Speculation on the next game in the series?

[Duedman]

The SC platform: the AI, scale, game-play mechanics (events, damage calcs, movement, supply, attrition etc), are so spot on and refined I think all that is needed to make this game in a league of its own forever are maps made more detailed and virtual 3-d much like, HoI, and improved and more detailed 3-d units, such as Panzer Corps II.

pleeaaaaase no PCII style 3D
That game's a blurry mess.
Also it was incredibly ressource hungry because TBS programmers dont seem to have lots of XP with 3D.
So smaller maps we got

[BillRunacre]

Franco-Prussian and Russo-Japanese have never been made by anyone yet, hence i asked for that.

We did include an 1870 Franco-Prussian War campaign in our WWI Breakthrough expansion about ten years ago, using our previous engine, and although it doesn't say it on the website, it is included in this package:

https://www.matrixgames.com/game/strate ... lassic-wwi

[OldCrowBalthazor]

The SC platform: the AI, scale, game-play mechanics (events, damage calcs, movement, supply, attrition etc), are so spot on and refined I think all that is needed to make this game in a league of its own forever are maps made more detailed and virtual 3-d much like, HoI, and improved and more detailed 3-d units, such as Panzer Corps II.

pleeaaaaase no PCII style 3D
That game's a blurry mess.
Also it was incredibly ressource hungry because TBS programmers dont seem to have lots of XP with 3D.
So smaller maps we got

Agree here with Duedman bigtime! That game is goofy to look at. Its like moving tabletop figurines on a hex map which I never got. I have played massive tabletop battles with hand painted figurines for years btw and hex and counter wargames. Its like mixing wine with beer man if you combine the two.
There rant over...or is it haha!

[shri]

Franco-Prussian and Russo-Japanese have never been made by anyone yet, hence i asked for that.

We did include an 1870 Franco-Prussian War campaign in our WWI Breakthrough expansion about ten years ago, using our previous engine, and although it doesn't say it on the website, it is included in this package:

https://www.matrixgames.com/game/strate ... lassic-wwi

Ah, my bad, will definitely check it out.

[elxaime]

Now that Strategic Command: American Civil War is out, here are my two cents on what may be coming next and what my own personal wish list would be. All the below speculation proceeds from the assumption that SC series will remain two-player games. Here goes:

What may be next:

Strategic Command: Napoleonic Wars: The designer of ACW also happens to be someone who has worked on a Napoleonic mod. It would surprise me if work wasn't already underway on this title. It would cover 1805-1815, with one player as France/French Allied and one as British Empire/British Allied/Coalition.

Strategic Command: English Civil War. Cavaliers and Roundheads.

My wish list:

Strategic Command: A Mighty Fortress: this title would simulate the Wars of Reformation, 1517-1555. The two sides would be Protestant/Allied and Catholic/Allied, of course.

Strategic Command: Thirty Years War. Another Protestant/Catholic battle, set a century later.

Strategic Command: Age of Marlborough. The War of Spanish Succession. Allied versus Bourbon.

Strategic Command: War in Vietnam 1965-1975. I actually think they could do this with the engine they have, through creative use of scripting, diplomacy rules, partisans and airpower.

[Unfortunate Son]

The next Strategic Command adventure:

After playing SC-ACW this could definitely be transformed into Napoleon's precarious adventures and counters?!

[Mithrilotter]

With the excellent job that Ryan did on the American Civil War, I would love to see a game by him on the American Revolution.

I would also like to see a game on the World War II Pacific Theater.

[OldCrowBalthazor]

With the excellent job that Ryan did on the American Civil War, I would love to see a game by him on the American Revolution.

I would also like to see a game on the World War II Pacific Theater.

+1 on the American Revolution

There's an excellent mod already for the Pacific War in the mod section of WaW: Elessar's War in the Pacific.
It's MP only though because naval scripting on that giant map would be mind-boggling to do.

[getsome123]

For me a Strategic command 3/4 based in the pacific, say 1935- 1947.

[SittingDuck]

Wars of Napoleon, for sure. Huge scale, though.

[Captjohn757]

Next game . . . World War 2 in the Pacific, on the same scale as WW2 Europe, with, perhaps, the possibility of linking the two to form an even grander WWII World at War. There's also Korea, Vietnam, the Crusades, Napoleon and the otherwise endless list of European skirmishes.

[OxfordGuy3]

Wars of Napoleon, for sure. Huge scale, though.

Hope so! That's the one I'd be most interested in, though think the map scope should be limited to either just Europe, North Africa and the Levant, or possibly to also include the eastern North American seaboard and Carribbean. Does not need to include sub-saharan Africa, South America nor Asia proper IMHO. The scale needs to be large enough to allow plenty of manoeuvre. The tricky bit here will be refining the diplomatic system to better reflect the changing coalitions and appropriate, though limited, technical progression.

[CSSS]

Such a diverse, long growing, many countries, faction. and evolution of state and scale!
...Or the third years war?

[John B.]

Since we're dreaming how about the first and second Punic Wars. You have infantry, cavalry, siege machines (i.e. artillery), diplomacy, elephants, leaders, mines, and naval units. Not much in the way of research except for tactics.

[TomBombadil711]

SC WWIII

[toni112007]

Pacific war but naval combat would have to be changed drastically. I am still waiting for someone to make something as great as old P.T.O II.

[Numdydar]

I would be thrilled with just a World at War 2 with a bigger map Or even a DLC that had one.

[varsovie]

So I'm late in the ballpark and I offer more wishes than speculation, but here is my choice of conflicts and the reasoning behind.

First of all the SC engine and ruleset is well suited to many kind of war, but I do not think it would be good in a guerilla or small scall warfare (like vietnam or part of russia revolution or border skirmish).

A war with too few kind of units would work but lack options, so at a big scale, pre-gunpowder wars (or even pre-fligth) seems less interesting. (So maybe Napoleon era, it was a totalwar, but not much earlier)

Too short a war, while interresting in secondary scenario, doesn't give enough depth to the diplo/tech/prod metagame. (Sorry Israel, you finish your wars way too fast!)

Finally I much prefer the WW1 games (haven't tried American revolution yet), this preference come from many factors :
- a less well known conflict, making it one of the few game covering it.
- a more "balanced" conflict than WW2 in which the balance of force isn't so extreme and swings back and forth a lot more in the different theaters. A more stallmaty ending makes it more fun for both players to get the game going to the end.
- trench warfare makes the sequentiallity of the combat engine more satisfying to resolve than "surround and crush".
- budding and rarer special units (zepplin/tanks...) making them memorable
- enough room for some alt-hiatorical decisions and long-term strategies
- the German East Africa campaign ❤ (in classic breakthrough)


Therefore I see the Koeran war and the Iran-Irak war as good candidate for a full fledged campaign.

Korean war www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
A conflict that had a few back and forth as both side escalated it... to a standstill.
Interesting battlefield with narrow supply lanes and mountainous terrain. Asymetric theater (better armed north, then US air domination/interdiction, Chineese surprise push back, etc. Nice alt-history event possible (Taiwan or USSR ground involvement). Continuous buildup of forces, with USSR plane donation, Chinese army rotation, US unpreparedness, UN (and NATO) level of commitnent varying by country.
TBH the campaign could end early 52 instead of 53, but it is a war that deserves its own wargame.

Iran-Irak war www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Iraq_War
If you do not know of this war, just check the "belligerent" entry in the Wikipedia article. Anyone else sees the US and China on BOTH side? The political cesspool of the middle east post Iranian revolution, religion, petroleum, WW1 trench warfare complete with chemical attacks, human wave bayonet charges and helicopters. Nearly 8 years of war, most of them with well matched forces, should offer plenty of content for the players.
The same map could be used for the US invasion of Iraq or ISIS stat war.

*Both those wars only have a single front/theater, but have ground, air and few sea elements, making it easier for the AI since it is most lackluster in naval warfare and the grand strategic picture.


Many other conflicts could work well with the SC engine, I am thinking of a few south American and African ones. Although my preference would be for the above mentioned Korea and Iran-Iraq. As for the current Ukrain War, lets hope it ends soon, both to reduce population suffering and to permit enough data gathering for a SC re-enactment.
But who knows someday we might have :
SC: Triple Alliance War www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraguayan_War
SC: African World War www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Congo_War
SC: Great Emu War www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War


Also here my wishlist for a fan Mod or official extra-Senario for current SC games.

ACW : Seriously, one of the most massive and in-depth mod of wargaming is based on Turtledove's alt-history, basically WW1 with a British backed Confederate (could've happened IRL if it wasn't Lincoln politico-ninja-ing his way out of a union captain attacking a british-flagged diplomatic vessel) surviving the civil war and joining the entente in WW1 against the central backed Union, and Canada, Mexico and Mormons thrown into the mix.
www.matrixgames.com/forums/viewtopic.ph ... 3&t=111646
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Victory#Great_War

WaW : Alt history starts in 44 just before overlord, with a nuke bombing of Berlin after accelerated atomic bomb development which strengthens German resolve and allows them usr of uranium dust as area of effect, bogging down operation overlord.
(Could also add moral boost to Japan and use of bio-chem warfare to give Axis even more standing power)
www.locusmag.com/2017/06/paul-di-filipp ... y-benford/

WiE : A 45-46 not-so-cold war, which could be a nice asymmetric match-up. How would the war weary USSR fare without lend-lease to resist the capitalist aggressors throughout re-re-re-devastated Europe. How would the remnants of the Wehrmacht and Tito reacts?
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Unthinkable

WW1 : Campaign based on the great martian war (would probably need a rework of the engine to allow different rules for the Martians, for exemple supply)
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Martian_War_1913–1917

All : A scantily clad female soldiers visual mod called SC:SC

[BillRunacre]

Thanks for this in depth view at potential releases, it's well thought out and you never know... plus keep an eye out for something coming fairly soon as it might tick one of your boxes.

[varsovie]

plus keep an eye out for something coming fairly soon as it might tick one of your boxes.

If you were talking about the 1870 franco-prussian war, I must admit it was my favorite "operationnal" campaign, although the only box it really ticks is the "beat the crap out of the french".

Well you've at least forced me to finally install ACW.

Now, if only the devs could spend more time developing the game rather than wasting it on inconsequential things like fan service on the forums or sleep...