The enjoyable boardgame from DVG which saw an ipad release last year now has a Windows version.
Go get it here for $15.
http://www.dvg.com/.sc/ms/cat/getcat?cat=Vassal%2FPDF+Games
looks interesting, what does it play like?
Based on Hornet Leader solitaire board game mechanics.
Matrix Games released Hornet Leader PC way back but it didn't look nice.
This one seems to be an exact replica of the ipad game.
Go to the board game or mobile section of the boards to search for user discussion about Phantom Leader.
Or maybe check it out in Boardgamegeek.com
jommi, THX ! for the head up :)
... i was waiting for an Android version, but a PC version is better then none :)
Dan, now a Thunderbold Apache Leader PC version pleeease (ok there will be an Istuff-version first ...as ususal)
..and digital versions of top notch board games never run out of stock ;)
Note that the link is to the Vassal + PDF page, but this is not the VASSAL version of the game which is also still available. For... quite a bit more cost, actually. ??? I have no idea why the VASSAL version is more expensive than the Windows version.
(Also note that Thunderbolt/Apache is available for VASSAL, as is several varieties of Hornet Leader and Down In Flames, including some crazy-awesome things like DIF Dragons and DIF WW1! Unsure if there are solo rules available in VASSAL for DIF, though. Hornet Leader vs. Cthulu probably won't be available until after the projected boardgame release.)
Quote from: jomni on March 28, 2013, 04:40:03 AM
Based on Hornet Leader solitaire board game mechanics.
Matrix Games released Hornet Leader PC way back but it didn't look nice.
Also it had fatal bugs in it. (I know, I bought it last year. >:( )
Ok I bought Phantom Leader Windows just now. Paid via paypal but no game from DVG. Status is still "processing". Could they be on holiday?
I almost bought this for iPad... but have not yet done so. Getting closer. But it reminds me that I still have a physical game campaign in Thunderbolt that I need to complete!
It's great fun to have on my iPad. I won't be buying the PC version but if you don't have an iPad you should definately pick up a copy.
Quote from: jomni on March 28, 2013, 09:28:09 AM
Ok I bought Phantom Leader Windows just now. Paid via paypal but no game from DVG. Status is still "processing". Could they be on holiday?
Doubt it. Holidays don't start here until tomorrow. My guess is that it's PayPal that's holding things up....
dang it! was going to pick this up before lunch, but got distracted. Now its $20 :(
Quote from: jomni on March 28, 2013, 09:28:09 AM
Ok I bought Phantom Leader Windows just now. Paid via paypal but no game from DVG. Status is still "processing". Could they be on holiday?
There is also this on the site... "When you purchase this game, we will email the file to you within 24 hours."
Quote from: steve58 on March 28, 2013, 12:25:36 PM
dang it! was going to pick this up before lunch, but got distracted. Now its $20 :(
me too >:( ... instead of watching the review and board game play videos, i should have hit the button immediately ..ok, now it was 15€ instead 15$ impulsive buy for my Easter nest ;)
(with paypal too .. now let's see how delivery works out)
Having been an iPad game, previously, I'd be a bit concerned about how well it will display on ye olde 22" monitor but hopefully the port doesn't require so much processing power that they had to minimize the gameplay for a tablet.
I'm rambling. Will buy it immediately, anyway. ;D
Even though the price went up, I went ahead and grabbed it at around 1:30p using Paypal. Got an email from Dan 2 hours later with a WeTransfer download link (even though my order is still showing as "processing"). File is ~46MB...haven't installed yet as I'm still "working" ;)
I've quite enjoyed Hornet Leader PC from Matrix. It does have some drawbacks such as only having one screen resolution available (1280x1024 so that rules out many notebooks/netbooks) and very minimalistic graphics (just black/white outlines basically). At least this version actually has some art in it. :)
I've not run into many bugs since the all the updates, although I'm sure there are still some there.
Oooo...yeah,I'll probably end up picking this up, too.
Hrmm.. that screenshot only shows 3 campaigns on it.
Is that all?! Hornet Leader had .. what..? Six?
There are 3 campaign times (all Vietnam), 3 lengths for each campaign, and each from the US Airforce and US Navy side of things. So about 18 campaigns total.
Strange - the price increase. Nothing on the webite I visited this morning or DVG newsletter (where I found out about it) suggested it was a limited offer.
I played Hornet Leader on PC from Matrix Games - it wasn't great. In fact it was pretty poor.
I will hold off on this just now. It certainly looks better than HL - but I'm not sure. The boardgame is fantastic...thi would need to have alot to live up to the boardgame.
I've watched a couple of videos on the iOS version on YouTube and I'm not convinced this is for me...yet
I got the file guys. He sends it manually. I got the link from a personal email. This explains the delay.
Update. Got to play a couple of rounds. The game is quite hard as usual. Lots of thinking involved... which is good.
Good: It stays true to the board game.
Bad: It is exactly the same as the iPad app. This means cards and stuff are so big when viewed on a PC screen. Screen space is wasted. And screen resolution is quite wrong for wide screen.
Bottom line. If you have the rule book, just download the Vassal module since that looks way better. You just have to enforce the rules yourself but that's not too hard for this solitaire game.
If you're lazy then this the PC version is decent but the interface is not suited for large screens. Maybe more fun if you have a touch screen. :P
download link was in the email this morn :) Bingo!
...install worked well on a W7 / 64bit system, with a wide-screen there are just black areas left and right (so no distorted stretched graphics to fear, or such)
i am missing a PC-specific-menu (or maybe just a config-file for manual editing once by the Groghead player) for screen resolution and windowed mode choices before the actual '1:1 IPad application'-voodoo starts
...on the other hand, i can play without any glasses ;)
and also plan to experimental remote-play from Android Tablet accessing the PC-screen through WLAN 8) ...lets see how this works out (see below)
For the PC game market its niche inside the niche inside the niche inside the niche
I would have liked if the PC version -for a better reception outside the niche^3 - of this fine 1:1 representation of the boardgame had more the visual impression of looking topdown on the actual board game (like Conflict of Heroes does with their outstanding 3D-chits, and high-res scanned-in board game maps)
are there any plans to bring the deluxe version items into the game with an update in the future?
-update-
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi46.tinypic.com%2Fzmicsj.jpg&hash=61dafe634c12058277973469270742aecd044def)
its a Galaxy Note 10.1
...looks promising for Armchair Generals Gardenchair Wing Commander ;) ..now i have to get deeper in that remote software setup and usage
Looks better on a tablet screen that a desktop screen.
Let us know how it plays on the tablet.
Quote from: jomni on March 29, 2013, 05:01:42 AM
Looks better on a tablet screen that a desktop screen.
Set your video card software to display in the original resolution (and not stretch it) if it doesn't already.
Overall, it does what it's supposed to and certainly looks better than HL did. My biggest complaint at the moment would be the waste of larger screen resolution space that could've been utilized to lessen the amount of menu scrolling but the game is still quite serviceable. The gameplay moves along pretty quickly, and it seems to be a good port of the original tabletop, including the art (Note: I've not played the original).
Quote from: TheCommandTent on March 29, 2013, 08:06:19 AM
Let us know how it plays on the tablet.
i just finished a small campaign on the Android tablet (using Splashtop2 App, free version) , got a ass whoppin result VP-wize :-[ but a lot of fun, ...and have to retry immediately :)
worked well and looked good (and its also possible to zoom in on the virtual desktop with two fingers if needed)
I got exactly what i wanted: I circumvent the nonexistence of an Android version and the lag of I-equipment in my possession and can still play away from the PC.
-on a side note
IIRC ...i am missing the special options rule-set from the board game in the digital version?
especially i would have liked to had that "pay 1 extra stress to get +1 Attack /Suppression roll modifier" for the price of the according SO's spend at the beginning of the campaign.
for those lurkers who are not into that board game
i recommend this sequence of videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92b5Z3TnYHE ... and 9 more for the whole play through a 1967, long (9days)campaign
it explains the game and rules in usage and is a immersing display of how to have fun playing PL.
in the digital version all rules are forced, no bookkeeping ...no hassle, just pure strategic brain twisting, F#*k Yeah! :)
Quote from: MikeGER on March 30, 2013, 06:53:16 AM
...
-on a side note
IIRC ...i am missing the special options rule-set from the board game in the digital version?
especially i would have liked to had that "pay 1 extra stress to get +1 Attack /Suppression roll modifier" for the price of the according SO's spend at the beginning of the campaign.
...
They are supposedly working on adding in the advanced options for the iOS version... nothing yet.
So what was the verdict on this. I need something new. Is it worth a 20?
Screw it. Went ahead and ordered.
To me it's very worth it on iPad - it's hours and hours of gaming goodness while sitting on couch with family or on a car trip or anywhere else you can't take your PC. It's probably my favorite iPad game.
Quote from: tgb on April 03, 2013, 04:46:24 PM
So what was the verdict on this. I need something new. Is it worth a 20?
I've been getting my money's worth, yes.
It's higher quality than
Hornet Leader was. Despite some of the obvious graphics stretch from the original tablet-sized resolution, it still looks and handles far better. I've been playing short stints on my notebook and getting a decent challenge.
It's been 5 hours since I placed my order, and nothing. I hope I have this for the morning before I start work.
Quote from: tgb on April 04, 2013, 12:21:37 AM
It's been 5 hours since I placed my order, and nothing. I hope I have this for the morning before I start work.
You have been warned. It takes time for Dan to send you the link. It is not an automated process. :)
I placed mine on the afternoon it was announced here.. got it pretty quickly. You probably won't see it until after the sun's up the day after, placing it that late.
DVG probably should've put it up on Gamersgate, Desura, etc so he/they wouldn't have to do all that crap manually. Of course, it wouldn't be as much profit either so it must be worth it (and not a huge amount of orders?) for them to do it manually.
Now I'm starting to get pissed. It's noon here and I still haven't gotten a download link.
I got mine within 2 hours of ordering. Maybe check the order status...could be a payment problem? Also, if you haven't already, check your spam folder...maybe it got kicked there. I'm sure it'll work out in the end, but I understand your frustration.
Quote from: steve58 on April 04, 2013, 02:46:10 PM
I got mine within 2 hours of ordering. Maybe check the order status...could be a payment problem? Also, if you haven't already, check your spam folder...maybe it got kicked there. I'm sure it'll work out in the end, but I understand your frustration.
Paypal sent the payment out almost immediately yesterday, and yes, I've been checking my spam folder. An email to customer service as gotten no response, and I only get an answering machine when I call.
I just got ahold of someone there who told me nothing was being done because Dan and his wife left town and aren't due back until late today. You would think they would have the courtesy to post that orders for the game would not be filled while they are gone. I told them that if I don't have the game by 6, I'm filing a claim with Paypal and canceling the order.
What a way to run a railroad.
Quote from: tgb on April 04, 2013, 03:25:50 PM
Quote from: steve58 on April 04, 2013, 02:46:10 PM
I got mine within 2 hours of ordering. Maybe check the order status...could be a payment problem? Also, if you haven't already, check your spam folder...maybe it got kicked there. I'm sure it'll work out in the end, but I understand your frustration.
Paypal sent the payment out almost immediately yesterday, and yes, I've been checking my spam folder. An email to customer service as gotten no response, and I only get an answering machine when I call.
I just got ahold of someone there who told me nothing was being done because Dan and his wife left town and aren't due back until late today. You would think they would have the courtesy to post that orders for the game would not be filled while they are gone. I told them that if I don't have the game by 6, I'm filing a claim with Paypal and canceling the order.
What a way to run a railroad.
Really? Is it that important that have the game RIGHT NOW?!? I mean it's just a game. DVG is a Mom and Pop operation and they need time off as well some times. They don't have a lot of staff and probably weren't expecting a lot of orders while they were away.
One of the points of digital distribution is immediate gratification. I've been bored with nothing new to play, and this sounded interesting. Tomorrow I may very well move on to something else. More to the point, don't post that the order will be filled within 24 hours if that becomes an impossibility as some point.
[edit] Somebody must have woken up and smelled the coffee, because the file just arrived. Yay.
Quote from: Barthheart on April 04, 2013, 03:45:25 PM
Really? Is it that important that have the game RIGHT NOW?!? I mean it's just a game. DVG is a Mom and Pop operation and they need time off as well some times. They don't have a lot of staff and probably weren't expecting a lot of orders while they were away.
They really should've just pushed it through a publisher so they wouldn't have to deal with all the issues arising from manual distro. Would probably help the visibility of the game far more, too. I wouldn't even have known about, much less purchased the game, if Jomni hadn't specifically posted about it here.
I think it's a bad call on their part for not sending it through a publisher. The loss per unit could easily be regained due to much higher visibility and impulse purchases along with a far more reliable distro system and extra CS.
Now that I finally have the game I'm really enjoying it, even though my campaigns so far have been less than successful. One thing I don't get is how suppression works. I choose an aircraft, weapon and target, and the suppression button is lit, but when I press it nothing seems to happen.
Quote from: tgb on April 06, 2013, 05:55:20 AM
Now that I finally have the game I'm really enjoying it, even though my campaigns so far have been less than successful. One thing I don't get is how suppression works. I choose an aircraft, weapon and target, and the suppression button is lit, but when I press it nothing seems to happen.
You must first select one or more of the appropriate weapons to expend for that Suppression fire, then hit "Suppress". The interface also doesn't seem to become active until you first select the aircraft you want to fire, before next selecting the weapon(s).
Note that you can use any eligible weapon on any plane within that weapons' launch paramaters (altitude-hi/low & range). It doesn't have to be on the aircraft being attacked. However, Suppression fire is used only to keep the firing platform from attempting a Hit Roll and doesn't actually kill it. Perhaps you know how it works already but I'm attempting to cover some details.
Quote from: tgb on April 06, 2013, 05:55:20 AM
Now that I finally have the game I'm really enjoying it, even though my campaigns so far have been less than successful. One thing I don't get is how suppression works. I choose an aircraft, weapon and target, and the suppression button is lit, but when I press it nothing seems to happen.
same here... i even thought there either something wrong with the random number generator, or with me ;) ... though luck
I played 65 long and short...thought those were a little easier for a beginner because of no bandits, but that not true!
last time i walked away with 0 VP at all on a short, and now i am on day 3 of a long and still have 0 VP ... i manage to get the planes over the tartget, but then hit-rolls were too bad to destroy the target, last one was 5 of 6 hits needed with 2 MK 84 and 4 Mk82 and one pilot with had a ATG+2 ....Arrr :-[
its great fun to retry and retry... plays different each time :)
Dan, pleeease
kickstart TAL the PC version ASAP ;)
PS: tgb, the unguided rocket-pod is good for supression with their +3 modifier in that role, but blocks the pylons for other ordnance ...see above, i just need those one bomb more to drop ;-)
This morning I started a medium USAF '67 campaign and discovered that the machine guns work pretty well for suppression, even if they take a 10 to do so. I had a perfect first mission and was feeling pretty good, except that on the return phase, the event card I drew said that I couldn't attack any sites on the next mission. Needless to say, Day 2 was a disaster. Grrrr.....................
One thing I need to be more mindful of is making sure aircraft is at the right height. More than once I discovered that I couldn't fire any of my weapons because I was too high (the plane, that is). This game is frigging hard.
67 is really hard for me... small missions (2 planes), low tech weapons.
What's amazing to me is how much I'm enjoying the game. If you had told me when I was 17 or 18 (1970) that one day I'd be planning air missions over Viet Nam and weighing the uses of napalm, I probably would have slashed my wrists.
I love the game description on their web site:
"This is the same fully function computer game as we have on the iPad! The game keeps track of all the rules, dice rolls, and modifiers!
When you purchase this game, within 24 hours, we will send you an email with a link tp download the file. This is a digital download game.
This is not a Vassal game!"
I would really hate to accidentally purchase the "only partial function" version of this game versus this "fully functon" game:) Couldn't have just same the same version as the iPad:)
All kidding aside, keeping my eye on this one too...
I've just stumped for the PC version, and am now sitting in the waiting on Dan's manual email delivery system... its not really in the spirit of digital distribution. Should get someone like Matrix involved methinks.
Quote from: spelk on October 21, 2013, 03:30:25 PM
I've just stumped for the PC version, and am now sitting in the waiting on Dan's manual email delivery system... its not really in the spirit of digital distribution. Should get someone like Matrix involved methinks.
Matrix did Hornet Leader last time. But hey, we don't want "premium pricing".
Quote from: spelk on October 21, 2013, 03:30:25 PM
I've just stumped for the PC version, and am now sitting in the waiting on Dan's manual email delivery system... its not really in the spirit of digital distribution. Should get someone like Matrix involved methinks.
Let's not.
He could just as easily put it up on some place like GamersGate if he wanted to, without needing a publisher or a price increase. It's already finished. I'd rather have manual delivery than have the retail price doubled. :P
Mine showed up the same day I ordered it; within an hour or so IIRC. It was freshly released a day or two before that, however, so I'm sure it was being monitored closely.
I only threw in Matrix because it was at the top of my list of places I download wargames from, I'd go for ANY digital distribution mechanism, if it means, "when I pay I can play!".
Still waiting on download link. :/
Quote from: spelk on October 22, 2013, 06:03:56 AM
I only threw in Matrix because it was at the top of my list of places I download wargames from, I'd go for ANY digital distribution mechanism, if it means, "when I pay I can play!".
Still waiting on download link. :/
Yeah, I agree.
Between manual distribution and not really having the thing advertised on their front page anyway, you'd think DVG didn't want to bother selling it much. ???
I recall it being a chore to track down the damn sale page for it, when I heard it was released. If someone hadn't heard it specifically mentioned it in a wargamer forum, I still wouldn't know it existed. Poor job of distributing it. You should email them the next day, if you still don't have it, and also suggest they put it up on some place like Gamersgate or Desura for more visibility (and thus sales) while you're at it. ;)
Hell.. I'm wondering if they've needed to update it since I downloaded the thing, but have no idea what's going on. It has been working just fine for me, but that doesn't mean there could be an issue somewhere.
Yes very odd that such a game is so hard to find info about, only when it was mentioned in a thread i made re hornet leader.
Despite the fact hornet leader was a frustration to get going because of its locked resolution, i can play it in a vmware guest os fine and quite enjoy it. I can only hope that more of his games go digital. He has a lot of great board games!
I tweeted Dan, and he has sent me the download link now! Time to splash some bandits!
I wish Dan would team up with Matrix / Slitherine and after some hard negotiations, sell them a licence to produce TAL or the new Huey Leader for PC / Android / ...and maybe Ipad too
The graphics are all already there, only have to be scanned in.
The AI (rules) and balancing is already there, only has to be transformed into code. (that is just work)
Its Single Player only, period! No multiplayer needed to be forced into with that inhouse-PBEM++--?? server stuff...
The UI is the more tricky part, which has to be designed and then developed. But using a game engine -probably Unity- , they wont have to go from scratch...
These are so brillant games for a single player, and can be a bridge to the casual (war)gamer with a tablet and would have a wider market out of our niche (includs those hardcore board gamer who even frown on VASSAL-users....)
(The TAL rule-system is not so complicated, but after a while of not playing TAL i just forget stuff... and so ruin my game-expierience, and long for convenience ... its all the other stuff i have to memorize in all the other software i use, like key-strokes here, sub-menus there, and so on ...esp. when its about those grognardish sims.... DCS, CMANO, you name it ... i am not hardcore board gamer material it seems ;-))
hell yeah - Thunderbolt Apache Leader, Modern Naval Battles, Field Commander Napoleon, Rommel, UBoot Leader - all excellent games i would buy in a snap if hornet leader is anything to go by
Trying to install the program and my anti-virus says it contains suspect file, and knobbles it. I've tried it on two different anti-virus systems (Symantec Endpoint Protection and Avast) and both flag the contents of PhantomLeaderSetup.exe as having something suspect in it. :(
Will have to submit it and see if they give it the thumbs up after a labs test...
Quote from: spelk on October 24, 2013, 09:20:57 AM
Trying to install the program and my anti-virus says it contains suspect file, and knobbles it. I've tried it on two different anti-virus systems (Symantec Endpoint Protection and Avast) and both flag the contents of PhantomLeaderSetup.exe as having something suspect in it. :(
Will have to submit it and see if they give it the thumbs up after a labs test...
This happened to a few people. There is no bug. Just disable yer AV software while you install.
I asked this over in the Card game subcategory, but I'll ask it here, too, since technically it might count as a computer game question after all.
How exactly does DVG's pdf version of his games work? If I buy the pdf from his store then... what? Print out the cards etc. myself? ???
Quote from: JasonPratt on December 07, 2013, 02:02:20 PM
I asked this over in the Card game subcategory, but I'll ask it here, too, since technically it might count as a computer game question after all.
How exactly does DVG's pdf version of his games work? If I buy the pdf from his store then... what? Print out the cards etc. myself? ???
Yep. Or take the files down to a printing shop or the print counter at a Staples store or what not, and have them do it. A friend of mine did that with Cards against Humanity.
Kthx! Sounds like it might be cheaper to buy the actual set! ;D But for some games that isn't possible (like the WW1 or Dragon versions of Down In Flames).
Quote from: JasonPratt on December 07, 2013, 05:19:18 PM
Kthx! Sounds like it might be cheaper to buy the actual set! ;D But for some games that isn't possible (like the WW1 or Dragon versions of Down In Flames).
I'm actually not sure what the print costs would be for a full game like PL, but it probably works out to be pretty close to zero savings if you get them done professionally. :)