Achtung Panzer: Operation Star - Best tactical WWII game since Combat Mission 2?

I can confirm this game is great. Especially if you’re into tank porn, you can go into the encyclopedia and look at 3D models of every vehicle, listen to their engine noise and gun noise, and compare stats between 4 different types of Panzers at once.

Tim Stone in RPS nailed the comment about atmosphere, this game has a metric tonne of it. You never know exactly what’s around the corner and makes battles feel really tense, especially when you go back over a section you’ve already fought on and all the damage from the last encounter is still there.

http://www.graviteam.com/games/149.html?action=downloads

I have it installed, but haven’t given it much time. It has a certain look of impenetrability to it that daunts me.

Man, no time. I want to play this, loved the original (after spending considerable time doing home work/translations through google on any instructional breadcrumbs the developer left on the 'net). But…no time.

I’ll definitely check it out eventually though. The original made for some really amazing encounters and the wide open tactical maps created realistic, random, interactions you don’t find on smaller, tidy, scripted scenario maps ala CC or CM. So many more decisions to make when there’s so much ground to cover, so many possible routes of advance or maneuver, and no real way to know for sure (ala divining a designer’s intentions) whether the enemy is actually going to be set up where he “should” be.

That throws a big element of gambling into the mix. Maybe you do make a risky dash for a high value target in hopes of keeping the momentum going for a flanking maneuver or for a deeper victory location. Maybe you hang back and simply try to attrit an enemy rather than claim territory. Make them waste lives, fuel and ammunition.

Such a cool game.

Brian, of you play an operation a second time, does the AI mix it up enough (equipment, placement) to make it just as unexpected as the first time you play it through? Or is it one of those where, upon replay, you’re thinking “OK, I need to watch out for that ant-tank weapon that he has somewhere up in that tree line?”

Also. how taxing is it in terms of computer hardware?

It varies. Usually I’d expect not to see the same thing twice, say, if two units repeatedly clash over one map. But then sometimes you’ll see them do similar maneuvers. Just to make it that much more unpredictable (probably not but that’s how it feels)!

But it’s rare you’ll even have that happen. On the operational level units are moving around and it often changes the complexion and balance of power in any engagement. Between engagements too units are trying to repair and replentish and can end up with a somewhat different internal composition themselves.

As far as taxing goes that’s hard for me to say. Only ran it on my old gaming laptop which was fairly muscular.

Edit: Keep in mind the operation level and the tactical level are two different things. The tactical clashes are almost always varied. The operational is always basically the same (in terms of what units are involved and where they’re positioned) but because the outcomes of tactical battles are so unpredictable the operational level becomes less and less predictable itself over time. Units usually move in a predictable way on the operational map starting out but then they tend to react to the different realities around them which creates uncertainty.

Ah, sounds good, thanks.

I have a laptop that would be good for this I think: 3 year old Dell XPS M1710, with a GeForce Go 7950 GTX, 4 gig RAM. Ran Fallout 3 pretty well at full 1920x1200. May have to give this one a shot.

That was my old machine! Well, it might be four years old now but I was playing on a Dell XPS M1710 with the same card and same RAM.

Is yours red? :)

Yes, the game definitely plays out differently every time you go through an operation. The strategic portion of the game makes sure of that, and the tactics used in the tactical portion vary greatly even with the same two unit compositions meeting.

Also, there are I believe 10 different operations. So there is a lot of meat to the game.

And I didn’t actually realize that destroyed buildings, vehicles, craters and trenches persist on the tactical maps.

I was playing last night, defending a sector for the second time, and was able to use the old trenches I had dug. I was even able to hide behind the charred shell of a tank I had knocked out the previous night with an MG squad.

Finally, that 2-part night battle YouTube is AWFUL. Don’t watch it. It’s just a guy playing very slowly through the tutorial from the first game.

I thought it sounded familiar but I didn’t check YouTube about it yet.

I think what I need is a short Let’s Play series. Text/screenshot AARs are nice, but not quite what I need.

Maybe I’ll stop being so picky over the holiday break when I have more time to sit down and get over a learning curve. At the moment I’m so overwhelmed by GOTY candidates that I demand niche games make it easy for me.

Lol not only same taste in games but same laptop! Mine is silver with the led turned off. Don’t know if I could move from this 17" high res screen to a little 11 inch like the m11x.

Do you use an external mouse with this game? I have a good one but not always with me and it looks like it needs the middle button.

So is this an actual game, or is this yet another masturbatory exercise in excessive detail?

INQUIRING MINDS WISH TO KNOW! I mean, seriously, should I be thinking Panzer General, where the nardism was kept to a minimum and the awesome was turned up to 11, or should I take all praise with a grain of heavily wanked and riveted salt with some extra lens caps and a side of soldier boots?

Take very slow, careful steps away from this thread.

Yup. I can’t remember if I actually needed it but I always had a mouse set up and also a USB keypad.

Urge to play demo… diminishing.

I thought about keeping quiet just to watch your reaction to the UI.

On the other hand, I don’t read your rants all the way through so maybe you’d like it!

I’m getting Star Wolves instead, because it looks like the thing I want second most. If I try the demo tonight and it is awesome I will be mad at you, Tim. I will be verru mad.

Have you ever played Combat Mission? Close Combat? It’s a game like those, not like Company of Heroes or Panzer General. It’s a tactical simulation, not a casual turn-based strategy game or a arcade-y RTS.

If that sounds like not your sort of thing, don’t do it.

Also, don’t do Star Wolves either. It’s a pretty shit game for any genre.

the first star wolves is a lot of fun.

as is achtung panzer, although i have not played this new one yet. maybe when it is £10.

The question you should ask yourself is:

“Can a Pak38 penetrate a KV-1 frontally from an angle of 30 degrees at 200 yards?”

If you don’t know and don’t care… best run.

No.

What do I win? :D