Learning the AGE system & interface

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Raikkonen
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Learning the AGE system & interface

Post by Raikkonen »

Hello all -

I'm looking to learn the AGE system and interface. Have a bit of time traveling over the next few days and figured the hotel down time would be a good chance to finally learn how to play and understand the AGE games. I have several, but have struggled to get into them.

I'm looking for suggestions on which game would be best to learn from. I'm assuming that once I learn one, the interface is similar and it becomes a challenge to learn the different strategies of the other games. All this leads toward a future purchase of TEAW.

I am trying Alea Jacta Est while I await some suggestions. Not sure I have all the games I own loaded on the travel laptop, but I assume Pride of Nations is NOT the place to start!

Ranger33
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RE: Learning the AGE system & interface

Post by Ranger33 »

Alea Jacta Est is the easiest one to get a handle on I think. After that I'm at a bit of a loss myself. I've dabbled with Wars in America and it doesn't seem much more complex
vonRocko
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RE: Learning the AGE system & interface

Post by vonRocko »

I would recommend "wars in America". It has a low unit count and you don't have to worry about forming corps or divisions.
Plus it has simple supply rules. Good luck, they are worth the effort to learn.
p.s.- do not start with "pride of Nations".{Vainglory of Nations}
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loki100
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RE: Learning the AGE system & interface

Post by loki100 »

ORIGINAL: tommict

Hello all -

I'm looking to learn the AGE system and interface. Have a bit of time traveling over the next few days and figured the hotel down time would be a good chance to finally learn how to play and understand the AGE games. I have several, but have struggled to get into them.

I'm looking for suggestions on which game would be best to learn from. I'm assuming that once I learn one, the interface is similar and it becomes a challenge to learn the different strategies of the other games. All this leads toward a future purchase of TEAW.

I am trying Alea Jacta Est while I await some suggestions. Not sure I have all the games I own loaded on the travel laptop, but I assume Pride of Nations is NOT the place to start!


Basically the AGE system has two basic army structure systems and two basic supply systems. They then select from these to give the underlying feel to a particular game or period.

Simple command is you add generals to a stack (you are limited as to how many ***/**/* star generals you can use). These in combination generate a block of command points (cp). You then add units, each costs a certain amount to command. If you exceed the CP you have a malus that hits movement speed and combat (but of course this may still be more efficient than leaving units without commanders).

Complex command is similar, but here you have a corps-army (or army-GHQ) relationship. CPs are the same but now the parts of an 'army' can co-operate.

Simple supply is where supply is produced in certain provinces. If you want that supply elsewhere, you need to load it into supply wagons (or ships) and move it.

Complex supply is where supply is pushed between depots and larger towns from where it is produced to where you need it. Even here, the last bit from depot to army may need supply wagons.

They use simple command/simple supply to reflect warfare when the world is under-developed (ie AJE or WiA). Complex command/supply is typical of their games set in Europe from the 1760s (ie Rise of Prussia) onwards or America in the Civil War.

The main effect of complex command is that armies in adjacent provinces may support each other in battle. So you can end up with 'fronts' as opposed to the isolated stacks that makes up the simple command system.

There are wrinkles beyond this. Revolution under Siege and ACW2 have relatively complex processes to build divisions (which then live in your combat stacks as an entity). In others, the lowest level of counter represents a fixed body of troops, or Rise Of Prussia has a sort of mix of the two.

As to where to start. I'd say AJE is best for the simple rules. It makes army building relatively obvious and warfare is constrained by the existence of good roads (remember you are dragging supply wagons around) and the clash between relatively large armies. Me I like RoP as an intro to the more complex systems. Its been well crafted, plays easily and you come to appreciate how the command/supply rules slot together (of course if you hate the idea of a game set in the 1750s then this is not good advice).

Revolution under Siege is probably the most complex of their single war/campaign games. It has quite a complex force building system, a lot of politics (as it should) and pretty chaotic. Once you master this, its great fun.

Pride of Nations is .... *different*. The military side is pretty easy. But its 70 years of history, so colonisation, economics, diplomacy etc are all much more important. The battle scenarios are good, and play much as other AGE games but its not where I would start my immersion in the AGE system.
aaatoysandmore
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RE: Learning the AGE system & interface

Post by aaatoysandmore »

If the AGE system wasn't so out of norm in the way to play it I might like them. But, I look at those maps, then look at how the units are designed with those photo cards and then the if's and's or but's during the movement and play. It's another one of those that has me scrathing my head everytime I pull one out. I guess there is a point where some things have too much detail. Whatever happened to good ole counter pushing games with simple combat tables that were determined by 1 die roll. 1 and 6 you win. 2 and 5 you exchange and 3 and 4 nothing happened or you got an attacker move back 1 or defender move back 1. [&o] Today it would seem everything has to be animated, real time (various ways), maps so colorful they blind you or you miss something because of it, microscopic units (close combat anyone?) I applaud Mark Walker an Arjuna for keeping most things like we knew them in the best days of wargaming (for our ages of course).

The other thing is it's too scenario oreinted and I've long grown out of playing a specific battle, don't know when it happened but I think Civilization and Master of Magic did it too me with random maps and random setups each game. Might have been Kampfgruppe and Battlegroup as those had random maps and setups as well. Now it seems that's all I want to play is whatif's and random everything. I believe Steel Panthers has that as well and then all the different nations you can play too. I have to give credit to Paradox and HOI for that ability for WWII. Only game I've ever played where Brazil liberates France and is the first to march into Berlin and into Russia. [:'(] Does anyone make a WWII game where the computer AI can do amphibious invasions correctly? Seems the ai always had problems in the HOI's doing that.
Raikkonen
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RE: Learning the AGE system & interface

Post by Raikkonen »

Thanks for the help guys, please continue to give me more suggestions. I started the tutorial this morning, continuing tonight, on AJE. I'll install Wars in America when I get home Friday night and check that out a bit. I typically get to a certain point in tutorials, scratch my head (or worse, this happens when I try my first scenario) and get lost in what I should do next. I get the interface, and the mechanics, and really want to dig into these games, it's almost like I don't know where to begin on my own. Perhaps I just need to flounder a bit? I also have a short attention span, so I like the small scenarios to start, but then get overwhelmed with units, research, supply, objectives, etc. I really wanted to get into WitE, but was and still am overwhelmed.
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Queeg
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RE: Learning the AGE system & interface

Post by Queeg »

I learned the AGEOD games by playing Wars in America.
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loki100
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RE: Learning the AGE system & interface

Post by loki100 »

ORIGINAL: tommict

Thanks for the help guys, please continue to give me more suggestions. I started the tutorial this morning, continuing tonight, on AJE. I'll install Wars in America when I get home Friday night and check that out a bit. I typically get to a certain point in tutorials, scratch my head (or worse, this happens when I try my first scenario) and get lost in what I should do next. I get the interface, and the mechanics, and really want to dig into these games, it's almost like I don't know where to begin on my own. Perhaps I just need to flounder a bit? I also have a short attention span, so I like the small scenarios to start, but then get overwhelmed with units, research, supply, objectives, etc. I really wanted to get into WitE, but was and still am overwhelmed.

you may find this set of AARs of some use:

AJE: The Hero, The Traitor and The Barbarian (with Narwhal)
PoN: Manufacturing Italy; Losing Paris
RoP: Defending Vienna
WIA: Burning Down the Houses; French and Indian Wars (both with Narwhal)

Some are on the AGEOD forum and some are on the AGE section of Paradox (reflecting when Paradox controlled AGEOD).

Even if you don't fancy actually reading the AAR per se my opponent (Narwhal) added a lot of what he called 'beginners corners', these explain the key mechanics exceptionally well. You can read my posts as a journey in ineptitude - which can be informative if you too are just learning the systems.
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spelk
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RE: Learning the AGE system & interface

Post by spelk »

I did an AAR a good while ago, that was in the original Civil War AGEOD game. It uses the Bloody Shiloh scenario and was a way for me to scrupulously go through the game mechanics and try and explain not only how to do stuff, but why I did stuff. You might find it helpful. Although the new incarnation of the AGE engine has a few more bells and whistles, once you learn the basics you can more or less play any AGEOD game.

http://sugarfreegamer.com/?p=1273
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Toby42
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RE: Learning the AGE system & interface

Post by Toby42 »

I tried to learn the system with AJE. I gave up, it was more work than it was worth. I walk wide away from their games. They may be great, but not for me!
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aaatoysandmore
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RE: Learning the AGE system & interface

Post by aaatoysandmore »

Well I still buy them onsale I just never play them. I'd like to but they are just too busy for me and remind me of old boardwargames that take forever to make a move or too many rules. If it was Squad Leader or Advanced Squad Leader though on a computer I think I would force myself to learn but I'm just not interested in the series or the era's they've chosen to make. I've played a million civilwar and napoleon and wars in america type games. Ale Jete Est was the first game they made that I was really interested in but still it's just too busy for my taste in wargames. I think what we want and need is Ageods combat ai in games like Field of Glory. That game I can get into but the AI in Field of Glory is almost non existant and really just there to apease gamers who want an ai in the game no matter what. I can't say it's the worst but it ranks right down there with them.
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DanSez
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RE: Learning the AGE system & interface

Post by DanSez »

My vote would be:
Birth of America/Wars in America -- simple command/simple supply.
It is a good game to get introduced to the AGEOD interface and game style.

And try to find someone to play PBEM with you.
Good luck in which ever you choose.

The Commander's job is to orchestrate and direct the three major dimensions of combat - space, time and force. Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
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