Looking at this series. Does anyone know how much the game covers of all the theaters of WW2?
With all the expansions I can see it covers quite a bit, but there doesn't seem to be any Pacific theater fighting. Are there mods for this game that includes Japanese forces? What about early war North Africa fighting?
Thanks
No pacific. Someone attempted to mod it. There is actually one or two Pacific scenarios downloadable in the repository.
Repository?.....which site?
So, does BA (with mods) cover most of the ww2 theaters? 1939-45?
Anyone know if I'm better off getting BA1 or BA2? Seems like BA1 covers more?
Thank you
Repository is maintained by Slitherine servers. In the game, there is a button to access this and download the community scenarios.
BA1 is Western Front has more coverage plus a lot of add on and user content. I would say it covered 39-45 but I'm not sure really.
BA2 is Eastern Front less coverage but has game engine enhancements.
Battle Academy is good fun and covers Western Front and Africa. Battle Academy 2 covers the Eastern Front. You can download user created content from inside the game.
And Jomni beat me to it.
I see....then both games would cover most of ww2 minus Pacific Theater.
So...any suggestion for a similar type game covering the Pacific theater?
Thanks guys
have you tried http://shrapnelgames.com/ it has spww2 a graphically updated and hires version of steel panthers, you mentioned spwaw in another thread
is Order of Battle: Pacific (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/516/details/Order.of.Battle:.Pacific) more up your alley?
Quote from: bayonetbrant on January 24, 2016, 11:12:36 PM
is Order of Battle: Pacific (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/516/details/Order.of.Battle:.Pacific) more up your alley?
Appreciate the suggestion but those "panzer general" games are just too simplistic, fun, but don't offer much realism(imo)
BA has its own "realism" issues, too :)
No prob. We each have our own preferences. I'm not a digital wargamer much, so I'd be more useful for tabletop suggestions anyway :D
I suppose WinPAE from matrix needs at least to be mentioned, but as your already familiar with matrix you probably know how good this is, its not squad but the shipping and air battles are great fun
I bought Ba1 and Ba2 I intent to get Pike & shot and the new japan game when its released , they realy are great games, what niggles me is when a tank gets destroyed it blocks the path of other units and a road with only one way through it terrible, but P&S has open ground so I'm hopeing to get it soon. don't let me put you off there great games
Quote from: bayonetbrant on January 24, 2016, 11:19:47 PM
BA has its own "realism" issues, too :)
No prob. We each have our own preferences. I'm not a digital wargamer much, so I'd be more useful for tabletop suggestions anyway :D
I'm looking at buying the Conflict of Heroes board games. Played a couple games this weekend and I LOVED it.
Quote from: bayonetbrant on January 24, 2016, 11:19:47 PM
BA has its own "realism" issues, too :)
No prob. We each have our own preferences. I'm not a digital wargamer much, so I'd be more useful for tabletop suggestions anyway :D
I guess with the Panzer General like games I have a hard time with the 10X units. I'm more looking for squad/platoon level games, but I think I'm going to have to buy multiple titles/games to get every theater of WW2.
I could get SPWaW enhanced, but I don't like the top down view and the graphics are so dated.
Quote from: acctingman on January 25, 2016, 12:03:39 AM
Quote from: bayonetbrant on January 24, 2016, 11:19:47 PM
BA has its own "realism" issues, too :)
No prob. We each have our own preferences. I'm not a digital wargamer much, so I'd be more useful for tabletop suggestions anyway :D
I guess with the Panzer General like games I have a hard time with the 10X units. I'm more looking for squad/platoon level games, but I think I'm going to have to buy multiple titles/games to get every theater of WW2.
I could get SPWaW enhanced, but I don't like the top down view and the graphics are so dated.
SPWW2 is not the same as SPWaW, its got much more detail graphically and some very hires , but they are similar, and topdownm, there is a mod for SPWaw to enhance the graphics but its not nearly like SPWW2
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
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
BA is a very simple tactical simulation. But it's kinda fun.
Campaign Series covers everything WW2. Old game, but I really like it.
Very true! BA and BA2 are lots of fun playing thru the server :D
BA2 is fun, indeed. I own it on Steam, though I don't have the original.
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
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.
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? :uglystupid2:
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.
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.
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?
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 $$.
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).
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.
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.
I believe in the SB series that weapons degrading also takes into effect ammo usage as that's not tracked separately. So it's not only the weapon wearing out.
I love, LOVE BA2 because I am obsessed with the Eastern Front of WWII. Like some above I have never played the original.
FWIW I would suggest giving CM another go - it is probably the best option for simulating squad-to-battalion size battles in WW2, especially if you want 3d. However, it might be worth going for Red Thunder rather than CMBN - fighting in Normandy does not make for a fun game. You could even look at the CM1 games - cheaper, with bigger scope, and with pretty much the same game-play.
There is also the Operation Star series, which does a similar thing, but has an overlying strategic layer as well. Still pretty complex, though. And there's the rub: you won't get realism without a hefty dose of complexity.
I know you don't like the top-down view, but the Close Combat series is worth considering, too.
Quote from: Barthheart on January 25, 2016, 01:58:17 PM
I believe in the SB series that weapons degrading also takes into effect ammo usage as that's not tracked separately. So it's not only the weapon wearing out.
This makes sense.
Quote from: Bison on January 25, 2016, 02:25:02 PM
Quote from: Barthheart on January 25, 2016, 01:58:17 PM
I believe in the SB series that weapons degrading also takes into effect ammo usage as that's not tracked separately. So it's not only the weapon wearing out.
This makes sense.
Yeah... I'm not convinced it makes sense... one of the areas I don't like in SB....
Thank you all for all the suggestions and comments.
I'm leery about dumping money into PC games and them not panning out. I guess that's the thing....gotta plunk down the money and take the plunge. I think I want too many games to make it work for me. :uglystupid2:
I'm strongly considering getting my WW2 gaming itch scratched via board games (conflict of heroes or the Panzer Grenadier series)
The conflict of heroes on matrix is fun too. :)
Quote from: Barthheart on January 25, 2016, 02:31:51 PM
Quote from: Bison on January 25, 2016, 02:25:02 PM
Quote from: Barthheart on January 25, 2016, 01:58:17 PM
I believe in the SB series that weapons degrading also takes into effect ammo usage as that's not tracked separately. So it's not only the weapon wearing out.
This makes sense.
Yeah... I'm not convinced it makes sense... one of the areas I don't like in SB....
It has to be modeled somehow. I've honestly never really given it much thought.
It's a bit off the beaten path, and if you're looking for a strictly historical wargaming experience, it won't fit the mold, but if you're looking for a good squad-level tactical game featuring WW II weapons, Valkyria Chronicles is proving immensely fascinating to me right now.
It's a console import, but when you look under the hood, it's also an extraordinary squad-level war game. Think of it as blending the character-specific mechanics of X-Com with the puzzle-like nature of individual maps that you find in all the Panzer General clones. It takes place in a fictional European setting around the time of WW II, featuring you as the defender of a Balkan neutral country that gets invaded by a much larger, vaguely Prussian empire in Central Europe.
It is NOT at all historical, and the game starts to get more fantastic after a while, but I'll be danged if it's not a very satisfying wargame with some pretty interesting tactical depth. It took me a little while to get used to the anime-ish feel of the cut scenes, but now that I'm past that I'm getting totally immersed in the story. It's one of the best story lines in any WW II-era game I've ever played.
Quote from: Bison on January 25, 2016, 02:38:01 PM
The conflict of heroes on matrix is fun too. :)
Yes....+1. A good board to pc game conversion IMHO.
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on January 25, 2016, 02:51:05 PM
It's a bit off the beaten path, and if you're looking for a strictly historical wargaming experience, it won't fit the mold, but if you're looking for a good squad-level tactical game featuring WW II weapons, Valkyria Chronicles is proving immensely fascinating to me right now.
That IS a rather intriguing game and enjoyable. I want to go back to it at some point - I only played a little of it.
It's killing me that the demo for Conflict of Heroes no longer seems to be available anywhere. It was published once upon a time, but none of the first 5 or 6 links that I checked featured it any more. That title seems very intriguing to me!
Quote from: Barthheart on January 25, 2016, 02:31:51 PM
Quote from: Bison on January 25, 2016, 02:25:02 PM
Quote from: Barthheart on January 25, 2016, 01:58:17 PM
I believe in the SB series that weapons degrading also takes into effect ammo usage as that's not tracked separately. So it's not only the weapon wearing out.
This makes sense.
Yeah... I'm not convinced it makes sense... one of the areas I don't like in SB....
I have a buddy the modded SB into a mod called X mods. It got rid of the stupid degrading. Love the SB titles and hate the degrading part. :)
http://www.theblitz.org/message_boards/showthread.php?tid=67512&highlight=x+mod
I got used to it and don't mind. Added an element of saving ammo. But why not just track ammo like Steel Panthers?