Octopus Overlords

Now that the NDA has been lifted, I can definitively say that this is a must-buy if you have fond memories of Panzer General. This is most definitely PG on steroids. Aside from the graphical update, here are some of the things Panzer Corps has that PG didn't (to the best of my recollection - it's been a long time since I played it)

Flanking - Having units on multiple sides of a hex gives a bonus to all units attacking into that hex. You can position your units first, and then go back and attack with each one.

Weather effects - Rain & snow affect aircraft (can't attack and visibility is reduced) and muddy or icy ground affects movement and ground combat.

Initiative - All units have an initiative rating that gives a bonus in combat (getting the first hit in).

Rugged Defense - Units defending in closed-in areas (cities, forests, etc.) roll for Rugged Defense, which gives a defensive bonus.

Ambush - Attacking into or moving too close to the edge of the FoW is a no-no.

There may be others, but these are the first that come to mind.

The only thing that makes me uncomfortable is that the campaign is only playable as the Axis. Having had family members who didn't make it out of Poland at the time, and were lost in the Holocaust, I wish the player were given a choice of sides.

I haven't bought any news games in a long time. This may be what I'm looking for.
How is this different than Commander: Europe at War?

dbt1949 wrote:I haven't bought any news games in a long time. This may be what I'm looking for.
How is this different than Commander: Europe at War?

How is PG different? No research or diplomacy, a dynamic campaign made up of linked scenarios (which can be played independently as either side), units earn medals and heroes (which confer bonuses). Victory level in a scenario is determined by how quickly you beat it.

tgb--

Is the campaign in Panzer Corps dynamic, as in branching based on how you do in a given scenario?

triggercut wrote:tgb--

Is the campaign in Panzer Corps dynamic, as in branching based on how you do in a given scenario?

Yes. There are two branches off each scenario depending on if you get a Decisive or a Minor Victory.

tgb wrote: Aside from the graphical update, here are some of the things Panzer Corps has that PG didn't (to the best of my recollection - it's been a long time since I played it)

It has been a long time.

Panzer General (well 2 anyways) had ambush, had rugged defense and had weather effects (rain I believe). Not sure about initiative.

No doubt other factions (lol) will come out as expansions. Only being able to play as one side does give me pause. Don't mind playing the Germans though-if it hits a personal nerve like that however you'd probably be better off avoiding WWII games altogether.

Any idea what the price is going to be? I think $30 is about my limit. Talk about a terrible time to release-right after the Steam sale when everyone one has stocked up on 18 games for about $4.50 and then some developer has the gall to demand $40 for their single game

Canuck wrote:Any idea what the price is going to be? I think $30 is about my limit. Talk about a terrible time to release-right after the Steam sale when everyone one has stocked up on 18 games for about $4.50 and then some developer has the gall to demand $40 for their single game

And $40 is the magic number. I'm a little peeved that all the beta testers are getting is a 25% discount - just about every game I've tested awarded a free copy (the last one was Armada 2526, so we're not talking about the stone ages here). Still, I have the final release candidate, which, to my knowledge, is the version being released Monday.

As to WW II games being sensitive - I always play the Allies when I can - particularly to see if I can do better as the Poles or the French.

I feel you on the squeamishness, t. A game like Panzer General can't help but put you in a position where you're sort of immersed in this little game world...and you think "I am really kicking ass here, taking over Poland..."

...but then you think about it and realize that that's kinda messed up.

My grand-uncle Stosh fought with the Polish resistance in and around Warsaw throughout the war and barely survived some severe injuries during that time. I have to "compartmentalize" quite a bit to play a game like this, but I am able to do so. Looking forward to giving this a shot.

Link?

Turtle wrote:Link?

Since it's not out until next week, this will have to do.

Tom Chick says "Oh Yeahhhhhhhh!"

http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2011/0 ... #more-7747" target="_blank

*sigh*
I may have to pick this one up, even at $40.
Just watched a video on YouTube and the differences I noticed immediately were:

• animated units-firing and taking fire. A nice touch
• different unit facings depending on which direction they're heading
• Heroes and medals. Something from Panzer General 3 maybe?
• Integrated unit library. Nice touch,
• A full-fledged editor. Hopefully this will help produce a ton of new scenarios and extend the life of the game

tgb any comments on the editor? Is it fairly easy to use? Can you create your own maps or only use stock maps?

Canuck wrote:
tgb any comments on the editor? Is it fairly easy to use? Can you create your own maps or only use stock maps?

I'm not into modding/creating scenarios, so never looked at the editor. I wasn't really aware it had one.

Played so many hours on the original one.

triggercut wrote:I feel you on the squeamishness, t. A game like Panzer General can't help but put you in a position where you're sort of immersed in this little game world...and you think "I am really kicking ass here, taking over Poland..."

...but then you think about it and realize that that's kinda messed up.

Since I've been wargaming all my life, I'm long past any squeamishness over what uniform my pixeltruppen are wearing. I figure I'll invade Poland today and then hit Berlin tomorrow.

Pixeltruppen. I like that. Mind if I steal it?

tgb wrote:Pixeltruppen. I like that. Mind if I steal it?

Oh, it isn't mine! I think I picked it up on the Combat Mission forums several years ago.

A sooner-rather-than-later buy for me. The Steam sales have saved me enough money that my per-game price will still be low even with Matrix pricing.

/cross posted at QT3

After playing the first tutorial scenario and starting the second, my impression is that it is a beautiful, beautiful Panzer General wargame. If you've already played PG then you probably won't learn much in the tutorial however if this is your first time then the tutorial is wonderful with a lot of timely popup information. For example if you attack a city and the artillery fires on you then a information box will pop up explaining defensive fire and support units.

I signed up for a multiplayer account. Never tried it but I hear Slitherine has a great multiplayer function.

The big thing for me is the scenario editor. In a word, AWESOME! I have never edited any kind of scenario for any game before and in about 5 minutes I had thrown together a working map. Just choose whatever tileset you want and drop it onto the hex. It seems like you can pretty much make any kind of scenario you want and you don't need to know a single damn thing about programming to do it! That should extend the life of the game a lot if there's some kind of system in place for uploading and downloading user created scenarios!

So yeah, like, this game was released a couple of days ago...
Is everyone still to busy playing it?

Canuck wrote:So yeah, like, this game was released a couple of days ago...
Is everyone still to busy playing it?

Sorry, too busy preparing for the final tutorial scenario with battleships, U-boats and strategic bombers oh my!

So I seemed to have missed this game when I started playing wargames. I actually bought Panzer General II when GOG released it, played once and didn't come back. But I'm a sucker for a good wargame and after the buzz on this game I took a chance. I don't know if it was the improved graphics, which for a wargame is not always the priority for me, but I'm really enjoying this game. For people who like moving around troops, tanks and firing off large amounts of ordinance but are turned off by complicated rule systems or an intimidating UI then this is the game for you. Even though this is a "simplified" wargame, you still have many of the concepts that are inherent in your typical wargame such as terrain modifiers, weather effects, flanking bonuses, supply issues, airborne drops, amphibious landings to name just a few. Also, you'll have at your disposal various types of infantry, armor, artillery, ships, aircraft so even though it's not as complex as other wargames you still have alot of toys to play with. And for a person who does play more "complex" wargames from the Close Combat series or Combat Mission, the old West Front/East Front series to the more hex and counter type of games like Operational Art of War this has enough to keep me engaged and challenged.

I'm hoping they'll expand into the Pacific theater and also redo People's General which has hypothetical conflict between China and her allies vs the US in modern times.

Siljanus, from your post you are probably the right person to ask: I've never played a Panzer General game but would like to give it a go. Should I give PG2 a try first ($10 from GOG) or just jump straight into this new hotness ($40-50)? Starting with PG2 seems sensible as long as it still looks decent and plays well for a n00b.

If I could get Panzer General II to play on my comp I would certainly play it again. However, there's no need to play it before playing Panzer Corps as the game mechanics are pretty simple and straightforward.

Freezer-TPF- wrote:Siljanus, from your post you are probably the right person to ask: I've never played a Panzer General game but would like to give it a go. Should I give PG2 a try first ($10 from GOG) or just jump straight into this new hotness ($40-50)? Starting with PG2 seems sensible as long as it still looks decent and plays well for a n00b.

So unfortunately, my experience with PG2 is really short with just one game under my belt. Panzer Corps cost me 40 bucks for digital download. If you have the $$$ I'd say go for Panzer Corps since that's the game that really hooked me. I suppose it was the graphics which did it for me since due to my lack of familiarity with PG2 I'm not certain about the gameplay differences between the two. Wish there was a demo for you to try.

One of the hooks for me mentioned earlier in the thread, which is common to both games, is having persistent units that gain experience as you play through a campaign. And as they gain experience they can have "heroes" attached to them which confer various bonuses to one of your attack/defense/initiative/other attributes which gives it a bit of a RPG-lite sort of feel.

On the Matrix Games site they have the complete manual for folks to read. And I'm sure there are AARs on both the Matrix and Slitherine forums to read as well.

I'd say for the person just delving into this, go for Panzer Corps. Pretty game and I want the developers to make more games.

I'll check out the manual--thanks for the tip!

$iljanus wrote: One of the hooks for me mentioned earlier in the thread, which is common to both games, is having persistent units that gain experience as you play through a campaign. And as they gain experience they can have "heroes" attached to them which confer various bonuses to one of your attack/defense/initiative/other attributes which gives it a bit of a RPG-lite sort of feel.

Sold!

Yes, this looks like a purchase for me eventually. So many games now that I haven't played yet and I just bought Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy. But this one is on my short list.

Lassr wrote:Yes, this looks like a purchase for me eventually. So many games now that I haven't played yet and I just bought Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy. But this one is on my short list.

Right now Combat Mission and Panzer Corps are on my gaming rotation. All sorts of wargaming goodness being played at midnight.

Hey Freezer,

If you want to get a sense of this game try Panzer General Forever. The person who developed it is a lead programmer for Panzer Corps and many of the features are in Panzer Corps. The graphics are more like the original but the gameplay will give you an idea of whether or not Panzer Corps is for you. Oh and did I mention that it's free?

Back to Panzer Corps, I've finished the tutorial scenarios which were alot of fun and now playing one of the campaigns which starts with the invasion of Poland. Pulled off a decisive victory in the Poland scenario but the AI kept me on my toes for the entire game. The next scenario was the invasion of Norway which was kind of cool since it's a setting that I haven't played in. Various choke points and mountainous terrain which hampered my troop movements was a challenge along with the appearance of the Royal Navy which, true to historical events, destroyed my entire naval force.

Oh linkage for you: http://panzercentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45039" target="_blank

Wow, awesome, thanks! I've always wanted to play a game like this but have never done so. It's helpful to have free and cheap (PG2) options to stick my toe in rather than going straight for the $40-50 option.

Fired this up over the weekend after I hit a lull in my other games. The tutorial is nice and long at seven missions. I look forward to exploring the game in more detail.

I like the game but it is a little hard for me. Mainly due to the time limits. It may take a couple of playthrus to get it.
I have most of the DLCs too.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:04 pm I like the game but it is a little hard for me. Mainly due to the time limits. It may take a couple of playthrus to get it.
I have most of the DLCs too.

You can add five more turns under the Advanced Settings.

I didn't know that. Thanks!

Nor did I until you sent me on a Google trail.



Just make sure you actually click the Custom Difficulty checkbox.

The Order of Battle series from Slitherine is like Panzer Corps with some improvements/changes supposedly. In any case I really enjoyed Order of Battle Pacific and US Marines due to the Pacific theater setting.

Also, adding to the time limit did make Panzer Corps more enjoyable!

Panzer Corps 2 has a Steam page, but no release date yet.

I think Oder of Battle has a better selection of DLCs but I like Panzer Corps graphics better.
I too am looking forward to PC2 but I don't want PC1 to become obsolete then.

dbt1949 wrote:I think Oder of Battle has a better selection of DLCs but I like Panzer Corps graphics better.
I too am looking forward to PC2 but I don't want PC1 to become obsolete then.

I found the graphics for both to be somewhat similar to me but PC2's graphics look like it may blow both away.

I wish/hope PC2 gets away from Europe and the Eastern Front in future DLC and goes to the Pacific since I really liked conducting amphibious ops in Order of Battle.

Oooooh, from the development diary on the Slitherine forums. Promising if they're able to keep developing the game:

"Once again, it is a bit too early to say, but our ambitions with this game are even greater than they were in Panzer Corps. If everything goes according to plan we will eventually cover all factions and all events of Second World War, including Pacific Theatre which Panzer Corps series never covered before, and also post-WW2 and Cold War era."

I like me some Cold War stuff.