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Digital Gaming => Computer Gaming => Topic started by: SirAndrewD on February 09, 2024, 02:55:32 PM

Title: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: SirAndrewD on February 09, 2024, 02:55:32 PM
This one was new to me, just got the demo on next fest.

A turn based tactical covering one of the most neglected conflicts in computer gaming, the Second World War's Normandy Landings and campaign in France. Yeah I don't blame you if you haven't heard of it, look it up, use the phrase "D-Day" if you have trouble finding info.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1840800/Headquarters_World_War_II/
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: acctingman on February 09, 2024, 03:30:18 PM
Downloaded this yesterday. Seems like an updated Battle Academy at first glance, but I only spent like 10 minutes on it  :ThumbsUp:
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: SirAndrewD on February 09, 2024, 03:31:23 PM
Quote from: acctingman on February 09, 2024, 03:30:18 PMDownloaded this yesterday. Seems like an updated Battle Academy at first glance, but I only spent like 10 minutes on it  :ThumbsUp:

Yeah, or similar to The Troop.  Maybe a tiny bit more complex.  Very RTS style graphics.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Gusington on February 09, 2024, 03:46:57 PM
I did love me some Battle Academy.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: SirAndrewD on February 09, 2024, 03:58:09 PM
Finished the tutorial and seems very promising so far.  Might be landing in a sweet spot between Battle Academy and Steel Panthers.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: acctingman on February 09, 2024, 04:39:49 PM
I would shave Gus's nuttsack for a Steel Panthers 2
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: SirAndrewD on February 09, 2024, 04:49:56 PM
Quote from: acctingman on February 09, 2024, 04:39:49 PMI would shave Gus's nuttsack for a Steel Panthers 2

I think it'd be Steel Panthers 4 but I get your point. 

Matrix announced Steel Tigers years and years ago but I don't think there's any danger of that ever seeing the light of day at this point.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Gusington on February 09, 2024, 05:02:51 PM
Joke's on you. Already shaved.  :ThumbsUp:
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: SirAndrewD on February 09, 2024, 05:44:17 PM
Quote from: Gusington on February 09, 2024, 05:02:51 PMJoke's on you. Already shaved.  :ThumbsUp:

There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum, it's breathtaking.

But yes, I'm really liking the feel of the first mission.  The game has some good mechanics and having individual troops you can track is nice.  Interesting return fire mechanics and auto overwatch. 

Tanks seem tough, only saw one go up on a one shot, they typically take crew loss before they're knocked out.

A few things are a bit silly like a rechargeable instant reinforce for units but that's nothing too upsetting.  It gives you a bit more survivability at least.

Doing morale damage is as important as causing casualties, nice touch there.  It also seems to account for WIA vs KIA. 

I like it as least as much as the first stages of the Troop and I think a bit more.  First impression is stronger.  Might be leading towards a "Buy" on this one.

Looks like they took a few ideas from Battle Academy and Close Combat and put them in a turn based shell.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Zulu1966 on February 09, 2024, 07:51:26 PM
Yeah - looks like a very nice little game ...definite purchase.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: AndyBrown on February 11, 2024, 06:43:30 PM
Thanks for drawing attention to this.  My own reaction is was "If only The Troop had these graphics"!  Some of the mechanics (like the instant reinforce) are far too arcadey for me so I doubt I'll be buying it but I agree it's a solid game.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on February 13, 2024, 04:28:51 PM
I think I'll pick it up.  the gfx and sounds are much nicer than in The Troop.  I enjoyed going through the tutorial and the first few missions of the mini-German campaign that I've played so far.

I personally find a few of the gameplay elements a bit too "board gamey" but not to the point that they're deal-breakers.  The insta-reinforce button is, for me, the most out of place.  I wonder if they'll add an option to disable it?
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Grim.Reaper on March 14, 2024, 04:59:32 AM
Sounds like april 11th is release date.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: DesertFox on March 17, 2024, 08:05:44 AM
I've messed around with the demo some and I really like this game so far.  I have always loved the Battle Academy series and this seems like an upgrade in just about every area to that series.  Sure, there are some gamey elements like the insta-reinforce but I don't feel like they are game-breakers.  There have been a couple of times where the graphics have made me go "wow"!

This one's probably going to be an easy purchase for me when the full game is released.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Gusington on March 17, 2024, 01:41:52 PM
I loved Battle Academy as well.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Pete Dero on April 11, 2024, 09:40:58 AM
Released.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1840800/Headquarters_World_War_II/

Release Live Event : https://www.twitch.tv/slitherinetv 
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: rss334 on April 11, 2024, 08:48:10 PM
removed
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Father Ted on April 12, 2024, 12:21:32 PM
"Released", "Removed" - now I'm confused
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Gusington on April 12, 2024, 01:13:31 PM
^rss334 removed his post.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Father Ted on April 12, 2024, 08:01:07 PM
Quote from: Gusington on April 12, 2024, 01:13:31 PM^rss334 removed his post.
Sorry chap - I got it, it's just that the juxtaposition of the comments made me want to post a dad joke.  I'll get my coat...
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: rss334 on April 12, 2024, 08:35:57 PM
No wait stay, have another  :beermug[1]:  I found it entertaining.  Guessing by the lack of any other comments the game not highly recommended .
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Apocalypse 31 on April 12, 2024, 09:34:43 PM
I love Battle Academy but I had to refund this one.

Feels a bit janky and the camera positioning and field of view is just god awful. The editor is also really awful and clunky. Maybe Ill pick it up again but not anytime soon.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Bardolph on April 13, 2024, 09:46:37 PM
That was more or less my impression from the demo. I really liked the Battle Academy series and feel like they were somewhat overlooked, mostly due to the graphic design choice. But this game felt clunky, claustrophobic and ugly from the time I spent in the demo. I really didn't feel it had that much in common with the Battle Academy games.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: al_infierno on April 13, 2024, 11:08:06 PM
I just picked this up and played through the tutorial, and I'm digging it so far.  It's definitely a little on the janky side in terms of UI, but the basic gameplay is nice, similar to Battle Academy but with much cooler graphics.  It's definitely not a hardcore tactical sim (e.g. tank crews are simulated, but you can replace them instantly with a cooldown ability)

The camera controls don't strike me as being that different from Battle Academy.  Did you guys play past the first part of the tutorial?  Because it unlocks the camera after the first few dialogue bits.  I took this screenshot where I'm zoomed mostly out and it feels plenty free to me.  Though it does do that annoying thing where the camera starts to look straight down the more you zoom out.

(https://i.imgur.com/xb5FYEF.png)
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Grimnirsson on April 15, 2024, 11:37:31 AM
I watched a German review video and the guy said the tanks don't have armor value, penetration factors etc. but are wholly dependent on the life points of their crew, so if they got hit inside the tank gets weaker...is that correct? I mean it sounds silly...
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Pete Dero on April 15, 2024, 12:29:50 PM
Quote from: Grimnirsson on April 15, 2024, 11:37:31 AMI watched a German review video and the guy said the tanks don't have armor value, penetration factors etc. but are wholly dependent on the life points of their crew, so if they got hit inside the tank gets weaker...is that correct? I mean it sounds silly...

Not according to the manual (p. 79-80):

ARMOR FACING - FRONT, SIDE, BACK, AND TOP ARMOR

Most armored vehicles have 4 armor values:

� Front armor (usually the strongest)
� Side armor (usually not so good)
� Back armor (usually rather weak)
� Top armor (usually the weakest)

Each value indicates how much armor the unit has if attacked exactly from that direction - front, side, or back. However, in most situations, the attack would come at a certain angle, so it would be something inbetween the front and side or side and back armor, and the exact value 80 will depend on the precise angle. The resulting value is an Adjusted armor value.

ADJUSTED ARMOR
The Adjusted armor value indicates how much armor the unit has when an enemy attack hits two or more armor values, taking into account the Attack and Elevation angles.

Example:
The unit has 100 Front armor, 60 Side armor, 40 Back armor, and 10 Top armor.
If it is attacked at an Attack angle of 45 degrees, it will use 50% of its
Front armor and 50% of its side armor, so in the end it will have 80 armor.

Example 2:
The situation is the same as above, but the attacker is situated on a hill and has an Elevation angle of 30 degrees - meaning it is firing from above.
This means that the 80 armor from the example above (a combination of Front and Side) is further adjusted by Top armor as well. So, the result will be between 10 (Top armor) and 80 (Front/Side armor) and will depend on the Elevation angle.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: al_infierno on April 15, 2024, 12:33:24 PM
Quote from: Grimnirsson on April 15, 2024, 11:37:31 AMI watched a German review video and the guy said the tanks don't have armor value, penetration factors etc. but are wholly dependent on the life points of their crew, so if they got hit inside the tank gets weaker...is that correct? I mean it sounds silly...

Sort of.  As Pete pointed out, armor values are indeed a thing.  But yes, a tank's health is tracked by its living crewmates.  A critical penetrating shot kills everyone outright and destroys the tank, whereas a glancing blow might kill the commander, gunner, etc. and weaken the tank's ability to fight back.  You can "repair" the tank by using a cooldown ability to revive the crewmates.

It's an odd system for sure, but I think it works as an abstraction.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Skoop on April 15, 2024, 08:58:44 PM
I played the beta and the system just didn't grab me.  They should have taken the nice graphics and bolted it onto second front's gameplay, that would sound like a banger.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Grimnirsson on April 16, 2024, 12:08:52 AM
Pete and al, thanks for the reply.

QuoteIt's an odd system for sure, but I think it works as an abstraction.

Very odd indeed, I mean what's the point? If you have a tank and it has the typical armor, weapon etc. values why using a crew at all - if you can magically revive them anyway? That's not an abstraction that's nonsense in the WW2 setting.

And just read this here about the terrain features, I mean what the heck???

Quotethe fact that after a while you realize everything on the map pretty much means nothing. You can move into and out from ANY kind of obstacle from any angle without much happening, but more so - you can actually shoot trough it all. In other words.. Yes. An enemy gun can absolutely sit behind 6 blocks of houses and (magically) shoot a straight shot at you. Which is reflected in a bit of retardedness like mortars shooting OUT of houses etc

I don't know if I can swallow these odd design decisions.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: al_infierno on April 16, 2024, 12:16:00 AM
It would make more sense as a board game, for sure, where you have a strict economy of how to track things like tank damage. The mechanic makes a lot more sense with infantry squads if you think of the "revive" as being reinforcements. The abstractions there can be more easily explained, like a solid single sniper round destroying a whole infantry squad because it kills the leader and everybody else scatters.
Title: Re: Headquarters: World War II
Post by: Apocalypse 31 on April 17, 2024, 07:10:57 AM
Quote from: al_infierno on April 13, 2024, 11:08:06 PMI just picked this up and played through the tutorial, and I'm digging it so far.  It's definitely a little on the janky side in terms of UI, but the basic gameplay is nice, similar to Battle Academy but with much cooler graphics.  It's definitely not a hardcore tactical sim (e.g. tank crews are simulated, but you can replace them instantly with a cooldown ability)

The camera controls don't strike me as being that different from Battle Academy.  Did you guys play past the first part of the tutorial?  Because it unlocks the camera after the first few dialogue bits.  I took this screenshot where I'm zoomed mostly out and it feels plenty free to me.  Though it does do that annoying thing where the camera starts to look straight down the more you zoom out.

(https://i.imgur.com/xb5FYEF.png)

But even in that screenshot you can't see anything. I need to see what's in front of me and see the MAP so I can develop an attack approach. The weird fov prevents that in game.