What is your favorite game strategy setting?
I know that I go through phases, but generally I most enjoy the following settings in this order.
Space
Fantasy
Ancient
Medieval
WW2
American Civil War
Modern (Post WW2)
Now if I had to put a game with the setting it'd go something like this at least for today. Nor are they limited to a particular level of warfare Strategic, Operational, or Tactical.
Space - Distant Worlds
Fantasy - Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes
Ancient - Rome 2
Medieval- Nothing there is a serious lack of games set here, but by default it'd be Medieval Total War 2
WW2 - This is a tough one. I'd say Battle Fronts CMX2 series, Battle Academy, or Combat Ops: Battles of the Bulge.
American Civil War - Forge of Freedom
Modern (Post WW2) - HPS Vietnam Squad Battles or CM: Shock Force/Afghanistan
The top three are neck and neck...
Ancient
Medieval
American Civil War
WW2
Modern (Post WW2)
WW1
Napoleon
Space
Fantasy
WW2
American Civil War
Modern (Post WW2)
Napoleon
Medieval
Ancient
WW1
Space
Fantasy
I'd go with:
WW2
Victorian era colonial conflicts
Modern/Hypothetical
Ancients
Feudal Japan
WWI (air only)
Napoleonic
ACW
Space
Fantasy
Medieval
Renaissance
I need to add in American Revolution/Early American wars. Mostly because I do really like Birth of America 2, Campaign 1776, and French and Indian War.
This was tougher to come up with than I originally thought. Here is my list subject to change depending on my current gaming mood. :)
Medieval/Fantasy (I couldn't make up my mind)
WW2
American Civil War
Ancient
Modern (Post WW2)
WW1
Space
Space (seems to be my goto lately)
WW2 PTO
WW2 ETO
Modern
Fantasy
WWII ETO
Modern ETO
Space
Age of Exploration
Fantasy
Quote from: Bison on December 31, 2013, 01:05:32 PM
What is your favorite game strategy setting?
I know that I go through phases, but generally I most enjoy the following settings in this order.
Space
Fantasy
Ancient
Medieval
WW2
American Civil War
Modern (Post WW2)
Now if I had to put a game with the setting it'd go something like this at least for today. Nor are they limited to a particular level of warfare Strategic, Operational, or Tactical.
Space - Distant Worlds
Fantasy - Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes
Ancient - Rome 2
Medieval- Nothing there is a serious lack of games set here, but by default it'd be Medieval Total War 2
WW2 - This is a tough one. I'd say Battle Fronts CMX2 series, Battle Academy, or Combat Ops: Battles of the Bulge.
American Civil War - Forge of Freedom
Modern (Post WW2) - HPS Vietnam Squad Battles or CM: Shock Force/Afghanistan
After a few moments of reflection, I realized I don't care much for strategy. I played WitP:AE for years -- BUT -- the whole point of it was to do something sneaky and local -- yep -- while my opponent steadily won the war, I did the sneaky and unexpected on a local scale.
Similarly, when I think of WW2, I don't think of the hideous deaths of millions, I think of the swishing of radar antennae, the beeping of code signals, a phone call from STAVAKA, or the first flash of Trinity.
When I think of the ancient world, I don't dwell on the trap of armies, but of the signs being read in the temples (ancestral voices propheseying war), messages on clay, the smoke of distant beacons.
I seem to be much more at home in a flight sim or at most looking after a battalion or two in Combat Mission X.XX.
Now, on the other hand, larger operations (not quite strategic), like running a Dark Age Kingdom (there is no such game) or a
Soviet Army in Nov 41 north of Lake Ilmein on a 40 km front (no such game), or the Expedition of Cortez (no such game), or some Tribes in the Solomons (no such game) or the Navajo (there is such a game) -- now those have some direct appeal.
WW2 Eastern Front
Space
WW2 Med/Africa
Ancient era
Modern era Cold War / Arab - Israeli conflicts
QuoteSoviet Army in Nov 41 north of Lake Ilmein on a 40 km front (no such game
I haven't played this game in awhile,but I think Roads to Leningrad by GMT is close to that area and timeframe.(Summer of 41 near Soltzy and Staraya Russa just South of lake Ilmen.
http://boardgamegeek.com/images/boardgame/11269/roads-to-leningrad
It's a boardgame though so that probably doesn't count.
Space: Armada 2526, Birth of the Federation, Distant Worlds
Medieval: Crusader Kings II, Medieval Total War/Viking Invasion
Ancient: Rome II Total War
Fantasy: Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes
Age of Exploration/Age of Imperialism: Imperialism II
Napoleonic Era/Victorian Age: ??
WWII: ??
WWI: ??
Quote from: Dolan50 on December 31, 2013, 03:07:33 PM
QuoteSoviet Army in Nov 41 north of Lake Ilmein on a 40 km front (no such game
I haven't played this game in awhile,but I think Roads to Leningrad by GMT is close to that area and timeframe.(Summer of 41 near Soltzy and Staraya Russa just South of lake Ilmen.
http://boardgamegeek.com/images/boardgame/11269/roads-to-leningrad
It's a boardgame though so that probably doesn't count.
I'm good with board games in the mix, but then about all I own are WW2 tactical level games. :o
Quote from: Dolan50 on December 31, 2013, 03:07:33 PM
QuoteSoviet Army in Nov 41 north of Lake Ilmein on a 40 km front (no such game
I haven't played this game in awhile,but I think Roads to Leningrad by GMT is close to that area and timeframe.(Summer of 41 near Soltzy and Staraya Russa just South of lake Ilmen.
http://boardgamegeek.com/images/boardgame/11269/roads-to-leningrad
It's a boardgame though so that probably doesn't count.
That's a great game! Right scale for me. Not very strategic. So there is such a game and I've even played it.
Classical/Ancient
Age of Enlightenment/Colonialism/Empire (17th-18th centuries)
WWI
Late Cold War
Fantasy
Space
ACW
Modern
..?
WW2
?
Profit
Quote from: Bison on December 31, 2013, 03:22:46 PM
Quote from: Dolan50 on December 31, 2013, 03:07:33 PM
QuoteSoviet Army in Nov 41 north of Lake Ilmein on a 40 km front (no such game
I haven't played this game in awhile,but I think Roads to Leningrad by GMT is close to that area and timeframe.(Summer of 41 near Soltzy and Staraya Russa just South of lake Ilmen.
http://boardgamegeek.com/images/boardgame/11269/roads-to-leningrad
It's a boardgame though so that probably doesn't count.
I'm good with board games in the mix, but then about all I own are WW2 tactical level games. :o
Well...I used to have stacks of the things, but they are mostly gone. Only Advanced Tobruk is left in the Barn because I like the really big chunks of cardboard apparenlty.
Tactically -- I'm going with computers as much as possible. The big exception is naval games. I think boardgames are still way ahead there. Operationally, boardgames still have that to themselves really. There's nothing like PQ-17 or even Where Eagles Dare in the computer world.
Which is kind of odd. Computers could obviously do operational games quite well, but of course there's not much of a public for them.
Great thread! My $0.02:
1. WW2. By a country mile. Probably 2/3 of my gaming collection is WW2. Too many faves to list, but I always return to: HoI3, Decisive Campaigns, GTOS, Company of Heroes...
2. Space. SOTS2, Sins of a Solar Empire
3. WW1. AGEOD WWI Gold, RoF
4. 19th Century/Napoleonics/Civil War. Victoria 2, Forge of Freedom, AGEOD Nap's Campaigns
5. Sports. Can I sneak this in here? Esp. sims where you run a franchise, a la OOTP. But am having a blast with NBA 2K14 of late as well...
6. Fantasy. Skyrim / Oblivion, Baldur's Gate 2
7. Medieval. CK2
8. Ancient. Hegemony
Quote from: MengJiao on December 31, 2013, 03:43:18 PM
Which is kind of odd. Computers could obviously do operational games quite well, but of course there's not much of a public for them.
I don't know. Combat Ops is an extremely solid operational level wargame.
It used to be WWII because it was most familiar to me. Then came Civilization. Then Warlock. So:
WWII
All eras
Fantasy
Cool thread which tears at the innards of my psyche. My favorite historical setting in general is the Victorian Age and WWI, but it's hard to find really good games that keep my interest on the PC. Victoria games and other Paradox releases just don't do it for me.
Second would be fantasy/medieval. One of my favorite games of all time is Medieval 2 Total War and all its mods. Poured thousands of hours into them.
Third is ancient/classical. What is the difference between the two labels? Is there any? Rome 2 comes to mind as does Hegemony.
In order:
Space
Modern
Ancient
Napoleonic (18th-19th century in Europe)
ACW
Medieval
WW1
My neighbors back yard
Sewage treatment plant
Anything else
WW2
WW1
WW2
Modern era
Inter-war period
- WW2
- Space
- 1948-1973 Arab Israeli Wars
- WW1
- Ancients and Medieval
Woot, great fun question. I think one can vacillate between favorites but for me always the top are
1. Napoleonic Era
2. Cold War 1970's-80's hypothetical
3. . WW2 Eastern front
4. renaissance europe 1500's-1700's
5. ancient world
6. american civil war
7. Ww2 Pacific naval
8. Ww2 North Africa
9. Medieval
10. sci-fi
11. fantasy
Anything I can win at. But really WWII, Napoleonic, Roman, then WWI or Medieval. No space or modern era games for me please. And Fantasy only tactically. Of course anything I can win at is pretty much fantasy.
I'd go with space, first...especially 4x space games. I a game is a good high level one with lots of good researching, economic, warfare, and other factors to it, then it doesn't necessarily have to be space; it can be anything if it's engaging enough.
Next would be WW2, especially Eastern Front or late-game Götterdämmerung kind of stuff.
Modern combat, especially NATO vs. Warsaw Pact is right up there.
Also enjoy Civil War stuff. Used to be more into Napoleonics but only if the system is easy to learn and fast playing.
Then ancients, including Roman and Greek warfare and Middle Ages themes.
All are about equal at times; it just depends on my gaming mood swings.
That's a hard choice but using the ones you listed I would have to go with;
Modern (Post WW2)
WW2
Space
Medieval
Ancient
Fantasy
American Civil War
Modern (Post WW2)
Quote from: Gusington on December 31, 2013, 05:37:57 PM
Third is ancient/classical. What is the difference between the two labels? Is there any?
They're essentially the same, at least from a layman's perspective. I tend not to call it the Classical era myself, but that's mostly to reduce confusion when discussing the musical period of the same name.
Quote from: Gusington on December 31, 2013, 05:37:57 PM
Rome 2 comes to mind as does Hegemony.
Gah, forgot about
Hegemony! Good call
Gus.
Quote from: MengJiao on December 31, 2013, 02:45:35 PM
a Dark Age Kingdom (there is no such game)
If i was going to do anything productive this year it would be to learn how to code a WITP scale Dark Ages/Medieval game
Hegemony is a great game and I am not even a great fan of ancient Greece. Hegemony: Rome is supposed to be released 1st quarter this year.
I have a copy of Great Invasions buried somewhere...that game takes place between the 5th and 11th centuries...once known as The Dark Ages. There are also multiple mods for Medieval 2 Total War for Dark Age campaigns.
Quote from: Gusington on January 01, 2014, 04:13:32 PM
I have a copy of Great Invasions buried somewhere...that game takes place between the 5th and 11th centuries...once known as The Dark Ages.
It's still known as the Dark Ages.
Even during the daytime?
Quote from: Gusington on January 01, 2014, 04:13:32 PM
Hegemony is a great game and I am not even a great fan of ancient Greece. Hegemony: Rome is supposed to be released 1st quarter this year.
I have a copy of Great Invasions buried somewhere...that game takes place between the 5th and 11th centuries...once known as The Dark Ages. There are also multiple mods for Medieval 2 Total War for Dark Age campaigns.
I have GI as well. I started a game as early as I could date wise but the game locked me out after a few turns. I couldn't give orders to any of my units for some buggy reason. I keep meaning to start it up a new game but have not gotten around to it. Now I have to track down where I archived the installer.
Quote from: Staggerwing on January 01, 2014, 07:11:27 PM
Even during the daytime?
Yeah. It was also colder. Some sort of climate change thingy going on but without the combustion engine.
WWI
Anglo-Boer Wars
American Civil War
Russo-Japanese War
WWII
Russian Civil War
Everything else beyond that is of little or occasional interest.
Modern
WWI
Scifi
WWII
1. WW2 Naval Operations - Especially Carrier Ops
2. Age of Sail Naval Ops
3. Trading/Building games - Anno
4. Spaaaace
Quote from: Bison on January 01, 2014, 06:43:02 PM
Quote from: Gusington on January 01, 2014, 04:13:32 PM
I have a copy of Great Invasions buried somewhere...that game takes place between the 5th and 11th centuries...once known as The Dark Ages.
It's still known as the Dark Ages.
They would seem especially dim to anyone who was trying to run a kingdom. You'd say, "How many ships do we have ready for sea
at one week's notice at Hacking?"
The number of confused looks among your sworn warriors and bishops and whatnot around your royal person would be stunning. You'd probably have to send a minister armed with special powers to find out and the court cases in the folk moot and revolts resulting from your trying to find out would drag on for years. Plus it would take a month to find out what you had ready to sail in a week.
- Fantasy is #1 for me, preferably High Fantasy and/or Dark Fantasy. I think the best entry in this genre for atmosphere was probably the Civ IV: Fall from Heaven mod. From a game play standpoint, there were some serious exploits in that mod, but it just oozed atmosphere and provided a nice backdrop for the Player vs Environment situation.
- Sci Fi is #2 for me. Sadly, most of the Sci Fi titles in the last 10 years have been either unoriginal (Master of Orion or just kinda uninspiring (Gal Civ. In terms of atmosphere, I think the best entry in this category would be Homeworld, but how old is that title? I enjoyed MoO 2 but didn't really get into it as much as I could have.
- WW II is #3 for me, although it's where I have my war gaming routes and there are a lot of good games there. It's fascinating, but I just can't get as wholeheartedly excited to be fighting other human beings.
- Modern-era games are the best for me, although I prefer something with a little twist. The best example here, and it could be classified as Sci Fi but doesn't seem to quite meet the description, is the original X-Com: UFO Defense. I think that title gets my nomination for best atmosphere ever.
Other settings come after those.
Modern > Cold War > WW2 > the rest