What ever happened to 2D isometric?

[gunny]

Turn Based Games. My dream game is a squad based 2D game with isometric icons. With the advent of this style of graphics in the panzer general days, you think we'd have seen more of this on a squad scale or fire team scale. Yet eveything is either top down 2D board style or real time 3D. One school of thought is the facing mechanics is lost, but not so. On hex maps or tile display isometric icons can still rotate facings. Too little info perhaps; well a bottom display for active unit selected solves this. Out dated graphics perhaps? Well if that's so then 2D top downs are super out dated then. Just strikes me as a little odd I spose.[>:]

[ravinhood]

Watch for "Strategic Command 2" (ack it has a #2 in it and I said watch for it) lol, I believe it is going to this 2d isometric and "squares", larger maps, blada blada blada.

I like the 2d style of units that can convert to the nato style units and back again myself. Gives players an option and choice.

Now, of course due to my stance on games being "repeats", even if "improved", I'll have to wait on SC2 until it's $10 or less like I did for SC origional. Heh, in fact I just bought SC origional not long ago for $5 on ebay.

I'm not saying it's a bad game, or will be a bad game, it's just a "same" game to me, thus my stance.

But, for you, you'll probably enjoy the 2d units.

[RBWhite]

Maybe someday a certain Publisher might make an attempt to bring back a game similar to AGE of RIFLES, but based on WWII combat situations. I believe that was 2D, it was a great game to play.

[OberJager]

Ahhhh, Age of Rifles, Sigh.....

I'm probably in the minority but Man, I loved that game!

Now that would be a great resurrection.......

[RBWhite]

I still have it loaded on an old 3.11 machine.

With a large file of downloaded scenarios

Maybe this thread will wake up the minority?

Do ya think?



"AGE OF RIFLES" source code petition

[ravinhood]

Yah "Age of Rifles" was good, but, I can't get it to work on XP, have to use my Win98 setup and still can't get sound to work, any suggestions?

I'll be soooooo glad when they make an OS, all you do is drop in any CD/DVD and the OS setups your system to play the game, no matter how old it is. I forget a lot of how I optimized my system for some old games to get them to work, over 1/2 my WIN95/98 games have to have some form of otimizing to get them to work properly. And DOS games? lol, XP does not like DOS games much at all. Some it will play easily others its coughs and chugs, like "Master of Magic", another I can get to run on XP, but, no sound.

[RBWhite]

ravinhood

I found that you have to have a true SBPRO or 16 sound card, It doesn't do well with any onboard sound codec's. It won't except them.

It might except Adlib. Don't remember.

[ravinhood]

I have a Creative Labs Soundblaster Live 5.1 gamer edtion sound card. Isn't that sufficient?

[RBWhite]

In AOR's sound setup, try, I think it says 100% soundblaster compatable, and use auto detect sound card

[sabre100]

Why not use Dosbox to play those old games on Windows XP it runs great. dosbox.sourceforge.net

[RBWhite]

Your right Dosbox and also D-Fend work great on XP, I just found it easier to play the games in their natural environments, I have a thing about proper game speed.

[ravinhood]

Doxbox works with Master of Magic but it's soooooo slowwwwwwww for some strange reason. And I have the WIN95 version of Age of Rifles and I get a message that it doesn't operate in dos.

I can live without sound, was just wondering if there were a simple way to turn it on. I'll try that AOR sound setup, I think I already have and it says "not found". But, I'll give it another try.

I had to work with Master of Magic for hours with my WIN98 setup to finally get the sound to work and even then ever so often within the game it goes to static. So I eventually just turned it off.

It may also have something to do with the bios of my mother board and the built in sound drivers on it. Even though I have disabled them, they still could be conflicting. If I remove them, the system just recognizes them again when I restart my system and reinstalls the drivers. lol

[RBWhite]

If you are fimilar with the CMOS area of your system, you can disable the onboard sound system. Windows will stop recognizing it at startup and not load the drivers.

Hit delete or F1 to enter setup or somting to that effect when the machine is booting up.

Also try Adlib in AOR sound setup if its there.

I have 3 old machines running to play old games. 386/17 running 3.11, 486/66 running Win95 and 586/ AMD K6-550 running 98se

Dosbox I'm sure has defined limits. It can't solve everything, I know it doesn't correct mouse problems. D-Fend might correct your sound problems Both together might work.

[bartholimew]

nope. never heard of isometric game for such a small scale. would be problematic dealing with building occupation me thinks. sure would look perty with some half decent command and conqueresque models no?

[IainMcNeil]

You can play Spartan & Gates of Troy battles in 2D if you want which works best for old PC's and some lap tops. The campaign game for both games is all 2D. Some people prefer the look of 2D to 3D. Its always crisper in 2D, though you dont to do the cool things like extra animation, effects, and camera angles that you can in 3D.

[ravinhood]

Yeah SPartan plays well in 2D or 3D, very colorful campaign map. Easy to see what's going on. And it's the single best overall strategy game to date. (ducking)

You really should do more advertising Iain, don't let those big companies get all the glory with their half-arse games (RTW).

Should try at least an ad in Strategy & Tactics and Fire & Movement. If it's not too expensive.

Course I haven't had a PC gaming magazine in awhile now, so I don't know if you're adverstising in the likes of PCgamer or Computer Gaming World or not.

But, Gamespy and Gamespot just really overlooked your game of Spartan/GoT I think, unfairly.

It's easily better than HOI. (hiding)

[Hertston]

ORIGINAL: OberJager

Ahhhh, Age of Rifles, Sigh.....

I'm probably in the minority but Man, I loved that game!

I think most who played it enjoyed it a lot... it was certainly one of my favourites. A good system, and amazingly versatile even outside the time period it was supposed to cover (it managed Napoleonics very well, for example). And what other game gave you the Crimean War and Custer's Last Stand (although I can't remember what it shipped with and what was fan stuff now)?

In an odd way (it's a totally different period, obviously), Tin Soldiers: Alexander reminds me a lot of AoR (and Civil War Generals 2).. it just has a similar "feel". All three were/are very easy to learn to play and flow quickly, but still manage significant depth.

[IainMcNeil]

Hi Ravinhood - I've never heard of these mags as we're in the UK. If you have some contact details for them that would be great. Even if we can't afford adverts we can try and get some coverage. If anyone else knows of places they think we should be advertising feel free to PM me! Being in the UK we tend to only know about the UK press & leave marketing in other countries to the respective publishers. Any history, wargames or computer game mags are of interest.

[Marc von Martial]

But, Gamespy and Gamespot just really overlooked your game of Spartan/GoT I think, unfairly.

Both are in our press pool, we even advertised various games there, but we can´t force them to do reviews [;)]. They did reviews for various of our titles, not all of them, in the past though. Sometimes they´re simply late.

[Marc von Martial]

ORIGINAL: Iain McNeil

Hi Ravinhood - I've never heard of these mags as we're in the UK. If you have some contact details for them that would be great. Even if we can't afford adverts we can try and get some coverage. If anyone else knows of places they think we should be advertising feel free to PM me! Being in the UK we tend to only know about the UK press & leave marketing in other countries to the respective publishers. Any history, wargames or computer game mags are of interest.

Gotta love the guys from the island [;)] they don´t know two of the biggest PC / Console gaming websites, worldwide [;)]

www.gamespy.com
www.gamespot.com


Cheers [:D]