Fans of the old Panzer General series rejoice for the release of Panzer Corps. Following in the footsteps of the popular SSI masterpiece and sharing with the General series the same level of engagement and strategic depth, Panzer Corps will keep an unmistakable "PG feeling" whilst improving and refining the gameplay and balance. Panzer Corps will feature 26 scenarios on 21 unique maps, covering most major battles of the European Theatre of World War II and including a few hypothetical 'what if' scenarios based on your actions. Now expanded with a full-war mega-campaign and the Afrika Corps and Allied Corps releases!
This game brings me back to where it all began................PG[:D]
This change has made the game less fun. It has added some unnecessary micromanagement to the game thereby increasing the time needed to prepare for the next battle. It reduces the amount of prestige points available to the player, thereby limiting his purchases of upgrades and units. I don't know whose idea it was to change one of the basic features of Panzer General, but I think it stinks.
Why not add a button in the game preference that would let you toggle this option on and off. This way everyone would be happy!.
Playing as difficulty Field Marshal in my campaign, I got:
Decisive in Poland
Minor in Norway
Decisive in Low Countries (last turn)
Minor in France (last turn so I was 1 turn away from losing)
Decisive in Balkans (last turn)
Decisive in Russia (last turn)
Decisive in Kiev (only one where I did this 6 turns early)
and am currrently On Moscow.
While I have lost only 2 core units I got some real shocks. France was really hard; I got so held up at the start. Russia first scenario was amazing; the AI counter attacked me with 7 or 8 aircraft and 5 tanks in my weak spot. I got really lucky and only lost 1 unit there; so so close to another 3.
I've had to spend a huge amount of resources on fighters - 7 out of my 28 units are fighters, and keeping them repaired is a fortune, I cant even think about upgrading them!
I am really struggling with prestige; I am 4 core unit slots spare with a number of my units not fully upgraded. I have only just been able to afford to elite top up (past 10) my fighters and artillery in my current scenario.
Because of the low prestige of my troops after Decisive in first Russia I didnt go for the early Moscow scenario; many of my troops were not even repaired and my prestige was 0.
Much, much harder than the original panzer general - which is awesome - the AI is a lot better on Field Marshal level than in old PG; for the first time I am having serious doubts that I will defeat Russia in 1941.
Remember the old PG where you could have all your tank units as 15 strength Tiger II's? No chance of this anymore
- and not a single bug that I have noticed so far or any crashes. Now thats well tested; just goes to show the wait for extra polish was worth it.
When the delay went to July 11th, I thought "well, it's probably going to be worth the wait then." It sure has been worth the wait. The list of beta testers is awesome. I did not count them but it looks like over 200 maybe? However, beta testers do no good without the developer listening.
So faithful to the grand operational feel of the original - where in my opinion Panzer General 2 and 3D lost the plot in taking the action too far along the tactical scale.
"Panzer General" (the concept) in my view, has always been about the sweep of conquest within the abstract world of large organizationally-sized units (in fact, a soon to be released mounted-map boardgame called "No Retreat", will be taking an even greater scale to the Russian Front 1941-45... Armies, Fronts and Corps - proving that with the right design imagination, it can be fun). So we think imperially in the movement of forces, knowing that conquest means the attainment of geopolitically important objectives - cities and regional areas, counties and countries, not towns and bridges.
The art work is engrossing, the audio mission briefings fun (and entertaining as the German accent pronounces - or even mispronounces - certain words!).
The interface is just plain smooth with a nice ablilty to craft its physics to personal taste: Want to move and fight your forces by left or right clicking? - The game will do that for you. There's the control+click expanded combat predictor, so much being explained by the tutorials that I haven't yet viewed the rulebook other than a brief flick, made possible by the excellent decision to release it before retail launch.
The design choices to subtely expand the decision making options for the player will be a well received feature imo. Our world and gaming habits have changed since 1995! Yes - I still have a PC Authority magazine from that year heralding Panzer General 1 in a review!!
The key here, is subtelty... tweaking the original engine and concept to engross players without the burden of the decision making, say, of a Gary Grigsby title! There is a gaming world for those but Panzer General has never been within it.
The corollary of course, is not to go the other way - to dumb the game down ala "Operation Barbarossa" or "Commander Napoleon at War", both of which infuriated me at the money down the drain in lack of personal enjoyment (Op Barbarossa being one of the worst PC gaming experiences I've ever encountered, I'm sorry to say).
More to come on Panzer Corps - but just a quick note to say, well done Matrix and Slitherine for bringing the good ol' campaining and role play (the - I love my elite units ) feel back!
It has been a long time since I bought a game one the first day. I tried to resist this one but just read too many good things. Still in the tutorial. This is fun. I like grognard things but I also like fun things like Battlefield Academy, and this looks like it could be a truly great game.
i don't thank you for this game !!
i slept 4 hours last night, and i'm about to sleep about 4 this one too.
i'm tired at work, my wife feels alone,tired of hearing me saying "just one more turn babe"
no, i don't thank you !!
Just keep on feeding it with other theaters (Rommel,Pacific etc), and you will
sure ruin my social life.
damn
"i can stop whenever i want, it's turn based ! just one more turn babe !"
ORIGINAL: LarryP
Changing this "CamEReplaceCost 0", won't this foul up multiplayer? [&:] Guess for multiplayer I would have to set it back to 50.
CamEReplaceCost means "campaign elite replace cost", and is used only between scenarios in a campaign. So it will not effect MP games.
But yes, if you create a new MP challenge, it is better to use all original files. Otherwise the game will mark your challenge as using custom/modified files, and other players may be reluctant to accept it.
ORIGINAL: Xacto Why not add a button in the game preference that would let you toggle this option on and off. This way everyone would be happy!.
I see at least two problems with this approach.
- There is no longer one standard gameplay. You post a message to the forum - "hey folks, I finished the game on Field Marshal". And you get responses - "What prestige setting did you use? Ah, you had free replacements between scenarios? That does not count."
- Most players won't know which option they want to choose, and it would only add more confusion. Such options are better avoided.
For this reason I did what I think was best. I chose one way which made most sense to me and made it standard. BTW, the campaign was also balanced with this new rule in mind, so I don't really understand the concerns of people. But for those few who cannot live with new rule there is an option to change it in configuration file.
ORIGINAL: Xacto Why not add a button in the game preference that would let you toggle this option on and off. This way everyone would be happy!.
I see at least two problems with this approach.
- There is no longer one standard gameplay. You post a message to the forum - "hey folks, I finished the game on Field Marshal". And you get responses - "What prestige setting did you use? Ah, you had free replacements between scenarios? That does not count."
- Most players won't know which option they want to choose, and it would only add more confusion. Such options are better avoided.
For this reason I did what I think was best. I chose one way which made most sense to me and made it standard. BTW, the campaign was also balanced with this new rule in mind, so I don't really understand the concerns of people. But for those few who cannot live with new rule there is an option to change it in configuration file.
I love this change. Anything that makes the game less "gamey" is good in my book.
I am having more fun playing online more than anything right now. I have two games going on and it's a joy when you login and my turn is (1) for me to play again [8D]
I just love the sounds as well the whole package is truly a masterpiece. I hope you guys sell a lot of copies this better wargame than anything out there right now and you even get a very intuitive editor that enables us to keep the shelf life going even farther.
Everyone should be out there advertising this on their favorite forums to get the word out if possible.
The original PG was one of my all-time favourites, so I'm VERY happy about this remake.
I've played up to Barbarossa by now and am loving it! The change to the "free replacement" after battles doesn't bother me much, it actually causes me to use more prudent tactics instead of burning out my elite formations in a mad, last minute rushes.
There's only ONE thing I'm missing: a decent overview screen where I can check/watch all my units.
Can't wait to continue playing later this evening, thanks to all involved for this wonderful game.
There are over 800 beta testers in case anyone was wondering.
WOW! That HAD to contribute to the stability and lack of bugs in this game. The list of beta testers is huge in the Credits dialog, but I never thought there were that many. I've beta tested some, but never on a team with more than maybe twenty? Amazing. However, that's 800+ gamers that won't be slapping their money down for the game. [;)]
Having started this discussion I can happily report my happiness with Panzer Corps. [:D]
I played all the tutorials and found them not only instructive, but fun in their own right. I have just started the invasion of Poland and with the benefit of the tutorials and my feeling is that there is nothing in the game I can't accomplish. I strongly suggest everyone play through the tutorials. Not because the game is difficult- it isn't, but it gives you the tools you need to play the main game without frustrations of not knowing or even the "feel" of how the game works in many situations. It gives you the PzCorps game world and a lot of the tactics needed to proceed successfully in your campaigns. It takes 3-4 hours to savor them.
It seems to me that while this game is a lot of fun, it is also an experience to be savored...
Well done, in almost evert respect. The elimination "free reinforcement" exploit is a welcome fix, and I appreciate the fact that building your army into a WWII equivalent of a Death Star is now much harder.
I do have one criticism, however. I would have hoped that the game would have some all new scenarios in there somewhere, perhaps a new variant story line to follow. Now perhaps there are such novelties, but I cannot say that i've ancountered any. From the first Polish campaign through to where I am now (1942), every single scenario feels exactly like what one encountered in Panzer General, even down to the initial placement of units. I'm not saying they ARE identical -- I can't really compare. But they feel nearly identical.
I'm not complaining -- much -- because no bold promises for new content were made before release, so I got what I expected. But what I hadn't really expected was how similar it ended up being. And without the N. Africa campaign it ends up havng less than Panzer General did. But who am I to complain? After havng spent years away from PG, this release has much the same addictive fun.
Might there be a hope for some new content somewhere in the future?
