First impression after release...

[Templer_12]

Hm,...surprised so far.
Found something in the game I like - so far.

First impression better than I had feared.

Edit:
My first impression after a couple of moves is initially positive.
I think I can live with the sometimes somewhat "sterile" UI.
It seems to me, Civil War II is not a hasty remake of a very good strategy game.

[TheWombat_matrixforum]

As I enjoyed the first Civil War game, though I haven't played it in quite a while, I decided to jump on this one this morning. After playing through the tutorials, I have to say I'm pretty impressed. I like the new UI; it's clearer, and easier to use. I like the map, as it's also clear and I think quite attractive. The game feels more polished and streamlined, but in a good way; it seems to be benefiting from all the patches and improvements made to the original. The tutorials are also better, and more organized and less prone to confusion.

I haven't tackled a scenario yet, but so far it seems like a very nice sequel, or update I guess.

[Templer_12]

Scrolling is very fast - almost too fast!
I miss the recruiting ledger. [:(]

Start liking the map. Reminds me of the most beautiful map from AGEOD - the map of Napoleon's Campaigns.

[GBS]

My impressions -

A lot more to this game than I was expecting.
I have been going through the well done tutorials. Glad I'm doing that too.
All the worries about replacements and recruitment was unfounded.
Love the sort-able register. Very functional.
I like the map with no problem scrolling.
I think I like the new combat reports. I need more time with it.
I seems easier to play and at the same time more complex than CW I.
This is what I would expect of a remake of a very good game 7 years later.

That's it so far. Got one more tutorial to go before I dig into a campaign.
So far I am very pleased.

[tgb]

How many tutorials are there?

[Brausepaul]

Three.

[Missouri_Rebel]

This is very good news. Even though I am committed right now to testing a very good game and won't play it anytime too soon I am going to buy it as soon as I get home because, well, because I am an addict.

EDIT: And done.

[OldSarge]

Looking good so far. The only nit I found was for the morale display on some units. The morale reads "Very", probably means "Very High". [:D]

[tgb]

I only played the first tutorial but I'm liking it better already. Having the interface and text scale is a boon to these aging eyes.

[Aurelian]

I like the recruiting areas. I haven't seen the draft options yet, but I like the fact that when you go full mobilization, partial is no longer an option.

The regional decisions look interesting.

[RJinVA_slith]

First impression: Superb.

I can't comment on game play yet (compared to the first game), but my explorations of the new interface have left me quite pleased.

This is the first AGEOD title I can play at my full screen resolution (23 inch monitor) and still see everything without developing eyestrain (and without needing to use Windows Magnifier as a crutch, though it still works). I got a pleasant surprise in the tooltip fonts when I increased my system font size to 125% - the resulting new tooltip font was large and thick and clear. Only slightly 'crowded' at this size, too. A major improvement in usability.

The new layout is intuitive and easy to get to. And you can see the whole map, without losing a third of the screen (!)

The map itself is very impressive. Not as quaint as the original (which had become a labor of love by the user community over the years) but I feel its information is more 'accessable' than the original, at least it appears so to me. And this map is really BIG compared to the original - it's hard to see how much bigger the new map is just from looking at the screen shots. (Scrolling reveals the scope a lot more). I find I greatly prefer the new map in both design and scope, to the original. (Does that make me a heretic?) [;)]

The artwork is just as good as it looked.

Yep, I want this new interface in all my AGEOD games.

Now, time to try out those new features....

RJinVA

[Queeg]

I studied the map a bit and did the first tutorial and like what I see so far. The bigger map improves what already was the best map in an ACW game. We now actually have a real Shenandoah Valley!

I have noticed one oddity: some of the general stats are very strange. Several have Indian Fighter abilities where it doesn't make any sense - NB Forrest for one. I wonder why the change the stats from the previous game? They worked well there.

[Aurelian]

ORIGINAL: Queeg

I studied the map a bit and did the first tutorial and like what I see so far. The bigger map improves what already was the best map in an ACW game. We now actually have a real Shenandoah Valley!

I have noticed one oddity: some of the general stats are very strange. Several have Indian Fighter abilities where it doesn't make any sense - NB Forrest for one. I wonder why the change the stats from the previous game? They worked well there.

http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.p ... ick-Issues

Only Jackson is mentioned, (probably the others haven't been seen yet). He'll be fixed in the patch. maybe the others too?

[Templer_12]

One of my greatest[font=calibri] fears has not been fulfilled.

I was afraid that AGEOD is neglected the loving artwork as known from AGEOD games.
This is not so. Beautiful uniforms, different towns and villages designs and more.

With the new UI you’ll get along well soon.
Sometimes, however, the large metal gray windows look out of place.
So I can call the blocky window "Battle Planner" just ugly! [:(]

Also, the "chips/tokens" representing the leaders/the armies/the stacks does not really fit homogeneously into the landscape.

But nothing you should refuse AGEOD's Civil War II.[/font]

[Boomer78]

Just ran through a test scenario (New Mexico campaign). Haven't played the main campaign yet.

So far it looks really good. Definitely an improvement (if somewhat minor) over the first game. I'm really missing the left-alt manpower key though. It's a pain to have to hover over the unit icon to see how many men are in the unit.

The map and units overall are way more efficient and eye-friendly though. The map is clear to see, it scrolls much faster this time, and it's much easier to move units around and drag/drop.

The battle planner/results screen is still mysterious to me... then again, it was in the first game as well.

And one of the main improvements to me is that the A.I. seems more active now. I had a real challenge keeping the Union out of Arizona and New Mexico and had several running battles with both Union and Indian forces. The game really feels more alive now. So far I recommend it pretty highly.

[stewartbragg]

Just as a heads up.......the AI is a little aggressive right now and this is being tweaked for the first patch. Please reserve judgement until then please[;)]

[Gilmer]

One of the things I noticed in Beta and even before I was accepted to beta was the loving detail they had on the unit pictures, especially the ships. Kudos to that aspect, indeed. I'll be buying the game this afternoon when I return home from work.

[gexmex]

ORIGINAL: Boomer78



I'm really missing the left-alt manpower key though. It's a pain to have to hover over the unit icon to see how many men are in the unit.

I had this gripe as well, but it was mentioned on AGEOD's forums that they might bring back the ctrl function if it was in demand [8D]

Fantastic game, really pleased with it!

[OldSarge]

For the benefit of those who don't follow the AGEOD forums. If you hover your mouse over one of the unit's PWR number, located just below the unit's type, in the unit panel, you'll see the manpower numbers for all the units in the stack..

[aspqrz02]

The only thing I really dislike so far, or that stands out so far, is the size of the unit counters on the Unit Bar at the bottom of the screen. Too big compared to AACW ... but that's just my personal preference and doesn't detract from the game in any way.

Phil