Thanks Zilla! It’ll be a nice break in the Winter grind times. :-)
I'm curious if the final version will have all the bells and whistles they were working on. I hope the final version is good and it does well.
On another note, I've been playing some SGS stuff lately, really liking that system too. They just released SGS Okinawa, and I've been playing SGS Pacific D-Day, which has five Pacific War battles in it. It's board-gameish design, but the system seems to work pretty well for a wide range of conflicts. Operational level, area movement, some card mechanics, pretty elaborate but workable combat and supply systems.
I got the SGS Desert War, and the Finland one, and I can’t seem to wrap my head around the system. Dunno why. Periodically I try and get totally confused on the mechanics. But I know a lot of folks like them. It’s a me problem.
I got the SGS Desert War, and the Finland one, and I can’t seem to wrap my head around the system. Dunno why. Periodically I try and get totally confused on the mechanics. But I know a lot of folks like them. It’s a me problem.
I got stuck my first time trying it out as well, with one of the desert games too. This time it's gone much smoother.
Which one finally made it easy for you, Okinawa or Pacific?
I hadn't heard of SGS before. Is there a preferred game to learn the system?
I do know it’s Philippe Thibault’s new system. He’s the founder of AGEOD, but this is not a version of that system.
Which one finally made it easy for you, Okinawa or Pacific?
SGS Pacific D-Day worked for me. It has five island campaigns, all of which are about 1-2 hours, so each scenario is a very contained experience. But it was probably a bit of determination more than anything; they were review copies so I had to figure them out. There are a couple of UI elements that I had to plug my way through with trial and error until I understood them (aerial and naval bombardment). Once I was past that, I had a foothold in the game enough to play and piece together the other parts bit by bit.
I think the nature of the island battles helps too. If you play the US, you're going up against some fairly static defense. If you do get that one, the developer has said that the Tinian scenario is the easiest to win, so that particular scenario is probably a good starting point in that particular game.
I don't mean to keep posting links to my stuff, but I have a series up on the Tinian game that I played, in case it helps. I think I show how naval and air bombardment work in the beginning of the first episode, and spend a few minutes trying to explain the basics of the system. It's not designed as a tutorial, but the first 10 minutes or so might help if you give it a shot.
I know pretty much all the games have big discounts in the Steam sales too.
This is quite helpful, thanks Zilla!
BTW, most of the Panzer Campaigns games at Wargame Design Studios have been upgraded to 4.0.1. The ones remaining should be done soon (including France '40). 4.0.1 is a very, very wide-ranging update several years in the making, with graphics upgrades, ease of use, additional unit types and capabilities, rules changes, bug fixes, scenarios upgraded to make use of all the changes, and above all, they've sorted out some of the unit power and performance issues (in-game, that is) that were uncovered over time. Problems like how to handle assault values versus pillboxes and fortifications have been addressed.
These are amazing upgrades and if you enjoy these games, now is the time to re-download them and fire them up again. 
BTW, most of the Panzer Campaigns games at Wargame Design Studios have been upgraded to 4.0.1. The ones remaining should be done soon (including France '40). 4.0.1 is a very, very wide-ranging update several years in the making, with graphics upgrades, ease of use, additional unit types and capabilities, rules changes, bug fixes, scenarios upgraded to make use of all the changes, and above all, they've sorted out some of the unit power and performance issues (in-game, that is) that were uncovered over time. Problems like how to handle assault values versus pillboxes and fortifications have been addressed.
These are amazing upgrades and if you enjoy these games, now is the time to re-download them and fire them up again. :-)
I've always wondered about these. Is there a good one to start with?
There is now a demo game that introduces the system! It's called Mius '43, and it covers fighting in the Donbas in July 1943. I probably don't have to tell you where that is. But if you want to dive in, wait until France '40 or Normandy '44 are updated. Although... Market Garden '44 has been update and that's got some very interesting smaller scenarios.
France '40 and Normandy '44, like Market Garden, have tons of smaller scenarios to cut your teeth on that are interesting and challenging. Normandy has beach invasions, lots of pulling together airborne units after drops, and big drives inland. France, well, there were many components to the invasions of the Low Countries as well as France itself. And Market Garden does a decent job.
The latter, though, is revisited in Scheldt '44, which is a great game about liberating the Netherlands and destroying a cornered German army. It's got a bunch of new mechanics - lots of canals to cross under fire, partisan and Underground uprisings, even wholesale flooding of large parts of the map. That can make it more daunting.
So check out Mius '43 for free and toy with the system to learn it. Good luck!
Thanks!
BTW, all Wargame Design Studio games except the two released this year are on discount (usually from $40 to $30). Additional 20% off if you get more than $200 worth. They do this sale a few times a year, it's a good time to buy.
BTW, all Wargame Design Studio games except the two released this year are on discount (usually from $40 to $30). Additional 20% off if you get more than $200 worth. They do this sale a few times a year, it's a good time to buy.
It'd be super nice if these were on Steam. Some of them look quite tempting, but the idea of managing my own digital downloads, I don't know.
So. You don't have to. First, every one you buy is placed in a list in "Your Account", so once you log in, you can get all the info and download files in one spot (including the serial number). They should have the latest patch unless it dropped that day and the downloads have not been updated. These downloads are unlimited and permanent. All you have to do is run the installer and stick the serial number in the box when requested. You never have to do that again unless you re-install. The patches pick it up automatically these days.
Also, make sure to download the WDS Start Menu. It's a start menu that finds every game in the game directory and offers up all the docs, executables, etc for each game in its own pick menu.
Finally, I believe the games still have an auto-updater.
Anyway, WDS has made it easy to manage their games.
So, 8 games was enough to trigger the 20% discount. That's a total of $320 at the usual prices, knocked down to $191.68. Don't forget the "BulkOrders" code if you go this route!
I focused on game series with the 4.0.1 update to get the new-this-quarter updates with the big changes to, well, everything.
So. You don't have to. [snip]
Oh, that is much easier than I anticipated, yes. Thanks! Not super excited about another software management installation, but that's much less of a reason to not go forward than having to manage games individually. I could see how that could work nicely when you have a few games from them.
It all exists inside one directory, and you can put it wherever you want. Only thing you have to do individually is install them, and maybe upgrade them periodically.
Since the West Front Pz Campaign games from Wargame Design Studio were upgraded to 4.0.1 - and in the case of France '40, to 4.0.2! - I decided to refresh my memory with the Starter scenario. Mechanics, I haz dem. But apparently I was waaaay too cautious and took a Strategic Loss as the Germans.
The game made me sit through a period rendition of "La Marseillaise". C'est bien, I guess...
France '40 is still kicking my butt. I keep forgetting little details, like checking to see a unit is in travel mode before I put it on the road to run wild. The starter scenario is a great tune-up.
Happy New Year. Looks to be another bull year for our hobby.
Fought the Germans to a stop and a solid minor victory in the Plan Martin scenario of DC: Ardennes.
The value of heavy forest and higher elevation, plus massed artillery attacks can't be overstated with this title. And blowing bridges.
I have over a hundred hours in, plus the time spent before it released on steam. I am jumpig into Southern Storm now, can't wait to see what Vic and the boys are working on for the next DC title. I think this engine's scale would be perfect for Market Garden, Crete, the Gothic Line, another look at Sea Lowe - anything where the grander operational scale of Barbarossa misses out on nuance due to tactical conditions.
Happy New Year!
Being of Ukrainian background, I have finally had the nerve to boot up Combat Mission Black Sea. I have had this game since release, about the same time those commie bastards invaded Crimea. It's taken me 8 years or so to get the nerve to finally install this game. Let's see if this was a mistake on my part.
It's a hard, hard game. And it treats the Russians as a competent, tough military. It's also got the 3D visuals. I dunno, I would not recommend that for someone in your situation.
On the other hand, if you want the feel of a fast-paced conflict with modern military systems, it's got that in spades. Tactical errors are harshly punished; some weapons systems are just brutally powerful.
I don't think it has drones used in the way they are today, though.
I'm still in the tutorials where the drones are mostly used for surveillance and spotting.
Finally grabbed Southern Storm. Hoping to have some time with it this week.
Fired up Southern Storm last night. There are a lot of UI and usability changes to the game; I really like what they've done! I started going through the tutorials to refresh myself on how the game works and to learn the new features. I can see really getting into this one.
Command Modern Operations is about to drop a very large free enhancement patch, and it's 50% off (40USD) on Steam until the 30th. A nice price for a great sim.
Fired up Southern Storm last night. There are a lot of UI and usability changes to the game; I really like what they've done! I started going through the tutorials to refresh myself on how the game works and to learn the new features. I can see really getting into this one.
The enhancements have really made the game much more immersive. You can really drill down into unit orders and details.
PWAlessi wrote:Fired up Southern Storm last night. There are a lot of UI and usability changes to the game; I really like what they've done! I started going through the tutorials to refresh myself on how the game works and to learn the new features. I can see really getting into this one.
The enhancements have really made the game much more immersive. You can really drill down into unit orders and details.
Yeah, the SOP editor is amazing. Lots more detail than the previous game. I think that there are some usability tweaks that they can still make to make the game easier to use, but, in general, the changes to the engine and game itself are amazing.
I’m looking forward to the release of the map editing and scenario creation docs so I can try my hand at some content creation.
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