1641

Heh - that we can agree upon. Geryk pretty much put his finger on the problem in his Qt3 analysis.

I’d probably amend that to say that historical strategy game devs - and historical strategy game fans - are their own worst enemies. As Bruce points out - the first thing you will read upon the release of any historical strategy game, is someone criticizing that some particular historical detail - without which the game is surely worthless - has been left out.

And historical strategy game devs are usually also the most ardent fans of the genre. With predictable, messy results.

1642

Yeah - for example - I truly believe that the Panther Games people would find a HUGE audience at $20, and less for their older games. There are plenty of people who have heard about their games and, although they are groggy, would love to try their unique take on history and wargaming.

But, we’ll never know for sure because Matrix.

1643

Any recommendations for a decent beer n pretzels (relatively) strategic type of WWII game? I enjoyed the original Strategic Command a long time ago but it has changed a lot since then and just doesnt do anything for me with the latest iterations or some reason. I liked Commander Europe at War but the last time I played it was back in 2007 and while I have made the transition into the widescreen gaming world that game seems to not have. I have both Panzer Corps and Unity of Command but both of those games are a little bit too focused on smaller regions. I can’t seem to wrap my head around Hearts of Iron. Is there anything else out there?

1644

You could try Gary Grisby’s World at War: A World Divided. I haven’t played the latest iteration, but the previous iteration was reasonably playable and I enjoyed it. It does take the war to a very high level though, which may or may not be what you’re looking for.

1645

I bought the original in 2005 or 2006 and didn’t get much out of it unfortunately. I’d really like something like a wide screen game like Europe:CAW or a better looking version of the original Strategic Command. I see that Matrix and Slitherine have a 50%off coupon for Time of Fury. I wonder if that would scratch the itch.

1646

OutOfEight thought it wasn’t terrible, but was clunky and slow-playing.

1647

The problem with Grigsby’s World at War is that it has some incredibly fiddly mechanics and not the depth to really make them rewarding at all. It’s more complex than Axis and Allies, for example, but not a whole lot deeper.

1648

I think GGWaW is a good game, for what it is, but the updated version (GGWaW:aWD) is actually worse because it adds spying and other stuff like that which increases the fiddliness and the playtime but without - as far as I could tell - a commensurate increase in the number of meaningful choices for the player to make.

Making History: The Calm and the Storm 2 might be OK, but I don’t know since I haven’t played it. The first one had some nice things going on but also some big problems that effectively meant it was broken. :(

1649

Oh, some other options: The Viktor Reikjersz create-a-game thing: Advanced Tactics 2, is pretty neat, and has a definite WW2 leaning. His other modern game might be apt, too? Apparently it’s called “Decisive Campaigns: Blitzkreig”. It reviewed well at the time but I was trying to wean myself off wargames so I didn’t try it.

And - I think it’s horribly overpriced but still a good game - Empires of Steel. It’s the old, old chestnut “Empire” remade as a more modern game, with a WW2 flavour and - if memory serves - some WW2 scenarios in it. I think the design is awesome although the AI might not be quite as strong as the “chesslike” nature of the game calls for.

1650

I bought the first Advanced Tactics and never really got into it.
Sorry, I’m being difficult. :)
I also really enjoyed SSG’s KP, BIN and BII series but they’re also hobbled by a 1024x768 resolution. Seriously why are wargames so god damned archaic? Perhaps I should go back and play some more Unity of Command. It does everything right despite not quite giving me the scope that I’m looking for.

1651

Ok well I ended up buying Time of Fury. It seems closest to what I’m looking for. I’m worried that I’ll be disappointed but at least I’ll only be $25 disappointed, not $50+ disappointed like I usually am when I allow myself to buy Matrix Games’ games.
If anyone else is interested, my 50% off discount coupon for Time of Fury still has one more use. If you’re interested you can PM me.

1652

I’m with you on the KP/BiN/BiI series. I’d probably still be playing them if it wasn’t for the 1024x768 resolution. The SSG games even after KP/BiN/BiI were still locked in 1024x768 including IIRC Battlefront and Carriers at War both released in 2007.

As far as I can tell SSG isn’t developing anything anymore, which is rather sad too. They have some new version of the Korsun Pocket expansion that they’ve modified, but they’re modifying a game that is 8-years old!

I’d be happy if they just updated the games for modern computers taking full advantage of the screen resolution. I’d be happy to rebuy them if they updated them.

1653

Uh-oh, I’m in trouble. I picked up Time of Fury for $25 from Matrix and although I’ve only played through the tutorial and some random fooling around I see a lot of potential there. Then I saw that essentially the Pacific version of the same game (Storm Over the Pacific) is on sale for like $10 at Gamersgate ($8.50 with IGN discount). The developer seems to be keeping that one up to date even though it’s older than Time of Fury he has added improvements from ToF to SOP. It’s up to v. 1.10 which seems promising so I bought that too. And now I see that there’s a new game out called Strategic War in Europe which is extremely similar to ToF (by the same company) only it’s more beer and pretzels style and looks a hell of a lot like the original Strategic Command which I enjoyed so much 7 or 8 years ago. And it’s only $15 to boot on Gamersgate. I haven’t bought a wargame in ages but it looks like I’ll soon have 3 new ones to play!

1654

Here’s my code for Time of Fury 50% if someone wants it.

VIP-TOF-97305523

Enter it here

1655

Well I picked up Strategic War in Europe and I’m liking it a lot so far. It’s not nearly as in depth as Time of Fury so I’m thinking of it as a bit of a starter prep for that game. I love the simple graphics.
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-SWIE/strategic-war-in-europe

1656

I also liked the original Strategic Command, usually prefer simpler wargames to more complex ones, and have been thinking about picking up something new. Does this one, uh, hit the spot? You say you’re liking it a lot - why?

1657

Well I haven’t gotten into it a whole lot yet but I see a lot of similarities to the old Strategic Command. All units are Army or Corps which reduces the amount of units that you need to keep track of and each hex is a lot larger than a more in depth game and turns are one month which means you can play a grand campaign in only about 70 turns.
You collect Production points that you use to purchase new units and invest in research much like Strategic Command. Cities can be bombed and convoys attacked to reduce the flow of PP. You can also attach generals to units for bonuses. Unfortunately the generals’ stats are restricted to level and experience-it would have been neat if generals had specific characteristics or abilities like a ‘Desert Fox’ attribute for Rommel which would give bonuses if fighting in the desert or something like that.
One difference from SC is that in SWiE you can have coordinated attacks on more than one flank of a target. There is a limited diplomacy option which allows you to declare war and influence minor states and create coup d’etats. The graphics are pretty simple but not at all ugly-I think I actually prefer them to the game’s big brothers Time of Fury and Storm over the Pacific. Like I said, I haven’t played it enough to know for sure how it all comes together (the whole maritime war is a little confusing for me) but I see all the parts and it looks like it could be great. For $15 it seems like a good little game and very approachable for those of us who get bogged down by more in depth war games.
I would say that if you’ve played through games like Panzer Corps and Unity of Command and you’re looking for something with a little more meat then this could be a good game for you.

1658

Thanks, have just bought it. If I hate it, I blame you! If I love it, uh, how about a PBEM match?

1659

That looks interesting but watching a bit of the video at the link has me concerned about little things like generals showing up too early (Rommel in 1939?) and stuff like that. I’m also not sure you need to be modeling “roads” at that scale.

But I’m interested in further impressions from those of you giving it a try. It’s been a long time since Clash of Steel and the HOI series global scope is a different animal then a Europe only WW2 game.

1660

Sarkus I don’t think roads are modeled. Those are probably railroads that you are seeing, and they have an effect on supply received by units and…perhaps how far a unit can travel. I’m probably wrong on that though. I know that if you want to strategically move a unit long distances then the unit must start the turn on a rail line.

As for generals I don’t know whether they are all available at the beginning or whether more are introduced as the game progresses but Rommel is definitely available in 1939. To be honest, my historical knowledge isn’t good enough to worry about that. I’m still trying to get my head wrapped around sea battles and convoy interdiction.