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As Robear put it, this thread will be the wargamer's table in the caff, a place where we can talk about the original type of computer game, wargames.

I'm looking at Hornet Leader, but I'm a bit disappointed in the remade games. Old tech, old graphics...At some point, you have to redesign to modern standards. HPS has this problem in spades.

Swampy, did you see the AGEOD Napoleonics game just released? Missed you in that thread. Maybe I misremember, but didn't you get their ACW game? That's a fine one.

Still waiting on a reduction in price on the SSG stuff that came after Korsun Pocket. And I'm sorely tempted to old school it with TOAW v3. Comments on those?

I picked up the new Harpoon edition and it is fun. Brings back memories of playing the original. I am curious about Empire in Arms, but I want to see some reviews and impressions when it comes out first. (Price is a little steep at $59.99)

TOAW 3 is worth the upgrade if you liked the original Talonsoft versions. The improvements they have added justify the cost as the replayablility is endless. I've also enjoyed the re-released Talonsoft Campaign series edition as East Front 2 was one of my all time favorite wagames.

The AGEod Napoleon game also looks great. I've checked out the demo and want to see some more reports on the full game first. I am a little worried about how they are trying to handle diplomacy. Since the Napoleonic conflict wasn't just a single long war and there were periods where diplomacy played a key role between the actual combat.

As for the Close Combat refreshes, I picked up Cross of Iron and was less than impressed. Maybe the engine just hasn't aged well with games like Combat Mission around now.

Does TOAW3 still have the bugs it had on release? I know that sounds like a loaded question - of course it's been patched - but I remember there were some serious ones with the AI and combat that were game-killers for me (yes, I bought it) and I have not revisited it.

Remember with the Nappy game, it's not got a grand campaign scenario, so I'd expect they've tuned the diplomacy and the leader characters to the particular conflicts. But I've not tried it yet.

WoW - I really need to get back to my roots and get away from the other crap! o)

Speaking of which any GWJ play WWII Online?

WWII Online

I tried it awhile back but couldn't hack the 15 or 20 min drives to a fight area only to get shot and have to repeat. Yuck! Give me Call of Duty any day!

That Close Combat Modern sound interesting. Any reviews?

Richy, I would watch The Wargamer for a review, they should have one shortly. Also - check out Matrix' forums for the game (and any game) that you may buy. The forums USUALLY can give you a good idea about a game, whether it will be to your liking or not. The guys in the forums are good about answering questions and hold nothing back when complaining about games.

So far the posts on Modern Combat seem mixed. I think that likely the AI is still weak. The increased lethality of modern weaponry is another issue. Matrix re-did CC5, and call it Cross of Iron, you can check that out as well - but the complaints about the AI are severe in that game.

Do you think Phil would like the Matrix (Talonsoft) Civil War collection?

Robear, for some reason AGEOD's release did not interest me too much.

Jakeleg, I spent hundreds of hours with the first Harpoon, I recall to get a patch in those days you MAILED BACK your 5.25" disks and then they mailed you new ones! My OCD personality loved coordinating airstrikes and sub hunting. That is my most likely purchase. I still plan to get Carrier Strike.

And I'm drooling over Heroes of Stalingrad but both Mark Walker and the Matrix guys are being very tight-lipped about release.

I have played Battles in Normandy and Italy, they are great games. I have no opponent interested in Battlefront PBEM, so I haven't gotten it - yet.

Currently I have ongoing PBEM games of SPMBT and Squad Battles Afghganistan going on. I am always available for those, CMBB, CMAK, BiI, BiN and can be talked into others if anyone is interested!

I love talking wargames!

Just a heads up: Matrix is having a holiday sale.

Also I am really enjoying Harpoon Commanders Edition. I picked up Harpoon 3 ANW a few months ago and have enjoyed it but I like the streamlined interface and approach of the classic Harpoon more even though it doesn't have multiplayer.

It does give me the itch to break out Dangerous Waters and go trolling for some Akulas with broadband sonar.

I just got Napoleon's Campaigns, so you can't tempt me, Jake! You can't! Go away!

Swampy, there are demos for the AGEOD games if they tempt you. The ACW one has company and brigade level components in an operational system that allows for strategic level control of the entire conflict. Recruiting. Politics. Raiding. Observation balloons. Leader seniority and political considerations. River gunboats. Ironclads. Weapons and equipment upgrades. Random events. City and state-wide rebellions. Martial law. Elite specialist units. That's only part of the list.

Sorry, I'm just...infatuated with this series.

Can.....can I have draft riots? Squeeal!

Actually, on the first turn (first two weeks of April, 1861), rioters usually trash downtown Baltimore and cut off it's rail connections. One of the special events I mentioned. I usually ship units from New York down to occupy Baltimore, and send the Marine Brigade from Annapolis to repair the tracks.

I guess this falls into the right category...There's a new patch out for Napoleon's Campaigns, if anyone cares.

Still playing AACW, but I did also get SC2:WAW at a friend's recommendation. Solid game and much more fun than it's predecessor.

And in the news category, Theater of War will get a HUGE upgrade with a patch near the end of the month. Tons of gameplay improvements are said to be in place, according to beta testers.

Right now I am playing the largets Steel Panthers MBT game I have ever played, against a friend. My turns take 90+ minutes to do properly. It is "Hell to Pay", a fictional 90's (?) invasion of Finland by the Russians. I am playing the russians and have 4 Motor Rifle Battalions and two tank Battalions, plus an ass-load or support. I am making gains but my buddy has picked some very nice choke points to try and make a stand at. One in particular, a road through a forest, initially was non-important. But as my northern Tank Battalion got first pinned down and then cut to pieces by his damn S-Tanks, I decided to sweep my as-yet uncontested southern armor group north through the road to try and attack his armor on the flank, I found he had set a nice nasty ambush by ant-armor troops and recoiless rifles! I am trying to bull my way through now, I have dismounted infantry and their BTR-70s trying to clear the woods while the tanks and recon vehicles try to force the road. My losses are horrific, smoke clouds the fields to the point that I often can't see enemy until I am on top of them - beautiful chaos! Oh, and my Hinds, when I try to pop up to let a ATGM fly, his SAMs light me up, so what is left of my attack helicopter company cowers behind a treeline, worthless.

SwampYankee wrote:

Right now I am playing the largets Steel Panthers MBT game I have ever played, against a friend. My turns take 90+ minutes to do properly. It is "Hell to Pay", a fictional 90's (?) invasion of Finland by the Russians. I am playing the russians and have 4 Motor Rifle Battalions and two tank Battalions, plus an ass-load or support. I am making gains but my buddy has picked some very nice choke points to try and make a stand at. One in particular, a road through a forest, initially was non-important. But as my northern Tank Battalion got first pinned down and then cut to pieces by his damn S-Tanks, I decided to sweep my as-yet uncontested southern armor group north through the road to try and attack his armor on the flank, I found he had set a nice nasty ambush by ant-armor troops and recoiless rifles! I am trying to bull my way through now, I have dismounted infantry and their BTR-70s trying to clear the woods while the tanks and recon vehicles try to force the road. My losses are horrific, smoke clouds the fields to the point that I often can't see enemy until I am on top of them - beautiful chaos! Oh, and my Hinds, when I try to pop up to let a ATGM fly, his SAMs light me up, so what is left of my attack helicopter company cowers behind a treeline, worthless.

Where's your arty, man?

I got Hornet Leader. So far, so good. It's a faithful translation of the solitaire game.

Half sad/half glad i missed jakelegg's post about Matrix Games recent sale. But wait a minute, Empires in Arms has been released? There was a blurb in this months GFW about this one, i've been thinking it could be awesome. You'd never catch me with the time to play the original, but i'm real interested in this. Anyone try it out? i don't see a demo.

Edit: 59.99, better be some reviews on this soon, yowch.

Robear wrote:

I got Hornet Leader. So far, so good. It's a faithful translation of the solitaire game.

The new patch supposedly made a big difference. It is on my wish list now.

@ Wordsmyth, Just this last turn I got a fix on his SAM battery and detailed a battery of 120 rockets to deal with it.

@ Jonny, keep an eye on the wargamer for reviews.

jonnypolite wrote:

Edit: 59.99, better be some reviews on this soon, yowch.

My Dad and I have been playing the Talonsoft East Front stuff since I was in high school, so I was glad to see the compilation release of that one. However, I have a hard time throwing 50 or 60 bucks at a game I can't get a demo for. I too was interested in Empire at Arms but some of the comments on it make me slightly wary. Maybe thats why I've ended up with some of AGEOD's stuff instead - I like being able to try before I buy.

Matrix is pretty flaky on the whole demo thing

I hear that EiA was designed for multi-player, not solitaire. No AI to speak of, maybe enough to practice rules with.

Swampy, I didn't play HL before the patch, so I can't comment on what it was like, but it feels like a faithful, fast-moving version of the original. When I say "fast-moving", I mean that not having to move the cards and counters and such streamlines the game. Might seem obvious, but you can play through a simple scenario in half an hour.

I'm hoping they continue the series. Apache Leader would be very cool.

Phantom Leader would be cooler

Seriously, do you post on the boards much? The Stormcloud guy is VERY responsive, see what he says.

My favorite part of HARPOON was managing airstrikes, trying to coordinate the varios packages and such. Am I correct that this is a more simplified version of just that?

Bump. Robear?

Oh, sorry, missed the question. No, that's completely not what it's like. The link is to the original game in it's second release. The computer version is simply the same game, put onto a computer.

So it's a solitaire map and card game which simulates individual raids by a group of aircraft on particular targets. It covers targetting, pilot allocation, weapons loadout, ingress, strike and egress. It maintains stats mission to mission in a campaign, so pilot abilities change due to experience, fatigue or injury; weapons stocks drop; targets and opponents change. All sorts of good chrome.

But it's not a real-time ground attack game.

I apologize, I've been playing Armageddon Empires.

Thanks Robear.

Come *on* man, say something else about strategy games! I'm shriveling up here!

Hasn't anyone tried Empires in Arms yet? Any other Armageddon Empires players out there?

Oh, BTW, the Theater of War Ueber Patch is out at Battlefront. Good reviews so far, I haven't actually tried it yet.

We gotta represent!

I love some Armageddon Empires, and lately I've been playing a bit of Advanced Tactics. Seems like a good, solid game - maybe a little too simple for the true grognard, but about my speed. You do have me very tempted to pick up AGEOD's civil war game, I have to say.

I actually played the demo for both AGEOD's civil war and Napoleonic era games this afternoon. Basically the same game with different sound and art. But the nappy game has some tweaks to the UI that I liked - made it less crowded and just felt cleaner. That being said I had lots of fun with both games - it was fun to whip up on the CSA. (says the guy from Georgia) - but I liked the nappy one more - personal preference I suppose.

I feel ashamed not to be more active in this thread. I use to love games of this sort, but time, descipline and to some degree my aging PC keeps me from it. (i.e. it's mostly just me). I had AGEOD's Birth of a Nation and loved it. Been eying both their ACW And Napoleonic games, but hesitate. Armageddon Empires looks interesting, but I see reviews that you really have to invest some noggin' scratching and I'm not sure I'm up for that. Empire in Arms looks very cool (and good review at the Wargamer's).

Robear wrote:

Come *on* man, say something else about strategy games! I'm shriveling up here!

Hasn't anyone tried Empires in Arms yet? Any other Armageddon Empires players out there?

Oh, BTW, the Theater of War Ueber Patch is out at Battlefront. Good reviews so far, I haven't actually tried it yet.

We gotta represent!

I don't know what has happened to my brain. It seems like over the past 24 months my energy and desire to play PC games has just shriveled.

I suspect it is a combination of my new job requiring anywhere from 7-9 hours in front of a computer, the stress of learning said new job and the insane workloads, a bout of depression following my dog's illness and death, not to mention not yet recovering from building a new house, maritial problems, and some other family issues.

But it SUCKS. I want to be excited about Sins of a Solar Empire, I want to have the mental energy needed to learn & play Empire in Arms or ACOG's Civil war game, but I just can't seem to. I'm actually somewhat relieved when my son asks to use the gaming PC after dinner. Sometimes I just feel like I'm getting dumb or something. Many nights I'll do a bit of console gaming then read a bit and go to bed at 10 or 10:30, HOURS before I did just a few years ago..

I would really like to play Carriers at War and Hornet Leader, and get the newest version of Flashpoint Germany when it comes out. Maybe if I got a cheap lap top for wargaming, I could sit on the couch and not feel like I'm still at work?

Middle age sucks the big one.

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