Great game - suggestions for improvement

Commander - The Great War is the latest release in the popular and playable Commander series of historical strategy games. Gamers will enjoy a huge hex based campaign map that stretches from the USA in the west, Africa and Arabia to the south, Scandinavia to the north and the Urals to the east on a new engine that is more efficient and fully supports widescreen resolutions.
Commander – The Great War features a Grand Campaign covering the whole of World War I from the invasion of Belgium on August 5, 1914 to the Armistice on the 11th of November 1918 in addition to 16 different unit types including Infantry, Cavalry, Armoured Cars and Tanks, Artillery, Railroad Guns and Armoured Trains and more!

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FOARP
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Great game - suggestions for improvement

Post by FOARP »

Posted this over on the Slitherine forum but doesn't seem like there's many people on that forum (BTW - what's with having three separate forums discussing this game?) so I thought I'd post it here as well -

First off: congratulations to the Lordz development team on an absolutely awesome game. For ages I've been hoping that someone would develop a decent World War One game - one with the kind of open-ended game play that you see in Paradox's Hearts Of Iron, for example, and this game delivers that.

Secondly, having played around with the game a bit, I've got some ideas for improving the game that I hope might be taken into consideration:

1. Like a lot of people, I've managed to work out how to ensure an early victory for either side, I've taken to declaring war on Spain/the Netherlands (a reverse Schlieffen plan is a beauty to behold) in order to even things up a bit and add an extra theatre to the war. This makes for a decent alt-history challenge, and I'd like to see some way of making the game throw up these kinds of challenges without having to rig it myself. This could be done through the use of diplomatic influence points given for each friendly capital held to bring some countries - but not ultra-neutral countries like Switzerland - into your alliance or something. This would greatly add to re-play value.

2. Reduce the home port bonus range. ATM it's possible for the Austrians, for example, to dominate the Adriatic based simply on holding Split. Really, if this bonus is just a reflection of the advantages given by being able to lay minefields around home ports and so-forth, it should only be 1 hex.

3. Make air units sea-transportable. American air units should arrive in Europe.

4. Great Britain should send support to the Spanish if they are at war with Germany after a German conquest of France, but currently doesn't.

5. Great Britain shouldn't pile up so many units in Egypt - ATM there are so many it can't even move the artillery close enough to the Turkish lines in Sinai.

6. Independence events for at least Ireland, Poland, and the Ukraine, similar to that for Finland - however these states should not be neutral but should align with the Central powers.

7. The game ends too early - it should run until the start of 1920 at least, and preferably until the start of 1921. As it is there isn't time to research e.g. railway guns from a 1914 game-start, or enough time to invade the USA after conquering Spain and the UK.

8. Ports should give full supply to units belonging to the port-owner. As it is amphibious operations in areas without capital cities (e.g., North Africa, Ireland, any of the smaller islands) suffer from half supply.

9. Railway guns should be easier to research - like I said, from a 1914 game start with one research lab for artillery you should have them by 1918 but ATM you don't.

10. Consider making Canada a separate country - yes it had dominion status and not full independence, and the Canadian corps fought under British command, but it just feels wrong to have the British flag flying over Ottawa at that time.

11. Enemy capitals should not give full supply. If I've managed to cut off the entire German army in Belgium, I should not have to then fight them as if they were in full supply simply because they are holding Brussels!
American Front: a Work-in-progress CSA v USA Turtledove mod for SC:WW1 can be seen here.
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Rasputitsa
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RE: Great game - suggestions for improvement

Post by Rasputitsa »

ORIGINAL: FOARP

3. Make air units sea-transportable. American air units should arrive in Europe.

American air units were equipped with French and British aircraft from existing production lines, only the personnel travelled from the US.
"In politics stupidity is not a handicap" - Napoleon

“A people which is able to say everything becomes able to do everything” - Napoleon

“Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress" - Napoleon
pat.casey
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RE: Great game - suggestions for improvement

Post by pat.casey »

ORIGINAL: Rasputitsa

ORIGINAL: FOARP

3. Make air units sea-transportable. American air units should arrive in Europe.

American air units were equipped with French and British aircraft from existing production lines, only the personnel travelled from the US.

Doesn't mean there's anything intrinsic in aircraft that you can't take them apart, put them in crates, and ship them across the ocean.

The british, for example, managed to get aircraft into egypt, and its not like they used native Egyptian production after shipping the pilots out :).

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Rasputitsa
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RE: Great game - suggestions for improvement

Post by Rasputitsa »

ORIGINAL: pat.casey
ORIGINAL: Rasputitsa
ORIGINAL: FOARP
3. Make air units sea-transportable. American air units should arrive in Europe.
American air units were equipped with French and British aircraft from existing production lines, only the personnel travelled from the US.
Doesn't mean there's anything intrinsic in aircraft that you can't take them apart, put them in crates, and ship them across the ocean.

The british, for example, managed to get aircraft into egypt, and its not like they used native Egyptian production after shipping the pilots out :).

All very true, I suppose it's just a feeling that Pershing would never have allowed it, working towards the concentration of American units, deployed on the primary Front, under American command, but this is a game where the player makes the decisions, so comments withdrawn. [:)]
"In politics stupidity is not a handicap" - Napoleon

“A people which is able to say everything becomes able to do everything” - Napoleon

“Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress" - Napoleon
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