1BC Civ Forums / Off Topic Discussions / General Gaming Discussion

Civilization V

TORARADICAL — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:39:21 GMT

It's official now, this fall.
[url=http://www.civilization5.com]1[/url]
[url=http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=354036]2[/url]
[url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/214082/civilization-v-announced-on-next-gamepro-cover/]3[/url]
[url=http://kotaku.com/5474750/civilization-v-hexes-pcs-this-fall]4[/url]

3 screens, move to hexagons, a tiny bit of info, and even a mention of a Civ for Facebook

Beneath A Steel Sky

Genty — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:43:09 GMT

Hello, I was just wondering if anyone remembers this game? It was a point a click way back and it was brilliant. I found it for download at http://www.scummvm.org/ if anyone wants to experiment with the past and see what real games were all about!

Anyone else got any memories of this game?

WAR IN THE PACIFIC

Tosk — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 16:04:10 GMT

Ok SA I'm downloading "WAR IN THE PACIFIC" now.

When will you have some free time to crush me in a game?

Be Warned I am a dice in the Pacific ummm I mean "Victory in the Pacific" guru. :D:D:D

Dwarf Fortress

Konrad von Richtmark — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:03:46 GMT

I just recently found this gem. Has anyone else tried it? I haven't got that far in it, but it pretty much seems to me to be the most detailed, involving and economically realistic city-building/strategy game ever made... and it's freely distributed, made by nerds for nerds.

Mount & Blade

Roadkill — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:10:31 GMT

-This is a game you should all buy to get over the let down that was Spore. It's an open-ended, singleplayer, TPS/FPS where you play an adventurer in Calradia, a land torn to pieces by 5 factions. You can choose to align yourself with any of these at any time, or stay independent, and you can do this at any time. You can also conquer cities and make your own faction to control.

-At first you start only with your own character and must recruit soldiers from villagers and hire other heroes from taverns. You can build up funds in various ways such as trading, fighting, looting, participating in tournaments, etc.

-When fighting you take control of your character and command your soldiers with various commands while you fight in a TP/FP view. At your disposal is a multitude of weaponry, armor, horses, and other items that you can equip yourself and your retinue of heroes with.

-It's best explained by playing, and the game is available as demoware(Everything open to you for a limited time; level 6 and 30 game days): [url=http://www.taleworlds.com/mb_download.html]Download it here[/url]

-Paradox picked it up for retail release and it was released on the 16th/19th(US/EU) so you can pick it up in the stores as well, or just buy it online.

Civ Rev

Bismarck2990 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:58:14 GMT

Anybody playing it or has played it? I just picked it up for the 360 about a week ago and it's been very enjoyable, albeit, the AI from my observation doesn't tech intelligently and is even worst with unit management. However, I do like the 'forming' of armies and putting units on defense to build forts over a period time. It's also nice to kidnap great people from cities with your spies.

CIV IV Total Realism

Black Owl — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:26:37 GMT

I might be missing it somewhere amongst the scrolls of 1BC, but has anyone else tried the Total Realism MOD? I have been playing it for about a week and it has a lot of new resources, units, religions, and a new Arab "head". Even on Chieftan it can be difficult depending on the scenario either you create or the "Earth" scenario supplied, which has well developed Barbarians right next door right from the start. It's speed setting (only one) makes marathon look like a NASCAR race. Scipio, I'm wondering if you have tried it? It seems to have everything we thought was lacking in the original. What I can't seem to find is an explaination of the new action buttons above the city box. Anybody have an answer for that? I will supply some screen shots here this evening when I play it.

Roadkill's Game Recommendations

Roadkill — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 09:16:39 GMT

---Thread Revised---

-I was thinking of posting a list of games, past, present, and future, that I highly recommend and I remembered that I'd made one a long time ago, so I took all the old stuff out and will just use this one instead of making a new thread.

[b]Mount & Blade[/b] - Expansive sandbox game blending RTS, RPG, FPS/TPS into one epic game.

[b]War and Peace[/b] - Relatively unknown RTS released by Microids in 2002. Set in the Napoleonic Era and featuring a map of the whole world(Scaled down of course :D ), it is a truly magnificent game. It's really hard to come by, but [url=http://www.gamershell.com/download_877.shtml]here's a demo[/url] if you want to try it out(Hard to get a hang of as there's little to no instruction material available, but just keep at it).

[b]Fallout Series[/b] - Fallout 1 and 2 are the uncontested gems of the series, featuring a large world, open gameplay, and a brilliant atmosphere. Fallout Tactics has things I like and things I don't like while Fallout 3 deviates a lot from its predecessors but is a very good game.

[b]Forgotten Realms Series[/b] - Baldur's Gate I & II are giants in the RPG world, with very a open world, brilliant atmosphere, good story line, and excellent gameplay. Icewind Dale I & II are more restrictive but extremely beautiful in story, setting, and look. Neverwinter Nights is great, the first 3D game of the series and with a lot more character development, though more restrictive than the rest. I'm not to fond of Neverwinter Nights II but I haven't played it all that much either. Planescape: Torment is also great.

[b]Discworld Noir[/b] - Often overlooked adventure game with great characters, setting, dialogue, and atmosphere, it is both a parody and homage to the noir genre. Though difficult to get working on more recent operating systems it is well worth the time and effort.

[b]Knights of Honor[/b] - An RTS in a medieval setting with fully open-ended gameplay, it is a true gem that's taken up a lot more of my time than most other games. You can play as any of the 40-60 kingdoms(Except the Papal States) that are on the map in the three different eras and either conquer the world, unite a large kingdom, create your own little empire, or do whatever you want. If you want to try it out you can download the demo [url=http://downloads.gamezone.com/demos/d11595.htm]here[/url].

[b]Age of Wonders[/b] - This, as with Knights of Honor is one of the games I've spent the most time on. A semi-TBS(Depends on your settings) with RPG elements in a fantasy setting where you can control one of 12 factions including Elves, Orcs, Humans, Goblins, Undead, and Halflings. It just has so much replay value and has such great gameplay that you really need to have this. It was released in 1999 and I still play it on a regular basis(It's only weak spot is the lack of good open-ended maps. After the Fall is great though). If you want to try it out you can get the demo [url=http://downloads.gamezone.com/demos/d2029.htm]here[/url]. Spawned a sequel which kind of made a few bad turns but is a perfectly acceptable game.

[b]Shadow Company[/b] - Another 1999 game, this is a TPS with open missions and a massive amount of options. You can control up to 4 characters in any mission, though the number and their outfit is entirely up to you, giving you a lot of options on how to complete a mission. Though rumored to be buggy I've never noticed anything gamebreaking in the 9 years I've played it.

[b]The Settlers II[/b] - A true classic from the old pixel age it still has superior gameplay to most modern games. With an inventive resource system and very open gameplay the replay value is enormous.

[b]Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns[/b] - With a new approach to RTS gaming this is a great game with good replay value. It spawned a somewhat inferior sequel.

[b]Anno 1602[/b] - A great RTS where you colonize islands and build great cities, it focuses primarily on the economics but also encompasses the military and diplomatic parts. Very open sandbox game.

[b]Enemy Nations[/b] - One of my favorite RTS games, it suffers from a few rather bad decisions in terms of gameplay. Despite this it is a very good game, and it's freeware(Download site seems to be down at the moment though).

[b]Seven Kingdoms[/b] - Another great RTS game with an inventive approach to many aspects of economics, it is a true classic. With a very dynamic gameplay and great replay value it is one of the few games that stand out in the RTS genre.

[b]Open Transport Tycoon Deluxe[/b] - This open source version of the classic game just opens up a whole new world of possibilities in the game, making it even more enjoyable than before. You can download it [url=http://www.openttd.org/en/]here[/url].

----------

-And now for a list of great/good games that are well known or I'm too lazy to write about:

American Conquest
C&C Tiberian Sun
STALKER - Shadow of Chernobyl
Sid Meier's Gettysburg
Sid Meier's Pirates!
Homeworld 1 & 2
Quake II
Blood
Warlords: Battlecry
Imperial Glory
Total War Series
Heroes of Might and Magic I, II, & III
Total Annihilation
Supreme Commander
Dungeon Keeper

Project Natal

Bismarck2990 — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:25:39 GMT

[url=http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/projectnatal/]Impressive technology[/url] on display right there, saw this at GameSpot's coverage of E3 and my jaw dropped. I'm personally waiting for the virtual reality cap that implants you into the game, but this is a big enough step in that direction for now. :)

EMPIRE - Total review

Konrad von Richtmark — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:48:57 GMT

Yeah, here goes. It became a lot longer than I expected, so I'll divide it over a number of posts.

[size="5"]EMPIRE: Total War review[/size]

It finally arrived. A Total War game set in the age of flintlock and bayonet. As a long-time Total War player (ok, I didn't get Shogun right as it came out, my entry to the series was via the Shogun Warlord Edition), I had long thought that the Total War battle engine would work exceptionally well for a game set in the age of gunpowder, a game where firepower would be of major significance rather than simply be an auxiliary to close combat. However, the progressively deteriorating tactical AI of the latest Total War games had left me thoroughly disappointed with the series. So disappointed, in fact, that I didn't even bother to try out the Kingdoms expansion to Medieval II Total War, despite having bought every Total War game and expansion released prior to that. Thus, when I heard that Empire was in the making, my feelings were a mix of hope and skepticism.

Itsyourturn Hex

ZRaven — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:59:04 GMT

What is your favorite opening strategy?

Defense in Hex

ZRaven — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 09:57:08 GMT

When trying to decide where to put a stone in a cell that will best advance my game and form my line there is often a dilemma that presents itself. I learned that by looking at my opponents game play and trying to determine what would be his best move and comparing that move to what might be a good move for my side, often the move turns out to be the same cell. If that is the case then I will not hesitate to place my stone in that cell. This is so often the case in Hex. A good defense is also a good offense.

EMPIRE: Total War

Roadkill — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:57:23 GMT

-They finally got around to doing a game on the 18th-19th century(It's my favorite time period)!

Trailer

Land Battle Preview

[url=http://www.sega.com/empire/?t=EnglishUSA]Official website[/url]

Super Obama World

Bismarck2990 — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:20:50 GMT

[url=http://superobamaworld.com/]Super Obama World[/url]

Thought some of you would get a kick out of this.

DOTA

General Georges — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:45:15 GMT

:hehe:Hey everyone, so who else here plays Dota. It's a custom map for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, but it's like a completely new game.

I play the game on GArena - it's like a lan but through the internet.

Any challengers out there????

Why did...

Roadkill — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:15:11 GMT

...Alpha Centauri rule while CivIII and cIV sucked? This is why:

[quote]Question: What were your goals in designing Alpha Centauri?

Sid Meier: Well, Alpha Centauri really [b]was a Brian Reynolds design[/b].

The concept was to take a lot of the ideas that worked well in Civilization and place them in a Science Fiction setting.

And I think that allowed Brian to really introduce some new ideas that were a lot of fun.

It was an experiment to see where the basic Civ ideas could go and how it would work in a different setting.

People really enjoyed that game. We still hear about people who would like to see another Alpha Centauri.

So I think in a lot of way it was a success. It kind of allowed us to stretch Civ in some new and interesting ways while keeping, hopefully, the one more turn going.[/quote]

-Brian Reynolds for President!

OMG! OMG! OMG! Teh Spore!!1!!!1!1!!!one!!11!

Roadkill — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:11:30 GMT

-September 7th, a day that will live in infamy(Or famy... Or Something). The release date for Spore has just been announced and it's September 7th, 2008! OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG!:w00t:

The Settlers II: 10th Anniversay Edition

Roadkill — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:34:49 GMT

-Anybody have it? In that case I would like to destroy you online.

Medieval II: Total War

Timeless Watch — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 18:48:48 GMT

Opinions anyone?

I started only last week, it seems like good fun.

It actually looks like a game that can be longer then Civ! :)

However, I do prefer the map on this game then on civ as its a lot more realistic. I would like to see this style applied in Civ.

1BC Curveball Tournament

mongoose201 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 01:01:29 GMT

Greetings all,

I thought it might be fun have a little non-civ competition...

Curveball thread

Click on the thread above to play Curveball.

Take a screenshot of your highest score, like so:

The Highest Score posted by April 1st will be the Curveball Champion (whatever that's worth)...

Quick note: The Highest Level achieved will have the advantage over a higher point score, so that someone who reaches "Level 9" with 31,000 points, will be considered as having a higher score than someone having 32,000 points at "Level 8".

You can post as many submissions as you like if you beat your own previous score.

Myself, as well as any mods who wish to help, will keep a high score total in this thread.

Happy Gaming...

ADDED: If you don't know how to take/post a screenshot, post here and we'll help you through the process.

[red]Current High Score: [/red]

Tie between jerm and Artymus: [b]Level 9 - 31,280[/b]

Enemy Nations!

Roadkill — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:36:04 GMT

-This is a great game that I've tried to get a hold of for a long time and I just found out that it's gone freeware. If you want it then go [url=http://www.windwardreports.com/enemy_nations2.htm]here[/url]. It's a torrent and considering my dl time there can't be many people sharing it so it might be a little slow(3:45h for me right now). I'm going to keep sharing it though so you might get a slightly higher dl speed.

-[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_Nations]Here[/url] is the wiki article on the game. The learning curve is(If my memory serves me right) somewhat steep but you'll get the hang of it. Download it so I can destroy you online!

EDIT: Looks like there are many people sharing the file so you should get a good dl speed anyway. Only a 15 minute dl for me.

Enemy Nations Strategy

Roadkill — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:18:08 GMT

-The game start is actually quite similar to Alpha Centauri with the choose landing site option. You get a small area in which your rocket ship can land and you should try to place it somewhere in close proximity to all the base resources(Wood, Coal, Iron, Oil). The two most important resources to get are wood and steel(Iron+Coal+Smelter) which are essential for construction. It's also vital to connect everything with roads as vehicles going over rough terrain are extremely slow. Be careful though, roads cost oil and if you run out of that your vehicles move [i]even slower[/i] until you get the oil well/refinery up. To rotate buildings just hold down ctrl and right-click. So far I've gone for this build(On Full Civilian):

Farm/Lumber Mill
Iron Mine
Coal Mine x2
Smelter/Oil Well
Refinery

-You need the Lumber Mill, Coal Mine, Iron Mine, and Smelter to get all the basic resources. If you build in any other order you'll probably run out of the starting steel you get. There is some leeway, you can get a camp up(Infantry Production) and if you're playing on a small map against 2 or more moderate AIs you should build it as they can pump those guys out a lot sooner than you(Just like in Civ the AI has to cheat). After getting your base economy up you should focus on Research(Build Research Institute) and Military. The apartments and offices aren't that important at the start as you have a good sized population already to feed off of. A second Farm is essential though. Just keep setting up a few more resource and manufacture buildings to bolster the economy while you research more powerful weaponry. You should build a vehicle factory at this time and get a few more trucks out as the ones you have will have a hard time delivering resources to all the manufacture buildings and the buildings you are building. For a 3 coal/2 lumber/2 oil/2 iron/1 smelter/1 refinery/2 coal power plant economy I usually have 6-8 trucks going. If you have time to plan ahead you should also consider a two lane road because the pathfinding is a little annoying when two vehicles try to get around each other. They will still clash but they'll get past each other much quicker. Once you have everything up and running you shold start getting some apartments/offices up so that your population can grow(Excess living space+ excess work space+excess food=population growth). I'll add more later.

-Playing against several AI opponents it seems as if they gang up on you right off the bat so I wouldn't throw in that many to begin with.

New purchases

Roadkill — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 11:41:37 GMT

Bioshock
Broken Sword
Broken Sword 2
Broken Sword 3
Caesar III

Curveball

mongoose201 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:43:13 GMT

This one is fun... I think we might have a 1bc curveball tournament, so practice up.... :)

Zagyg has left Castle Greyhawk...

Leo — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:28:43 GMT

Odd that no one had posted this here yet.

Two days ago, Gary Gygax, who is responsible, essentially, for everything entertainment related that I do that isn't Sid Meier's doing (or close to it), died at the age of 69.

Every computer game that has a character that you play and level up and make moral choices with is due to him and his friends that started it all.

For nigh on thirty years now, my life has had friends that would never have been made...ideas that I'd never have pondered...situations that I'd never have puzzled over without his doing. I might never have met my wife and had my kids...at least the ones that came from that union...without his influence.

Even World of Warcraft...the borg of computer gaming, nearly as powerful as the National Football League in terms of fans and revenue, owes what it is to him...and if you look at that entire genre, a giant portion of humanity owes its daily entertainment...escape...alternate reality...place where they can feel powerful and/or helpful and can touch other people's lives in a positive way...the impact of one man and his friends becomes apparent.

Rest in Peace, Overlord of Geektopia. May you speedily reach the Outer Plane of your choosing...

Oblivion

General Georges — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:38:25 GMT

Hey. Got Oblivion for PC. All my buddies have it for X-Box 360 and have been pressuring me into buying it, and I finally have, but for PC since I don't have a 360 - and it was well worth it. It's as great as they say it is!

So far its a great game. You could spend a year on desinging your character alone. There is so much you can do and edit them. Every little facial feature lol. Story so far is good and interesting.

Soldier Front

General Georges — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:20:28 GMT

So far the past month I've been without cIV. I've been stuck with Soldier Front. It's a free game offered by www.ijji.com. It's tons of fun. It's kinda like Counter Strike, but I like it even more. If you've got time on your hands and are interessted in testing out a new game, heres a great online game that's tons of fun!

Average wow Powerleveling price be falls during Christmas !

happyday — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:12:43 GMT

Average wow Powerleveling price be falls during Christmas !

Someone doesn't take the hint... ;) - Dave

Another Spambot mail...

tgame — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:18:44 GMT

I'm a spambot ra ra ra
No-one can see my link - ha ha ha

(well my changes amused me anyway - Dave)

HALO 3

General Georges — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 22:15:33 GMT

So even though I'm not a proud owner of an X-Box 360 or a copy of Halo 3, I'm still very excited for this game. This weekend I'm going to a bud's place to waste a whole day and beat this game on co-op. Today during our spare, my bud and I drove to the mall and bought a copy. I really look forward to this game, especiall since it concludes the story...1!!! :w00t:

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War

Bismarck2990 — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:51:27 GMT

I've recently heard they were making a remake to the game for the PSP, and I'm inclined to finish through the game again on the PS1. But yeah, I was wondering if anybody else has played this game? I'm aware of a couple people who've played that are on the forums, but really, the game is amazing. The replay value is there, and the story line is probably the best I've ever played through in a game.

So any players?

http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/ps1dvd/fftacticsdvd.jpg

Recent purchases

Roadkill — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 07:24:04 GMT

-So, I'm staying at my sister's place right now in Trondheim and so I've been shopping like crazy this week.

Games:

Half-Life Anthology(Includes Blue Shift and Opposing Force)

Half-Life 2 GOTY Edition(Includes Counterstrike Source, HL2 Deathmatch and Half-Life Source)

Day of Defeat Source

Rome: Total War Gold Edition(Includes Barbarian Invasion)

Medieval II: Total War

Europa Universalis II

Movies:

Die Hard

Conan the Barbarian

Syriana

The Abyss

One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

Tron

Blade Runner

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

V for Vendetta

Agatha Christie's Poirot 2x3 Disc(Includes The Murder of Roger Ackroyd; Murder in Mesopotamia; Hercule Poirot's Christmas; Hickory Dickory Dock; One, Two, Bucle my Shoe; and Dumb Witness)

-I've also bought some books:

Gaius Julius Caesar

Napoleon

Silmarillion

-All in all a very successful shopping spree, if I may say so myself:D.

The Duke of Brittany

Roadkill — Mon, 21 May 2007 12:36:27 GMT

The Duke of Brittany

-The year was 1350 and peace had settled in Brittany after a fierce and exhausting war with France. Charles, Duke of Brittany had guided his duchy through a bitter war against superior numbers and prevailed, but at a terrible cost, his entire army all but disappeared and only one Marshall, Count Robin, had avoided the French sword. With his wife, Duchess Collette, and his son, Prince Eustace as support Duke Charles envisioned an era of prosperity and progress for his beleaguered populace. The road would be long and hard but it had to be travelled or Brittany would be no more...

-Counting on the help of his allies against the French, England and Navarre, Duke Charles along with Prince Eustace set up a strong trade network between these countries in order to build a strong economy. Focusing on infrastructure and trade would give Brittany a strong foundation for the years to come. Envoys were sent to Germany, the Ottomans, Sweden, and many others with an offer of trade agreements but Charles did not have high hopes as the war with the French had destroyed the infrastructure needed to extract any resources of value in Brittany and stolen the rest; it was obvious that he would have to count on England and Navarre for now.

-As Brittany's wealth steadily grew so did it's influence and greedy eyes peered over the border. In 1351 a raiding party led by the rebel Gillett crossed the border, bent on plunder. With Brittany's army in poor shape Count Robin would have to conscript peasants but this would take time and for a short while Gillett was free to do as he pleased. A wealthy monastery in the western part of Brittany drew his attention and it was swiftly plundered.

-With the monastery in ruins Gillett swiftly marched to the east and plundered yet another monastery but by this time Count Robin had amassed an army sufficiently able to deal with the rebel Gillett and so after burning down another monastery Gillett escaped across the border not to be seen again.

-After Gillett had left Brittany had three full years of peace fully devoted to rebuilding the wartorn country. In 1354 Doge Bartolo of the Papacy sent an envoy offering a trade agreement with them, an offer that was quickly accepted and a merchant hired to oversee the trade between Brittany and the Papacy.

-Duke Charles knew this peace could not last long and 1355 war came again to Brittany. Castilia had threatened with war earlier but now it was at last declared. Count Robin, Marshal of the army had secretly been training archers and swordsmen in preparation for such an event but the army was not yet fully assembled and peasant conscripts had to fill the ranks; it was a risk against Castilia's professional army but there was little else to do. In the autumn of 1355 Conde Guillelmo invaded Brittany from the south, marching straight for Bretagne with 5000 soldiers.

-As his army appeared outside the city a scout arrived at the gates with frightful news, Prince Francisco of Castilia had crossed the border with an additional 5000 men. Faced with this Count Robin had to scrap his plan of allowing Conde Guillelmo to beseige the city and wear them out before attacking and instead attack at once, before Prince Francisco could reinforce Conde Guillelmo.

-Count Robin rode out of the city gates with his 5000 strong army to face Guillelmo. As the armies clashed Count Robin's superior swordsmen eventually pushed back Conde Guillelmo's forces and Guillelmo retreated towards Prince Francisco's army.

-However, due to some confusion Prince Francisco thought that Conde Guillelmo was winning and instead choose to raid a coastal village to raise his troops' morale after the long march. Conde Guillelmo, his soldiers injured and exhausted, chose to set up camp while awaiting Prince Francisco's army, but he never came and Count Robin pounced upon the encampment, slaughtering the remaining soldiers and capturing Conde Guillelmo. Only now did Prince Francisco realize what had happened but by then it was too late; Count Robin tirelessly marched his army down to the coast and attacked the Prince's dispersed army in the rear, decimating them and capturing the Prince himself. With 5000 men Count Robin had annihilated 10 000 Castilian soldiers while only losing 1000 men himself.

-In the spring of 1356, after six months of pursuing the Castilian armies, Count Robin rode triumphantly through the gates of Bretagne, rightly hailed as a hero of Brittany, Prince Francisco and Conde Guilellmo his trophies.

-As the year drew to a close an envoy of Navarre approached Duke Charles with a pact of Non-Aggression, a sign of the strong bond between Brittany and Navarre. Duke Charles contently peered out through the window, surveying his territory; he had overcome the first few hurdles but he knew that more blood would be spilt and that he could not complete his task alone, his son would have to bear this weight eventually, it was time for him to learn how to rule...

Playing some FTF - The Russian Campaign (board game)

Warmax — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 15:10:09 GMT

It's been a while but my brother-in-law and I are finally facing off accross the Russian front. I'm German, he's Russian. It's Mar/Apr of '42 and I just rolled for clear weather at the start of the turn :D. Break out the stuka counters!! :w00t:

I know some of you folks are too young to remember the Avalon Hill series of board games. Board games are what we played before the advent of computer gaming (good God I'm telling my age!)

I will continue to give you reports as the game progresses. Heil Hitler!

Pensacola 1781

Colonel D. — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:43:59 GMT

Now that my book is done, I am back to working on a game design which will hopefully be published by GMT this year. The game simulates the Spanish siege of Pensacola in 1781.

Building a game that depicts a siege is not an easy task since there are fewer permutations than one would find in an open battle. Hence, there is the danger that the game would play essentially the same way each time it is played, making it a pretty boring game after a couple of tries.

Consequently, I have adopted a method employed by game designer Mark Miklos in his GMT simulation of the siege of Savannah, 1778. This method entails the use of "event cards" which can affect the game play in ways that are usually minor, but occassionally profound. For example, what if the French and Spanish fleets are defeated by a British naval sortie into the Gulf of Mexico -- something that de Galvez deeply dreaded might occur? Or, what if the French were more / less supportive of the campaign than they actually were in history? And so on.

The basic problem I have is that the British are outnumbered by about 6 to 1 -- not as bad as the Alamo, but almost. Their three "forts" help them, but cannot offset the tremendous advantage the Spanish enjoy -- especially after the French and Spanish reinforcements arrive on Turn 7 of the game. But, little by little the game is coming together in a manner that confronts the two players with the same tactical issues faced by Major General Campbell and Lieutenant General de Galvez.

I must confess that I was nearly completely ignorant of the role played by the Spanish in the American Revolution and most especially ignorant of the incredible contribution of Don Bernardo de Galvez. De Galvez was an 18th century Patton or Rommel. He was courageous, brilliant both on the battlefield as well as within Spanish politics of the era and had mastered every military discipline from logistics, to engineering, tactics and strategy to the proper arts and science of an accomplished artillerist. In short, he was the equivalent of a modern military professional in an era when many, if not most, generals were aristocratic fops and dilettantes.

De Galvez had served as an officer in the French Army and had risen quickly due to his intelligence and demeanor. He was gracious, but was by no means a synchophant and senior French officers soon sought out his counsel. At the end of his tour of duty with the French, de Galvez joined his father in the newly acquired Lousiana Territories. Spain had acquired these territories as part of the Peace settelment that ended the 7 Years War (known as the French and Indian Wars in most High School History classes here in America).

The 7 Years War had ended in 1763 with Britain in control of Cuba, which the Spanish desperately wanted back. Cuba was to Spain what India would become to Britain in the 19th century -- one of the few colonies that turned a major profit. Cuba exported tobacco, sugar, spices and rum in quantities that far exceeded the costs of garrisoning and adminstering the island.

Consequently, when the war ended, Spain offered the Floridas to Britain in exchange for Cuba. (There were actually two colonies in question East Florida -- which is the peninsula directly south of Georgia -- and West Florida, which constitutes the Panhandle, parts of modern southern Alabama and Mississippi). London accepted, but with one proviso -- that the Bourbon King of Spain replace the Bourbon King of France as the sovereign ruler of New Orleans and the French Louisiana Territories. Spain, of course, jumped at the chance and Don Bernardo de Galvez's father was appointed the first governor of these territories.

When the American Revolution began in 1775, the Floridas being essentially Spanish in culture and political thought, did not cecede. The Americans tried to get not only France to support the revolution, but Spain as well. Spain's King Carlos reacted with horror that subjects would dare challenge their soveriegn king and refused to help outright. Still, he was and 18th century king and saw no reason he should not take advantage of the British crown's preoccupation with the rebellion to reacquire his Florida colonies.

Enter Don Bernardo De Galvez. By 1778, his father had moved on to higher posts, leaving de Galvez the younger as governor of Luisiana (as the Spanish spelled it). De Galvez had at his disposal one regiment of colonial regular infantry, a second weak regiment of Dragoons and a small artillery contingent. He augmented these by calling up a militia and arming whiles, mulattoes as well as blacks to more than double the size of his forces.

Just as he was finishing preparations to lauch an offensive up the Mississippi River, his laboriously gathered supplies placed on 20-30 barges were destroyed by a hurricane. Undeterred, he applied his own money to rebulid his barges and purchase provisions. Once completed, he then drove his small force up the Mississippi River capturing two key forts in a classic use of speed, stealth and deception. Reading these accounts reminds me of Rommel in the Libyan desert in 1941 -- taking calculated risks to achieve asymmetric effects.

Not content with opening the Mississippi in 1779, de Galvez now turned his forces eastward and took Mobile from the British in a second lightning campaign in early 1780.

So impressed was King Carlos of de Galvez's campaigns, he awarded him the rank of Lieutanant General and granted him the funds necessary to prepare for the campaign to regain the Floridas. The King also directed the Spanish Governor General of New Spain in Habana, Cuba to provide de Galvez with the forces necessary for the campaign. Finally, the King awarded de Galvez ownership and command of three naval warships which could sail under de Galvez's family banner. This would prove important in the coming siege of Pensacola.

The Spanish Governor General was none too pleased that he had been ordered to reliquish control of any of his armed forces to this young upstart. Moreover, the Spanish Admirals thought that a major amphibious operation foolhardy in the face of superior British naval power in the Carribbean Sea.

De Galvez played his political cards well against his rivals and soon had amassed a fleet of 200 ships and more than 5,000 soldiers. They sailed in September 1780 only to run smack into a hurricane. Over 1,000 soldiers drowned, 20 ships were sunk and the fleet was scattered from Cuba to Mexico. The Spanish Governor General then sought to shut down any further such follies by de Galvez by pointing out to King Carlos that Spain had already lost Cuba once to Britain and it would be very unlikely that the British would return it a second time if they were to capture it.

De Galvez reponded to this by writing his own letter, passionately declaring his certainty of success given how weak the British garrisons were in the Floridas, and especially at Pensacola. In the end, King Carlos sided with de Galvez and ordered a very reluctant Governor General to grant de Galvez the ground forces and commanding his Admirals to carry and support the army in its endeavors to take Pensacola.

The British, by now, had been alerted to these moves and Major General Campbell had not been idle. He began building three fortified redoubts (mini-forts) in the heights above Pensacola and additional fortified coastal batteries to defend the approaches to Pensacola Bay. He then ordered his German Waldeck troops to make a sortie to recapture Mobile. This small force was defeated at the last moment when their commander was killed while leading the assault over the walls of the Mobile fortifications. The Germans managed to disengage and get back to Pensacola with no further losses due to the assistance of the West Florida Rangers and help from the Creek and Chocktaw Indians.

De Galvez sailed his forces to Pensacola in March, 1781. Upon arriving at the inlet to the bay, the Spanish Admirals noted that British fortified batteries on Santa Rosa Island and on the Mainland had the inlet covered in a crossfire (resembling an up-side down "L") and since it was well known that a ship cannot fight a fort, the campaign was a failure and the fleet and army should return to Cuba.

De Galvez responded to this by personally leading an assault party to Santa Rosa Island, surprising the battery garrison and taking the position and its guns intact. He then ordered his Spanish Admirals to sail into the Bay and land his troops on the mainland. Again they protested noting the fortified battery still existed on the mainland. (This battery was called the Red Cliffs Fort, by the British and had a battery of six 24-pounders taken from British naval vessels).

De Galvez, frustrated by his reluctant Admirals, then took the three ships under his personal command, placed himslef and his family's banner on the lead ship and personally sailed the three ships into the teeth of these heavy guns. In what has to be the worst gunnery in the history of British naval warfare (the guns were manned by Royal Navy sailors and marines), over 100 shots failed to hit a single vessel. Anecdotal evidence suggests that while there was a brisk breeze in the inlet, on shore there was no wind, and the gunners were blinded for minutes on end by their own shots. Hence, each shot was a ranging shot against a moving target.

De Galvez sailed unharmed into Pensacola Bay and turned east along the northern shore of Santa Rosa Island to the shouts of "Viva de Galvez!" from his troops and the Spanish sailors aboard the rest of the fleet. De Galvez then pointed out to his Admirals that he was merely a land general and that perhaps they would fare no worse than he in this endeavor. The embarrassed Admirals repeated de Galvez's feat, with only minor damage to their ships from the shore bombardment.

Upon hearing of de Galvez's feat, King Carlos proclaimed that henceforth the de Galvez family crest would bear the word's "Yo Solo," (I alone).

It is here my game begins. I do have a pre-game phase wherein the Red Cliff Forts fire on the incoming Spanish Fleet, as well as teh French and Spanish reinforcements on Turn 7, but the remainder of the game is the siege proper, followed by the final assault.

Time and space prohibits a discussion of the rest of the siege. I'll add that in a later posting, if anyone is interested.

I Won RevCon for the Second Time!

Colonel D. — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 10:40:27 GMT

Since I now know that some of you are Grognards, you may be interested that I participate in the annual Prezcon that occurs every February in Charlottesville, VA.

At Prezcon is the RevCon mini-series. We have our own room, replete with flags, posters and music of the era. Each company that makes a game on the American Revolution is invited to participate. This year we had 1) We The People (Avalon Hill), 2) Liberty (Columbia Games), 3) Flying Colors (GMT), 4) Clash for a Continent (Worthington Games), and 5) Battles of the American Revolution [Saratoga, Brandywine, Savannah and Eutaw Springs] (GMT).

Each of the first four contests are a single game for which a plaque is given for first place. A game lasts four to five rounds. I won in the first round of We The People, but was knocked out in the quarter-finals. I lost in the first round of the games of Liberty, Flying Colors, and Clash for a Continent and I was going into the Battles of the American Revolution statistically still in it, but trailing waaaaay behind the pack.

Because I was last year's champion and we had an odd number of players, I received a "bye" on the first round, so I did not have to play Brandywine which is good, because that game is grueling. I won my game of Saratoga as the Americans -- barely pulling it out on the very last half of the last turn (capturing Burgoyne and eliminating his Grenadier regiment and the Tory Canadian regiment). Savannah simulates the siege of Savannah in 1778 and permits three players. I was the French, my American ally was a superb player named Jeff.

The British player, however, is a reknown player from Alaska named Bruno. Aside from being a very aggressive and capable player, Bruno had -- by his own admission -- the greatest spate of die rolls in the history of wargaming. Against the hapless Jeff, Bruno rolled twelve 9s or 8s in a row (we use a 10-sided die and a 0 = 0. Moreover, high numbers are best). Jeff's army collapsed just as my French were penetrating the outer defenses of Savannah.

Bruno and I, therefore, advanced to the final round Eutaw Springs. Bruno pulled the American chit, and had to attack. We began at 9:30 PM and ended at 0200 the next morning. I eeked out a victory on the last round mostly due to a superb artillery shot that killed the American commander, Greene as well as caused a step loss on the elite 3rd Maryland regiment -- again, winning by points.

So, for the second year in a row, I have become the proud holder of the George Washington Award for Excellence in American Revloutionary War Gaming.

If you guys ever want a great wargaming experience I cannot recommend Prezcon too highly. If you do get down there, look up the RevCon room and ask for Mark Miklos, who is the Game Master for that tournament.

Colonel D.

SUPREME COMMANDER!

Roadkill — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:47:41 GMT

-The spiritual sequel to Total Annihilation, Supreme Commander, will be released early 2007 and it looks crazy. Boo-yah!

E3 Presentation video(2 parts):

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-FInhDCSjs]Part 1[/url] - You can find the second part in the Related list.

Company of Heroes!!

Rishbhav — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 17:29:49 GMT

I got this game after reading a few of the rave reviews about it, and all I can say is WOW. I'm not really a fan of RTSes, but this game puts the Strategy back into Real Time Strategy.

The game takes you down a few levels, to the point where you are telling squads to move around, and in some cases even precisely ordering them. Unlike other games where the best strategy is to "turtle" and build up your economy, Company of Heroes has no economy. Instead you gain resources by capturing command points, which leads to VERY fun back and forth combat.

Another thing that sets this game apart is the physics system. While other games, like AOE3 have physics integrated, its just eye candy. In Company of Heroes, the environments are completely destructible, and blowing stuff up becomes an important facet of battlefield tactics, to for example outflank a machine gun. Add this into a cover system, that lets you hide in the craters you just made, and you have some great tactics.

Notice that I mentioned flanking before. Thats right, this game actually has some tactics, unlike say AOE3, which is just charging forward. If you charge an infantry company into a machine gun nest, they'll die miserably (and curse while doing it). However, flank that same machine gun and throw a few greandes, and that machine gun is gone.

Of course this would all come to nothing if the AI was crap, and here the game once again excels. Your men will actively seek out cover, and go prone when attacked, and the enemy AI will aggresively keep the pressure on you.

Do yourself a favor, go and download the demo of this amaxing game. You will defenitely not regret it.

The classics

Roadkill — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 15:48:11 GMT

-Just found this segment from "The Curse of Monkey Island." Ah, the memories...

Pirate song - Youtube.com

CIV the board game

General Georges — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 22:37:57 GMT

I was just wondering if anyoen here has played Sid Meier's Civilization, the board game? If so, is it any good or worth getting? Is it as complicated as the pc game for new comers? I look forward to trying this board game one day! :w00t: