Tim Stone provides a brief but tantalizing glimpse over at RPS
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/01/19/the-flare-path-catch-of-the-day/ (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/01/19/the-flare-path-catch-of-the-day/)
Looks like a 3D Panzer Corps, made with the Unreal engine.
Undeniably pretty. And coming to Steam Early Access soon.
Yet the (Russian) dev's webpage is oddly content-free?
http://panzerstrategy.com/ (http://panzerstrategy.com/)
Anyway, something to keep an eye on, potentially.
Wondering how this will turn out, we'll keep an eye on it. Thanks. I also noticed the Battlefront info at the end regarding CM, guess there expecting a lot of releases this year. modules for Red Thunder, Fortress Italy and CMSF2.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/769950/Panzer_Strategy/
I dunno about this one. I'm also keeping an eye on it.
Quoteregarding CM, guess there expecting a lot of releases this year
Wishful thinking: I really wish we'd see a game engine upgrade. Same engine since Shock Force, but with some polish on it. Wish we had something that was capable of handling physics and larger scale maps much better.
Don't know what the point of zooming in to see strategic icons fight is. If however you zoomed in to see endless space style battles it may be worth it.
Quote from: Apocalypse 31 on January 21, 2018, 08:53:44 AM
Quoteregarding CM, guess there expecting a lot of releases this year
Wishful thinking: I really wish we'd see a game engine upgrade. Same engine since Shock Force, but with some polish on it. Wish we had something that was capable of handling physics and larger scale maps much better.
Yeah, have to agree. After reading Tim Stone's article, I headed over to Battlefront webpage to see what's new -- hadn't visited for a long while. There's a Strategic Command WW1 blurb (which I couldn't care less about) and then the most 'recent' entry for anything Combat-Mission-related is a headline about CM Black Sea from April, 2017.
Sorry, but the idea that BFC is going to crank out new content in 2018 just rings false to me. I'll believe it when I see it, at this point.
And even if they do, the engine (and *especially* the UI) just feel very tired and dated to me. It's hard to spend time with the Graviteam games, or even the Men of War / Call to Arms games, and then go back to Combat Mission, which feels many years behind the curve.
Quote from: sandman2575 on January 21, 2018, 08:20:49 PM
Sorry, but the idea that BFC is going to crank out new content in 2018 just rings false to me.
One of the screenies does seem to suggest they're finally putting amphibious vehicles into the game, something they never did in the original (other than those half-assed assault boats that the AI didn't know how to use).
Other than that, it may not be so much "new" as just up to date. CMSF needs to be brought to the current state of the art engine-wise, it's the only CM title not yet to 3.0 or 4.0 or wherever they're at now. You'd think they'd accomplish this with some new scenarios and campaigns. The original campaign was set in a "near future" setting of 2007, which is a decade behind us. Does beg the question of whether they're going to include the last 10 years of technology (not to mention Syrian history!) or just stick with the original premise, scenarios etc. and just fix the game engine.
Modules for Italy and Red Thunder - looks like one is a new time period (Rome to Victory, presume summer 44 to spring 45) which will be mostly the same equipment as in CM:FB which covers Oct 1944 to Feb 1945 (?) with not as many heavy tanks (no Pershings, King Tigers, etc. in Italy, which was made obvious to players trying to design CMAK scenarios set in NW Europe).
Two different options for the Red Thunder seem likely - adding in Waffen SS, Luft, Guards, etc. to the existing module (set Jun 44 to Oct 44), or extending the game to Feb 45 and just using the German equipment from CMFB and Rome to Victory.
Plus, pay more money for every incremental upgrade. They were my favorite at one time but still $ 60 for a three year old game. Forget it, lousy- moved on
Battlefront is stuck in a "SitzKrieg". It's comical seeing steve pat himself on the back about simply staying in business for 20 years. Where's the innovation that burst the original CM onto the scene in 1999 ? They are a prisoner to their own conservative business model, and game development has suffered as you can see from the sentiment in most CM threads. A great game for what it does, but could be so much more...that's the frustration of a CM fan.
"...could be so much more...that's the frustration of a CM fan"
EXACTLY. My continued and continuous frustration with BFC. I have money in my pocket I would love to use to support them. But years go by with little more than a hodge podge of packs and maybe if we are lucky, a module. I think they really missed a very large opportunity spreading themselves out so thinly with developing so many, games, modules, packs, etc. that don't work with each other. I mean, it takes six months just for them to issue a patch on know issues.
I still suspect the DRMs they have used in the past drove some of their decision-making.
Well, it's out, Early Access anyway,
http://store.steampowered.com/app/769950/Panzer_Strategy/
Anyone bite? At $20, cant complain about the price at least...
I don't know, its not calling me. Panzer Corps 2 is also using the unreal engine, wonder how that will be by comparison.
Nah - not for me. I gave up on overly simplistic "chess" style mechanics some time ago. The world has moved on.
"Unique and realistic supply system"...how?
Quote
The most realistic logistic. A unit has its own reserve of ammo, fuel and so on. It must replenish it though. The supply is literally a vehicle with ammo and fuel that is passing from a supply depot to the unit. If this truck is destroyed the unit will not receive any ammo and won't have the possibility to attack. Moreover supplying depots are joined to the net by roads. If a road is cut by the enemy certain depots' reserves will end and units will not be able to replenish ammo and fuel. When units run out of ammo and fuel their efficiency drops to zero. So supply lines are extremely important in Panzer Strategy as well as maneuvering.
Build your supply system, maneuver to cut the enemy supply lines in order to exhaust him and destroy.
How is that unique and realistic? I think every game tends to throw that moniker in because it grabs at the heart of most strategy gamers.
Time to see it YouTube has any 'let's plays' on this game. That will answer the question for me whether it's worth getting or not.
Well judge if it actually does what that says then it sounds pretty unique to me. Actual different types of supply being transported by actual supply units from depots ... I can't actually think of one that does that ...
Don't disagree on the panzer general type games but this seems to have some interesting ideas for a game of this type
Reminds me of the OCS board game I used to play which has the best supply mechanics ever
Will never give up on Panzer Corps style games here....I will always prefer turn based games, old fashioned I suppose. They could make it a bit more complex though or atleast try and shake it up a bit.
Quote from: Zulu1966 on March 06, 2018, 04:25:33 PM
Well judge if it actually does what that says then it sounds pretty unique to me. Actual different types of supply being transported by actual supply units from depots ... I can't actually think of one that does that ...
Don't disagree on the panzer general type games but this seems to have some interesting ideas for a game of this type
Reminds me of the OCS board game I used to play which has the best supply mechanics ever
It's not different trucks
Quote
The supply is literally a vehicle with ammo and fuel that is passing from a supply depot to the unit
Also - I'm wracking my brains trying to remember the game that had that mechanic...supply depots and trucks going along that route but for the life of me I can't remember it. I also remember several times the statement
Quote
If a road is cut by the enemy certain depots' reserves will end and units will not be able to replenish ammo and fuel
Short of the games names I'm referring to here I see why this can be regarded as hearsay...but I do recall those mechanics (trucks and roads and supply depots) and the statement about cutting supply lines being referred to in several games in the past.
Strategy gamers wet their pants when it comes to supply being efficiently portrayed (and not abstractly) and I'm not sure I remember a game that ever really nailed it - with TOAW III perhaps being the closest
I am old though - so forgive the memory leak! >:D
Quote from: Zulu1966 on March 06, 2018, 04:25:33 PM
Well judge if it actually does what that says then it sounds pretty unique to me. Actual different types of supply being transported by actual supply units from depots ... I can't actually think of one that does that ...
Not wanting to derail this thread, but I know of a game, admittedly on Android that does this.
Rommel and Afrika Korps (from Joni Nuutinen's Conflict Series)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cloudworth.northafricancampaign
QuoteSupply Rules: To keep your armored and motorized divisions on the move you must use Fuel Trucks to transport fuel from Fuel Depots to front line units. Fuel Depots can be refueled only from El Agheila (unlimited amount) or Tobruk (limited amount). Meanwhile only El Agheila and Benghazi provide food supply, so units must have a route to either of these cities after the British forces have moved.
Protecting and managing your Opel supply trucks is a biggie in this game.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wNIo8QRtO48BlDuHM4Qj3zRMUJEW_MdjmglwCBr10vWhsrsZHkKvgb115UscewOcWQnQ=h900-rw)
May be a micromanagement nightmare in a bigger scale game, but this designed for mobile offering makes it work and becomes a very important factor in any rolling offense you're trying to pull off.
The Men of War series, (not sure about the very first one but definitely the later ones) have a very detailed supply system. Each unit had individual ammo counts for weapons etc... you could spawn in a supply truck and have it go around and resupply units in the field.
It was very clunky until a later patch for Assault Squad 2 gave it some minor automation which made things 100% better.
The only thing it doesn't have is a 'depot', unless the level itself had some kind of depot built into the map.
I rarely had units survive long enough to need resupply though ;D
And then you have the Wargame games, of course, and R.U.S.E. had a basic version of that system.
Don't forget the Sudden Strike series. It models fuel and various different types of ammo.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on March 07, 2018, 04:01:37 AM
Quote from: Zulu1966 on March 06, 2018, 04:25:33 PM
Well judge if it actually does what that says then it sounds pretty unique to me. Actual different types of supply being transported by actual supply units from depots ... I can't actually think of one that does that ...
Don't disagree on the panzer general type games but this seems to have some interesting ideas for a game of this type
Reminds me of the OCS board game I used to play which has the best supply mechanics ever
It's not different trucks
Quote
The supply is literally a vehicle with ammo and fuel that is passing from a supply depot to the unit
Also - I'm wracking my brains trying to remember the game that had that mechanic...supply depots and trucks going along that route but for the life of me I can't remember it. I also remember several times the statement
Quote
If a road is cut by the enemy certain depots' reserves will end and units will not be able to replenish ammo and fuel
Short of the games names I'm referring to here I see why this can be regarded as hearsay...but I do recall those mechanics (trucks and roads and supply depots) and the statement about cutting supply lines being referred to in several games in the past.
Strategy gamers wet their pants when it comes to supply being efficiently portrayed (and not abstractly) and I'm not sure I remember a game that ever really nailed it - with TOAW III perhaps being the closest
I am old though - so forgive the memory leak! >:D
Understand the failing memory bit. I was reffering to turn based games as I find even if it is modelled to some extent in RTS games it is usually way too hectic for me for it to make a sensible difference. But that may be an age thing also.
And in relation to turn based games I was reffering to actual supply units not virtual trucks which is what TOAW does and others do.
Come to think of it with full supply model turned on and if the scenario supports it the tiller panzer campaign games do this. Sort of. The closest to it I know of in any event.
I am a supply nerd and from operational rather than tactical point of view always think it is under modelled. In the OCS board games you had trucks driving around and dropping of and picking up supply from depots. So you could attack and destroy them.
Always thought this is something much easier to do in a computer game than a board game so never really understood why it wasn't.
My impression is that this is something different although obviously not a hard-core war game.
My new shiny thing compulsion will no doubt lead me to buy this when I get back in front of my computer so will report back and comment on it.
I think CM now supports supply vehicles and depots (in defense only). It also supports ammo sharing . The ammo sharing and restocking from APCs adds a very cool element in some scenarios. And its turn-based.
Back to the original topic: Steam reviews indicate the game is verrrrrry Early Access.
Also, some of the positive reviews sound like they're using a coach sheet to work in notes about what to emphasize: I have never seen a single game (or any game at all?) with so many reviews praising the "step-by-step strategy" as a description. :o
This isn't deductively decisive evidence of paid fluff reviews, but those Steam account have suspiciously random gibbery names, too; and don't mention any of the numerous downsides and problems that even some of the other positive reviews acknowledge. It is of course possible that they were just part of a closed alpha (although this EA is definitely still alpha) and at the end the designer said something like, "Hey, if you're thinking of leaving us a positive review when we Steam launch, here are some topics we'd like you to mention, kthx." And so, being perfectly honest about wanting to praise the game, they all just dutifully copied down that unusual phrasing for turn-based games. ;)
(I suppose I should add that even paid or compensated reviews aren't necessarily fluff.)
Hey if Steam User "AssshOOteR" give this game a thumbs up, it has to be good! O0