Matrix Games Forums

I am a newbie to not only this game, but to strategy wargaming in general. I have gone through the tutorial, and I found that I love this game more than I thought I would.

I have looked through the scenarios, and have not been able to find any that are mostly/completely on the water (stuff like battleships in the pacific, pearl harbor getting bombed, etc.). Does anyone know where I can get some scenarios involving naval combat for SPWaW?

Spectre5000

Spectre,
Steel Panthers World at War doesn't really deal any with naval engagements outside of their use in shore bombardment. The only real naval movement is landing craft bringing troops ashore.
There are games that cover that topic though...I recall one titled Fighting Steel. I haven't played that personally so I would advise you to check it out on the web and see what type of reviews the series received before buying it.
However, if you want to experience tactical land warfare at some of it's finest....you've got the right game right here!

Prior to discovering SPWaW with its extensive Pacific Theater gameplay (and thereby taking me away from any other game as well as ship modeling), I spent alot of time with Fighting Steel.

As with SPWaW, FS (by SSI) was allowed to be "adopted" by an organization for the purpose of updating, expansion, etc. FS is a free download and there are a large number of add-ons and scenarios available for the sim. It is alot of fun. Information on FS and other purely naval sims can be found at the NWS site at:

http://www.navalwarfare.org/

While not naval combat only games, I would also recommend the old Great Naval Battle series (Volume I-IV), especially Volume II, Guadalcanal. It is an old DOS game that has ship-to-ship battles as well as a limited ground combat aspect. In GNB II, players basically have to get their troops/supplies/aircraft loaded, moved, and landed at Guadalcanal. The ground combat is simplistic but from a naval aspect, there is lots to do with your various TFs and individual ships as well. There are both carrier and surface ship battles.

About the same age is Task Force 1942. Again, this is an old DOS game that I spent alot of time with. In TF 1942, you focus mainly of naval engagements around Guadalcanal and the Slot. You can also operate and fight individual TG, TF, and individual ships. Both games have campaigns.

While dated, both games represent an important point in WWII naval sims IMO.

Other old naval games: the Carriers at War series by SSG (also revised/updated) and of course, Carrier Strike by SSI and Pacific War: The Matrix Version (nee SSI).

If you are interested in modern era naval sims, the Harpoon series and the old Jane's Fleet Command (also reworked by NWS) are examples. I can't attest to any details because I haven't played them.

Even older is Aegis: Guardian of the Fleet, an old DOS game.

For subs, you have a bunch: Wolf Pack, Silent Hunter, Silent Hunter II, Aces of the Deep, Seawolf, 688(I) Hunter/Killer; its sequel, SubCommand. Lots of fun and a good size community of serious fans/players, add-ons, etc.

Hope this helps.

Ray

Hello - I've had the game Fighting Steel for quite a while now, it's a great game, but it was a little buggy at first and crashed on me pretty often, I believe the developer went under and then so did official support for the game. However there is a group working on the Fighting Steel project at www.navalwarfare.net who have cured almost all the bugs and improved the realism of the game as a naval gunnery sim - it's a whole new game now and they're still improving it (adding new nationalities, ships, etc...). I recommend the game! you can usually find it pretty cheap now, and if you apply the FSP 6.1 patch it's much better (especially if you're a fan of naval gunnery combat with no pesky airplanes and subs ).

Oops! guess I'm a little redundant - the previous post popped in while I was writing mine!

RayM and Willy, thanks for the Fighting Steel web site! That was the last game I was involved in beta testing for SSI. It was a disaster how it was being handled. But seeing your post I have dusted off my old copy and look forward to seeing it improved!