Matrix Games Forums

Read the review here:

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/articles ... e=1&cat=17

Pretty accurate write up.

Great review. I agree with all aspects. I especially like the comments on logistics, which is excellently handled in AT. Well done Matrix and Vic!

Wow, a great accomplishment from a well known place like armchair general.

A Celtic curse upon you Erik. I have managed to not buy a Matrix game for 6 months and with this one it will be three in a week!!! Thankfully the exchange rate is very kind but please don't bring out any more 'must have' games for at least a week or two!![:D]

Congrats on the great review.

 Yup. That review sounds about right. Best wargame I've played in some time.

Wachtower, what are the other two?

fyi, for those with fast computers the ia takes only a few seconds.. per the review statingthe ai takes forever, one of the great things I like was its quicknes.. I guess it is time for the reviewer to upgrade lol
Seriously an issue for those on older slower machines who are in a rush.

BTW did AI use multithreading ? With proiferation of dual core CPU AI turn could be twice more fast.

ORIGINAL: freeboy

fyi, for those with fast computers the ia takes only a few seconds.. per the review statingthe ai takes forever, one of the great things I like was its quicknes.. I guess it is time for the reviewer to upgrade lol
Seriously an issue for those on older slower machines who are in a rush.

I have a very fast machine and spend LONG minutes waiting for turns to process. The longer the game goes, the longer the wait becomes. Initially no wait to VERY long.

Further there are points in the process where it just sits on the same number for up to 30 seconds or more.

The AI takes a long time for me as well. It's fine on a medium map with one AI, but with numerous AI's, or a larger map it does take a long time as the game progresses. I wouldn't call my computer top end, but a Core 2 Duo 2.13, 2 gig ram, etc.. it's certainly no slouch either.

Probably my biggest wishlist item for AT at the moment would be to speed up the AI so I can play larger maps with multiple AI

ORIGINAL: freeboy

Wachtower, what are the other two?

Close Combat: Modern Tactics & Larry Bond's Harpoon - Commander's Edition. Both have been excellent in the little time I have had to play them. Have been waiting mainly for Gary Grigsby's Eagle Day to Bombing the Reich though that's one that I might even give up my long term WITP solo game for!!

ORIGINAL: Banquet

The AI takes a long time for me as well. It's fine on a medium map with one AI, but with numerous AI's, or a larger map it does take a long time as the game progresses. I wouldn't call my computer top end, but a Core 2 Duo 2.13, 2 gig ram, etc.. it's certainly no slouch either.

Probably my biggest wishlist item for AT at the moment would be to speed up the AI so I can play larger maps with multiple AI

The only game I have going right now is my AAR.
tm.asp?m=1619792
I'm playing European diplomacy against 8 AI's on a large map and it doesn't seem that slow to me.
I'd say the AI is taking 8-10 min. a turn. I just minimize it and let it run while I type out my turn on the AAR.
My system is slightly less powerful than yours.

ok, not a good judge as I do not play multi ai's.. but my oc'd conroe is a screamer! lol
no worries.. I remember my old p4 1.5 amd LONG waits for witp..
 

ORIGINAL: freeboy
fyi, for those with fast computers the ia takes only a few seconds.. per the review statingthe ai takes forever, one of the great things I like was its quicknes.. I guess it is time for the reviewer to upgrade lol Seriously an issue for those on older slower machines who are in a rush.

I can't agree as the slow AI is my only problem with the game and the one area I'd like to see improved.

My machine is no way state of the art - Athlon 3200, 1G RAM yet manages to shift enough frames to play Oblivion, latest Total War and other resource hogs just fine. I'm intrigued by what seems to be a trend in non-graphics intensive apps running slower and slower when hardware improvements suggest they should be getting quicker. As a software developer, I suspect it's to do with a move away from C/C++ to higher level languages for easier development. There's invariably areas where you can improve software performance, if you have the will to do it.

From other replies, it looks like even state of the art PC's are taking forever on large maps. I'm amazed that 8 - 10 mins a turn isn't perceived as game-breakingly slow!

It's not a matter of being in a rush, just that if you have a job, family etc etc, you want to make the most of an hour or two freetime. Waiting for the AI just isn't a good way to spend valuable time.

ok, on the largest maps on my system against humans I am seeing turns process in a few seconds.. just to give a balanced side, and the LONGEST against the ai might have been 5-10 seconds, but my system is fast.. fsb, mem and cpu...

In pbem there's no issue, you don't have to wait while the others play [8|]...
Try a large 100 * 80 map with 9 opponents, play 50 turns and tell how long it takes. On my poor old rig (Athlon 2400) it's like 10 min, maybe on a competition rig it's only 2...

ORIGINAL: IRONCROM

ORIGINAL: Banquet

The AI takes a long time for me as well. It's fine on a medium map with one AI, but with numerous AI's, or a larger map it does take a long time as the game progresses. I wouldn't call my computer top end, but a Core 2 Duo 2.13, 2 gig ram, etc.. it's certainly no slouch either.

Probably my biggest wishlist item for AT at the moment would be to speed up the AI so I can play larger maps with multiple AI

The only game I have going right now is my AAR.
tm.asp?m=1619792
I'm playing European diplomacy against 8 AI's on a large map and it doesn't seem that slow to me.
I'd say the AI is taking 8-10 min. a turn. I just minimize it and let it run while I type out my turn on the AAR.
My system is slightly less powerful than yours.

Thanks for the info IRONCROM. Interesting AAR and it's great to see that the AI can cope with a player v player scenario - and can launch amphib ops.. something other games AI often struggle to do!

I must say though, that I would find an 8-10 minute AI turn would really test my patience. I imagine as you're writing the AAR it helps fill the time.. and of course 8-10 minutes is quicker than you'd likely get a PBEM turn back.. but I'd struggle to play a scenario with turns taking that long.

  HMMM... You have a good point there. If I didn't have something to pass the time with I imagine 10 minutes would seem like an eternity.

ORIGINAL: IRONCROM

  HMMM... You have a good point there. If I didn't have something to pass the time with I imagine 10 minutes would seem like an eternity.

*s* I agree, 10 min. staring at a screen waiting would seem inteminable. But I know I've waited longer thatn this when playing someone across the table in a game of AH's Thrid Reich, or the old GDW's Russian Campaign. Computers have played havoc with our sense of what's bearable. *s*.

A good book close by always helps. I have to admit, my reading time (for anything non-Adv Tactic related), has been sharply curtailed since this game has been released.

Rick