Steam & Iron

Gusington · February 16, 2013, 04:41:43 PM

Saw this mentioned in Bismarck's thread and I know next to nothing about it. A lot of youse seem to love it so I ask you: why?

I am a dread[nought]head and I would love a game with a campaign set during WWI. Post your impressions, complaints, etc...and allow me to pick your brains. Thanks all.

Nefaro · February 16, 2013, 04:43:45 PM

Because it's a decent representation of WWI naval battles, and it's UI is exceptionally easy to get along with compared to other naval wargames. It probably resembles Harpoon Classic the most, regarding looks, but it's much easier to use than that or (for example) Jutland.

It only has a serial code activation (no phone-home DRM or extra client software).

Gusington · February 16, 2013, 04:44:38 PM

^Quickest response ever. Exceptionally easy to get into, really?

Nefaro · February 16, 2013, 04:47:08 PM

Quote from: Gusington on February 16, 2013, 04:44:38 PM
^Quickest response ever. Exceptionally easy to get into, really?

I'm sure you'll want to read up a bit on some of the finer details, but I found the interface quite intuitive in a simple point & click way that was easy to pick up on. Game mechanics-wise, you'll still want to investigate what does what. It's just easy to put your strategy into action via the interface.

Grim.Reaper · February 16, 2013, 04:49:23 PM

Demo exists...easy way to try and see if you like.

http://forums.navalwarfare.net/showthread.php?2328-******-INFORMATION-AND-DOWNLOADS-THREAD-******

Gusington · February 16, 2013, 04:54:42 PM

^Thanks guys. I have to admit that just a cursory look at the game and it looks like work. Should I just get over that initial reaction?

Nefaro · February 16, 2013, 04:57:51 PM

Quote from: Gusington on February 16, 2013, 04:54:42 PM
^Thanks guys. I have to admit that just a cursory look at the game and it looks like work. Should I just get over that initial reaction?

Every wargame is "work", if you think about it. :P

Gusington · February 16, 2013, 04:59:44 PM

True but I mean work like what I get paid to do during the day. I haven't seen any shots of Steam and Iron that don't look like a spreadsheet. How does this game draw you in?

Nefaro · February 16, 2013, 05:11:30 PM

Quote from: Gusington on February 16, 2013, 04:59:44 PM
True but I mean work like what I get paid to do during the day. I haven't seen any shots of Steam and Iron that don't look like a spreadsheet. How does this game draw you in?

You've gotta be into the whole big-gunned naval battle thing, obviously. It does have some minimal eye candy, in the form of a ship view window, at the bottom left, which was added in an update at some point. So you click on a ship and see a top down view of where it's guns are pointing and get an idea whether any of them have been knocked out (on enemy ships) or take a quick look at your own.

Still.. most of it is lines of dots on a map, with optional name labels over them, and pop-up status windows available for each. You'll just be telling squadron/division leaders where to steer and at what speed, along with a few general engagement orders. That's something that helps make it easy.. course & speed.. the rest is cheese.

I dunno what scenarios are in the demo, but try a smaller one with just a couple divisions. All you gotta do is maneuver into an optimal gun range (hopefully you have the advantage and speed enough to keep them at your preferred range) and broadside them. Each ship's pop-up window has a Gunnery Modifiers button you can hit to see what bonuses/penalties your gunfire, against the current target, has. Things such as firing down wind into your own smoke stack exhaust and (IIRC) firing towards a target backlit by the sun at dawn/dusk give you extra environmental penalties/bonuses, Sea State, Target/Firer Speed, etc will show on that modifier list. But there are only a relative few factors if you compare them to a land-based wargame, so that mixed with the L/R-click windows style interface made it easy (for me, anyway).

In comparison, if you play Harpoon Classic (which this most looks like) or H3, there is far more to know regarding weapon systems & their employment, and the interfaces of those games can be rather annoying (especially H3/ANW IMO). With S&I, it's just a matter of getting into an advantageous gun range and maneuvering to keep it while you blast away with the big guns.

Gusington · February 16, 2013, 05:17:44 PM

^Thanks...sounds 'simple yet elegant' as the kids say. In reading up on it I see that players can also set up ship to ship engagements, which sounds fun.

Nefaro · February 16, 2013, 05:23:38 PM

Another good thing about S&I - it has most of the vessels from the whole war available for use. Whereas Jutland only has a specific set that were available in the North Sea for a specific one year period, and you gotta buy rather expensive DLC to expand your stable.

Don't get me wrong, Jutland is a great game for many reasons. But it's just more difficult to issue orders via it's UI, and you tend to be pushed into using it's 2D map for such things anyway. The actual orders pop-up can be quite confusing, too. However, if you want some extra 3D eye candy, you'll want to go the Jutland route. Otherwise, if you can't get into the whole thing without seeing big explosions in 3D, then you'll have problems getting into S&I. Jutland's 3D graphics aren't anything amazing at all, but it does have them.

There is a demo (locked) version of Jutland, if you've not tried that either. You gotta install the StormPowered client and then you can just tell it to install. I'd say give them both a try and see, if you want to see big guns go BOOM.

Gusington · February 16, 2013, 05:55:04 PM

^I can live without the big explosions and the client. But I still want to hear more about what makes each vessel different in S&I, etc. Jutland is off the table for me so it's really S&I or nothing.

Herman Hum · February 16, 2013, 07:42:38 PM

Quote from: Gusington on February 16, 2013, 04:59:44 PM
I haven't seen any shots of Steam and Iron that don't look like a spreadsheet. How does this game draw you in?

Try these out:

Other Wargames: Steam and Iron

Gusington · February 16, 2013, 09:34:29 PM

Thanks.

Sir Slash · February 16, 2013, 11:24:00 PM

I played them both and RJW was just about right for the engine. Jutland was just too big to handle everything going on at once in the large fleet battles. SAI allows you to fight any large naval battle from WWI easily. The AI controls a large part of your fleet and you give it specific division orders and you just drive the ships directly under your control. It works very well. A huge battle like Jutland is easily playable and you can concentrate on getting into favorable shooting position against the enemy, withdrawing, or whatever. The system is easy to learn and time can be compressed to turn that hour long close on the enemy into a few seconds. Plus virtually every ship pre or post dreadnaught is included. Battles go from 1912-1919 and include mining ops, shore bombardments, subs, merchants etc. If these guys get the campaign done right, this one will be a classic. The ideal game would be the look of Jutland along with the ease of use of SAI.