RE: Status Report? (Full Version)

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rhondabrwn -> RE: Status Report? (11/13/2006 5:55:25 AM)

Well, I'm really getting worried about this one now. I was positive that it would be available by CHRISTMAS 2006, but this uncharacteristic silence is very disturbing.

I sense that the whole project is in jeopardy and that I should just start buying up the rest of the HPS line instead of waiting (HPS Vicksburg is calling to me). There is a pretty active community out there modding those games and adding scenarios and custom maps, but I prefer just buying the box and not searching around for mods. I also prefer the classic major battles and not Franklin, Corinth, and so forth.

Oh well.... I can still bite the bullet and rebuild my installation of BG with the patches and 32 bit expansions (but that is a real pain to do, especially to do it for the entire series).



captskillet -> RE: Status Report? (11/16/2006 3:16:44 PM)

I sense this one is in danger also as the only official reply has been we are working on it and that was in August.

Actually rhondabrwn if u think about it Shiloh followed by Corinth and then Vicksburg kinda follows the historical sequence since the results of Shiloh led to Corinth and eventually Vicksburg..., u need to get Vicksburg its very good..... I admit that Frankiln doesn't sound too appealing as the Rebs but Osarks would be fun as I used to play ( and if I was to look hard enough could find) the old SPI Pea Ridge board game!



David Heath -> RE: Status Report? (11/17/2006 1:50:49 AM)

Hi Guys

Not in danger... I am trully waiting on one person to handle some items and we be good to go. 



captskillet -> RE: Status Report? (11/17/2006 11:06:18 PM)

[&o] [&o]



HoustonAerosFan -> RE: Status Report? (11/18/2006 11:11:14 PM)

Given that TOAW III is available, it would not make sense to market Battlefields now. The games are very similar in concept. I imagine they will wait for TOAW III sales to die off before bringing Battlefields to market.



captskillet -> RE: Status Report? (11/19/2006 2:24:42 AM)

I think we are talking about 2 different games...rhonda & I are talking about the re-release of Talonsofts old Battleground Gettysburg (Civil War) that was nothing like TOAW III!



jchastain -> RE: Status Report? (11/19/2006 7:02:15 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: captskillet

I think we are talking about 2 different games...rhonda & I are talking about the re-release of Talonsofts old Battleground Gettysburg (Civil War) that was nothing like TOAW III!


What are you talking about? They were both wargames. They both ran on computers. They both had rules that were explained in a manual. I'm surprised they even bothered to change the box art with so many similarities.



YohanTM2 -> RE: Status Report? (11/20/2006 4:29:10 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: jchastain


quote:

ORIGINAL: captskillet

I think we are talking about 2 different games...rhonda & I are talking about the re-release of Talonsofts old Battleground Gettysburg (Civil War) that was nothing like TOAW III!


What are you talking about? They were both wargames. They both ran on computers. They both had rules that were explained in a manual. I'm surprised they even bothered to change the box art with so many similarities.



DOH[:D]



rhondabrwn -> RE: Status Report? (11/20/2006 6:53:58 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: David Heath

Hi Guys

Not in danger... I am trully waiting on one person to handle some items and we be good to go.


Thank you for the update. [&o]



rhondabrwn -> RE: Status Report? (11/20/2006 6:57:31 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: captskillet

I sense this one is in danger also as the only official reply has been we are working on it and that was in August.

Actually rhondabrwn if u think about it Shiloh followed by Corinth and then Vicksburg kinda follows the historical sequence since the results of Shiloh led to Corinth and eventually Vicksburg..., u need to get Vicksburg its very good..... I admit that Frankiln doesn't sound too appealing as the Rebs but Osarks would be fun as I used to play ( and if I was to look hard enough could find) the old SPI Pea Ridge board game!


Vicksburg is on my list along with getting The Penninsula Campaign. Corinth still doesn't do much for me though... that is unless Tiller manages to link all three games (Shiloh, Corinth, and Vicksburg) into a giant extended campaign game. Now that would be something.



1NWCG -> RE: Status Report? (12/6/2006 12:57:23 AM)

A shortcoming of Penninsula, is not too many short or small battles per say, and the campaign is just the overall battle itself, but a plus is a HUGE map for maneuver and use.



Ashantai -> RE: Status Report? (12/6/2006 2:09:48 AM)

The big map is good because it allows movement. The greatest failing of the BG games is they never gave enough width for moving around the enemy.

But the lack of short battles hurts, bad.



oldspec4 -> RE: Status Report? (12/6/2006 3:43:38 AM)

I actually fired up BG Antietam yesterday w/ latest patch and the 32 bit update (while waiting for the Matrix version). I haven't played game for 5-6 years but didn't have too much trouble getting back into it. Also may get Shiloh and Bull Run back on my hard drive but have seriously been considering HPS' Vicksburg. I'm always interested in a new and fresh battle area.



Ashantai -> RE: Status Report? (12/6/2006 11:53:30 PM)

The most annoying thing about the HPS games is that you can't add your own maps and OOBs...which is one thing that the BG series excelled at.



1NWCG -> RE: Status Report? (12/9/2006 5:04:41 PM)

Actually if you sink enough time into it, you can custom edit OOB's on certain HPS Versions and the ability to add maps is there, but it takes time and a few formats, and some useful programs.  But the OOB's are easier to do.



Ashantai -> RE: Status Report? (12/12/2006 4:53:35 AM)

You mean copy and paste the contents of one file into the original? While keeping the name the same?



Luciano B -> RE: Status Report? (12/15/2006 11:52:57 AM)

...news???

One of the most interesting and valuable features of the old BG games is that they are completely liable to modification (editable oob's, addition of new maps, creation of new add-on battles) ...I hope that also the new version of the games will retain that feature.



Ashantai -> RE: Status Report? (12/20/2006 12:19:24 AM)

The bad thing about the BG games is that the map files were easy enough, but the BMP were not!



Adam Parker -> RE: Any Idea........... (1/4/2007 3:17:15 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: rhondabrwn

As to why HPS has the graphics they do? It's a design decision by Tiller to emphasize playability and visibility of units.


Hi Rhonda. Not at all. IIRC on Talonsoft's fall it denied John Tiller access to his Battleground graphics by way of copyright. Hence HPS's 2d graphics are subsequently far superior (larger) than the Battleground games and the 3d graphics are unfortunately totally different.


quote:

ORIGINAL: rhondabrwn in November

And three months later....

I think we would like to hear what the delay has been? Cleaning them up and converting to 32 bit for a reissue shouldn't have been this big a deal. If we're going to be treated to new features or improved AI, it would be nice to hear about it.

This silence is maddening.... should I just go and reinstall all my old versions and wait till 2007 for the Matrix reissue?

Or are you negotiating with HPS to offer down loadable versions of their Civil War line instead? Recognizing the similarities between the older Talonsoft versions and the more updated HPS line? Or maybe an update of the BG series games that haven't been redone by HPS to utilize the latest code from the HPS campaign series?

I'm beginning to suspect that something is going on here other than a straight reissue of a classic series.


Well, you can put that conspiracy theory completely away Rhonda! The word on that is a big "no" [:D]

I personally think its great that like me, you've collected both series but IMO seeing that the HPS Civil War series is the only series that offers non-phased play, on-map results and the huge scenario spread, there's no reason for me to go back and re-purchase Battleground all over again. The HPS series is very alive and well beyond the Talonsoft days.

That Matrix saw an opportunity to pick up the rights to an old library is great in that it offered them a tactical approach to the ACW. But truly, one has to question who the intended market of this product will be? Let's see what Matrix has to say in its PR when released. We'd be looking for phrases such as "newly featured 2007 engine" and "new improved AI" I suppose.

Adam.



btlgrd -> RE: Status Report? (1/11/2007 7:11:23 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: David Heath

Hi Guys

Not in danger... I am trully waiting on one person to handle some items and we be good to go. 


Then light a fire under the guy......it's been over a month!



rhondabrwn -> RE: Status Report? (1/13/2007 2:40:23 AM)

I can help!

Ssscrrrratch.....

Sound of match striking....



David Heath -> RE: Status Report? (1/13/2007 4:37:25 AM)

Hi Guys

We are not doing a lot of engine changes but improving the maps and OOB.  We are making the game play more like it should.  Once the games are out we will look at more core game changes.



YohanTM2 -> RE: Status Report? (1/13/2007 4:49:38 AM)

Thanks David but I sure hope the PBEM is improved as it really did not work well and that is the only way i will play it.



Luciano B -> RE: Status Report? (1/13/2007 4:39:10 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: David Heath

Hi Guys

We are not doing a lot of engine changes but improving the maps and OOB. We are making the game play more like it should. Once the games are out we will look at more core game changes.


Thanks a lot David, great news indeed.

...can you tell us something more on what's going with the first release? ....or maybe it is something top-secret...

Thanks again for your efforts to give a new life to these wonderful games.



1NWCG -> RE: Status Report? (1/19/2007 8:43:56 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Yohan

Thanks David but I sure hope the PBEM is improved as it really did not work well and that is the only way i will play it.


What was the issue you had??



1NWCG -> RE: Status Report? (1/19/2007 8:44:25 AM)

Thankd David!  Great News!



berto -> RE: Status Report? (1/21/2007 4:51:06 AM)

David Heath said:

quote:

We are not doing a lot of engine changes but improving the maps and OOB.


That's great news.  I applied the recommended unit and terrain graphics mods to HPS Vicksburg, and they increased my enjoyment of that game immensely.  I would think that raising the graphics of the Battleground Series to the BGS Chickamauga level should be relatively quick and easy (compared to adding new features and/or fixing underlying game engine problems).



rhondabrwn -> RE: Status Report? (2/13/2007 2:46:25 AM)

* BUMP *

Time for another status update?



Ashantai -> RE: Status Report? (2/13/2007 3:14:23 AM)

As far as I can see, at the moment, the two big things separating the TS and HPS games is not graphics, sound or music, but the engine and the campaign.

Those two things are what makes HPS at the moment, much better. Personally, I change the HPS games to play by phase rather than turn against the PC, but that is impractical against e-mail opponents, in my view.

If Matrix brought in a single man loss scale and added a campaign section, they'd win purely on the grounds of the graphics and multimedia. That's all I can say.

If they don't, then HPS will win because it simply is more advanced.



Rich Walker -> RE: Status Report? (2/13/2007 6:45:51 AM)

Many complain about how HPS locked the OOBs, etc... I submit to you that one reason BG games failed to produce more titles and upgrade the engine is because of the "valuable features" mentioned below.

HPS has continued to grow it's ACW library because it locked it OOBs and Maps. New engine upgrades are constantly being evaluated and implemented.

And several new titles are under developement.

I could be wrong, but I suspect that Matrix will be taking note of the BG experience and I for one will be surprised if the "new" releases will allow the same OOB freedom now experienced wth the old BG games.

How about it Matrix? Will the new releases allow for buyers to change key components?

Rich

quote:

ORIGINAL: Luciano B

...news???

One of the most interesting and valuable features of the old BG games is that they are completely liable to modification (editable oob's, addition of new maps, creation of new add-on battles) ...I hope that also the new version of the games will retain that feature.




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