NWAC Review

[MIGMaster]

I was just reading the Gamespot review http://www.gamespot.com/naval-war-arctic-circle/reviews/naval-war-arctic-circle-review-6372513/  on NWAC and found this line quite hilarious:

"For the most part, you have to learn missions before you can beat them."

A very sad statement on his gaming skills  ???

Easy to tell this guy is no wargamer!

[LongBlade]

Well, I did get stuck on the #5 game for quite a while.

Eventually I did figure it out - sending ASW planes out to the suspected locations doesn't work on default zoom. You never catch them.

After like 12 FETHING GAMES I finally figured out that zooming in serves the subs right up to you. Then it was easy. In hindsight.

But for the most part, yeah, it's not too difficult to figure out what to do with stuff. But if you're accustomed to RTS games where the trick is to hit more hotkeys faster than anyone else those skills are not transferable.

[mirth]

That's a pretty decent review from a mainstream site like GameSpot. Most of the criticisms are the same one's we've all add, most notably the lack of an in-mission save. And he does acknowledge that the game can be improved with a bit of patching.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

The only one I've had to play a few times in order to learn how to beat is the Viking Funeral mission where you've to to evacuate the VIP from Norway.

[Herman Hum]

I made it through most of the campaign on the first attempt without needing to repeat any scenarios (except the last one).

I agree that it is a click-fest and the game tries to swamp the player with engagements instead of good strategic actions and reactions.

[OJsDad]

I agree that it is a click-fest and the game tries to swamp the player with engagements instead of good strategic actions and reactions.

How disappointing, I have an instore credit with Amazon, and was going to get this game.  Then I read this and will probably wait and see if it improves much.

[LongBlade]

I agree that it is a click-fest and the game tries to swamp the player with engagements instead of good strategic actions and reactions.

How disappointing, I have an instore credit with Amazon, and was going to get this game.  Then I read this and will probably wait and see if it improves much.

I don't think I'd go so far as to say it's a "click-fest."

Yes, there is clicking. But it's not frenetic. You can speed the game up and slow it down. Assign orders and speed up the game, then slow down to issue new ones.

In this latest scenario I'm playing there is an unknown ship or ships missile spamming my ships. To take care of it you have to launch fighters and order them to shoot down the missiles with their missiles.  Yeah, it's some clicking. But it's not StarCraft.

[LongBlade]

Here's the demo on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/200050/

[MIGMaster]

I'm quite enjoying it. It's certainly not perfect, but is definitely an improvement over Jane's Fleet command and is a great break away from the tired Harpoon engine. Personally, I like to see the ships firing their guns, etc...  Last night I even got 2 of my MIG-29's to shoot down incoming Harpoons with their cannon.

It's only going to get better and for the price you can't beat it !

[LongBlade]

Agreed. It's a decent game. Jane's Fleet Command updated, and maybe a tad lighter. The clicking isn't too much more IMHO.

[mirth]

One thing I miss a little from Fleet Command is the live action video cut scenes. Those were kinda cool for moving the campaign along.

[Herman Hum]

I agree that it is a click-fest and the game tries to swamp the player with engagements instead of good strategic actions and reactions.

How disappointing, I have an instore credit with Amazon, and was going to get this game.  Then I read this and will probably wait and see if it improves much.

I don't think I'd go so far as to say it's a "click-fest."

Yes, there is clicking. But it's not frenetic. You can speed the game up and slow it down. Assign orders and speed up the game, then slow down to issue new ones.

Respectfully, click-fest is exactly how I am finding it.  I am hammering away at the fire key in order to get my fighters to engage with guns and shoot down missiles.  The more I hammer, the more I shoot down as the results are very poor if I don't click more often. 

As well, I am literally fighting the interface to select the unit I want in order to issue orders.  I cannot find another way to describe it.  When there are a bunch of units close together, I just cringe as I try to locate the one I actually want.

I understand that some of this may be a personal style of play, but I cannot believe I am the only one who might experience it.  Definitely, trial of the demo is the best way to see if the user interface is acceptable.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I tend to agree with Herman as I find that I often have to repeatedly click on enemy fighters or missiles in order to get my units to effectively engage, regardless of the settings I selected in the battle planner.  However, I don't think this is reflective of the designer's intent but rather a shortcoming in the game's code and I'm hopeful that it'll be addressed in future patches.  The developers seem to be quite active on their forums and receptive to suggestions from the users.

[LongBlade]

Respectfully, click-fest is exactly how I am finding it.  I am hammering away at the fire key in order to get my fighters to engage with guns and shoot down missiles.  The more I hammer, the more I shoot down as the results are very poor if I don't click more often. 

I'm sure you're further along in the campaign than I am so I'll simply say that I am probably playing the first scenario where I can see where that could be possible. It is annoying to see a flock of 20 missiles incoming and yet the planes will engage one and then return to patrol. There should be a setting to tell the planes to run interference against missiles, I agree.

As well, I am literally fighting the interface to select the unit I want in order to issue orders.  I cannot find another way to describe it.  When there are a bunch of units close together, I just cringe as I try to locate the one I actually want.

I agree that a bunch of units close together can be difficult to get the right one. Usually I just set the speed to slow and zoom in, it isn't very elegant. I'm not overly bothered by it, but, as they say, YMMV, and legitimately so.

I understand that some of this may be a personal style of play, but I cannot believe I am the only one who might experience it.  Definitely, trial of the demo is the best way to see if the user interface is acceptable.

Agreed. I haven't played the demo to see what it presents. The early scenarios don't seem to be producing some of the issues found later. Still, a demo will give some idea of the style of gameplay.

[Nefaro]

I tend to agree with Herman as I find that I often have to repeatedly click on enemy fighters or missiles in order to get my units to effectively engage, regardless of the settings I selected in the battle planner.  However, I don't think this is reflective of the designer's intent but rather a shortcoming in the game's code and I'm hopeful that it'll be addressed in future patches.  The developers seem to be quite active on their forums and receptive to suggestions from the users.

Saddening.

One thing that drives me nuts is unresponsive or inactive AI, and having to micromanage them instead.