DC Case Blue is out! Go and get it, it's a gem.

Keunert · July 17, 2012, 07:51:06 AM

Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue is out:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=1069

and to celebrate the launch of the second title the first one, the excellent Warsaw to Paris gets a 10 buck discount!

Barthheart · July 17, 2012, 07:59:23 AM

Congrats Keunert! Looks like a good addition.... just need to come up with the $44 to buy it.

How did you like the beta-testing process? Vic is a great guy to work with.

Sir Slash · July 17, 2012, 08:47:11 AM

I look forward eagerly to some honest opinions on this one I've had my eye on for quite a while.

Keunert · July 17, 2012, 09:02:33 AM

my beta testing was a little limited to playing one of the big scenario's Case Blue Short. Vic really is a great guy. But my testing was due to limited time rather a beta gaming.
i will buy the title anyway.

Sir Slash: the first title of the series DC Warsaw to Paris together with Advanced Tactics Gold are the two games i played most in recent years. Both are designed by Vic. I have no ties with him, i just happen to like what he's doing a lot.
Both games are different but in terms of scale, theme and ui they are just what i love about turn based wargames. I never tried War in the East, it scared me as over complex. DC has rather easy game mechanics, but they are hard to master: there are no odds
to tell you how the attack will turn out, there are different bonus' for multidirectional attacks, for div. coherence and what not.

The new DC title is a little more complex and has lots of additions to the first one. After a few hours of gameplay i really started to like the new stuff. You can now create units (if you lost one) you get reinforcements each turn, there is a dynamic goal system (OKH assigns new objectives during the campaign), if you reach goals you get political points that help you keep the command or enable you to buy new generals, you can ask OKH for more reinforcements or to skip some targets... tons of stuff

the most important for me: the ui is very intuitive and you will get into the game fast. you don't have to use many of the options but i guess mastering them will make you more successfull. the new pbem system also looks very promising (no email sending anymore). if you want to get a feel for the game read the aar's on the wargamer and the armchair general.

gabeeg · July 17, 2012, 11:11:50 AM

This is a really, really nice game. I was a surprised fan of DC:WtP,I was not a big operational fan when I bought it but from the reviews decided to give it a try...I loved it. IMO DC:CB is an improvement in immersion and playability. For me it is currently the best operational series of games on the market (well...turn based that is, Panthers Battles from the Bulge series is right up there as well but it is real time). Right now, if I had to pick an early war game of the the year, DC:CB and NWS's Steam and Iron would be a toss up for me.

If you like WWII operational...even a tiny bit I think this game is a must buy. As much as I enjoy WitE and appreciate the complexity and detail, DC:CB does it better IMHO.

spelk · July 17, 2012, 11:12:13 AM

I have a preview of one of the smaller learning scenarios

http://sugarfreegamer.com/?p=38802

Hopefully it can be regarded as a beginners primer to the game, a lot of the new high command stuff in the new title is disabled in these smaller scenarios though.

Jarhead0331 · July 17, 2012, 11:21:09 AM

My only concern is that it is going to be too much like its predecessor. And while, that would seem like a great thing on the surface, I think using some of the same OOBs over the same general european terrain may get a little old.

Sir Slash · July 17, 2012, 11:25:42 AM

Thanks to all. I have checked-out the AAR's and other posts about this game as well as Warsaw to Paris and I have been a little suspicious as I've not read anything negative about it, Case Blue I mean. It seems almost too good to be true, but this one looks to be a definate buy.

Keunert · July 17, 2012, 01:30:26 PM

Jarhead to answer your concerns: the game needed more than some adjustements to cover an operation of several months. Vic did enhance the game a lot and during my first hours i was a little concerned if those enhancements would make the game less playable.

to give you an idea: Vic introduced oil. at the start of Case Blue you have plenty of it. but with every air strike and every motorized move you will use some up. during my beta playtest i reached zero oil after the first week. not taking care of it my Panzers were immobilized and in danger of encirclement. the next weeks i grounded the Luftwaffe to get my tanks moving. oil reserves went up but during that time i more or less lost all my air advantage and from then on i had rather high air losses.

if you capture on map oil production hexes you will have to wait some turns but then get additional oil from it.

another addition is weather. every now and then heavy rain will practically half your movement, sometimes it happened just in the turn i hoped to close a pocket.

leaders is another addition, and all the axis minor fractions with their poor leaders and their own wishes.

I think you are familiar with HPS titles. i would say the difference between DC1 and DC2 in terms of gameplay is on par or bigger than those in the Panzer Campaign Series. the different scale and timeframe alone makes for a different experience: if you fight the french in DC1 you will eventually see the french collapse. in Case Blue the german player may catch russian units by the dozen, but their different reinforcement rate will make you sweat.

jomni · July 18, 2012, 03:21:08 AM

I just bought this yesterady. Haven't installed yet. Look like this is a "WITE killer".

Keunert · July 18, 2012, 05:38:55 AM

if number of posts and reviews say something about sales, i would say War in the East was a huge success while DC1 was going under the radar by Vic's own words.

ComradeP · July 18, 2012, 08:24:45 AM

Keunert: one thing I'm wondering about, and one of the reasons why I didn't buy the original DC, is: is there enough to do for a prolonged time period? There only seem to be a handful of scenarios and, although at least two of them are big, you will finish them eventually (and they're not WitE/WitP-style big in any case) so what is the replayability like?

35 euro's is not a steep price, so I might buy it in any case, but I'm just wondering.

I tested for Vic for one of his first products and although I like what that product eventually evolved to (Advanced Tactics), it's not entirely my kind of game. DC:WtP was theoretically more my cup of tea, but I didn't buy it for a number of reasons. The games are good though, no doubt about that.

Nefaro · July 18, 2012, 10:49:49 AM

Quote from: ComradeP on July 18, 2012, 08:24:45 AM
Keunert: one thing I'm wondering about, and one of the reasons why I didn't buy the original DC, is: is there enough to do for a prolonged time period? There only seem to be a handful of scenarios and, although at least two of them are big, you will finish them eventually (and they're not WitE/WitP-style big in any case) so what is the replayability like?

35 euro's is not a steep price, so I might buy it in any case, but I'm just wondering.

I tested for Vic for one of his first products and although I like what that product eventually evolved to (Advanced Tactics), it's not entirely my kind of game. DC:WtP was theoretically more my cup of tea, but I didn't buy it for a number of reasons. The games are good though, no doubt about that.

I thought the way that random scenario variants were handled, in the original DC, was brilliant. You don't always quite know which ones have been activated or not (if you keep default settings for them) until you experience it first-hand. Makes for extra fog of war which is great stuff.

ComradeP · July 18, 2012, 01:56:15 PM

I decided to buy it anyway. I might post a (series of) AAR's at Matrix considering that there's no AAR on the forums yet and that I enjoy writing them.

Keunert · July 18, 2012, 02:37:07 PM

Comrade: i think if you want to play DC1 only single player, the content is limited. The AI isn't a challenge after a while. but (i guess not unlike WitE) if you play MP games, the french and polish campaign offer lots of replay value.

With Case Blue you have more scenario's and a bigger campaign. this title offers enough for single players. but with the editor available and the slitherine MP server it should have endless possibilities. i hope some of Advanced Tactic's scenario designers will jump over to Case Blue and enhance the experience.

if you want to have a MP game, let me know. i might do an aar of my side too.