AEGOD

[Twotribes]

Yup moving units, separating units , building new stacks , and in several of them the production screen is hopeless too.

[wosung]

Maybe it's

-a *foreigen* company w/o native English speakers
-area based with big counters, sometimes arranged in a flock instead of hex based with small ones in an orderly stack
-pre-20th century armies in positional warfare between vital regions instead of frontlines with Schwerpunkte?

Something like that?

Best regards

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: wosung

Maybe it's

-a *foreigen* company w/o native English speakers
-area based with big counters, sometimes arranged in a flock instead of hex based with small ones in an orderly stack
-pre-20th century armies in positional warfare between vital regions instead of frontlines with Schwerpunkte?

Something like that? ...

Yes, AGEOD is French and there are no hexes, just regions that are color-coded with informational filters.

[Rosseau]

If it was me, I'd start with Alea Jacta Est/Birth of Rome series. The DLC's are cheap and feature some very manageable scenarios. The maps and counters are indeed beautiful, and the UI is somehow better than the old Civil War and Nappy games. Have fun!

[JWW]

I've never found the AGEOD interface difficult, and I enjoy the AGE system and the games, most of them. I drew the line at PON. It was simply too complex and slow for my tastes and maybe stretched the engine too far. I think the idea as in for example AJE/BOR of armies operating in space without continuous lines and with the possibilities of surprises every turn is quite realistic. What I sense is more a matter of personal preference or tastes than anything else, though I think the AGEOD games are different and require getting used to. But that is just my opinion.

[Gilmer]

I really like their games and have every one, except some additions to Alecta Jacta Est. The one issue that keeps me from playing them constantly is the supply issue. Yes, I get it is ground breaking the way they do it, or some such, but I just cannot get my arms around it. I do everything all the AARs and do everything that people tell you to do and yet, I still find armies that SHOULD be supplied, almost completely out of supply. I've played plenty of wargames in my time and have never had these types of issues and there have been all kinds of supply mechanics.

If they had a simplified supply system that you could check a box to use instead of the complicated one, then I'd be 100% on their games, meaning yes, I have 100%, but I don't play them constantly. As it is, I'm about 75% and 75% doesn't make me play every night.

If there is going to be a grognard system of supply, let us fill up wagons with a button that says "Load Supply" then move it in however many turns it takes and then when we get there, we can do "unload supply". That way I know if my army is going to have suppy or not in a remote area that has depots but for some reason cannot get any supply through.

Regardless, I'll get AACW2, because of them all I like ACW the most and Rise of Prussia second. But Rise of Prussia is the one I really have issues on supply, so I rarely crank it up.

Also, I'll say you can't beat the guys at Ageod for taking care of their customers. They're great at that. Great interaction with them and I respect them all and like to support them.

[Gilmer]

ORIGINAL: JW

I've never found the AGEOD interface difficult, and I enjoy the AGE system and the games, most of them. I drew the line at PON. It was simply too complex and slow for my tastes and maybe stretched the engine too far. I think the idea as in for example AJE/BOR of armies operating in space without continuous lines and with the possibilities of surprises every turn is quite realistic. What I sense is more a matter of personal preference or tastes than anything else, though I think the AGEOD games are different and require getting used to. But that is just my opinion.

It's not really a wargame which is why it has fallen a little short of what we all hoped. Too many turns where all you do is look at the level of money and supply, shrug, then click next turn again.

And for the people that have slow turns, I have only experienced slow turns (30 seconds to a minute) on PoN. And for many of the turns just shrugging and clicking next turn, that becomes a little monotonous.

[rodney727]

It's funny how some people mock themselves with their own ignorance . Nuff said.

ORIGINAL: vonRocko

Great games! Just not for the ipod crowd. The games require thought and planning.

[rodney727]

Peace.

[vonRocko]

It's a shame you wussed out on the game challenge you issued me rogo, I would've enjoyed giving you a "digital" thrashing.[;)]

[JWW]

[/quote]

It's not really a wargame which is why it has fallen a little short of what we all hoped. Too many turns where all you do is look at the level of money and supply, shrug, then click next turn again.

And for the people that have slow turns, I have only experienced slow turns (30 seconds to a minute) on PoN. And for many of the turns just shrugging and clicking next turn, that becomes a little monotonous.
[/quote]

That is really what I meant by slow, not the slow turns, but what to me seems slow, tedious play.

[dougo33]

ORIGINAL: JW

I've never found the AGEOD interface difficult, and I enjoy the AGE system and the games, most of them. I drew the line at PON. It was simply too complex and slow for my tastes and maybe stretched the engine too far. I think the idea as in for example AJE/BOR of armies operating in space without continuous lines and with the possibilities of surprises every turn is quite realistic. What I sense is more a matter of personal preference or tastes than anything else, though I think the AGEOD games are different and require getting used to. But that is just my opinion.

I really tried to like PoN since I am a fan of Victoria 2 and that era. The game is very complex, but is manageable. It took me a few games to wrap my head around the game, but I was really liking it. I just hated how the game processing slowed down to a crawl the deeper you got into it. Turns took over 5 minutes to process, which I found ridiculous. When turns take that long to process, you tend to lose the flow of a game.

I also agree with the observation by others that the interface needs work in all their games. It takes a while to get used to with all the menus and submenus.

Just my 2 cents [:)]

[rodney727]

Just waiting for the iPad version! Then it's on faster than the French army retreated in 1940.

ORIGINAL: vonRocko

It's a shame you wussed out on the game challenge you issued me rogo, I would've enjoyed giving you a "digital" thrashing.[;)]

[KG Erwin]

It took me a couple of years to get into AGEOD's gaming system, but now BOA2 is one of my favorites. I stil think that the game map is one of the best, and it's a rare thing for me to be able to play out a wargame over the area in which I presently live. In the 1750s West Virginia was Indian country, and with the mountains and forestry, is primarily left alone. Funny how some things never change , except that the red Indians have been replaced by redneck whites. [:D]

Seriously, though, my favorite campaign scenario of BOA2 is "For a Few Acres of Snow", which is the entire French & Indian War (1755-1763). It still seems strange that young George Washington's greatest ambition at the time was to become a British officer. Even then, however, the toughest part of the British commanders' jobs was to handle the American colonial troops and their Indian allies. It was definitely an uneasy alliance. The future creation of the USA was preordained after this war. It's a fascinating scenario to play out.

[JWW]

One "problem" with AGEOD games is that the play is so different from most other wargames. I'm not talking about PON, but the other less complex games. I said above I think PON is too complex and tedious, but then I don't like any really complex grognard style game, and PON is the grognard AGEOD game. I'm not talking about the interface. I'm talking about the feeling that you have to get in and move pieces toward some immediate goal and that combat should occur immediately and regularly and repeatedly. Patience is a virtue in these games. Sometimes the best plan for a turn is to do nothing. Sometimes you spend several turns setting up something, and then it doesn't happen because the damned AI doesn't cooperate with your plans. The WEGO aspect of the game also takes some getting used to. In fact you can almost call the games -- sorry Matrix and AGEOD, because this might not be how you want to describe it -- real time programmed pause. You set your plan for a turn, and then everyone moves and things happen. There is also lots of space and usually few units, though that varies depending on the game. So your decisions regarding one or two units after 15 or 20 turns might decide the entire game. I find that this is very realistic in any pre-modern (without continuous lines) situation. But I repeat that this is just my opinion, and it is just a matter of taste. I find some of Matrix's most popular games, based on the forum, to be boring. I know they are good, but I still don't enjoy them. For example, the Panzer Corps series and Scourge of War series. I just don't enjoy them. I would also have to add AGEOD's Civil War game on reflection. I prefer Gary Grisby's War Between the States, which I think is a great game, but apparently wasn't as popular as the AGEOD game and Forge of Freedom. I know I'm rambling, but back to my first point, you have to have patience if you play an AGEOD game and visualize the map and the overall situation and what the enemy might be planning to do. I think the system overall is excellent.

[Rtwfreak]

ORIGINAL: Twotribes

Never could get used to their interface.

Same here or the combat results screen.

[sushidog]

The unit manipulation is fiddly. But the maps drive me crazy. What some posters find beautiful, I find just too colourful. Too much colour, not enough easy to recognize information.

[aaatoysandmore]

I'm in the same boat as the OP. I own just about all of them too but I just can't get into the playstyle. I've gotten to used to SPWAW and Combat Mission and Panzer Command and Norbsofts Civilwar games and Command Ops. Since they won't update SPWAW it's losing ground as the icons aren't as exciting as they once were. I like Panzer Corp icons but I don't like the game.
If any games are dry and boring to me it's the Ageod games. I really dislike the combat results.

[DanSez]

I prefer WEGO games over IGOUG as it adds a certain level of surprise in the move and attack.

Revolutions Under Siege is a very interesting game. I have played many hours and enjoyed it greatly.

I agree that BOA2 is a good game to learn AGEOD's supply/move/battle system.
Their PBEM system is easy to implement but lacks security. That hasn't been a problem in my experience so far but it is a complaint I have heard mentioned.

I wish them all the best with their new Great War game.

[KG Erwin]

To really appreciate AGEOD's game system (I'm speaking specifically of BOA2), one needs to read a book about the conditions the real commanders had to fight under. My number one choice for the French & Indian War is Fred Anderson's magnificent "Crucible of War". So, a bit of study and pre-preparation is absolutely necessary. Also, read the game manual cover to cover. Like I said earlier, it took me a few years to get comfortable with the system, but it's been time well-spent.

Birth of America 2 is a great game with an excellent AI.