Is it worth of ordering

sgt. rokka · Post by **sgt. rokka** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 1:53 am

I've played the long WWII campaign for couple of months and now I'm bored with the same kind of missions following each other. Now I have a question and I want you to answer it. Is this new Mega Campaign good and worth of 25$ plus shipment to Finland.

Rick Borovec · Post by **Rick Borovec** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 2:11 am

Hard to say since most of us have yet to play it. However I bet my $20.00 that it is and will be the best yet. I'd be ordering.

Grimm · Post by **Grimm** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 2:18 am

There used to be a "mega-campaign" available for the original Steel Panthers. That campaign did a better job of linking the scenarios together than the current long campaign does. To me, the long campaign is little more than a string of unrelated battles. I think the new campaign will have more of a "story" to it. If you are unsure, just wait a couple of weeks and check back. Once they start to ship the CDs I'm sure everyone will be lighting up the boards with their thoughts and AARs!

Mikimoto · Post by **Mikimoto** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 2:48 am

Hello.
I give three or four reasons to you:
1. It's from Matrix.
2. It's designed (the MC) by Mr. Wilder.
3. If Matrix sells lots of CDs, they will write new games.
4. We must have faith. The guys at Matrix say this is a new gaming experience...

Greg McCarty · Post by **Greg McCarty** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 3:03 am

Originally posted by Mikimoto:
Hello.
I give three or four reasons to you:
1. It's from Matrix.
2. It's designed (the MC) by Mr. Wilder.
3. If Matrix sells lots of CDs, they will write new games.
4. We must have faith. The guys at Matrix say this is a new gaming experience...

Like the man said....

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 4:35 am

Well, I remember the original Mega Campaign from Novastar, and in my personal opinion, it's worth every bit. Especially if this version is going to be better.
The old camapign kept me involved for several nights, and literally on the edge of my seat everytime I played.
And,if it's like before, you could play the same battle twice, and face different forces or have them situated differently.
(Could one of the playtesters or programers let us know if this is still the case?)
That's just one of the "perks" that I remember. Really though, I don't think you'll be dissappointed.

Mark Ezra · Post by **Mark Ezra** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 5:25 am

If it weren't Matrix, if it weren't to create the new games, if Bill W....well..he does have to be in the mix....I'd buy it I had the honor and pleasure of testing a few of the scen...so grab an extra canteen and pick up a pair goggles...it's gonna be a hot, dusty summer!

Neil Stalker · Post by **Neil Stalker** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 7:07 am

Phil, Basically the same as you outlined - the guy who wrote the Novastar MC also did the code on this. When the scenarios were designed we did a base one and then a number of versions of it. I think you will find it is definitely worth the money.

Wild Bill · Post by **Wild Bill** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 8:22 am

In a word, yes!

True, I designed and coordinated the work on this first Mega Campaign - North Africa - 1941.

Is it worth it?

Yes!

With 132 scenarios, over 80 which are completely different, dozens of good articles on the desert, pictures, awards, some good replay value, and a planned progression through all the major historical battles in North Africa - 1941, by all means,

YES!

With the inclusion of a complete SPWAW 5.01 (FREE!)with all scenarios, tools,campaigns, and other freebies ...enough to keep you busy for a long, long time, I am forced to say,

YES!

To enjoy the handiwork of a dozen different scenario designers, the testing by over 25 hard gore wargame testers, what else can I tell you but,

YES!

Will you be disappointed if you don't buy it?

Once again, same answer...YES!

Wild Bill

Wild Bill · Post by **Wild Bill** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 9:25 am

Er, ... Yes, in case you missed it

WB

Don · Post by **Don** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 9:51 am

the testing by over 25 hard gore wargame testers

Yep, that describes Steve and the testers pretty well! :rolleyes:

Tombstone · Post by **Tombstone** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 11:00 am

To be perfectly honest, if someone I trusted completely, told me it sucked and that there was no way I'd enjoy it I'd still buy the damn thing. This is my opportunity to make a tangible gesture toward Matrix Games. I know I've played a SICK amount of SPWAW. We weren't even allowed to give them money for it in the past... now we can. (BTW, I'm sure I'll love it.)

Tomo

ruxius · Post by **ruxius** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 1:35 pm

ANd I would also add my contribute that is
The SPWAW WWII LONG CAMPAIGN is very very far from being compared with the MEGACAmpaign!

To have a better rate of measurement ( but in a lower degree obviously) you should try to play the WB customized campaigns..
To that great variety of situations and battlefields,units and missions, you have to add a : personal career , the support of multimedial documents like articles ,hystorical maps and maybe sounds...
I think MegaC hightens to the best what we can expect from SPWAW features...
No doubt...MEGACD is maybe worthy more than the same SPWAW5_1 !!!and they are both provided in that CD !
Recently I read in the manual there is a limited possibility to work with saved game files as we usual do..I mean it seems you cannot be killed and simply start again the last battle and repeat it untill you are succesful..so never the same Megacampaign !LET ME SAY (if I understood it properly) THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST REVOLUTIONARY FEATURE OF ALL THE GAME !
Really it force the player to think maybe for the first time (since he started to play on to a computer ), that a war is not a question of "I play..oops they killed me ..ok I try again "
It's a question of ineluctable events..where errors and adverse odds are a part of the whole ! Life in true war was not allowed to transmigrate with experienced consciousness
from one body to another..

This is a corageous feature that has been too often sacrifed in the name of the mass mood of most players..
they 'consume' things without 'celebrating it'

The only thing to evaluate before your purchasing is just inside you ..about your personal love into a tactical WWII wargame .
Then no price can stop you anymore..

I had a different approach to the question of spending money to pay shipping companies.
I asked myself : " Matrix needs funds to pay its programmers..buying the MEGACD I spend quiet the same as having it shipped to my house...but I would have liked to spend ALL my money in supporting MAtrix ..and not the shipping company..how can I do ? "
Since we can not all 3500 ask Paul Vebber to ship the CD manually through postal office to us directly..I found a gentleman from USA ,who offered himself to order two copies , pay them for me..ship my copy through postal office as soon as he will receive the second copy ,ordered for me..
It's a question of trusting..and a little more of time...he has to pay for me in advance and I have to hope postal offices do well their job..
I decided to try this way..costs becomes very low and I used the money I saved to buy another Matrix product..
SO here is another good reason for pursuing your purchase !

GrinningDwarf · Post by **GrinningDwarf** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 4:51 pm

I've spent almost $50 on games that have sat on my shelf since the second week I've had them. I'm still playing SP:WaW since (I think) last November. Considering all of the value I've gotten from a FREE game...$20 for the MegaCampaign is a drop in the bucket! (I don't know what shipping costs to Finland are, but I think I'd pay it if I had to order it from Finland.)

And about the old campaigns....you've got to try some of the custom built campaigns. I guarantee they won't bore you.

Brummagem · Post by **Brummagem** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 5:41 pm

$50 .... my wife would love you. I've literally spent many hundreds on games that never did live up the the cover art on the box. Of course I've been doing this since you had to use a cassette to save your games. For my 2 cents I'm placing my order today. If Mr. Wilder says this product lives up to the claims made then I'm sure it does. I've had the pleasure of working with him on another project (WB - Choiseul Maps) and his attention to detail and concern for authenticity is to be admired. Besides the proof is in your computer. we're only here talking about this product because of the work Matrix has put into SP. I can't believe they would drop the ball at this point. Ah....such are the ramblings of a die hard wargamer.

SunDevil_MatrixForum · Thu Jun 14, 2001 9:16 pm

Buy the game......now if only the store would reopen.

Mike Wood · Post by **Mike Wood** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 9:24 pm

Hello...

I designed and programmed the Mega-Campaign Resource Compiler and executable for Novastar did the design and programming for the Matrix Games product. I added a number of new graphic screens and options for the campaign authors. I also added new features, which make the game much more user friendly.

Campaign replay was a prime concern in the design and has improved from the original product. You can actually replay the campaign and make all the same decisions and still get a slightly different battle, when you play again.

Originally posted by Phil:
Well, I remember the original Mega Campaign from Novastar, and in my personal opinion, it's worth every bit. Especially if this version is going to be better. The old campaign kept me involved for several nights, and literally on the edge of my seat every I played. And,if it's like before, you could play the same battle twice, and face different forces or have them situated differently. (Could one of the play testers or programmers let us know if this is still the case?) That's just one of the "perks" that I remember. Really though, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Bill Wilder was the author for Matrix's first Mega-Campaign. He surprised me, by adding a depth and breadth of role playing far beyond anything we had achieved at Novastar. He has far more articles, more hand drawn maps and photographs and a much longer campaign than we had seen, before. The old Mega-Campaigns ran about 10 battles. This one runs 30-40 battles, depending on your choices and which battles you win and loose.

If you liked the Novastar version, you will really like the Matrix Games version.

Michael Wood

Gallo Rojo · Post by **Gallo Rojo** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 11:55 pm

Originally posted by sgt. rokka:
I've played the long WWII campaign for couple of months and now I'm bored with the same kind of missions following each other. Now I have a question and I want you to answer it. Is this new Mega Campaign good and worth of 25$ plus shipment to Finland.

Hello Rokka,

As far as I can understand you have been playing only a Long WWII campaign... so you’re bored about the same kind or missions (take hills, cities, crossroads, etc), and I’m sure that computer opponent seems very stupid for you at this time...

And you’re right! I would be boarded too!

Your mistake (sorry to tell you like this

) is that you’re playing a long Campaign, which is basically a serie of linked generated battles. Now, generated battles are very board, because computer’s AI is not much smart, and you play always the same kind of missions.

But designed campaigns are much different and better than that!

First: battles you will fight are not random generated battles, they will be a serie o designed scenarios... designed by a human I mean. So computers tactics will be much better. In other words you can wait flank maneuvers, infiltrated forces, and other thinks that you don’t see in generated battles. Even more: human designer will give orders to computer’s forces to attack in a intelligent way. So you battles in a designed campaign (and specially on a Wild Bill one) are a real challenge.

Second: designed campaign battles are not all same kind of mission. There some times you have to lead a raid against a fuel/ammo and supply reserve on enemy rearguard, some times you have to save a group of you’re comrades encircled by the enemy, some times you have to lead a retreat... and yes, some times you have to take hills, bridgeheads, crossroads, etc.

Third: designed campaigns are about a real war episode. You’ll follow a real unit, division or part of an army, as the 506th Pz Abt on “Watch Word Freedom” campaign, or the 1st Tanks Guard Brigade on “Heroes of the Mother Land” or the US 70th Tank Battalion on “From Utah to the Rhine”. And a text intro before each battle will tell you about this specific and real action.

Well, all this tree thinks make designed campaigns one of the funniest thinks on SPWaW.

And the Mega Campaign, is the longest (+100 battles) and better documented campaign that you can get (a lot of maps and info).

My recommendation is that you try a designed campaign. My personal favorite is “From Utah to the Rhine” (I’m not very original on that).

Try it and you will see...

Gallo Rojo · Post by **Gallo Rojo** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 11:56 pm

Originally posted by sgt. rokka:
I've played the long WWII campaign for couple of months and now I'm bored with the same kind of missions following each other. Now I have a question and I want you to answer it. Is this new Mega Campaign good and worth of 25$ plus shipment to Finland.

Hello Rokka,

As far as I can understand you have been playing only a Long WWII campaign... so you’re bored about the same kind or missions (take hills, cities, crossroads, etc), and I’m sure that computer opponent seems very stupid for you at this time...

And you’re right! I would be boarded too!

Your mistake (sorry to tell you like this

) is that you’re playing a long Campaign, which is basically a serie of linked generated battles. Now, generated battles are very board, because computer’s AI is not much smart, and you play always the same kind of missions.

But designed campaigns are much different and better than that!

First: battles you will fight are not random generated battles, they will be a serie o designed scenarios... designed by a human I mean. So computers tactics will be much better. In other words you can wait flank maneuvers, infiltrated forces, and other thinks that you don’t see in generated battles. Even more: human designer will give orders to computer’s forces to attack in a intelligent way. So you battles in a designed campaign (and specially on a Wild Bill one) are a real challenge.

Second: designed campaign battles are not all same kind of mission. There some times you have to lead a raid against a fuel/ammo and supply reserve on enemy rearguard, some times you have to save a group of you’re comrades encircled by the enemy, some times you have to lead a retreat... and yes, some times you have to take hills, bridgeheads, crossroads, etc.

Third: designed campaigns are about a real war episode. You’ll follow a real unit, division or part of an army, as the 506th Pz Abt on “Watch Word Freedom” campaign, or the 1st Tanks Guard Brigade on “Heroes of the Mother Land” or the US 70th Tank Battalion on “From Utah to the Rhine”. And a text intro before each battle will tell you about this specific and real action.

Well, all this tree thinks make designed campaigns one of the funniest thinks on SPWaW.

And the Mega Campaign, is the longest (+100 battles) and better documented campaign that you can get (a lot of maps and info).

My recommendation is that you try a designed campaign. My personal favorite is “From Utah to the Rhine” (I’m not very original on that).

Try it and you will see...

GrinningDwarf · Post by **GrinningDwarf** » Fri Jun 15, 2001 1:32 am

Originally posted by Brummagem:
$50 .... my wife would love you. I've literally spent many hundreds on games

I meant $50/game for a shelf full of games. Sounds like we're in similar boats.

The good news...SP:WaW helps me resist the impulse to sink more cash down the money pit! Before I make ANY game purchase, I ask myself "How much am I likely to play this instead of SP?" I havn't bought many new games these last few months!

Bring 'em on, Matrix!