They also ported ported it to Mac and changed the name to Battle Academy because someone sued them over the use of the word "battlefield".
It was posted in the Bargain Thread but just in case folks don't read that one, Matrix Games is having their annual holiday sale.
I've already picked up Panzer Command: Ostfront and am contemplating a few other purchases, but goddamn does this sale emphasize how crazy some of Matrix's prices are. $70 (regular price) for their payware version of Steel Panthers? What the fuck.
I'd like to pimp Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge, which is included in the sale. I said in the bargain thread that there would be a patch coming out soon (it's been in the works for about a year, I think). Well, a beta patch was just released a couple of hours ago, with loads of improvements.Originally Posted by Hawkeye Fierce
I think I'll do another AAR, once I have enough free time...
I recently bought Combat Mission:Beyond Overlord. I'm enjoying playing, but the scenario list, which is long seems confusing. Its ordered alphabetically by title. I would like to see it listed either in date order (IE Nov. 1, 1944 or whatever) or in order of difficulty (as the scenarios in the Talonsoft Campaign Series were, IIRC). Most of the scenario titles don't even show a date, and none show difficulty. If I could find a listing of the CMBO scenarios on line with that information, it would be helpful. As it is I can find the date by opening the scenario (I suppose I could create my own spreadsheet).
As the game is pretty old now I'm not sure how much contemporary help you'll get, but in its day it generated a boatload of mods and user created content; I'd check the Battlefront forums and repositories for stuff.
This is a common problem amongst grognardy games. Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge, an otherwise awesome game, does the same thing. I really want games like this to order the scenarios in ways that slowly introduce elements so I can feel like there is some level of programmed instruction going on.
Would anyone be interested in a PBF or PBEM game of Whistling Death? WD is a pretty detailed WWII flight sim board game in the Fighting Wings series. At the combat scale, which is what we would play, each game turn represents 4 seconds of real time. Although the system is very much on the complicated side of things, the detail allows historical tactics to be successfully employed. I think it's a really neat system that is loads of fun to play.
If we can drum up 4-6 players, we can use the Quick Start rules, which are a simplified ruleset (I would say it represents about 80% of the full rules) and free. The game is EXTREMELY well suited for PBF or PBEM play. I propose that we play a few live turns to get everyone comfortable with the system, and could then switch to playing via email. I would handle the various things that running the game requires and we could all keep a running AAR with maps and whatnot on the forum.
If you're interested, grab the Quick Start Rules from the BGG page linked above and have a look at them. The way everything works together might not be immediately obvious, but after you've hammered a few turns out, everything will fall into place.
Let's play this!
Here's something new: http://www.hpssims.com/Pages/Products/TSS/TU/TU.asp
From HPS, it's sort of an evolved WWII version of Point of Attack II, I think. It's very intriguing, but I'm not sure I want to sink fifty bucks into it right now. PoA II was...intimidating. This seems more accessible, and of course, more historical, and could be a spiritual successor to Tigers on the Prowl, but it could also be utterly impenetrable.
Interesting. It sounds like it takes the old SSG approach, where you give commands but there is no guarantee if and when the orders will be followed, and you have less than perfect information with which to make your decisions.
I love the concept, but you're right - this could be a lot of fun or completely unplayable without hours and hours of study.
It's an HPS game, so personally I'd bet on the latter.
Apparently a large update for Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge has been released today.
I totally missed this when it happened, but patch 03b was released for Histwar: Les Grognards, a couple of months ago. One of the main features is that it's now possible to play in a 1:1 scale, meaning hundreds of thousands of small soldiers on the screen. :)
The feature is still in beta, apparantly, and I have yet to try it out, but from what I hear, it works just fine and looks awesome. Patch 04a will implement it fully.
I just thought I'd let people know, in case anyone else is playing Histwar, since this feature has been promised for quite a while.
Is Histwar playable at all? When Battlefront decides your game is a mess, that's not a very good sign. BATTLEFRONT!
This doesn't really fit in the grognard category, strictly speaking, but I think there may be overlap in interests:
Started playing Silent Hunter IV (with U-Boat expansion, purely for the upgrade to the game system) modded with Trigger Marou Overhauled (combination of a lot of excellent modifications that has been tweaked for over 4 years, and is still being improved, with a new version coming out last week) and Run Silent, Run Deep mod which makes the campaign much more realistic in many ways.
Amazing. I almost attacked a U.S. convoy of destroyers and light and heavy cruisers (found the convoy, tracked it, finally got in position and only then saw they were U.S.) Decided to see where they were going, and suddenly a lot of Japanese aircraft were attacking them. I watched through binoculars as the warships fought back, watched the aircraft circle and then dive bomb the ships, saw quite a few of the planes get shot down, and watched two ships get sunk. (Actually, one was hit several times and exploded and sunk, the other was crippled and eventually took on water and sunk later.) I watched the direction of the aircraft that survived and went in the direction they went as they left the battle, and managed to find a Japanese convoy with destroyers, cruisers, and a full and light carrier. I've been shadowing them for a full day (game time) trying to get in position to go after the carriers without being pinged by the destroyers.
Very realistic simulation of submarine warfare in the Pacific, from 12/7/41 forward. Highly recommended.
Histwar is not a mess. I don't really know what happened between the Histwar guy and Battlefront, but the game is very playable and it's getting better all the time (this latest patch just being one of many).
This is what Total War should be, but never will be, in my opinion. It's Gettysburg: Scourge of War in the Napoleonic era, with an extra touch of realism.
edit: there's a demo, I believe.
Sounds intriguing. I'm interested if you're still willing to run it.
My understanding is that Histwar was a mess when released and is now a lot better in its second iteration. Troy Goodfellow had a discussion of it on Flash of Steel last year IIRC.
I think I must've missed that episode, but you're probably quite right about the release. I didn't buy it until last summer, though, at which point it was very playable.
You had me at Napoleonic Scourge of War. They should write that on the box.
Absolutely. If no one else is interested, we could do a one-on-one. I can probably get a game set up this next week if you want to go ahead and read the rules.
Nothing better than reading a manual :)
If you're considering buying it, please try the demo first. It's an excellent game, imo, and very reminiscent of SoW, but there are some difference, and given the price tag, I don't want to be responsible for steering you wrong. :)
If you do want to get it, though, now's the time. The Grognard edition is €10 off, as part of the christmas sale. To be honest, I think it's an error, since the Chappe version is no longer 10% off (and Christmas is over).
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here has any recommendations regarding the Matrix sale? It ends on the 8th, and I still haven't gotten anything. To be honest, I already have most of the Matrix games that I'm interested in, but there are quite a few of them that I know little about.
I've been considering Fields of Glory (with the 100 Years War expansion), but I don't really know if I'd like it. The screenshots are telling me next to nothing, and I don't think there's a demo. Is the single player mode any good at all, or is mp where it's at? In case of the latter, how long does a regular game last, and is it easy to find opponents?
I've also considered Across the Dnepr, but since I still haven't spent much time with Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets, I'm not sure if that's such a good idea. I'll probably end up skipping this, unless someone has something good to say about it.
Are any of the Napoleonic games any good? I've remember checking them out a while ago, since I'm sort of interested in a strategic napoleonic game, but I never really figured out which one (if any) was good.
Finally, how are the mission packs for Panzer Corps (and why isn't it called Panzer Korps?)? I can't help but notice that they're being produced at an astonishing rate, which I'm not sure is a good sign. I was thinking of waiting for some sort of collection, but knowing Matrix, I'm not sure that'll ever happen.
Any other suggestions?
I was looking at that, but I'm a bit burnt out on eastern front games so I picked up Battles in Italy by SSG, which runs on the same engine as Across the Dnepr. It's quite good. The UI is very clear, and the (admittedly pdf) tutorial does a great job of showing you how the game works. I've conquered Sicily, now moving onto to the mainland. The AI is putting up a good challenge. There are also quite a few fan made scenarios for the game as well.
Thanks for the suggestion. I remember checking that and Battles in Normandy out, a year or so ago. However, as far as I can tell, both are based on the old Korsun Pocket engine, and as such don't include a lot of the improvements that Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets has, although to be honest, I don't remember what those improvements are, and I have no idea what difference they make.
Another thing is that Operation Husky was actually added to Kharkov in a patch, a year or so ago, so that leaves only two new battles in Battles in Italy.
Italy does sound interesting, though, and I don't think I've ever played a game specifically centered on that front. I guess I'll think it over a bit more. I still have a few days before the sale ends. :)
Does anyone know how Panzer Command: Ostfront is? Hawkeye?
It's a decent Combat Mission clone.
Thanks. I don't mean to press you, but could you elaborate a little bit? :)
I have only dabbled in the CM games, and none of the ones I've played ever managed to draw me in. I do like the idea of wargames on this scale, though.
I'll try the demo, I guess. :)
Hey Nikolaj,
I bought PC:Ostfront last week. I always saw it talked about on the BF forums, and I read a few of the AAR's on Matrix. I was kind of waiting on a sale to pick it up. to see if it addressed some of the things that bug me about the new CM:BN.
Graphics wise it is not particularly special, but is adequate. Not as pretty as the new CM:BN, particularly animations, but that in itself is probably not saying much. If you are into these wargames, the graphics are probably not your major concern. It is not quite 1:1 troop representation - tanks/guns are, but squads aren't (this is to be changed in a patch due Jan). It is still being actively developed and comes with all the missions content from the previous Panzer Command games. It also comes with a fairly detailed PDF instructional that will take you through the tutorial mission (I assume this ships with the demo). Runs smoothly on my GTX560Ti at 1920x1080 with full settings - something that cannot be said for CM:BN.
It has several campaign options, where units carry through from battle to battle, earning medals which can improve their performance (unlike CM, which have static troop assignments), as well as individual battles and points based quick battles.
As far as realism/modeling goes, it is not as formidable as the new CM, but probably at the very least on par with the old ones (ie individual round ballistics and penetration is not modeled, it is abstracted via to-hit and penetration rolls on a d10 system). All spotting/sighting is per unit, however. When you select a unit you will only see the enemies it sees onscreen (if no unit is selected you will see all enemies units that all your units can see). The manual is pretty extensive when it comes to explaining the systems.
It is turn-based only and can be PBEM'd. Orders are given, then calculated and replayed in 60 second increments (or 40 seconds + a 20 second 'reaction' phase if desired).
Overall. it plays fairly similarly to CM, so if they haven't grabbed you, I would probably suggest trying the demo. Haven't played it enough to comment on the AI at this stage. Mind you, if you are talking about the old CM's in particular, it is way, way better (the old CM's are just too clunky for me to spend time with).
Last edited by sharaleo; 01-05-2012 at 08:25 AM.
What he said.
Thanks for the elaboration, Sharaleo. The only CM's I've played are Beyond Overlord and Shock Force. I didn't spend much time with either, but dropped Shock Force almost immediately, after finding out that I couldn't get the latest patches without buying an upgrade from the Battlefront website (which I can't access, since it blocks my ip).
Anyway, I've downloaded the demo and will give it a try later tonight. thanks again. :)
I think you might be pleasantly surprised with the PC:O demo in that case.The only CM's I've played are Beyond Overlord and Shock Force.
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