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For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/15/2007 1:15:00 AM   
tgb

 

Posts: 766
Joined: 7/8/2005
Status: offline 		but are still interested - how difficult will this be to get into? I loved the idea behind Crown of Glory but the learning curve was almost insurmountable.
Post #: 1
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/15/2007 2:50:02 AM   
YohanTM2

 

Posts: 1143
Joined: 10/7/2002
From: Toronto
Status: offline 		Easier to learn but toughter to master IMHO

Removes some layers I just found painful with CoG. I have it but gave up after a month or so

(in reply to tgb)
Post #: 2
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/15/2007 9:42:06 AM   
Ursa MAior

 

Posts: 1416
Joined: 4/20/2005
From: Hungary, EU
Status: offline 		Yeah I had the feeling it wanted too much to grasp.

_____________________________


Art by the amazing Dixie

(in reply to YohanTM2)
Post #: 3
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/15/2007 7:51:08 PM   
napoleonbuff

 

Posts: 6
Joined: 12/19/2006
Status: offline 		I play with a bunch of people who otherwise don't get into wargames.  There are a lot of rules, but most are intuitive and players can largely concentrate on diplomacy and strategic decisions.  Plus the combat system makes for great stories that we still tell years later (and even non-gamers find them entertaining).

(in reply to Ursa MAior)
Post #: 4
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/15/2007 9:56:05 PM   
cdbeck


Posts: 1374
Joined: 8/16/2005
From: Indiana
Status: offline 		I love the theory of CoG, but the practice was insurmountable. I felt like it took an economics PhD to streamline one's country. I certainly hope EiA will have less of a learning curve as well.

SoM


_____________________________

"Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet!"
(Kill them all. God will know his own.)

-- Arnaud-Armaury, the Albigensian Crusade

(in reply to napoleonbuff)
Post #: 5
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/15/2007 10:01:14 PM   
JodiSP

 

Posts: 15
Joined: 9/28/2006
From: New Zealand
Status: offline 		I tried to play Crown of Glory but I also gave up after a month or so. The game concept was great but the requirement to order every single area to build roads Barracks etc just drove me mad. I’ve only played EIA as a board game a couple of times and the concept of EIA or EIH or whatever version it is as a computer game just sounds brilliant, can’t wait.

(in reply to napoleonbuff)
Post #: 6
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/15/2007 10:35:54 PM   
Alex Gilbert

 

Posts: 140
Joined: 9/20/2002
From: New York City
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Son_of_Montfort

I love the theory of CoG, but the practice was insurmountable. I felt like it took an economics PhD to streamline one's country. I certainly hope EiA will have less of a learning curve as well.

SoM



Well, the economics of EiA are vastly simpler-- each province has a value for manpower and for money. It is static-- you can neither improve the economy, nor is there any sort of "exhaustion". For me, I never missed that, as the politics and diplomacy was always the best part of the game. I am usually wary of games described as "simple to learn, difficult to master" because it is usually more the former and less of the latter. However, I always found EiA to be both simple and vastly entertaining.

Alex

(in reply to cdbeck)
Post #: 7
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/16/2007 3:37:44 AM   
Irish Guards


Posts: 143
Joined: 8/13/2004
Status: offline 		Well .. just give it a try .. It's a great game ...
And as long as you play with good gamers .. Well you will learn lots .. fast ... LOL ..
IDG

(in reply to Alex Gilbert)
Post #: 8
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/16/2007 6:30:07 AM   
Alex Gilbert

 

Posts: 140
Joined: 9/20/2002
From: New York City
Status: offline 		I think you mistook what I said. I have been playing for years and love the game...

(in reply to Irish Guards)
Post #: 9
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/16/2007 10:10:06 AM   
Adraeth


Posts: 400
Joined: 9/24/2007
From: Italy - near Florence
Status: offline 		For those not familiar at all with the boardgame, i think this game might seem, at first glance, poor in graphic and not so charming at all.... BUT this game is really deep and "brain-taking" especially in pbem...

For example in the web anyone can find millions of matches pbem with EiA boardgame and, reading the AARs or discussion forums, can have an idea on vast strategy meaning.

Anyway, for those really unfamiliar with boardgame and EVEN with informations of "what the hell is EiA", the game is a Grand Strategy game that focus on strategy moves and problems that simulate really well the napoleonic period, in addition the diplomay system and the peace traties are one of the best around; finally anyone would find that battles have a way to solve them that can force a player to make importat choices.

Last but not least the program seems to allow battles to be decided with miniatures .... WOW... what else could you ask???

_____________________________

www.histwar.fr/
---
Periods i like: age of muskets, napoleonics, modern combat.

(in reply to Alex Gilbert)
Post #: 10
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/16/2007 2:33:50 PM   
YohanTM2

 

Posts: 1143
Joined: 10/7/2002
From: Toronto
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Adraeth Montecuccoli

For those not familiar at all with the boardgame, i think this game might seem, at first glance, poor in graphic and not so charming at all.... BUT this game is really deep and "brain-taking" especially in pbem...

For example in the web anyone can find millions of matches pbem with EiA boardgame and, reading the AARs or discussion forums, can have an idea on vast strategy meaning.

Anyway, for those really unfamiliar with boardgame and EVEN with informations of "what the hell is EiA", the game is a Grand Strategy game that focus on strategy moves and problems that simulate really well the napoleonic period, in addition the diplomay system and the peace traties are one of the best around; finally anyone would find that battles have a way to solve them that can force a player to make importat choices.

Last but not least the program seems to allow battles to be decided with miniatures .... WOW... what else could you ask???


I've always found it a bit challenging to resolve a PBEM with minatures. Very expensive to keep mailing your turn to the opponent across the world and the poor lead figures get trashed



(in reply to Adraeth)
Post #: 11
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/16/2007 7:22:09 PM   
Hoche


Posts: 491
Joined: 11/30/2002
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Yohan
Easier to learn but tougher to master IMHO


This sums up EiA nicely


_____________________________

It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare.
-Edmund Burke

(in reply to YohanTM2)
Post #: 12
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/17/2007 8:00:42 AM   
New York Jets


Posts: 2087
Joined: 6/25/2001
From: St. Louis, MO but stuck in Bremerton,WA
Status: offline 		Hearing all of theses people giving up on Crown of Glory because of the steep learning curve has me wanting to buy it.

I'm an old grognard who likes realism over playability.

_____________________________

"There comes a time in every man's life, and I've had plenty of 'em."

- Casey Stengel -

(in reply to tgb)
Post #: 13
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/17/2007 11:50:23 AM   
Jabba

 

Posts: 62
Joined: 3/24/2005
Status: offline 		Non-playability does not = realism. COG is by no means realistic. IIRC depots advanced ahead of your armies, you routinely besieged the capital of each province, and instead of worrying about military logistics and strategy, you worried about building courthouses and trading iron for horses. Yawn.

(in reply to New York Jets)
Post #: 14
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/17/2007 2:05:47 PM   
YohanTM2

 

Posts: 1143
Joined: 10/7/2002
From: Toronto
Status: offline 		Exactly
quote:

ORIGINAL: Jabba

Non-playability does not = realism. COG is by no means realistic. IIRC depots advanced ahead of your armies, you routinely besieged the capital of each province, and instead of worrying about military logistics and strategy, you worried about building courthouses and trading iron for horses. Yawn.


(in reply to Jabba)
Post #: 15
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/17/2007 4:53:57 PM   
sol_invictus


Posts: 1961
Joined: 10/2/2001
From: Kentucky
Status: offline 		Agreed, there is good complexity and bad complexity. COG had a bunch of bad complexity. The interface was a chore and the economics was not only a chore but out of place imo. Hopefully COG2 will resolve some of these problems as I really like the concept of the game.

_____________________________

"The fruit of too much liberty is slavery", Cicero

(in reply to YohanTM2)
Post #: 16
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/17/2007 5:01:54 PM   
Don60420

 

Posts: 124
Joined: 9/26/2007
Status: offline 		Agreed as to COG. The economic system was completely overblown and really bore little relationship to the historical interplay between economic concerns and building up a nation's military. The game also tended to degenerate into weird ahistoric paths. The way POWs were handled was a mountain of unnecessary complexity. Really a shame since there were quite a few promising elements in the game. I too hope that COG2 salvages what has the potential to be a great game.

(in reply to sol_invictus)
Post #: 17
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/18/2007 4:14:43 PM   
Ironclad

 

Posts: 1924
Joined: 11/22/2006
Status: offline 		Its been announced that COG2 will include the option to play a more basic version for those who just want to concentrate on the diplomacy/war. The more complicated economic model and some complex features will still be available in an advanced format. With a new naval battles module and hopefully other improvements from the excellent FOF or tidying up/extension of the original it should make for a welcome expansion

(in reply to Don60420)
Post #: 18
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/18/2007 5:53:29 PM   
Sytass


Posts: 53
Joined: 7/25/2004
Status: offline 		Hi, another person who hasn't played the original so far.

However, am I right to assume that the game does come with historical flavor (map, units and countries of Napeolonic age) but does not intend to realistically portray the contraptions of the period? I am mostly referring to the AAR just posted where the English player prepares to DOW Portugal (which, historically, is England's oldest ally). So, theoretically, England, France and Austria could ally to carve up Europe between them?

(in reply to Ironclad)
Post #: 19
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/18/2007 6:44:44 PM   
pzgndr

 

Posts: 3170
Joined: 3/18/2004
From: Maryland
Status: offline 		I played AH's War and Peace game years ago but never got into EiA.  The scale and scope of both are similar.  I think EiA is more refined and has stood the test of time, and with the PC version coming out I'm looking forward to getting back into Napoleonic grand strategy again.  I never bothered with COG since it struck me as a HOI-style micromanagement game.  Yuk.  EiA is much more appealing.

(in reply to Sytass)
Post #: 20
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/18/2007 8:58:10 PM   
*Lava*


Posts: 1924
Joined: 2/9/2004
Status: offline 		Well...

I am not a board gamer at all.

Though I am a miniatures gamer/painter.

I'm interested in the game, but am hoping it's not going to require hours pouring over this forum to figure out how to play it.

Ray (aka Lava)

(in reply to pzgndr)
Post #: 21
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/18/2007 10:18:47 PM   
Jabba

 

Posts: 62
Joined: 3/24/2005
Status: offline
quote:

So, theoretically, England, France and Austria could ally to carve up Europe between them?


I have not played the game, but there is apparently an optional rule under which France and England start the game at war, and cannot make peace except in rare circumstances. But apart from this, I think pretty much anything goes.

(in reply to *Lava*)
Post #: 22
RE: For Those of Us Who Never Played the Boardgame - 11/19/2007 12:30:13 AM   
Alex Gilbert

 

Posts: 140
Joined: 9/20/2002
From: New York City
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Sytass

Hi, another person who hasn't played the original so far.

However, am I right to assume that the game does come with historical flavor (map, units and countries of Napeolonic age) but does not intend to realistically portray the contraptions of the period? I am mostly referring to the AAR just posted where the English player prepares to DOW Portugal (which, historically, is England's oldest ally). So, theoretically, England, France and Austria could ally to carve up Europe between them?



Well, yes, you can enter into a massive alliance, but there are no rules for an alliance victory--that is, only one country of the alliance can actually win. So those types of massive alliances tend not to last.

(in reply to Sytass)
Post #: 23
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