Does Forge of Freedom still hold up?

[TheCommandTent]

If I really loved FoF but have never played an AGEOD game what kind of learning curve am I looking at for CWII?

[bbmike]

If I really loved FoF but have never played an AGEOD game what kind of learning curve am I looking at for CWII?

Pretty big but worth the effort. I watched a bunch of Let's Play and tutorial videos. I also played one of the small, quick scenarios in BoA2 over and over to learn more of the basics.

[sandman2575]

Getting comfortable with the Ageod UI takes a little time, but I have to say, with CW2, they've really streamlined things and made it relatively user-friendly.  Tons of tool-tips. Info. has been made very accessible. 

If you're looking for a new Civil War title, CommandTent, you won't be sorry with CW2, fairly steep learning curve and all.  I'm much more impressed with the game than I thought I would be, not having esp. loved Ageod games in the past.

[Gil R.]

Hello.  I'm new to this forum, though quite a few of you will know me from the Matrix forum, among others, since I am one of FOF's developers.  I did a keyword search to see what the Grogheads are saying about WCS's games, and found this thread, and thought I'd say a thing or two.

First, Eric and I, the two main developers of FOF, both would love to do a FOF2, and talk about it on occasion, but that would still be a few years away, since our primary commitments must be to our forthcoming tactical game "Brother Against Brother," a secret project that's quite different from anything we've done so far, and another traditional wargame we're thinking of getting to work on later in the year.  So if some of you now prefer Ageod's second stab at the Civil War you should go with that -- but know that *if* WCS decides to revisit FOF, we will make something that will be good enough to win you back.  (And yes, that's very tame trash talk aimed at Ageod.)

Second, someone above speculated about whether FOF's resolution can be changed.  It cannot be.  Eric, our programmer, once explained to me the technical issues, and while I can't remember them, I can tell you that it none of you can do it by modding some file, while Eric would have to devote months to reworking the code.  And if he's doing that, he might as well just write a FOF2 (see above).  Our hope is that people will see that FOF has more than enough going on that it is worth playing even with the graphics and resolution a bit dated by now.

[vyshka]

My solution for dealing with the resolution of older matrix titles was to load everything into a virtual machine running windows. Not the best outcome, but at least it is running in a window and I can have a manual open or be doing something else on the system.

[Staggerwing]

Any sound or controller problems with certain games?

[Huw the Poo]

My solution for dealing with the resolution of older matrix titles was to load everything into a virtual machine running windows. Not the best outcome, but at least it is running in a window and I can have a manual open or be doing something else on the system.

Your desktop is a fucking mess.

[mikeck]

lol

[vyshka]

My solution for dealing with the resolution of older matrix titles was to load everything into a virtual machine running windows. Not the best outcome, but at least it is running in a window and I can have a manual open or be doing something else on the system.

Your desktop is a fucking mess.

Yeah it is. The only thing I ever boot into Windows for is gaming, and most of that is through Steam, Origin, or the Blizzard interface. Most of the time I am sitting in Linux with i3wm running doing work. But I did my spring cleaning now, so no more icons. :)

[JudgeDredd]

My solution for dealing with the resolution of older matrix titles was to load everything into a virtual machine running windows. Not the best outcome, but at least it is running in a window and I can have a manual open or be doing something else on the system.

Your desktop is a fucking mess.

**spits tea over the kid**

Hilarious!! Just the bluntness of it!!    O0   

[vyshka]

Any sound or controller problems with certain games?

I haven't run into any yet, but I haven't done much besides matrix titles and tiller titles on there.

[JasonPratt]

All hail Gil?

ALL HAIL GIL! ALL HAIL GIL!  8)

[MengJiao]

I must have been in the minority, maybe I need to try again...just don't recall it being as fun as being described:(

I am with you Grim Reaper. I never really got into this game, and I do consider the AGEOD's American Civil War to be a greatly superior experience, both in single and multi-player.

I never understood the supply system in FOF, and I usually found it very difficult to understand why things were happening (or not happening) at the strategic/operational level. FOF has a tactical layer, but I found there was very little point to the tactical layer when the AI was so poor (a hallmark of the "series" I do remember that the AI in Crown of Glory wasn't precisely the strongest ever). My major gripe with the tactical layer, nevertheless, was the activation system in place: I'd have expected it to allow me to activate Divisions or Corps, rather than single regiments/brigades (if I recall correctly). It was kind of difficult to coordinate forces that historically usually acted in a concerted fashion.

  This is pretty much what I remember about this game as well, but it may be that the American Civil War just isn't that interesting.  I mean I've tried just about every Civil War game there is and (except for board games about Gettysburg), never had much fun with them.

   Maybe something more mystical with trains and Indians would be more my speed.

[W8taminute]

Picked up FoF during the holiday sale over at Matrix/Slitherine.  This is the second time I bought this game directly from Matrix.  (Can't find my key from the first time I purchased the game)

The fact that I was willing to pay money again for a game that is so old should tell you something.  I absolutely love this game.  The control over absolutely everything in this game a strategy control freak could want is amazing.  From managing infrastructure, building improvements in cities, research and development, to upgrading brigade firearms by manufacturing them or purchasing them from overseas is addictive.  Never mind that the larger tactical battles can take over an hour to complete. 

Sure there are some flaws with this game but at this point they will probably not be addressed.  It is best to just accept this game for what it is because if you're willing to overlook the bad with this game I assure you the good far outweighs the flaws.  If I could make my own games the way I want them to be made FoF is pretty close to that dream.

[Rayfer]

This was my go-to American Civil War game until Ageod's ACW2 came out, which in my humble opinion is the far better of the two.  But FoF is still a good, solid game.