Great Northern War Released!

bobarossa · April 18, 2023, 01:57:48 PM

Read Peter the Great by Massie at least 30 years ago. The two things I remember about Charles is his audacity at Narva (arriving late in day and marching his badly outnumbered troops straight into the Russian trenches without pause, routing them) and his stupidity at Poltava attacking superior force in fortifications (probably because of Narva's memory but not accounting for Peter's military reforms).

Sir Slash · April 18, 2023, 01:58:53 PM

Charles XII and the IRS have a lot in common SirAndrew.

SirAndrewD · April 18, 2023, 03:19:05 PM

Quote from: Sir Slash on April 18, 2023, 01:58:53 PMCharles XII and the IRS have a lot in common SirAndrew.

They want to rule the world? Hmmm.

Gusington · April 18, 2023, 05:51:14 PM

Peter the Great by Robert Massie is one of my favorite books of all time. Anyone even remotely interested in the Great Northern War will love it. And if you have no interest, it may ignite an interest

SirAndrewD · April 18, 2023, 06:25:52 PM

If people here aren't interested in the Great Northern War then I don't know what to say. It's a fascinating conflict.

I mostly got the Russian side of it since it was my concentration but both are super fascinating.

I mean....Charles XII vs Peter the Great? It was like the 18th Century Rumble in the Snow Covered Jungle.

Gusington · April 18, 2023, 07:21:55 PM

'Two northern emperors enter, one northern emperor leaves!'

SirAndrewD · April 18, 2023, 10:02:31 PM

Well, I picked it up. I haven't bought a WDS game in a bit and I do like their stuff. These are always great for a break between spreadsheet work.

Sir Slash · April 18, 2023, 10:10:48 PM

My work here is done.

Grim.Reaper · April 19, 2023, 04:19:50 AM

Quote from: SirAndrewD on April 18, 2023, 10:02:31 PMWell, I picked it up. I haven't bought a WDS game in a bit and I do like their stuff. These are always great for a break between spreadsheet work.

Really interested in your impressions as I continue to sit on the fence. I know most wds games roughly play the same so not thinking something completely different with this game but some reason has made me interested more than their typical series.

Gusington · April 19, 2023, 08:02:12 AM

^Me too. Stop that pesky 'work' D and get down to what's really important.

SirAndrewD · April 19, 2023, 09:07:46 AM

Impressions are great so far.

As you all said, it's a WDS game so you know what to expect.

It's got the updated graphics and UI of the post Waterloo revision which is nice. It's still early 00's graphics but it's not painful on the eyes and scales well to the window. Lots of colorful flavor in the 3D. UI is the updated one and I'm quite fond of it. UI scaling on unit cards is still a bit small for my fading eyesight but that's just a symptom of the series.

There's a ton of scenarios with good historical backgrounds. This is a great intro to the conflict if you're a victim of the American education system that doesn't even mention the conflict anymore. Many of the battles in this war were smaller and a bit more straight forward than later wars so it's a good change of pace off of the massive 19th Century Napoleonic/ACW engagements.

It's one of those games that has a system that is familiar and is fantastic to just put in a window and grab a turn and take a break. I feel that is reflective of all WDS titles. If you're interested in the Great Northern War or even just the era where Pike and Shot transitioned into linear musket warfare this is an absolute go to.

So, there you go, that's my impressions off the getting started scenario that's got the opening engagement on the left at Poltava. I feel it's worth it but I'm also a Russian History nerd. I think for general wargamers or fans of general history it's just as worth it though.

Sometimes I will get games based on obscure conflicts that are gaps in my knowledge that I like to just play and learn, so if you don't know much about the GNW, boot it up, and go on youtube and queue up Sabaton's Carolus Rex album and play along with the music!

Gusington · April 19, 2023, 09:40:47 AM

You had me at 'Russian history nerd.'

Grim.Reaper · April 19, 2023, 10:27:54 AM

Thanks, I can see myself picking up soon

rahamy · April 29, 2023, 06:35:18 AM

A few things to add here. Here's the Designers Notes which contain both a historical over view of the situation and a few more granular details on the forces involved and the scenarios:

Designers Notes

And here's the Changelog on what is different from the last release in the series, which is Seven Years War. Considerable changes have been made in how units are controlled (you can move an entire brigade at once now with just a few clicks), what info you get through on-screen details and various pull downs, and also adjustments to the A/I. Not making any grandiose claims for the A/I's performance, but it has improved.

Changelog

In addition to the 69 stand alone scenarios, there's 5 campaigns... so there is an absolute ton of content included off the shelf... and the scenario designers have an expansion pack planned for the future which will be a free add-on for existing owners.

And finally, for about another 2 weeks, you'll get a 20% off discount code to be used with Helion books when you purchase the game, and they publish several titles on this time period.

Grim.Reaper · April 29, 2023, 07:05:52 AM

Quote from: rahamy on April 29, 2023, 06:35:18 AMA few things to add here. Here's the Designers Notes which contain both a historical over view of the situation and a few more granular details on the forces involved and the scenarios:

Designers Notes

And here's the Changelog on what is different from the last release in the series, which is Seven Years War. Considerable changes have been made in how units are controlled (you can move an entire brigade at once now with just a few clicks), what info you get through on-screen details and various pull downs, and also adjustments to the A/I. Not making any grandiose claims for the A/I's performance, but it has improved.

Changelog

In addition to the 69 stand alone scenarios, there's 5 campaigns... so there is an absolute ton of content included off the shelf... and the scenario designers have an expansion pack planned for the future which will be a free add-on for existing owners.

And finally, for about another 2 weeks, you'll get a 20% off discount code to be used with Helion books when you purchase the game, and they publish several titles on this time period.

Just curious, are you aware of any good gameplay videos on this whether done by the developers or fans who know it well? My last step before pulling the trigger, just need to see some footage:)