SSI's/SSG's Ardennes Offensive game

agathosdaimon · July 24, 2013, 09:23:25 AM

Hallo!
I have an old game i got not too long ago "The Ardennes Offensive" from 1997. I really like the design of it but unfortunately the game seems to just freeze up after about 5 minutes everytime. I installed it on windows 7 64bit using a 32bit setup.exe installer. I am wondering if anyone may have any advice or ideas on how to actually get it working?

I have the Battlefront game from SSG also which is good though not as easy with the interface and also lacking battles of the bulge scenarios. Battlefront also seems to have some really ugly graphical glitches that flicker on and off when i move the mouse over certain units or buttons.
It seems that with the battlefront system the old dos games still seem to be the most stable and bug free of the lot (i liked also that you were giving orders in the old battlefront rather than pushing counters however the system now is still fun and it like its combat resolution system)

I am just going through some old games this week that are in my collection and thought i would try and get this one working again.

Speaking of the Ardennes 1944 - it seems that of all the remade/re-released battleground series of games. The old "Battleground Ardennes" has been overlooked altogether - that was a good game that shouldnt be forgotten - or is it covered in John Tillers Campaigns Series?

Tuna · July 24, 2013, 09:36:52 AM

I think, if you buy Battles in Italy, there is the TAO scenario you can download for it. Can't remember if it had AI or not. The description would probably say.

steve58 · July 24, 2013, 10:16:55 AM

Quote from: agathosdaimon on July 24, 2013, 09:23:25 AM
Hallo!
I have an old game i got not too long ago "The Ardennes Offensive" from 1997. I really like the design of it but unfortunately the game seems to just freeze up after about 5 minutes everytime. I installed it on windows 7 64bit using a 32bit setup.exe installer. I am wondering if anyone may have any advice or ideas on how to actually get it working?

Some things you can try:

Try setting the Compatibility to Windows XP (right click on the game shortcut, select Properties, click on the Compatibility tab. Check the "Run this program in Compatibility mode..." box and select Windows XP SP 2 from the drop down menu. Also check the Run as Administrator box, then click on Apply. If that doesn't work, you may want to try experimenting (one at a time) with the items under Settings (run in 256 colors, 640x480, etc).

Do you have Windows 7 Pro? If so, try running it under the XP Mode (a Windows XP Virtual PC).

There is also DosBox. "An open source DOS emulator for BeOS, Linux, Mac OS X, OS/2, and Windows. Primarily focuses on running DOS Games."

Tinkershuffle · July 24, 2013, 10:30:49 AM

I think the only way to get it work unfortunately is to get older OS.

Nefaro · July 24, 2013, 05:53:31 PM

Quote from: Tinkershuffle on July 24, 2013, 10:30:49 AM
I think the only way to get it work unfortunately is to get older OS.

This.

The old TAO has not worked on anything since WinXP, from the chatter I'd seen over the years. That's why it had been redone for the newer version(s) like BiI.

Staggerwing · July 24, 2013, 06:07:47 PM

It never work for me under WinXP either, FWIW.

I'm still tempted to buy one of the newer SSG games but the Tokyo-by-Night interface is a little harsh.

bbmike · July 24, 2013, 06:59:40 PM

Don't give up! Try the script in the SP:WaW thread but modified for your game. Also try DOSBOX if you haven't. I can't believe it won't work.

Boggit · July 24, 2013, 07:58:09 PM

Quote from: Tuna on July 24, 2013, 09:36:52 AM
I think, if you buy Battles in Italy, there is the TAO scenario you can download for it. Can't remember if it had AI or not. The description would probably say.

Yes it does. I have it too. TAO comes with the main game IIRC - I don't think you even need to download it separately. I haven't played it in a long while though.

agathosdaimon · July 25, 2013, 12:45:47 AM

thanks

the SPwaw fix thread reminds me to try the explorer kill batch file thingy - i cant recall what the script for that is again, the one that temporary disable explorer and starts it again when i close the game.

I would like to get those other SSG games on the matrix site but they are very expensive and seem to only have about 1-4 scenarios a piece. Looking on Ebay i found Korsun Pocket for about 21.00aud and that game does come with the Ardennes Offensive scenario included so i will get that one.
I like hte battlefront game but until i sit down and read the manual, i am not sure of half the buttons i push as to what they are doing and worse still there is nothing in the game to tell me what values mean what. I just keep moving things until they dont move anymore.
In particular i am not sure why sometimes i can attack and other times the red button is grayed out - the little explosion to symbolise combat comes up but i cant resolve it - did i attack? . I am also not sure what the details for the units mean, when you right click and bring up the hex details and then select the unit there is this image of divided into four parts with a unit silhoutte in each and a number and also they have different colours - can anyone tell me what these mean at all?

and of course the graphics glitches are the absolute worst i have ever seen. They dont stop me playing but they are so horribble looking as almost make one throw up - it looks like ones graphics card has exploded and looks like a tv image that has poor reception with colour white noise scambling the screen every now again - its the only game i have that does this, - oh wait Hussar Games 'Napoleon in Italy' does it every now and again but that much less interrupting. The scrambled image in Battlefront occurs when i move the mouse over certain buttons or units usually when i am at the lower part of a map.

Nefaro · July 25, 2013, 03:29:01 AM

I think the TAO scenario even came with Korsun Pocket.

ComradeP · July 25, 2013, 06:25:20 AM

I've never played The Ardennes Offensive in its original shape, but have played the other similar SSG games since then.

The 4 parts are probably unit steps, where each number represents attack and defense values at a certain step strength. As a unit loses steps, its attack and defense strength decreases.

I don't know if the original TAO included divisional integrity bonuses, if that's the case a unit's strength will be modified by a certain percentage if all units belonging to the formation are within a certain number of hexes from eachother (if the radius is 5, all units need to be within 5 hexes, or possibly 6 for 1 unit).

You might need a certain amount of minimum odds to initiate an attack, which means you might be able to select units for an attack, but can't launch it.

agathosdaimon · July 25, 2013, 09:18:03 AM

Thankyou, that makes sense. I didnt understand what people meant when i heard previous talk of the use of steps but no i do - i likethis system. I wonder if the old ds battlefrnt games like panzer battles used steps.

Tinkershuffle · July 25, 2013, 02:51:15 PM

I'm also trying to learn to play SSG's Battlefront at the moment. Step mechanics are widely used in tabletop wargames and Battlefront is really trying to catch that boardgamey feeling, maybe even a bit too much for my taste.

Tinkershuffle · July 25, 2013, 02:53:12 PM

When we've learnt the game system are you willing to start a PBEM agathosdaimon? ;)

agathosdaimon · July 26, 2013, 12:34:35 AM

Hi Tinkershuffle

yeah totally - that would be great, i like the occasonal PBEM now - i was playing someone on HPS Campaigns Austerlitz over PBEM recently but he seems to have just disappeared now halfway through (hopefully nothing bad has befallen him - he certainly still seemed to have the upper hand in the battle) and so i am would be keen to do something else now via PBEM