If you're like me, you love the look of the Ageod games, and the eras they cover. I've tried many times to fully comprehend the game engine and play, but I was only able to wrap my head around all the rules and such for a small scenario or two in "Revolution Under Siege". All other attempts to learn the engine thoroughly met with failure.
Until now.
Using this massive, 60-part "Learn how to play Ageod Civil War 2" video series by Spink Akron, I am now playing my first full campaign starting in 1861. And, I understand all of the rules, and all of the fine-grained intricacies of supply, command points and blockade.
I thought I would share this with everyone, since I'm sure there are other grogs out there who will benefit from this series. He really does an excellent job of explaining things.
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on October 01, 2015, 12:28:12 PM
60-part "Learn how to play Ageod Civil War 2" video series
:o
Haha, I know it's a bit of a slog to sit through 30 hours of video. It only took watching the first 10 episodes or so for me to finally get the hang of it. I just watch the rest as time allows, like during my lunch time at work, etc...
I just finished a game against the CSA AI for the full April 1861 campaign. Had fun playing the game too. Once you figure out the rules, the Ageod games are definitely fun to play. Supplies and replacements were the hardest parts of the game for me to understand even though I've bought all Ageod games since the beginning.
I too watched a few videos on CW II and the one you posted is a good series.
I saw those videos and they really do make the game more understandable and attractive.
ACW2 is the first game of theirs that really clicked with me, I enjoy it and still have an ongoing campaign that I play. I think some of it has to do with my familiarity with the ACW and the geography of the states (lived my entire life in the USA). I often struggle with their games set in Europe because I not as familiar with the history, geography, regions and cities.
Thanks for the link, Slick. O0
I've had the same problem with AGEOD games that you've had. From what little I've seen in the first video you linked to I have already picked up on a number of things I wasn't even aware of before.
Thanks W8, I've been intimidated by AGEOD for years!
Just echoing others -- many thanks for the link! Very helpful. I dabbled with ACW2 when it came out but haven't put too much time into it. These sorts of informative vids always rekindle my interest.
Just wondering, but did To End All Wars finally iron out the problems it was having with 'march to the sound of the guns' wreaking havoc with trench warfare? I never picked up TEAW (partly because I still love World War One Gold), but it would likely be my next Ageod purchase (Thirty Years War ain't really my cup of tea...). But there seemed a widespread complaint that TEAW didn't do a good job of actually modeling first world war battles --
I'd still recommend starting with the Birth Of Rome/Alea Jacta Est series first, as they don't have the army organization system which often adds to people's confusion. Likewise with Birth Of America 2, although that one's a bit older.
The majority of the mechanics you'll interface with in these AGE games are pretty much the same, with only small noticeable differences (such as the Org system I mentioned). There are certainly differences "under the hood" but the interface & mechanics you see & use are extremely similar from title-to-title. After you've learned one, it's an almost effortless leap to the others.
This reminds me.. I purchased Hannibal: Terror Of Rome awhile back and have yet to start it. *facepalm* It suggests a problem when I haven't even started to play a title based in one of my favorite wargame settings, with one of my favorite digital wargame systems, after owning it for half a year. Too many damn games to play! :))
I could never learn the Ageod system properly either. I just wish I knew about this 6 months ago, instead of now, when we are being bombarded by new releases/
I'd like to pop in a vote for Charles Cummings and his efforts to demystify the AGEOD engine and Civil War II
https://www.youtube.com/user/charlesonmission/playlists
I don't know how many times I've fired up CW2, only to poke around for awhile and then go on to something else. I'm going to give these videos a try. Thanks.
Before you invest 30 hours in that video series, let me share my experience.
Somehow - and I don't recall exactly how, but I think it was largely just from studying the manual - I completely figured out the original Ageod ACW game, knew how to organize units, set up a supply chain, got a sense for how to operate a minor campaign on the fringes of your supply network as well as for how to capture frickin' Manassas and keep it. Played it quite a bit, had a blast. Great game. :D
But, as happens with all games, eventually it got stale and I put it away and turned to other games. (Montage of seasons flying by.) A couple of years later, I pulled it back out. In the meanwhile, all the myriad details had leaked out my ears :uglystupid2: Now I'm in the same boat with everybody else: can't play Ageod games.
Is CW2 that much better than CW1? I've hardly even touched CW1 and don't want to upgrade just for the sake of upgrading.
Also don't know if I can watch 30 hours of videos...that's a hella lot of video watching.
On the other hand, I have at least three AGEOD games going unplayed ATM so... ::)
Exactly my problem, the games look like fun but i never end up having any. I'll have to get around to watching this sooner or later. AGEOD games model some interesting periods and era's, so hopefully this will help me have fun with the games, 'ive always looked pretty closely at RUS. Thanks for the link.
Quote from: Toonces on October 01, 2015, 07:05:06 PM
Is CW2 that much better than CW1? I've hardly even touched CW1 and don't want to upgrade just for the sake of upgrading.
Also don't know if I can watch 30 hours of videos...that's a hella lot of video watching.
On the other hand, I have at least three AGEOD games going unplayed ATM so... ::)
As I said, Toonces, it doesn't take the full 60 episode series to learn. I started playing for real after about episode 10. And each episode thereafter just expands the education. Not to be missed!
YMMV, of course. But after years of trying and failing, Spink's videos have shown me the light.
I won my first serious scenario, "Sibley's West scenario", as the Union. I won a minor victory on points. Considering that I didn't understand supply completely when I started it, I did very well.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/72144446/Civil%20War%202/CivilWar2.jpg)
I recommend that scenario as a first, as it involves fewer units, but involves a lot of supply work. Supply is notoriously bad in the west, so doing this scenario first makes you understand how important it truly is. One thing I learned is that you don't need depots every region, but about 3-5 regions. It made a huge difference in the supply and ammo available to my units.
Quote from: Toonces on October 01, 2015, 07:05:06 PM
Is CW2 that much better than CW1? I've hardly even touched CW1 and don't want to upgrade just for the sake of upgrading.
Also don't know if I can watch 30 hours of videos...that's a hella lot of video watching.
On the other hand, I have at least three AGEOD games going unplayed ATM so... ::)
I know this is blowing my own trumpet, and posting an old link, but I did as-in-depth-as-I-could AAR/explanation of ACW1 shortest scenario Bloody Shiloh yonks ago. I took time out and I studied the game so I could grok it, and get something out of it, and hopefully other AGEOD games. Its a 10 parter, but shouldn't take that long to read. Not 10 hours or 30 hours of video watching. Whilst it might not get you totally up to speed with ACW2, it might serve as a beginners primer to AGEOD and their eccentricities...
http://sugarfreegamer.com/aar/ageods-american-civil-war/
I try to explain the key elements of the game, and my own decisions in the process... so hopefully it might help someone.
Thanks for sharing. Paradox and AGEOD make great games but they are sure hard to get into. Videos like the one in the first post go a long way to help. Gotta love YouTube. O0
"So, you bought all the Ageod games yet never could quite get around to even playing them slightly long enough to begin barely attempting to figure the system out? "
Yes. :-[
(Except for WW1Gold, which doesn't count as it isn't really an AGE game.)
darent watch in case it all comes together and it leaves me with a whole gaming range to buy
Quote from: mirth on October 01, 2015, 12:32:29 PM
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on October 01, 2015, 12:28:12 PM
60-part "Learn how to play Ageod Civil War 2" video series
:o
I generally have more fun playing games that I don't quite understand -- but not AGEOD so much. ACW2 was an extremely weird and wonderful experience for me and I generally like AGEOD games okay -- Rise of Prussian and RUS seem to be a lot better than any of the others, though, maybe because I actually do understand them. Espana 1936 was kind of horrible and since 30-years war has the same designer it seems -- I'm skipping it.
Thoughts on TEAW, anyone?
I've been trying to get into Alea Jacta Est for ages... it's not so much the mechanics that get me, but paralysis on what to do from a strategy standpoint.
Quote from: sandman2575 on October 02, 2015, 10:19:23 AM
Thoughts on TEAW, anyone?
Rather bad in much the same way ACW2 is pretty bad, as single player anyway. Not nearly as bad as Espana 1936, though.
Do you mean in terms of AI, or just overall game mechanics not convincingly modeling WW1 (or ACW) warfare?
Quote from: sandman2575 on October 02, 2015, 10:46:18 AM
Do you mean in terms of AI, or just overall game mechanics not convincingly modeling WW1 (or ACW) warfare?
I think the AGEOD mechanics and AI and very often the scenario scripting combine to make a strange mess. The strange mess
situation does not work well for ACW or WWI. It does do much better in terms of a convincing Russian Civil war or a Prussian rampage or
two. I'm not sure what went wrong with Espana 1936, but I suspect (as with ACW2 and TEAW) excessive tinkering with the system
to get more historical results actually tends to generate situations where the scripting is not congruent with what's happening in the game.
Just a little update. After slogging through 43 episodes, I've got an excellent grasp of the game system. I'm really impressed with the engine, and with all the complexity. There's a lot to think about each turn. In a way, I'd say it's a little like WitP, yet not nearing as daunting. The replay value should be huge, too, as there are so many ways to play and so many strategies to try.
Has the lightbulb popped on for anyone else besides me?
Quote from: MengJiao on October 02, 2015, 10:42:36 AM
Quote from: sandman2575 on October 02, 2015, 10:19:23 AM
Thoughts on TEAW, anyone?
Rather bad in much the same way ACW2 is pretty bad, as single player anyway. Not nearly as bad as Espana 1936, though.
We all experience these games differently...I think it works well with ACW2...I love the game single player. Is it perfect, no. But it is challenging and deep and the map is gorgeous and functional.
I forgot all about this series but since I have nothing I particularly want to play at the moment will start watching. Thanks for the reminder
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on October 29, 2015, 09:43:37 AM
Has the lightbulb popped on for anyone else besides me?
Mine lit up way back when I did the tutorial for the original ACW game a second time. The army org stuff was baffling at first, but that time it clicked. :))
Once again, this reminds me to do some
Hannibal: Terror Of Rome very soon.
I really need this...but do i have the time?
After all these years I still don't really understand how the replacement chits work.
I know that I need to add to a unit-type's replacement pool to keep the top line from turning into a red number followed by exclamation marks, and I know that I should put about one tenth as many chits into the pool as I have missing elements, but I don't understand how to connect these two concepts in practise.
So I just keep feeding replacements into whatever is getting burned up (or what I think is likely to get burned up), and try not to let the numbers in the pool look too funny, but I don't really know what I'm doing. And I tend to direct a few chits into supply even if supply isn't getting used up, just in case.
(I don't have CW2, but replacement in all of the Ageod games seems to work pretty much the same way).
Quote from: Philippe on October 30, 2015, 09:17:25 AM
After all these years I still don't really understand how the replacement chits work.
I know that I need to add to a unit-type's replacement pool to keep the top line from turning into a red number followed by exclamation marks, and I know that I should put about one tenth as many chits into the pool as I have missing elements, but I don't understand how to connect these two concepts in practise.
So I just keep feeding replacements into whatever is getting burned up (or what I think is likely to get burned up), and try not to let the numbers in the pool look too funny, but I don't really know what I'm doing. And I tend to direct a few chits into supply even if supply isn't getting used up, just in case.
(I don't have CW2, but replacement in all of the Ageod games seems to work pretty much the same way).
It's always been recommended that you put about 10% of your total units (IIRC) listed for that type, on that screen. For the large amounts that will need replacements regularly. Such as infantry and some cavalry if they're in the action every turn & taking casualties. If you have 175 total infantry units (listed right on that screen), then try to keep it at 17-18. Easy! ;)
One unit of replacements equals multiple actual losses so sticking to that ratio has always worked just fine for me without having to do much mental gymnastics.
I don't bother putting in the more expensive replacements until they actually go into the red. Better to save the expense and train replacements only when needed because some of those can get pricey.