why is STEEL PANTHERS WAW one of your top games?

[crazyivan]

I thought it would make good reading to here from some of you gammers favorite points that makes this game as addictive as it is.

here is some of mine.

1.you can play almost any nation any wear any time and make it pretty much historical or a what if battle.

2. sound and graphics are a enjoyment that never seams to tire.

3.even at this stage v2.3 the preferances and options are huge and keep the game from becoming stale you can play the same battle dozens of times and with some tweaking here and there you always have a differant outcome.

4.the long campiagns are my best part of this game.

5.the matrix crew are the best backup team any gamming company good whish for and there loyalty to me as a player is simply the greatest.

6.always new scnerios and a willingness to futher a already great game.

[O de B]

Why ?
Because it's the best version of Steel Panthers that exists !

I consider the original SP itself as one of the best computer games ever made.

I remember a few years ago (time flows) having read a few reviews about this game... remember one dealing with 88's Traps. Then i bought it and i really was not disappointed. You really feel the heat of the battle or the excitement of the devious trick your opponent is ready to fall in ! I loved being in control of each tank of the formation. But SP was limited in the number of the units you can buy, etc.

With WaW, the original spirit and design are still here, but all limits are gone !
I love the new graphics, sound, scenarios, the preferences screen
What can i add to your post ?

- Number of units : I really like being able to control as many units. Big maps are also a huge improvement !
- C&C : a friend showed me SP3, but i disliked the new scale. When SPSL came out, we were impressed but with no crews left, campaign play was not fun. Now with WaW we can enjoy SP3 features inside the scale we like.
- New OOBs ! And the included OOB editor is a must ! I had to make one myself for SP1, i never found a fully working one on the net. That's really Nice that Matrix made one to be released in the game. Also permitting sound editing is a great idea !
- The support ! It's great to be sure that the developpers of the game really care about gamers !
- AI improvements. In SP1, i was in trouble against the AI only when i had really green troops. Now fights provide more excitement !
- I'm really looking forward v3 with OPfire control ! Think i'll definitely love it !

I'll stop here to let room for other people. I could fill several pages with everything i like in this game !

[JKG]

What do I like best?

"Receiving list of messages from server..... Message 1 of X downloading."

YES!! I GOT MAIL!! I GOT MAIL!! Hehehehehe!!!

[Grumble]

Simply put it's the best PLAYABLE simulation of ww2 tactical armored combat, computer or board. SP et al was a pretty good simulation even with some of its quirks. SPWAW puts the SP engine on a more analytical footing helping to eliminate some of the "weird" combat results in SP. Outstanding graphics, interface, and audio enhance the gamer's experience. It's also open enough to allow each user to modify variables to suit their opinion of "reality". (Some of the posts on this BB concern details that you can fix yourself inside the game.)

[Windo von Paene]

Well Grumble, I think I have to disagree...

From what I can see and have heard, Combat Mission may be a bit more of a "PLAYABLE simulation of ww2 tactical armoured combat" than SPWAW. Now I am only speaking from heresay here, as my poor P150 compaq with integrated video can't run Combat Mission

That being said, SPWAW is an awesome game, you can't beat the price, and the folks at Matrix have been unbelievable in what they have given us, (and continue to give us)...

[Wild Bill]

Windo, allow me to speak to this, please. Being on the beta team of both games, with SP for over 6 years and with CM for nearly a year and a half, I am not going to stick my neck out to have my head chopped off at my ankles.

That said, CM is very, very different from SP. Charles Moylan and Steve Grammont would be the first to tell you that. They wanted it that way, and I understand their thinking.

So I strongly advise you to at least get the demo version or find someone out there who has the game loaded and try it first.

You really have to experience both to fully appreciate the differences and ready playability of both.

This is not a flame or an attack on your statement...in no way. Just a word of advice from your friend. I hope you receive it that way....Wild Bill

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In Arduis Fidelis
Wild Bill Wilder
Coordinator, Scenario Design
Matrix Games

[Windo von Paene]

Bill,
As I mentioned, my poor PC doesn't have the horsepower to run CM or I would be doing so! But I agree they are very different games. However, that being said, I think simply the IGO-UGO nature of SPWAW is a little more gamey than the WEGO nature of CM. I would also point to the nature of the terrain in CM vs. SPWAW, (elevations anyone?).

I'm loving SPWAW, BTW, so I didn't intend to start a flame war or anything, just thinking that perhaps Grumble was perhaps overstating...

Not like that ever happens on the internet

[Nikademus]

1. The number one aspect of the whole SP series that always endeared it to me, was its intricate and detailed combat info presented by the game. Historical accuracy and realism are of course paramount, but all that realism is'nt worth squat (on the scale level of a game like SP. i.e. squad/platoon/company) if your experiencing total 'fog of war' effects and ar'nt seeing whats on. You end up sitting there and being board.

This is why i've always broken out in a cold sweat at the thought of future versions of SP reverting to 'real time' of which has been so popular of late in wargaming (The close combat series comes to mind) I'd hate to see SP turned into a true "simulation" of being a company/batalion commander sweating in his command tent while his aides try to decipher garbled combat reports over a wireless set, wondering whats going on with the troops.

Not that any optional 'fog of war' tools might not be interesting, but for me seeing the complex and intricate relationship between training, moral and the myrid of weapons systems presented in the game, how they act and preform under litterally hundreds of different and varying combat situations is what will keep SP on my hard drive for all time.

No war movie or book can match that 'you are there' feel of SP. Ok, so 'God' type games ar'nt totally realistic....i'll take that handicap for seeing all that action!

I tried explaining that aspect of SP to a 'Fighting Steel' forum a few months back and i got alot of funny looks from people Guess i did'nt articulate myself well enough. Too bad, because it seems that these days designers of tactical surface batles are obcessed with 'simming' whats its like to stand on a bridge vs seeing the action. Realistic? yeah....boring? hell, yeah I like to 'see' how various ships preform against each other as well as explore tactical options.

SP does both, and SP:WAW is a great addition to a line that will continue to dominate wargaming for years to come.

[Tomanbeg]

1. Fog of War. There are not many 'for sures', which I enjoy and feel is 'real'
2. Flexability. The game has enough control features to be enjoyable to everybody.
3. Hit/kill system. Rounds that go all the way through without touching anything (Brazen Chariots) Rounds that don't penetrate but kill the crew with spalling (Lucky Forward?)
4. By far the most responsive design team to ever throw their hat in the ring.
T.

[Louie the Toad]

My wife asks me why I'm not watching tv. I tell her I've got my own exciting movie going on right here, and I'm in it !

[Graf Speer]

SPWAW:

1. Replay value due to flexibile design! A veritable plethora of options and preferences governing:

a) pre-set scenarios
b) custom battle generated scenarios
c) campaigns
d) a unit / very nice map editor

2. generally very pleasing battlefield 'ambience' and sounds.

3. pbem!

4. One if not the best 'step-based' computer games I have ever played, due to a great extent in the AI opportunity fire routine during the movement phase!

5. This new and incredibly energetic team that has brought us SPWAW at virtually 'netzero' cost (just like my email service <g>) to us . . . I have never witnessed such a generous 'mission' to improve and add so many detailed play enhancements to the original SP series.

To conclude, while clearly not a perfect game (and I have no idea what a perfect game is given today's state of the computer), but

1) levels / layers of details and
2) vast replay value

is why Steel Panthers was a classic and why its successor, SPWAW, is already a legend in its own time

Albert


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The Good Nazi

[Wild Bill]

Versatility...You can make this game do more than any other game I've ever played. It is a designer's delight.

And with all the new goodies, terrain, units, objectives,...well, I've never seen one yet to match it.

That will take some doing.

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In Arduis Fidelis
Wild Bill Wilder
Coordinator, Scenario Design
Matrix Games

[Colonel Klink]

i like spwaw because its the best version of sp out there. i can't wait for tcp/ip play. when i used to play panzer leader/panzerblitz/tobruk.. all those years ago, i used to imagine a method of playing without seeing the opposite sides unit disposition. of course, i was imagining steelpanthers and computer games but i didn't know it at the time.

[Wild Bill]

Colonel, it will be one of the most addictive features of the game and you'll soon see it will make it one of the most played wargames around. It is a great feature. All of us on the design team love it!...WB

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In Arduis Fidelis
Wild Bill Wilder
Coordinator, Scenario Design
Matrix Games

[Nikademus]

you must hurry!!!!!! cant stand it much LONGER!!


TCP play was the only reason i had SP:III on my hard drive. A fantastic experience the first time i played against a real human in real time. No AI, however tweaked could compare.

PBEM was ok, but never really got into it. It was too disconnected to equal the excitment of a solo session, played out in full in one sitting.

[Paul Vebber]

Let me tell you , a hard fought TCP/IP game with a "stressing" time restriction (say 4-6 minutes per turn per 1500-ish points)leaves you drained.

Many real lessons of command, form getting "tunnel - vision" on a specific area, to finding "quiet sectors both players sort implicitly agree to leave static while a big battle wages, to the coordination of reserves into the priorities time forces on you, makes for a totally ne experience. As Nikademus says, like playing the AI - but its against another human. Next to a CIC watch in the Gulf, I've never had 4 hours of my life disappear so fast

[Tombstone]

I really like SPWAW.. a lot. But I thought I'd mention that the Panzer Campaign series games are really good... and I dont hear much about them anymore. Smolensk is very cool, and Normandy is insane.

As far as SPWAW, I think that it has an extremely high quality value due to an excellent original concept and a development team thats finally pushing it to its limits and drawing off the community's huge experience with the product. It's unlike many games in a very, very good way....

Tomo