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Title: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Malakili on June 29, 2010, 07:29:54 AM I've been wanting to get into a Turn Based Wargame lately. I'm not really talking Civilization, but something like a world war two wargame. Hearts of Iron 3/Europa Universalis struck me as almost everything I wanted EXCEPT that its real time and pausable, which isn't really what I am looking for. I'm pretty inexperiences in the genre, but I don't mind having to dig into a game to learn the mechanics, and in fact something where I have to manage diplomacy, economy, research, and have a bit more tactical combat that something like Civ would be ideal. I've been a bit of time hunting around but I haven't found really what I'm looking for.
Or maybe HoI / EU are closer to what I want than I think? Any suggestions are appreciated! Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: ghost on June 29, 2010, 09:42:29 AM Hearts of Iron is interesting. Have you tried it? The real time part of it can be agonizingly slow, so you might feel that it isn't too different from turn based.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: tgr on June 29, 2010, 10:23:30 AM What's wrong with pausable real-time?
I've recently bought HoI3 myself, but I've also bought AI Wars and concentrating on that to start with, but the little I tested of HoI3 showed me that there were a TON of stuff to keep track of. Almost so much so it's going to be overwhelming, but I really do think it'll be one of my next long-term games. Hell, I looked at starting in 1936, and it took 10-15 seconds (I think) for a full day to pass in-game, even at full acceleration. I'd be surprised if it turned very hectic to start with. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Malakili on June 29, 2010, 10:52:12 AM What's wrong with pausable real-time? I've recently bought HoI3 myself, but I've also bought AI Wars and concentrating on that to start with, but the little I tested of HoI3 showed me that there were a TON of stuff to keep track of. Almost so much so it's going to be overwhelming, but I really do think it'll be one of my next long-term games. Hell, I looked at starting in 1936, and it took 10-15 seconds (I think) for a full day to pass in-game, even at full acceleration. I'd be surprised if it turned very hectic to start with. Hmm, that is promising. I guess I just worry about forgetting to do stuff in the real time game, where with a turn based thing I can simply run down a checklist, click "done with turn" or whatever, and then wait for the opponent to make their moves. The complete version is only 15 bucks, so it might be worth picking up. I might wait until the 4th tough, cause knowing my luck it'll be one of the daily sales and I'll end up wasting 5-10 bucks (not that it is the end of the world). Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Ingmar on June 29, 2010, 11:17:47 AM Rise of Prussia (http://store.steampowered.com/app/42870/) and its predecessors are all turn-based neckbeardy war games. I haven't gotten around to trying them myself but it sounds like they might be up your alley.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Malakili on June 29, 2010, 12:44:08 PM Rise of Prussia (http://store.steampowered.com/app/42870/) and its predecessors are all turn-based neckbeardy war games. I haven't gotten around to trying them myself but it sounds like they might be up your alley. Thanks for the tip. I think I am going to keep an eye out for some sort of Paradox Interactive crazy deal pack until the end of the Steam sale before buying any of this because maybe I'l be able to get a pack of these games for like 50 bucks for all of them or something. Untll then I'll keep researching which one I think has the best bet of being a winner for me in case I have to buy just one at the end of the sale. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: tgr on June 29, 2010, 01:35:54 PM Curse you, ingmar. Cuuuurse youuuuuu!</zim>
That does indeed look like a game to keep in my repetoir, thanks for that. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: ghost on June 29, 2010, 01:58:07 PM You can stop the action in HOI3, which essentially can make it "turn based".
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: cironian on June 29, 2010, 03:57:54 PM You can stop the action in HOI3, which essentially can make it "turn based". This. HOI is really a discrete turn-based system with 1 hour = 1 turn. Only for most hours, you don't really have any useful orders to give, so you let the game move through those at a selectable speed. Then you pause either manually or using the auto-pause function that's available for virtually any event that might happen. Once paused you give your orders in peace, before unpausing. It's really more like Civ in that aspect, except the computer takes care of hammering the Next Turn button on those boring stretches. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Zane0 on June 29, 2010, 07:22:45 PM Quote Hmm, that is promising. I guess I just worry about forgetting to do stuff in the real time game, where with a turn based thing I can simply run down a checklist, click "done with turn" or whatever, and then wait for the opponent to make their moves. I was just like you for the longest time. And it took a herculean effort on my part to overcome my initial reserve for paradox's esoteric real-time gameplay. But you're only doing yourself a disservice - there are a great set of games waiting under there, especially for someone looking for more measured gameplay that isn't absolutely inaccessible.Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: JWIV on June 29, 2010, 07:31:10 PM http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/SI/Solium_Infernum.html (http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/SI/Solium_Infernum.html). I haven't played it, but have heard very good things. As a bonus recommendation, if you listen to podcasts, you need to sub to Three Moves Ahead.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Aez on June 29, 2010, 08:22:02 PM http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/SI/Solium_Infernum.html (http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/SI/Solium_Infernum.html). I haven't played it, but have heard very good things. As a bonus recommendation, if you listen to podcasts, you need to sub to Three Moves Ahead. Very interesting but I'm worried about opponent's AI, it can male or break this type of game and the reviews I founded didn't cover it. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Megrim on June 30, 2010, 02:33:48 AM http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/SI/Solium_Infernum.html (http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/SI/Solium_Infernum.html). I haven't played it, but have heard very good things. As a bonus recommendation, if you listen to podcasts, you need to sub to Three Moves Ahead. I've just read through the RPS writeup of that game. It's here (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/01/25/the-complete-gameboys-from-hell/#more-24436) and gives a pretty good impression of the game. I think i'd like to get around to trying it, based on this, when i have the time. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: tgr on June 30, 2010, 03:16:24 AM One other to look for might be http://www.ufo2extraterrestrials.com/ but I haven't actually tested this. A friend of mine pointed me towards it, saying it was more like the old xcom, so I've got hope.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Tannhauser on June 30, 2010, 03:45:54 AM If you want turn-based then http://making-history.com/ (http://making-history.com/) might be for you. It's a more streamlined version of HOI and even includes a unit editor so you can give Germany 100 u-boats at game start. You can play as any nation in 1936 and the game goes to 1946. It does have its problems (Rumania has a small amount of oil) but a lot can be fixed by the editor.
It has a sequel now; Making History 2 (dur) which I want to pick up from a b&m but haven't found it yet. I like MH much more than HOI3 which came out of the box unplayable. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Stormwaltz on June 30, 2010, 10:40:51 AM As a bonus recommendation, if you listen to podcasts, you need to sub to Three Moves Ahead. This. Here, I'll even give you a link. (http://flashofsteel.com/) For wargames, I'd recommend browsing through the catalogs of Matrix Games (http://matrixgames.com/) and Battlefront.com (http://battlefront.com/). If you're unbelievably hardcore, try War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/351/details/War.in.the.Pacific.-.Admiral%27s.Edition). It's so detailed, it's practically unplayable. For something between War in the Pacific and Axis & Allies (odd as that sounds), there's World at War: A World Divided (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/330/details/Gary.Grigsby%27s.World.at.War:.A.World.Divided). if you're open to fantasy, Dominions 3: The Awakening (http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Illwinter/DOM3/DOM3_page.html) remains the standard-bearer. Hands-down, no-shit, period. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Malakili on June 30, 2010, 01:05:41 PM I appreciate the input everyone. At this point I'm leaning back towards Hearts of Iron III, for a variety of reasons, including the fact that I like the time period and that it has Steamplay, which means I'll be able to play it on my laptop as well, which is ideal. Europa Universalis is also a possibility especially for the latter reason as well. Still waiting until the last day of the steam sale to see if a pack goes on sale or something, and I unfortunately missed the EU one day sale (though even if I buy it at its current price, it only cost me 5 bucks not to buy it, so no huge loss).
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Reg on June 30, 2010, 01:16:30 PM Has Hearts of Iron 3 been patched to point of playability yet? When it first came out reviews weren't very good but from what I hear that's par for the course with those developers/
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Malakili on June 30, 2010, 02:24:11 PM Has Hearts of Iron 3 been patched to point of playability yet? When it first came out reviews weren't very good but from what I hear that's par for the course with those developers/ From what I've been reading, the launch issues were resolved in a patch. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Teleku on June 30, 2010, 03:15:44 PM Any idea if I should bother getting the Semper Fi expansion for HOI3 or not?
Also, why can't Matrix Games put all their shit up on Steam. :oh_i_see: Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Ingmar on June 30, 2010, 06:54:31 PM Also, why can't Matrix Games put all their shit up on Steam. :oh_i_see: They're kind of a "special" company in a lot of ways. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: ffc on July 01, 2010, 09:09:59 AM http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/SI/Solium_Infernum.html (http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/SI/Solium_Infernum.html). I haven't played it, but have heard very good things. As a bonus recommendation, if you listen to podcasts, you need to sub to Three Moves Ahead. I've just read through the RPS writeup of that game. It's here (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/01/25/the-complete-gameboys-from-hell/#more-24436) and gives a pretty good impression of the game. I think i'd like to get around to trying it, based on this, when i have the time. I gave this a shot based on the RPS writeup. Other than the cool artwork on the "cards" and neat premise, the game looks ugly and the UI is literally from hell. There were obvious moves which were better than others and I quickly setled onto a routine that got boring. Well, I should say relatively obvious because I'm sure I missed some subtle nuanced moves since it felt like I was learning Dwarf Fortress. And that didn't go well. As outlined in the RPS writeup the real draw is supposed to be multiplayer email/wave games but in reality they take forever and a day to play. Consequently people lose interest 1/3 of the way in bringing the game to a halt (you can replace them with AI) or just quit when they fall far behind. Unless you have the RPS guys standing over your shoulder narrating the game for you and sending you turn summaries because you forgot what your last turn was since it took so long, the game is slow and boring in practice. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Speedy Cerviche on July 01, 2010, 09:43:00 AM http://elementalgame.com/
Scheduled for August release. From the guys who made Galactic Civilizations. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Yoru on July 01, 2010, 10:48:14 AM http://elementalgame.com/ Scheduled for August release. From the guys who made Galactic Civilizations. Okay, that looks legitimately awesome. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Baldric on July 01, 2010, 07:26:41 PM If you like 4x games I highly recommend sword of the stars and its 3 expansions. The collection is $20 on steam these days. A brief description of the game is a well done total war game, but in space. The strategic portion is deeper than it appears at first.
I also recommend the three moves ahead podcast. I first saw it linked somewhere on this board and listened to ten podcasts that very day. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Baldric on July 01, 2010, 07:35:57 PM Any idea if I should bother getting the Semper Fi expansion for HOI3 or not? Also, why can't Matrix Games put all their shit up on Steam. :oh_i_see: Semper fi greatly improved hoi3, there are some goofy issues like the Japanese joining the Comintern, if Germany doesn't influence them from day 1 and if you play USA in the 1936 scenario don't expect anything like Pearl harbor to thrust you into the war. That being said paradox has a beta patch in the works that addresses some of the remaining quirks and there is an active mod community that addresses some of the remaining issues as well. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: dusematic on July 01, 2010, 07:47:11 PM Revolution '76 is a goodly turn based strategy wargame. Check it out! (http://www.cdosabandonware.com/std_games_details.php?gameid=1012 )
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Yegolev on July 01, 2010, 09:23:08 PM I noticed that there is currently a sale on Impulse for HOI3 + Arsenal of Democracy, which seems to be a mod or some such.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Stormwaltz on July 01, 2010, 10:27:52 PM Arsenal of Democracy, which seems to be a mod or some such. It's a very elaborate mod of HoI2. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Ingmar on July 02, 2010, 12:30:56 AM Arsenal of Democracy : HoI2 :: For the Glory : EU 2
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Lum on July 02, 2010, 02:46:54 PM Arsenal of Democracy is essentially the current version of HOI2. It supports modern resolutions including widescreen which alone kind of makes it essential. It also has a superior (read: functional) AI and is overall a lot of fun. Not a lot of mod support for it yet but it doesn't really need an AI mod and event mods will come eventually.
HOI3 - not so much. An expansion pack (Semper Fi) was just released which helped address *some* of the issues with the game, but overall it's still pretty fatally flawed. In particular it has an insanely complex logistics and supply system which just doesn't work. So for Semper Fi you have the option to play "Arcade Mode" which basically turns supply back into HOI2 (big stockpile in your capital which magically gets out to your troops). The main problem with HOI3 though is just the scale. It's too big and requires you to automate too much, which results in a very Master of Orion 3 style of experience where you point at something and hit End Turn waiting for something to happen (except in this case you don't even hit End Turn). Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Jimbo on July 02, 2010, 05:12:25 PM Has anyone played Laser Squad Nemesis (http://www.lasersquadnemesis.com/)?
Why the hell can't they take this idea and use Warhammer or War 40K to it? I really don't have time to try this out, but it looks pretty fun. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Trippy on July 02, 2010, 06:03:12 PM Has anyone played Laser Squad Nemesis (http://www.lasersquadnemesis.com/)? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_GateWhy the hell can't they take this idea and use Warhammer or War 40K to it? Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Sheepherder on July 04, 2010, 01:35:53 AM Yes, that was an awesome game.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Sir T on July 04, 2010, 04:43:20 AM If you like your scale a bit more closer to the battlefield you could do worse than the Combat Mission games from Battlefront. basicly you give orders to your units and then a minute of time goes by and you see whats happening, followed by you giving new orders. Its pretty decent fun. You can look at a demo for one of the games here (http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=623&Itemid=318)
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: tgr on July 05, 2010, 01:09:45 AM So, I decided to give ai wars a whirl since I'd bought it and all, and my internet was down at home. Turns out that test basically lasted me the entire weekend, with a short stint for hearts of iron 3 after ai wars didn't load one of my savegames. I guess it didn't like being up for more than 20 hours straight.
HoI3 is complex, but I did not like its UI at all. The units are just hard to look at and determine at a glance what is really going on, who's moving where. And the whole structure of armies, infantries, divisions etc is probably something that has an effect in-game, but it's not glaringly obvious what that is (and the tutorial didn't specify it either). I don't doubt that if it was my cup of tea, then it'd be pretty good after I put some time in to actually understand it, but I think I'm going to go with AI Wars on this one. I probably wouldn't have been as frustrated with HOI3 as I am right now if I'd had the internet to google for answers/tips to what the fuck is going on (...no internet + big nerd == halp halp I'm taclked in a belt). Also, generally, it's just not my cup of tea, but I think I like my strategy games more viceral than HoI3 is. I like how I basically have to micromanage the fleets to wring as much effect out of them as possible vs the AI (I.e not just get enough units of fighters to counteract bombers etc). And, unlike the AI in sins of a solar empire, this one is beatable, but god damn is he vicious in some systems. One of the last things I tried before I went to bed this morning (...4 hours after I thought "I should probably go to bed soon, but I just need to take out this one system"), was to try to take out a 3000-3500 ship system with a fleet of 7500 (zomg blobbing! oh wait, this wasn't EVE), and I just got my ass handed to me. After it'd been used and abused in nefarious ways. It wasn't pretty. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Malakili on July 05, 2010, 08:33:39 AM Decided to pick up Birth of America as a last minute steam sale purchase. Hell for $1.50 what have I got to lose, thats less than the gas it would take to drive me to the store to buy a different game. I'll post my reactions after I get to play it later.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Ingmar on July 06, 2010, 02:13:59 PM I am not super enthused by BoA so far personally. It seems way too simple in some ways, while being overly neckbeardy in others. It doesn't really strike a good balance with that stuff.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Murgos on July 07, 2010, 08:19:43 AM If you're unbelievably hardcore, try War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/351/details/War.in.the.Pacific.-.Admiral%27s.Edition). It's so detailed, it's practically unplayable. I don't think that I would attempt to play a full game of WitP but HERE (http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3238049) is a link to a game in progress that some, unbelievably hardcore, person (Grey Hunter is his handle) is doing of refighting the war day by day. He started on December 7th 2009 and he plans to go on until the end, five or so years from now. Yes, he's only to early July 1942 and things are pretty dark. As an added bonus, the history nerds go to pretty good lengths to add correlation and color to the action with the real world histories of ships, units and etc... Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: naum on November 01, 2010, 01:39:13 PM A great writeup on "storytelling in Games" and Dominions 3 (http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2010/11/01/guest-blog-storytelling-in-dominions-3-how-to-capture-the-feel-of-a-fantasy-world/), IMV, the greatest turn based strategy computer game ever made (at least to date).
Quote Enter Dominions 3, the 2006 turn-based strategy game from Illwinter that cast players as “pretenders”: mages or supernatural beings aspiring to divinity. I have argued that games can tell a story in one of two ways: through good writing and scripted experiences, or through the actual in-game mechanics. And Dominions is one of my favourite games because of how well it uses those two methods to tell a story about a dark, high-magic fantasy world. Start with writing. In Dominions, a game with neither cutscenes nor dialogue, this means backstory, flavour text, and world/faction design. Instead of elves and orcs, Dominions features dozens of nations based on Earth history and mythology. There are Western Europeans: Germanic, Anglo-Celtic, Iberian, Roman, Greek. There are nations based on Norse gods and Norse giants. There are nations based on the Aztecs, on China, on Japan. And then there are nations of bird-winged people, of bipedal lizards, of merfolk. There are even nations based on Lovecraft. And because you can choose to play the game in one of three eras of the world (Early, Middle or Late), you can see how the fate of each nation has unfolded across the centuries. For example, when we first meet the Roman-inspired nation of Ermor in the Early Age, it is confident and proud. Confident in its new faith, brought by a prophet in white; confident in its pre-Marian legions of triarii and principes and equites; confident in its powerful mages. By the Middle Age, things have gone horribly wrong. The new faith has been replaced by a Death Cult, introduced to stop a necromantic ritual gone awry, and now skeletons march side by side with the legionaries. The nation of Pythium secedes from Ermor, and the Pythian generals place their trust in Hydras (themselves inherited from the vanquished nation of Sauromatia) rather than the undead. And by the Late Age, echoing the later Roman Empire, Pythium now has to cope with mystery cults (one of which, serpent-worship, has made the Hydras sacred) and the Pythian legions have birfurcated into Limitanei and Comitatenses. Still, it’s clear the Pythians were the lucky ones – for Ermor has turned into an Ashen Empire of the undead. Take another example: the nations based off fantastic versions of the British Isles. In the Early Age, the land of Tir na n’Og is ruled by the Tuatha, beings with lifespans of hundreds of years, powerful air and nature magic, and the ability to disguise themselves with magic glamours. Come the Middle Age, and a handful of Tuatha remain in the nation of Eriu, ruling over mostly human subjects. Eclipsing the Tuatha is the Celtic/Arthurian nation of Man, led by witches of Avalon and whose armies comprise the familiar longbowmen, sword- and spear- wielding infantry, and unicorn-riding knights of Avalon. And by the Late Age, the Tuatha have disappeared entirely, as have the witches of Avalon. Now Man is ruled by the magisters, scholars trained as judges or researchers or sorcerers, and the Old Ways are nearly gone. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: dusematic on November 02, 2010, 11:08:51 AM A great writeup on "storytelling in Games" and Dominions 3 (http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2010/11/01/guest-blog-storytelling-in-dominions-3-how-to-capture-the-feel-of-a-fantasy-world/), IMV, the greatest turn based strategy computer game ever made (at least to date). Quote Enter Dominions 3, the 2006 turn-based strategy game from Illwinter that cast players as “pretenders”: mages or supernatural beings aspiring to divinity. I have argued that games can tell a story in one of two ways: through good writing and scripted experiences, or through the actual in-game mechanics. And Dominions is one of my favourite games because of how well it uses those two methods to tell a story about a dark, high-magic fantasy world. Start with writing. In Dominions, a game with neither cutscenes nor dialogue, this means backstory, flavour text, and world/faction design. Instead of elves and orcs, Dominions features dozens of nations based on Earth history and mythology. There are Western Europeans: Germanic, Anglo-Celtic, Iberian, Roman, Greek. There are nations based on Norse gods and Norse giants. There are nations based on the Aztecs, on China, on Japan. And then there are nations of bird-winged people, of bipedal lizards, of merfolk. There are even nations based on Lovecraft. And because you can choose to play the game in one of three eras of the world (Early, Middle or Late), you can see how the fate of each nation has unfolded across the centuries. For example, when we first meet the Roman-inspired nation of Ermor in the Early Age, it is confident and proud. Confident in its new faith, brought by a prophet in white; confident in its pre-Marian legions of triarii and principes and equites; confident in its powerful mages. By the Middle Age, things have gone horribly wrong. The new faith has been replaced by a Death Cult, introduced to stop a necromantic ritual gone awry, and now skeletons march side by side with the legionaries. The nation of Pythium secedes from Ermor, and the Pythian generals place their trust in Hydras (themselves inherited from the vanquished nation of Sauromatia) rather than the undead. And by the Late Age, echoing the later Roman Empire, Pythium now has to cope with mystery cults (one of which, serpent-worship, has made the Hydras sacred) and the Pythian legions have birfurcated into Limitanei and Comitatenses. Still, it’s clear the Pythians were the lucky ones – for Ermor has turned into an Ashen Empire of the undead. Take another example: the nations based off fantastic versions of the British Isles. In the Early Age, the land of Tir na n’Og is ruled by the Tuatha, beings with lifespans of hundreds of years, powerful air and nature magic, and the ability to disguise themselves with magic glamours. Come the Middle Age, and a handful of Tuatha remain in the nation of Eriu, ruling over mostly human subjects. Eclipsing the Tuatha is the Celtic/Arthurian nation of Man, led by witches of Avalon and whose armies comprise the familiar longbowmen, sword- and spear- wielding infantry, and unicorn-riding knights of Avalon. And by the Late Age, the Tuatha have disappeared entirely, as have the witches of Avalon. Now Man is ruled by the magisters, scholars trained as judges or researchers or sorcerers, and the Old Ways are nearly gone. I Googled this game intent on buying it. But it's $55.00 and looks like this: (http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Illwinter/DOM3/images/screen_13.jpg) Um, wow. Cocky bunch, Shrapnel Games. Edit: To be fair, they are running a "monthly special" that knocks $5 off. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Sky on November 02, 2010, 11:20:42 AM The assy look has always turned me off, too. I think if you can't do a good 3D engine, just stick with sprites. I don't know why sprites were dropped so quickly for ugly 3D.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Ingmar on November 02, 2010, 11:27:36 AM Yeah I check every once in a while to see if they have a sane price on their 4 year old homemade game yet. Nope!
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: dusematic on November 02, 2010, 11:29:09 AM The assy look has always turned me off, too. I think if you can't do a good 3D engine, just stick with sprites. I don't know why sprites were dropped so quickly for ugly 3D. I agree. (http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RZ0IreYkrUw/S1Grq3bUl6I/AAAAAAAABHw/TVvH8Onzk4g/s400/final%2Bfantasy%2B6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://nsae-poem.blogspot.com/&usg=__ARqTDHhiirXCeMEVBIyKOs3I3x0=&h=300&w=400&sz=36&hl=en&start=198&sig2=wDa0N0dPCaUvrZYGtRVYYQ&zoom=1&tbnid=Aou_jqTqzITUaM:&tbnh=169&tbnw=220&ei=h1jQTKK2F4a0lQf_39DgBg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dff6%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1680%26bih%3D860%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C4007&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=347&vpy=575&dur=1314&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=173&ty=76&oei=VVjQTLnlDcOB8gbfz_CoBg&esq=7&page=7&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:198&biw=1680&bih=860) Besides, in the age of Steam, how can I rationalize paying $50 for a 5 year old game? (http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/157570-dancing-mad-a-critical-analysis/Kefka_First_Tier-noscale.jpg) Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: naum on November 02, 2010, 11:49:26 AM Yeah I check every once in a while to see if they have a sane price on their 4 year old homemade game yet. Nope! The graphics suck. The UI is decent, substandard by modern aesthetics, but it gets the job done. But it's a turn based game where the graphics really are not that essential — the battle scenes are decent enough and you can mouse over / pause / fast forward and get a breakdown of the action — you don't make any "moves" once in battle, it's all about formation, setup, and scripted orders. As far as the price goes, I can't think of any game that's delivered as many hours played other than a MMORPG with a monthly fee. And that includes any in the Civ series. But a big part of the problem, besides the amateurish graphics, it takes a little doing before you get hooked — when starting out, you don't know what you're doing, and it's just confusing. To play effectively, you need a plan from even before game begins, when you choose a race/nation, "roll up" your God and select dominion settings to fit. And while you can compare it to glitzy presentation of other games, all those other strategy games are like "checkers" compared to Dominions 3, including Civ, EU, etc.…. As that essay describes, playing the game is like unraveling an epic fantasy novel. Heroes grow stronger, prophets rise and die, the world is altered, supercombatants are spawned, etc.… Multiplayer is even more intense, though it's a different beast entirely than your 20 minute SC3 matches — games take weeks to play (though, certainly not "continuous"). Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Modern Angel on November 02, 2010, 12:13:18 PM Dom3 is AMAZING and worth every penny. I do think the price should come down a bit, absolutely, but even then it's worth it. It really is.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: WayAbvPar on November 02, 2010, 12:17:47 PM That sounds really fun, but yeah...price needs to come down about 75% before I even consider it. Steam sale plstia.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Ingmar on November 02, 2010, 12:24:14 PM The last time I trusted one of these threads I ended up with "X3: Single Player Eve" so... yeah. I'll pay $10 for something like this, or maybe $20 if the buzz is like, Mount and Blade/Minecraft level universal love. And I haven't even tried Minecraft yet...
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: WayAbvPar on November 02, 2010, 12:52:48 PM :awesome_for_real: that is EXACTLY what I thought of when I read this. I have that one too.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Modern Angel on November 02, 2010, 01:44:56 PM That's completely fair. There is a demo. The real problem is that the game isn't accessible. It's got a learning curve and the fact that you only set up orders for your armies and let the computer run the actual battle is very weird at first. But it's deep, atmospheric, evocative...
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: PalmTrees on November 04, 2010, 05:32:41 PM Yeah, the limited level of scripting/orders and computer run battles just made the game completely unfun for me. Played a couple campaigns and then it got put away.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Furiously on November 04, 2010, 06:11:59 PM No one has mentioned Darkwind, then again it's more mmo'ish.
Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: FatuousTwat on November 05, 2010, 04:07:21 AM The last time I trusted one of these threads I ended up with "X3: Single Player Eve" so... yeah. That sounds like the worst game in existence. The only thing good about Eve is the interaction with other players, all the NPC stuff blows. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: Modern Angel on November 05, 2010, 06:58:35 AM No one has mentioned Darkwind, then again it's more mmo'ish. This reminds me that I should head back for my yearly fix after the holidays. Title: Re: Turn Based Strategy/Wargames Post by: raydeen on November 05, 2010, 08:03:19 AM Found this today after this thread got me interested in trying some TBS games.
Projekt W http://www.saschawillems.de/?page_id=114 (http://www.saschawillems.de/?page_id=114) Looks pretty amazing for a freeware game. Haven't tried it yet due to being at work. It was from a list of freeware TBS games. http://www.freewaregenius.com/2008/05/15/an-overview-of-free-turn-based-strategy-and-war-games/ (http://www.freewaregenius.com/2008/05/15/an-overview-of-free-turn-based-strategy-and-war-games/) |