Sudden Strike 4 pre-purchase and Beta entry on Steam

[Jarhead0331]

I made the purchase. Game looks fun.

Let me know if you want to connect for some MP...the solo skirmish mode is, let's say, not fulfilling in its present state.

[Apocalypse 31]

Let me know if you want to connect for some MP...the solo skirmish mode is, let's say, not fulfilling in its present state.

I'm down. Is there decent coop mp?

[Apocalypse 31]

Is there a way to customize the keymap? Didnt see any option, only able to view keymappings

[Jarhead0331]

Let me know if you want to connect for some MP...the solo skirmish mode is, let's say, not fulfilling in its present state.

I'm down. Is there decent coop mp?

Not sure if you can do co-op, but it would make sense that its possible since there are multiple teams per side. The AI in skirmish moves very quickly to capture strategic points and supply points so teaming up against it would be very helpful.

[Apocalypse 31]

The AI in skirmish moves very quickly to capture strategic points and supply points so teaming up against it would be very helpful.

Sounds good. dropped you a request on Steam.

Some random thoughts:

• I forgot how brutal Sudden Strike can be.
• Infantry gets chewed up, just need to expect heavy losses on any attack.
• Scouting is imperative!
• The enemy will always see you before you can see them.

[Jarhead0331]

The AI in skirmish moves very quickly to capture strategic points and supply points so teaming up against it would be very helpful.

Sounds good. dropped you a request on Steam.

Some random thoughts:

• I forgot how brutal Sudden Strike can be.
• Infantry gets chewed up, just need to expect heavy losses on any attack.
• Scouting is imperative!
• The enemy will always see you before you can see them.

Yes. As indicated several times in this thread, very slow, deliberate recon across the map is imperative. There is really no other way to conceivably maintain the integrity of your troops. I find that infantry is much more useful and survivable in SS4, then in any previous version. Making them hit the deck and crawl to contact is very effective. When I use infantry in this way, I find that they are capable of spotting the enemy before the enemy can necessarily spot them, and once spotted, my artillery and armor can open up. The range of tank and mechanized weapons is greater than the range of their own spotting.

Definitely make use of artillery and air strikes when you have them available...extremely devastating.

[Greybriar]

So how many of you have pre-ordered Sudden Strike 4? I see that it is on sale for 15% off in nearly all the usual digital vendors like GamersGate, GOG.com, Humble Store, and Steam.

Sudden Strike 4 looks good. My main concern is that Kalypso is its publisher and I have been disappointed with several games they had a hand in.

[Jarhead0331]

Kalypso sucks it hard. But the game appears to be really good from the early access beta, particularly the campaign missions are very well done.

[Greybriar]

You made it sound too gook, Jarhead.

I just purchased Sudden Strike 4. The pre-order items (Sudden Strike Gold, Sudden Strike 2 Gold, Sudden Strike 3 Arms to Victory and The Last Stand including map editors and all available map packs and expansions; exclusive skirmish map: The Battle for Kursk; Sudden Strike 4 Soundtrack; and the Sudden Strike 4 digital artbook) were what persuaded me, particularly the three older Sudden Strike games.

Plus it's as DRM-Free as GOG.com can make it.

[Jarhead0331]

You made it sound too good, Jarhead.

I just purchased Sudden Strike 4. The pre-order items (Sudden Strike Gold, Sudden Strike 2 Gold, Sudden Strike 3 Arms to Victory and The Last Stand including map editors and all available map packs and expansions; exclusive skirmish map: The Battle for Kursk; Sudden Strike 4 Soundtrack; and the Sudden Strike 4 digital artbook) were what persuaded me, particularly the three older Sudden Strike games.

Plus it's as DRM-Free as GOG.com can make it.

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the campaign missions. I thoroughly enjoyed them and found them to be very well made and engrossing with just the right amount of challenge. The skirmish mode I have found to be totally lacking, but hopefully they have made some improvements during the development cycle.

Anyway, let us know what you think.

[Greybriar]

....let us know what you think.

It may be awhile, but I will eventually.

[Barthheart]

You made it sound too good, Jarhead.

I just purchased Sudden Strike 4. The pre-order items (Sudden Strike Gold, Sudden Strike 2 Gold, Sudden Strike 3 Arms to Victory and The Last Stand including map editors and all available map packs and expansions; exclusive skirmish map: The Battle for Kursk; Sudden Strike 4 Soundtrack; and the Sudden Strike 4 digital artbook) were what persuaded me, particularly the three older Sudden Strike games.

Plus it's as DRM-Free as GOG.com can make it.

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the campaign missions. I thoroughly enjoyed them and found them to be very well made and engrossing with just the right amount of challenge. The skirmish mode I have found to be totally lacking, but hopefully they have made some improvements during the development cycle.

Anyway, let us know what you think.

You still bound by yer NDA JH? What can you tell us?

[Jarhead0331]

Still bound by it. Kalypso blew me off hard.

I'll have a lot of feedback tomorrow after the game goes live.

[Yskonyn]

Played the tutorial. Wow this brings back many good memories!
Loved the earlier games and I am glad to see this is a new hi tech version of the old formula. More detailed than C&C style RTS's, but quicker paced than Combat Mission. And the graphics are an absolute joy to look at!  :bd:

[Jarhead0331]

Here is what I like:

The maps and units are exceptionally well done. They are really attractive and artistic. The map is totally destructible. Fields of tall grass, mud, trees, buildings, etc. it all deforms, tracks up, collapses, due to vehicle movement and battle. Its a real treat to watch.

The campaign missions are very well done with just the right amount of challenge. I find that I'm given enough units to get the job done, but not too many so that I can be careless with them. Weapons can be pretty lethal, especially artillery, so if you're not cautious, your entire army can get wiped out in a matter of seconds and you never know what you may receive in the mission in terms of reinforcements.

Infantry carry an assortment of weapons ranging from submachine guns, rifles, machine guns, anti-tank weaponry and mortars. Officers carry binoculars, ostensibly improving spotting, and medics are able to revive wounded comrades. Infantry are vulnerable, but if used properly, not too vulnerable. They can take cover on the ground, or occupy trenches and buildings. They can also hide in fields or other types of terrain making them tougher to spot. There is a wide range of vehicles including halftracks, armored cars, assault guns (tracked and towed) and of course tanks, lots of tanks. Vehicles have stats and can be critically damaged. Engines can be destroyed, tracks get thrown, turrets get disabled, etc. Critical damage can be repaired in the filed with crew kits or dedicated repair vehicles. Vehicles also require fuel and ammo supplies. Most tanks are armed with machine gun bullets, armor piercing and heat rounds. Its not clear to me how detailed ballistics and armor thickness are modeled.

Some missions grant you access to off map support which can be pretty devastating. Heavy bombers, CAS, aerial recon and paratroopers seem to be the most common. They can totally turn the tide of a battle.

If attacked from the rear, enemy units may surrender. Sometimes, they may also abandon their vehicles when damaged. This permits the player to capture them, occupy them with spare crew or infantry, fix them and start using them. Captured heavy Russian tanks have saved my arse on more than one occasion.

Here is what I don't like:

Pre-mission briefings are crap. Very basic, general and overall poorly done. They really could have added to the immersion by including useful maps, historical background and context and maybe having recon photos and some intelligence on expected enemy opposition. Same issue with post-mission AARs. There is a useful summary showing kills and losses by unit category, but other than some irrelevant story narrative in the style of a journal, there isn't much there.

Units do not gain experience and your OOB does not carry over from mission to mission throughout a campaign. You do earn points by completing missions that can be spend upgrading units and these stick with you, but the units themselves do not otherwise improve.  You are awarded various levels of "medals" or badges for taking certain actions during a mission, but these are more like "achievements" and don't really seem to have much of an effect on units, prestige, etc. You never get to select or "purchase" units before a battle. You get what the scenario designer gives you. In general, I think the omission of unit selection, and experience for units that survive was a real lost opportunity for this game. Could have made a big difference and added a whole new layer of tactical complexity.

The missions overall feel pretty small. For instance, the entire Battle of Stalingrad seem to be fought at the company level. As noted above, the campaign missions are fun, exciting and very well put together, but they don't really feel epic.  Given the speed in which the game is played, this is probably a good thing, as having too many units at once would be very difficult to manage effectively.

Sight ranges. What else can I say? If there is one thing that can sink this otherwise very good game, its the terrible sight rules. Units have weapons with acceptable range envelopes, but with respect to direct fire weapons, they can only target what they can see, and spotting is so abysmal. Terrain, elevation, weather, etc. doesn't have any obvious effect on this either. Its very frustrating when your tanks are getting nailed by an anti-tank gun that you know is a few feet in front of you, and your tank won't fire back because it can't see the attacker.  Infantry has better sight range than tanks, so combined arms tactics becomes critical. Not in and of itself a bad thing, because such a strategy is authentic, but the way the sight rules work can make for some gamey tactics.

Unit facing can be controlled but the formation controls are very poor. You can roughly group units together when issuing move orders, but I haven't discovered any option to have units form up in line, column, wedge, echelon, etc. This would have been a simple, and very welcome addition.