1781

Definitely Unity of Command. Commander: The Great War is good too, it is pretty simple, but big. It isn’t WW2, though. Good wargames on the PC are a rare breed. BotB may have spoiled you.

1782

From everything I’m hearing about BotB, I wish they would do a Windows port. Or at least Android.

1783

Any suggestions for a more classic wargame feel that doesn’t look like I’m pushing bobbleheads around?

I got the itch recently, installed Combat Mission, but realized it’s just too old now. I can deal with graphics that aren’t as good as modern FPSs, but apparently Combat Mission’s graphics are too far back for me to be able to handle anymore (with the weird square pixelated buildings, etc.). :(

Doesn’t necessarily have to be something like Combat Mission in the graphics sense - I could also consider something like an Operational Art of War (but again, a bit more current, preferably with a less opaque UI).

Less scripted is good - I liked Combat Mission for its ability to generate missions. I hate wargames that are basically puzzle games (once you “solve” the particular move orders, etc., there isn’t much point anymore).

1784

There is a NATO counters mod for Unity of Command. Just sayin’.

Anyway, unfortunately, the game you want doesn’t exist, as far as I can tell. I know, I’ve been looking for it too. Although I actually am looking for something more board-wargame like. I never understood Combat Mission. So, I put in my orders then I have to wait while they are carried out in real time? Er, can’t I just roll dice and see what happens?

1785

Have you looked at Conflict of Heroes?

1786

Actually I own it! But I haven’t put much time into it yet, I should. I think I’d rather play against a human, but it is tough for me to schedule stuff like that.

I have played the board game a couple times, too.

1787

Thanks, I got the demo for Unity of Command and will give it a spin. Commander looks good too, might go for it next.

1788

Take a look at the Decisive Campaigns series. Case Blue is the newest and is a damn good medium complexity operational game. It even sort of retains the feel of a boardgame by using cards for certain commands. The UI isn’t horrible either.

1789

Well, I hated it, but YMMV (and I only played the earlier one, not Case Blue).

1790

JoshL hates everything :P

1791

Don’t get discouraged by the bobblehead aspect and just get UoC. Unity of Command is the perfect wargame to get into other, more complex games. Note I said more complex, not necessarily better. Only after playing UoC I understood what operational level wargames are really about and how to play them well. Its design focus and getting the heart of the game exactly right are really hard to beat. In contrast, while Decisive Campaigns may look more serious, it has been sitting on my hard drive for a good while unplayed after a 2 hour attempt to get into it.

1792

You do realize that there is a new Combat Mission, right? Graphics are pretty nice for a war game. Give the demo a try and see what you think.

1793

No. Is that the Normandy one? I thought it supposedly had all kinds of problems?

EDIT: Ahhh, I see that an Italian one is out. But I looked at the price - no, probably not going to happen. Maybe I will give Unity of Command a try, given that it costs $35 less.

EDIT: Nevermind, I forgot that Unity of Command is a scenario based game. May have to pass on that as well. I really want something with more randomization in set-up, for example.

1794

Combat Mission Shock Force had a lot of problems but I think the Normandy one was pretty stable. I’m not a fan of their pricing structure either but it’s probably the same price as what you paid for the original CM back in 2000. I don’t know of any other war game that will provide the randomization that you’re looking for.

1795

The Normandy game was good enough. It just feels like demo of the old CM games, since the scope and unit mix is so limited. But that’s their business model now. Also, in some ways, the UI of the current engine is considerably worse than their original engine.

1796

Seriously? You think so? I have to honestly and strenuously disagree.

1797

I’m probably being too forgiving, I tend to be with the UIs in these games. You’re talking to someone who actually likes the UI in Tiller’s Panzer Campaigns series! I probably should have added that to my original post.

The one UI that pisses me off is CM:Normandy. The fact they didn’t include a single tooltip in the game is completely ridiculous IMO.

1798

At least in Panzer Campaigns, unit selection and movement/combat was pretty intuitive. I rather admire some aspects of the Decisive Campaigns games, the UI for basic stuff is a bit opaque and counter-intuitive to me.

1799

Bruce may be talking about the lack of combat odds window in Decisive Campaigns. They talked about it at JoshL’s link. In any case, that might be hard to deal with for a new player.

Just get over yourself and play Unity of Command. Grab the NATO counters mod. You can always play more serious stuff later. It’s not going anywhere. You can blow through Unity of Command in a week or two with one or two scenarios per night.

1800

Decisive Campaigns awful UI goes way beyond not having a combat odds window (if it indeed doesn’t, I don’t know - didn’t get that far). It’s the way it makes you labor to perform the simplest tasks. Being able to move and attack with simple mouse clicks would help immensely.