ATTENTION NEWBIES: Read this first (by Castina)

First topic message reminder :

If you're new to the strategy-discussion forum of Advance Wars By Web, let me be the first to welcome you. Before you post anything, you should be made aware of certain pitfalls you can make here. If you've made these pitfalls in the past, please do not take this as rubbing it in your face as you had no way of knowing before it was too late. The point of this post is so future additions to the community do not do repeat the same.


1. Grit, Hachi, and Colin are broken. Period. It's been discussed, sent in triplicate, sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public enquiry, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as fire lighters. It's been proven. It's practically law. If you want to discuss any of the broken COs please do it in a respectful manner and respect the conclusion the entire Advance Wars community has come to. Do not discuss use of any of the three above in a topic not explicitly about them if you wish to be taken seriously.

2. First turn advantage (FTA) exists. Period. This is another issue that is sometimes opened and reopened by new people, similar to the above. Unlike the above, debate regarding FTA and its implications and severity on different maps is actually encouraged and desired but please recognize that its existence has been proven so attempting to debate that will be treated rather dismissively. For more information on FTA visit the Design Maps forum, as this one is here to help you come up with compensation tactics or discuss theory.

3. Matches against the CPU or "War Room" examples do not count. Sorry to say this, especially if you were under the impression that campaign or War Room modes were preparing you for play against another player. I won't lie -- the CPU does have its place in training, especially in practicing your ability to survive under duress, but data gleaned from fighting the CPU does not count towards strategical data here as the CPU is not only predictable, but cannot learn or adapt based on situational or mid-fight emerging data like a human can. If the CPU is a consistently difficult opponent for you in VS matches (try recreating one of the ones on Nahbien's list on your cart, it won't take as long as you think it might) then you're in no shape to be giving advice on PvP just yet. Be patient, you won't be in that rut forever.

4. Recognize the term "theorycraft". It stems from Warcraft/Starcraft and someone who plays the entire game in theory without actually understanding the flow of the game. It's a very blurry line what constitutes "theorycraft" and what is genuine AW theory, but it's instantly recognizable when a person uses theory and only gives information regarding the theorized situation favorable to their argument and skips all other information (such as daily income, number of footsoldiers on each side, presence of fog of war or unit types able to be built, etc.). If you are going to discuss theory, be sure to give as much data as possible, even if it doesn't immediately support your conclusion. It's even better if you can use shots from an actual game to support your thesis. That brings us to...

5. Neutrality is favorable. You will be much more respected if you don't appear to have emotional stakes in being right. Far too often someone will take someone completely debunking their arguments as a personal attack or somehow worry that the forum will see them as lesser people for being wrong. Believe me, if you're actually fretting about that, it shows -- and it will detract from your image exponentially more than being wrong. It is just a game. Relax. You have nothing to lose by being wrong. If anything, people unafraid and willing to be wrong in order to help find a greater truth are more respectable, not less.

6. Recognize the fact you are probably not as skilled as veterans of this community. Again, this should be no source of shame. This is the only community for Advance Wars online where people across the world can actually sharpen their skills against each other in actual play, and thus have the greatest exposure to the intricacies of the game. If you're new, then please respect the fact you're probably not as skilled as others here and not be surprised if your arguments and positions aren't taken as seriously as someone who has proven their experience. This is a meritocracy. If you recognize your place as a learner first and foremost, you will learn. If you come in, be offended when you're not treated as an immediate peer by the more skilled players, and then promptly have your ass handed to you in a game, you will learn far less than you would have if you deferred to them to begin with.


Finally...


7*. Be not afraid of asking for help. Be it a specific map, strategies for using a specific CO in different conditions, or even something more abstract than that. While it would be helpful to us if you instead browsed the archives to see if your question had already been answered (especially regarding queries regarding the broken COs) you should not hesitate to ask questions. Some of the best strategy discussions in this forum had stemmed from even the most basic questions from people who may have never even posted here before. You will not be looked down on for needing help, if anything the excuse to discuss strategy at length will be embraced.



Thank you for taking the time to read this.

*The original text had 6 listed here for unknown reasons. Some scholars postulate that's it's meant as a juxtaposition between the two paragraphs. The exact reasoning is perhaps forever lost.

It's just apart of the human condition to feel that way, and personally I've never learned more, or felt more alive than when I went through trials, and tribulations. There's nothing wrong with saying something stupid, and what better place to say something stupid than on the internet anyways?

You shouldn't forget that this place isn't a scientific community, but an open forum for like minded gamers, and personally I'd rather see a jovial community when I log in than dead silence.

You should of seen me when I first got here - I said many stupid things, I was a dick to people, and hell I could barely even type, but I like to think I've grown a little bit, and learned a few things from my experiences. Though, it's always been in the back of my mind that I'm still just the same old fool I've always been.

I suppose that's true, but I've learned a lot just watching the conversations take place. Also, I may not have been around at the beginning, but I've been playing on AWBW since late 2007 (with a hiatus of about 1 year in the middle) and feel as though I should know a lot more than I do whenever I see discussions like this. I guess I had never really been involved in the community outside of the games themselves, so I guess that didn't help me