In other news, graphic mods for SC:World at War are starting to come out.
Going from this:
to this:
Playing a full Axis 1939 campaign as all three nations it is interesting to move between theatres. I think this level of wargame is about where I’m at these days, stuff like Grigsby or VR Games is just too much.
That modded counter set is pretty cool @SamS - the Panzer General vibe of vanilla leaves me quite cold.
I do agree that some of the oldest scenarios- like the ones in Foothill of the Gods which are basically the same scenarios that the OP of this very same thread was talking about - tend to fall under the “straightforward” column compared with later iterations.
One of my problems with TiTE is the lack of smaller scenarios- it could really use the small learning scenarios from other games, in particular the small-mappers like from Silver Bayonet. Even just having them to have some quicker ways to play the game would be nice. Trying to teach somebody the game with Barbarossa, where turn 1 breaks the game mechanics over their knees is very difficult. I really like the game, but I feel like I might have to try my hand at scenario design to make it feasible to learn the damn thing.
One thing Strategic Command does that I feel a lot of games have struggled to do is replicate the quagmire that that the CBI theatre was for the Japanese. The above screenshot is from the start of the game in '39. I’m currently up to '42, have invaded most of the Pacific, but my front line has not moved much beyond what is there. Chungking is right out. By contrast, in my experience it is not uncommon in games like HOI4 for the Chinese to have already surrendered by that time.
In SC:WaW there is a real temptation in the first couple of years as the Japanese to throw a lot of resources into infantry research and troops for China because you’re always on the brink of a breakthrough and think a few more troops could swing the war. But it’s a false dawn and that would mean none of your carriers are built and basically lock you out of any Pacific war. It’s a really nice system.
Unfortunately in the West I didn’t properly focus on building up my Kriegsmarine and threw away a lot of troops in an aborted Sealion, that led to an anaemic Barbarossa and Afrika Korps campaign.
I think the vanilla doesn’t get the Air/Naval/Land quite right in the Pacific. The mediocre-at-best naval “system” used in SC: Europe was just ported over. Hopefully the modders will make better work of the Pacific. In the meantime this just feels like SC: Golbal War classic, but with hexes not squares. I’m a bit underwhelmed.
Just learnt about the existence of this game
via a simulation blogger I have been following for years. Not much info on what the game is actually about, but the publisher runs a game which I had never heard of simulating emergency response operations
Looks promising! Wishlisted.
Wow that looks really interesting!
I quite like the extreme FOW concept, tbh.
Me, too. I should really get back to Campaigns on the Danube.
I remember really liking that one.
Tell me more of this Danube title.
Hex-based, turn-based operational Napoleonic wargame with only a handful of scenarios that has options for extreme fog of war where the positions of both enemy and friendly units are by report only, they may have moved on since you last received a courier, the timing of which depends on their position relative to your headquarters.
At $8 right now, you’d probably be a fool not to pick it up! http://www.matrixgames.com/products/282/details/Campaigns.On.The.Danube
Was just updated a couple years ago, too. Runs perfectly fine on my Win7 desktop and mostly fine on my ultra high-rez Win10 laptop, just with a little oddity in the screen size, nothing major.
Pretty sure it does PBEM, and boy I’d sure play it against you if you wanted to slaughter somebody.
That’s a dare. Is it PBEM++ or zip file?
Frank Hunter is the developer behind it. As @Kolbex said a rare game where the situation you see on the map might not be the current situation. I’ve been intrigued with that concept since Chris Crawford mentioned the idea in his game design book. There is a mod that gussies it up to look like an old school map, but apparently that guy has zeroed out all of his posts on the matrix forums.
Edit: It looks like it is possible to get them through someone else on the forums, but you have to PM them for a link.
Nothing better than Grognard hissy-fit/weirdness.
Uh, I’m not sure. How old is the PBEM++ system? This game came out in 2004.
I have the Chemkid map mod saved on my machine, so I can share it around if desired, but I kind of prefer the original fugly map graphics, actually.
I also believe Frank is working on a new title in the series (not sure at what pace), and has in the past couple of years updated the game. So make sure to grab the patch in the members area.
Yeah, it’s astonishing that it got updated 13 years after release and works great today. Really makes me take a dim view of Apple Store crap that breaks on an iOS update after less than two years and that’s that. To be clear, I blame Apple rather than the app devs. I don’t buy their stuff anymore.
