First Impressions

Commander - The Great War is the latest release in the popular and playable Commander series of historical strategy games. Gamers will enjoy a huge hex based campaign map that stretches from the USA in the west, Africa and Arabia to the south, Scandinavia to the north and the Urals to the east on a new engine that is more efficient and fully supports widescreen resolutions.
Commander – The Great War features a Grand Campaign covering the whole of World War I from the invasion of Belgium on August 5, 1914 to the Armistice on the 11th of November 1918 in addition to 16 different unit types including Infantry, Cavalry, Armoured Cars and Tanks, Artillery, Railroad Guns and Armoured Trains and more!

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warspite1
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First Impressions

Post by warspite1 »

Well I couldn't wait for the weekend so....

..I just thought I would have a muck around and see what's what.

I really like the look and feel of the game. Without too much boring reading of the manual I have got into a 1914 game - playing as the Allies (sorry WWII habits die hard) and the controls are not too difficult to get the hang of and navigate.

I thought I was doing okay. I got to November 1914 and the Serbians are still going strong on the Balkan Front. I managed to create what I thought was a solid line with the French - and the British had landed to guard their left flank. Meanwhile the Russians have a solid number of units around Brest-Litovsk.

But then, while sitting here congratulating myself, the German armies on the Western Front have just handed me my bottom... Two German armies are suddenly one hex from Paris - with little to stop them and the Turks have just rocked up and are threatening Cairo.... charming I must say.

Good fun!!

Now Maitland, now's your time!

Duke of Wellington to 1st Guards Brigade - Waterloo 18 June 1815
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warspite1
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RE: First Impressions

Post by warspite1 »

Just one gripe so far. Why are Russian units light grey? there is insufficient contrast with the German grey.
Now Maitland, now's your time!

Duke of Wellington to 1st Guards Brigade - Waterloo 18 June 1815
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Lukas
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RE: First Impressions

Post by Lukas »

IIRC white was suggested, but with the white marking light grey was used instead. Better suggestion is welcome. Or make the german grey darker?
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Nemo84
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RE: First Impressions

Post by Nemo84 »

Thanks to a little stomach flu, I just managed to finish the war with a decisive victory for the Central Powers in January 1917 (normal difficulty). The AI is fine, though rather easily tricked by a little WW2-style blitzkrieg strategy and sometimes not aggressive enough (especially at sea). Here's a little first impression AAR.

Garrison units were key to quickly defeating Serbia and stalling Russia. Austria-Hungary deployed three new garrison units to the Serbian front on turn 2. I simply sent them through the undefended gaps in the Serbian line and the AI now has to choose between ignoring these units advancing on its cities or abandon their fixed defenses. And once entrenched these garrison units become very hard to dislodge for 1914-era infantry. This allowed me to isolate their cities with well-placed garrisons while 3 infantry units neutralized them one by one once I was able to build some artillery.

The Russian front was a simple trade-off of space for time, the reverse of what happened in WW2. Austrian forces held the Russian flank with three garrisons and an infantry unit, despite losing their border fortress. German forces allowed the Russian to slowly advance, building a thin, broken line between Danzig, Stettin and Breslau (Posen was quickly lost). Konigsberg managed to hold out for nearly two years while completely surrounded. The Eastern front remained pretty immobile until the end of 1915, when reinforcements arrived from France and Serbia.

The invasion of Belgium and France was a huge success. Brussels was taken on the second German turn, Calais was secured by an advance Cavalry unit on the turn afterwards. The High Seas Fleet managed to surprise the BEF transports, killing a British infantry unit and damaging another before withdrawing. Nearly all German reinforcements were poured into the Western Front, and Paris fell in the first weeks of 1915. The majority of the French army was enveloped by weaker but well-entrenched garrison units around Verdun and the French-German border. Once Northern France was secured and the main German forces turned southwards and eastwards, they were easily decimated. When Italy declared war in May, Marseille had just fallen. France sued for peace one week later. A few German units were turned towards Italy, while the rest hurried to reinforce the Russian Front.

The Ottomans had a hard time in the meanwhile. With the Western Front in tatters, the British sent nearly all of their troops to invade Palestine, with only a few units aiding the Italians. The Ottomans were pushed back to Damascus and Beirut and could barely hold.

Back in the East, the German and Austrian reinforcements were quickly pushing back the Russians, while the German Fleet annihilated their Battleship unit. By march 1916, the Russian revolution was in full effect and one more front fell silent. Austrian and Bulgarian units (who had just taken down Romania) were then sent to reinforce the Ottomans. Some German forces were diverted to a breakthrough in Italy. With Florence under siege, they also quickly surrendered.

The rest of the German Army was preparing for the big one: Sealion! With German air superiority over the Channel, London suffering daily zeppelin bombardment and the British Cruiser squadrons ambushed and destroyed by the High Seas Fleet, the first German troops crossed the Channel in the summer of 1916. I had to hurry, because the US was strongly complaining about my convoy raiding and would soon join the war. British resistance proved rather weak, after all of their losses so far and most of their army stuck in the Middle East. So on January 18th, with German forces on the outskirts of London and Leeds fallen, the British Empire formally surrendered.

Thus ended the Great War, and the world would never be the same again.
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warspite1
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RE: First Impressions

Post by warspite1 »

ORIGINAL: Lukas

IIRC white was suggested, but with the white marking light grey was used instead. Better suggestion is welcome. Or make the german grey darker?
warspite1

I think the Russians should be brown as a first choice (although the Austrians would then need a different colour [&:]), or yes, make the Germans battleship grey for a better contrast.
Now Maitland, now's your time!

Duke of Wellington to 1st Guards Brigade - Waterloo 18 June 1815
lotharr51
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RE: First Impressions

Post by lotharr51 »

My first impression is that this is a solid game. Graphics, sound and music are good. The AI is an order of magnitude beyond C:EaW (as was intended), and holds up rather well overall. There was one moment when the Germans led with their artillery during Schlieffen that I thought was odd. Anyway, I found the interface to be really intuitive and attractive. Empire management is simplified to the right level to keep the focus on the action.

I'm still have a lot more playing to do, but I'm finding that odd situation where "garrison" troops end up being really important and out of place, like in C:EaW. I seem to need them to hold the line where in reality there would be front line formations that should be doing the job. Additionally, when Germans combat formations are getting bogged down by Russian garrisons, I'm kinda left scratching my head. Maybe I just need to play more and change my style.

That kinda leads me into my next critique which is based on a lack of flavor to the different nations. I may be incorrect here but it seems like every faction unit is the same, but varies based on tech. Unfortunately, there really was an enormous difference in abilities across the armies that went far beyond mere equipment and doctrine. The Russians were a mess and so was much of the Austro-Hungarians that no amount of wiz bang tech or ideas were going to overcome. Also, the Serbs field what seems like an enormous army for the size of their nation. Perhaps a mod will come out to address this, but I would really have liked to see the diversity or strengths and weaknesses reflected closer to reality.

Finally, I'm disappointed that there are is no decision making at the strategic level. I was hoping that there would be something similar to Strategic Command: World War I where there was a plethora of interesting dilemmas that each nation had to historically grapple with and would impact game play. This exists to some degree by various choices like to building subs or deploying troops east, but there were many others that could have been incorporated here.

Well, I'm going to keep playing and hope that perhaps some of these things will work themselves out, get modded or expanded. Overall, a very engaging game that I look forward to playing with my friends.

--I'm also going to have to go on the record that flanking should matter. I just attacked a "garrison" with an a German armored train, AH inf and a AH gar and it utterly repulsed us....silly.
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mbar
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RE: First Impressions

Post by mbar »

I've had TGW for a week or so and I have to compliment Lordz Games. I'm all about WWII so I wasn't sure I'd get into a game based on WWI. But like Panzer Corp this game is a work of art. The presentation of the menus and map are immersive. Trench warfare and entrenchment are handled in a way that makes the game interesting. I can focus on building a garrison line quickly or building infantry to be stronger and mobile but not as quickly. The game sounds and animations have a feel of high quality. I also feel the 1914 scenario is a very good starting point for new players as it eases the player into the grand scope of WWI by starting on a small front and increasing the nations and number of units involved as you progress.

This will be on my harddrive for a loooong time. Thank you and great job!!!!
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Lord Zimoa
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RE: First Impressions

Post by Lord Zimoa »

Thanks guys, good to read you enjoy the game so much.
I'm all about WWII

Most people are, but I hope this game gets some more people interested into WW1.
Myrddraal
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RE: First Impressions

Post by Myrddraal »

Thanks for the post mbar, glad you're enjoying the game! [:)]
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wodin
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RE: First Impressions

Post by wodin »

Anything that gets people into reading about WW1 is a good thing to me...keep their history alive. When I read memoirs etc I feel I'm keeping these men living in memory..several of my books end before the war as the person writing it was killed...

Reading about WW2 is about the battles and Tanks and warfare..WW1 is more about the men and their lives..

ORIGINAL: Lord Zimoa

Thanks guys, good to read you enjoy the game so much.
I'm all about WWII

Most people are, but I hope this game gets some more people interested into WW1.
Myrddraal
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RE: First Impressions

Post by Myrddraal »

Reading about WW2 is about the battles and Tanks and warfare..WW1 is more about the men and their lives.

I think this may be the core reason why games (and to a lesser extent films and books) are more reluctant to tackle the first world war.

Of course another important reason is that WWII is more recent and fresh, but you're right, at school and in history books we learn about the battles and the tanks of WW2, but the life and hardships of soldiers in WW1. In popular culture that makes it much less of an adventure and much more of a human conflict.
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Gilmer
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RE: First Impressions

Post by Gilmer »

People are more about WW2, in my opinion, because of the extensive amount of film from WW2. WW1 has some film, but it is really old and the quality is not that good and there's not a lot of it, that I have seen.
"Venimus, vidimus, Deus vicit" John III Sobieski as he entered Vienna on 9/12/1683. "I came, I saw, God conquered."
He that has a mind to fight, let him fight, for now is the time. - Anacreon
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Templer_12
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First Impressions

Post by Templer_12 »

First Impressions

After I hesitated many months, I jumped in now.

First impressions after some hours of playing - well made, interesting.

But the design of the submarine warfare, however, is completely unsatisfactory. [:(]
(However, I can not be really fair here. I love submarines and submarine warfare)

And somehow I always feel, there is something missing in the game. [&:]
I hope there will be one or the other feature added via patch?
KeldorKatarn
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RE: First Impressions

Post by KeldorKatarn »

Also congrats from a fellow developer for this game. I really like the AI. It regroups, flanks, advances not too keen and retreats when in danger of being encircled, it shortens front lines when needed, it uses strategic bombardment and air force effectively and it can do landings and sea battles effectively. That is impressive (and stuff that supposedly bigger titles *cough*Paradox games*cough* have never managed to deliver.

Also the game develops nicely like WW1 did. As an average player you usually end up with by 1915 in the same situation that was historically true. most fronts have settles in a stalemate at roughly the lines you had originally, you gradually manage to push the Russians out of Eastern Prussia but AustriaHungaria is pushed back in galicia a little bit before being able to stabalize the line and the entry of Italy complicates things a lot while the ottomans can hardly manage to contain the british. if you do very well you can avoid the entry of new countries because it no longer looks good for them. The entire national moral and manpower thing is very very well done and makes huge "I conquere the world" or "zerging" the enemy next to impossibly without huge impact on national morale and economy.

very well done.

Since you have commented that you will keep this game and the engine in development here a few suggestions:

Currently the game lacks a bit of replayability because it initially plays usually exactly the same. That it of course what makes it very good as simulating the first world war because even without being heavily scripted you end up being able to do what was historically possible and have to work hard on doing better.
however being able to do a little more might be nice. Maybe more historical events that could be triggered, maybe more interaction here and there, maybe more complex diplomacy. Maybe give the player more flexibility on how to win the war.

Also the way surrenders work now is a little unsatisfying. The idea that the position of units determines the "borders" after a peace is just not a good idea. You end up with units stuck in worm holes, you end up losing the ability to conduct two front wars just because the front opening in question (e.g. around switzerlend for italy and france) was not currently occupied by friendly troops so the area goes back to the surrendering country. This is not so bad for france or italy since when either surrenders the game is usually over a few turns after anyway, but in russia it is unnerving and the same for the smaller or initially neutral countries. I think the borders should be determined by assigning hex-groups to cities so once a city is conquered the supporting area is given to the victor after surrender. That would make for nicer borders, keep front lines open if the nearest border city is conquered and avoid "worm holes" (paths that unitd avanced through (like up the caucasus) while not conquering much territory, but end up being left in the victors hands). Another idea might be to enable the player to demand certain territory and depending on how bad the morale is already the AI will agree to more and more demands? or just make the annexed territories always historical. E.g. let Germany annex the territory of the peace of brest litowsk and give back alsace lorraine to the french when germany surrenders... stuff like that. Currently that is a little unsatisfying.

In general more diplomatic options or other further ways for the player to interact with the game and make decisions would greatly increase replayability. Maybe even make it possible to somehow push a country into the other direction? historically certainly Romania was initially not leaning towards either. The entente was simply able to make more appealing promises of territory after a victory. Also they were winning. If the central powers seem to be winning maybe Romanias countdown should not just stop abut they should have a countdown to enter the central powers instead? Might affect balancing yes, but just an idea for making the game a bit more replayable. So far I watched a replay and played several times myself and it just fealt a bit too similar every time. Even different players lets plays and AARs seem a bit too close to what happened to me to keep me interested as long as say in Panzer Corps. Which is a bit sad since I think there's potential for more :)

Also the end game is a bit simplistic. You have such nice starting videos for the campaigns. Why not add such a thing with a voiceover in case of victory or defeat? One for the historical version, one for a victory of the central powers? It's kind of sad that you get more eye candy and history lessons at the start than you get as a "reward" for playing through the game.

Also visual suggestions: Make those city symbols nicer and maybe add a little more detail to the unit counters. Also the naval counters make it currently hard to distinguish between types I think.

And a request from a guy that wears contacts and glasses but sees a little worse with glasses: Can you add an option to make the texts fat or something? The small and thin lined font of the cities and stuff is sometimes very hard to read.
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