First Impressions?

[toddtreadway]

Well, I went ahead and purchased the game. I am glad that I did.

One of my favorite boardgames, "Ancients", will now get a chance to stay on the shelf a bit more. It was a great game that you could play within an hour or two, gave you some feel for a battle, but was mainly just plain fun. I've played the first two battles in Tin Soldiers, and have to say that its best selling point is that it is a game you can actually play, have fun with, and not have to study a manual. The modifiers are all spelled out for you as combats are resolved, though the morale calculations are a bit more below the surface.

The game really feels like a miniatures game, which is good.

I've also played some of the Great Battles of History boardgames from GMT, which are much more complicated than Ancients. Tin Soldiers does what a computer should do for wargames; it takes all the excessive rolling and recordkeeping out of your hands, makes it very apparent what the current situation is (morale level, unit strength, etc.). One thing I would like is to have a better indication of unit facing, maybe a line extending from the unit, or a brighter base edge.

I've had a couple of graphic problems, like not being able to change the resolution and not being able to see the entire scenario objectives screen, but those have been posted in the tech support area and will likely be fixed.

[Belphegor]

For unit facing, use the hotkey 's' for unit statistics. You will see a red circle with an arrow that will indicate the current facing of all the units. Very helpful.

[Clipper1968]

Interesting feedback![:)]
Will I take the plunge and purchase that game?I am really likely to succumb to the temptation...[:D] but before going ahead I would like to ask a couple of additionnal questions:
Could this game be compared to The Great Battles Series (Alexander,Hannibal and Ceasar) from Interactive Magic that I have really enjoyed over this period?
How many battles are included in each campaign?Does the result you get in a battle affect the number of battles you will be able to fight for the rest of the campaign?
Could you dismiss a leader that you consider as unefficient and replace him by another one?Are the leaders random in regards of their availibility?I think that units get experience when they survive the battle ...
Does the size map change from a battle to another?

Sorry for all these questions but I would really appreciate some precision on these points so I could go ahead confidently and get this game.When could I find time to play all these good or very good wargames?[&:](WitP,BiN,...)I am also waiting for EiA release:is it soon?[&:]"Vive l'Empereur!"[:D]
Thanks in advance.

[Belphegor]

I haven't played the Great Battles series. So I can't comment there.

ATG has 6 battles in the campaign, plus 2 extras to unlock upon successful completion of that campaign.

You must win to play the next battle. Otherwise you will have to refight that battle.

Leaders can be replaced during the army management screen between battles. It costs you money, like everything else. And yes, units gain experience in battle, but lose that experience if you fill their ranks with new recruits. Training (money) can take care of some of that.

The map scale remains the same, the size of the map does change with each battle.

Hope those answer some of your questions.

[Radames]

Could this game be compared to The Great Battles Series (Alexander,Hannibal and Ceasar) from Interactive Magic that I have really enjoyed over this period?

Having played both, I think the above comment by toddtreadway is appropriate. As Ancients is to Great Battles of History, so this game is to the Great Battles computer series. Great Battles of Alexander specifically, I suppose.

As indicated by the title, this game is has at its core minitures rules rather than boardgame rules. In this, it is a more abstracted than Great Battles, which I saw as attempting to be a more accurate of a simulation.

I think there are a lot of details that differentiate between these two, but that's my "in a nutshell" thought. I enjoy both games - although perhaps for slightly different reasons. I enjoyed Great Battles probably foremost as a way to help me visualize the battles it portrayed. I enjoy TS:Alexander foremost for the gameplay.

Hope that helps.

[Marathon]

ORIGINAL: Pumba1968

Interesting feedback![:)]
Will I take the plunge and purchase that game?I am really likely to succumb to the temptation...[:D] but before going ahead I would like to ask a couple of additionnal questions:
Could this game be compared to The Great Battles Series (Alexander,Hannibal and Ceasar) from Interactive Magic that I have really enjoyed over this period?

It is very similar to GBoA because it was also based on a board game. Some of the differences are no leader units or command radius, there is fog of war, no two hex phalanx, missile units never run out of ammo and cannot recover unit strength unless you play the health card.

[Iñaki Harrizabalagatar]

I was a big fan of Great Battles but I like TS ATG best, AI is better and multiplayer is free from some of the annoying things that plagued GB. As Radames pointed out ATG is more a miniatures game than a wargame, but one that respecially rewards good planning and thinking.

[Hertston]

ORIGINAL: Radames

I enjoyed Great Battles probably foremost as a way to help me visualize the battles it portrayed. I enjoy TS:Alexander foremost for the gameplay.

A nice summation. Great Battles is certainly the more "realistic" game, and the better tool for understanding how the battles were fought. Tin Soldiers is more fun to play though, and actually offers more tactical possibilities for the player than GBA (or real-life, for much the same reasons).

If you have both, it can be quite interesting to play the same scenario in one game and straight after in the other.

[2gaulle]

Great Battles

unfortunatly unless you have an old system with win95 you will not be able to play it. I have just try it 3 weeks ago

[PDiFolco]

ORIGINAL: 2gaulle

Great Battles

unfortunatly unless you have an old system with win95 you will not be able to play it. I have just try it 3 weeks ago

Huh ? All GB games perfectly works on W98 too (at least they did yesterday [:'(] ).
It should also work on Xp but there are some issues, check this : IanM GB Page-compatibility

[Hertston]

ORIGINAL: 2gaulle

Great Battles

unfortunatly unless you have an old system with win95 you will not be able to play it. I have just try it 3 weeks ago

They all run just fine under XP. The only tweak needed is to set Windows 95 compability for the both the install and game .exe files.

[toddtreadway]

My wife hates this game.[:@]

She got to spend the whole weekend alone because of it as I played through the campaign. [:D] As I explained to her, it is all the game developer's fault.[:-]

I'm usually the type of gamer that will spend a couple of hours at a game, jump to another one for a bit, then back. But this game really captivates my attention (as hard as that is to do). I haven't had so much fun with a computer wargame since Panzer General or Clash of Steel.[:)]

[pahom]

I just wanted to say that I am very happy with my purchase. I was sitting on the fence on this title, but had a free weekend, and decided to get it on impulse. This game is etremely addictive, and very enjoyable. I think I have already gotten my money's worth in one weekend. I have only played the first few battles, each a few times, but find myself going back and trying something different. I am a complete newbie in regards to ancient battles, but this game has certainly won me over.

I am very excited about this series and look forward to more in the future.

Sincerely,

Pahom

[SlapBone]

I'm not getting this game because...wait, an AAR... because it costs too much and ...wait I don't even need my wallet because I know my credit card number by heart... but really there is no way I'm going to by yet another game... damn she's gonna be pissed now when she sees the bank account.

Ok, as you can see my willpower lost the 1st battle in Alexander, and that was the battle whether to buy it or not. I'm having a blast, and it's ashamed that my willpower can't be here to enjoy it with me.

[parusski]

LOL Slapbone, I have purchased, Korsun, AtD, BIN, WitP, Alexander TS....Plus nine games from "other than Matrix" in the last few months. I can only get away with this 'cause my wife forgot to "BE TOLD" that my bonuses from work doubled in Jan 04. Hmmm, wonder why she does not know that.

ENJOYYYYYYY

[Mr.Frag]

This is one of those games that sucks you in by looking very simple at first. Next thing you know you are spending hours second guessing every single key press/mouse click.

Don't be fooled, it is like chess. Anyone can move a pawn forward. The question is "What if i do?" [:D]

[Clipper1968]

I have just downloaded,installed the game and played the first battle.I like it as it is easy to understand but quite difficult to handle:that's I am expecting from a wargame or a game!!![:)]
I have stupidly lost some units in the first battle[:(]but I hope to do better in the future...where are my panzers???[:D]
That's definitively a great game which is effectively very enjoyable and very addictive.[8D]
I am looking forward to get the next episode of this Series:could it be about Hannibal please???[&:]

[wodin]

Wives and wargames/PC dont seem to mix. I remember the bliss full days and nights of endless hours of PC gaming........Close Combat 2 and 3........EAW....Campaign Series....Mechcommander (not normally my thing but I enjoyed it for a bit)......Fallout......Baldurs Gate

Then I met my wife married with in 7 months..many new great wargames arrived and now I didnt have the time to play......

[parusski]

Sorry to hear that wodin. Do what I did. Put your foot down and tell her off like Eric Cartman(South Park) would tell off his mom.

Well, you can. I just worked out a compromise.

When I first looked at the game I thought "WHAT is this" uugghh. BUt I am hooked now.

[wodin]

You dont know my wife. For starters she has Aspergers Syndrome so putting your foot down isnt an option!!