They were, he sold some stuff to the USAF and an Soviet Afghan War project to the Army that was dumped (it was thought to be too simplistic and sterile, interestingly, I wasn’t directly involved, that’s what the trainers on the Army end told me at the time).
Your reactions are pretty copacetic with mine, I saw that it was Blackie/Saunders and figured there was a little improvement on graphics (from the screenshots) but that it was the same old system.
AFAIK, the Panzer Battles games are based on the same system, but actually dropped down to a scale and focus that makes better use of the foundations. I do think the demo is very much worth trying.
I might if it isn’t too much of an installation hassle. Do they have a Multiplayer server set up? A better question, did they design their scenarios with Multiplayer in mind at all? :)
Yes. I have Kursk and many scenarios are duplicated with one for Head to Head or Team Play, and another one for play vs the AI.
PBEM or Server?
Well, I bought Kursk because, “Why not?” First reaction, “Same old Tiller”.
It’s all PBEM.
I used to play PBEM, but it was sooooo tedious. I usually play both sides anyhow now, just like with cardboard. The AI isn’t terribly interesting.
Ran across this yesterday: http://www.yobowargames.com/games/
The guy makes simple, boardgame-style wargames. He has a demo of Moscow 1941 which unfortunately is hotseat only (no AI), but gives a good idea of what he’s doing. He’s got a Kursk game and he’s working on a Korsun game. The Kursk game is on Steam for $13, but you can buy it from the developer for $8, or you can get it on mobile for $2 (Android) or $5 (iOS).
Steam link:
Manual available here:
I might check it out. Let me know if you do (or if you’ve already played it!)
Is there PBEM?
Looks like no PBEM, unfortunately. Single player (AI only plays Russians), or hot seat only.
Its on the app store for a song:
D-Day Sale. From June 6th through June 10th. 30% off WWII titles: http://slitherine.com/news/2621/The.D-Day.Sale.is.here!.30.off.on.WWII.games!
Almost thought about getting Desert War, but then realized, nope, never gonna play it if I got it.
heh, I just went through the exact same thought process.
I mean, ten years ago? Sure; I collected wargames (digital ones, at least; my hard-copy collection was sold off in the early '90s), stocking them up but really not playing them much. I was always interested in something new. But as I got older I realized, hell, I was never going to play most of them, much less actually master them. Now, I’d rather drop thirty bucks on doubloons in World of Warships, where I know I’ll at least get some use out of them playing with my clan.
So, here’s the end of the 39-40 turn- war broke out with Germany invading France after failing and then succeeding in invasions of Benelux. Japan took a bunch of open space in China after hot diplomacy rolling. Britain invaded Sicily, but Italy hit some stability checks and survived and eventually drove the British out with the help of a well-placed submarine to cut supply.
What were your thoughts? My copy arrived today, and I am still eager for a Vassal game.
This game is very much about playing what the game gives you, I think. You can’t really go in with a particular strategy because the order in which chits come out is critical and the rolls are really swingy. The war turns end up running really long, too. Some of the strategies do feel a little gamey, though they probably serve the game well(For example, deliberately engineering an early French political collapse to get them out of East Europe so that the France+Britain VP count goes below the Germany+Italy count and ends status quo).
China is a bit wonky, but I think i’d like to try it out with a less hot-rolling Japan. In the current game they’re quite vulnerable to a “chinese resistance” event happening and despite the massive fascist lead, it can brew up in a hurry.
I think i’ll have more to say when the game comes to a close.
I’m still up for a game with you, by the way.
PM me. Anytime. This weekend looks good.
Oh, hey, Cataclysm! I played a practice scenario of it on Monday night (on an actual table!). Just Germany vs. Russia to try to learn the rules. Went pretty well. Got a 5-player full game scheduled in a few weeks.
