Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: ETF

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ORIGINAL: bcgames

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ORIGINAL: sIg3b

Didn´t buy it, because the AI is generally said no to be cut-throat. I am only interested in SP and want a terribly strong Computer opponent.

We got the message on this one; Slitherine coached us to exert a soft AI-hand over The Player. Our intent now is to deliver the opponent back to the Stone Age. Let's see what we can do to make single-player less soft-handed.

Really glad you put resources into other things than an AI. I know that will draw flack but lets face I have been CPU wargaming since 83 and I have NEVER seen an AI that is better than an intermediate player even maybe not even that good. Usually, it is only good for tutorials unless you want to play a cheating AI. Just my two cents. Surely in this day in age you can find a worthy similar opponent.

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ORIGINAL: fondfoat

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ORIGINAL: ETF

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ORIGINAL: bcgames

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ORIGINAL: sIg3b

Didn´t buy it, because the AI is generally said no to be cut-throat. I am only interested in SP and want a terribly strong Computer opponent.

We got the message on this one; Slitherine coached us to exert a soft AI-hand over The Player. Our intent now is to deliver the opponent back to the Stone Age. Let's see what we can do to make single-player less soft-handed.

Really glad you put resources into other things than an AI. I know that will draw flack but lets face I have been CPU wargaming since 83 and I have NEVER seen an AI that is better than an intermediate player even maybe not even that good. Usually, it is only good for tutorials unless you want to play a cheating AI. Just my two cents. Surely in this day in age you can find a worthy similar opponent.

Surely in this day and age, an AI should be very challenging!!

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ORIGINAL: Numdydar

I bought it with my Anniversary coupon. Just to support. Have hardly played it at all since there is no campaign. That was a BIG downside for me. I was really hoping for a Campaign for North Africa game but alas this was not it.

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ORIGINAL: Numdydar

I bought it with my Anniversary coupon. Just to support. Have hardly played it at all since there is no campaign. That was a BIG downside for me. I was really hoping for a Campaign for North Africa game but alas this was not it.

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ORIGINAL: bcgames

Thanks for your support! Thinking about how to do the Campaign for North Africa once again. I think the game engine will be able to make the attempt once Monty's Front capabilities have been realized.

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ORIGINAL: LarryP

I bought it last night, physical copy too, wish I hadn't.

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ORIGINAL: LarryP

I bought it last night, physical copy too, wish I hadn't.

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ORIGINAL: LarryP

My gosh, your posts were less than two hours apart, I am handicapped and could not get back online until now. I'm sorry to leave you hanging, I posted last night just before a windfall of health issues and life. My fault. I'm sorry.

I don't know where to start so I will just start. I own over 60 Matrix-Slitherine games since about 2005 and this is one of the weirdest of them all to figure out. The tutorial is totally confusing and leads to no real direct path. Using the hotkeys, which are many, some don't work as shown. The war-gamers that I know own many games, not just a few, but many games. It's hard to remember hotkeys when you play a lot of games, so games that we favor use the right mouse click for most options. Your game uses hotkeys mostly, right click brings up information on a stack. It would be nice if a R-Click gave options for all.

Now, already I have opened myself up to an eternal war here, many Matrix gamers look for a fight where there needs not be one. Above I am speaking of war-gamers that "I" know, not all of course, so please, if gamers are looking to disagree, do it nicely. I'm sick of forum fights, hence the reason I stayed off this site for several years. God only knows why I'm here now. If you prefer hotkeys to a right click menu of options, OK. Enjoy. My memory is too short for every game to use hotkeys more than a R-Click menu of options.

The phases are strange to me. It would be nice to have a short description at each phase of what should be done. Also when they play out, the battles for instance, the speed is almost instant. If I missed a setting to delay such, please enlighten me. I am always amazed at how I can be wrong when I think I am not.

The information in the form of tooltips is excellent. I love how much information this game gives. You excelled great in this area. But, every time I highlight a stack, the units show up on the right vertical pane, and I'm always wanting to hover over that pane for tooltips and\or selecting units for moving, but when I move the cursor that direction, it all goes away. I'm just used to other games having that option. John Tiller games are an example of this I believe. I'm used to units on a side pane staying there to manipulate.

My format above is not very professional, I'm sorry it's not better itemized. These are just things off the top of my head. I'm hurrying so you can see I did not post and run. Ask me anything, I will be very happy to respond, and I will try and be more prompt than last night.

When I bought this game, I thought "oh boy, I've wanted a good hex based game like this and it looks like the one." It just seems to leave me hanging with too many questions and not enough guided direction. The graphics are good, so is the sound, menus are nice, and of course the tooltips are perfect for my liking, and I put tooltips above all else in games.

I hope my rambling on helps. If not, I will go away.

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ORIGINAL: LarryP

Also when they play out, the battles for instance, the speed is almost instant. If I missed a setting to delay such, please enlighten me.

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ORIGINAL: Talon_XBMCX

I recently purchased the game and initially wasn’t a fan. The reasons:

1. The system was new and from the early reviews and discussions, it didn’t seem something I would like. I was wrong 😊

2. Then there was the monster stack issue. IMHO, this is more of a visual preference. They make the map look messy, confusing, and it can seem overwhelming. However, after playing through the tutorial a couple of times, I love the scale and the options the various units provide. As some others have mentioned, don’t change it too much (I wouldn’t change it at all) or it will completely change the game mechanics into something that already exists. As an armchair commander, I want the flexibility the system provides.

3. Supply mechanism – didn’t like it to begin with but this is the great differentiator (see #1 above). It really adds to the strategy and choosing when and where to use it can make or break the scenario.

4. We-Go – Haven’t been a fan (I’m a JT Panzer Campaign and GG WitP/WitE/WitW fan) but this adds a different dimension to the game. The best laid plans can go very wrong based on what your opponent does compared to what you expected them to do. I think a visual tweak … seeing the units move rather than jump hex to hex would be preferable. I do like the combat review, but I can see where in a larger battle that could be very tedious. Maybe a larger combat summary in addition to the review?

I could go on with some other things, but what it really boils down to is the documentation needs to be laid out better. I started with the Tutorial, but it didn’t give me enough. It left some important things out and made me frustrated. After I read the Quick Start Guide, most of my confusion and frustration were gone so playing through the Tutorial a second time made much more sense. I don’t expect the tutorial to give me everything, but without the Quick Guide explaining the sequence of play, supply, GUI interface, etc., I wasn’t grasping the tutorial. I would combine those into a single Player Guide or preface the tutorial with “READ THE QUICK START FIRST!” in big, bolded, underlined print! 😉

I have read all the manuals, still playing through the tutorial, but now have a complete appreciation for the system, the approach, the interface, and am really becoming a fan of this system. In fact, I like it a lot! I would like campaign(s), would really like to see the titles and battles expanded, and look forward to working with the Scenario Editor.
Thanks for a great game and sticking to your system design. There is a real gem here. Clean up the documentation and I think it will go a long way in helping to expand the fan base. Your tool tips and mouse overs are fantastic, but the documentation really needs some improvement. And being a developer myself, I know that is usually the last thing we do and do it to get it done! 😉 And having QA done on the documentation doesn’t hurt either. That second set of eyes that isn’t familiar with the what and the how can easily pick up on that which we inadvertently leave out.

I will be a Day-1 supporter from now on!