Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: Poor Old Spike

Anyway Op Barb is better than PG ...

Why?

Where have you established this in your FGM reveiw?

ORIGINAL: Poor Old Spike

... so I don't think anybody'd want to go back to PG anyway.

Where did you get that from?

People who bought this game did so because they in part or in the main thought it would bring PG back to their PC's. I didn't buy it for Ogre or the 3D art or the reduced number of scenarios or the lame AI.

I wanted to run a long, entwined, grow my elite units Panzer General campaign on the East Front.

Adam P quote- I didn't buy it for Ogre or the 3D art or the reduced number of scenarios or the lame AI.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, so you haven't actually bought or played Op Barb?
So how will you know if it's any better or worse than PG?

ORIGINAL: SeaMonkey

[font="times new roman"]Here we go again, another "clone" that barely exceeds its former original base or any of like genre, how come this is? Just like CEAW, RtV/ToW, none of these games are the expected quantum leap forward that I as a gamer would deem as progress, I just don't get it. Sure there are some interesting innovated features, but overall, more disappointment...at least for the initial release.[/font]
[font="times new roman"][/font]
[font="times new roman"]Games like GG's WaW and of course the most excellent Panther series of Airborne Assault editions have a completely new basis for play and are in constant evolution, am I spoiled by these releases and the further polished expansions of SC? Does getting older mean automatic cynicism, are my standards to high, is my time running out, the money is no big deal, so what is it?[/font]
[font="times new roman"][/font]
[font="times new roman"]I was really hoping for more.[:(][/font]

From my experience so far (all of 3 days) of Op Barb I have to disagree with this

Over the last 24 hours I've played a version of PG2 and dug out my 10 year old copy of the PS1 version of PG just to see what they were like in comparrison and I much prefer Op Barb.

Why?

1. A lot nicer graphics - the 3D style is starting to grow on me

2. It works out of the "box" on Vista - therefore no messing around trying to get it to work on my system

3. For me it doesn't have to be a "quantum leap forward" as long as it is a fun playable game that I enjoy - if its not broken don't fix it.

4. As a newly released and supported game I think it has a lot of potential to grow. Having had a brief look at the included editor it could even be something a technical incompetant such as myself could have a go at designing scenarios.

As for CEAW and ToW I disagree as well but thats for a different forum.

Overall I'm happy that I'll get my moneys worth out of the game as it stands and then then there is the potential that it offers once people (and possibly even I) start making use of its editor to create new scenarios and campaigns. On top of that I'm pretty confident that it is going to be supported and patched where neccesary to improve it as has been my experience with all the Matrix games I allready own.

Time will tell [:)]


P.S. I also think the OGRE issue is a non-issue, as far as I know War in the Pacific uses an engine called Pixie and John Tillers games one called Hobbit, its just that the setup options appear in a different format within the games. I played around with the settings for a bit (without to be honest any idea of what I was really doing) and have now got something which works for me. It might be an idea for the devs to do a sticky on what OGRE is though.

ORIGINAL: Adam Parker
I wanted to run a long, entwined, grow my elite units Panzer General campaign on the East Front.

This is exactly what I've done multiple times with Operation Barbarossa. I'm sorry it does not meet your expectations in this regard.

ORIGINAL: Poor Old Spike

I didn't buy it for Ogre or the 3D art or the reduced number of scenarios or the lame AI.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, so you haven't actually bought or played Op Barb?
So how will you know if it's any better or worse than PG?

Hi Spike. I bought this game on day 1. I wrote a whole "First Impressions" thing here, ehem...

Are you spamming? [:-]

Adam Parker quote- Are you spamming? [:-]
--------------------------------------------


I've only started one thread in this forum mate, you've started four..[8|]

I bought 3 matrix games these past weeks - how about you?

Btw you've got to learn to use the quote functions of the forum to assist reading your posts.

Bye

ORIGINAL: Arctic Blast

ORIGINAL: Obsolete

PG2 still has a very active modding group.  In fact, that package is STILL being hacked almost on a daily basis, lol.

As for the new PG to be coming out, the fact it is labeled as an "arcade?" game instead of strategy worries me.  Also, is it true that this will only be released on xbox360?  Another terrible sign.....

There was actually a Playstation version of the first Panzer General that worked quite well. Console doesn't necessarily equal evil, and can work well with a simple game engine like that of the 5 Star General series.

And one note about the modding community : the campaigns they're working on are good. They are also often EXTREMELY difficult, especially compared to the regular ones, because they're developing them to be played by others like them...those who have been playing custom PG2 campaigns for the past 8 years.

The first Panzer General came out on the 3DO gaming console many moons ago, and it was the main reason I bought a 3DO, as PG I was only available as a DOS pc game at the time....

I wanted to run a long, entwined, grow my elite units Panzer General campaign on the East Front.

How does one GROW elite units differently in PG? 

Gotta agree with Wolfe that Op Barb is way ahead of the PG Series. In addition, the final PGII installment "Scorched Earth" had good graphics but did not allow the creation of campaigns. As Spike mentioned in his review, given the time and motivation, you can create a 200-scenario campaign covering four years on the Eastern Front.

Also cool that you can specify four "sides" to each scenario. For example, I was attacking as the Germans against the AI Russians. Created a third AI side (Romanians) to defend my objectives and a fourth AI side as "Russian Guards" with an aggressive attack AI. It gave the typical attack/defend scenario a lot more ebb and flow.

And yes, it resembles CEAW and Napoleon, but I just could not get into those games for whatever reason.

After modding HOI3 non-stop for three weeks straight, Op Barb provides a welcome diversion. Both games are more than worth the $35 or so. And if you're not a stickler for historical outcomes and like to tinker, HOI3 is just incredible...

the final PGII installment "Scorched Earth"

Actually, that was part of the PG3D installment.  The best in the 3D series, but still suffered from a crutial anti-tank CTD problem, which despite being fixed a bit from the earlier Assault release, was so game-breaking that all PGIII clubs banned the use of anti-tank guns.  Needless to say, this put quite a big damp on the game, as it really hurt the whole rock-paper-scissors strategy.

ORIGINAL: Adam Parker

I bought 3 matrix games these past weeks - how about you?

I haven't bought a Matrix game in my life because I get them all free, I'm a Press Reviewer..
I also review other companies games and simulations including software used by the military which I get sent for free.
Glad somebody values my opinions..

http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/FGMForum/f ... y.php?f=87

ORIGINAL: J P Falcon

Panzer General II has/had one of the most active modding communities around and I still fire the game up from time to time....I am not sure if I am allowed to post links to PG2 mod sites here so I wont, but a simple GOOGLE search will yield the necessary results....

For those of you interested in PG, (my favourite game from 1998-2004) Google "The Latin Generals" and then switch into english or if you know spanish leave it, and also google "Luis Tools", you'll get access to some beautiful pages full of mods, maps scenarios, campaigns and all kind of stuff pg fans may want. They also have links to more pg webpages.

Hope you like and enjoy them.

Bty this game is a temptation to buy. Will take a closer look at the forum before most probably ordering it. [:)]

This is not really like Panzer General.

Hello,

ORIGINAL: LRRP

This is not really like Panzer General.

indeed Operation Barbarossa is not Panzer General - its a game of its own with an obvious link to those games.

this is really game like pg, but much more improved than pg.

I have been a Panzer General 2 fan for many years and have played numerous upgrade mods and user made campaigns/scenarios/maps. It is an excellent game that has aged well. I have yet to see new war game produced that I have more enjoyed and spent more time on. An excellent web site for mods and user made campaign is called Steve's PG 2 Campaign page. Tons of user made campaigns and lots of instructions on mods and how to use them. It is kept up to date and in my opinion is one of the best PG2 mod sites out there. Here is the link: http://hosted.wargamer.com/pg2campaigns/steve/pg2.htm

I have been waiting for years for new WW2 strategy war game to come out that is easy to learn yet challenging, addictive and just a pure joy to play. Maybe I will try Operation Barbarossa and see what it is like.

Hello,

ORIGINAL: maddogatc
Maybe I will try Operation Barbarossa and see what it is like.

good idea ! Its time to grab Operation Barbarossa mod the hell out of it. [;)]

Btw. the German modders started a workshop on converting CIV modells für OB:

Workshop (in German)

and are planning an Afrika Mod for the game.