jwilkerson -> RE: CHS - Did allies get screwed in the air ? (10/21/2005 7:52:24 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Yamato hugger quote:
ORIGINAL: Mike Scholl Hugger. You are wrong. About everything. The "avalanche" you fear and forcast doesn't really happen HISTORICALLY until mid-1943. Things got bad earlier for the Japanese HISTORICALLY because of Midway (an unlikely event in the game). In the real world, wars which are "equally challenging for both players" are very unlikely---people rarely go to war just to test their military capabilities. Especially if they believe the other sides to be "equal". If you want equality, try chess. I dont believe for 1 second that this game "simulates" anything. Are you under the impression it does? If so, please tell me. What does it "simulate"? Mike, let me ask you a question. Why do you play this game? I play for a challenge. I believe any game should have victory conditions that either player can realistically achieve. Equally. Yes, like chess. Now am I saying that I think the Japs should have just as much chance of parading down Pennsylvania Blvd as the allies have of taking Tokyo? Of course not. Edit: now since we can do nothing to change what the victory conditions in the game are, the next best thing is to alter the mechanics of the game (production, number and types of weapons on a ship, ect) to make the victory conditions achievable to either player. But seriously, I really would like to know. Why do you play this game? While I think this thread has long out lived its purpose - and the original thread starter has said he doesn't even agree with his initial premise and is satisfied with the investigations he has subsequently done. Given the "heat" - that still seems to be here - it seems possibly appropriate to back up and set the stage - if these discussions are to continue. In the realm of computer games, there are a number of different genres .. one of those is the ( computer ) wargame. Of the companies that publish computer wargames ( and there are fewer and fewer of them each year ) .. Matrix is one .. and at least to mention another ... HPS is another ( and I guess Paradox is another ). These games differentiate themselves from other genres because they are about military history. Whereas for example MOO2-3 may seem related ( definitely some type of conflict simlulation going on ) but Moo2 is not about history, i.e. not about events that actually occured in the past. I certainly can't speak for all of us. But I do think I speak for many, that what we expect out of a "wargame" is: (1) The intial setting should contain the historical hardware, with approximately ( as near as can be done given the limits of time and resources ) the historical capabilities. (2) And from the initial point, the players should have approximately the same choices as the real leaders and commanders - though the players are free to make their own choices within these parameters. Consequences of choices should have some relationship to things that could have happened in the real world, though no one can say with any certainty what would have happened had a different choice been made. War is full of uncertainty. It is up to the designers to determine, based on their research and goals for the game, what they believe is a reasonable effect for a given choice by the players. This then would be my definition of a ( historical computer ) wargame. Give me the historical toys with their historical capabilities and then let me do with them what I will. Why do we play ? Do see if we can do better than our historical counter parts and our opponents. It is certainly easier to make a game about spaceships - because we can skimp on the "research" step ... so there must be some reason people make and play games which include a historical component. It is not to reproduce a history book. But to provide a historical stage upon which the players can then write their own "play". The question at the beginning of this thread was essentially - is the game giving us that historical stage. The objective of CHS ( if I am not mistaken ) has been to provide the historical stage - at least as far as the hardware ( tanks, ships, planes, etc. ) is concerned. The work is not done - and volunteers are more than welcome to help finish this work - but that is the driving force behind CHS ( I think ! ). It is another question whether the game system - beyond the hardware - gives us something close to real world unit capabilities - I think most of us think it does an amazing job in many many areas - but of course there are those ( and I am among them ) who feel that some areas can be improved - in terms of providing closer to real world capabilities for the units. This does not mean we want to write a history book - it just means we want the historical toys with the historical capabilities - so we can write our own "history book" as we play the game !!!
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