Battle Academy

acctingman · January 25, 2016, 12:11:26 AM

I think I'll try the demo of BA and look at some videos of John Tiller's Campaign series. There is also the new Tigers on the Hunt game coming out from Matrix, but that looks like a board game on the PC. Rather play a board game them :)

Too many games....not enough money

acctingman · January 25, 2016, 12:43:30 AM

So, I downloaded the BA demo and.....it's just too cartoonish for me.

Guess that take that series off the plate for me.

John Tiller's campaign series or SPWaW2 looks to be the only options for me.

I LOVE Combat Mission 2 graphics but I feel the learning curve is too steep

jomni · January 25, 2016, 02:29:11 AM

BA is a very simple tactical simulation. But it's kinda fun.

Campaign Series covers everything WW2. Old game, but I really like it.

Richie61 · January 25, 2016, 09:16:26 AM

Very true! BA and BA2 are lots of fun playing thru the server :D

BanzaiCat · January 25, 2016, 10:20:28 AM

BA2 is fun, indeed. I own it on Steam, though I don't have the original.

acctingman · January 25, 2016, 10:46:21 AM

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 25, 2016, 10:20:28 AM
BA2 is fun, indeed. I own it on Steam, though I don't have the original.

The BA demo was ok, don't get me wrong, but I struggled to find any "realism" in it. Possibly it was the graphics but it just seemed too simple?

I want some complexity to a game and I just didn't find it in that demo

Sir Slash · January 25, 2016, 10:58:04 AM

What's hard for you about CM acctingman? Learning the game or getting good at it? Because there's a pretty big difference. There are many great Youtube videos on how to play the game better that helped me a lot. Even with me being a CM 1 veteran. Col. Jeffery Paulding late of Armchair General had the best tactical advice videos. In addition you can play turn-based or real-time.

acctingman · January 25, 2016, 11:32:30 AM

Quote from: Sir Slash on January 25, 2016, 10:58:04 AM
What's hard for you about CM acctingman? Learning the game or getting good at it? Because there's a pretty big difference. There are many great Youtube videos on how to play the game better that helped me a lot. Even with me being a CM 1 veteran. Col. Jeffery Paulding late of Armchair General had the best tactical advice videos. In addition you can play turn-based or real-time.

Sir Slash....

I tried the demo of Battle for Normandy and I was totally lost. I know that was going to be the case. Maybe it's the desire of NOT wanting to spend countless hours learning a game. I want to be able to pop the game in and go.

This lack of wanting to learn a game is going to be my downfall, I think. This slackerness is making me think I'm stuck with the BA series.

I guess I have to look at how much I want to play these games. I love ww2....favorite part of military history, but CMx2 learning curve scare the bejeebus out of me.

Also, the cost. $200+ to get all the CMx2 games/xpacs.....$30 for Tiller's campagin series (and I do know there is a learning curve to that game too).

Not sure I have the patience for learning CMx2.

Maybe PC WW2 gaming isn't for me and I need to stick to WW2 boardgames?

Bison · January 25, 2016, 12:09:40 PM

The Campaign Series is good fun, but perhaps you won't like the graphics. They are dated. I don't mind them but that's having played the games from when they were released over 15 years ago.

The Battle Academy games are cartoonish, but don't let that deter you from a really fun game. The AI/scenarios are really fun too single player. Unfortunately the Campaign Series AI just isn't very good especially in larger scenarios. If you like to PBEM, theblitz.org has a Campaign Series forum and PBEM ladder.

The Tiller Squad Battles might be another option. The AI is actually pretty decent and their are Squad Battle from just about any war from WW1 through Iraq/Afghanistan.

The Decisive Campaign series is really good if you want an operational level game, but you'll have to take the time to learn the game. But they are pretty easy to jump into and push counters and just learn as you go.

Good luck.

acctingman · January 25, 2016, 12:13:56 PM

Quote from: Bison on January 25, 2016, 12:09:40 PM
The Campaign Series is good fun, but perhaps you won't like the graphics. They are dated. I don't mind them but that's having played the games from when they were released over 15 years ago.

The Battle Academy games are cartoonish, but don't let that deter you from a really fun game. The AI/scenarios are really fun too single player. Unfortunately the Campaign Series AI just isn't very good especially in larger scenarios. If you like to PBEM, theblitz.org has a Campaign Series forum and PBEM ladder.

The Tiller Squad Battles might be another option. The AI is actually pretty decent and their are Squad Battle from just about any war from WW1 through Iraq/Afghanistan.

The Decisive Campaign series is really good if you want an operational level game, but you'll have to take the time to learn the game. But they are pretty easy to jump into and push counters and just learn as you go.

Good luck.

Buying all the SB series would run close to $200. Also, I see some of them have the ability to change the unit icons to 3-D, but I don't see that with the Pacific theater squad game. Is there an option to change the units to the 3-D icons in all those games?

Thanks for the heads up about the JT campaign series AI not being all that great. That does eliminate that game from my list.

Rayfer · January 25, 2016, 12:17:06 PM

acct....you sound conflicted. In a post regarding BA you state it is too simple and lacks complexity. Yet regarding CM you couldn't just pop the game in and go....which is exactly what BA offers. Not sure I understand what you're looking for?

Bison · January 25, 2016, 12:20:37 PM

No not all of the Squad Battles have 3D, but to be honest I play them with the 2D counters. I personally find that they look better that way.

You can download demos for Panzer Campaigns (a good game too), Squad Battles, and the Napoleon series here: http://johntillersoftware.com/Demos.php

I bought many of the Tiller games over the years. If you like the game, just pick the theater/conflict you like and buy one. Then if you really like the series, you can always go back and buy more. Or if you don't like the game series, you're not out the $$.

Philippe · January 25, 2016, 12:57:19 PM

I've always had trouble wrapping my head around the Squad Battles series, though some of the games are a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed the ones about the Spanish Civil War, the French war in Indochina, and the Soviets in Afghanistan.

If you're going to take a look that series, you really should familiarize yourself with a great site for Squad Battles mods:

https://tfe4.wordpress.com/

Other than that, I really wish someone who has had more experience with modern firearms than I have would explain to me why weapons degrade so rapidly in the series after you fire them (I'm looking at you, Jarhead). I'm familiar enough with black powder weapons to understand why older weapons got very dirty and inaccurate after you fired them a few times, but I think Tiller was modeling a bit more than that. Is an AK-47 really that fragile when someone drops it after getting shot ? (And I'm usually not looking to use the weapon itself, just its ammo clips).

Sir Slash · January 25, 2016, 01:06:46 PM

See that's why it's a good thing we have so many choices today because I've found SB/ JT and BA a too turn-based to me. Like the old SPWWII, you move and draw fire, and move and draw fire until the AI has no more Op Fire and then you move everything else. Fun but too turn-based for me. As far as CM goes, the demo scenario should've been the one from the game-- a short platoon sized match across a stream. I can't recall it's name. It really was great learning how the units move and fire and what-not. It's when you start adding vehicles that it gets complicated.

Bison · January 25, 2016, 01:21:21 PM

Modern War is my least favorite SB game in the series. The WW1 and Falklands are my top two games in the series. I also like the Vietnam and WW2 games. I need to pick up the Spanish Civil War and the Soviet-Afghan War.

I wouldn't be surprised if the weapons degraded is just hard coded into the game. I guess you "could" make the case for dirty weapons and the M-4/16 is a more prone to this than the AK-47, but other than some barrel swap out for something like a M249 there really shouldn't be a heave degrade especially for the AK-47.