Game worth buying?

[Spriksprak]

I've been a long time player of CM but was surprised that they've broken with their long established practice of publishing a demo with their new Cold War game. I remember them saying long ago it was how they promoted their games given the small size of the developer and the niche nature of the product. So couple of questions to anyone kind enough to clarify: do you know why they broke with tradition for releasing a demo (i.e. is the game particularly different from other CM entries?) and in your opinion is it worth a buy/a good entry for someone whose played since the original Shock Force?

Thanks for any input

[Grey_Fox]

49 minutes ago, Spriksprak said:

I've been a long time player of CM but was surprised that they've broken with their long established practice of publishing a demo with their new Cold War game. I remember them saying long ago it was how they promoted their games given the small size of the developer and the niche nature of the product. So couple of questions to anyone kind enough to clarify: do you know why they broke with tradition for releasing a demo (i.e. is the game particularly different from other CM entries?) and in your opinion is it worth a buy/a good entry for someone whose played since the original Shock Force?

Thanks for any input

I think it's worth the purchase.

If you want a sort-of demo, steam offers a full refund if you play for less than 2 hours and you have owned the game for less than 2 weeks.

The campaigns are uniformly excellent.

The standalone scenarios range from excellent to very mediocre.

The quick battle maps are quite poor, just the same ones you have in Black Sea and I think Red Thunder, which are usually absurdly small for modern-ish weapons systems (and worse for Black Sea). You'd be well-advised to import some master maps if you are into PBEMs.

Edited December 28, 2022 by Grey_Fox

[chuckdyke]

Demo were available on Engine3 and there is no Engine3 version of CW. At least this is what I think. 

 

[MikeyD]

Slitherine, in their enthusiasm, kept wanting to add features. The PBEM+++ system, campaign feature for Steam. Each request meant more engine coding, more testing, more feedback, and each time the Cold War demo got knocked back again. BFC has a demo. They just need a finalized game engine for it. We're finally approaching that point now.

About those 'absurdly small' game maps. Average LOS in Germany is said to be about 1.3km, less so in the forested Fulda region. Even in flat industrial farm Ukraine the Ukrainians say average Javelin engagement range has only been about 900m. Soviet doctrine in the Cold War timeframe considered 2km to be the width of a battalion's zone of attack. Try to go wider and you'd be intruding into adjacent units' path of advancement.

[Commanderski]

I don't have any of the modern games as I prefer WWII Eastern Front but Combat Mission Cold war just won an award for the best computer wargame. The category is near the bottom of the page.

https://charlessrobertsawards.com/2021-winners/?fbclid=IwAR3_IFzobXQoAujp6DYu8hIQ5sTGRNjBwLRKZEjIIfq_nbnGJIcEleLiXg4

 

[Grey_Fox]

10 hours ago, MikeyD said:

About those 'absurdly small' game maps. Average LOS in Germany is said to be about 1.3km, less so in the forested Fulda region. Even in flat industrial farm Ukraine the Ukrainians say average Javelin engagement range has only been about 900m. Soviet doctrine in the Cold War timeframe considered 2km to be the width of a battalion's zone of attack. Try to go wider and you'd be intruding into adjacent units' path of advancement.

And yet many of the QB maps are significantly smaller than that, with only a few allowing that 2km frontage.

[Erwin]

Best Computer Wargame
For wargames played primarily on a computer.
WINNER: War in the East 2, Slitherine, Ltd.
Combat Mission Cold War, Slitherine, Ltd.
Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnaughts, Game-Labs

[Lethaface]

17 hours ago, MikeyD said:

campaign feature for Steam. 

What's that?

[Lethaface]

17 hours ago, MikeyD said:

Slitherine, in their enthusiasm, kept wanting to add features. The PBEM+++ system, campaign feature for Steam. Each request meant more engine coding, more testing, more feedback, and each time the Cold War demo got knocked back again. BFC has a demo. They just need a finalized game engine for it. We're finally approaching that point now.

About those 'absurdly small' game maps. Average LOS in Germany is said to be about 1.3km, less so in the forested Fulda region. Even in flat industrial farm Ukraine the Ukrainians say average Javelin engagement range has only been about 900m. Soviet doctrine in the Cold War timeframe considered 2km to be the width of a battalion's zone of attack. Try to go wider and you'd be intruding into adjacent units' path of advancement.

The campaigns/master maps are excellent but I agree with Greyfox that the QB maps aren't really great for PBEMs. Mostly smallish and a bit bland, little to none complex terrain bar a few.

[Simcoe]

On 12/27/2022 at 5:26 PM, Spriksprak said:

I've been a long time player of CM but was surprised that they've broken with their long established practice of publishing a demo with their new Cold War game. I remember them saying long ago it was how they promoted their games given the small size of the developer and the niche nature of the product. So couple of questions to anyone kind enough to clarify: do you know why they broke with tradition for releasing a demo (i.e. is the game particularly different from other CM entries?) and in your opinion is it worth a buy/a good entry for someone whose played since the original Shock Force?

Thanks for any input

This is easily my favorite Combat Mission. You have two factions that have completely different doctrines, strengths and weaknesses. The time period also accentuates the strengths of the engine and game format. WW2 is too slow and Black Sea/SF2 are really stretching the engine too far. Cold War is in that sweet spot.

[The_Capt]

On 12/28/2022 at 9:58 AM, Erwin said:

Best Computer Wargame
For wargames played primarily on a computer.
WINNER: War in the East 2, Slitherine, Ltd.
Combat Mission Cold War, Slitherine, Ltd.
Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnaughts, Game-Labs

It is an honour to simply be nominated - we will of course backstab War in the East during the post-awards mingle.

We do have a demo, when it will see the light of day? - is the question.   As to “worth buying?” well that is a personal choice.  CMCW by design is more unforgiving and many have commented on a steeper learning curve. Cold War was a weird time in warfare and it may be a shock for some on just how lethal the environment had become.  In the end, players choice really.  I think if you liked any of the modern titles you will like CW, it basically bridges WW2 and modern era.  If you are a hardcore WW2 fan, you may find it off putting.  But hey, thanks for thinking of us regardless.

[Ultradave]

17 minutes ago, The_Capt said:

Cold War was a weird time in warfare and it may be a shock for some on just how lethal the environment had become.

We were taught at the time "If you can be seen, you can be hit. If you are hit, you are dead."  Lethal indeed. The game demonstrates that quite well. Armor had not caught up to armaments, and IFVs/APCs are quite brittle on both sides, especially earlier in the period.

I think it's a matter of taste. Like any of the other titles, if you are interested in the period, you will most likely have a lot of fun.

Dave

[ratdeath]

Yes! The best CM family there is (imho), also the one that makes you have high hopes for engine 5 update performance improvements

It is, as some have pointed out somewhere in between the WW2 titles and SF2/BS. Lethal, brutal, fast paced.

[MarkEzra]

Is there a team yankee scenario?

[MarkEzra]

Never mind... There is.  A very good book.

[Simcoe]

24 minutes ago, MarkEzra said:

Is there a team yankee scenario?

I tried it a while back but I hate the Tom Clancy style backstories. "Chad Hardcock was captain of the football team, cured cancer and banged the prom queen all while being the best tank commander in US history". Not to mention the Soviets invading in 1989 is an utter farce. 

With all that said, is it worth picking up again?

[Combatintman]

5 hours ago, Simcoe said:

I tried it a while back but I hate the Tom Clancy style backstories. "Chad Hardcock was captain of the football team, cured cancer and banged the prom queen all while being the best tank commander in US history". Not to mention the Soviets invading in 1989 is an utter farce. 

With all that said, is it worth picking up again?

You must have a different edition to mine then, in my version the backstory for most of the characters simply states what position they occupy and vaguely how long they'd been in it.  Character development is complementary to the action narrative and in the main that revolves around the straight out of armour school lieutenant evolving from someone whose every peace time action involves an interview sans coffee to combat actions which earn him the trust of his superiors and subordinates.

[MarkEzra]

None of this is my fault... LOL... I get back into the forum... and start a completely off topic thread... I liked the back story... Everyday guys in a national guard unit who get shipped in a hurry to the German front before hostilities break out... if I remember the book. And for the record: Not a big fan of Clancy... all male testosterone driven characters in fantastic situations. Rule 62!

[Simcoe]

14 hours ago, Combatintman said:

You must have a different edition to mine then, in my version the backstory for most of the characters simply states what position they occupy and vaguely how long they'd been in it.  Character development is complementary to the action narrative and in the main that revolves around the straight out of armour school lieutenant evolving from someone whose every peace time action involves an interview sans coffee to combat actions which earn him the trust of his superiors and subordinates.

I'll have to give it another try then. Thank you.

[A Canadian Cat]

On 1/10/2023 at 3:36 PM, MarkEzra said:

Rule 62!

"Always give people space when they get off an elevator"

Good rule not sure how it applies here

[MarkEzra]

Rule 62: Don't take you're self too seriously. I have it tattooed on my arm. It's a very good reminder.... especially when I post on the forum.

Edited January 11, 2023 by MarkEzra
corrected number 62

[Spriksprak]

This is an old post but wanted to reply back since I really appreciated all the input people gave. I did buy the game recently and initially really enjoyed myself, very different feel to the prior titles with it's emphasis on speed and mechanisation. However, unfortunately I had to refund it as the combination of a widescreen monitor and the level of pixelation the large maps have was giving me headaches and eyestrain and I was struggling to parse the detail of the actions while zoomed out. Very unfortunate but it's clear that a laudable ambition might have overreached the engine's capability here and until an engine update (the fabled 5 that seems to have been hinted at for years) comes out and addresses this I can't see myself being able to play it. I think, for me, this underlines why demos for these games are still a very good idea.

Anyway thanks again for the helpful input.

 

Quote

 

Ended up reading it and enjoying it very much!

[Butschi]

On 10/30/2023 at 4:59 PM, Spriksprak said:

This is an old post but wanted to reply back since I really appreciated all the input people gave. I did buy the game recently and initially really enjoyed myself, very different feel to the prior titles with it's emphasis on speed and mechanisation. However, unfortunately I had to refund it as the combination of a widescreen monitor and the level of pixelation the large maps have was giving me headaches and eyestrain and I was struggling to parse the detail of the actions while zoomed out. Very unfortunate but it's clear that a laudable ambition might have overreached the engine's capability here and until an engine update (the fabled 5 that seems to have been hinted at for years) comes out and addresses this I can't see myself being able to play it. I think, for me, this underlines why demos for these games are still a very good idea.

Anyway thanks again for the helpful input.

 

Ended up reading it and enjoying it very much!

Maybe I misunderstood your post but you can pretty much set any resolution you want, I think, if you enter it manually into the config file, I think?

[Ultradave]

.

Edited October 31, 2023 by Ultradave

[Spriksprak]

Quote

 

I don't believe the resolution itself is the problem - the graphics look decent zoomed in. The issue is the widescreen makes it even more obvious there is a very, very clear and close in line of render past which everything becomes blurry and pixelated to the point where I was struggling to pick out topography and my unit actions as well as the aforementioned eyestrain after about 20 mins. I have't had this be noticeable on other CM games and my rig is decent so I'm guessing it's a resource trade off for the increased size of the maps and the perhaps the rapidity of the weapons. If anyone has suggestions or work arounds for this I'm all ears.