Zulu Dawn!!!!

[Jarhead0331]

I had a lot of fun with the prior Vietnam game, partly because of its elegant simplicity, and the designer introduced a lot more complexity and detail into the followup Afghanistan game -- my only problem with it so far, is that the tutorials can be easily broken.  :pullhair: Which given the laudable attempt at connecting the tutorial missions to historical developments in the war, also somewhat breaks my attempts at tracking through a 'historical development' play of the game.  :-\ But if I would just get past the tutorial missions that wouldn't be a problem anymore -- I could start proper games at any time, and RTFM like a real grog rather than trying to insist on handholding. So I acknowledge my failure to keep going on the game is also partly my own problem.

For me, anyway, this is a no-brainer: I like the Anglo-Zulu war setting, and I appreciate the designer and look forward to seeing what he'll do with the topic.

You're confusing games. This is not using the system from Vietnam '65 and the follow-up Afghanistan '11. Those were developed by Every Single Soldier and published by Slitherine.

This game is developed by digital Gameworks.

[spelk]

This is Jeff Lapkoff, I believe.

I bought it, for about £14. Played a historical run through last night, as the British (natch) and it played out as expected. Even with Durnford charging about trying to help the supply lines from Rorke's Drift hold, I was eventually overpowered.

The UI is visually ok, but scrolling the map is a bit awkward, you can't use cursor keys, you have to hover the mouse over a left, right, zoom out, zoom in panel, or press the hex symbol to center the view again. I think the idea is that you double click on your unit it zooms in to close view, you commit your actions (fire, melee, rally, lager up etc), then you double click the next unit. I found having to move the viewpoint with the "mouse over the arrows pad" very unsatisfactory. I just wanted to use cursors or WASD to move about, and mouse wheel to zoom.

The units are just chits with a pith helmet and a martini-henry rifle across it, or an iklwa across an nguni shield - the Rocket battery is indicated in blue as were the cannon.

During the battle I could still fire the cannon and the rockets even as the Zulu swarmed them. Which was a bit odd. Until eventually the AI noticed the units and then attacked them. But I got a lot of rockets off.

Cavalry units have a limited charge ability - and that was powerful.

Ammo supply was important towards the end. Retreating back to the "Sphinx" camp to reload at ammo crates was necessary, and ultimately futile.

I managed to lager one unit in a defensive ring of mealie crates, so they had some sustainability, for a while. Till the ammo ran out.

Unit moves and resolution was stepped, and I'm not entirely sure I got a handle on it.. so I always made my most critical moves/actions first.. because the Zulus seemed to have actions inbetween a turn.. so I'd move/action several units then the Zulus would gain a few moves and actions, then I'd have control back.. until all my units were spent.. then a turn would tick over automatically.

There was no keyboard way I could tell to jump to the next unit who hasn't moved/actioned. Which meant stepping through every one, to make sure. Especially since I was doing it based on necessity over any rote "down the line" mechanism.

Clicking fire would auto-target presumably the nearest unit. Clicking your unit, then an enemy, then fire would make it explicit. The chit would auto-rotate to face the enemy upon making the shot, or bayonet attack.

It was ok. I was particularly pleased to see Melvill and Coghill turn up towards the end of the battle to try and "save the colours" as the camp was being totally overrun.. alas, they were trapped by a horde of Zulu and I couldn't move them out and away.



If you're not overly interested in this battle, I'm not sure there is much here for you to be honest. Replayability is more about changing sides, or taking off historical constraints. You think there might be a tactical way to move your troops to secure at least something other than a total massacre, but I'm not entirely sure, unless you had most of Chelmsford's lot back at the camp.

Graphically it's a step up from the White Dog games, Day of the Spears II
http://www.whitedoggames.com/isandlwanacomputergame

[Jarhead0331]

Jeff is digital gameworks, I believe.

[davidshq]

I enjoyed Medieval (was that its title) back in the day...though I think he renamed it since.

[jomni]

I had a lot of fun with the prior Vietnam game, partly because of its elegant simplicity, and the designer introduced a lot more complexity and detail into the followup Afghanistan game -- my only problem with it so far, is that the tutorials can be easily broken.  :pullhair: Which given the laudable attempt at connecting the tutorial missions to historical developments in the war, also somewhat breaks my attempts at tracking through a 'historical development' play of the game.  :-\ But if I would just get past the tutorial missions that wouldn't be a problem anymore -- I could start proper games at any time, and RTFM like a real grog rather than trying to insist on handholding. So I acknowledge my failure to keep going on the game is also partly my own problem.

For me, anyway, this is a no-brainer: I like the Anglo-Zulu war setting, and I appreciate the designer and look forward to seeing what he'll do with the topic.

You're confusing games. This is not using the system from Vietnam '65 and the follow-up Afghanistan '11. Those were developed by Every Single Soldier and published by Slitherine.

This game is developed by digital Gameworks.

Yup. Jarhead was talking about Combat Actions Vietnam

[Boggit]

I thoroughly enjoyed Sugarfreegamers Rorkes Drift AAR from his earlier post. Though the Zulu snipers seem much, much more effective than I recall they were historically.

[em2nought]

Graphically it's a step up from the White Dog games, Day of the Spears II
http://www.whitedoggames.com/isandlwanacomputergame

Not really keen on the looks of "Zulu Dawn!".  I think Lapkoff's Red Thunder looks just right on the other hand so I must be old school.  Thanks for posting the link to Whitedoggames, I was about to post how I regret not having picked their Zulu game up while it was available and here it still is, Poland too!  I think the last time I was at White Dog's site it couldn't be found anywhere.

White Dog's solitaire games look pretty sweet too.  Dunkirk might be interesting.

[spelk]

I thoroughly enjoyed Sugarfreegamers Rorkes Drift AAR from his earlier post. Though the Zulu snipers seem much, much more effective than I recall they were historically.

Thanks for the kind words Boggit.

I was devastated they took out Bromhead so early, with Zulu snipers!

I can't remember the precise details on historical effectiveness of those snipers, but I vaguely remember they were mainly odd rifles, possibly scrounged or traded from elsewhere.

Theres some information here, plus a dapper photograph showing the Drift from the position the zulu snipers were situated during the Battle.

http://www.1879zuluwar.com/t5665-photo-of-area-where-zulus-were-shooting-down-on-the-defenders-at-rd?highlight=snipers



Jeff's game, however, showed some promise with the waves, trying to exploit certain exposed areas of the perimeter, but whether this is down to keen AI coding, or just the pre-scripted crashing of the waves of zulus onto the drifts walls I don't know.

[Boggit]

I thoroughly enjoyed Sugarfreegamers Rorkes Drift AAR from his earlier post. Though the Zulu snipers seem much, much more effective than I recall they were historically.

Thanks for the kind words Boggit.

You're very welcome, and thank you too for the excellent AAR. :bd:

I could really feel your pain as you got whittled down - at odds of 30:1 your unit is very brittle to casualties. It goes to show just how desperate your fight was, when you consider that in real life the Zulu snipers only bagged a couple of men, and overall iirc there were about 17 or so men killed (or died of their wounds a few days later) from the garrison. Do you think that if the Zulu sniping was nerfed more to reflect reality, you might have been closer to the historical result, as I recall you took a lot of damage from it?

One obvious tactic I would have tried were I the Zulu's would have been going for the ammo store and the hospital obliquely to avoid being in the main line of fire, then launching a general attack to overwhelm with all the chaos that those burning buildings would have (let alone the ammo supply difficulties that torching the store would create! >:D). Can you take the side of the Zulu's (I don't recall), as it would make for an interesting answer to that plan?

I was devastated they took out Bromhead so early, with Zulu snipers!

I know. But at least he died a lion in battle! O0

Real life was less kind, as iirc Bromhead ended dying from typhoid in Burma (a mere few years later and still a relatively young man :( ... that said Chard died quite young too). :( A lot of Victorian heroes died young though.

I can't remember the precise details on historical effectiveness of those snipers, but I vaguely remember they were mainly odd rifles, possibly scrounged or traded from elsewhere.

From what I remember of the film Zulu most of the guns were taken from the British and native dead at Isandlwhana. Many iirc would be Martini Henry's with a few Snider's, but for men who had never been trained to use a rifle firing at any distance beyond point blank range, and hoping to hit targets under cover was going to be lottery odds. I'm surprised they got as many as they did historically.

Theres some information here, plus a dapper photograph showing the Drift from the position the zulu snipers were situated during the Battle.

http://www.1879zuluwar.com/t5665-photo-of-area-where-zulus-were-shooting-down-on-the-defenders-at-rd?highlight=snipers



Jeff's game, however, showed some promise with the waves, trying to exploit certain exposed areas of the perimeter, but whether this is down to keen AI coding, or just the pre-scripted crashing of the waves of zulus onto the drifts walls I don't know.

Nice finds! O0

I liked the concept of using waves, although it would have been good to see a more dynamic AI to stretch your forces with more coordinated attacks. Mind you it looked like you had a lot of fun with it, even if it did stress you out at times! ;) ;D