Panzer Command Ostfront

Started by Jarhead0331, March 27, 2020, 04:41:06 PM

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Jarhead0331

Out of curiosity...is anyone still playing this? Is it worth re-installing and exploring. Wondering if it will even run on Win10.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


-budd-

I'm a fan of the game and last time i played, it worked without issue. I have a windows 10 64 bit computer, there's been more than a few updates since last time i played. which was a couple of years ago. I just tried to play, it crashed every time i started a scenario, selected a unit or tried to give an order. I'm sure Rick over in the Osfront forums would help me get up and running but i don't feel like making the effort. I always thought Matrix should put more effort into the game, maybe a new engine going forward. Can't explain it but when i was playing the game a lot, i preferred it to CM games, graphics not withstanding.

To sum up :) I wouldn't invest the effort.
Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must.  ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Be Yourself; Everyone Else is Taken ~Oscar Wilde

*I'm in the Wargamer middle ground*
I don't buy all the wargames I want, I just buy more than I need.

WallysWorld

I played it somewhat on my old computer (i7-920 with GTX 970) and I thought it is a good game. Not great, but good. The frame rate is quite bad though so I had to limit it to 30 fps which is tolerable and even with that, I only got 20 fps on the larger battles. That's what really stopped me from playing it more.

On my new computer (i9-9900k overclocked to 5 Ghz with RTX 1070 Super on Windows 10 64-bit), the frame rate is better, but I still limit it to 30 fps or else it gets quite "stuttery".  I think of it like the early CMx1 games in terms of gameplay and graphics. I fire it up once in a while. If the frame rates were better, I would play it more often.

Two screenshots of a battle that I am playing on and off.


"I used to be with it, but then they changed what *it* was. Now what I'm with isn't *it* and what *it* is seems weird and scary to me." - Abraham Simpson

al_infierno

Maybe I didn't spend enough time with it, but I found the controls a bit confusing.  Firing it up always made me think "This seems cool, but I'd rather just go play Barbarossa to Berlin instead."
A War of a Madman's Making - a text-based war planning and political survival RPG

It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge.  War endures.  As well ask men what they think of stone.  War was always here.  Before man was, war waited for him.  The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.  That is the way it was and will be.  That way and not some other way.
- Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian


If they made nothing but WWII games, I'd be perfectly content.  Hypothetical matchups from alternate history 1980s, asymmetrical US-bashes-some-3rd world guerillas, or minor wars between Upper Bumblescum and outer Kaboomistan hold no appeal for me.
- Silent Disapproval Robot


I guess it's sort of nice that the word "tactical" seems to refer to some kind of seriousness during your moments of mental clarity.
- MengJiao

JasonPratt

The dynamic campaign generator (and related bling), was the big selling point of this game over CMx1 (and all CM builds afterward I guess).
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

-budd-

The campaign and battle generator are outside programs, a modder made it if i'm not mistaken and gave permission for them to use it. A nice thing about it was on the generated campaigns/battles you could pick your chosen time setting 40/40 was standard, run 40 seconds, then you would have a chance for reaction orders, the another 40 seconds rinse and repeat. You could pick 40/40, 60/60, and 40, 60, 80, without a reaction phase. The reaction phase allowed limited orders you could issue. Last i heard Rick and i think it was Mobius were still tinkering with it, slowly.
Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must.  ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Be Yourself; Everyone Else is Taken ~Oscar Wilde

*I'm in the Wargamer middle ground*
I don't buy all the wargames I want, I just buy more than I need.

acctingman

Is this game newbie friendly?  :D

JasonPratt

Have they ever modded the code so that troops can get into buildings? I remember that being a significant headslap compared to CMx1 games...
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

al_infierno

I like the idea of 40 second turns.  I actually think I would play CM games more often if they had that option, since 1-minute turns tend to drag out longer than my anticipated orders.
A War of a Madman's Making - a text-based war planning and political survival RPG

It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge.  War endures.  As well ask men what they think of stone.  War was always here.  Before man was, war waited for him.  The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.  That is the way it was and will be.  That way and not some other way.
- Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian


If they made nothing but WWII games, I'd be perfectly content.  Hypothetical matchups from alternate history 1980s, asymmetrical US-bashes-some-3rd world guerillas, or minor wars between Upper Bumblescum and outer Kaboomistan hold no appeal for me.
- Silent Disapproval Robot


I guess it's sort of nice that the word "tactical" seems to refer to some kind of seriousness during your moments of mental clarity.
- MengJiao

solops

I have it and play only occasionally now, but I think it is a good game whose development ended all too soon. Worth getting if there is a sale.
"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England
I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly. - Winston Churchill
Wine is sure proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. - Benjamin Franklin

z1812

As I recall, generally players were happy enough with the Armour model but the infantry model was quite basic. I stopped playing it for that reason. The graphics are also very basic for by current standards.

It is a shame development ended as it did have potential.

Nefaro

I also had low fps performance issues last time I tried it, a few years ago.  Wasn't using a potato either.   :-\

ArizonaTank

It is a shame the game never got its sea legs. Unlike Battlefront, the developers really "walked the walk" in supporting mods. They had a very open and well documented backend that could have supported taking the engine almost anywhere in WWII, or perhaps Korea or WWI. Oh well...
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

Redwolf

Open Source the sucker.

Of limited use since it is written in C#, but still.

ArizonaTank

Quote from: Redwolf on April 04, 2020, 08:23:16 AM
Open Source the sucker.

Of limited use since it is written in C#, but still.

They never tried to open up the engine itself, nor did they claim to be "open source" as far as I remember. Instead, the architecture allowed for users to mod maps, create new units and armored vehicles, and even tweak the combat data (such as changing penetration or damage values). Data files were in XML...an innovation at the time. The map editor was effective, but required some technical understanding of heightmaps. It was good for its time, but quickly got beaten to a pulp by CMx2's excellent map editor. The best part was that they documented everything. Not something often done. For example, Matrix Games Armored Brigade...AB has a database editor but I have never been able to find documentation for it.
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.