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Digital Gaming => Computer Gaming => Topic started by: Grim.Reaper on December 06, 2018, 05:51:01 PM

Title: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Grim.Reaper on December 06, 2018, 05:51:01 PM
Saw that this game was released today at Matrix....its $40, a little more than I am willing to spend on it right now, but here is a review.

https://www.wargamer.com/reviews/strategic-command-ww2-world-at-war/
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: IronX on December 06, 2018, 07:29:47 PM
And just in time to use my member's discount!  :)

I enjoyed the Europe version so I'm looking forward to this one.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: -budd- on December 06, 2018, 07:33:05 PM
If you own the last SCWIE on steam and are willing to buy on steam it's $10 cheaper.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: W8taminute on December 06, 2018, 07:44:22 PM
Quote from: IronX on December 06, 2018, 07:29:47 PM
And just in time to use my member's discount!  :)

I enjoyed the Europe version so I'm looking forward to this one.

+1  Me too
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Anguille on December 07, 2018, 05:42:32 AM
damn...i am tempted and yet don't have the time....
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Moreb on December 07, 2018, 07:26:46 AM
Quote from: Anguille on December 07, 2018, 05:42:32 AM
damn...i am tempted and yet don't have the time....

I am tempted but don't have the money. Not that I'm broke. My bank card was hacked so the bank put a hold on it and am waiting for a new one in the mail. It will probably show up in my box while we are gone for the weekend. F****ng hacking no good thieves.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: -budd- on December 07, 2018, 10:16:10 AM
Quote from: Moreb on December 07, 2018, 07:26:46 AM
Quote from: Anguille on December 07, 2018, 05:42:32 AM
damn...i am tempted and yet don't have the time....

I am tempted but don't have the money. Not that I'm broke. My bank card was hacked so the bank put a hold on it and am waiting for a new one in the mail. It will probably show up in my box while we are gone for the weekend. F****ng hacking no good thieves.

Had that happen twice to me. One of the times I had a cart full of family groceries and nope, account was empty. That was a bit embarrassing, it sucked. A police report, $50 deductable, and about 5 business days later I got my money bank.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Dammit Carl! on December 07, 2018, 10:39:46 AM
Sounds interesting - and the allusion towards WW1 getting the same kind of treatment is even more interesting to me.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: airboy on December 07, 2018, 11:21:43 AM
I did not care for this in the previous version of the game.  I'm a big fan of Strategic Command - for ground combat.  For Naval Combat it is weak.  When the focus is the entire world, Naval Combat is very important.

I advise waiting for a more independent review.  Wargamer = Slitherine/Matrix and their reviews also often come before playing the game to completion (or playing it several times).  Understandable because they want the review to hit when the game is released, but I have less confidence in reviews timed when the game is dropped compared to those which come weeks or months later.

Don't take this as a criticism of the Strategic Command design team.  They are great and I've bought almost everything those guys made and enjoyed them - except the global conflict games which require a strong Naval engine.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: bobarossa on December 07, 2018, 12:15:47 PM
In case you missed it, Slithering sold the Wargamer about a year ago.  Owned by same people as Pocket Tactics and Strategy Gamer, I believe.  Still, you are correct that the review is on a review copy, not final release version.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Philippe on December 07, 2018, 12:27:18 PM
The big disappointment for me is that the map is fixed and static:  it can only scroll to the east or west until it hits the edge of the world, and then it stops.

Continuously scrolling maps have been around for decades and many large scale games use them.  Being permanently married to an idiosyncratic version of a mercator projection seems like a lazy design decision.

My other problem with the maps is that the land masses often are often clumsy renderings of the geography they represent.  The individual hexes are computer generated rather than hand drawn, leading to weird distortions.  I'd like to say that this is driven by some game design purpose, but it isn't.  And I like Bill and Hubert too much to say what I really think is going on.

When you couple that with no stacking and a naval system that doesn't really make a serious attempt at representing what is going on in the game's time scale, I think I'm going to wait for a while on this one.

I still have a special place in my heart for the nail-biting that goes on in Carriers at War, and this game system doesn't even come close to delivering that.   And I stand up and cheer every time I fire up Steam and Iron and see what kind of a projection NWS uses.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: bbmike on December 07, 2018, 05:41:18 PM
I look forward to playing this. I like to hotseat both sides and play it like a board game.  :bd:
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: FarAway Sooner on December 07, 2018, 06:17:05 PM
Woud love to be able to PBEM this with a couple buddies playing against the Axis!  All depends on whether the AI is competent.

I enjoyed the WW I version of this game, but found kinda limited replay value.  I'm hoping that the WW II version reflects more of the "breakthrough" and mobile warfare influence of WW II, because the WW I version did a great job of capturing static trench warfare, but had less of the room for maneuver.

The SC WW II:WIE title got surprisingly little coverage here, although I don't remember why...
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Grim.Reaper on December 07, 2018, 06:23:49 PM
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on December 07, 2018, 06:17:05 PM
Woud love to be able to PBEM this with a couple buddies playing against the Axis!  All depends on whether the AI is competent.

I enjoyed the WW I version of this game, but found kinda limited replay value.  I'm hoping that the WW II version reflects more of the "breakthrough" and mobile warfare influence of WW II, because the WW I version did a great job of capturing static trench warfare, but had less of the room for maneuver.

The SC WW II:WIE title got surprisingly little coverage here, although I don't remember why...

http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=18820.msg500475#msg500475
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: W8taminute on December 07, 2018, 06:59:42 PM
Quote from: bbmike on December 07, 2018, 05:41:18 PM
I look forward to playing this. I like to hotseat both sides and play it like a board game.  :bd:

That's probably how I'll play it too.   O0
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Johnnie on December 07, 2018, 09:03:11 PM
Been playing SC's WWII stuff since the first one.  And I enjoy them.  But I don't understand the fascination with playing the European and Pacific wars simultaneously.  It is inherently unrealistic.  Sure the results in one theater may effect the other.  But only (historically, in any event) vaguely and indirectly.  Certainly there was no combined strategy akin to having one director of German and Japanese efforts to win the war. 

Maybe the "Allies,"  UK, USA and USSR could almost semi-realistically operate as if they were controlled by a singe entity, but, even that, is really pushing it. 

I bought World in Flames but never played it because it didn't come with the option to play Europe or the Pacific separately.  Did they ever include separate theatre scenarios? 
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Rayfer on December 08, 2018, 08:34:17 AM
Quote from: Johnnie on December 07, 2018, 09:03:11 PM
Been playing SC's WWII stuff since the first one.  And I enjoy them.  But I don't understand the fascination with playing the European and Pacific wars simultaneously.  It is inherently unrealistic.  Sure the results in one theater may effect the other.  But only (historically, in any event) vaguely and indirectly.  Certainly there was no combined strategy akin to having one director of German and Japanese efforts to win the war. 

Maybe the "Allies,"  UK, USA and USSR could almost semi-realistically operate as if they were controlled by a singe entity, but, even that, is really pushing it. 

I bought World in Flames but never played it because it didn't come with the option to play Europe or the Pacific separately.  Did they ever include separate theatre scenarios?

I thought I read somewhere that you can play Japan and have the AI run the German/Italian efforts in Europe.  And visa-versa.  I could be wrong but it's worth checking.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Grim.Reaper on December 08, 2018, 08:54:29 AM
Quote from: Rayfer on December 08, 2018, 08:34:17 AM
Quote from: Johnnie on December 07, 2018, 09:03:11 PM
Been playing SC's WWII stuff since the first one.  And I enjoy them.  But I don't understand the fascination with playing the European and Pacific wars simultaneously.  It is inherently unrealistic.  Sure the results in one theater may effect the other.  But only (historically, in any event) vaguely and indirectly.  Certainly there was no combined strategy akin to having one director of German and Japanese efforts to win the war. 

Maybe the "Allies,"  UK, USA and USSR could almost semi-realistically operate as if they were controlled by a singe entity, but, even that, is really pushing it. 

I bought World in Flames but never played it because it didn't come with the option to play Europe or the Pacific separately.  Did they ever include separate theatre scenarios?

I thought I read somewhere that you can play Japan and have the AI run the German/Italian efforts in Europe.  And visa-versa.  I could be wrong but it's worth checking.

Thought I read the same...
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: W8taminute on December 08, 2018, 09:10:58 AM
Quote from: Johnnie on December 07, 2018, 09:03:11 PM
Been playing SC's WWII stuff since the first one.  And I enjoy them.  But I don't understand the fascination with playing the European and Pacific wars simultaneously.  It is inherently unrealistic.  Sure the results in one theater may effect the other.  But only (historically, in any event) vaguely and indirectly.  Certainly there was no combined strategy akin to having one director of German and Japanese efforts to win the war. 

Maybe the "Allies,"  UK, USA and USSR could almost semi-realistically operate as if they were controlled by a singe entity, but, even that, is really pushing it. 

I bought World in Flames but never played it because it didn't come with the option to play Europe or the Pacific separately.  Did they ever include separate theatre scenarios?

You bring up a great point and one that I have never considered when selecting a grand strategy game to purchase. 

I think the fascination of playing the two theaters separately stem from the desire to holistically play the entire war in order to see if it is possible to change history.  Yes many wargamers are strict about historical accuracy of starting units, game mechanics, map names, etc. but they also want to play games as well for entertainment.  Playing all theaters simultaneously is entertainment for maybe not all but definitely for some, myself included. 

The reality of the market must be considered as well.  We are a lonesome breed.  It is extremely difficult in this day and age to find an opponent who will play with you at will at any time of day or night.  Even in this age of the internet it is difficult.  We lonesome wargamers resort to playing solo with the only person who can be relied to show up and play at any given moment.  Why limit the already limited game options by imposing such a restriction as the one you mention?
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: -budd- on December 08, 2018, 10:40:44 AM
I'm a late comer to the SC series, but have them all now up to this release. There a lot of fun in PBEM. Think i'm staying on the fence for now because of the scale/map size  http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4565048

The map in the original global was to small, seemed like wall to wall units. The bigger map in the AOD release was much more playable. I was hoping the map in this release would be AOD size but i guess it's bigger than the original but smaller than AOD, so on the fence i sit.

In SCWW2 Europe you can just pick one country and have the AI handle the rest, i assume that carried over to the new Global.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Bill Runacre on December 10, 2018, 03:19:12 PM
Quote from: -budd- on December 08, 2018, 10:40:44 AM

In SCWW2 Europe you can just pick one country and have the AI handle the rest, i assume that carried over to the new Global.

Hi

Indeed, that is the case here, so you can command say just Japan and let the AI command Germany and Italy, or vice versa.

The actual extent to which you leave control to the AI is also up to you, as the AI will carry out its moves and purchases once you press end turn, so even if you assign a country to AI control, you could direct one part of its theater of operations, or its diplomatic strategy etc.

This can also be turned on or off at any time, and you can even switch sides should you wish to (this was a feature asked for in the past and some players enjoy changing sides to see if they can turn things around).

In terms of the map scale, it's not really that different from our previous Assault on Democracy. A greater difference is with our last release, WWII War in Europe, but World at War uses a slightly smaller scale than that to avoid turns taking too long and keep the game manageable.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: stolypin on December 10, 2018, 03:52:23 PM
Quote from: Johnnie on December 07, 2018, 09:03:11 PM
Been playing SC's WWII stuff since the first one.  And I enjoy them.  But I don't understand the fascination with playing the European and Pacific wars simultaneously.  It is inherently unrealistic.  Sure the results in one theater may effect the other.  But only (historically, in any event) vaguely and indirectly.  Certainly there was no combined strategy akin to having one director of German and Japanese efforts to win the war. 

Maybe the "Allies,"  UK, USA and USSR could almost semi-realistically operate as if they were controlled by a singe entity, but, even that, is really pushing it. 



Agree 1000%.  I thoroughly enjoy SC WWII Europe but have no interest in the new World at War title unless someone comes up with a Cold-war-goes-hot theme scenario.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: FarAway Sooner on December 11, 2018, 01:18:04 PM
So, any more impressions of this game for anybody to post?  In particular, I'd be interested to hear if it's different (and how) from the SC: WW I game that was really enjoyable, but turned into a fairly predictable slog against the AI after a few games (and well over 60 hours of quality play!).
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: W8taminute on December 11, 2018, 04:16:50 PM
I like the game and have put in about 4 hours of time into it.  It might not be fair for me to completely judge SC WAW but I am enjoying it thus far.  Fighting over the globe in this not too complicated game is just the right medicine for those evenings when your brain has been burnt out at work and you need something light to retire with.

The only complaint I have is that I wish the scale of the land war was not on the corps/army scale.  I prefer to mass produce quantity at low prices rather than just having 2 or 3 corps/armies to push around per theater which are so prohibitively expensive to produce.  The AI always seems to be able to man every square inch of territory with strong troops whilst I struggle to cover thousands of miles of frontage with just a couple of corps/armies backed up by divisional sized garrison units.  Either I am missing the developers intention with the gameplay or this might end up being not my cup of tea after all.   
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Bill Runacre on December 14, 2018, 09:33:40 AM
Quote from: W8taminute on December 11, 2018, 04:16:50 PM
I like the game and have put in about 4 hours of time into it.  It might not be fair for me to completely judge SC WAW but I am enjoying it thus far.  Fighting over the globe in this not too complicated game is just the right medicine for those evenings when your brain has been burnt out at work and you need something light to retire with.

That's great to hear!  :)

Quote from: W8taminute on December 11, 2018, 04:16:50 PMThe AI always seems to be able to man every square inch of territory with strong troops whilst I struggle to cover thousands of miles of frontage with just a couple of corps/armies backed up by divisional sized garrison units.  Either I am missing the developers intention with the gameplay or this might end up being not my cup of tea after all.

If there are any particular areas where you think there might be an issue don't hesitate to let us know, along with the side you're playing, campaign and difficulty level so we can check things our side.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Bill Runacre on December 14, 2018, 09:39:09 AM
Here are some new reviews that may be useful if you want to learn more about the game:

http://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2018/12/strategic-command-wwii-world-at-war-by.html?spref=fb&fbclid=IwAR2vYiycGfXkSoh-vkr21htz6I-dZ2_s6h9awCMw7WUoqUCadfbbnBdF7EE

http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2018/12/review-strategic-command-wwii-world-at.html

https://kriegsimulation.blogspot.com/2018/12/strategic-command-wwii-world-at-war.html


I also think that the Historical Gamer's video summary of his own impressions here should prove useful listening, and it forms part of his current series on this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujhnqkrfRFQ&t=71s
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: acctingman on December 14, 2018, 09:51:38 AM
Quote from: bbmike on December 07, 2018, 05:41:18 PM
I look forward to playing this. I like to hotseat both sides and play it like a board game.  :bd:

This is very intriguing. How does one go about this?

Thanks
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Geezer on December 14, 2018, 10:08:13 AM
Quote from: acctingman on December 14, 2018, 09:51:38 AM
Quote from: bbmike on December 07, 2018, 05:41:18 PM
I look forward to playing this. I like to hotseat both sides and play it like a board game.  :bd:

This is very intriguing. How does one go about this?

Thanks

Click on Hotseat to start a game.  Enter an Axis password and play the Axis turn.  End the turn and it will ask for an Allied password.  Play the Allied turn.  Rinse and repeat.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: acctingman on December 14, 2018, 11:09:21 AM
Quote from: Geezer on December 14, 2018, 10:08:13 AM
Quote from: acctingman on December 14, 2018, 09:51:38 AM
Quote from: bbmike on December 07, 2018, 05:41:18 PM
I look forward to playing this. I like to hotseat both sides and play it like a board game.  :bd:

This is very intriguing. How does one go about this?

Thanks

:notworthy:
Click on Hotseat to start a game.  Enter an Axis password and play the Axis turn.  End the turn and it will ask for an Allied password.  Play the Allied turn.  Rinse and repeat.
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Geezer on December 14, 2018, 11:12:47 AM
It's actually better than a boardgame because the computer will keep enemy units within the Fog of War areas hidden.  And if you're like me you'll forget where they are until you run into them.   :hide:
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: W8taminute on December 14, 2018, 01:28:22 PM
Quote from: Bill Runacre on December 14, 2018, 09:33:40 AM
Quote from: W8taminute on December 11, 2018, 04:16:50 PM
I like the game and have put in about 4 hours of time into it.  It might not be fair for me to completely judge SC WAW but I am enjoying it thus far.  Fighting over the globe in this not too complicated game is just the right medicine for those evenings when your brain has been burnt out at work and you need something light to retire with.

That's great to hear!  :)

Quote from: W8taminute on December 11, 2018, 04:16:50 PMThe AI always seems to be able to man every square inch of territory with strong troops whilst I struggle to cover thousands of miles of frontage with just a couple of corps/armies backed up by divisional sized garrison units.  Either I am missing the developers intention with the gameplay or this might end up being not my cup of tea after all.

If there are any particular areas where you think there might be an issue don't hesitate to let us know, along with the side you're playing, campaign and difficulty level so we can check things our side.

Thanks for those links.  I've been watching a little bit of THG's videos on the game as well.  I've still got a lot to learn but I've decided I like this game better than SC: War in Europe and SC: WW1.

For my current game I chose normal difficulty and I'm playing as the Axis commanding Germany, Italy, and Japan.  China is giving me a great headache but I'm slowly stabilizing that front at the expense of having ground forces for the rest of the Pacific campaign.  It's July 1940 so I do have time before general war breaks out with the Western Allies. 

Italy has not gone to war yet and I noticed that I've been doing better building them up in this game compared to my experience in SC: WIE. 

Germany hasn't finished the France campaign yet but I haven't really focused hard enough.  The naval war against the UK has been taking my time and it's actually engaging.  I need to slow down and devote some more time to the ground war.  Never thought I'd say that playing as Germany!

I'll keep posting my thoughts as I play more of this game. 
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: Steelgrave on December 14, 2018, 06:09:21 PM
Good stuff, W8   :bd:
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: -budd- on December 14, 2018, 07:05:41 PM
The developer released an experimental mod with 7 day turns, and halved MPP collection to try out for those that didn't like the 14 day turns.  http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4568772
Title: Re: STRATEGIC COMMAND WW2: WORLD AT WAR released today
Post by: xwormwood on February 09, 2019, 10:31:05 AM
The german gaming website Gamersglobal.de released today a video review for SC WAW, and they gave the game a 9.0 out of 10.
Quote: "global strategy at its finest"
Not sure, how good your german-fu might be, but if you understand the language, you can find the review here https://www.gamersglobal.de/test/strategic-command-ww2-world-at-war (https://www.gamersglobal.de/test/strategic-command-ww2-world-at-war)