{"id":14356,"date":"2012-03-30T10:12:50","date_gmt":"2012-03-30T17:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.quartertothree.com\/fp\/?p=14356"},"modified":"2012-03-30T16:28:45","modified_gmt":"2012-03-30T23:28:45","slug":"unity-of-command-redo-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quartertothree.com\/fp\/2012\/03\/30\/unity-of-command-redo-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Unity of Command: redo history"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There’s no undo button in Unity of Command. If I move a unit accidentally, I can’t take it back.
\nThe developers say they’re working to add this feature. In the meantime, I can always redo the
\nscenario. I’m starting to understand how that’s part of the appeal.<\/p>\n

After the jump, wargaming’s relationship with history<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m not a wargamer (yet) but I’ve been trying to find out what makes them tick. Some wargamers use the genre as a laboratory for history<\/a>. For example, what would happen during the Fall Blau
\ncampaign if the Germans had moved troops down another flank? It’s a fascinating question.<\/p>\n

To answer it, a wargame needs to model reality well enough to test alternatives. Unity of
\nCommand does so to some extent. The game systems reflect the significance of time, the agony
\nof bad weather, and the importance of watching my flank. I saw all that in an after action report<\/a>
\nfor the Case Blue scenario. The author, ComradeP, raced unsupplied troops toward the objectives, using airborne supply drops for critical divisions before linking up supplies at the last moment. I don’t know whether the operation played out like that in history, but it’s appealing to think about it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I posted a question on the forums<\/a> to ask wargamers directly why they like the genre. Some of them
\napproach it from a military history angle. The real-world story and history of each division lend
\nweight to the simple icons and numbers. It also works in reverse, providing context to history
\nby playing the game. The developers encourage this by placing units in historically accurate
\nlocations. In the Operation Uranus scenario (pictured), each division roughly matches its location
\non a real battle map. I’d need more detailed maps to judge how well the developers did. Either
\nway, I appreciate that they tried.<\/p>\n

This type of simulation may be the ultimate appeal of wargames for me. I want to see the battles
\nplay out like they did in history. Then I want to do better. It’s the same reason I enjoy racing
\nsims. I have real-life experience driving a car at the limit, and it’s thrilling to see sim racing work
\nthe same way. Unity of Command doesn’t try to reach this level of fidelity. It balances realism
\nwith elegant mechanics and attractive looks. It’s a challenging and rewarding game, but it’s only
\na gateway. Now I’m ready to step through it.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for the previous entry.<\/p>\n

Tim James is recovering from Mass Effect 3, which he reviewed here<\/a>, by exploring wargames after decades of curiosity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-diaries"],"yoast_head":"\nUnity of Command: redo history - Quarter to Three<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quartertothree.com\/fp\/2012\/03\/30\/unity-of-command-redo-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unity of Command: redo history - Quarter to Three\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.quartertothree.com\/fp\/2012\/03\/30\/unity-of-command-redo-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Quarter to Three\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-03-30T17:12:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-03-30T23:28:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.quartertothree.com\/fp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/uoc_day5_title.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tim James\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tim James\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.quartertothree.com\\\/fp\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/30\\\/unity-of-command-redo-history\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.quartertothree.com\\\/fp\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/30\\\/unity-of-command-redo-history\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tim James\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.quartertothree.com\\\/fp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/413f171fd97e5434aa2c5eaa77d5e25d\"},\"headline\":\"Unity of Command: redo history\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-03-30T17:12:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-03-30T23:28:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.quartertothree.com\\\/fp\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/30\\\/unity-of-command-redo-history\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":450,\"commentCount\":8,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.quartertothree.com\\\/fp\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/30\\\/unity-of-command-redo-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.quartertothree.com\\\/fp\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/uoc_day5_title.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Game diaries\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.quartertothree.com\\\/fp\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/30\\\/unity-of-command-redo-history\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.quartertothree.com\\\/fp\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/30\\\/unity-of-command-redo-history\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.quartertothree.com\\\/fp\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/30\\\/unity-of-command-redo-history\\\/\",\"name\":\"Unity of Command: redo history - 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