Hey folks
Are there any grand strategic ww2 games where someone (me) just makes some of the high level decisions and the AI acts out my orders? I've tried HoI IV and the TOAW and both were a bit too much for my simple mind. Micro managing supply routes and production ques makes my feeble brain hurt.
Appreciate any suggestions even if it's..."dude, stick to PONG" :D
Gary Grigsby World at War from Matrix?
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1265220/Cauldrons_of_War__Barbarossa/ (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1265220/Cauldrons_of_War__Barbarossa/)
This may be what you are looking for. A second game is already been worked on.
Decisive Campaigns Series
https://store.steampowered.com/app/354600/Decisive_Campaigns_Case_Blue/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/337760/Decisive_Campaigns_The_Blitzkrieg_from_Warsaw_to_Paris/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/454530/Decisive_Campaigns_Barbarossa/
It is not grand strategy, but perhaps Command Ops 2 would work for you. It is operational and the A.I. will handle quite a bit for you.
From the website. "No hexes, no turns, no micromanagement – command like Commanders do."
https://store.steampowered.com/app/521800/Command_Ops_2/
Quote from: z1812 on March 31, 2021, 03:44:33 PM
It is not grand strategy, but perhaps Command Ops 2 would work for you. It is operational and the A.I. will handle quite a bit for you.
From the website. "No hexes, no turns, no micromanagement – command like Commanders do."
https://store.steampowered.com/app/521800/Command_Ops_2/
I would absolutely recommend CO2 as a wargame to anybody - but IMHO it stands on the cusp between tactical and operational. Not that's neither here nor there for the present conversation.
My recommendation to the OP could be Warplan? Or maybe Advanced Tactics Gold (a confusingly named game since it is operational and not tactical in scope)? I think it's quite difficult to find grand strategy games which aren't concerned with supplies and production queues since, as I understand it, these factors were of primary concern at that level of command.
To be clear, "Grand Strategy" is generally thought of as "[coordinating] and direct all the resources of a nation, or band of nations, towards the attainment of the political object of the war " (Liddle Hart). In a wargame, a grand strategy player would be playing in the role of the JCS/Combined JCS/Head of Government. I don't think there are very many historical computer WWII games at the Grand Strategy level. Gary Grigsby's "World at War" would be the closest to meeting that definition. Warplan would be more of a strategic level game, albeit some aspects of the production system could be considered Grand Strategic. However, there are numerous 4X games that would meet the "Grand Strategy" definition, although most of these are fantasy/SF. Crusader Kings and EU would also probably fit this definition, but it doesn't sound like they are what you are looking for.
I went back and re-booted World at War just to check. It has been a long time. It looks like what the OP wanted. High national level command including options for the AI to manage either or both supply and production.
And it is "World at War: A World Divided", the second iteration of the game.
Yeah, that Grigsby title is an extraordinary game. The interface is less than intuitive (e.g., "Why didn't you tell me that invading Eastern Poland would bring the U.S.S.R. into the war the next turn?"), and there's some critical information that lives somewhere in the back pages of the manual.
BUT, if you understand WW II and save often, all the things in there make a lot of sense and it does a great job of posing strategic challenges to you. And if you play with Automated Supply, it's not too micro. It felt to me like the old Avalon Hill Classic board game Third Reich, but played on steroids and with a much more robust production system. I also really like the fact that you can play as one of several nations (e.g., the US and UK are treated as "Western Allies", but you can play them and automate the Russians and Chinese) but still enjoy spectating what goes on around the world.
Strategic Command: WW II World at War is fun, but I can't say I've played it too much. It was A LOT more manageable than HoI IV.
Honestly, I really wish somebody would come up with a credible AI for something at the beer & pretzels level of Axis & Allies. While nobody will confuse that game for a wonder of simulational complexity, it sure is fun romp. I played Triple-A for a while, but the AI just could never figure out how to guard against amphibious operations.
GG WaW is still supported! Wow... they have a hotfix out for the latest beta. The last time I played was v1.40. Now it is up to v1.52.