Hornet Leader PC v Phantom Leader PC

Wolfe1759 · November 15, 2013, 07:38:12 PM

Possibly a question targeted at JudgeDredd

I've got the Matrix version of HL is it worth buying the PC version of PL ?

My only reservation at this stage is that PL PC seems more like a iPad App.

Barthheart · November 15, 2013, 08:44:50 PM

Well... PL was originally released for the iPad so it's gonna feel that way.

As for the game play, PL plays very differently than HL.

If you enjoyed HL get them both. Great fun.

Nefaro · November 15, 2013, 11:55:36 PM

Despite being a port from an iPad, Phantom Leader actually looks far better than Hornet Leader. I also found it easier to play, as the interface is very straightforward yet descriptive enough to keep you informed.

If I had a choice of which style the third one would be? Phantom Leader. Every time.

jomni · November 16, 2013, 12:18:54 AM

Yes. I do not like the art in Matrix Hornet Leader. If only they copied the look of the card / board game like Phantom Leader.
I actually bought the Hornet Leader Vassal modules afterwards. :)

Gameplay-wise, Phantom leader has some unique elements like politics which greatly alters how the game is played.
I have Phantom Leader board game, PC, iPad.

Nefaro · November 16, 2013, 12:22:28 AM

Quote from: jomni on November 16, 2013, 12:18:54 AM
Yes. I do not like the art in Matrix Hornet Leader. If only they copied the look of the card / board game like Phantom Leader.

Not only that, but I've found the interface easier to manipulate in Phantom Leader PC, too. There is also the issue of Hornet Leader only running at one fixed resolution - 1280x1024. That has been a problem for some people, especially ones trying to play it on their laptop or smaller screens.

JasonPratt · November 16, 2013, 12:37:13 PM

Also, the one time I tried to run HL, it developed some kind of post-mission fatal bug. >:( I'd've sent it straight back to Matrix if I could, almost for the other reasons mentioned above alone, but the bug really hurt. I uninstalled and haven't played since.

Phantom Leader I'm interested in, but am waiting to make sure no bugs.

JudgeDredd · November 16, 2013, 05:16:32 PM

All said here.

HL was not good - not at all. Didn't look good, didn't play good and, worse, looked nothing like the boardgame. I always feel a board game stands a better chance of being successful as a computer game if it keeps the look and feel...particularly when the look and feel are so good.

PL I never played on PC. Phantom Leader is a fantastic boardgame and my favourite of all the leader games to date. I don't know what the PC one is like, though I have seen gameplay and screenies and it looks like the boardgame and seems to play like it too.

If you can afford both, I'd say get Phantom Leader boardgame ;)

If you really want to play them on PC, then I suspect (at least from what I saw) that PL looked like a pretty good port of the boardgame. Hornet Leader wasn't imo

JasonPratt · November 17, 2013, 11:28:46 AM

On the other hand, Hornet Leader allows a Cthulhu extension (though not for the PC port which only seems cursed by Cthulhu).

So there's that. :)

Wolfe1759 · November 22, 2013, 01:41:02 PM

Thanks for the replys.

Think I might stick with my 1st Ed. Phantom Leader board game and put the money towards a future purchase of the Delux Hornet Leader board game and maybe the Cthulhu expansion.

JasonPratt · December 07, 2013, 02:03:13 PM

I asked this over in the Card game subcategory, but I'll ask it here, too (and in another DVG computer game thread), 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? ??? It doesn't seem possible to play it on the pdf file per se!

Barthheart · December 07, 2013, 11:44:38 PM

Quote from: JasonPratt on December 07, 2013, 02:03:13 PM
I asked this over in the Card game subcategory, but I'll ask it here, too (and in another DVG computer game thread), 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? ??? It doesn't seem possible to play it on the pdf file per se!

Yes, PDF versions require you to print out the cards to play.