I'm SO confused

[skyhawk1]

Gidday all,

I used to play HARPOON on my trusty, super dooper, all singing, all dancing AMIGA 500 and I loved it to death. Some scenario's would literally take days and days to complete.[:D] Lockups were frequent.[:@] Hours went by in what seemed like minutes (real hours that is).[8D]

I am now retired and have wondered what happened to HARPOON with the vast (and fast) improvements and advances in PC's and O/S's - after finally doing a GOOGLE search of Larry Bond and going to his site I managed to follow the links to this site.[:)]

Imagine my excitement when I realised that HARPOON is actually available for today's PC's and Windows XP - then imagine my disappointment when I saw all the bru-ha-ha about everything being "buggie" since "version 6" but that "Version 9" is "better" but still with "issues" that will be addressed (apparently). The forums on this subject almost sounds like kids arguing about who's marbles are the best.[:(]

I don't care about ANY of this!!![8|]

I just want to play HARPOON again!!![&o]

So what is true? Are things as bad as is made out? Is H3 now "fixed"? Was it ever broken? Is the Commander's Edition less "buggie" than H3? What does "buggie" actually mean anyway?

So what do I do??? DO I buy H3 or 'Commander's Edition'??? Do I buy both???[&:]

Some fair dinkum advice without agenda's (or whatever the plural of agenda is) please.................

My Credit Card is poised and I await the good advice I know is sure to come....................

[rich12545]

I think you'd be happier with the commander's edition.  It's just like the old harpoon but better.  I have this one but haven't played it much because of all the "issues."  Just not worth getting aggravated in my old age.  So I bought ce recently.

[FreekS]

I've played all versions of Harpoon, and while I've discovered lots of bugs; I am also of the opinion that Harpoon ANW 3.9.2 is well playable. There is a steep learning curve for new players (which you ar not); but in general well-built scenarios are well playable and multiplayer is great - if you have the time and find a partner who has time too.
 
I hear good things about commander edition, the follow-on from classic, but don't play it myself strictly because I dedicate what little time I have to ANW.
 
Regards, Freek
 

[cuthbo2001]

Ah the mighty amiga. I too started playing harpoon on the amiga. I would echo what has already been said. harpoon commander edition will be most familiar to you and indeed plays similarly to harpoon classic on the old amiga. However with the latest patches you get to make your own geographical area for a battleset. I personally play more of harpoon 3, which is very different in game play from HCCE. However a lot of people do have both and delve into each.

[houseband]

Hi Skyhawk,

I have both versions and I played my first Harpoon on PC with Floppy Disk 5,25" [:D]

I would suggest you play Commanders Edition because Harpoon3 is really, really different. It has interesting features and I like the realism very much but I prefer also Commanders Edition. The gameplay is just like in the "old" Harpoon-Version and it is better (in my opinion).

Nevertheless Harpoon3 is an absolutely great game. Don't think about the arguing "kids". The game IS good, and very, very realistic.

Unfortunately - you have to decide by yourself.

Cheers

Thomas

[Vincenzo_Beretta]

If your memories are from the old "Harpoon" by Three-Sixty, by all means get the Harpoon Classic Commander Edition. It is the same game, UNSPEAKABILY improved (and still being improved as we speak) with tons and tons of scenarios (including all the classic ones, but also a available lot made by the community - and I mean a lot) and the old interface we all came to love (improved and expanded).

For more info look also at this site: www.harpgamer.com - which is run by the current developers of Harpoon Classic.

ANW is buggy, yes, but a lot of work done by the community via mods and third-party DBs is getting around that, while Matrix has finally initiated a serious debugging initiative. It is more complex and slightly more tactical than HCCE - but it is a very good game and MP adds a new dimension to it: after playing against another human it is difficult to play againt against the AI [:)]

If you have limited resources, then go for Harpoon Classic Commander Edition first (they are adding new theaters, BTW, like South America and the Falklands, the Caribbeans and the WestPac) and then ANW. If you have the money, and you like/love modern naval warfare, then, by all means, buy them both.

[ruixilyy]

I'm fairly new to "Harpoon" series and I have been playing H3ANW since this February, and HCE since this March. But as a newbie, I don't think it is very difficult to play  H3ANW or HCE. In fact, these two games are unquestionably great, and with the improvement made by this community, these two games are becoming more and more playable and perfect. So I suggest you buying both of them.

[Anonymous]

Hello skyhawk1,

ORIGINAL: skyhawk1

Gidday all,

I used to play HARPOON on my trusty, super dooper, all singing, all dancing AMIGA 500 and I loved it to death. Some scenario's would literally take days and days to complete.[:D] Lockups were frequent.[:@] Hours went by in what seemed like minutes (real hours that is).[8D]

[...]

So what is true? Are things as bad as is made out? Is H3 now "fixed"? Was it ever broken? Is the Commander's Edition less "buggie" than H3? What does "buggie" actually mean anyway?

So what do I do??? DO I buy H3 or 'Commander's Edition'??? Do I buy both???[&:]

I have been playing all versions of Computer Harpoon since 1991, starting with Harpoon 1 for DOS. Both versions - the classic one and the H3 ANW (based on the DOS ancestor Harpoon 2) - have undergone massive development.

My recommendation is to buy both of them. Find out for yourself about the quality, but don´t be afraid - you´ll have a lot of fun IMO.

Best Regards,
Ralf

[Hertston]

ORIGINAL: rich12545

I think you'd be happier with the commander's edition. 

Unless multiplayer is an issue, so do I. I enjoy it much more of the two. But as others have said, if you are a Harpoon fan and the budget isn't too tight, buy both.

As far as the "which version of Harpoon 3 is best bru-ha-ha" is concerned I think you've come in just as that enters its final death throws, so no need to worry. 3.9 (Matrix) is the way forward. I'm really hoping a genuine community of 'Pooners' new to the games with the Matrix versions can get established now, and integrate with the veterans. I, and I suspect others, were totally put off the ACW 'scene' by the childish antics of both 'sides' (no offence). There was a huge opportunity to welcome people aboard and build a community when ACW was released by Matrix that was totally lost as folks couldn't see further than the ends of their noses, with the notable exception of Herman Hum as I recall.

[Dimitris]

You recall wrong.

And I'll leave it at that.

[Shemar]

I came back to Harpoon after many many years also. I play the ANW and I had no problem whatsoever learning to play it. I do not have HCE so I can't make a fair comparison, but based on what others often say ANW is more realistic and has the capability of multi-player but has a more demanding user interface and is more buggy.
 
Having said that, most of the bugs are things a casual player would not even notice. With a decent stable computer and frequent saves you will be able to play without any major issues. Both the developers and many community members are working hard to minimize the bugs, so it is a good time to be part of the Harpoon community.  [:)]

[Dagooz]

with the notable exception of Herman Hum as I recall.

Be careful what you say. You almost made me choke on my food there!

Dunno what ACW is but your hopes for a fresh start and a new large community are probably wishful thinking. The reason for this is the time passed since release and to the date the game will play properly, if ever.

[Hertston]

ORIGINAL: Sunburn

You recall wrong.

Having just reviewed the posts Herman made in the first few weeks after release I really don't think so. Maybe Herman's handle is just easy to remember. I apologise if if I have overlooked yourself or anybody else, particularly if your newb-guiding efforts were concentrated elsewhere (such as Harpoon HQ, presumably).

And I'll leave it at that.

Likewise.

[Vincenzo_Beretta]

ORIGINAL: Hertston
Having just reviewed the posts Herman made in the first few weeks after release I really don't think so. Maybe Herman's handle is just easy to remember. I apologise if if I have overlooked yourself or anybody else, particularly if your newb-guiding efforts were concentrated elsewhere (such as Harpoon HQ, presumably).

HarpoonHQ doesn't really "support" Matrix's version of Harpoon (ANW)
http://www.harpoonhq.com/?page_id=15

Having said that, on that site you can find scenarios working (more or less) under ANW. True, ANW is buggy, as the current "debugging initiative" shows (while, at the same time, showing that the developers are finally trying to get things together with the help of the community [:)]). However, there are ways to go around the most annoying bugs via third party mods (like the third-party DBs). Not every third party DB' maintainer, however, does this (for various reasons).

Dunno if you have already given a spin to it, but Herman's Players Db is usually updated after every patch so to give the best experience possibile using workarounds for the bugs - and it is exp. good for multiplayer. [:)]

[skyhawk1]

Many thanks for the excellent advice and feed back.
 
I made a decision and bought The Commander's Edition and it looks like it's just what I wanted.
 
I notice that old "disagreements" are surfacing which is exactly what I DIDN'T want here so I 'll say again - -  - - - - - thanks one and all for the advice and suggest that, seeing as this topic has fulfilled it's mission it be locked/closed to prevent it becoming another (unnessesary) "battleground".
 
I'm off to make WAR now.