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Digital Gaming => Computer Gaming => Topic started by: Jarhead0331 on October 29, 2015, 08:52:20 PM

Title: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Jarhead0331 on October 29, 2015, 08:52:20 PM
http://store.steampowered.com/app/400470/ (http://store.steampowered.com/app/400470/)
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Bison on October 29, 2015, 08:58:22 PM
Huh.  I didn't even know this was out there.  Seems like a good one to follow to see what the reaction to it is.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Grim.Reaper on October 29, 2015, 09:05:16 PM
Price will be $19.99.....I see this as a possibility for the weekend:)
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Gusington on October 29, 2015, 09:26:40 PM
I had no idea it was so close...
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: MetalDog on October 29, 2015, 09:44:40 PM
That looks pretty interesting.  I'll be looking forward to seeing what every one thinks.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: tgb on October 29, 2015, 09:52:54 PM
I'm interested but want to find out more about gameplay - issuing orders while paused, saving mid-battle, etc.  Old fart stuff like that.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Bison on October 29, 2015, 10:04:38 PM
^ Yup.  I'm to mentally exhausted and well too old like twitchy RTS anymore.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: W8taminute on October 29, 2015, 10:16:05 PM
Looks interesting.  Keeping my eye on this one.   
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: IronX on October 29, 2015, 11:23:25 PM
Looks good. Thanks for the heads up!
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Nefaro on October 30, 2015, 01:30:28 AM
Quote from: Bison on October 29, 2015, 10:04:38 PM
^ Yup.  I'm to mentally exhausted and well too old like twitchy RTS anymore.

Hell.. I don't even watch TV without pausing it.  That should qualify for Old Fker Status, no?
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: AchillesLastStand on October 30, 2015, 02:48:50 AM
Wow!
Saw this many moons ago and actually forgot about it.

For what has been advertised 19.99 seems to be a very fair price , almost to fair. It looks very interesting and the developer said he would consider adding multiplayer if it did well. Lotsa tasty info here....
http://thesevenyearswar.com/index.htm
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Toonces on October 30, 2015, 06:32:50 AM
Quote from: Bison on October 29, 2015, 10:04:38 PM
^ Yup.  I'm to mentally exhausted and well too old like twitchy RTS anymore.

Dude you better read up on the description.  This game sounds like the antithesis of relaxing.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Gusington on October 30, 2015, 07:45:20 AM
I do like that there are 5 nations to choose from. This has potential to be great...it even looks as if there's some city building too, from the videos and screenshots. And thanks for the above link, will check that out.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Ian C on October 30, 2015, 08:52:06 AM
In theory it looks perfect. I'll be watching the reports hoping it's a keeper.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: tgb on October 30, 2015, 08:57:20 AM
Quote from: Gusington on October 30, 2015, 07:45:20 AM
I do like that there are 5 nations to choose from. This has potential to be great...it even looks as if there's some city building too, from the videos and screenshots. And thanks for the above link, will check that out.

Where are you finding videos?  I haven't had any luck.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: undercovergeek on October 30, 2015, 08:58:55 AM
steam afaik
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: sandman2575 on October 30, 2015, 11:02:05 AM
This is a one-man effort, isn't it?  Will be hugely impressive if he pulls it off -- seemingly fusing a Total War style gameplay with an Ageod style attention to historical detail. Hat's off to the guy for even attempting this -- and for devoting all that effort to a conflict that doesn't receive a whole lot of attention from gamers --
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Bison on October 30, 2015, 11:05:12 AM
Quote from: Toonces on October 30, 2015, 06:32:50 AM
Quote from: Bison on October 29, 2015, 10:04:38 PM
^ Yup.  I'm to mentally exhausted and well too old like twitchy RTS anymore.

Dude you better read up on the description.  This game sounds like the antithesis of relaxing.

I'm not into non-relaxing games these days, so my interest is now gone.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Jarhead0331 on October 30, 2015, 11:24:50 AM
Quote from: Bison on October 30, 2015, 11:05:12 AM
Quote from: Toonces on October 30, 2015, 06:32:50 AM
Quote from: Bison on October 29, 2015, 10:04:38 PM
^ Yup.  I'm to mentally exhausted and well too old like twitchy RTS anymore.

Dude you better read up on the description.  This game sounds like the antithesis of relaxing.

I'm not into non-relaxing games these days, so my interest is now gone.

I'm not sure why Toonces suggests that its not relaxing? Its got strategic turn-based campaign play with real time tactical battles that seem to be modeled authentically...in 1756, nothing happened too terribly fast. I dunno. If you're interested in the period, this one seems like a no-brainer to me.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Bison on October 30, 2015, 11:26:31 AM
I'm waiting for you to break out with some impressions.  What I don't want is starcraft style battles.  Starcraft is a great game, but I just cannot bring myself to play that style anymore these days.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Jarhead0331 on October 30, 2015, 11:50:45 AM
Quote from: Bison on October 30, 2015, 11:26:31 AM
I'm waiting for you to break out with some impressions.  What I don't want is starcraft style battles.  Starcraft is a great game, but I just cannot bring myself to play that style anymore these days.

No way in hell its going to be like starcraft. I think that is pretty clear from the videos that are out there. I don't even think its going to be as quick as Empire/Napoleon Total War.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Grim.Reaper on October 30, 2015, 11:54:02 AM
Appears to be released....I'll guess I'll find out tonight unless bad reviews prior:)
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Jarhead0331 on October 30, 2015, 12:41:01 PM
Just had a VERY quick look around. It looks like an indie game, but impressive in scope and scale nevertheless. The graphics are pretty rough. Everything has a fuzzy, not high-res feel to it.  The map is totally functional, but pretty unattractive (oxymoron) and I have been unable to find any zoom levels.  The fuzzy look of the graphics makes some of the text in several of the menus difficult to read, even though I'm running in 1920 x 1080. The game DEFINITELY needs tutorials as it appears to be exceptionally deep. I do not see any tutorial scenarios, there are no tool tips and there is not even a manual that I can find, although I have not delved into the file structure yet.  This could turn out to be a huge problem for many, because if you're like me, you don't have the patience to figure everything out through trial and error.  There are no keyboard shortcuts that I can find, so it appears everything must be handled with the mouse.

In snooping around the menus and features, I can positively state that the officer lists and OOB tables got me really hot and bothered. it is all very historical and very detailed. The muscial score is very pleasing, as well. I feel like I'm playing in Francis Ford Cupola's Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon. By the way, both battles AND strategic campaign play are REAL TIME. However, it is totally pausible and orders can be issued while paused.

I had trouble getting the game to run, but I solved the issue which had to do with multiple monitor set-up. The game doesn't like it.

Anyway, I do look forward to diving into it a little deeper as soon as I have the chance.   
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Gusington on October 30, 2015, 12:45:23 PM
It looks well paced to me - the kind of game I can drink beer while playin and not have to worry about screwing up too badly.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: sandman2575 on October 30, 2015, 12:48:04 PM
Cool first impressions.   8)

How is the strategic campaign in real time? That I don't get...?  Or are we talking WitP:AE time investment to actually complete the campaign?

(also, Barry Lyndon is Kubrick  ;)  great movie, regardless...)
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: IronX on October 30, 2015, 12:49:33 PM
Sounds like it's Total War for grogs. Too bad about the graphics, although hopefully it won't detract from the deeper gameplay. Also liking the Barry Lyndon reference.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Jarhead0331 on October 30, 2015, 12:51:23 PM
Quote from: sandman2575 on October 30, 2015, 12:48:04 PM
Cool first impressions.   8)

How is the strategic campaign in real time? That I don't get...?  Or are we talking WitP:AE time investment to actually complete the campaign?

(also, Barry Lyndon is Kubrick  ;)  great movie, regardless...)

Thats right...Kubrick. Always get those two mixed up!

Its real time in that ships and armies are moving in real time on the strategic campaign map. Supplies are flowing in real time and resources and money are being spent and earned in real time. Structures are being built in real time. Everything that you can do is happening in real time, except that it can be totally paused. 
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Jarhead0331 on October 30, 2015, 02:48:06 PM
I found a bunch of very quick tutorial type videos on youtube. They give very broad overviews of all of the distinct areas of the game. However, at under 3 minutes in length, they really just give general information on several of the features that are at play. It is a very deep game, and these videos show that.

By the way, there are tool tips in game.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: sandman2575 on October 30, 2015, 03:00:21 PM
Glad to hear there are tooltips -- a necessity in a complex game like this.

Reports about the fuzziness / lack of clarity in the UI worries me. I found EUIV nigh unplayable before someone came out with a larger font / UI improvement mod. (I'm someone who went back to 1080p monitor after a couple of attempts with 1440p -- everything is just too damn small at 1440, even with 125% dpi. I'm due for a stronger lens prescription, I know...)

Anyway, I'm sure I'll give this a go later tonight -- Steam's refund policy makes it zero risk, after all.  For all the rough spots it looks like it has tremendous potential.  Amazing as the TW games are, I always find the lack of depth at the strategic/campaign level disappointing. I really like what the dev. is trying to accomplish here and want to support his effort.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: mikeck on October 30, 2015, 03:28:02 PM
 Some gameplay videos. Not tutorials but show with the game looks like I suppose

http://thesevenyearswar.com/media.htm

I will be honest, I'm a little concerned about the price. The price I think he tells me that there is not a whole lot to this game. I am a big believer in the concept of "you get what you pay for quote. If I'm only paying $20 then I should only get a $20 game which isn't much
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: sandman2575 on October 30, 2015, 04:26:06 PM
I read the price as a sign of a realistic indy developer who recognizes he won't sell many copies of a very niche historical game at $30 or $40. Seems like there's easily $20 of content here.

I similarly think Double Trouble was smart pricing Rebel Galaxy at $20 -- a price that will attract curious players who think, "what the hell, it's only $20" and then hopefully be pleasantly surprised at the quality (as I was).
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Toonces on October 30, 2015, 04:31:47 PM
@ JH, what I meant is that I don't find Total War-type games (real time battles) relaxing at all.

But CK2 is relaxing enough, which this kind of sounds like. 

Regardless, sounds like a neat game, but I'm not keen on managing cities.  I like more stabby stabby.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Grim.Reaper on October 30, 2015, 06:45:54 PM
Interesting the game uses old graphics library like directx 7... Has me a little concerned if we will work....Hmmm...what to do.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Swatter on October 31, 2015, 04:09:42 PM
Follow-up impressions?
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: tgb on October 31, 2015, 06:11:22 PM
Still on the fence on this one.  It's going to take a let's play by someone good like thehistoricgamer to give a real feel if this is for me or not.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Jarhead0331 on October 31, 2015, 06:14:20 PM
A patch was released today. UI text has been enlarged a bit.

Had planned on playing this more over the weekend, unfortunately, I was not aware that Falcon BMS 4.33 had been released, so that has been taking up most of my PC game time.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: W8taminute on October 31, 2015, 08:42:30 PM
I took the plunge and bought this.  Only played for 30 minutes.  I'm not sure if I played with the patch that enlarges the UI because I am having trouble reading the text on the ingame tool tips and pop up windows.  Nevertheless my initial impression of this game is good.  I think there is a deep game underneath the hood and I look forward to figuring this one out even if it is with the aid of a magnifying glass.  (I'm getting to old.   :-[ )
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Swatter on October 31, 2015, 09:39:36 PM
I was watching the latest YouTube video and am somewhat impressed. It is also a good sign that two people on the forum have already said the game has some depth. Let's hope the AI is up to the challenge, this area is my greatest fear. If the AI can't properly handle the strategic aspects of the game, everything else is just window dressing. I so loved everything about Empire: Total War, except for the strategic AI (which ruins everything else in the end).

Lets hope this is different!
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on November 01, 2015, 02:53:18 AM
hi folks, may i introduce myself, i am oliver, the developer of this game.

here is my youtube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPafvWljII1U6CrAVk4YoX_kRcZsw9RQ (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPafvWljII1U6CrAVk4YoX_kRcZsw9RQ)
(don't mind about the older videos, graphics have been enhanced since then)

if you take a look to the tutorials you may get a sense of the game depth:
www.thesevenyearswar.com/tutorials.htm (http://www.thesevenyearswar.com/tutorials.htm)

and don't mind about rts - you can always pause the game and give orders. but rts gives a lot of nice features, like cutting enemy supply lines with faster detachments  O0
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on November 01, 2015, 02:56:19 AM
hi guys,

may i introduce myself, i am oliver, the developer of this game.

here is a link to my playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPafvWljII1U6CrAVk4YoX_kRcZsw9RQ (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPafvWljII1U6CrAVk4YoX_kRcZsw9RQ)
(don't mind the older videos - graphics have been enhanced since then)

if you would like to get a sense of game depth, read the tutorial overview:
http://thesevenyearswar.com/tutorials.htm (http://thesevenyearswar.com/tutorials.htm)

and don't mind about rts - you can always pause the game and give orders. but rts in this case is a nice feature - e.g. cutting enemy supply lines with fast detachments  O0
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on November 01, 2015, 02:58:13 AM
hi guys,

may i introduce myself, i am oliver, the developer of this game.

here is a link to my playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPafvWljII1U6CrAVk4YoX_kRcZsw9RQ (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPafvWljII1U6CrAVk4YoX_kRcZsw9RQ)
(don't mind the older videos - graphics have been enhanced since then)

if you would like to get a sense of game depth, read the tutorial overview:
http://thesevenyearswar.com/tutorials.htm (http://thesevenyearswar.com/tutorials.htm)

and don't mind about rts - you can always pause the game and give orders. but rts in this case is a nice feature - e.g. cutting enemy supply lines with fast detachments  O0
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: undercovergeek on November 01, 2015, 03:39:59 AM
He's keen
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Grim.Reaper on November 01, 2015, 09:10:29 AM
First, I do appreciate when small developers pour their soul into creating a game and making it available to the rest of us.....no doubt I don't have the talent for it myself.  I don't have a ton of time invested in the game yet (partially because of my concerns below), but on the surface this one needs some care and feeding before it will make it in my game play rotation.  The game itself from a strategy and depth perspective may be very good, but seems like I will have to fight through all the other stuff to discover it....and I am not even a graphic/UI fanatic.  Some other folks have already raised some similar concerns, but here are mine nonetheless.

I have no plans to get a refund since I am intrigued as to where the developer takes the game and I even believe he has released 3-4 patches already so really does seem committed.  I also don't mind supporting someone in this type of niche market

- I know tutorials exist but even with those the lack of a good manual/information will make it tough to understand the complexity/strategy of this game....it will become a ton of trial and error.

- Overall the game just feels very dated (as someone mentioned before, blurriness)...as mentioned above, I am not a graphic fanatic, but for some reason it really stands out in this game.  Looking at the campaign map, its hard to make things out (at least for me) and the overall sizing of things makes it tough too.  I may be missing some options, but hard to get an overall situational awareness and make out what the various graphics represent.  The game appears to use very old graphics API so guessing that has a lot do do with it.

- Font is too small, even on a 39inch monitor.  Plus, I believe the font type used even makes it harder to see.

- Buttons/options too small....for example on the battle map, the speed control buttons are very small.

- Sometimes when I hit the pause button, it takes a number of seconds before the game will truly pause.

- Need more zoom options on the battle map, doesn't allow you to get close enough.

- Unless I am missing it, can't easily tell which troops are Calvary, foot soldiers, artillery, visually on the map.  The units are so small and you can't zoom closer to get a better look.

- When you ALT-TAB out of the game and come back in, graphics really get messed up.

- On the battle map, even the fastest speed option seems a little slow, especially when you have a far ways to go to meet the enemy

- Unless I am missing it, on the campaign map does not appear to be a way to zoom out...so a lot of scrolling to find stuff

Again, these are just some early thoughts, but I do wish the developer good luck and will certainly continue to monitor and try and figure stuff out.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Asid on November 01, 2015, 10:33:57 AM
Updates since release on Steam


Hotfix 1.081  issued 30 October
- sets screen resolution to a minimum of 1920x1080 (game does not support higher)
- fixed crash when divisions surrender after manual battle

Update to version 1.082  issued 31 October
- balanced battle duration (high fps led to too early battle end)
- fixed problem that researched weapons were not saved and lost when reloading game
- removed date for highscore historic battles to expand the players name
- increased font size slightly
- fixed overlapping mouseinformation text over buildings in city menu
- tooltip menu is automatically activated now when starting a new campaign

Update to version 1.083  issued 1 November
- implemented technology trees -> if you click on a not researched technology icon you can see the whole tech tree leading to this technology
- reduced sensitivity of setting waypoints on regimental level in battle (you may now turn the regiments easier by holding rmc on the regiment and moving mouse around)
- balancing: increased priority of delivering production material to building sites
- technologies for the basic buildings (like small mine) are now set to researched from the beginning
- diagonal scroll in campaign mode implemented (just move mouse in one of the corners)
- game may now be run in windowed mode (to be activated/deactivated in options menu)
- drag and drop regiments over brigades is now highlighted correctly
- removed overlapping text of building information in city menu while hierarchy menu is open
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Gusington on November 01, 2015, 01:04:57 PM
Welcome, keppelmueller. Thanks for stopping by.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: tgb on November 01, 2015, 01:39:27 PM
Thank you, Grim.Reaper - your impressions were enough to get me off the fence, although not in the direction the developer would prefer.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: W8taminute on November 01, 2015, 06:54:41 PM
Allow me to add my feedback now that I have a little over 2 hours of game play under my belt.



There definitely is a great game here but it cannot be played in it's current state not because of technical performance issues but due to a lack of detailed procedural explanations.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: sandman2575 on November 01, 2015, 07:39:37 PM
Quote from: W8taminute on November 01, 2015, 06:54:41 PM
  • Fonts are too small on every window popup, tooltip, menu, etc.


This is a deal breaker for me. Really hope this gets fixed.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: markh on November 01, 2015, 08:39:49 PM
Quote from: keppelmueller on November 01, 2015, 02:53:18 AM
hi folks, may i introduce myself, i am oliver, the developer of this game.

here is my youtube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPafvWljII1U6CrAVk4YoX_kRcZsw9RQ (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPafvWljII1U6CrAVk4YoX_kRcZsw9RQ)
(don't mind about the older videos, graphics have been enhanced since then)

if you take a look to the tutorials you may get a sense of the game depth:
www.thesevenyearswar.com/tutorials.htm (http://www.thesevenyearswar.com/tutorials.htm)

and don't mind about rts - you can always pause the game and give orders. but rts gives a lot of nice features, like cutting enemy supply lines with faster detachments  O0

Hi Oliver

Thanks for joining the discussion.  I have purchased the game and, at first sight, I am impressed with what appears to be the detail and complexity.  However, neither the tutorial nor the videos are adequate in terms of providing me a clear, concise or effective understanding of game play.  I hope that you either produce more detailed video/audio tutorials or provide a copy of this game to one of the many gamer reviewers who produce "Let's Play ..." type videos so that a comprehensible video/audio tutorial can be produced.  I have great hopes for the game, and thank you for doing the production.  However, I am a busy professional who gets 2-3 hours on a weekend to indulge my computer game hobby - not enough time to 'stumble' through the gaming process using your current web tutorial and video tutorial.

Best wishes and hope that this is successful for you.

Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: SirAndrewD on November 01, 2015, 10:57:58 PM
Really interested in this.  Love the period, love the detail that seems to be offered. 

But, yeah, holding back.  Looks like a game that might have to grow into its skin.  I really hope the devs keep up the good work and push this to something that we grogs can get behind.

Get a real sense here of Paradox meets Total War.  I really want to get this.  When its issues are ironed out I will.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 02, 2015, 06:47:10 AM
I'm glad the developer popped into our forum, but I'll be pleasantly surprised if we hear from him again. His activity in the steam forum is minimal and there are a number of threads asking questions that have gone without a response. A little unusual for a niche indie title.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Ian C on November 02, 2015, 06:48:31 AM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on November 02, 2015, 06:47:10 AM
I'm glad the developer popped into our forum, but I'll be pleasantly surprised if we hear from him again. His activity in the steam forum is minimal and there are a number of threads asking questions that have gone without a response. A little unusual for a niche indie title.

Maybe he's fixing things.

One more interested. I really like what I see. If I weren't reading about the tiny font and lack of tutorials I'd be in.

Oliver, my advice to you would be first, to enlarge fonts and menus. Then, spend time on tutorials. You will then have more customers.
Good luck!
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 02, 2015, 07:00:29 AM
Quote from: Ian C on November 02, 2015, 06:48:31 AM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on November 02, 2015, 06:47:10 AM
I'm glad the developer popped into our forum, but I'll be pleasantly surprised if we hear from him again. His activity in the steam forum is minimal and there are a number of threads asking questions that have gone without a response. A little unusual for a niche indie title.

Maybe he's fixing things.

Is that a statement, or a question?

I'm not criticizing, yet, only commenting...but I wouldn't be making excuses either.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Philippe on November 02, 2015, 08:30:55 AM
He may not be all that comfortable writing in English, and if it's a really small team, he probably has a lot of fires to put out right now (il a d'autres chats a fouetter).  I don't own the game yet but hope to get it after it grows into its skin.  When I look at this production I am reminded a bit of Histwar.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Ian C on November 02, 2015, 08:53:57 AM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on November 02, 2015, 07:00:29 AM
Quote from: Ian C on November 02, 2015, 06:48:31 AM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on November 02, 2015, 06:47:10 AM
I'm glad the developer popped into our forum, but I'll be pleasantly surprised if we hear from him again. His activity in the steam forum is minimal and there are a number of threads asking questions that have gone without a response. A little unusual for a niche indie title.

Maybe he's fixing things.

Is that a statement, or a question?

I'm not criticizing, yet, only commenting...but I wouldn't be making excuses either.

What I mean is - maybe he's literally still working on the game. If he's a one-man team and he's released the game and put out updates within days of release he must be working his ass off and doesn't have time to be everywhere at once. He doesn't sound like a shirker, so maybe his no-show on the STEAM forums is a genuine shortfalling and not an omen of dev neglect. Time will tell, I guess.

Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 02, 2015, 10:49:56 AM
He definitely can't be accused of being a shirker. Heck, he posted his intro here four times! Three in one thread alone! :crazy2:
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: ArizonaTank on November 02, 2015, 09:15:15 PM
+1  game has some great ideas and concepts.  Just needs more polishing to be playable.  Biggest issue is the almost unreadable UI.  If the dev puts in some more work, this has the potential to be a great game.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Swatter on November 02, 2015, 10:42:19 PM
What really matters is the AI, but nobody has got far enough into the game to know.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: ArizonaTank on November 03, 2015, 07:07:34 AM
Quote from: Swatter on November 02, 2015, 10:42:19 PM
What really matters is the AI, but nobody has got far enough into the game to know.

+1
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: amandachen on November 03, 2015, 08:02:37 AM
Might try this when it's out of early access. Amirite?
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on November 28, 2015, 03:49:31 AM
Hi folks,

Sorry for being absent for so long, had to work hard on the updates.
Today update 1.086 was released, together with 1.085 nearly all known bugs up to date are fixed, ui and font size have been scaled to the desktop resolution and tutorials have been added!

Take a look at the update history:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/400470/allnews/
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Gusington on November 28, 2015, 09:58:51 AM
Thanks for the update!
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Boggit on November 28, 2015, 10:08:44 AM
I've just added it to my wishlist.  :)
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Asid on December 04, 2015, 12:43:14 PM
Update to version 1.087 4 Dec
Game enhancements:

    added 3x faster battle game speed on the highest game speed button

Fixed bugs:

    fixed crashes related to existing train attack information after battles
    improved game stability while reloading campaign screen (after finishing battles or seasonal changes)
    corrected wrong display of thousand-seperation in positive figures
    corrected wrong references between army objects and divisions after deleting divisions (has led to unusable divisions in terms of unit transfer and dispersion, sometimes to crashes if deleted twice)
    fixed problem that ai fleets did not sail back to harbor to resupply
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on December 05, 2015, 03:46:20 AM
Currently working on authentic fife and drum music implementation for battles and menues. Should go live within 2-3 weeks...
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on December 12, 2015, 12:04:46 PM
Update to version 1.088 - Authentic Fife & Drum Music Pack added

Game enhancements:

    added <Fife and Drum Music Pack>
        new main menu music compilation
        6 nation specific fife and drum marches for menu and battlefield
        authentic drum signals for infantry orders

Game balance:

    rebalanced needed construction material for provincial buildings to prevent lack of construction material
    change of alliances with country Britain from Austria to Prussia now leads to gain in diplomacy points and thus increases the chance of being allied with Prussia after declaration of war
    Austrian infantry can now play fife and drum music
    reduced influence of unemployment and income level on happiness

Fixed bugs:

    added algorythm to recalculate waypoints if objects have suddenly lost their way
    added further game stability when reloading campaign map (after battles and seasonal changes)
    fixed crash after switching the nation in campaign menu several times
    regiments in garrison can now be moved to a new brigade (not only to existing ones), double unit appearances cleared
    fixed stuck campaign map objects which occured after a fleet finished patrol mode and the patrol points were set to narrow
    influence of health, language and religion now implemented properly
    added overrides for 0/0 waypoint settings or double waypoint settings in campaign mode
    fixed bug where only Britain could default on debt
    quarterly balance description now turns correctly at the end of each quarter
    transactions between traders and companies are now cleared correctly (led to a small continous loss of money)
    fixed scale of black background on high resolutions for battle statistics after battle end

Others:

    supply, ammunition and repair buttons of fleets now deactivated if new waypoint is set or harbor was reached
    restricted ingame resolution changes to a max of 1920x1080 as there were crashes on some graphic cards using higher resolutions

Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Boggit on December 12, 2015, 04:29:01 PM
Sounds like the game is coming along nicely.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on December 18, 2015, 01:28:45 PM
Update to version 1.089

Game enhancements:
- battle time limit can now be disabled in options menu

Game balance:
- added algorythm to improve goods pickup from companies
- increased battle duration
- improved starting conditions in terms of supply when starting later campaigns
- increased army action range by 25% in campaign mode

Fixed bugs:
- fixed delay in keyboard hits

Others:
- reduced depth of line and skirmish formation
- placed siege casualties reports closer to mouse cursor
- improved contrast of angle-platforms in battle mode
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on December 26, 2015, 07:03:55 AM
Update 1.090 & 1.091:

Game enhancements:
- added arrows to switch in army hierarchy menu between all the close divisions
- at close distance to enemy the regimental commander takes over command (faster order execution but higher chance of uncoordinated orders)

Game balance:
- limited diplomatic payments (claims) to the maximum available diplomacy points
- increased cost/earnings of subsidy payments

Fixed bugs:
- fixed incorrect display of unit icon infos in battles (sometimes shown as pixel boxes)
- fixed crash when opening unit hierarchy of divisions in city view
- added workaround for fps at 0 and therefore too high battle speed
- fixed disappearing divisions after embarking/debarking related to deloading goods near harbors

Layout:
- updated font type and sharpness
- polished campaign selection menu
- increased font and menu size of historical battle menu by 30%
- increased font and menu size of campaign menu by 30%
- increased font and menu size of tutorial menu by 30%
- increased font and menu size of tooltip menu by 30%
- increased font and menu size of financial balance menu by 30%
[other menues to follow...]
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on January 03, 2016, 09:10:07 AM
Hi folks,

Update 1.092 is out including manual. I have also added a new video about the Battle of Leuthen with a bit polished ground and tree textures:


Game enhancements:

- added english game manual in root directory (steamapps\the seven years war (1756-1763)\)
- added hotkey for pause
- campaign game can now be continued after reaching all scenario goals or time out
- added arrows to fast switch between own cities in city menu (shown at the bottom of the city menu)
- added mouseover information if a building is fully upgraded

Game balance:

- increased chances of native trades
- reduced influence of alcohol deliveries on native clans
- increased speed of fast marches in campaign
- increased duration of battles by 25%

Fixed bugs:

- fixed wrong allocated fleets and traders (false references and numbers in cities) which led also to crashes when loading saved games
- effects of Rousseau historic event of country France now set correctly
- limber/unlimber order with group selection now is only executed for artillery units and rest of formations vice versa
- removed german phrase of historic event Russia protecting Northern Germany
- added workaround for divisions not accepting battle due to a prior retreat
- fixed problems with cities still beeing besieged although siege was broken off earlier
- fixed option where every city building could be built although tech was not researched

Layout:

- increased menu and font size of load/save menu by 30%
- improved font sharpness for low resolutions (below 1600x900)
- updated ground texture quality in battles
- updated tree sprite quality in battles

Others:

- removed citadel research from stationary artillery (also researchable with trench constructions)
- allocated lumber mill (2) to tech large capacity buildings
- allocated lumber mill (3) to tech industry buildings
- further zoom in on battlefield possible
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on January 24, 2016, 05:21:49 AM
New screenshots with polished terrain textures (version 1.095 - coming next days):
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdownloads.thesevenyearswar.com%2Fthe_seven_years_war_30.jpg&hash=a9b0a5a7715092bfbcb06c46d9583b04da08dc65)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdownloads.thesevenyearswar.com%2Fthe_seven_years_war_31.jpg&hash=9fe30e426ae775aae7a216af28be01896dd01c11)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdownloads.thesevenyearswar.com%2Fthe_seven_years_war_32.jpg&hash=71d7b990abb7b72d0a457b84b605f0a3f1b55388)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdownloads.thesevenyearswar.com%2Fthe_seven_years_war_33.jpg&hash=b1dc52a6cfa27eef28c5bdfe75657ae932189cf6)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdownloads.thesevenyearswar.com%2Fthe_seven_years_war_34.jpg&hash=8d003a068cba820588e975e3de187f2d17b00a72)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdownloads.thesevenyearswar.com%2Fthe_seven_years_war_35.jpg&hash=e913e88466998ec8bf5753879821a71b983fb7b2)
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Jarhead0331 on January 24, 2016, 07:46:13 AM
Well done! Looks great.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Asid on January 26, 2016, 11:38:32 AM
Update to version 1.095
26 January

Game enhancements:
- added abortion of recruiting by clicking on the progress ring
- occupied provinces are now automatically annexed if prior owner was defeated (no provinces left)
- diplomatic actions with defeated nations now not possible any more
- added option to deactivate mouseover-infos (although you won't like to do this)
- added information about highest demand or offer of own and foreign provinces if mouse cursor is placed over city short info
- provincial forts now constructable

Game balance:
- increased probability of AI constructing defense buildings and holding garrisons

Fixed bugs:
- corrected weapons of dragoons in the historic battle of Torgau
- fixed some not applicable weapons after tech was researched
- fixed payment of fleet supply costs while not having fleets
- added stability for campaign battles (fixed some crashes related to high memory usage)
- fixed wrong resource demand for building repairs
- corrected negative building or repair duration

Layout:
- smoothed battle ground texture on greater distances
- polished vegetation for battle & campaign mode
- polished winter tree textures
- added autumn landscape for battles
- polished ground textures in campaign mode
- polished water animation in campaign mode
- added light font for scales

Others:
- reduced smoke effect of canister shots
- removed plain mouse cursor in windowed mode (but not the specials like target cursors and mouseinfos)
- added mouseover-information for ammo options in battles

Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: sandman2575 on January 27, 2016, 04:42:05 PM
Anyone here playing this at the moment?  Am curious about the state of the game. (I'm still of the mind that Keppelmueller would've been better served by releasing this as "Early Access," but regardless).

How polished is the game at this point?  (A) "Very playable"? (B) "Incremental improvements but still needs work"? (C) "Promising but more buggy than not"?

Them's yer choices. Or come up with an option (D) if you prefer. Anyway, just would love to hear from anyone who's gotten hooked on this and is enjoying it.   
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Father Ted on January 27, 2016, 05:33:13 PM
Not very helpful, but:

(D) Bought the game and am waiting for the slew of (necessary?) patches to subside before giving it a go.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: mikeck on January 27, 2016, 06:02:41 PM
My question then would be: what bug or "thing" needs to be fixed that causes you to wait? I've seen a ton of updates. I don't have it but I also am curious if anyone is right now?
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Hofstadter on January 27, 2016, 06:21:10 PM
Quote from: sandman2575 on January 27, 2016, 04:42:05 PM
Anyone here playing this at the moment?  Am curious about the state of the game. (I'm still of the mind that Keppelmueller would've been better served by releasing this as "Early Access," but regardless).

How polished is the game at this point?  (A) "Very playable"? (B) "Incremental improvements but still needs work"? (C) "Promising but more buggy than not"?

Them's yer choices. Or come up with an option (D) if you prefer. Anyway, just would love to hear from anyone who's gotten hooked on this and is enjoying it.

I would get this game for the battles, those are really well done. The campaign needs a proper tutorial/flow diagram for the economics. Theres no real explanation for the different types of trade
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: sandman2575 on January 27, 2016, 08:00:58 PM
Quote from: Hofstadter on January 27, 2016, 06:21:10 PM
I would get this game for the battles, those are really well done. The campaign needs a proper tutorial/flow diagram for the economics. Theres no real explanation for the different types of trade

That's what keeps me from picking this up, honestly -- the lack of a good Let's Play or in-depth tutorial -- everything on YouTube seems either outdated, too rudimentary, or not in English (...I could scrape by in German, but I'd prefer English  8)). The manual looks a little too bare-bones to be very useful.

The economics in particular sounds quite complex and not intuitive, from everything I've read. Hence the reason I'm looking for some reliable info./tutorial to help smooth out the steep learning curve before I commit.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Hofstadter on January 27, 2016, 10:21:51 PM
I want to do a campaign video series, I tried to do it but it looked kinda bad having to watch myself. Click on things going, i dont know this i dont know that.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on January 28, 2016, 12:31:24 AM
hi folks, thx for your feedback - will try to add a short video tutorial about economics the next two weeks. and don't mind hofstadter, there will be enough left for the campaign to cover  ;D
thx for your work so far!
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Father Ted on January 28, 2016, 11:29:14 AM
Quote from: mikeck on January 27, 2016, 06:02:41 PM
My question then would be: what bug or "thing" needs to be fixed that causes you to wait? I've seen a ton of updates. I don't have it but I also am curious if anyone is right now?

I'm not waiting for anything specific to be fixed.  I've found in this era of early access games that I can be put off a game by a bad early experience, so I'm just giving this a chance to be all it can be before I try it.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: mikeck on January 28, 2016, 02:20:12 PM
Quote from: keppelmueller on January 28, 2016, 12:31:24 AM
hi folks, thx for your feedback - will try to add a short video tutorial about economics the next two weeks. and don't mind hofstadter, there will be enough left for the campaign to cover  ;D
thx for your work so far!

Remember, no one ever complained or DIDNT buy a game because there were too many tutorials or the manual was too comprehensive
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: sandman2575 on January 28, 2016, 02:40:15 PM
Quote from: Father Ted on January 28, 2016, 11:29:14 AM
I'm not waiting for anything specific to be fixed.  I've found in this era of early access games that I can be put off a game by a bad early experience, so I'm just giving this a chance to be all it can be before I try it.

I'm of a similar mind. I haven't picked up 7 Years War yet, not because of the price (which is very reasonable), but because I don't want to have a bad first impression and then consign the game to Steam library oblivion.

The reports about the game's difficulty (steep learning curve, limited documentation / instruction on how to play) and problems with the UI (buttons / icons / text being too small -- the last is a killer for me) make me anxious to dive into this. Still, no one can claim that Keppellmueller isn't doing a ton of work to fix these issues -- his attention to the user community and willingness to fix things fast is truly commendable  O0
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on January 29, 2016, 02:37:08 PM
Hi there,

have done a short video about the economy in The Seven Years War (1756-1763).



ps.: further ui improvements under way...
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: sandman2575 on January 29, 2016, 03:31:18 PM
Very nice! And nice to hear the creator discuss his own game   O0

Helps to have an overview, although I must admit the economy still sounds a bit daunting! Love that you've created a deep system, though. I suspect it will take some hands-on trial and error to really get a grasp on it.

Amazed once again that 7 Years War was a one-man effort.

Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Asid on January 29, 2016, 04:57:52 PM
Quote from: sandman2575 on January 29, 2016, 03:31:18 PM
Amazed once again that 7 Years War was a one-man effort.
+1

Also that it's at a great price  O0
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Swatter on January 30, 2016, 01:03:50 AM
Let me say first, kudos to Oliver! It is amazing this is a one man project. You are a driven individual to see this through to completion.

I have a few areas that I would appreciate it if you could address, Oliver. First, I have not yet purchased the game. The reason for this is my experience with Empire: Total War. It may be unfair to judge your game based on that, but the two games share many similarities. The thing I am afraid of is the AI, particularly the AI that handles the strategic map decisions. Your game looks very involved and I don't want to invest the time necessary to learn the game just to find out the AI is brain dead on the world map. I could care less about the purchase price. I am worried about my time investment. I am waiting patiently for more feedback from my fellow grogs, but I would imagine they are also holding back for similar reasons. I really want to know if the AI for Great Britain or France can properly conduct overseas wars and continental wars for that matter. In E:TW, the AI simply wouldn't defend its colonies and could easily get steamrolled.
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: Boggit on January 30, 2016, 02:57:54 PM
Quote from: keppelmueller on January 29, 2016, 02:37:08 PM
Hi there,

have done a short video about the economy in The Seven Years War (1756-1763).



ps.: further ui improvements under way...
I've had a brief look at the battles, and agree with Keppelmueller on improving the UI. I find a lot of it too tiny to easily read. Please make the UI larger to make things easier to read. Some remodelling of the unit blocks to make them more distinctive as cavalry/infantry (larger?) would also be a big improvement. It's a very ambitious project, and the campaign I suspect is great when you get into it, but the UI does need more work to improve user friendliness.

To be fair your update schedule shows a lot of commitment to getting the game right already, which gives me hope that when you are finished it will be a polished gem of a game. :)
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on February 03, 2016, 02:38:17 AM
hi boggit, improvement of battle ui should go live in feb, unit sprites in march! greets
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: keppelmueller on February 06, 2016, 08:29:14 AM
Update 1.096 is out including first update of battle GUI and intelligent fire radius:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdownloads.thesevenyearswar.com%2F2016-02-06_00002.jpg&hash=08ca10c93a7f9ccc3b035931c789f1bbd41251f2)
Title: Re: 15 Hours Until 7 Years War!
Post by: sandman2575 on February 06, 2016, 12:44:53 PM
Looks sharp!   O0