Dont get me wrong, im very, very happy with my library right now - loving the Wargame series, hopping back into Endless Legend, embarking on my Steel Beasts career
Its been a long time, and im frustratingly disappointed that i cant remember which one it was, since i played a game that had you looking at the screen thoughtfully rubbing your chin thinking WTF am i going to do here, do i go that way with those (tanks, archers, transpondulators), or this way? Deploy the machine guns?
Games that make you work at a plan and a strategy and then let you watch the results unfold. Recently it was a game of Airland Battle but the chance to think is very very minimal, im talking about the ones you think about before you drop off to sleep (strategic bomb the factories or send in the infantry and capture them), think about on the toilet (the best place for military plans) and think about on the drive to work - as i type this i realise its probably a TBS strategy game but who knows
any thoughts?
Modern X-Com and X-Com 2 had a bit of that.
Strangely enough the games that spring to mind the most for me are older though. V for Victory Series, Operational Art of War III.
I would say Command is at the top of the list...it's 90% planning, 10% action.
Any number of space 4x games, Polaris sector, stellaris, distant worlds, MOO3, any paradox title, HOI, EUIV, etc.
Quote from: SirAndrewD on September 28, 2016, 04:30:52 PM
Strangely enough the games that spring to mind the most for me are older though....Operational Art of War III.
TOAW for sure.
I'd add the original Carriers at War to the list as well.
CMANO all the way
The game you're thinking of is either War in the Pacific or Crusader Kings 2.
Any of the Decisive Campaign games along with my new Love, American Civil War 2. Though instead of Tea, I recommend strong coffee.
Le Vol de L'Aigle?
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 28, 2016, 06:28:20 PM
Though instead of Tea, I recommend strong coffee.
If the plan goes awry, I recommend bourbon. If the plan succeeds, again bourbon.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 28, 2016, 06:28:20 PM
Any of the Decisive Campaign games along with my new Love, American Civil War 2. Though instead of Tea, I recommend strong coffee.
I was going to say Decisive Campaigns:Barbarossa. Have to plan everything out or your find yourself out of supplies, out of fuel, combat ineffective due to broken vehicles or all three.
Also Command/ Modern Naval. Lots of planning and timing. Slow pace
Perhaps our Flashpoint Campaigns:Red Storm O0
Quote from: Capn Darwin on September 28, 2016, 07:49:09 PM
Perhaps our Flashpoint Campaigns:Red Storm O0
Lots of bourbon required for when the plan goes awry :P
I prefer a good single malt scotch myself.
Quote from: Capn Darwin on September 28, 2016, 07:54:05 PM
I prefer a good single malt scotch myself.
Let us not quibble over the appropriate method to drown one's digital sorrows.
Quote from: mirth on September 28, 2016, 07:55:13 PM
Quote from: Capn Darwin on September 28, 2016, 07:54:05 PM
I prefer a good single malt scotch myself.
Let us not quibble over the appropriate method to drown one's digital sorrows.
I'll drink appropriately to that!! :coolsmiley:
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 28, 2016, 06:28:20 PM
...Though instead of Tea, I recommend strong coffee.
Is it legal to put whiskey in Tea?
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 28, 2016, 04:24:16 PM
Dont get me wrong, im very, very happy with my library right now - loving the Wargame series, hopping back into Endless Legend, embarking on my Steel Beasts career
Its been a long time, and im frustratingly disappointed that i cant remember which one it was, since i played a game that had you looking at the screen thoughtfully rubbing your chin thinking WTF am i going to do here, do i go that way with those (tanks, archers, transpondulators), or this way? Deploy the machine guns?
Games that make you work at a plan and a strategy and then let you watch the results unfold. Recently it was a game of Airland Battle but the chance to think is very very minimal, im talking about the ones you think about before you drop off to sleep (strategic bomb the factories or send in the infantry and capture them), think about on the toilet (the best place for military plans) and think about on the drive to work - as i type this i realise its probably a TBS strategy game but who knows
any thoughts?
I've been playing the MEcampaigns game for the puzzling-over effects lately. Also the Johntiller WWI game (what to do with the cavalry, the MGs, the artillery etc.) also Hoplite and Gringo! And Roads to Moscow boardgames.
WITP is calling you again.
Oriental Empires gives me that feeling now. Pre-planning and some thinking before sleeping.
Makes you think about strategies & combinations when not playing or near your computer? Hrmm..
Dominions 4
Gratuitous Space Battles (fleet building)
digital CCGs (MtG, Hearthstone, etc)
You probably need some kind of reference, such as the unit & spell list PDFs for Dominions 4, though. I keep a horde of such PDFs on my tablet, for when I feel like browsing through & getting ideas on combos & such. Reading for the shitter. :))
I'd say that Command Ops and already mentioned Flashpoint Campaigns might fit the bill.
For me they are literally all about planning, and then hitting the play/unpause button and watching the events unfold.
Histwar:Napoleon would fit the same theme as well, if not for the fact that it's still in development hell with next to none updates.
Gary Grigsby's games require planning on strategical and operational layer, but you still need to move every counter by yourself, and I feel that in that hands on approach I drift my focus too much into micromanaging.
Other than that - 4x games.
Second the Decisive Campaigns:Barbarossa choice, great game. Another sleeper gem is Pike&Shot Campaigns; the AI forces you to think and plan else you will lose! :o
All of the DC series games. Just brilliant.
Also FlashPoint Campaigns for modern stuff.
And there's Schwerpunkt's WWII Europe. Great game still being worked on... interface is a little clunky but it's worth the effort.
Quote from: jomni on September 28, 2016, 09:29:59 PM
WITP is calling you again.
Oriental Empires gives me that feeling now. Pre-planning and some thinking before sleeping.
Yes, WitP:AE is my ultimate 'requires a good plan' game. With one day turns you don't see the fruits of you plans play out until many, many turns later.
Polaris Sector has given me that vibe lately, more than any 4x I've played in a long time. Get your planning wrong and your offensive can slow down for an entire generation. It's truly epic.
Unity of Command also does that, although it's more about planning at the start of the game and then adapting as you go.
Quote from: mirth on September 28, 2016, 07:33:06 PM
If the plan goes awry, I recommend bourbon. If the plan succeeds, again bourbon.
Love it. This is sig worthy. ;D
Like Capn Darwin, I'm a single-malt man, but I agree, let's not quibble.
Quote from: solops on September 28, 2016, 08:25:12 PM
Is it legal to put whiskey in Tea?
Legal, yes. Advisable, no.
Whiskey, especially a good single malt, should only ever be added to more of the same.
Quote from: bob48 on September 29, 2016, 09:15:30 AM
Whiskey, especially a good single malt, should only ever be added to more of the same.
Never were truer words spoken. Love that the colder fall weather is starting to descend on us in New England. Don't drink a lot of scotch in the summer but just the other night poured myself a generous dram of Laphroaig 10-year. Yummy.
...what were we discussing again ? wargames or something ? ;)
Quote from: sandman2575 on September 29, 2016, 10:12:21 AM
Laphroaig 10-year. Yummy.
Indeed. On offer in Tesco - a bottle will find its way into my trolley next shop. To accompany a dram I would definitely second the
Command Ops suggestion. I actually find myself putting pen to paper to organise my plan prior to starting a scenario. The
Scourge of War games lend themselves to this sort of approach as well. Basically it's a fun (and necessary) method for anything that moves slowly and changes direction even slower. For slightly different reasons
Flashpoint Campaigns is also a sip-and-chin-stroker - the games forces you to plan, then sit and watch and then limits your command options when you are able to intervene...
I never drink when I game lest I become too 'chummy' with the enemies and try to give them all a 'great, big :-*' on the screen.
I don't play games that require tea. ::)
Nothing has ever engaged my planning glands like the original Combat Mission. I would walk the whole battlefield, find spots where individual tanks could go hull-down with a good view, set up ambushes, designate units as decoys, the whole nine yards.
That listed until I figured out the AI and realized none of that was actually necessary. :'(
Second Decisive Campaigns, and also most AGEOD games - replaying Birth of America 2 at present, you can really get stuck into the campaign games and I have often fallen asleep pondering my next move.
Quote from: Phantom on September 29, 2016, 03:25:45 PM
Second Decisive Campaigns, and also most AGEOD games - replaying Birth of America 2 at present, you can really get stuck into the campaign games and I have often fallen asleep pondering my next move.
Falling asleep at the computer does not sound like an endorsement for a game. :2funny:
FPC-RS, most definitely. If it was any more brainy they'd have to bundle PhD diplomas in the box.
Quote from: Dimitris on October 04, 2016, 01:00:25 PM
FPC-RS, most definitely. If it was any more brainy they'd have to bundle PhD diplomas in the box.
I think that's a good thing, right? :coolsmiley:
Most definitely O0
Quote from: Beowulf on September 29, 2016, 06:55:50 AM
already mentioned Flashpoint Campaigns might fit the bill.
I don't find micromanaging platoons during Brigade operations to be that enjoyable or something I'd consider to fit the bill of the thread. Just my personal opinion. I've always found FCRS to be a hassle, and thus it has bounced to and from my hard drive multiple times.
Quote from: Apocalypse 31 on October 05, 2016, 06:45:32 AM
Quote from: Beowulf on September 29, 2016, 06:55:50 AM
already mentioned Flashpoint Campaigns might fit the bill.
I don't find micromanaging platoons during Brigade operations to be that enjoyable or something I'd consider to fit the bill of the thread. Just my personal opinion. I've always found FCRS to be a hassle, and thus it has bounced to and from my hard drive multiple times.
That is a valid point and one of the major drawbacks of FCRS for me as well. It is especially at odds with the limited orders setting. If I want a company to defend a city, I don't want to place each and every platoon and supporting unit individually, it's the job for the company commander. Sadly, there are only few games in which you can reliably relegate duties to your subordinates - Command Ops, Histwar from what I played (and mentioned in this thread), and I belive Scourge of War series might fit that description as well.
Other than that I think that FC:RS definitely fits the bill (and it is just my personal opinion), at least the way I play it. I spend significant amount of time planning my moves and devising contingencies before the firs turn. Hell, it's the only wargame for which I use a pencil and printed maps to draw :-[
And there are not that many counters to move, even in the largest scenarios, in comparison to some strategy giants like Gary Grisby's games or Decisive Campaigns series.
I hear what you guys are saying. The big problem is no existing AI(using that term loosely too) would do a good job of "defend the city" in most situations. There are too many variables layout, terrain, cover, fields of fire, weapons, and attacker threats to do the job. You might get a decent solution every once in a while, but my guess is that you would spend more time yelling at the "dumb" AI and wishing you could control the sub-units. I like Command Ops, but even it is limited with the above issues. I think it works out okay because both sides have the same limitations in terms of subordinate AI command.
This point does raise some interesting questions that I will have to pass along to the team and see what we may be able to do in the future. :coolsmiley:
I wouldn't have put Scourge of War on this list at first glance. However, having played a few sandbox Army vs. Army matches now, you better have a clear head an a few hours to duke it out. It's a bit of a brain burner. Especially using couriers only...like herding cats.