GhostRider3/3 Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 I have a question, I have been playing Hearts of Iron and other strategic simmulation for a long time.... board games like Advanced Squad Leader, panzer Leader and many others...all which you mostly likely have all played. Question: Will I be able to rename my Units to my liking, I think this provides more detail. thanks Juergen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzgndr Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Will I be able to rename my Units Yes. This is already a feature in SC1. In the SC2 editor we can define unit name lists so players (and the AI) can select named units. Players will be free to edit the name lists, and also rename units in play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blashy Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 I'll definitly be going gaga for a WW1 mod. Simply because as stated SC has more of a WW1 feel in terms of combat, face to face and duke it out. Now SC2 will be much improved but I think a well made WW1 mod will probably be more functional in terms of realism compared to SC2 WW2. Even a WW1 in SC with all its limitations gives a big feel of the frustration of breaking through in WW1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 5 years ago, I found an interesting article that analyzed COS and discussed why the mechanics were so good. I found it to be an interesting article and bookmarked it. To my surprise, it is still out there. So for any who were not familiar with COS or for those who want to see a bit more depth about what made it such a good game, I thought I'd post a link here. I am not the author of this document (it is honestly far better than I could produce); I am merely passing along something I found many years ago. http://grognard.com/info1/steel.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyJohn Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 Originally posted by Edwin P.: JerseyJohn In SC2 the ability of the AI to launch amphibious invasions should be much improved as an amphibous transport can move next to a tile and invade on the same turn. Thus the AI has to only perform 2 actions to conduct an invasion instead of 3. Edwin, Sorry for taking so long to get back on this. I agree with what you're saying, as the old tv ad used to state, "Fewer parts mean fewer breakdowns." What I like about the CoS system, from both the human and AI viewpoint, is that the naval system was essentially all a one-step process. The invasions, once you became accustomed to the proceedure, were easy to conduct and, by landing the units directly from source to target, did have the weakness of SC where they're sitting astride a beach for an entire turn. In SC2 this will be improved but I've always liked the idea of sea zones and not having to move naval units around on hexes or tiles, whatever. Though this is only a matter of personal preferance I'm sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyJohn Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 John C., Thanks for posting that article on CoS. I particularly enjoyed the explanation of the tactical action within the land battle sequence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesopo Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Does anyone know how to buy a fully workable COS version that can be windowed in winXP? I know it worked before in dos mode in win95 - heck might even pick-up a cheap laptop just to play the game! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyJohn Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Thanks for asking. I hope someone knows where to get it from, if it exists I'd like to buy it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Clash of Steel is abandonware - it is no longer sold, supported or made available through normal means but is available on a limited number of sites that archive such titles (and remove them should the original author/publisher object). Clash of Steel is available through the underdogs and can be downloaded HERE. I am not sure what version that is, but the last was 1.1 and there is a patch available HERE. Finally, I haven't played this game in roughly a year, but last time I did so I found that it required more memory than I could make available in a DOS window under Windows. I ended up creating a separate DOS boot disk and actually playing in DOS. I believe that even then I needed QEMM386 to manage the memory to get it to work. Anyway, it wasn't a simple endeavor to get it running, but it was fun to play around with once I finally got it working. To any who are intrepid enough to try, good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retributar Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Nice try John C but, this is 16-bit software...so it's a no-can-do... . I was really excited about giving it a go!. Thank's anyway!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Well, I pulled out an old hard drive and made it into a DOS drive and loaded up Clash of Steel just to see what it would take. It actually isn't too bad of a process. I'll try to get better instructions available within the next several days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDog944 Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Originally posted by Retributar: Nice try John C but, this is 16-bit software...so it's a no-can-do... . I was really excited about giving it a go!. Thank's anyway!. After catching this thread, I downloaded and played Clash of Steel using "DosBox" on my Xandros Linux laptop. It works brilliantly! Only issue I had was around turn three the game asked some copy protection questions, asking for a specific word from the manual, which I don't have! When my two guesses were wrong it dropped me out of the game. I've got to say that the Free Software camp is your best bet for playing old DOS games. For backward DOS compatibility it is far superior to anything Microsoft can offer these days. You can run DosBox under Windows or the Mac as well as Linux, but I've never tried on anything but Linux. Find everything you need here... http://dosbox.sourceforge.net BTW: Can anyone point me to a way to get around the copy protection questions? Since the publisher allows the game to be downloaded for free from UnderDogs, I can't imagine that they object to people still playing it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Originally posted by BigDog944: BTW: Can anyone point me to a way to get around the copy protection questions? Since the publisher allows the game to be downloaded for free from UnderDogs, I can't imagine that they object to people still playing it... Sure Thing! The entire manual can be downloaded at the underdogs HERE. If you just want the answers, here is a list that someone compiled (not all confirmed accurate but likely worth a try): Page 3, Word 5 - gray p4, w4 - used p5, w10 - rules p6, w6 - more p9, w3 - wish p10, w3 -conquered p13, w4 - modified p16, w4 - enemy p53, w3 - pointer p17, w5 - reserve p22, w5 - favor p27, w5 - located p34, w3 - carrier p35, w5 - available p41, w3 - purchaseable p42, w3 - option p49, w3 - needs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 For those wanting to load up DOS and give it a try, here are the tools I used: For getting a boot disk, go HERE. I used DOS 6.22. While the DOS 6 memory management stuff will likely work fine, I prefer QEMM and it can be downloaded HERE. Put all the "disks" in one directory and install it and then run optimize and it will figure out where to put everything and give you the maximum amount of DOS memory possible. Modern fast computers tend to blow up this game. However, it can be fixed. For the instructions on getting past RUNTIME errors, go HERE. Other than the game itself and the manual (both of which already have links posted in this thread) that's all the tools I used to get the game up and running on an old spare hard drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDog944 Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Many thanks, John C! Not wanting to compete with you... But DosBox solves all the problems in one step. Memory management, installing DOS, no hardware modifications required, slowing down the speed of todays fast CPUs for yesterday's games, emulating a Soundblaster sound card, etc. I gotta do my bit to evangelise Free Software! :cool: [ June 08, 2005, 12:42 PM: Message edited by: BigDog944 ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Wow. You're right. I wasn't familiar with DosBox, but it seems like a pretty slick package. And clearly, that is easier than my approach. I was afraid that it only ran on Linux after your initial comment. But it appears it runs right under Windows as well so it should be an easy tool for everyone. Thanks for the pointer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDog944 Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Originally posted by John C: Wow. You're right. I wasn't familiar with DosBox, but it seems like a pretty slick package. And clearly, that is easier than my approach. I was afraid that it only ran on Linux after your initial comment. But it appears it runs right under Windows as well so it should be an easy tool for everyone. Thanks for the pointer. All in a day's work! :cool: A DosBox tip: Ctrl-F10 will release the mouse if it is trapped in the DOS window. [ June 08, 2005, 01:30 PM: Message edited by: BigDog944 ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesopo Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Can anyone give me a step by step process how I can install COS? It is compressed in ARJ format I guess and I downloaded the arj program. I can't get it up and running on my winxp machine. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesopo Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 That's OK- I made it work - strange seeing it again after 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 I've actually spent a reasonable amount of time messing around with CoS today. You are right, it is somewhat surreal seeing it again. But I have to say that I have had a lot more fun with this game today than I ever had with GGWaW. Modern graphics are gorgeous but there is no substitute for top notch game design. Playing CoS again is reminding me of just how exciting a good Grand Strategy WWII game can be. I hope HC and some of the testers take a few hours and mess around with CoS. Most likely have some recollection of the title, but I think it would be great for them to refresh their memory so that they can set the bar even higher for SC2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzgndr Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 I hope HC and some of the testers take a few hours and mess around with CoS. Most likely have some recollection of the title, but I think it would be great for them to refresh their memory so that they can set the bar even higher for SC2. I can't say I played COS since I could not get it to run. I'm an old 3R/A3R gamer and never got into COS while it was in its prime. But I have read the manual and understand the game. And Hubert of course is familiar with the game. SC2 will include weather effects, engineers for building fortifications, unit morale effects and a few more COS-style features. But it's fair to say that even where SC1 was lacking in certain features, it made up for them by providing a few new ones. It was a new and different game. As SC2 will be. The bar IS being set higher, which is great but this is also contributing to the time it's taking to get everything to work. So far things look really good. Hang in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesopo Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Shucks - I upgraded it to ver 1.1 now I get illegal vocplay, illegal cos2, illegal resi and it would not go in dosbox. Tried restoring but still the same. Any ideas? Also treid saving earlier and the game crashed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 OK, I finally got around to creating a super duper easy way for people to try COS - a bootable CD image. Just download the following file, unzip it somewhere on your harddrive, and then run makecd.cmd and it will burn a bootable CDROM that has DOS and the game on it (you can delete everything off your hardrive once you burn a disk). Just reboot with the CD in the drive and it will load it all up for you and start the game. Be sure to print the manual or at least the copy protection codes before you reboot (they are both on the newly burned CD). LINK TO SCRIPT FOR BURNING A CD For those who have Nero and would prefer to just burn an image using that program, here is the nrg file LINK TO NERO IMAGE [ June 12, 2005, 08:47 AM: Message edited by: John C ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesopo Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 Thanks John for the resource. It booted up but the game did not load as it said no EMS. Darn winxp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 It should boot directly to DOS 6.22 with EMS. send me an email and we'll work through it: (email address removed). [ June 13, 2005, 09:34 PM: Message edited by: John C ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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