President Forever + Primaries FAQ

[Anthony_270 947]

President Forever + Primaries FAQ

Q. When I double-click the AutoUpdate file, I get an the error saying "Invalid Parameters". How can I AutoUpdate?

The AutoUpdater will run automatically - when the game starts, you will be notified if there are updates and be given the option to download them. It won't work by clicking the program in the game folder.

Q. I try to open the Help file by pressing F1 or clicking the Help button, and nothing happens. How do I open the help file?

Update your program to the latest version.

Q. When will a Candidate Editor be released?

Update your program to the latest version.

Q. Where are the historical scenarios?

President Forever + Primaries currently comes with scenarios for 2008 and 2004. Historical scenarios (2000, 1992, 1980, and 1960) will be released as they are completed. Your AutoUpdater will be able to add them at that time.

GAME PLAY

Q. Is it possible to affect ballot access in states for third parties?

Currently, not during the game. Scenario designers specify the regions for which a party has ballot access. We might add a feature to include gaining ballot access in a future version.

Q. How do I move my candidate?

Click the Activities button on the main screen (it has a flag on it). Then click on a state. Then click the barnstorm button or the policy speech button on the Activities panel. Currently, the other activities aren't affected by your location, so you don't need to move when you do those activities.

Q. I can't spin the news during the primaries!

During the primaries, you can only spin news on the last day's news. Click the right arrow on the top-left part of the newspaper, until you reach the last day's news. If any articles are spinnable, there will be spin buttons on this page.

Q. I offered to be someone else's Veep candidate, and they accepted. Then the game told me I had been removed from the game! Is this right?

Update your program to the latest version.

SCENARIO DESIGN

Q. I want to change something or other in the scenario files. How do I do that?

First, before changing anything, go to the Scenarios folder in the President Forever + Primaries Folder, and make a copy of the scenario folder you want to edit (for example, copy the United States - 2008 folder, and then paste it). Then rename this new folder something unique. Now go to the new folder, and right-click on an XML file in it. Open it with WordPad or NotePad. You can now edit the file contents. Any files that are edited in the default scenario folders (such as United States - 2008) might be overwritten in an upgrade. Although the program makes backups of files before replacing any, this can cause a hassle, so as suggested above always make a new folder in which to edit files first.

[floorman81 0]

President Forever + Primaries FAQ

Q. Is it possible to affect ballot access in states for third parties?

Currently, not during the game. Scenario designers specify the regions for which a party has ballot access. We might add a feature to include gaining ballot access in a future version.

Q. How do I move my candidate?

Click the Activities button on the main screen (it has a flag on it). Then click on a state. Then click the barnstorm button on the Activities panel.

Is there a way in the general election to plan your strategy and movements by week like the old game and in the primaries? I find doing all the clicking day to day is a little streneous and especially after you're used to planning a week in the old game.

[Fireball1244 0]

Q. How do I move my candidate?

Click the Activities button on the main screen (it has a flag on it). Then click on a state. Then click the barnstorm button on the Activities panel.

This really annoys me. If I'm in one state doing debate prep, and next turn I want to give a speech in another state I can't! That's horrible. It slows everything down, and requires you to barnstorm in every state you visit. What if I just want to fly in, do a fundraiser and fly out? I could do that in the old game, which means this a major step backwards in terms of flexibility.

Also, late in the game, when candidates are tired, barnstorming leads to mistakes. This broken travel functionality requires MORE barnstorming, which is forcing me to go around making an ass out of my candidate.

Please restore the "next turn in" candidate movement functionality.

This and the broken "where should I put my ad?" window are the two major usability reductions in the new game. Most of the other functionality had been made easier to access, but not these two critical components.

Is there a way in the general election to plan your strategy and movements by week like the old game and in the primaries? I find doing all the clicking day to day is a little streneous and especially after you're used to planning a week in the old game.

I second this. Now, things move faster during the general campaign, so maybe three days would be a better per-move plan, but after playing 30 or so moves where you schedule your candidate for several days, switching to doing it day by day feels very sluggish and difficult.

[SaskGuy 16]

How do the delegates at conventions choose which candidate to go to once their candidate has been eliminated? Is it able to be changed so that, if you manage to stay in, that you can get delegates easier?

[Anthony_270 947]

Hi Fireball 1244,

The reason moving requires barnstorming is that (in the these cases) debate prep doesn't matter where you are, and policy speeches give news stories, they don't have a local effect that is different than the national effect.

Thanks for the other feedback - it's noted.

This really annoys me. If I'm in one state doing debate prep, and next turn I want to give a speech in another state I can't! That's horrible. It slows everything down, and requires you to barnstorm in every state you visit. What if I just want to fly in, do a fundraiser and fly out? I could do that in the old game, which means this a major step backwards in terms of flexibility.

Also, late in the game, when candidates are tired, barnstorming leads to mistakes. This broken travel functionality requires MORE barnstorming, which is forcing me to go around making an ass out of my candidate.

Please restore the "next turn in" candidate movement functionality.

This and the broken "where should I put my ad?" window are the two major usability reductions in the new game. Most of the other functionality had been made easier to access, but not these two critical components.

I second this. Now, things move faster during the general campaign, so maybe three days would be a better per-move plan, but after playing 30 or so moves where you schedule your candidate for several days, switching to doing it day by day feels very sluggish and difficult.

[Fireball1244 0]

The reason moving requires barnstorming is that (in the these cases) debate prep doesn't matter where you are, and policy speeches give news stories, they don't have a local effect that is different than the national effect.

Thanks for the other feedback - it's noted.

Debate prep being locationless makes sense, as does issue research and operations development. I think that speeches should have some localized effect, however. They will be covered more by the local media, and they should be addressing local issues (Social Security speech in Florida, for instance). Obviously, they have a national effect, but they should have a stronger local effect, as well.

Also, fundraising should be localized. Hillary Clinton will raise a lot more money in New York at a fundraiser than in Idaho. This should be reflected in the game.

Plus, it just seems awkward to leave the candidate stationery if I'm doing anything other than barnstorming. It's not realistic. Most likley, Clinton would debate prep in New York. I'd like to be able to move her there without wasting energy points.

Sometimes I want to move the candidate while letting him or her rest. It just seems reasonable to me, and this whole thing feels like a change for change's sake. It's a downgrade from the previous game's functionality.

I know I'm droning on about a minor thing, but it makes the game feel "limiting." The completely broken ad location selector does the same thing -- it's like I don't have the flexibility to do what I want to do, when I should.

[Anthony_270 947]

Thanks Fireball1244, these are good ideas.

Can you expain what you are talking about with the ad location selector?

Debate prep being locationless makes sense, as does issue research and operations development. I think that speeches should have some localized effect, however. They will be covered more by the local media, and they should be addressing local issues (Social Security speech in Florida, for instance). Obviously, they have a national effect, but they should have a stronger local effect, as well.

Also, fundraising should be localized. Hillary Clinton will raise a lot more money in New York at a fundraiser than in Idaho. This should be reflected in the game.

Plus, it just seems awkward to leave the candidate stationery if I'm doing anything other than barnstorming. It's not realistic. Most likley, Clinton would debate prep in New York. I'd like to be able to move her there without wasting energy points.

Sometimes I want to move the candidate while letting him or her rest. It just seems reasonable to me, and this whole thing feels like a change for change's sake. It's a downgrade from the previous game's functionality.

I know I'm droning on about a minor thing, but it makes the game feel "limiting." The completely broken ad location selector does the same thing -- it's like I don't have the flexibility to do what I want to do, when I should.

[Fireball1244 0]

Thanks Fireball1244, these are good ideas.

Can you expain what you are talking about with the ad location selector?

Sure. I make an ad, then go to tell it where to play, and instead of the nice, useful dialog from PF, which listed the states in terms of which I had targeted, and how I was performing in each, I just get an unhelpful flat listing of the states. I miss the old dialog.

[Anthony_270 947]

Thanks for the clarification,

Sure. I make an ad, then go to tell it where to play, and instead of the nice, useful dialog from PF, which listed the states in terms of which I had targeted, and how I was performing in each, I just get an unhelpful flat listing of the states. I miss the old dialog.

[Taft 0]

Tony,

It would really be nice if we could see what order the states are in or how we're doing in each state in the dialogue box (the latter was in the original P4E). Thanks!

[FrenchFisher 0]

What does that button do?

[Fireball1244 0]

What does that button do?

It toggles your map display to the default view, if you've switched to, say, momentum or ads view. It doesn't change states to indicate that it's selected, though, which is a bit confusing.

[Anthony_270 947]

Added to the FAQ

Q. I offered to be someone else's Veep candidate, and they accepted. Then the game told me I had been removed from the game! Is this right?

Yes. Becoming someone's Veep will remove you from the game. This will only affect gameplay is there is another human player in the game, at which point they must deal with your candidate being on someone's ticket.

[Fireball1244 0]

Added to the FAQ

Q. I offered to be someone else's Veep candidate, and they accepted. Then the game told me I had been removed from the game! Is this right?

Yes. Becoming someone's Veep will remove you from the game. This will only affect gameplay is there is another human player in the game, at which point they must deal with your candidate being on someone's ticket.

It would be kinda cool if you could stay in the game and just run the veep campaign, with the AI controlling the presidential candidate. That's a lot to ask, though, and probably not reasonable.

[progressivedem 2]

Or if you could then take over the Presidential campiagn. Just for more gameplay.

[Anthony_270 947]

Added to the FAQ

Q. I want to change something or other in the scenario files. How do I do that?

First, before changing anything, go to the Scenarios folder in the President Forever + Primaries Folder, and make a copy of the scenario folder you want to edit (for example, copy the United States - 2008 folder, and then paste it). Then rename this new folder something unique. Now go to the new folder, and right-click on an XML file in it. Open it with WordPad or NotePad. You can now edit the file contents. Any files that are edited in the default scenario folders (such as United States - 2008) might be overwritten in an upgrade. Although the program makes backups of files before replacing any, this can cause a hassle, so as suggested above always make a new folder in which to edit files first.

Added to the FAQ

Q. I try to open the Help file by pressing F1 or clicking the Help button, and nothing happens. How do I open the help file?

The Help file is accessible by clicking your Windows Start button, then Programs > President Forever + Primaries > Help. Currently, this is the only way to access the game's Help file.

[Oxymoron 0]

When choosing vice presidential candidates as Wesley Clark at the Democratic convention, the relations box told me Feingold has 100 relations with the Liberals, CPC, NDP and BQ. It went away when I clicked the arrow to view his relations with the republicans, constitution and libertarian, and never came up when cycling through the choices.

[SaskGuy 16]

2 questions:

1) What is the maximum number of regions that can be created? On the same note, is there a maximum number of EV/delegates per region?

2) Is there some way to make each region split its EV's up between different candidates, like in the primaries?

[RI Democrat 39]

I'm getting a "Cannot find server" message when I go to the page for previous owners of PF. The URL it is trying to open is https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?i=11853&c=single&cl=64 -- is that correct?

[Anthony_270 947]

Hi SaskGuy,

Maximum regions is 70, like before. You can specify that a general election event is PR, but we haven't looked into whether everything would still work if you did.

2 questions:

1) What is the maximum number of regions that can be created? On the same note, is there a maximum number of EV/delegates per region?

2) Is there some way to make each region split its EV's up between different candidates, like in the primaries?

[SaskGuy 16]

You can specify that a general election event is PR, but we haven't looked into whether everything would still work if you did.

Okay, how do I do that exactly? I've replaced all of the 'FPP' with 'PR' in the political_units file, but it doesn't change it during the general. Is there some other file I have to change?

[LiberalUK 4]

I don't know whether they've tried this game, but noting down the names of 23 states, searching for them in a list of 50 and then nhaving to turn each one off in the next turn is extremely awkward. The primaries have a similar problem.

[Doug325 0]

Question: Is there a way to make a crusader be available for ONLY the General Election? One instance of this would be having an outgoing incumbent President wait until there is a nominee before supporting anybody

WRT the proportional support, it would appear that changing the 'PPR' to 'PR' should do it (unless something is hard coded. Also, how would you handle a situaltion like Maine and Nebraska, who award EVs by giving 2 EV to the overall winner and then 1 EV per district.

[Snefix 1]

It says on the order page that PF+P requires Windows XP, but I was wondering if it was possible for the game to run on a Win98 system?

[Anthony_270 947]

Hi Snefix,

The game will probably run on any given Windows 98 configuration - but we aren't officially supporting that platform.

Sincerely,

Anthony Burgoyne

80soft.com

It says on the order page that PF+P requires Windows XP, but I was wondering if it was possible for the game to run on a Win98 system?