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WW II North Africa
Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 11:54 am
by coach3play4
Im trying to remember a game I played as far back as the 80's on a PC or apple. It was a really good simulation of North africa - accounted for supply lots of ebb and flow . I think it was on the regiment level - a strategy game.and seeming for that time a good AI. does anyone remember the name - or could you suggest a good Grigsby type war game for North Africa? thanks
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 2:38 pm
by IslandInland
You might be thinking of these:
Vulcan and Desert Rats by CCS. Programmed by R.T. Smith.
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseek ... id=0001357
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseek ... id=0005606
They were at regiment level and did simulate supply. Each unit was rated realistically for numbers of men, guns and AFV's. Also the AI was actually very good. I wish they would be ported onto iPad or Android tablets as they would be great to play again on modern devices.
They were fantastic games. I loved them. [:)]
War In The West (Grigsby) has DLC with North African scenarios:
http://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=572
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 5:39 pm
by warspite1
warspite1
+1000
Ah the old Spectrum. Loved Desert Rats so much [:)]
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 5:58 pm
by Franciscus
I played Desert Rats for countless days as a teenager... The AI was indeed great, and I even played it "hotseat" with a neighbour, in the weekends...
Arnhem, also by RT Smith, was also a great game.
Regards
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 6:17 pm
by IslandInland
ORIGINAL: Franciscus
I played Desert Rats for countless days as a teenager... The AI was indeed great, and I even played it "hotseat" with a neighbour, in the weekends...
Arnhem, also by RT Smith, was also a great game.
Regards
Yes, Arnhem was great too. The CCS games and the MicroProse games Decision in the Desert and Crusade in Europe were my first wargames. They introduced me to the hobby and got me hooked.
In many ways I'm still looking for a modern game that is as good as Desert Rats and Decision in the Desert. War In The West is my modern replacement for Crusade in Europe and Vulcan but I'm still looking for a modern game that covers the complete war in North Africa.
I hoped there would be WITW DLC that covered Alamein and the battles before but that didn't happen. Hopefully the Decisive Campaigns team might visit the North African theatre in the future.
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:16 pm
by Rosseau
HPS has some desert titles like El Alamein, but they seemed to lack that feeling of maneuver.
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:35 pm
by demyansk
Are those games available by using an emulator program?
Do you guys remember the early 90's game of desert warfare, I think by 360 which was totally unplayable? It was modern warfare after the Gulf war
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 10:29 pm
by Sarge
ORIGINAL: oleary111
Im trying to remember a game I played as far back as the 80's on a PC or apple. It was a really good simulation of North africa - accounted for supply lots of ebb and flow . I think it was on the regiment level - a strategy game.and seeming for that time a good AI. does anyone remember the name - or could you suggest a good Grigsby type war game for North Africa? thanks
Unfortunately the only title that comes close to Gary Grigsby’s scale I can think of is War on the Southern Front.
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 12:04 am
by IslandInland
ORIGINAL: demjansk
Are those games available by using an emulator program?
They are available here:
http://www.old-games.com/download/5199/desert-rats
http://www.old-games.com/download/5679/vulcan
http://www.old-games.com/download/5060/arnhem
I have downloaded them from there as I figured I already owned them from decades ago. I've no idea as regards the legality of that website so moderators please feel free to delete these links if you wish.
They actually run very well on modern PCs. Download the Easy Setup and then just unzip and double click a Windows Batch File called "START THE GAME" and the game runs using Dosbox. The colours are a little weird but the game is perfectly playable using the arrow keys.
Manuals and instructions are available on the World of Spectrum site but I will link to them here also:
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinc ... rtRats.pdf
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinc ... Vulcan.pdf
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinc ... Arnhem.txt
You can also play Desert Rats and the other games in your browser here but I couldn't get it to work.
http://www.myabandonware.com/game/deser ... ampaign-al
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 12:53 am
by IslandInland
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 3:48 pm
by Franciscus
The memories...
Returning to the OP question, there is currently a game that covers the whole of the North Africa Campaign (1940-1943), in a monster campaign scenario and in various smaller scenarios. It's a grognard game, and requires some adaptation to a somewhat peculiar interface, but AFAIK there is no other game similar. It's a division and regiment level game (depending on the scenario) and it also includes naval and air units, and of course supply.
You get also dozens of other scenarios covering the whole WW2 in Europe.
I am talking of WWIIE by Schwerpunkt.
The link for their current site:
http://schwerpunktgames.com/
Regards
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2020 10:54 pm
by ooey
If anyone is interested I'm making a game right now based on Desert Rats/Vulcan. Currently working on the map of Poland. The game will encompass the whole war.
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2020 11:08 pm
by IslandInland
Necro?
I hope to see the fruits of your work.
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2020 11:42 pm
by bairdlander2
Is this the game you are thinking of?
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 12:02 am
by warspite1
ORIGINAL: bairdlander
Is this the game you are thinking of?
warspite1
Wow! If ever a piece of box art was designed to turn potential purchasers off. I mean seriously, a game of the North African Campaign 1941-43 and they think that would entice anyone.....
..... plus of course the game starts in 1941 so that's a bit of a downer right off.
Who knows? I never played it and maybe the actual game was great but....
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 10:21 am
by bairdlander2
Never judge a book,or in this case a PC game,by its cover.The OP mentioned supply system,so I am pretty sure this is the title he cannot remember.It is a decent game,first PC wargame that allows stacking of units and supply system.
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:10 pm
by ooey
Why would that cover turn anyone off? I remember it! It's a nice cover. I played many many hours of Desert Rats/Vulcan on the Speccy. They were the best strategy games of their time. Along with Rebelstar.
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:42 pm
by warspite1
ORIGINAL: ooey
Why would that cover turn anyone off? I remember it! It's a nice cover. I played many many hours of Desert Rats/Vulcan on the Speccy. They were the best strategy games of their time. Along with Rebelstar.
warspite1
I can only give my own opinion. It's a World War II game and there are a bunch of knights in column above a bunch of what looks like Crusader tanks? in a very long line... I don't see the reason. Sorry, just my opinion.
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 1:00 pm
by ooey
Surely being British like me you should see the significance of Knights/Crusader tanks being brought together on one cover? lol. Still, if you don't like it... I just thought it was a good cover. I mean, I still remember it after all these years.
Anyway - here is the Strategic Map of Poland for my game (incomplete) for those interested. The Map Editor is complete and I'm halfway through the Unit Editor. It will look very much like Vulcan when finished in regard to the graphics (simple but functional).
RE: WW II North Africa
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 2:25 pm
by RangerJoe
Crusader Knights in the Middle East Desert War? I thought that had happened.
Besides:
The association of St. George’s name with the exploits of mounted warriors extends through the Crusades. In 1098, St. George was credited with a mystical appearance and a resulting victory of the crusaders over the Saracens. His fame continued to spread through the ages.
One of the oldest and most noble of knightly orders, the Order of the Garter, was founded in England in the 14th Century to honor St. George. Its members were chosen by the king and had to be of “gentle birth, courageous and free from all reproach.” Annual ceremonies are conducted in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on 23 April, St. George’s Day, and the knighting ceremony contains the phrase: “By the Grace of God and St. George.”
More than 50 years ago, in 1937, Pope Pious IX declared St. George as the protector of the Italian Cavalry. St. George’s colors are red and white, and it is no coincidence that the colors of the United States Cavalry are the same.
Today, St. George still abides as the patron of mounted warriors throughout the world. The Italian Armor Force celebrates St. George’s Day with battalion ceremonies. Several years ago, the French Armor Force also adopted St. George as its patron. He is a common thread among the Armor and Cavalry forces of most of the NATO nations. His memory lives on today in the spirit of the armored knight who helps soldiers in need, who is the epitome of selfless service, and who is the archetypal mounted warrior.
https://cavalryandarmor.com/history-of-saint-george/
