Is this game done. The website looks abandoned.
I don't think it was every really done. Was it?
HistWar : Austerlitz
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=230506942
Releasedate: Spring 2017 (they recently changed the date, used to be 2015 or something)
HistWarGames [auteur] 25 okt om 10:52vm
Hello,
Still working with some new features including a new defence order. This player order should allow better management of the defensive line.
The GUI will also change slightly before the new one.
Now, the internal engine, for getting the units position, seems very sturdy.
I hope a new version very soon ... and the release of HW : Austerlitz
JMM
I don't want anyone to get me wrong - there is a working game, that you can play.
And that is why I won't use words as vapour-/abandon-ware, but the progress of development of this game, for a regular customer, is almost non-existent.
Sure, the developer posts something about working on the AI, new UI (which actually was implemented, but the manual and documentation wasn't updated to accommodate the changes), but the informations are very sparse, and you can't really know if there is some real progress being made. The english language forum feels like visiting a morgue ;)
Last patch is dated to may 2015. I bought this game even earlier, and except for the new loader and changed UI I didn't notice anything changing in the game itself.
So, in my opinion, if you are interested in the game, you have to be prepared, that what you see now, is what you'll get (and nothing will change in the future).
I'd really like for this game to be somewhat "finished", but I don't count on that happening anymore, sadly.
His biggest problem :
The game was put on Steam Greenlight in february 2014 and 3 years later there is nothing real to show.
At least now he is posting something every now and then.
The game is still being developed, but very slowly. There should be another patch coming up sometime soon, then the work on 1:1 presentation in amount of soldiers, along with new 3D models and improved AI and maybe a GUI. To get a perspective, the developer has been working on his project in one form or another for some 20 years now, so few months here and there seem little. I got some information about the progress in iterview of JMM, so I am pretty sure the project is more alive than it seems from the outside.
About Austerlitz itself, it is not a brand new game as such (so saying there is nothing to show may be a bit harsh), but actually a portion of the main project "Napoleon", which is sold in HistWar's webshop. Napoleon has been around for quite some time now and it is a functional game in itself already, even if a work in progress with quite some glitches especially with the AI.
Gave up on this long ago...bought it since I thought it had a nice start, but lack of communication and progress makes me forget totally about this game. If I remember correctly, same thing happened as the first version rolled out so the developer won't get any additional money from me based on these patterns.
You say its being developed, but the forum is literally not working and the last news from 2014. Seriously, HW:N sounds like vaporware to me.
I haven't gone over the site with a fine tooth comb, but JMM's blog (in French) seems to have been active as recently as September.
(And Google search has a note that the site may have been hacked -- not sure what that means, but I don't like the sound of it).
Quote from: Philippe on December 11, 2016, 12:18:45 PM
I haven't gone over the site with a fine tooth comb, but JMM's blog (in French) seems to have been active as recently as September.
Not very active, that was 3 months ago...
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 11, 2016, 12:22:26 PM
Quote from: Philippe on December 11, 2016, 12:18:45 PM
I haven't gone over the site with a fine tooth comb, but JMM's blog (in French) seems to have been active as recently as September.
Not very active, that was 3 months ago...
Maybe for Histwar that is considered active. And agreed, I wouldn't put three months down as active. Especially when the forum has been shut down.
I wanted this to be a good game, but it never got there. At this point Scourge of War Waterloo, particularly in MP with the KS mod, is a far superior experience. Even solo, especially with a few of the mods available for the game, SOW:WL is shaping up to be a genuinely good representation of Napoleonic warfare and command.
If you're at all interested in MP with SOW:Wl, I encourage you to join up for one of the Dogs of War VU multiplayer games. We played again yesterday using a custom scenario that covered the battle for Santo Domingo during the 1809 campaign in Italy. It was great fun, had some very harrowing moments, and ended up being a fine example of Kriegsspiel.
Quote from: Philippe on December 11, 2016, 12:18:45 PM
I haven't gone over the site with a fine tooth comb, but JMM's blog (in French) seems to have been active as recently as September.
[...]
This blog?
http://www.jm-mathe.fr/
And the forum was not taken down, it's here:
http://www.histwar.org/forum/
Then what is this...I click on forum and this what I get.
http://www.histwar.com/forum/
And that is the blog. I meant news.
http://histwar.com/actu/news.html
Note the last post is in 2014.
I have always been a big Histwar fanboy.... I love the vision.
I think JMM came so close to the ultimate Napoleonic game with the previous version. All he had to do was address just a few fatal flaws that eluded him....
It is still the only game that gets the correct unit formations, uniforms and tactics. Here the "Old Guard" waits for orders at Waterloo. Note the regiment has two battalions, with command group in the center:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi29.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc255%2Flarizona55%2FHistwarb_zpsz7fmwpew.jpg&hash=952698af054b8ca8c04acec90664714a8dcea433)
Still, even with my love of the "vision", I can't recommend waiting for this. JMM runs on his own clock ...
If it comes out in my lifetime, I will be happy. But I am not waiting for it.
Wow I had comepletely forgotten about this one. I actually bought it from their site, but lost interest after lack of updates. Sad that this is still the case.
We contacted these guys back in July about maybe doing something on it, but couldn't get code out of them as they wanted it to be updated a bit more first.
Shame really.
The webpage seems to be down, it was up last week... but latest info bits from the facebook page, from the dev JMM:
November 25th (and to be clear, 2016 ;)):
"We are working on a new version for deleting these bad behaviours [question was about AI]. Always checking before launching a new campaign for the beta test team.
Sorry for your frustration. I hope the new version will be very good."
"I know there are some problems; so I am working on the next version after rewriting a lot the code."
"That said, I don't think there are a lot of wargames which are always supported 8 years after the initial release...
So maybe you can wait for the next free patch.. just some weeks yet."
I am also hoping for the game to become polished, because it not only has a great vision, BUT it also includes already a full set of editors (order of battle, map, doctrine) which turn the game into a proper Napoleonic battle construction kit.
Funny, I always here companies claiming that not a lot of games are support for 5, 8, 10 years. In fact, in wargaming, quite a few are, if you count sequels also.
Combat Mission 1 & 2
ARMA, 1, 2, and 3
Steel Beasts
Close Combat through its iterations
Harpoon was supported for quite a few years until recently
TOAW
John Tiller games
HPS games
DCS must be right up there also
That's all I got off the top of my head. I think HistWar is more around how long a game has been in development.
But should you count official sequels or third party work as a support for that certain a game, that's another story, and would shorten your list.
Not going to start a debate about support and developement, just addressing the original question about the game being dead: no it is not.
While it may be true that most games aren't supported 8 years after release, most games are very playable and have matured after a year. This game has existed fluctuating between reality and the devs vision since 2007 and never has their been a fully functional stable release. So the way I see it, he's still making the game itself, not supporting it.
Just FYI, I have Histwar: Napoleon and I really wanted to like it. It was beautiful. It was just a mess though and the forum was dead. Waiting years for a patch I gave up
Quote from: mikeck on December 12, 2016, 12:58:51 PM
Waiting years for a patch I gave up
One...
More...
Year...
:D
And an update:
"Hello All,
No a good news : our servers have been hacked and we are going to repair them. Don't worry, our Data Base are encrypted and there is no critical informations saved.
More information ASAP..."
Believe it when I see it....these kind of communications were same as the past and we will get more stating further delay at some point....this developer has to earn trust back.
Quote from: Zipuli on December 12, 2016, 12:09:04 PM
The webpage seems to be down, it was up last week... but latest info bits from the facebook page, from the dev JMM:
November 25th (and to be clear, 2016 ;)):
"We are working on a new version for deleting these bad behaviours [question was about AI]. Always checking before launching a new campaign for the beta test team.
Sorry for your frustration. I hope the new version will be very good."
"I know there are some problems; so I am working on the next version after rewriting a lot the code."
"That said, I don't think there are a lot of wargames which are always supported 8 years after the initial release...
So maybe you can wait for the next free patch.. just some weeks yet."
I am also hoping for the game to become polished, because it not only has a great vision, BUT it also includes already a full set of editors (order of battle, map, doctrine) which turn the game into a proper Napoleonic battle construction kit.
My biggest gripe with HistWar (and ultimately what I consider to be a fatal flaw), is that the strategic AI is not dynamic. It decides on a strategy at game start, then sticks to it, no matter what happens on the field. Even the worst commanders of the era had some flexibility. If JMM fixes this...I am back in his fold. Hopefully that is what JMM is working on.
I have been looking at HWN and watching a few videos. It seems to have made some progress. Anyone played it recently? Any one have cogent thoughts on it?
Quote from: RyanE on August 30, 2018, 08:14:26 AM
I have been looking at HWN and watching a few videos. It seems to have made some progress. Anyone played it recently? Any one have cogent thoughts on it?
I spent about six hours trying to love it last weekend. The last update is actually over a year old. As always, there's an "update coming" but it isn't here yet.
It looks pretty. It has some nice ideas, like the layers for drawing your plan. I ultimately ended up back to Scourge of War Waterloo with the Kriegsspiel mod. HistWarN still has a long way to go IMHO.
Well, I'll be....
HistWar is still breathing. JMM has built a new UI apparently. Now if he has done anything to make the UI dynamic, that would make this a real contender.
Here is a recent video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD4DTqRZg5M (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD4DTqRZg5M)
It might be just me, buy I can't see the video or link....anyone have direct link?
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on July 30, 2019, 05:57:57 PM
It might be just me, buy I can't see the video or link....anyone have direct link?
It's histwar man, what do you expect? :D ;D :DD
Yeah, can't see a video either, and my anti-virus is going nuts when I load this thread. Weird.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on July 30, 2019, 05:57:57 PM
It might be just me, buy I can't see the video or link....anyone have direct link?
OK, I stopped using that youtube thingy. This is the straight URL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD4DTqRZg5M (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD4DTqRZg5M)
Meh....I don't see anything released on the site. That last patch for Histwar Napoleon is back in 2015. So not holding my breath. I'll love it when I can download it and play.
Quote from: mikeck on July 31, 2019, 12:52:14 PM
Meh....I don't see anything released on the site. That last patch for Histwar Napoleon is back in 2015. So not holding my breath. I'll love it when I can download it and play.
Sadly you are right. If JMM ever gets there, he will have created the most accurate and flexible Napoleonic PC game ever. A worthy successor to SSI's Battles of Napoleon.
But JMM has never done a good job in keeping things moving. And the patch hell he puts his customers through makes Battlefront look like pikers.
So, I dream on....