John Tiller Games Sale

[MengJiao]

How is Renaissance?

  Rather nice really, all-in-all.  The battles are small and vicious.  Some AI-driven Venetian mercenaries, swept down, cut through the whole French Advanced guard and manhandled my artillery...which I recaptured just in time to blast another batch of mercenaries coming from the other side.

  All at Fornovo in 1495.  It's the same modification of the game system that is used for seven-years war (here's the opening shot of that battle from the ambushing Venetian artillery):
 

[MengJiao]

Alright, I gotta get on this transition thing.  Thanks for the head's up.  I have Campaign Gettysburg and Midway sitting around unplayed because I don't have a disk drive on my lappy anymore.  I gotta get those done digitally.

I was looking at Jutland.  How's that?

  Pretty bad.  definitely the worst Jutland out there.  The Iron and Steam Jutland is better...but really there has yet to be any particularly good Jutlands.  I blame the High Seas Fleet for being a big mistake from day one.  Nearly any fleet and battle you can imagine would make more sense.

[Toonces]

Thanks, Meng.  I'm lukewarm on JTS system anyway, so that feedback is all I need.

I so, so wish that (Operation Art of War) guy had made a less-intrusive, and more...known if working/compatible...Jutland game.  I'd happily pay full price if I knew it was going to work, but I have no confidence in that and, I can't even get the demo to work which doesn't bode well.  Otherwise, I'd easily drop $100 on the whole set, it looks incredible.

[Gusington]

Thanks Meng!

[MengJiao]

Thanks Meng!

  You're welcome.  Apparently Renaissance is always on sale.  the real sale at JT doesn't start until July.

[MengJiao]

Thanks, Meng.  I'm lukewarm on JTS system anyway, so that feedback is all I need.

I so, so wish that (Operation Art of War) guy had made a less-intrusive, and more...known if working/compatible...Jutland game.  I'd happily pay full price if I knew it was going to work, but I have no confidence in that and, I can't even get the demo to work which doesn't bode well.  Otherwise, I'd easily drop $100 on the whole set, it looks incredible.

   Yeah.  That bizarre episode with the Capell-meister and so on was truly bizarre.  Visually it was pretty innovative and I think that went to their heads.  However, Jutland tends to bring out some oddness lurking even in relatively stable people.  There was even a project to build the rangefinding systems from the period as 3D working virtual reality machines (but before virtual reality was real).  Oh boy.  Why would you want to watch an archaic analogue system solve differential equations?

   On the other hand, Peter Turock (sp?) -- the guy with the trireme simulator -- wrote a marvelous Jutland simulator in the mid-1990s.  It was brilliant if fantastically ugly, but all of the technical detail was absolutely perfect and exact even if watching it do its thing was simply impossible.

[Tripoli]

Alright, I gotta get on this transition thing.  Thanks for the head's up.  I have Campaign Gettysburg and Midway sitting around unplayed because I don't have a disk drive on my lappy anymore.  I gotta get those done digitally.

I was looking at Jutland.  How's that?

I wasn't happy with Jutland.  It has been almost 15 years since I last played it, so my memory is dim as to exactly why I was so disappointed, but my recollection is the game didn't feel right. I'm not just that Tiller "gets" naval warfare.  I had the same impression with his Guadalcanal game. You might try "Steam and Iron" if you need a Jutland fix. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of decent WWI at sea games.

[steve58]

Question for you guys.  Anyone here own Sealion 40??

In taking pics of the 8 CDS I have to send to Rich, I noticed something that seems odd.  All my HPS CDS have titles like Korea '85, France '14, etc.  But on my Sealion 40 CD, the title/text on the CD insert and CD are all Sealion 40'.  ???  Other than that it looks just like all my other HPS CDs.

Just wondering if I somehow/somewhere picked up a counterfeit CD or if it was just a typo  :(

[Philippe]

I don't own that particular title so I wouldn't know, but I remember having a conversation with Chris Dean a few years ago and being surprised to learn just how many counterfeit copies of HPS games he used to run into.

Having said that, it does look like the kind of mistake that would get made in Estonia or Singapore (or the heartland of America given the decline of our public education).

[steve58]

I don't own that particular title so I wouldn't know, but I remember having a conversation with Chris Dean a few years ago and being surprised to learn just how many counterfeit copies of HPS games he used to run into.

Having said that, it does look like the kind of mistake that would get made in Estonia or Singapore (or the heartland of America given the decline of our public education).

Hhhmmm, maybe its your 3rd option.  Just found this pic on HPS own site.  Looking to me more like a typo from the first(?) or one of the CD manufacturing runs.

[MengJiao]

I don't own that particular title so I wouldn't know, but I remember having a conversation with Chris Dean a few years ago and being surprised to learn just how many counterfeit copies of HPS games he used to run into.

Having said that, it does look like the kind of mistake that would get made in Estonia or Singapore (or the heartland of America given the decline of our public education).

Hhhmmm, maybe its your 3rd option.  Just found this pic on HPS own site.  Looking to me more like a typo from the first(?) or one of the CD manufacturing runs.

   Maybe its one of those widely-rumored crypto-games like SealionWarhammer 40,600 AD or something.  You just need to do some things with blockchains to figure out how to decode the game concealed on the CD.

   https://news.crypterium.com/blockchain-games-2020/

[smittyohio]

What's the best JTS Civil War game as far as AI, number of smaller battles, and quality of campaign?

[Grim.Reaper]

What's the best JTS Civil War game as far as AI, number of smaller battles, and quality of campaign?

I suspect the AI is similar in most of the modules as they keep them updated across the series...personally, I think it depends what battles your interested in, but if me I would go for the latest (and last) module of Campaign Shenandoah.  For me, the graphics seem the best and does mostly contain smaller scenarios as indicated in this review.  Still haven't played a ton yet, but what I have I have enjoyed...especially since I don't like moving thousands of counters:)

https://www.wargamer.com/reviews/campaign-shenandoah/

[GJK]

Alright, I gotta get on this transition thing.  Thanks for the head's up.  I have Campaign Gettysburg and Midway sitting around unplayed because I don't have a disk drive on my lappy anymore.  I gotta get those done digitally.

I was looking at Jutland.  How's that?

"Midway" is one of my fav PC wargames.  It's not flashy.  It's not pretty, but there is no other PC game that has the depth of carrier deck management that this one has.  The sounds are just awesome as well - the dive bomber sound is pretty intense. It can frustrate you though until you learn it - read the PDF that comes with the game if you want to learn how to really play it.

[berto]

What's the best JTS Civil War game ...

... the latest (and last) module of Campaign Shenandoah ...

:-"