam Ryland]

The idea behind this thread is that it will be a tutorial designed to walk newcomers to the series through the basics of starting a new game and running a company. It will be broken down into parts so that I can gradually build it up.

[Adam Ryland]

Part 1: Getting Set Up

 

To begin with you need to pick the database you wish to use. This can be done via the Select Database button in the taskbar on the opening screen.

 

For the purposes of this tutorial we will be using the default data, but feel free to use any other mod (a fan made database) that you like. The Mods forum is located here and contains a handy guide to installing mods.

 

Once you're happy with your database selection, you can begin by clicking the New Game button, the leftmost of the taskbar buttons.

 

You'll be guided through a data check to begin with, followed by naming your save game, before going through the initialisation process.

 

Selecting Your Avatar

 

Your avatar is the character you will be playing as. In the default data there are 10 pre-set characters who are specifically designed to be used in this way, but you can choose an existing character from the game world if you want (via the toggles in the top left hand corner).

 

Your choice of avatar will depend on what level of involvement you want. If you plan on staying out of the limelight you may want a referee or backstage worker, or you may want to step into the spotlight and actually be a wrestler.

 

Just before you make your selection, hit the User Talents button and give yourself some skills; this represents your backstage skills and can help vary the way you play the game. Don't worry if you forget, you can fill them in later too.

 

Selecting Your Company

 

The next step is to select your starting company, if any.

 

If you select None then you will begin unemployed. This is useful if you want to play a 'watcher game' (this is where you simply let the game world unfold without any influence from you in order to see what happens). You should be warned that there's no guarantee that you will be able to find employment easily once the game has begun, so if you want to run a company then it's better to begin with them.

 

If you want to pick a company, the best way is to scroll down the list and read the biographies provided. The major factors that you will be looking for are size, TV shows, style, and location.

 

Size - If you're a large company then you will (usually) have the advantage of larger resources, a more varied roster, and the ability to snap up talent from smaller opponents. The downside is that you will have more to do in terms of day-to-day operations like renewing contracts and handling morale. This can be off-putting to some players. On the flip side, a smaller company usually requires less management but you may be on a tight budget and have to deal with talent being poached from you.

 

TV Shows - It's important to note that for every TV show a company has you're adding 4 more shows per month to your booking schedule. This can be a positive or a negative depending on how much of a grind you find booking is (although you can of course use the auto booker to help you out in that regard).

 

Style - Different styles fit different players better. If you like a less complicated approach then you may prefer to go with a more old school approach like MAW. If you enjoy angles and gimmicks you may want to go with a Sports Entertainment model, like that which SWF uses.

 

Location - It's important to remember that your location not only influences the talent you will have access to, but also who your opponents will be. You may want to use the filter to view the companies on an area by area basis so you can see how the game world stacks up.

 

To aid new players, here are some of the default companies and which real world companies they would most closely resemble in terms of feel, style and size. Note that these are just rough equivalents and are designed just as a guideline; the companies aren't actually meant to be clones or pastiches.

 

WWE: SWF

80's \ 90's WWF: USPW

NJPW: BHOTWG

90's AJPW: PGHW \ BCG

ECW: IPW \ GSW \ DIW

WCCW: CGC

Chikara: ZEN

[Adam Ryland]

Part 2: The Office

 

Your Office (available via the second icon from the left in the taskbar) is where you'll spend most of your time and contains everything you need to stamp your vision on your company. It's recommended that you play around and look at all the different sections, but for now we'll concentrate just on the most important parts and why you should be paying attention to them.

 

Personal Assistant

 

The Personal Assistant is automatically selected when you first visit the office, it's on the lower right hand side. This is your new best friend, as it will flag up any potential issues and double clicking the item will jump you directly to the relevant screen. Try and keep this area free of warnings and you'll be well on your way to staying out of trouble.

 

Roster

 

This is where you'll spend a lot of time as it contains a list of everyone currently working for you. The items in yellow can be altered by clicking on them; note that this includes the worker's name, which allows you to edit their picture and ring name. You'll also find the Autopush button here; it is well worth using this after every show so that your pushes match the recommended levels as this will stop people getting upset with you.

 

Product

 

Your product screen is vital as it explains how your company is meant to be run and what its aims are. There's a lot of information on this screen, but don't be daunted - once you've got a handle on what you're meant to be doing you won't need to come back to it very often. Generally speaking, you can ignore most of the screen and just concentrate on the "This Definition..." part in the lower right hand corner - this will give you exact notes on what you're doing.

 

Schedule

 

This is where you create and modify events. Realistically you won't need to come here very often, especially if you're using one of the default companies that already have their own events defined, but if you're a smaller promotion who share a number of workers with other companies then it can be very beneficial to check the Open Calender button every now and then to make sure that you're not going to lose some of your talent due to a scheduling clash.

 

Size

 

This screen shows how you're doing in terms of popularity. It's important to note the difference between Importance and Popularity - see the "?" button next to the dropdown menu for more detail. This is not a screen you'll need to visit all that often, particularly once you've established your company, but if you're Cult or below then it can be extremely beneficial to map out what regions you'll target in order to take advantage of spillover (see the Spillover button at the bottom for more information).

 

Backstage

 

A screen that often gets overlooked but is in fact crucial, Backstage shows how happy your locker room is. You want to keep your Backstage Rating up as high as possible; the lower it gets, the more 'bad' incidents will occur and the more morale issues you'll have. It's important to note that the longer a bad atmosphere continues, the worse things are going to get, so it can be very beneficial to root our the causes of a bad locker room and do something about them; this can be as simple as firing a trouble maker, bringing in positive influences to balance things out, or even bringing in friends of bad elements to try and pacify them.

 

Broadcasting

 

If you're larger than Regional, you'll almost certainly need to get and maintain strong broadcasting links - this is the screen you need. The bigger and wider your coverage, the more money you're ultimately going to make.

 

Finance

 

It's always worth checking out the Finance screen at least once a month, just to keep an eye on things. The smaller your company, the more often you'll want to visit in order to make sure you're not being hit by silly expenditures. Finances can be very tight if you're a small company, so stretching ever dollar to breaking point can be the difference between success and failure.

[Adam Ryland]

Part 3: Workers

 

Workers (AKA Characters) refers to all the people who make up the game world. This includes the wrestlers, referees, owners, announcers, etc. The Workers screen (fourth from the left in the taskbar) gives you a full list, but you'll also be looking at them via rosters and other screens.

 

In almost all cases you can load a worker's profile by clicking their picture or a View Profile button. Accessing a profile allows you to dig deeper into the worker's history and skills.

 

Overview

 

If you're viewing via the Workers screen or a roster then you will be initially seeing an overview. This consists of their basic info on the left, then a list on the right; this list can be changed to show skills, popularity, etc, by clicking the tabs at the top.

 

If you're looking for someone to hire then there's certain information that you can concentrate on. The first is the worker's Based and Works In information; some workers may not be available to work in your area, and so can be ignored. The worker's Age and Status are also important; a worker's age will hint at where he is in his career, and his Status will tell you about his current situation. Each wrestler also shows a Style, which will be things like Regular Wrestler, Entertainer, or Brawler. You shouldn't be put off if the style doesn't match up with your company very well; these are general tags and many wrestlers may have evolved over time to have more well-rounded skills. For example, it's not unusual for a wrestler classified as a Technician to have built up good brawling skills over time, or to have learnt to incorporate high flying action into his arsenal.

 

In terms of the right hand list, the most important two are Skills and Popularity. The Skills view will depend on the worker's current scouting levels; the worse the level, the more obscured and vague the information you get will be. It will at least give you a basic indication of his value, however, and so should not be discounted. Popularity is important because it gives a strong indication of how useful he is to you. If he's completely unknown in your company's area then you know he's not going to sell any tickets for you and may need a lot of building up before he's any use to you.

 

If you're specifically looking to hire people, the Employment tab can also be very useful as it gives info on whether the worker has any chance of signing with you.

 

What Should I Look For?

 

What you're looking for in a worker depends on your company, specifically it's product. If you're an entertainment based company then you'll be looking for people with high Charisma or Microphone Skills who have some degree of popularity in your area. If you're a company that relies on workrate, you'll be looking at things like Psychology, Basics and Consistency. You should also be looking at how that worker will be used on your roster; a young rookie's popularity and skills may not matter that much if you're planning to spend years slowly building him up, for example.

 

Going Into More Detail

 

For more important signings, it can often be beneficial to view their profile so that you can see more detail. In particular, their Physical section will highlight how beaten up they are (and may show evidence of them being injury prone), their Personal section will both flag up any relationships that may come into play on your roster and show what sort of a personality they have, and their Match History, if they're a wrestler, will give you a hint as to what sort of ratings you might be able to expect.

 

If you've found a wrestler you like the look of, the Negotiate button allows you to get started with a contract offer.