Its Friday!

[JudgeDredd]

Congrats to you and your son paplan!

Still no baby, we're three days overdue now, so it will be CMANO for me until the little guy decides to vacate his current residence. When I'm not corralling the other three away from their mother, that is.

Good luck AR. 4 is indeed an insane amount of work. 2 was enough for me!

[sandman2575]

I have 4 and we never sleep.

Exactly. Also, your kids outnumber you and your wife by 2 to 1. Hasn't tactical wargaming taught you anything??

Every once and a while I think it would be nice to have another kid. Then I think I must be totally insane.

Never lose your grip on that second thought.

;)  (I kid -- I was one of four myself -- I just can't imagine having to deal with that as a parent!)

[Bison]

I have 4 and we never sleep.

Exactly. Also, your kids outnumber you and your wife by 2 to 1. Hasn't tactical wargaming taught you anything??

I refer to the odds ratio of 5:1 and it's debatable whether the dog is for or against me too.  :)

[sandman2575]

I refer to the odds ratio of 5:1 and it's debatable whether the dog is for or against me too.  :)

;D

[Gusington]

I also toy with the idea of more children and then recall The Wife is the oldest of four girls, as is her mom, and then I flush my head down the toilet. Clears my thinking.

I am nearing the end of my space and apocolyptic gaming mood and will be cracking open either Metal Gear V or Attila Age of Charlemagne next, not sure which.

[sandman2575]

I also toy with the idea of more children and then recall The Wife is the oldest of four girls, as is her mom, and then I flush my head down the toilet. Clears my thinking.

I'm impressed with you guys who can even toy with the idea of having more kids. My wife and I had our first, a few years went by, and we both thought, "It'd be really nice for her to have a sibling." Then we had a second.

We let that experience sink in for a few weeks... and then resolved never, ever to contemplate or discuss the possibility of a third...    :)

Anyway I'll stop with the kiddie talk now. There are far more important matters to discuss -- like how awesome we think Mius Front will be? Just pretty awesome? Or mind-blowingly awesome?

[Gusington]

I haven't dared go into that thread for the sake of my gaming wallet.

[Bison]

I must be the only person here who isn't fond of the Graviteam games.

[Anguille]

We have 3 and try to get a fourth...

Now you can guess why i enjoy Master of Orion III   ::)

[Toonces]

Welcome and congratulations, Paplan!

^ I like the idea of Graviteam games,  but sadly the interface kills me every time.  Maybe I'll give SABOW a try tonight...

Anyway, my gaming plans include Scourge of War: Gettysburg and maybe Civil War 2 right now.  And watching some Bon Jovi on Youtube of course.

[Barthheart]

Sure glad there are crazies people out there that enjoy have multiple kids. My wife and I have none, by choice, and are quite happy about thank you very much.  O0

This weekend will be Car Mechanic 0.75 as I attempt to get the timing belt off my car so I can finally remove the head to get the valves fixed.

Also sending Jason 2 turns of DC3 just to throw him off balance.  ^-^

Also Finishing up Wing Leader with SDR and then to start to learn Plan Orange so we can try that.

Also some VASSAL module work.

If I get a chance maybe something different like Civ IV with MD and Tuna or CiV solo.

[MengJiao]

I must be the only person here who isn't fond of the Graviteam games.

  I'm not very fond of them.  I tried hard to like them, but...I just couldn't quite get into them.

[Rayfer]

I must be the only person here who isn't fond of the Graviteam games.

  I'm not very fond of them.  I tried hard to like them, but...I just couldn't quite get into them.

Add my name to the list. Like MJ I tried but it didn't click with me.

[sandman2575]

Unfortunately the Graviteam Tactics games don't do anything to help ease in new players -- the UI is unintuitive and strange. And the game mechanics are unlike any other I've encountered -- it's a completely unique experience and so the learning curve at first can be pretty steep.

So I think to enjoy Op Star and probably now Mius Front, it takes a pretty determined effort. You have to want to solve all the little headaches and confusions. If not, it's very easy to fiddle around with it a few times and just throw up your hands in despair. (I've had a similar experience recently with The Seven Years War -- I suspect there is a really great game in there, but I just haven't had the patience or mental energy to figure it out.)

I guess all I can say is, if you love in-depth WW2 combat simulation, it is absolutely worth the effort of trying to figure Graviteam out.  I've been playing Op Star again of late in anticipation of Mius Front -- after a long hiatus of not playing seriously for maybe 2 years. Combat Mission really took its place for me in the meantime. But going back to Op Star, I'm just very impressed again at what a masterpiece the game is. It offers a much more fluid and dynamic experience than Combat Mission, which can often devolve into micromanagement tedium in which is takes days of gaming sessions just to complete a single 90-minute scenario. Combat Mission still models infantry combat with much more realism and attention to detail, but in some other key respects, Op Star has a sizable edge -- above all with its dynamic campaign, which makes the campaign system of Combat Mission seem really primitive by comparison.

Anyway, not meaning to turn this into a Graviteam vs. Combat Mission debate -- I think they're both excellent. But I just really believe that for anyone who's willing to put up with the steep learning curve and strangeness, Graviteam Tactics (including now Mius Front I have no doubt) offer an incredibly rewarding, satisfying experience.

[Pete Dero]

Unfortunately the Graviteam Tactics games don't do anything to help ease in new players -- the UI is unintuitive and strange. And the game mechanics are unlike any other I've encountered -- it's a completely unique experience and so the learning curve at first can be pretty steep.

Maybe this can help new players : Graviteam Tactics Boot Comp : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx6N3LVwgba0n_wweLFzT_r0-cKi_LIhC

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