Impressions after a couple of days of play

[JameyCribbs]

My gold standard for a good game is Strategic Command (the first version, not the god-awful travesty that an obviously deranged Hubert Cater dreamed up with it's isometric view, squares instead of hexes, and silly looking miniatures instead of nato counters). I played SC more than any other game ever. I can remember many nights staying up well past midnight for just one more turn, as victory stayed just outside of my grasp.

Since SC, I've looked for other games that would grab my attention the way it did. Never found one. I've tried every turn-based wargame that has come out since then and nothing really held my interest. CTGW, so far, has finally done it. It actually reminds me a lot of SC. I have been playing the Central Powers the last couple of days and the game seems so well-balanced that I constantly balance on a precipice of either losing ground to one of my opponent nations or gaining the upper hand against them.

My first game was instructive, but disastrous as I threw everything against the Western Front and the Serbs. When the Russians made a lightning move to grab Vienna and were on their way to Berlin, I knew it was time to stop, read the manual, and start over again. Today I did just that and this time, I'm trying to rewrite history. After using enough force to grab Belgium, I have gone over to the defensive in the west. I'm concentrating a good portion of my German troops in the east. AH is making a push to conquer Serbia (we have taken their first capital; can't remember the name), but I'm making an attempt to maintain more balance with them by sending more troops out east.

My thought is that if I can maintain a defensive wall in the west and remove the Serbian thorn in my side, this will allow me to concentrate Germany, AH, and, to some extent, the Ottoman Empire, all against Russia. If I can knock her out of the war, this will give me the freedom to fight a one-front war. I have no idea if it is going to work, but, damn is it fun to find out!

I think you guys really nailed this game. Here's why. Like SC, the game is deceptively simple to get into, but that simplicity hides a depth of realism that comes from how you made all of the moving parts work together. Like how the technology system and the use of PP, MP, etc. work together to show the difference between the Germans and AH. This game, like SC, lets you ask "What if?" and then lets you answer that question. To me, that IS the most fun part of wargaming.

I have been impressed by the AI so far, they have flanked me, both operationally and strategically. One consequence (I'm guessing) of my defensive stance in the west is that I have had British troops land in Serbia! And at first, seeing Russian armored trains running around in my back yard seemed gamey, it helps to remember that they are actually armies with supporting armored trains. Same for fighters.

Anyway, I wanted to give you guys some positive feedback. I can't imagine how it must feel to work your ass off for years on a game and then have people nitpick it the day it comes out. My simple rating for a game is: do I want to play this anywhere near as much as I did SC? If the answer is yes, then it's a winner. For CTGW, the answer is a resounding "YES"!

Jamey

[Rosseau]

I would recommend Matrix's Guns of August - if you don't already have it. Christmas sales is coming soon [:)]

[Myrddraal]

Thanks a lot Jamey, it's good to read these posts

[jack54]

+1

all of my initial concerns are gone... this is good stuff!

[Fred98]

ORIGINAL: JameyCribbs

....a good portion of my German troops in the east. AH is making a push to conquer Serbia....

I read that as "Avalon Hill" [8|]

.

[devoncop]

Hi all,

Well this game has been a real revelation. Its UI is simple but the actual choices confronting the player are fascinating.I have only been playing as the CP but each front is unique in its challenges. The best complement I can give the AI is it feels like I am playing a human far more often than many other games.

I also congratulate the team on the atmosphere in the game and the appreciation it gives you of the differences with a WW2 game.

I don't post at all often but this game deserves the plaudits. Now off for just one more session ..............

[Myrddraal]

Thanks devoncop.

The dev team read these messages and it's great to see people enjoying the game

[LuckyJim1010]

Joe 98 - me as well for a bit

Showing our age

[Jestre]

Are most of us in our 50's ...... or older????

[Chilperic]

ORIGINAL: devoncop

Hi all,

Well this game has been a real revelation. Its UI is simple but the actual choices confronting the player are fascinating.I have only been playing as the CP but each front is unique in its challenges. The best complement I can give the AI is it feels like I am playing a human far more often than many other games.

I also congratulate the team on the atmosphere in the game and the appreciation it gives you of the differences with a WW2 game.

I don't post at all often but this game deserves the plaudits. Now off for just one more session ..............

+1

[sanch]

ORIGINAL: Joe 98

ORIGINAL: JameyCribbs

....a good portion of my German troops in the east. AH is making a push to conquer Serbia....

I read that as "Avalon Hill" [8|]

.

That was my first thought too. I had to puzzle for a moment to figure out it really meant Austria-Hungary.

[BYU 14]

Bought it last night and read the manual. Since I work from home, I thought what would be the harm in playing a couple of turns this morning. BIG mistake, those couple of turns ran to 6 and I had to force myself to stop, otherwise I would not be getting much work done.

Definitely see what others mean when they say the game has that "one more turn" appeal. Right now I was slow to move north, so Paris may be in real jeopardy soon. I am focusing on defense in Serbia and for the most part in Russia, though I did make a probing attack on AH to try and draw there attention away from Serbia a little bit.

Thanks guys, instead of working out at lunch time as I usually do I will probably be playing this.

[catwhoorg]

This is the first single player game that has kept me upto 2am since the original Civilization.

Easy to play, but durn its so interesting and addictive.

[parusski]

I will also recommend Guns of August.

[BYU 14]

ORIGINAL: parusski

I will also recommend Guns of August.

Agree, GOA is solid, but it didn't "capture" me like this one does. Very hard to stop once you start and definitely a challenge. Couple of issues need to be patched, but absolutely loving this game!

[m10bob]

I have been playing war games since approx 1959 when dad gave my brother and I a copy of Avalon Hills' "Midway"..
Since then, I have owned maybe 40-50 boardgames, and computer games ever since Atari days, LOL..
For the last decade I have pretty much involved my time with massive photo quality simulations, "monster" war games, with small diversion to sport games.

That said, I just wished to explain why I might be prejudiced against games which lacked detail, historical correctness, or the ability to entertain and hold my interest.
A MAJOR "red flag" (as far as I am concerned), is if the game fights it out in zones, (instead of hexes).

This game passes my personal tests on all areas, with the kind of chrome I love.

The individual player has the ability to field his forces in zones OR HEXES, and he has the ability to direct production and research for those forces. Many new technologies came along during World War One, and many are in this game.
Poison gas is in the game, as an option, but all decisions have their own consequences.

Rather than a chess set with pristine pieces, this game reminds us there was mud to slow things down, and men dug deep into that mud for protection, even during offensives.

The game DOES include diplomacy, and you may check each turn to learn which nation might join you, (or resent you), for certain actions you may have been considering.

Many of the historical names of the war are included in the game, and the player may choose to assign them, or not.

I really love the newspapers which are published after certain events, and the illustrations may be actual pictures in some cases. Seem to be.

Being a fan of speed and movement, and their most obvious practitioners, (Guderian, Patton, Zhukov), I have always had reservations about getting a WWI era game, for fear of everything turning into a trench-bound boredom,but this is not the case because the map is so large you are constantly checking each front and developing strategies based on your good moves and planning, or the enemies failure to keep pace with newer technologies and troop build-ups.

Really nice game and I plan to play it for a long time.

[BYU 14]

Jusr finished my first campaign as the Entente and definitely LOVE this game. I didn't go to bed until almost 6am this morning becaue of it LOL. That is one of my litmus tests for a good game. Is it fun enough to keepo me in one more turn mode for hours? This one gets a big yes there.

As others have said would like an undo button and something in either future mods or a patch that changes the AI opening war plan at times, though the CP does execute the Schlieffen Plan nicely. What I like though is after that opening the AI does a great job reacting to the player and makes very solid decisions......Now to my futile attempt to save the world.

I was defeated and made four major mistakes that the CP exploited each time.

1 - Really under estimated the speed and precision of the implementation of the Schlieffen Plan. I reacted slow and then made an error in my first deployment of the BEF. Result, Calais fell quickly and before I could stem the tide Rouen was occupied. It took until midway through 1915 to retake Rouen and never did get close to Calais. Because I had to scramble and the area around the Siene became such a meatgrinder early on I lost Verdun in early 1915 and it stayed in CP hands the rest of the war. Most of the front lines were on the doorstep of Paris the entire game, though I did do a great job defending the city until my second major mistake caught up to me.

2 - Came out too aggressive on the Eastern Front and stubbornly fought for Warsaw when withdrawing to Brest Litovsk and digging in would have been far more prudent. This is where the front lines ended up after warsaw fell anyway and I held it for a long time, but could not extend the line and after Serbia fell AH forces ran free in the west and the resulting chaos triggered the Russian revolution in early 1916. By March of 1916 Russia had surrendered and I was left to fight in the Alps and on the Western front against the entire CP army. Speaking of which, how was this early demise of Russia hastened along???

3 - From some stupid reason I can't explain I declared war on Bulgaria before they would have entered the conflict....Again, no explanation. I had AH at a virtual stalemate in Serbia with neither side blinking. Once I made this huge blunder I suddenly had a salient near Nis and there was no way I could defend Serbia from 2 sides, despite have dispatched a British unit there very early to assist. Once Serbia was gone, Russia became a mess.

4 - Once Italy entered I was able to bomb German cities and hit there PP reserve and I had quite the defensive line set up through the Alps. Again, I made one small gain and dug in, securing thingd to the point that I was able to dispatch Italian troops to assist France and Britain on the end of the front stretching to Switzerland. My mistake here cam in rotating troops (undo button, LOL) a replacement Garrison could not make it to the front and the AH and Germans poured in through the bubble. I eventually plugged the dyke, but to do so had to recall forces from France and as a result a CP offensive near the swiss border cut me off.

End result, Paris finally fell in early January 1918 and Britain and France surrended with Italy following suit 2 weeks later for a decisive CP victory. I was happy to have lasted that long after Russia surrended so early and made some good moves along the way, like taking full advantage of Britains Naval power, but it was truly an uphill battle from the jump. Also, America was never close to joining the cause as Germany was not doing enough to piss them off, not sure they would have even if I would have made it through more 1918. Can't wait to try again and rectify my errors.

[jwduquette1]

ORIGINAL: m10bob

I have been playing war games since approx 1959 when dad gave my brother and I a copy of Avalon Hills' "Midway"..
Since then, I have owned maybe 40-50 boardgames, and computer games ever since Atari days, LOL..
For the last decade I have pretty much involved my time with massive photo quality simulations, "monster" war games, with small diversion to sport games.

That said, I just wished to explain why I might be prejudiced against games which lacked detail, historical correctness, or the ability to entertain and hold my interest.
A MAJOR "red flag" (as far as I am concerned), is if the game fights it out in zones, (instead of hexes).

I think we must have started gaming at just about the same time. My first game was AH's D-Day. Like you, I've never been a fan of wargames that use Zones or Areas rather than hexes. Example: Revolution Under Siege: The Russian Civil War 1917–1923 by AGEOD. The game system by AGEOD is supposed to be really good and alot of gamers really enjoy it and sware by it. So I bought it and tried it. As detailed as the game may be, I just couldn't get over the area movement part of the design.

[Gilmer]

I thought I'd put some thoughts in after owning this game for over a week.

I think I like this game. I like games where the result is get the opponent to surrender, not some kind of point system. It's the difference in boxing of going to the cards and a knockout. You want the knockout.

This game is really hard. I played as Entente almost exclusively and got frustrated. I hate to say it but I cheated a little (some might consider a lot), but I scale back the "cheating" against the AI as I get better. It's hard to get better when the other side is overrunning your positions in all fronts. The AI is very tough. It always looks for the moves to cut off supplies. It always looks for the undefended areas. It always looks for the advantages.

I can play a game in a day. Sometimes I like a longer game, but sometimes I like one I can get in and out of pretty quickly. War in Russia used to be that for me. It would take 1-3 days to play a game. I'll always shell out money for monster games, though, so no worries about that.

Yes, very good game. And to me it was worth my money. I have already spent about 25 to 30 hours playing this game. Some things seem to need tweaking. One thing I noticed is I never get enough kills in the air part to get any commanders.

[Gilmer]

By the way, this game has prompted me to seriously consider buying the WW2 version of Commander.