Old thread resurrected: What games other than CM are you playing NOW?

[tooz]

With apologies to the original thread's author (too lazy to check) I thought I'd canvass the forum and see what new WORLD WAR 2 games are out there that CMers love.

I also wish to thank the many gamers who gave me the heads up on a truly great game--"Hidden and Dangerous 2". Despite being almost two years old it is like a brand new game for me. Besides, here in China I got a copy for 59 RMB--that's less than $8! Woo-hoo! No, I have not seen any CM rip-offs thankfully.

Let me start my own post with my own non-CM titles that I am having fun playing:

Call of Duty (don't have the expansion pack yet.

Great game if you like shooters. Personally, getting from one level to another is annoying. Great graphics make it fun.

Hidden & Dangerous 2 and H&D Deluxe (a FREE download) Great combo of FPS and half-squad tactics. The graphics make this game.

Eric Young's Squad Assault (yep, originally I scoffed at this game but I find it entertaining--and challenging). Graphics are "iffy" and mechanics a bit sloppy, but I must confess it is fun.

What I want to know from fellow CMers is what recently released (from last spring up to now) WWII games(I know there are a plethora of great games on other topics such as Rome: Total War and Halo 2 for example, but this post is about WW2 games compared with CM) that have been released since last spring do you play? How do they compare with CM? I especially am looking for some feedback on "Codename Panzers". The demos suck because the damn cursor "floats" (not steady) on BOTH demos--which does not happen with my other demos. This game has great, great graphics (except for weird faces) but I wonder about playability. THIS is still CM's overwhelming strength, which enables CMBO to STILL remain a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit old, game.

How's "Pacific Assault" from the Medal of Honor series? "D-Day"? "Soldiers"?

Just curious, always looking for some new challenges...

[HeinzBaby]

OK, lets start the ball rolling..

Rowan's "Battle of Britain" with the latest BDG v0.98 patch released midyear? I think.

This old sim just does'nt want to leave my HD, even when IL2/FB had gone ages ago...must be the Immersion, something the current crop of bleeding edge flight sims have lost.

Call of Duty expansion "United Offensive", it just gets better. I have a blast with this after a bad day at work, keeps an Ol' Dog happy

[Holman]

If we're talking only about WW2 games, then all I play besides CM is the Panzer Campaigns series. One is for tactics, one is for operations.

re: CM as an "old game." It's funny, but I never think about CM as being in competition with other games that way. You can talk about an FPS being "old" and therefore less fun because the technology has moved on (compare Quake 2 to Half-Life 2, for instance), but CM's strengths lie in its fundamental design principles. These have yet to be matched by another developer. IMHO, The number of polygons in the models is just not a part of the discussion of what makes CM great.

[Tifosi]

Hehe - I still got Combat Flight Sim WWII Europe. Love it!

[GJK]

Not sure if I mentioned this last time or not since I've only really gotten into it, but Advanced Squad Leader via VASL with a couple of CM buddies - both "live" and pbem games. I've become a total ASL junkie again, rebuilding my collection - and yes, I'm actually enjoying reading that 300+ page monster of a rulebook! Actually playing VASL live with opponents that know the game inside and out is the best learning aid that wasn't available when I tried it all those years ago - and the community is very helpful, they actually enjoy teaching newbies the system.

The release of the ASL Starter Kit is what kicked it all off for me. The SK is simple to learn, an 11 page rulebook (only 8 pages of actual rules) that are just some of the basics of ASL, but with 6 very fun scenarios that will get you into action fairly quickly. This is VASL ready - the maps and scenarios have already been converted.

VASSAL is the main program from which VASL is a module of, and I've been pretty heavy into a project of converting the old Victory Games "Carrier" to it. This is a solitaire gaming system much like the old Ambush! game, but of course for the South Pacific and carrier ops. Map preview HERE.

[Michael Dorosh]

I've been VASLing with GJK, and funny that he mentions Ambush! and VASSAL conversions, my Ambush! module should be complete soon. Preview of Map A Here

[Sgt Steiner]

Hi all

Call Of Duty for quick immersive online fun

IL2 and venerable European Air War (both at dumbest pilot settings !)

Little bit of Eastern/Western Front by PBEM

Would love to try the Vasl system for SL or ASL but nowhere to set up the game boards near to PC and more importantly just no spare time to devote to re-learning 'THE GAME' :-(

Oh and I do still manage the odd tabletop miniatures game (had a 6mm Eastern Front bash just the other day).

Cheers

[Tifosi]

Originally posted by Tifosi:

Hehe - I still got Combat Flight Sim WWII Europe. Love it!

Oh - and B-17:The Mighty Eighth, and Silent Hunter II. Classics!

[GJK]

Originally posted by Gary Barr:

Would love to try the Vasl system for SL or ASL but nowhere to set up the game boards near to PC and more importantly just no spare time to devote to re-learning 'THE GAME' :-(

You don't need to set up the original boards. In fact, all you need is a copy of the rules and any scenario information/cards for the scenario that you're wanting to play. VASL (for ASL) or VSQL (for SL/COI/COD/GI) has all the boards, all the counters and all the setups ever produced (and more). You play the whole thing on the screen - you can zoom in/out, mark counters, rotatate counters, stack, expand stacks etc. It's the only way I could play again, I have no way of setting up a boardgame here, expecting it to stay intact the entire time.

VASSAL modules (such as the one I'm doing or Dorosh's (looks great btw!)) typically have everything included as well except rules. I imagine you'll need the random events book for Ambush! as well.

By the way, for those curious, the modules that are publicly available have the endorsement of the original publishers - it's been a great way to get new people playing these classics (and new alike - "Lock'n Load" has a VASSAL module).

P.S. Gary, check out the Starter Kit. I thought I'd never have the interest even to attempt to learn ASL, but the SK had me into the games quickly and you'd be surprised at how much it does contain. The thing with these rules is that they are just plain written much better than the original rulebooks were, IMHO.

[Altraum]

Hoy,

I got Codename Panzer, and I wouldn't recommend it as a WW2 strategy game. It is a real time game, and gives me more the feeling as an arcade game than a strategy game.

The game magazines previews talk about this great AI that would counter your attack with precision and the right force mixture. I found that capability lacking. The scripted action was the only real challenge. I actually spent more time turning my panzer around so that the "unharmed" side would face the enemy, than thinking out tactics.

One of the features I did enjoy was the posibility to capture and use enemy tanks. But this means that you either have to take tank crews without tanks into action, or abandon your own tanks.

The artillery of the game is all on map, and have a rather silly short range. You have to bring the the artillery really close to the line to get any effect of it, and if it's not directly on the line it barely manages to support your troops.

This was quite a negativ preview, and it was that mainly because I prefer to play the Axis, and I thought that campaign was all to short. But if you have played Blitzkrieg, and enjoyed that, I think you will enjoy Codename Panzer. But I will not compare it to CMAK, since the prior mentioned is in a totally different class...

[Ansbach]

I've been playing a great WW2 game that is like Ambush! - Silent Storm!

It is turn-based squad level play: think of it as a WW2 Jagged Alliance, a turn-based Commandos, or a computer game version of Ambush!. It's not exactly historically accurate, but it's a lot of fun. It has gorgeous full 3-D graphics with 'real-world' rag-doll physics: I have done things like snipe a guy off a bridge and watch him flip over the railing to his death, shot an enemy soldier inside a house with a SMG at close range and watched him crash backwards through a stairwell banister down to the floor below - that kind of thing. It also plays a little like a role-playing game with different types of soldiers (medics, snipers, engineers etc.) that gain experience and new skills and abilities.

I can not say enough good things about this game - it has great reviews all over the net and came out in January so you should find it for less than $20 now. Also, a sequel just came out where you belong to a post-war intelligence organization and do additional things like manage your finances, hire recruits, and fight the sinister Nazi-spy bad guys.

Here is a link to an excellent review on Wargamer.com:

http://www.wargamer.com/reviews/silent_storm/

[ November 28, 2004, 06:22 PM: Message edited by: Ansbach ]

[Falcon988]

Originally posted by HeinzBaby:

OK, lets start the ball rolling..

Rowan's "Battle of Britain" with the latest BDG v0.98 patch released midyear? I think.

This old sim just does'nt want to leave my HD, even when IL2/FB had gone ages ago...must be the Immersion, something the current crop of bleeding edge flight sims have lost.

Rowan's Battle of Britain is one of my favorites, up there with Combat Mission. I have all the BDG patches installed and, let me tell you, no other flight sim is as immersive as this; flying with 300 RAF fighters to face the Luftwaffe's armada of a thousand planes can't be beat.

Soon I'll hopefully be buying Pacific Fighters and maybe IL-2.

I also play Operation Flashpoint a lot. While not strictly World War II it has WW2 modifications. It's what Combat Mission would be if it were a first person shooter.

[Thomm]

**** DOUBLE POST ****

[ November 29, 2004, 12:50 AM: Message edited by: Rollstoy ]

[Thomm]

Not playing much these days, but I am doing a lot of mod tools' programming for "the game that shall not be named here".

Proper terrain shadowing helps conveying the 3D structure of the virtual battlefield! I am looking forward as to how CM will advance with respect to this topic.

False color image showing terrain type:

Automatic generation of tree and building shadows:

Tree shadow templates:

Best regards,

Thomm

[tooz]

"Not playing much these days, but I am doing a lot of mod tools' programming for "the game that shall not be named here".

Proper terrain shadowing helps conveying the 3D structure of the virtual battlefield! I am looking forward as to how CM will advance with respect to this topic."--Rollstoy

Wow!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: That is some terrific work! Are you getting paid for this? If you need some playtesting, the email's in the profile. I like your "game that will not be named" remark. Way cool!

"I got Codename Panzer, and I wouldn't recommend it as a WW2 strategy game. It is a real time game, and gives me more the feeling as an arcade game than a strategy game."--Altraum

THAT'S what I wanted to know. The demos give me this impression as well. Good, now I can save my money. Still the graphics--especially the flowing river, are top notch.

Good stuff!

[andhen2003]

I recently got Battlefield 1941 and boy was that disappointing. It looks beautiful but is basically a free-for-all FPS, no real tactics, even small group, involved.

[Vixen]

When I work weekends I bring in my old, water damaged, and battered B-17 Queen of the Skies solo board game.

Otherwise I play Anarchy Online, Railroad Tycoon 3 and now Pirates!

[GJK]

Originally posted by Vixen:

When I work weekends I bring in my old, water damaged, and battered B-17 Queen of the Skies solo board game.

That is on my "to do" list for converting into VASSAL, along with Patton's Best. I'm just about finished with Carrier as well.

[MikeyD]

andhen2003 writes: "I recently got Battlefield 1941 and boy was that disappointing."

Ditto.

I have a friend who's only got an original umodded copy of CMBO v1.0 without any of the update patches and even HE was disappointed with Battlefield 1941 in comparison! I tend to doubt the historical accuracy of Japanese on Okinawa using panzerfausts in that game.

[Hiram Sedai]

I'm playing Rise of Nations at the moment.

My PC wasn't fast enough for Codename: Panzers

[Splinty]

I've been playing IL 2 Forgotten Battles and Pacific Fighters alot lately. Very good flight sims, I also have MoH Pacific Assault, it's very pretty but it's alot harder to play than the original. Still there are some basic squad commands and the A.I. is better than alot of FPS s.

[shrek]

I don't have a whole lot of time for gaming, so it's pretty much:

CM -- tactical

Call of Duty -- extreme tactical

Korsun Pocket/Battles in Normandy -- operational

[General Bolt]

I play FreeCell and MineSweeper while waiting for PBEM files to down load.

Also watching/assisting my kids play Roller Coaster Tycoon 2.

[Scorpion]

For those who found Battlefield 1942 disappointing, check out the Forgotten Hope mod. It takes steps in the right direction toward realism. A lot better than vanilla BF1942, but limited by the engine, of course.

http://forgottenhope.bf1942files.com/main.html

I'm currently playing War in the Pacific. Wow, what a game. Their forums rival these in terms of knowledge:

http://www.matrixgames.com/default.asp?URL=http%3A//www.matrixgames.com/forums/

[Redwolf]

I'm in another phase where I'm so fed up with Windows that I don't even use it for games anymore. Not to mention the CPU in my new non-server broke

On Linux I have Doom3, UT2004 with Red Orchestra, Medal of Honor, Decent3, Heretic2, the Quakes and a few other. So right now I'm shooting up a lot of monstahs.