Afghanistan 11

[db_zero]

I just saw this, looked at it and reviews and decided to get it. A very interesting concept. I can't really describe it, but its a combination of Civilization and a turned based RTS

[MOS:96B2P]

I also got it through Steam about two weeks ago.  Fun, interesting game. 

[db_zero]

I saw it a while ago and had no interest so I didn't bother paying any attention. How can a game at the operational/strategic level on Afghanistan and counter insurgency with less emphasis on combat and more on nation building and winning hearts and minds be?

Surprisingly well done and for its appearance of simplicity is apparently very difficult to do well from what I've heard so far.

I'm still new at it but from what I've seen so far really like it.

[Harry Speakup]

Matrix are currently having an Easter weekend Sale. From the blurb:

Use "HappyEaster" when you check out and get 30% off your purchases

The Easter Coupon gives a 30% discount on any purchase from our stores!

No game is excluded: the discount is also valid for our recent release such as
Afghanistan ‘11

[db_zero]

This is one of those games where you can stay up well into the night saying to yourself-just one more turn. It's also difficult and brutally so at anything past regular level. From what I've been able to gather the AI doesn't cheat. I have never agonized so much over the loss of a Chinook. Logistics has never been so much fun, challenging and frustrating. Every single thing you do can have a huge impact that often doesn't become apparent until later on oftentimes fatally so.

You can kill off dozens of militia and Taliban units and it will make no difference if you don't win the hearts and minds of the natives or suffer casualties and cause political dissent, which then paralyzes you. Once that happens then all it takes is for the militia or Taliban is to knock down a unit or 2 or cause casualties to one of your units and you're in a hole that you won't be able to dig yourself out of.

This game is pure genius.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Sounds quite good.....How does it weigh up against Strategic Command in your opinion? 

The way you seem to feel about it is reminiscent of my own feelings about those titles.....'How can something this simple be this good?'. 

Edited April 18, 2017 by Sgt.Squarehead

[db_zero]

31 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Sounds quite good.....How does it weigh up against Strategic Command in your opinion? 

The way you seem to feel about it is reminiscent of my own feelings about those titles.....'How can something this simple be this good?'. 

Its been a long time since I've played Strategic Command, but SC is primarily about combat and waging war. A11 is about waging war and has combat, but combat and killing the enemy, while important isn't going to be enough. You have to make contact with the natives in town and villages, send them UN Aid, build things like water facilities and roads as well as protect them from attacks. Once you win the trust of the locals they give you intelligence.

You're going out destroying opium crops, training the Afghan Army cause you have to turn the country over to them and they have to survive 10 turns. You can't be careless and neglect  monitor the roads as they get mined with IEDs and that can easily ruin your day. Seeing trucks loaded with supplies or aid get destroyed by IED's or Taliban attacks will piss you off to no end.

You have airstrikes, drones, special forces, Blackhawks, Apaches, Chinooks. Where you build your FOB's and how you supply them is critical as the Militia and Taliban will attack them as well as mine the resupply routes. You can expand FOBS with hospitals, repair facilities and artillery pits. They come with a mortar section and you can garrison them, but you must be able to keep them in supply.

There are Presidential election you can influence and the candidate that wins affects the game. usually around the election time the Taliban will mass for an offensive and you have to avoid casualties and damage to infrastructure. If you start to suffer casualties you lose Political points which you need to buy things and perform certain actions.

Its far different than SC

[Sgt.Squarehead]

You are going to cost me some money at this rate! 

[db_zero]

16 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

You are going to cost me some money at this rate! 

You've cost me some more $$$ I took a look at the new Strategic Command War in Europe and decided to get it. I have the older ones that cover Europe and Pacific. A nice beer and pretzels game.

Also got Gary Grigsby Torch expansion for the new War in Europe the exact opposite of a beer and pretzels game.

At least I got the 30% discount that ends today so it takes some of the sting out

[Erwin]

"...Also got Gary Grigsby Torch expansion for the new War in Europe"

You mean War in the West??  Will be interested to hear your comments re Torch - wish it started earlier to feature the fluid desert battles from 1940 onwards.  I like Grigsby's WITPAE.  I have his War in Russia game but it looks heavy and no pretty ships and planes.  His West Front version looks even heavier with airpower looking very complex and handling it a game on its own..

I recommend "Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa." 

 

Edited April 18, 2017 by Erwin

[db_zero]

32 minutes ago, Erwin said:

"...Also got Gary Grigsby Torch expansion for the new War in Europe"

You mean War in the West??  Will be interested to hear your comments re Torch - wish it started earlier to feature the fluid desert battles from 1940 onwards.  I like Grigsby's WITPAE.  I have his War in Russia game but it looks heavy and no pretty ships and planes.  His West Front version looks even heavier with airpower looking very complex and handling it a game on its own..

I recommend "Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa." 

 

Yup War in the West. The new air system is great and its too bad its not ported over to War in the East which I have, but not really played. I have WitPAE and spent 2 years of my life playing a PBEM grand campaign-we often did 2-3 turns a day and 4-8 on the weekends. The Torch expansion does have a hypothetical scenario that starts in 1943 and assumes Hittler was deposed and thus Germany has a more rational strategy...

I wonder if they will expand War in the West to 1939. I also have the latest Hearts of Iron.

Gary Grigsbys games are always a beast, I remember playing the original War in the West for hours

[Erwin]

"...assumes Hitler was deposed and thus Germany has a more rational strategy..."   If rational, Germany woulda immediately tried for a ceasefire or negotiated surrender, and with Hitler and presumably other of H's henchmen gone, if rational, the Allies woulda negotiated. 

Ok, it's fun to play what-if's.  But those types of scenarios are akin to sci fantasy.  May as well play the Allies without Churchill, or Stalin, or Roosevelt etc etc.  But, absolutely nothing wrong with that if one enjoys em. 

The air system in War in the West literally frightened me after having to put so much work into WITPAE.  Even tho' I bought War In Russia and all its modules, I couldn't bring myself to get War In the West.  But, let us know how it plays...

Edited April 19, 2017 by Erwin

[db_zero]

47 minutes ago, Erwin said:

"...assumes Hitler was deposed and thus Germany has a more rational strategy..."   If rational, Germany woulda immediately tried for a ceasefire or negotiated surrender, and with Hitler and presumably other of H's henchmen gone, if rational, the Allies woulda negotiated. 

Ok, it's fun to play what-if's.  But those types of scenarios are akin to sci fantasy.  May as well play the Allies without Churchill, or Stalin, or Roosevelt etc etc.  But, absolutely nothing wrong with that if one enjoys em. 

The air system in War in the West literally frightened me after having to put so much work into WITPAE.  Even tho' I bought War In Russia and all its modules, I couldn't bring myself to get War In the West.  But, let us know how it plays...

It takes time and study to get the hang of the new system. It may be a while before I jump back into WitW. I got Torch mainly because of the sale.

I did jump into SCWiE and was able to subjugate Poland in less than an hour-without having to play a tutorial or read the manual. I've stopped for now and will read the manual and watch some youtube videos so I hopefully won't make some early mistakes that will cost me later on. I've started researching amphibious warfare so I can invade Great Britain-after I take over France. Then I'll have to decide if I take over Russia or try to invade the USA.

 

Gotta love the simple games now and then....

[db_zero]

On 4/18/2017 at 4:20 PM, Erwin said:

"...Also got Gary Grigsby Torch expansion for the new War in Europe"

You mean War in the West??  Will be interested to hear your comments re Torch - wish it started earlier to feature the fluid desert battles from 1940 onwards.  I like Grigsby's WITPAE.  I have his War in Russia game but it looks heavy and no pretty ships and planes.  His West Front version looks even heavier with airpower looking very complex and handling it a game on its own..

I recommend "Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa." 

 

I looked at Decisive Campaigns Barbarossa and it really looks good. The system seems like it would be great for other campaigns, but sounds like the developer isn't going to make any more.

I'll have to get it when it goes on sale again

[Erwin]

"...sounds like the developer isn't going to make any more."

Darn - I thought that was supposed to be the way of the future.  I liked the role-playing aspects.  But, I can see how it would be an expensive game system to develop.  The game's lovely full-color bound manual is the best I have ever seen (and looks expensive as well).

[Sgt.Squarehead]

On ‎19‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 3:40 AM, db_zero said:

I've started researching amphibious warfare so I can invade Great Britain-after I take over France. Then I'll have to decide if I take over Russia or try to invade the USA.

I hope you've got a lot of submarines, because the Royal Navy will probably have a thing or two to say about that.....It's really big and scary compared to Germany's piffling little fleet, I mean really big and really scary! 

SCWWII: AOD has some very cool scenarios, especially the WHIFs. 

[db_zero]

On 4/18/2017 at 4:20 PM, Erwin said:

"...Also got Gary Grigsby Torch expansion for the new War in Europe"

You mean War in the West??  Will be interested to hear your comments re Torch - wish it started earlier to feature the fluid desert battles from 1940 onwards.  I like Grigsby's WITPAE.  I have his War in Russia game but it looks heavy and no pretty ships and planes.  His West Front version looks even heavier with airpower looking very complex and handling it a game on its own..

I recommend "Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa." 

 

I restarted GG WitW and Torch. I happen to like it. Then again I I can't think of a GG game I didn't like. You just have to be prepared to digest a full 20 course meal and dessert-it is a Gary Grisgby game and they are massive, complex and full of details. I'm now playing the Torch scenario. I played the Sicily scenario again to re-familiarize and the Rommel Attacks. 

I still haven't tried the full campaign against the AI yet. Don't know how challenging or difficult it is. I also played a little War in the East and looking at the forum most say as the Germans its not too hard to win the full campaign, but the first turn is critical. Playing as the Soviets is more of a challenge from what was said.

There was an interview with GG and he said eventually a 1940-41 expansion for WitW would be added and eventually WitW and WitE would be linked. If that happens it would be insane.

I'll stater a PBEM of WitW eventually and maybe WitE. I have played a full WitP and WitpAE PBEM campaign. I played a full Campaign game against the AI 3 times when the original War in the Pacific was released in 1992. I never played a full campaign against the AI in the newer versions. I'm not sure you could program a competent AI for that. 

[Erwin]

Have played over a year as Allies in WITPAE b4 burnout and I cam back to CM2.  In WITPAE it's very challenging logistically having to deal with pilot training if you want to optimize.  Am thinking that vs the AI one should let the computer handle all the pilot training and not try to optimize.  Subs should also be left to the AI. It's too easy to swamp areas with human-controlled subs and sink a lot of Jap ships.  And don't change HQ's for units unless vital for its survival (like units in the Philippines and Dutch East Indies).  The AI is good and comes up with nasty surprises, but can repeat errors that a human can exploit.

Am not entirely sure what is happening where I'm at in Spring of 43 or how well/badly I am doing.  I lost Port Moresby, but I think I have done a good job wearing down the Jap elite pilots and sending out raiding squadrons of a CL or CA leading a few DD's to ambush Jap supply convoys.  At present I "feel" a slackening of Jap aggressiveness.  Could be very wrong tho'.  Great game... more of a lifestyle actually.

What I like about WITPAE over WITE is that the individual named ships have unique characters - it feels less like WITE number crunching.