After hearing the news that the Scourge of War team is moving to Waterloo, peaked my interest as to what Napoleon era games existed out there. This is an era I don't have much gaming experience, although I do own some of these games on the list. Maybe its time for me to give this period more of a chance. Just curious, what games do people think were the best? I was also surprised to see the number of games I could find, seems be well represented in volume, no idea in quality. If I am missing any, feel free to add to the list.
Campaigns of La Grande Armee: 1805/1809 (Adanac Command Studies)
Campaigns of La Grande Armee: 1806 (Adanac Command Studies)
Napoleon's Russian Campaign (HPS Simulations/Tillersoft)
Campaign Eckmuhl (HPS Simulations/Tillersoft)
Wargram (HPS Simulations/Tillersoft)
Waterloo (HPS Simulations/Tillersoft)
Jena-Auerstaedt (HPS Simulations/Tillersoft)
Austerlitz (HPS Simulations/Tillersoft)
Campaign Bautzen (Tillersoft)
Campaign 1814 (Tillersoft)
Campaign Leipzig (Tillersoft)
Campaigns on the Danube 1805 - 1809 (Matrix)
Commander - Napoleon at War (Matrix)
Crown of Glory (Matrix)
Crown of Glory: Emperor's Edition (Matrix)
Empire in Arms the Napoleonic Wars of 1805 - 1815 (Matrix)
Napoleon in Italy (Matrix)
Napoleon's Campaigns (Matrix)
John Tiller's Battleground Napoleonic Wars (Matrix)
HistWar : Napoléon (HistWar)
HistWar : Les Grognards (HistWar)
Total War Napoleon (Sega)
Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars (GSC Game World)
Cossacks II: Battle for Europe (GSC Game World)
Cossacks: Art of War (GSC Game World)
Cossacks: European Wars (GSC Game World)
Cossacks: Back to War (GSC Game World)
Waterloo: Napoleon's Last Battle (Breakaway Games)
Waterloo (Talonsoft)
Napoleon In Russia (Talonsoft)
Prelude To Waterloo (Talonsoft)
Wargamer: Napoleon 1813 (Empire)
Wooden Ships, Iron Men (Avalon Hill)
Austerlitz: Napoleon's Greatest Victory (Breakaway Games)
March of the Eagles (Paradox)
Napoleon's Campaigns (Ageod)
Imperial Glory (Eidos)
Mount and Blade: Napoleonic Wars (Taleworlds)
Fields of Glory (Micropose)
Battles of Napoleon (SSI)
Napoleon's Campaigns: 1813 & 1815 (SSI)
Austerlitz (Tarcan Systems)
Borodino (Tarcan Systems)
Waterloo (Tarcan Systems)
Napoleon I: The Campaigns 1805-1814 (Storm Computers)
Outside of HistWar I'm not very familiar with PC games about the Napoleonic era.
Most of my learning and gaming on this subject era came from board games.
http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX/?14@@.ee6dede
Mainly the Operational Studies Group titles.
http://napoleongames.com/drupal2/about.html
I don't have much experience with Napoleon Era games but I do have and love Crown of Glory: Emperor's Edition. I haven't played it in a while though. I wonder if it will run under Windows 8.1?
My all time favorite was from microprose in 1994. Fields of Glory...what a spectacular game.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 11, 2014, 08:48:21 AM
My all time favorite was from microprose in 1994. Fields of Glory...what a spectacular game.
Missed that one...I'll add it.
What kind of game are you looking for, other than Napoleanic? Strategic or tactical? Turn based or rts? Crown of Glory, for example, plays very differently than Napolean:TotalEWar, yet they cover the same time span.
All so good, also there is Austerlitz, Napoleon's Greatest Victory by breakaway games and la grande army at austerlitz
I think Adanacs Campaigns on the Danube and La Grande Armee are the best for the elegant mechanics and comprehensive use of fog of war, so that you only know whats happening depending on the messages received from staff and even the competence of staff, stragglers, and the importance of setting up a field hospital are all factored in - best operational game
Also for those who are happy to use dosbox SSIs Battles of Napoleon is the best game , with the best AI i have seen, it will set objectives, can be quite aggressive but knows how to support its attacks well
Laslty imwould also like to mention the forgtten and perhaps too little known game War and Peace by Microids. Again a well done game - pausable real time but covering most of the world - you can play as various nations, and the AI is again lively. The unit sprites on the 3d map were not pretty but i found it alot of fun and there were good customisable options for the goals and the period at which to play out the free form game
Sorry i missed that you have listed,austerlitz ngv
I am very fond of wargamer 1813 too but it is as many know sadly a broken game that was released without being properly finished. You can though play its campaign game without too many crashes, the tactical battles are though very buggy
Quote from: tgb on January 11, 2014, 08:57:29 AM
What kind of game are you looking for, other than Napoleanic? Strategic or tactical? Turn based or rts? Crown of Glory, for example, plays very differently than Napolean:TotalEWar, yet they cover the same time span.
At this point, not sure. I do have COG, Waterloo: Last Battle, Tiller's Napoleon Pack, Total War, March of the Eagles, Imperial Glory, HistWar Napoleon, Cossacks. I guess the utopia would be something that has both strategic and tactical layers and is realistic. After looking at my own list, maybe I need to spend more time with what I actually have:)
Quote from: agathosdaimon on January 11, 2014, 09:00:15 AM
I think Adanacs Campaigns on the Danube and La Grande Armee are the best for the elegant mechanics and comprehensive use of fog of war, so that you only know whats happening depending on the messages received from staff and even the competence of staff, stragglers, and the importance of setting up a field hospital are all factored in - best operational game
Can these games be purchased from somewhere nowadays? Do they run on modern PCs/operating systems? Sounds interesting.
Matrix games sells campaigns on the danube and it runs in win 7 i can confirm and its in the sale there which finishes soon - definitely get it, and check out some of the AARs floating round the web. Its pdf manual is quite detailled to how its rules and such work .
Frank hunter the developer says he plans to do Campaigns on the Elbe next, which would mean also the 1813 campaigns
Quote from: agathosdaimon on January 11, 2014, 09:51:05 AM
Matrix games sells campaigns on the danube and it runs in win 7 i can confirm and its in the sale there which finishes soon - definitely get it, and check out some of the AARs floating round the web. Its pdf manual is quite detailled to how its rules and such work .
Frank hunter the developer says he plans to do Campaigns on the Elbe next, which would mean also the 1813 campaigns
Thanks, didn't realize it was that game....I tried looking for reviews and such but couldn't find any...do you have links to the AARs? It looks like it is on sale for $12 still, so might be worth a shot. Just would like to understand the actual gameplay mechanics a little more before I do.
Napoleon TW with the Darthmod is my favorite era game, the closest to a successful strategic and tactical mix. But I agree with Agathos, Battles of Napoleon from SSI had killer AI. R.I.P. SSI. :'(
http://www.gamesquad.com/review/campaigns-danube
Heremis a detailed review, i cant recall where i read the full aar though
Quote from: agathosdaimon on January 11, 2014, 10:11:53 AM
http://www.gamesquad.com/review/campaigns-danube
Heremis a detailed review, i cant recall where i read the full aar though
Thank you and a very nice review....seems like a game I might enjoy, especially without a ton of micromanagement.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on January 11, 2014, 10:16:53 AM
Quote from: agathosdaimon on January 11, 2014, 10:11:53 AM
http://www.gamesquad.com/review/campaigns-danube
Heremis a detailed review, i cant recall where i read the full aar though
Thank you and a very nice review....seems like a game I might enjoy, especially without a ton of micromanagement.
Here is a link to a mini AAR....does have me intrigued.
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=580012&mpage=1&key=򏵣
Like many conflicts that are represented in PC gaming, the Napoleonic wars don't really have any recent good operational level game covering them, at least not one I'm aware of. Most of the wargames are turn-based/real-time tactical or strategic (anything by Ageod).
Campaigns on the Danube remains on sale on the Matrix site for $12.99. Just a couple of days left in their holiday sale.
Quote from: Rayfer on January 11, 2014, 11:13:51 AM
Campaigns on the Danube remains on sale on the Matrix site for $12.99. Just a couple of days left in their holiday sale.
My only concern is that I am running windows 8.1 and whether it will work...seems like people were hit and miss with issues running in vista, win 7' so can only imagine might be an issue with win 8.
Since Fields of Glory was mentioned I'd like to add Austerlitz and Waterloo by Turcan games. They were for the Atari and Amiga but also had PC DOS releases. You acted as Napoleon issuing orders and reading reports. You could only see what would be visible from you location on the battlefield. I actually didn't have either of those but did have Borodino which was not released for PC.
Quote from: bobarossa on January 11, 2014, 12:12:59 PM
Since Fields of Glory was mentioned I'd like to add Austerlitz and Waterloo by Turcan games. They were for the Atari and Amiga but also had PC DOS releases. You acted as Napoleon issuing orders and reading reports. You could only see what would be visible from you location on the battlefield. I actually didn't have either of those but did have Borodino which was not released for PC.
Added them to the list....
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 11, 2014, 08:48:21 AM
My all time favorite was from microprose in 1994. Fields of Glory...what a spectacular game.
Same here...still launch it from time to time. ;)
Quote from: Anguille on January 11, 2014, 12:22:41 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 11, 2014, 08:48:21 AM
My all time favorite was from microprose in 1994. Fields of Glory...what a spectacular game.
Same here...still launch it from time to time. ;)
Then you had better add it to your signature!!!!
Quote from: bobarossa on January 11, 2014, 12:12:59 PM
Since Fields of Glory was mentioned I'd like to add Austerlitz and Waterloo by Turcan games. They were for the Atari and Amiga but also had PC DOS releases. You acted as Napoleon issuing orders and reading reports. You could only see what would be visible from you location on the battlefield. I actually didn't have either of those but did have Borodino which was not released for PC.
Were those the games that used Sid Meier's Gettysburg engine?
E: Nope looks like something else.
Quote from: wikipedia
The engine was also used for the Napoleonic game Waterloo: Napoleon's Last Battle (as was a modified version for Austerlitz: Napoleon's Greatest Victory), both by BreakAway Games.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on January 11, 2014, 11:19:41 AM
Quote from: Rayfer on January 11, 2014, 11:13:51 AM
Campaigns on the Danube remains on sale on the Matrix site for $12.99. Just a couple of days left in their holiday sale.
My only concern is that I am running windows 8.1 and whether it will work...seems like people were hit and miss with issues running in vista, win 7' so can only imagine might be an issue with win 8.
i am sure you will be able to get it workign in win 8 - it runs in win 7 for me with just a few compat settings selected - i personally think it is worth the risk to get it - its not graphically a demanding game and can just run in a window
Quote from: agathosdaimon on January 12, 2014, 08:12:24 AM
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on January 11, 2014, 11:19:41 AM
Quote from: Rayfer on January 11, 2014, 11:13:51 AM
Campaigns on the Danube remains on sale on the Matrix site for $12.99. Just a couple of days left in their holiday sale.
My only concern is that I am running windows 8.1 and whether it will work...seems like people were hit and miss with issues running in vista, win 7' so can only imagine might be an issue with win 8.
i am sure you will be able to get it workign in win 8 - it runs in win 7 for me with just a few compat settings selected - i personally think it is worth the risk to get it - its not graphically a demanding game and can just run in a window
I did end up buying it, just haven't had time to fully play yet. So I am holding you accountable for my $12:) It did seem to at least start OK. Biggest issue for me in my few minutes was the screen resolutions available. Really only takes up a small space on my screen versus maximizing....I guess that is understandable since the game was released so long ago when today's resolutions weren't prevalent.
Hopefully the gameplay turns out to be fun and challenging....
cool i hope you can enjoy it and - its not at all complex regarding what you cna do each turn and of course if you play with full fog of war then the positions of your own units that is showing may not be accurate depending on how long it took the message to get back . the AI also must received information the same way, ie it doesnt cheat so to speak
I have been playing the 1805 scenario and wasnt sure where exactly the coalition armies were, but have not got reports back of some massive dinosaur of austrian army and i realised my army hospital has not been position well to stem the flow of woundeds coming from some smaller clashes surrounding the austrians - its a great game and one that you cant win by just simply throwing armies at the enemy.
I will be keen though to play the 1809 scenario too as i am reading Crisis on the Danube at the moment and its thrilling stuff!
Thanks for the info....it does seem like it will be fun an interesting, especially since you don't have to micromanage. Just curious, do you ever give your divisions direct orders or do you keep everything at the corp level?
well you can find specific divisions -using the tree at the top of hte screen options - being able to move units directly though is not possible unlessyou remove the FOW
actually my bad also i was confusing things - i have this game and also the first one in the serios - Campaigns of La Grande Armee 1806 which i had to work the comp settings a bit for but CotD runs like a dream and has a much different interface arrangement. you can detach divisions and give them their specific orders or leave them attached and give them orders, but exclude them from receiving different orders if such occur at a higher level - of course any new orders would have a time to take to reach the divsion and that could change things itself.
Quote from: bobarossa on January 11, 2014, 03:58:46 PM
Quote from: Anguille on January 11, 2014, 12:22:41 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 11, 2014, 08:48:21 AM
My all time favorite was from microprose in 1994. Fields of Glory...what a spectacular game.
Same here...still launch it from time to time. ;)
Then you had better add it to your signature!!!!
You're right, i should change it...
Quote from: agathosdaimon on January 12, 2014, 09:47:45 AM
cool i hope you can enjoy it and - its not at all complex regarding what you cna do each turn and of course if you play with full fog of war then the positions of your own units that is showing may not be accurate depending on how long it took the message to get back . the AI also must received information the same way, ie it doesnt cheat so to speak
I have been playing the 1805 scenario and wasnt sure where exactly the coalition armies were, but have not got reports back of some massive dinosaur of austrian army and i realised my army hospital has not been position well to stem the flow of woundeds coming from some smaller clashes surrounding the austrians - its a great game and one that you cant win by just simply throwing armies at the enemy.
I will be keen though to play the 1809 scenario too as i am reading Crisis on the Danube at the moment and its thrilling stuff!
You guys know that the Danube game has a resolve battle with minis function that some have used histwar in it's place to resolve tactical battles. I've looked at this game last year for that reason but sounded like there were some issues with the game running in win7. It's seems that the win7 issues have been resolve if you guys are playing it.
FWIW...I enjoyed both Waterloo: NLB and Austerlitz: NGV by Breakaway games. Although the AI sometimes had problems and artillery (at least in Waterloo) was far too deadly, I appreciated the chain-of-command that allowed orders to be given to armies, divisions or individual units. I recall more than a few tense battles where victory hinged on how well a veteran unit of british troops stood fast against a line of advancing french recruits. Huzzah! indeed.
IIRC...Breakaway had tweaked the AI significantly so that by the time Austerlitz was released, melee combat was much more likely...and deadly.
Form square!
Jack Nastyface
I really want the Austerlitz NGV game but it is simply nowhere to find secondhand on the web
Campaigns on the Danube runs beautifully in win 7 and win 8 too by the sounds of it
combining it with then histwar battles makes it pretty outstanding however that function 3rd party resolution only exists for multiplayer as i understand it.
^ have you tried it out? Would be ideal if it worked in sp but mp is still ok. You would have to play both sides like a solitaire board game. What does the screen look like for the 3rd party battle import data?
Hello all
about ANGV here is the right place to get some infos
http://greatestbattlesforum.yuku.com/
For those who are looking for an operational level game playable with tactical games, this project could interest you
http://greatestbattlesforum.yuku.com/topic/751/Export-OOB-From-ANGV-after-a-battle#.Ux8IH_l5OBp
This project is related to this one
http://www.arpastrategy.com/
I was working on an operational level game "pluggable" with tactical games like Combat Mission and Panzer Command Ostfront with the idea to
generalize the idea to other eras.
Currently i consider there is not enough interest from CM PCO players, maybe because the solution is not enough "smooth".
The project regarding ANGV is more interesting since the bridge between tactical and operational game can be created programatically.
However, unless/until i find some players interested and who would like to be involved in this project, i suspend it and am working on a full operational/tactical game.
Except the graphics part (i need an artist), the operational game is in a late alpha stage and i work on the map editor which is an important part of the whole project.
If you're interested in the ANGV operational game and woul like to contribute let me know.
I am also interested in fixing bayonet and charge in a mp game.
Thanks
Patrick aka duncan
Hey Patrick aka Duncan,
I see that I can download the ISO's from you site. I assume these are the original CD's for the game. Are these games no longer covered by copy-right laws? If not, then we would consider them "pirate-ware" and the link should properly be removed from this site. If they are not covered by copyright (ie: Breakaway has officially released them as "freeware") then please include a statement from Breakaway on your website indicating that this is so.
Yours in gaming,
Jack Nastyface
Hi Jack,
At first i am not the owner of this website.
It's a site i found a long time ago looking for mods about ANGV and WNLB
I don't know for the iso because i own the original boxes.
The only thing i can say is this site exists since a very long time and was a reference about angv and wlnb so I assume that if there was a copyright problem
it wouldn't be so visible.
In case of i remove the links they are not difficult to find.
Cheers,
Patrick
Hey folks,
Bouncing this old thread because it is missing the granddad of them all- the very first Napoleonic computer game : Computer Napoleonics, by SSI in 1980. Battle of Waterloo only.
I did an AAR on it (google my name + Computer Napoleonics - don't want to trigger an automod with a link as I am new here) if you want to check what it looks like. It was forgotten for a reason.
^posting a link won't trigger anything, other than hopefully good discussion. We're not so fancy around here. No auto mods, but us old timers.
Welcome to the forum.
Ah nice.
So for Computer Napoleonics :
My AAR : https://zeitgame.net/archives/667
And my review (it assumes you have at least glanced through the AAR) : https://zeitgame.net/archives/690
Quote from: The Wargaming Scribe on June 09, 2021, 07:21:20 AM
Ah nice.
So for Computer Napoleonics :
My AAR : https://zeitgame.net/archives/667
And my review : https://zeitgame.net/archives/690
Glad to see the old games getting some love.
The gold standard is still SSI's Battles of Napoleon IMHO...HistWar made a good run, but just missed passing up BON by a smidgeon.
Quote from: ArizonaTank on June 09, 2021, 08:28:17 AM
Glad to see the old games getting some love.
The gold standard is still SSI's Battles of Napoleon IMHO...HistWar made a good run, but just missed passing up BON by a smidgeon.
Well, I am not there yet, but I have Napoleon's Campaign in "only" 15 games. Actually, I came here because I was looking for Napoleon's Campaign manual :). Still have not found it
What ever happened to HistWar?
Quote from: Toonces on June 09, 2021, 01:48:39 PM
What ever happened to HistWar?
Still around, and being supported by the dev: JMM
The latest version is HistwarN. Latest patch came out in March of this year.
https://www.histwar.net/histwar-napoleon-1 (https://www.histwar.net/histwar-napoleon-1)
I remember dealing with JMM regarding his Jutland game and also HistWar. He struck me as being somewhat prickly, shall we say.
Quote from: gregb41352 on June 09, 2021, 08:47:10 PM
I remember dealing with JMM regarding his Jutland game and also HistWar. He struck me as being somewhat prickly, shall we say.
Are you sure about JMM and Jutland? I believe you might be talking about Jim Rose of Storm Eagle Studios who published the Jutland / Distant Guns series. Norm Koger, the dev on the project, and who goes back into SSI days of yore dropped out of the scene long ago. Jim Rose published it and ran (still runs?) Storm Eagle Studios. Jim Rose is definitely prickly. Many would say his gruff approach and near suicidal insistence on insane DRM schemes drove away customers.
As far as JMM (Jean-Michel Mathe' ) is concerned...I have followed his career somewhat, and as far as I know, he only ever produced Napoleonic games (I believe his first game, before Histwar, was "La Grande Armee at Austerlitz").
In my experience, JMM generally engages with the community in a positive manner (I seem to recall he has even posted on Grogheads). He can be a bit stubborn, but not in an anti-social way. For example early versions of Histwar had a very unique UI that did not follow wargame conventions. JMM stubbornly held on to it for a long time, despite requests from the game's fans to change it. He eventually did.
If JMM has a fault, it is that he just has never been in a hurry. Histwar, in its various versions has been in constant development since at least 2006...and by all appearances is still being worked on.
JTS games will be on sale on 15th June.. You can check the store for Napoleonic titles: https://john-tiller-software.myshopify.com/collections/napoleonic-battles
Quote from: Toonces on June 09, 2021, 01:48:39 PM
What ever happened to HistWar?
Histwar is waiting for a playable patch for a looooong long time..
"Are you sure about JMM and Jutland? I believe you might be talking about Jim Rose of Storm Eagle Studios who published the Jutland / Distant Guns series. Norm Koger, the dev on the project, and who goes back into SSI days of yore dropped out of the scene long ago. Jim Rose published it and ran (still runs?) Storm Eagle Studios. Jim Rose is definitely prickly. Many would say his gruff approach and near suicidal insistence on insane DRM schemes drove away customers."
You are correct and I am wrong. Jim Rose was the bloke I was thinking about. Apologies to JMM.
Quote from: The Wargaming Scribe on June 09, 2021, 08:46:39 AM
Quote from: ArizonaTank on June 09, 2021, 08:28:17 AM
Glad to see the old games getting some love.
The gold standard is still SSI's Battles of Napoleon IMHO...HistWar made a good run, but just missed passing up BON by a smidgeon.
Well, I am not there yet, but I have Napoleon's Campaign in "only" 15 games. Actually, I came here because I was looking for Napoleon's Campaign manual :). Still have not found it
You can download the manual at
http://replacementdocs.com/download.php?view.2492
A bit late, but thanks ! Still, not the correct game : It is Battles of Napoleon and I was looking for "Napoleon's Campaigns" :)
Is this the one ?
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjanMO_ru3xAhUSzqQKHaFKDdQQFjAAegQIBRAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fageod-forum.com%2Fdownload%2Ffile.php%3Fid%3D1670&usg=AOvVaw0ESOWhuN2XPIKgpmhxAK-F
I know it is a weird link but it let's you download the manual for Ageod's game 'Napoleon's Campaigns'.
Quote from: Pete Dero on July 18, 2021, 02:37:52 PM
Is this the one ?
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjanMO_ru3xAhUSzqQKHaFKDdQQFjAAegQIBRAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fageod-forum.com%2Fdownload%2Ffile.php%3Fid%3D1670&usg=AOvVaw0ESOWhuN2XPIKgpmhxAK-F
I know it is a weird link but it let's you download the manual for Ageod's game 'Napoleon's Campaigns'.
Heya - I am not looking for Ageod's NCP, but SSI "
Napoleon's Campaigns : 1813 and 1815"
This is the one you are looking for. Apparently only Apple II, so I wasn't really aware of it.
looks like free, public domain download from archive.org
https://archive.org/details/a2_Napoleons_Campaigns_1813_1815_1981_SSI_RDOS (https://archive.org/details/a2_Napoleons_Campaigns_1813_1815_1981_SSI_RDOS)
Yeah, I have the game - I was looking for the manual and it is not there :)
One more try : http://docplayer.net/29695284-Battles-of-napoleon-strategic-simulations-inc-ssi-game-rules.html
Download button is beneath the preview.
Quote from: Pete Dero on July 20, 2021, 02:58:32 PM
One more try : http://docplayer.net/29695284-Battles-of-napoleon-strategic-simulations-inc-ssi-game-rules.html
Download button is beneath the preview.
Note, that's SSI's 1988 Battle of Napoleons, not SSI's 1981 Napoleon's Campaigns : 1813 & 1815" :)
Quote from: The Wargaming Scribe on July 21, 2021, 03:07:27 AM
Quote from: Pete Dero on July 20, 2021, 02:58:32 PM
One more try : http://docplayer.net/29695284-Battles-of-napoleon-strategic-simulations-inc-ssi-game-rules.html
Download button is beneath the preview.
Note, that's SSI's 1988 Battle of Napoleons, not SSI's 1981 Napoleon's Campaigns : 1813 & 1815" :)
Short of doing a deep internet dive, or getting lucky for a copy on ebay, you might be out of luck on this one. Noble Knight games may also have a copy for sale.