I would as I loved the first one, but trying to stay on target for the year money wise. I will get it at some point, unless you guys say it’s horrible 😀
If CMO wasn’t coming out this week I would have!
Cranky Men Online? Coalition of Mighty Organization? Combat Mission: Overlooked? Crazy Mermaids vs Otters?
Would it kill you people to use words? :)
-Tom
CMO is actually the French acronym for Fuck You Chick!
Is this UoC less of a puzzle game than the first one?
So far I’ve also completed the 1st mission in the campaign in Easy Mode.
I’m liking it so far! It’s less “puzzley” in the following ways I feel.
- The main objectives have no Time Limit. (So you are guranteed some Prestige Points as long as you dont get defeated)
- The side objectives have time limit that rewards you with prestige points. At easy mode, it’s quite generous.
The key game play mechanics.
- The Prestige points are used to upgrade your “HQ” which allows you to acquire special actions on a Campaign screen. It introduce an RPG element, not sure how this pans out. I basically pumped it into movement because of “Blitz” in Blitzkreig!
- Prestige points also does the usual like deploying specialist steps into your units like the last game.
- Supply is still crucial and it retains the fingernail biting element of wondering if you had over stretched yourself and an enemy is coming to cut off your supplies! The key to victory is still very much manuvering and destroying enemy logistics. I get the same feel good sense of executing a flank, cutting off the supplies of massed tanks and seemingly impenetrable defences, and destroying them 2 turns later when they run out of supplies!
I’ve yet to start the next scenario and so does not know how the dynamic campaign tree will play out. But I must say, the campaign screen looks real good and polished. I am amazed at the efficient way they tell the story without usage of expensive CGI.
The 3D UI does need some getting used to. The supply line is not as obvious as the first game. And the new HQ element is still a bit weird. For instance, I could not figure out why some of my units were unsupplied, it seem like they should, as I had the HQ connected to the roads that my forward units had access to. But I think this a 3D UI issue. There is perhaps some disconnect somewhere in the supply network.
I am also unable to fully utilize my HQ. I do not understand their function and utility in the tactical overlay and so they just sat there in my whole scenario.
Sometimes, less is more, I think 3D contributes nothing to a wargame like this, and only serves to obfuscate the game mechanics. It cost more to make and program, and serves no purpose apart from eye candy.
Still, I’m enjoying this. It’s really well made. And I’m liking the game systems a lot while learning.
What is CMO?
How does it compare to Strategic Command?
Which one? I’ve only played the very 1st one.
They are different beasts. One is at the Strategic/Operational level, UoC 2 is still at the Tactical level with heavy focus on logistics. So far, I don’t see any of the rock-sissors-paper mechanic that so many war games resort to, just like UoC. Arty and Air units are represented as abstracted special steps and off-board actions you can initiate respectively.
Armoured and mechanized units excel at punching lines and flanking and envelopment (as per Blitzkreig principles), Infantry is for holding lines and mopping up, but with correct specialist steps, they can also do wonders.
UoC had never been a game where you let units stand toe-to-toe and play an attrition game. In SC, you’ll let your most powerful units steamroll into the opposition, or bomb them into submission so that you can steamroll them.
But in UoC, you face equally strong enemies that you then try to out maneuver.
So yea, to repeat myself, it’s a different kind of war game. Much more tactical.
You weren’t thinking generically enough:
Looks like a pay for update. Classy.
I watched a stream of UoC 2 and it looked much better than I thought: the supply + HQ system was sort of making sense on a smaller scale, and it was nifty to see the player try to set a proper beachhead.
I am still unclear on wether the Fog of War is for flavour or annoying.
The 3D map was unnecessary and leaves me out of enjoying it, but there were some real interface improvements… apart from the tiny fonts.
That can fixed by using the Windows setting to magnify the UI elements.
The Fog of War added some tension to the game. In my first failed attempt at the game, I assumed that all I saw was it, and happily made gains, only to see to my horror a mechanized unit appear out of the fog and cutting off my units…
I saw the player bumping into units, which didn’t result in Panzer General suicide attacks (that was my fear!), but I guess you get a negative modifier when this happens?
Pretty cool to have that sort of surprise you describe. Personally, I was strangely enjoying the recon passes.
It happened to me. I did not seem to get a negative modifier when it happened. But my armoured unit was penetrating into the fog and encountering an unentrenched and damaged infantry. I could attack it and destroy it, so it was an uneven match so I’m not sure if I did suffer a negative modifier.
That’s what CMO stands for? A game I’ve already had for five years?
Those titles really are confusing. From the actual words, one might conclude the newer one has less stuff. Like, it might not even have the air or navy stuff. It does look cool, though. If you’ve got the patience for that kind of thing. Sounds like the sort of game I look forward to reading posts about people playing.
Anyway, Unity of Command II is more my speed. Plus it’s got a II in the name, so I know it’s better than the last one.
-Tom
There’s a History Mode which lets you replay the whole battle you fought move by move. Very nice!
And I’ve figured out the Supply View of the map. So it make for better planning.
I played the first campaign scenario and the tutorials. Am I missing something or is the HQ tutorial promised in the 3rd scenario not there?
(Maybe I should RTFM).
My first thought is that the interface seems a bit fussier than the first UoC, but I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time on it, and my usual tactic of ruthlessly breaking down infantry divisions for parts to keep the vanguard going doesn’t seem to be as easy to figure out how to do…
I’m not sure. I skipped the tutorials and went right in.
The HQ have all kinds of abilities. But they have a range and a command points.
The command points determine what you can do per turn.
In the starting scenario, Monty have 6 command points, while Patton only had 3 (I think).
Within the Radius of each HQ, you can get one of your units to perform special actions. Left click on the HQ, and then see the panel where actions are possible.
The one I use is “Emergency Supplies” that cost 3 command points, not only does it keep a unit resupplied as if it was connected to the supply line, it also restores suppressed levels, which is awesome!
Note that Each HQ comes with it’s own attached unit. So it can only perform those special actions on their attached units. So Monty cannot supply US units, and Patton cannot supply British units for instance.
You can “Load up” the HQ and move it. Note that you must keep the HQ within your supply lines. Else it’ll go into out of supplies status and wont be able to operate.
Prestige Points upgrade your HQ. I recommend saving up some Prestige, because when you capture Objective with units belonging to the HQ, you are offered Special Abilities in exchange for Prestige! I managed to upgrade Patton to 5 Command Points when I captured an Objective.
This is getting really fun. I replayed the 1st Scenario and manage to beat the Objectives (Easy Mode) under the time limits and got rewarded with a huge pool of Prestige.
In the first scenario, I opted to attach some units to my front line tanks. And managed to punch through at crucial places to cut their supplies. The HQ “Emergency Supplies” kept my advance aggressive. Still it’s Easy Mode… I expect Normal Difficulties to be harder =).
I also made a mistake about the Time Limits for the final objectives when I said that there are no turn limits for final objectives. They do exist, but they are generous. I completed the scenario in 7 turns, they gave 11 turns. So I think almost everyone will not be bothered by the turn limits.
Once you get used to the UI, I think it’s great! I’m let you guys know how the RPG elements of the HQ play out in the Campaign.
thanks! - Very useful.
I didn’t have problems with puzzle nature of the first game, but it felt like a game you can only enjoy once you’ve mastered it.
Like there’s no real easing into it. Tutorial (Crimea) had smaller scope, but once you get into a first mission of any campaign you have dozens of units and not very generous time limit. It seems to me that you’re supposed to play this first mission for hours till you memorize combat resolution table and all the rules of the game. And then you probably do every other mission on your first or second try. Meanwhile something like Panzer Core allows you to fool around a lot of time even if it, too, is often described as puzzle wargame.