RE: Reflections on WiTE

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RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/2/2019 2:33:03 PM

Hanny
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King_Solomon, your most welcome, i have found over the decades that a good designer is worth following, so for instance Philippe Malacher and https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/1625/philippe-thibaut started out as boardgame designers and moved on to do pc games, adapting their better selling games into computer games, their latest is a masterpiece: ( if you like the ancient period and like tactical battles, then the FOG II tactical battle which you export into from the Empires campaign is one of the reasons i gave up figures).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1011390/Field_of_Glory_Empires/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LW2xvHNqws

If you have a group to play with, then something like https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103343/game-thrones-board-game-second-edition/videos/all is certainly well worth a look at.

My current fav game other the WiTe is this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK9QGbUJ164&list=PLgYUpdX_kl3cral1uxYj8n6B7VfK3joGL&index=9&t=0s

< Message edited by Hanny -- 9/2/2019 2:50:03 PM >

(in reply to King_Solomon)

Post #: 31

RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/2/2019 3:46:00 PM

Seminole
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quote:

My current fav game other the WiTe is this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK9QGbUJ164&list=PLgYUpdX_kl3cral1uxYj8n6B7VfK3joGL&index=9&t=0s

That game is a whole lot of fun.

I enjoyed hours with its spiritual predecessor, the Take Command games (I think you can get at least one of them still on Steam). It was fun to take a minor role under AIs direction, and to accept the command delay of issuing orders by dispatch rider (instead of hijacking direct control of sub units).

(in reply to Hanny)

Post #: 32

RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/2/2019 3:58:09 PM

Plateguy
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I first saw AH Battle of the Bulge '65 in 1966 when I was a 10 year old with a paper route on Pearl Harbor. In addition to docked ships, I peddled papers in the temporary sailor barracks. My parents bought me AH Guadalcanal in 1967 and I was hooked. I spent years with Strategy & Tactics magazine and Wargamer magazine.

Most of my board games were the more complex Simulations Publications Title such as Terrible Swift Sword and Gleam of Bayonets. Ranked right up there were Jim Dunnigan's War In the East and War In the West. Getting hooked on Gary Grigsby's titles was a natural development. I am particular drawn to the importance of logistics and the use of combined arms. They are easy games to lose.

I focus on solitaire play, because real life gets in the way. I hope that will change in 2021 when I will retire for a second time.

I also enjoy games from AGEOD and John Tiller Software. These give me a variety of games to play.

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Post #: 33

RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/2/2019 5:31:08 PM

joelmar
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To me wargaming is a secondary passion to music, which is itself a very demanding mistress, but still a very intense one. So I had long hiatuses from wargaming. When I found out about WitE, it had been close to 4 years I hadn't played anything at all.

My own background was:

1980's: Panzer Blitz and Rise and Decline of the Third Reich. I played both extensively with my co-locs, but after a while "Third Reich" became the sole game we would play, it was a quite complex game, on another level than WitE though, but it still needed all our attention.

1990's: I played a lot of "Velikye Luki - Beyond Valor" which was a corp sized game, with the smaller counters being battalions if I remember well. It was a game I played against the AI only, since I had no opponent back then. Also, I played Steel Panthers for a while.

2000's: Didn't play at all.

2012-2015: I played a lot of "Close Combat", a few titles in the series.

I always wanted to one day get to ASL, but never got round to it. One of the reasons is that I'm more into operational and strategic stuff than tactical, even if I also like the latter. But I still have a copy of one of the late eighties iteration of ASL. And I still have my Third Reich box too!

Anyway, from this long but limited experience (compared to many others in these forums), my own perception is that WitE is tough to beat, so probably one of the best computer wargame, if not the best. Most of what I'm looking for in a game is there, control of a large area, with a lot of troops, with enough micromanaging complexity to satisfy my need for it. The only big irritants fro me are the possibility to supply all of the armies from a single rail source, which will be fixed in WitE2, and the air war management. The latter I understand pretty well, kabuki and etc, but it just bores me no end to put my mind power in it.

< Message edited by joelmar -- 9/2/2019 6:43:48 PM >

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Post #: 34

RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/2/2019 11:09:33 PM

King_Solomon
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Haney - thanks for the recommendations, all look great! Ultimate General is on my Steam Wishlist. Guess it's time to give it a try. Looks like they will be adding a new title called Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail. I've also wanted to try Scourge of War: Waterloo. But neither will overtake WitE. Like joelmar stated so well above, I too am more interested in the strategic and operational than tactical.

Joelmar - is music a full-time job or a full-time hobby?

Plateguy - I cannot imagine growing up with a paper route in Pearl Harbor. Or the stories you could tell.

It's interesting to read everyone's background, how they discovered some boardgame which led them to WitE like MattFL shared in the beginning. How right he was, it really is therapy!

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Post #: 35

RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/3/2019 1:26:32 AM

paogre
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First real board wargame I recall was Parker Brothers Civil War, one of the guys in the History Club in high school brought it in, that would be 1966, think of House Divided with plastic counter and you'd have some idea of what it was like. Then I discovered AH and SPI in the early 70's. Became a big fan of the monster games, still have several of those on the shelf in my den and have downloaded modules for ADC2 and Vassal for some of them. Saw my first computer game at Origins in 1977, a demo of East Front on the Atari 800 computer. A little while later I began to see pc wargames at the game store where I bought my boardgames and got myself an Atari 800XL. One of my favorite games was Grigsby's original War in Russia, the WeGo version, not as detailed as WitE but then I actually preferred not having to handle all the minute details you have to do in WitE. The semi-simultaneous movement made for some interesting turns with one side advancing only to have the other counterattack immediately and the interplay of the several movement phases. Still have my original Atari 800XL and the game but haven't had it out of the box in years. Found an Atari emulator for my pc and a download of WiR and do occasionally play it as well as a few other games from back then. Although it lacks the detail it has a much more historical feel to it than WitE IMO.

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Post #: 36

RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/3/2019 3:35:55 AM

countrboy
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Never got into boardgames but picked up my first strategy PC game with Desert Rats for the ZX Spectrum in the mid 1980's. Then added Arnhem, Vulcan and Overlord to my collection and the rest is (literally) history. At the moment it's WitE and Tiller's Panzer Campaigns, but I also have messed around with the Ultimate General games, the Strategic Command games and many many others.

Actually, regarding boardgames, a friend and I went 50/50 on AH's 'Rise and Decline of the Third Reich' many years ago. We took it home, started setting it up, got into an argument in the first ten minutes, packed it away and the box has sat on my bookshelf untouched for 20 years since that day.

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Post #: 37

RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/3/2019 7:39:49 AM

Hanny
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Seminole

quote:

My current fav game other the WiTe is this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK9QGbUJ164&list=PLgYUpdX_kl3cral1uxYj8n6B7VfK3joGL&index=9&t=0s

That game is a whole lot of fun.

I enjoyed hours with its spiritual predecessor, the Take Command games (I think you can get at least one of them still on Steam). It was fun to take a minor role under AIs direction, and to accept the command delay of issuing orders by dispatch rider (instead of hijacking direct control of sub units).

Have you looked at the J@P rebalance mod?. Really rather good.

https://forum.game-labs.net/topic/25749-j-p-rebalance-mod-by-jonnyh13-and-pandakraut-7112019-1251-hotfix/

quote:

ORIGINAL: King_Solomon

Haney - thanks for the recommendations, all look great! Ultimate General is on my Steam Wishlist. Guess it's time to give it a try. Looks like they will be adding a new title called Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail.

29 Oct is the next steam sale, while its worth the full price, no need to throw money away if its in the next sale!.

< Message edited by Hanny -- 9/3/2019 7:42:14 AM >

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Post #: 38

RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/3/2019 9:09:35 AM

Zovs
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My first wargame I invented in 1974, I had two sets of HO/HO miniatures, both were WW1 German and British infantry companies, I had not read about trench warfare yet so they were lined up in rows facing each other much like the civil war (as an 8 year I had not yet read about historical accuracy that would come two years later), and alternating between both side I took turns shooting rubber bands at them and last man standing side won the battle. I kept searching for better way to enhance my game over the next two years.

Then I discovered this box at a store and asked my mom if I could have it, she said maybe for Christmas.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2259/afrika-korps

Well I waited and waited for Christmas to arrive and my mom surpassed my expectations. Not only did I get Afrika Korps, but I got D-Day, Battle of the Bulge, Stalingrad and Waterloo.

So at ten years old I was hooked. In June the following year for my birthday I got PanzerBlitz/PanzerLeader, Luftwaffe and The Russian Campaign. For Christmas I got The Rise and Decline of the Third Reich, Battle for Germany, Tobruck and Sniper.

I believe it was the next summer I saw the famous box of all, I only had ten bucks and there it was, the ultimate game ever it was called Squad Leader! But alas it was $12.00! I had wait a whole month to get it! I also discovered The General and that there were others like me!

Long story short all that led to ASL and over 500 board games later. Thanks mom!

My first computer game was Steel Panthers which I found in 1996 and it was like playing ASL on the computer. I picked up a few other SSI titles but it was in 1998 and a company called TalonSoft where I discovered both EastFront and The Operational Art of War. It was TOAW that hit that sweet spot.

I have over 50 pc war games and the two I always go back to are Steel Panthers and TOAW.

I also got into Aide de Camp and Cyberboard and played many folks with those board war game systems. But now only use VASSAL and VASL.

Thanks to my mum!

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Post #: 39

RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/3/2019 11:19:16 PM

King_Solomon
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Over 500 games!?! I cannot begin to imagine. Are there any WWI games you (or anyone) would recommend outside of Paths of Glory?

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RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/4/2019 12:58:13 AM

Zovs
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Here are a few I owned or played:

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10995/reinforce-right

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13299/1918-imperial-germanys-last-chance

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4359/1914-glorys-end

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7753/when-eagles-fight

_____________________________

Beta Tester for:
Flashpoint Campaigns: Sudden Storm
War in the East 1 & 2
WarPlan & WarPlan Pacific
Valor & Victory
DG CWIE 2
SPWW2 & SPMBT scenario creator

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Post #: 41

RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/4/2019 1:08:08 AM

joelmar
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quote:

ORIGINAL: King_Solomon
Joelmar - is music a full-time job or a full-time hobby?

Full time passion, with a collegial degree in electric bass a long time ago... I make some money out of it of course, always a welcome addition, but sadly no, I wasn't one of the lucky ones who can make a full time decent living out of it, I made my peace with that

_____________________________

"The closer you get to the meaning, the sooner you'll know that you're dreamin'" -Dio

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Post #: 42

RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/4/2019 11:43:51 AM

fritzfarlig
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WITE have hit me with something I just love about wargames

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RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/4/2019 3:48:26 PM

Ridgeway
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quote:

ORIGINAL: King_Solomon

Over 500 games!?! I cannot begin to imagine. Are there any WWI games you (or anyone) would recommend outside of Paths of Glory?

I had an AH game called Guns of August. As I recall, it always ended up in a stalemate on the Western Front. Funny that.

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RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/4/2019 11:23:42 PM

King_Solomon
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Joelmar, I know what you're saying but to me, with my sardine fingers, you are one of the lucky ones. I'm glad you made your peace.

Thanks everyone for their list of games and their Avalon Hill memories. They were a giant in their day, too bad their not around to see the game renaissance.

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RE: Reflections on WiTE - 9/5/2019 2:35:13 PM

Zug
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Many cut their teeth on Steel Panthers I see.

As long as we are taking the trip down memory lane, I recall my first hotseat game I played. I had noticed my older brother playing SP, and I thought it looked cool. So when he wasn't around I would play it. I learned about all of these cool vehicles and weapons. A Hellcat, and a Wolverine and a Stuart. A Tiger, a Panther and a Marder. Very eye opening, and I ate it up, learning about the strengths and weaknesses of each one.

Playing one scenario I had some 88mm FlaK guns. That would help keep me protected from airstrikes. At some point I realized I could fire them at tanks. Ker-plunk, boom! Wow. What did I discover here? AA guns that destroy tanks? A desert full of burning Valentines and Cromwells confirmed I had indeed.

So later my brother asked me if I wanted to try a hotseat match. I said yes, if I can play the Germans. I knew he would buy lots of tanks. But I bought a battery of 88s. His plan would be undone in violent fashion as his attack crashed against my FlaKdoom guns. I felt like I must be the only one who knew of the hidden power of these weapons, and could not wait to unleash their full fury against my unsuspecting bother.

The match started, and he sent over an airstrike that laid a string right down the gunline, destroying all of them, and just like that my devious plans were torn asunder and his armor overran me in short order. Game over :)

Ahh, memories.

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Post #: 46