2061

Did anyone here actually buy Command? I’ve managed to resist so far with that price. I’ve bought Grigsby’s games at that price, but Gary probably puts out the most polished games that they have (not that that is saying much). This sounds like it could possibly use more work in the AI department and the UI sounds like a chore to use. Would love to hear any experiences people here have had, because in spite of all that I am still tempted.

2062

I got it, because this sort of thing is pretty much one of my favorite genres, and I used to spend a lot of time with Harpoon. It’s very ambitious, it has a lot of functionality, and it has what it takes to draw you in to the intricacies of sneaking a sub through an ASW screen or planning a strike package. It is a bit rough in places, and the first beta patch is already out. The AI is actually pretty good I think; the difficulties right now are with fine-tuning the decisions it makes about profiles, engagements, and logistics mostly. Some of the issues are arcane, and some are more problematic. The UI is good, but needs work, which it’s getting–a few things that were standard in older games seem to be harder to do here, while other stuff is easier.

From one perspective, for the price it should be in pristine shape, and it isn’t. From another, you kind of know going in you’re paying to be in on the ground floor of an evolving platform. It’s fully usable right now, but everyone will find one or more things that irk them about it I’m sure.

In contrast to Grigsby games, though, I think it’s more elegant in its modeling, and has more attention to UI; it’s also a type of game where the nit-picky details actually make sense, unlike in some of Grigsby’s stuff where counting each rifle never really seemed to add much to the simulation IMO. It’s far more playable than WitE, though radically different of course.

Is it worth what they ask? There is no blanket answer for that. I haven’t had the time to do much more than the three tutorials and one small scenario, but it’s exciting to have this product, and the editing and database features are going to ensure a lot of user-created stuff soon.

2063

Tim Stone at Rock Paper Shotgun did a review of C:MANO.

2064

One of the folks out on Octopus Overlords did a very nice writeup of the C:MANO Aviation Tutorial Mission that gives a good idea of how the game works:

Part 1

Part 2

2065

For videos check out the site of one of the betas who has been streaming scenarios - http://baloogancampaign.com/

2066

There are some helpful youtube videos, but not enough of them. In a lot of ways, I admire the game. It’s just too much work to do simple things for my tastes, and that’s assuming you have accumulated the game/ UI knowledge to know how to do those things in the first place. Just one example: setting up a simple, recurring supply convoy to a base requires way too many clicks, and too much digging into the UI, even if you know exactly how to do it. And you’re going to be doing these sorts of routine tasks a lot in the game.

I’m glad the game exists for the people who really want to dive into it, and master it. And I even tinker around with it myself now and then.

2067

Did anyone’s copy of Navajo Wars show up recently? Holy cow it looks interesting.

2068

I too would like to hear from anyone who’s been whooping it up in Navajo Wars.

2069

Though I’m still actively not-playing Command (because of time constraints and waiting for a non-beta patch), and resolutely avoiding Civil War II (because of time constraints and waiting for a non-beta patch), I fully plan to make what may be my last game purchase of the year (but probably isn’t) tomorrow and pic up Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm, a re-imagining so to speak of the under-appreciated Flashpoint: Germany. I’m a sucker for Cold War stuff like this, but I have to now tell myself that that’s it, no more this year! One can only have so many wargames one doesn’t actually play.

2070

Know the feeling…I just bought Flashpoint…played the original a bit…but really am ready to dive into this one. Now, I have to put WITP on hold yet again. These wargames need to come out once or twice a year but then I’d be playing some of the other genres I enjoy and would complain about those. If only I was 20 again and going to college and had all the time in the world!

If you start playing a bit and want to try some PBEM, I’d love to try that.

Now, I gotta go and play some more Dominions 4…errr…Flashpoint!

2071

Just got mine. Looks interesting! Gonna take a while to get to the table though, I just started Sturm Nach Osten.

2072

Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm is a great game - I worked on it but I’ll bump this to give it a bit more attention. Between Command and now Flashpoint if you are interested in Modern Land, Air or Naval warfare, it’s covered. For any who are interested in modern warfare (going back to 80s Cold War for Flashpoint) I believe you will love these games.

Regards,

  • Erik
2073

I’ve been reading the manual and getting ready to play Command Modern Naval/Air Operations, but what I really want is some reading material on the topic. Anyone here have suggestions for books about modern naval combat? I’m particularly interested in the evolution of naval doctrine and methods after the Second World War.

2074

Lou Coatney’s game from 1982?

2075

Yeah, the new Six Angles edition.

http://www.mas-yamazaki.net/sixangles_nachosten_e.html

Been a long time since I played it, kinda stoked. I have good memories. Re reading the rules all the good stuff is coming back, plus the negative, the supply rules are opaque, but the rest of the game is solid.

2076

Poking around on the Matrix forums:

You’ll note that when we announced our schedule for the 4th quarter, we left some room open in late November and early December. Normally this is reserved for earlier scheduled releases that are delayed, but if those release slots remain open, we can also add in additional releases. The plan was to try to get Lock 'n Load into one of those last two release slots. Unfortunately, the bad news is that it looks like we’ll need them for some earlier releases. The good news is that Lock 'n Load looks like it will be very close to release status sometime before Christmas, so we can firmly set a January release date for it at this point. We’re going to pick an exact date in January over the next few weeks and you’ll see some promotion starting on Lock 'n Load before January, increasing as we get closer to the release date.

Apologies for one more delay, but the game is in good shape and this should be the last delay. We plan to have this be our featured release to start 2014 and I can say that with very high confidence.
I’d just like to say how proud I am to be a part of that exclusive club eagerly awaiting Lock 'n Load, only to be disappointed and told to wait until next year. I’ll never achieve the same seniority you all have. But it’s nice to get my foot in the door as a junior member.

2077

Heh. Well it is a good system, I enjoy playing the cardboard version. Hopefully the wait will be worth it.

2078

You might like this thread:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3422638

2079

I actually frequent the same boardgaming club as Lou Coatney these days where he is a very active member; he often turns up at the club and Cons with one or more of his various “in progress” game designs, most (or all) of which are freely available here and on his old page here. I’ve enjoyed playing several of his introductory wargames such as 1st Alamein and Moscow Attacked/Defended against him (good games for short evenings); still waiting for a chance to play his new Stalingrad game. For those into WW2 hex and counter games, I’d recommend his stuff highly; they’re certainly popular with our crowd of wargamers.

2080

For those playing/following the forums and discussions on Command Modern Naval, is there any discussion of future addition of a scenario builder that allows some variability and thus fog of war for the person creating the scenario?