For all those who have downloaded the new rules what do you think.
I have now read the rules twice. My first reaction with the number of pages (136) was that oh my, there must have been a ton of "feature creep" to the gaming system since the WaW of the old. But as you stated in the foreword, the thickness of the manual does not mean the game is more complex, it is just that there's more details and explanations on the way. I really like the fast play the WaW games had, so added complexity would have been an initial worry at least. I do realise the old game system evolved game by game too, so it got more complex game by game. I was just recently able to find the Untold Stories box, so that's the ruleset I am comparing to.
Without having played this yet, I get the feel we are still at that 5/!0 complexity scale the manual indicated, so we're not off the fine line it seems. I'd perhaps not like to see too many added complexities though.
Again having said the above, and to answer your question: what a great job with the documentation. I really appreciate the thought process and effort put to come with the ruleset. Everything is introduced in a logical manner, there's plenty of examples, and the commentary and the little soap boxes there are really a nice touch. This must be one of the nicest rulesets I've read in general, kudos to everyone involved.
So to summarise: the added level of details and complexities were a bit of a worry for me, initially. It is not that any of them alone is overly done, quite the opposite, they add nice details.It is just that they add up. But to compensate for that, the manual is very well done indeed. Especially when compared to old ones, this one is much easier to digest. Well done!
Next, I want to try these rules live
UPDATE: Further to my post above, I reread the rules one more time, and also watched the video play-through by Gimpy Gamer provided at the Kickstarter page. I'd just like to add that the concerns I had about the game complexity are pretty much all gone now (with the little 'if' remaining that I haven't actually played this yet). The little things added here and there add more realism and seem to be really well thought out. Also when watching the video play-through, I realised that it is not just the manual but the plethora of player aid charts that come too. Together they seem to do a really nice job keeping all information at hand while allowing for fast game play pace. Can't wait to try this game out for real.
I also just looked at a couple of my old WaW boxes, and just want to add the new counters and the new counter size is really appreciated. They are so much more clear to look at now.
UPDATE 2: The first Bootcamp videos are now out, too. They are done so as to have a video or a few of them per manual chapter, with matching titles. This is beyond call of duty level stuff, LnL, salute!
