Deal of the week

[Ranger33]

Had to pick it up at that price! I really enjoy the Commander series, they really seem to hit the sweet spot for me when it comes to that scale of strategy.

[Challerain]

ORIGINAL: shunwick

It also requires a bit of tinkering with the compatibility options but it runs fine on my Vista laptop and my 8.1 desktop.

Any suggestions on what you did here? I tried running GS 3.0 and it would stick at the loading screen. Deleted it all and went back to Gold (version 1.12) and still stuck at the loading screen.

Thanks!

[shunwick]

ORIGINAL: Challerain

ORIGINAL: shunwick

It also requires a bit of tinkering with the compatibility options but it runs fine on my Vista laptop and my 8.1 desktop.

Any suggestions on what you did here? I tried running GS 3.0 and it would stick at the loading screen. Deleted it all and went back to Gold (version 1.12) and still stuck at the loading screen.

Thanks!

Challerain,

Hmmm.. Never had that problem on either of my machines. The Vista laptop I had to set to XP SP2 compatibility to get the game to work correctly and I also set the Run as Administrator flag. The 8.1 desktop had trouble without any compatibility settings, so I changed that to XP SP2 but that was worse. I had to visit the ctrl-alt-delli to exit the game. But it works ok on Vista compatibility.

Windows 8.1 is a strange beast. My machine, which is a middling thing and nothing special, ultimately runs everything I throw at it. However, I know it is problematical for other people. The Rome Total War forum on steam is full of Windows 8 or 8.1 RTW does not work threads. My computer runs it without any hitch at all.

Sorry that I cannot be any more help. I do hope you get it working.

Best wishes,
Steve

PS. The place to go to if you are still having problems is the Slitherine tech support forum for CAeW. There are a bunch of really helpful and knowledgeable guys over there and they might be able to help. Here is the link: http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=33

[Challerain]

Thanks Steve....I'll pop over there and check it out

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: shunwick

Warspite1,

Keep in mind this is a first impressions look at Commander: Europe at War Grand Strategy.

The game was created in Java, a strange choice and one that limits the resolution to 1064 x 768. It also requires a bit of tinkering with the compatibility options but it runs fine on my Vista laptop and my 8.1 desktop.

There is a reason the music is turned off by default but since I never have music on while playing wargames it is no loss for me.

Graphics are functional with the map and the UI clear and uncluttered. You can have little 3D type graphics for the units or NATO counters - and the large counter set is very nice. There are 3 zoom levels for the map and the graphics style, particularly the muted colours, gives a WWII feel to the game for me at least.

The game mechanics are relatively simple and easy to pick up. But that does not mean beer and pretzels. After downloading the game I tried my hand at defeating Poland and abandoned that game in 1940. Hmm…. it was time to read the manual.

The manual for the game runs to about 35 pages and does a reasonable job of giving an overview of the game. The manual for the Grand Strategy mod runs to 650 pages and includes advice on tactics, strategy and the kitchen sink.

The game has plenty of strategic depth with considerable subtlety thrown in for good measure. Playing the game requires a clear strategic plan and careful planning. It is a game, as far as I can tell at this point, that I can get my teeth into.

The ai is not particularly good. For learning the game mechanics and possibly a game or two it is fine. But the real beauty of this game, I suspect, is with PBEM or Hotseat.

Overall, I am very happy with this game especially at the Deal of the Week price. It has the quality of making you think – of analysing the latest campaign, what went right, what I did wrong, what I could do better.

Best wishes,
Steve

warspite1

Thanks a lot - will decide this weekend.

[Yogi the Great]

Crap, they got me! Had to buy it on the deal.