I think I've covered all the bases looking for this game, but maybe I haven't.
All that is really grabbing me is HPS.
What other options are there for tactical (squads or less) wargames set in the Pacific theater?
I think HPS is about the only game in town at that scale bud.
John Tiller Campaign Series. But not squad level.
Quote from: jomni on October 14, 2013, 11:04:26 PM
John Tiller Campaign Series. But not squad level.
This is a good option too.
Quote from: Bison on October 14, 2013, 10:59:32 PM
I think HPS is about the only game in town at that scale bud.
Kind of amazing, isn't it?
I'm looking through my catalog of games...Company of Heroes, Theater of War, Brothers in Arms, Command Ops, Close Combat, Combat Mission...and I'm saying to myself, "You mean not one of these games is set in the Pacific theater? Really?"
Really. >:(
Yeah you would think that there would be more games covering the Pacific theater, but there just isn't at a tactical level.
Don't get me started....the lack of tactical games set in the Pac. theatre has been an item of contention for me for some time. As I have stated here and elsewhere...not to undermine the importance (and difficulty, sacrifice and heroism) of the European theatre, but IMHO the war in the Pacific is the true showcase for the US war effort as it provided the MOST extreme conditions for pretty much everything: logistics, combined arms operations, amphib landings, naval combat (surface, submarine and naval air war), air power, disease, supply, morale, guerilla warfare, etc. I think the two things you don't see much of in the PT is large scale (or should we just say "balanced") tank fighting, and vertical envelopment (gliders and paratroop assaults). IMHO (and ONLY IMHO) I think the lack of tank warfare is part of the reason why it doesn't get "gamed" much...as I think most people prefer armor over infantry (see following for a discussion at grognews...http://grognews.blogspot.ca/2012/05/gametalk-poor-bloody-infantry.html (http://grognews.blogspot.ca/2012/05/gametalk-poor-bloody-infantry.html))
FWIW...the HPS games are good but have somewhat limited replayability. Once you've played a map more than once, you kind of "learn" what to do...and not to do.
You COULD use a Steel Panthers custom campaign where you limit the amount of build points to the Allied and Japanese armies to create something to the scale you are looking for, but of course the maps are all going to be generic and not reflect any particular real battle. You may not get an amphib landing scenario if you do random battle generation...and if you DO get an amphib battle, you may not have enough points to buy landing craft for your force. Unless they've modified that little problem in recent (ie: past five years) versions.
And finally...I THINK there was a Pac War mod for one of the Close Combat games, but it probably isn't going to give you the unique tactical experiece you might be looking for (ie: banzai charges, tunnels, naval support, etc)
Yours in gaming,
Jack Nastyface
if you don't mind pushing around some cardboard:
http://iwantthisgame.com/index.php/discover/10-table-top-game/11-heroes-of-the-pacific
That, or I was going to suggest Combat Commander: Pacific via VASSAL. I played it online with Mad Russian a number of weeks ago and the module seemed really well done. I'm still learning the game system but it seemed to capture WWII PacWar tactical battles just fine.
Don't forget:
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1666/battle-hymn
More cardboard-pushing, but still a fun tactical (if somewhat linear) game.
Men of War: Assault Squad has a Pacific Theater mapset and armies. You can fight battles as Japanese, US or Common Wealth. The OOBs are very detailed and specifically tailored as to nationality. I love MoW: AS, but it is fast paced real-time combat, so caveat emptor.
I can't get Steel Panthers to fire up on my Win 8 rig (though a solution was suggested - my fault for not looking into it yet).
However, IIRC Marix's General's Edition has a solid campaign set in the Pacific. Plus there are likely a lot of fan-made scenarios out there.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 15, 2013, 09:05:06 AM
Men of War: Assault Squad has a Pacific Theater mapset and armies. You can fight battles as Japanese, US or Common Wealth. The OOBs are very detailed and specifically tailored as to nationality. I love MoW: AS, but it is fast paced real-time combat, so caveat emptor.
There's the REd Orchestra 2 supermod (something Storm?). You can get it on Steam. I played it a few times. Not my cup of team.
There's a Japanese map and mod over at battleground for cmbn
Pics or it doesn't exist undercovergirlyman!
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on October 15, 2013, 06:32:49 AM
Don't forget:
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1666/battle-hymn
More cardboard-pushing, but still a fun tactical (if somewhat linear) game.
And this (about which I know nothing):
http://www.multimanpublishing.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=AezBx7yHCgE%3d&tabid=59
Quote from: Jack Nastyface on October 15, 2013, 12:01:33 AM
And finally...I THINK there was a Pac War mod for one of the Close Combat games, but it probably isn't going to give you the unique tactical experiece you might be looking for (ie: banzai charges, tunnels, naval support, etc)
I seem to recall these (and all kinds of obscure land warefare troops like bicycle support which was absolutely crucial for the Japanese) being in the Pacific Theater side of JT's Campaign series -- although as noted above they aren't quite down to squad level.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 15, 2013, 09:05:06 AM
Men of War: Assault Squad has a Pacific Theater mapset and armies. You can fight battles as Japanese, US or Common Wealth. The OOBs are very detailed and specifically tailored as to nationality. I love MoW: AS, but it is fast paced real-time combat, so caveat emptor.
Didn't the makers of the
Codename: Panzer series of games eventually do a Pacific Theater, too?
(I know Code:Panz was only two games, by title, but the devs kept upgrading and remaking with new titles and mission areas forever it seemed.)
Quote from: LongBlade on October 15, 2013, 09:06:24 AM
I can't get Steel Panthers to fire up on my Win 8 rig (though a solution was suggested - my fault for not looking into it yet).
However, IIRC Marix's General's Edition has a solid campaign set in the Pacific. Plus there are likely a lot of fan-made scenarios out there.
Steel Panthers was the one that I thought of, but I can't get the old free version to load anymore. Not only was there a load of Pac scenarios but you also had the scenario / campaign generator as well. I seem to remember there was a good Iwo Jima scenario.
QuoteDon't forget:
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1666/battle-hymn
More cardboard-pushing, but still a fun tactical (if somewhat linear) game.
Yeah, have this sitting here on the shelf. Played Ambush many many years ago, great system!
Try looking in Combat Mission Normandy Maps and Mods folder.
I think a guy named LLF did a Makin Atoll mod for this series.
I haven't played CM in awhile since I discovered the Graviteam series,but I'm pretty sure LLF completed the mod before I lost interest in CM.
It's probably in the mod folder somewhere.
Graviteam plans on releasing a tactical DLC for its new Mius Front game sometime in the future featuring the Japanese,but it will be about the Nomonhan battle in Manchuria 1939.No Americans though-Russians vs Japanese.
I've been meaning to pick up Men of War: Assault Squad just to play as the Japanese.
Quote from: bob48 on October 15, 2013, 01:17:43 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on October 15, 2013, 09:06:24 AM
I can't get Steel Panthers to fire up on my Win 8 rig (though a solution was suggested - my fault for not looking into it yet).
However, IIRC Marix's General's Edition has a solid campaign set in the Pacific. Plus there are likely a lot of fan-made scenarios out there.
Steel Panthers was the one that I thought of, but I can't get the old free version to load anymore. Not only was there a load of Pac scenarios but you also had the scenario / campaign generator as well. I seem to remember there was a good Iwo Jima scenario.
One thing that can work for Steel Panthers is that it can run inside a virtual machine running Windows XP. I did this last night. The downside is that it ends up being a little window the size of the resolution that steel panther runs at in fullscreen mode.
Running on a 1680x1050 monitor in Windows 8 (click for full size image):
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.snitselaar.org%2Fscreenshots%2Fsp-small.png&hash=e75d61069c5575b0d4cf95ea6adb65a9f3b0eac9) (http://www.snitselaar.org/screenshots/sp-big.png)
What if you hook up a 2nd monitor at 800x600 or whatever in extended desktop mode and fling that windowed SP session over to it?
Quote from: Staggerwing on October 15, 2013, 07:02:39 PM
What if you hook up a 2nd monitor at 800x600 or whatever in extended desktop mode and fling that windowed SP session over to it?
It is already a second monitor (1st is 1920x1080), so I guess I will see how that looks tonight if I run that monitor at a lower resolution.
Edit:
I swapped out the 2nd monitor for a Phillips monitor I have that will scale lower resolutions to fill the screen. The lowest I could set it was 1024x768, but here is the result of running Steel Panthers in the vm, with it expanded to full screen. The taskbar at the bottom and objectdock at the top aren't visible when the vm is selected. Vmware's vmplayer is free for personal use, so all you would need is windows XP laying around.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.snitselaar.org%2Fscreenshots%2Fsp-lowres.png&hash=5a5a2306a766c2c14a9cace2aca67eaeacee0788)
Seeing that soooo makes me want to play it again.
I've seen it as a free download in several places, but not sure if that's legit. If it is, anyone have a recommended source?
I never played Steel Panthers, but the mechanics look a LOT like a Pacific-based game I loved that had a lot of carrier combat in it...
I think, somewhere, I have the old Matrix free version saved on CD - I shall have to have a dig around.
There is always the Camo Workshop WIN version as well, which is still a free download.
There are two different versions of WinSP out, one hosted by Matrix and one from Shrapnel Games (where you can also opt to purchase the higher-res version) Shrapnel also has the modern combat version, SPMBT.
Matrix SPW@W version: http://www.matrixgames.com/products/297/downloads/ (both full v.8.20 free game as well as updates listed on right)
Shrapnel SPWW2 version: http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Camo_Workshop/WW2/WW2_page.html (free d/l button in upper middle right panel/frame/whatever it's called...)
Shrapnel SPMBT version (get your Cold War jones fixed!): http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Camo_Workshop/MBT/MBT_page.html (D/L button also hiding in middle right frame)
EDIT: (removing erroneous MP info)
http://linetap.com/www/drg/SPCamo-2.htm
SPWAW Depot (www.spwaw.com) has the downloads available for the free Matrix version.
Quote from: Staggerwing on October 16, 2013, 01:41:02 PM
There are two different versions of WinSP out, one hosted by Matrix and one from Shrapnel Games (where you can also opt to purchase the higher-res version) Shrapnel also has the modern combat version, SPMBT.
Matrix SPW@W version: http://www.matrixgames.com/products/297/downloads/ (both full v.8.20 free game as well as updates listed on right)
Shrapnel SPWW2 version: http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Camo_Workshop/WW2/WW2_page.html (free d/l button in upper middle right panel/frame/whatever it's called...)
Shrapnel SPMBT version (get your Cold War jones fixed!): http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Camo_Workshop/MBT/MBT_page.html (D/L button also hiding in middle right frame)
Note: the SPWW2 and SPMBT games have some kind of Multiplayer. Matrix's SPW@W is SP only.
Doesn't SPWAW support PBEM?
I think it does.
My bad- I was under the impression that SPWAW was SP (based on a long ago forum discussion) but I just verified at the product page that it will support up to 4 players. I should have checked first.
I remember some developer once saying, infantry fighting wasn't fun in the pacific and wouldn't be fun in a game. They might have been right, I don't think fighting in the bocage of Normandy was pleasant in real life and turned out to be not much fun playing in a game. Sadly there are too few squad level computer games.
Luckily a revisit to Steel Panthers is on Grigsby list of things to do. The downside is it is supposedly sometime after he finishes off the WITW/WITE series.
If GG re-does SP I hope he keeps the top-down perspective. I'd hate for it to end up looking like Combat Mission or the new XCom(WW2 style). Worse still would be a 45 degree perspective a'la Codename Panzers.
^Totally agree with you, Stagger.
Sort of on topic: can anyone recommend a good book on Japanese armor in WWII?
Thanks for the links, guys.
Gus, Osprey's got a pretty decent Japanese armor book:
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/World-War-II-Japanese-Tank-Tactics_9781846032349
...but that's in funny squiggly fur'nur money.
You can find it on Amazon also, here:
http://www.amazon.com/World-Japanese-Tank-Tactics-Elite/dp/1846032342/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
^Cool thanks BC...appropriate that you should have those links :)
Quote from: Gusington on October 16, 2013, 06:18:17 PM
Sort of on topic: can anyone recommend a good book on Japanese armor in WWII?
The best website that I know of for Japanese armor and infantry is Taki's
http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/
He has worked on some of the Osprey books.
Quote from: Staggerwing on October 16, 2013, 04:06:58 PM
If GG re-does SP I hope he keeps the top-down perspective. I'd hate for it to end up looking like Combat Mission or the new XCom(WW2 style). Worse still would be a 45 degree perspective a'la Codename Panzers.
I can't picture a 3D Gary Grisby game but, 8-10 years from now who knows?
Quote from: vyshka on October 16, 2013, 03:39:37 PM
Luckily a revisit to Steel Panthers is on Grigsby list of things to do. The downside is it is supposedly sometime after he finishes off the WITW/WITE series.
How old is Gary? This seems like a potential Robert Jordan/Wheel of Time situation...
Quote from: Arctic Blast on October 17, 2013, 12:06:06 AM
Quote from: vyshka on October 16, 2013, 03:39:37 PM
Luckily a revisit to Steel Panthers is on Grigsby list of things to do. The downside is it is supposedly sometime after he finishes off the WITW/WITE series.
How old is Gary? This seems like a potential Robert Jordan/Wheel of Time situation...
No telling, but he looks like he's in his late 50s/early 60s...
There was a great user-made campaign for the Steel Panthers WWII version of the game playing as Japan vs the Chinese in 1937-38 I believe. Can't remember the name but it was 5 or 6 battles long and had a bunch of odd early war equiptment. The only thing about SP was the long turn times for the AI especially in large battles. If I remember correctly, SPWWII was a smaller scale version of SPWAW. It was fun to play as the Japanese against the more numerous but less skilled Chinese.
Quote from: MengJiao on October 15, 2013, 09:15:45 AM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 15, 2013, 09:05:06 AM
Men of War: Assault Squad has a Pacific Theater mapset and armies. You can fight battles as Japanese, US or Common Wealth. The OOBs are very detailed and specifically tailored as to nationality. I love MoW: AS, but it is fast paced real-time combat, so caveat emptor.
There's the REd Orchestra 2 supermod (something Storm?). You can get it on Steam. I played it a few times. Not my cup of team.
You're thinking of Rising Storm. I've played quite a bit of it and, in fact, it is the reason for this thread.
I play RS pretty much every weekend when I game. It's easy to get into, quick matches, but enough depth that I feel like I get my gaming's worth. The thing is, at some point I get kind of worn out and I want to log off multiplayer and do some single player action. Like I'd like to be a Team Leader, but not commanding actual people but rather AI people. Sometimes I want to stay in the FPS mode and sometimes I wish I could go to turn based mode. This is when I start thinking about what alternatives there are to this game.
I know I can play RS with bots, but I'm looking for something a bit more tailored.
I might have to give Assault Squad a look. That game keeps coming up so maybe it's time I add it to my collection and spend some time with it.
Of course, I could just get with the program and start liking East/West Front more, which of course opens up a plethora of gaming, much of which I already own.
In shopping around I found that most Men of War games were a bit pricey, around 40.00 or so. Amyone see Assault Squad for less?
Quote from: Arctic Blast on October 17, 2013, 12:06:06 AM
Quote from: vyshka on October 16, 2013, 03:39:37 PM
Luckily a revisit to Steel Panthers is on Grigsby list of things to do. The downside is it is supposedly sometime after he finishes off the WITW/WITE series.
How old is Gary? This seems like a potential Robert Jordan/Wheel of Time situation...
...if he dies then someone will finish up his work in a sufficiently awesome and satisfying fashion?
Quote from: Gusington on October 18, 2013, 07:30:27 AM
In shopping around I found that most Men of War games were a bit pricey, around 40.00 or so. Amyone see Assault Squad for less?
They go on deep sales every once in a while at GG, Steam, etc. (I got mine from GG a while back.) With holiday sales on the way, I recommend making a note and holding on.
Cool I'll do that, thanks man.
Just a quick note for anyone wanting to buy any of the "Men of War" titles: They are currently available in the current Groupees Bundle (download only) and therefore quite cheap to get: http://groupees.com/1cmb
Well, I'll be doggoned Ladonis. That totally worked. I picked up Assault Squad and Fantasy Wars for $1 and got like 6 extra games as bonuses. Nice find!
Jesus H...and here I am in the middle of moving with less than stellar internet access. How long does the sale last?
I think it was for a couple of weeks at least. I can grab a copy for you if you'd like.