The Immense Pleasure of Huge Wargames

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Commander Stormwolf


nah.. all you need is a second player to sort out your logistics for you [;)]

so all your time can be allocated to scheming and plotting [8D]

I've tried that solution and it does HELP! [:D]

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: USS America

But if you made a mega wargame closer to a "Civilization" game in interface, while still keeping the hard-core underhood, and added the power and reach of Steam to find untapped younger gamers, you might have the beginnings of a viable model.

Moose, this is EXACTLY what the next generation mega wargame needs to be! Easy and fun to use, while hard core, accurate data driven is the answer. Keep all of the detail that we love, just make it easier and more fun do do. [8D]

I don't care for/about Steam, but I see how that could potentially expand the reach of a game.

Up until about 18 months ago I was a Steam hater. I heard all the stories about early crash bugs, and resource hogging, etc. But I eventually really wanted a game which used Steam for DRM, so I reluctantly loaded the client. It worked seamlessly and was not a hog at all, and I quickly saw how easy it was to impulse buy games which weren't at local brick & mortar anyway. Soon I was checking all the mid-week and Friday specials as part of my routine. By waiting for sales I've gotten games for nearly nothing (COD Modern Warfare for $9; Sims3 with three add-on packs for $35; Tropico 3 with add-on pack for $14.99, GTA IV for $10, etc.) No gas, no drive time, no sales tax. And I don't have to store CD/DVDs anymore, or chase down patches.

Not very many people who still PC-game instead of console who don't know about Steam, or don't have broadband. I'd bet less than 1 in a 1000 have ever heard of Matrix Games. It's not 2005 anymore.

[ilovestrategy]

Bullwinkle, the only reason I even know about Matrix was from finding GG World At War on sale at Best Buy on a shelf in 2005. If not for that I would have ever known that this company existed.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: ilovestrategy

Bullwinkle, the only reason I even know about Matrix was from finding GG World At War on sale at Best Buy on a shelf in 2005. If not for that I would have ever known that this company existed.

I can't even remember how I found my way there. My best guess would be a mention in an issue of "Computer Gaming World", the mere mention of which points to me as a fossil.

[USSAmerica]

I found Matrix while searching for information about the original PacWar and discovered that some guys did a free, updated version of it. They had this game out called Uncommon Valor, and were working on a version to cover the entire Pacific Theater. [X(]

Guess the place kind of stuck on me. [:)]

[Nikademus]

I found Matrix by their simple use of the Steel Panthers series as a marketing tool. Pretty clever

[Canoerebel]

Back in the '90s, I used to play a free computer PBEM game called "Fighting Flattops," whcih covered the same general theater as Uncommon Valor, though in very simple fashion.  After stopping for a long time, I went back in 2002 to try to find FF.  I did, but discovered that it had converted to pay-to-play.  It wasn't worth it, because the game was very simple and also subject to cheats (as I l had learned to my chagrine against one opponent).

In searching for something that might take it's place, I stumbled across Uncommon Valor.  That was in December 2002.  I soon bought the game and played some matches against folks like Admiral Dadman, John III and Miller.  I gnashed my teeth when John III moved off to WitP, which I thought was too big and labor intensive.  But around 2006 I followed John III like a little pupply.

Thus began my love affair.....

Edited to add: My love affair with WitP/AE (not John III, I hasten to say!).

[Dili]

ORIGINAL: PizzaMan

Why hasn't anyone converted SPI's Campaign for North Africa to PC? I would think a uber phat game like that would lend itself well to PC.

Campaign for North Africa

A Game in Mediterranean will to have be able to do everything well: Sea, Land, Air.

There isn't any game in history of Wargames that is able to do that. The only close one is WITP and even then it fails at land combat/supply(fuel).

[gradenko2k]

I actually read somewhere that a couple players who were crazy enough to try and play the Campaign for North Africa found that air-strikes/air-power was pretty overpowered in that game.

[PizzaMan]

ORIGINAL: JeffK

ORIGINAL: PizzaMan

Why hasn't anyone converted SPI's Campaign for North Africa to PC? I would think a uber phat game like that would lend itself well to PC.

Campaign for North Africa

(And I'm serious) USA forces are basically non existant, too much of the (perceived)market are not interested.
But maybe the Europa market might get into it, all those budding Montys,Rommels and Grazianis might make it worthwhile.

But if they did a good game I'd buy 2 copies to make up for them.

Since you are serious, how are WitE sales in the USA compared to Europe? There are even fewer USA forces in WiTE, yet Campaign for North Africa has some USA made vehicles.

[PizzaMan]

ORIGINAL: Dili

ORIGINAL: PizzaMan

Why hasn't anyone converted SPI's Campaign for North Africa to PC? I would think a uber phat game like that would lend itself well to PC.

Campaign for North Africa

A Game in Mediterranean will to have be able to do everything well: Sea, Land, Air.

I have to disagree. The original CNA design was intended to be a complete ground game (and it is!!). Air is an after-thought (as it was in RL for the scope and time frame of the game), and I don't believe that Naval is even factored into the game (It's been a few years since I've looked at the game, I vaguely recall that ports were open or closed during certain dates).

[treespider]

ORIGINAL: USS America

I found Matrix while searching for information about the original PacWar and discovered that some guys did a free, updated version of it. They had this game out called Uncommon Valor, and were working on a version to cover the entire Pacific Theater. [X(]

Guess the place kind of stuck on me. [:)]

[Buckrock]

I found Matrix when a search for "Japanese sex kitten" took me to some thread on the Kitakami.

[Skyros]

Not sure how I got to matrix but I used to follow pa war on the old GENIE network.

[LST Express]

I don't remember how I found Matrix either. I remember taking a look at witp and thinking I want to but I don't know if I can. Seven years later and now envolved in witp-ae, turns out I was right. [:D]

[a7v]

If I remember correctly the Matrix guys were hosted on the long gone "Thegamers.net" where they started with the well known mods of WIR and PACWAR. Later a group of modders started to improve the graphics of Steel Panther2, it was called SP2WW2. Still later they started to mod the game itself (Don Godbrand,Andy Gailey, Fred Chlanda and others) for WW2 instead of modern tanks, Scenarios were provided mostly by Wild Bill Wilder and his raiders.
Later the group split, because some members wanted to start modding SP3 while others sticked with SP2. Both groups have been successful, the SP2 ("SPCAMO") guys with SPWW2 and SPMBT, and the others (Matrix) with SPWAW based on SP3. I think around this time "Thegamers.net" went offline and the SP3 modders started to make their own homepage called Matrix games.
 
The rest is history[:)]
 
Best regards
 
Rainer

[Dili]

I have to disagree. The original CNA design was intended to be a complete ground game (and it is!!). Air is an after-thought (as it was in RL for the scope and time frame of the game), and I don't believe that Naval is even factored into the game (It's been a few years since I've looked at the game, I vaguely recall that ports were open or closed during certain dates).

Then it is not a campaign game despite what name it has, it is just a battle game. You can't play North Africa without Malta, Sicily, Crete, Italian Aegean, Gibraltar, the Convoy war and Naval Battles.
Being good enough in Air, Land and Sea is something no computer wargame have ever achieved.

[sprior]

ORIGINAL: PizzaMan

Why hasn't anyone converted SPI's Campaign for North Africa to PC? I would think a uber phat game like that would lend itself well to PC.

Campaign for North Africa

You should try DAK from The Gamers

[Encircled]

Good article

Regarding Rome TW, the fan sites and mods make it effectively a whole new (and much better) game.

After spending what seemed like years playing games like "Russian Front" and "Operation Cobra" in my youth, WITE and WITP:AE have really restored my love of wargaming, and computers have given me the time to play them.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: ilovestrategy

Bullwinkle, the only reason I even know about Matrix was from finding GG World At War on sale at Best Buy on a shelf in 2005. If not for that I would have ever known that this company existed.

I can't even remember how I found my way there. My best guess would be a mention in an issue of "Computer Gaming World", the mere mention of which points to me as a fossil.

Oh man...I subscribed for a number of years...loved that magazine. Yes-that PRINT magazine.