Initial Comparisons with TOAW III

[mamnich24]

Dear Folk,
What are your initial game play impressions comparing TOAW IV and III? I understand the new features, but am interested in game play differences like speed of battle resolution, differences in intuitive use of the interface, sound, animations, etc. Another way to put it may be what are differences in how the game "feels", "looks", "acts".
Or are most of the differences "under the hood", so only scenario designers notice much difference?
Thanks,
Mike

[r6kunz]

Good question, Mike,
the big difference I find is the Battle Planner. I could never really understand the rounds per turn, "turn burn", finding the culprit unit using too much of the "ring of stars", and my turn suddenly ending. Battle Planner gives a chance to see how many rounds each combat used before committing. And if one of the planned attacks consumes 2x the turn it is easy to find the outlier and if cancel it. Or leave it as the case me be.
One of many new features.

It may be overstating, but it has revolutionized my gameplay.

At the download price, it is a bargain!

Enjoy! cheers

[JPJ]

Among other things, I find the Combat Chart a great new addition.
The Full Report is still there to read what happened in a combat (like a telex, line by line), and now the Chart shows that a glance, also linking it visually to the rounds. Excellent!

[Olorin]

ORIGINAL: mamnich
speed of battle resolution

Same as before. The big difference is in the initial turn calculations. Much faster in IV.

ORIGINAL: mamnich
differences in intuitive use of the interface

Here is the big step forward. The new interface is a vast improvement. Combat charts in particular are a big help in managing your forces.

ORIGINAL: mamnich
sound, animations, etc. Another way to put it may be what are differences in how the game "feels", "looks", "acts".

Sound hasn't changed a bit. Animations are the same, but the map and counters are "prettier" and have a crispier, more modern feel.

The under the hood changes are more important: the naval component is much improved, new supply dynamics and the most important of all, imo, battle stamps.
Plus lots and lots of smaller changes.

[gbaby]

The game play is pretty much the same, which means no one broke it. That is a good thing. So far the changes have enhanced the play without disrupting what worked before.

If you have played previous versions, especially advanced rules, you will feel at home.

However, for veteran TOAW players of previous versions, it is well worth the asking price. I haven't been as pleased on a war game purchase since... well, forever.

It is hard to explain, since I bought the SAME game again! But the folks who worked on TOAW IV obviously play the game themselves, so they didn't break, they enhanced.

UI is the first thing you notice. It improves game play. The UI panel is very helpful, like ability to change from viewing top unit in stack to group composition. Organization of buttons is more intuitive.

Graphics update impact is impressive, much cleaner maps and units, UI, reports, etc. Huge benefit for tired eyes compared to TOAW III.

Battle stamps really helps, gray crossed swords from previous combats, gold crossed swords for planned combats, and red crossed swords for previous combats that apply movement penalties to any unit moving into that hex.

Under the cover improvements are all beneficial, like naval combat, extended supply, new bridge rules (really needed), mud & snow, all of it enhancing, not breaking.

Obviously the folks who brought us TOAW IV are fellow players and love the game.

[Cfant]

Mainly better ui and more infos,e.g. turn end because of failed prof check. Much more transparent. Bts makes time burn less tragic and makes the game much better to get in for new players. Navy improved. Same game,much better. Like panzer corps is just panzer general,just better and more modern 😉

[Anonymous]

[Deleted by Admins]

[gbaby]

ORIGINAL: larrybush
Well for my two cents the editor is rather buggy now!

I was addressing "play wise", but I agree, the editor didn't seem to get any attention. I've not messed with it yet, has it new problems or just the same as TOAW III?

Anyway, we can only hope that it will get some attention in the future.

[DanNeely]

This was posted in regards to scaling for high DPI screens; but since the developer said the editor is all old code I'd assume it's still basically unchanged since TOAW III.

ORIGINAL: ralphtricky

I can take a look, but the editor is all 'Old Code' so answer will almost certainly be 'not soon.' You'll have to use the other method of setting the overall screen resolution.

[gbaby]

Personally, I'm happy they didn't hold back the release of TOAW IV for editor work, if there is any plan to touch it in the future. Any work there that makes it easier to use is worth it, in my opinion.

Doesn't change one iota about how I feel about the TOAW IV release. I'm glad it is in my hands, I'm glad I can play my old scenarios on it, I'm glad TOAW never died! Count me as one of the satisfied customers, if I didn't make it clear already. [:)]

[sPzAbt653]

since the developer said the editor is all old code I'd assume it's still basically unchanged since TOAW III.

Just to clarify, he said it is old code, not that it was entirely unchanged. For example, open a scenario in the editor and hit 'U' to see some preliminary work. Anyone familiar with III will see the difference.

[rtropp]

I just downloaded it and it is much easier on these old eyes. The first few minutes working with time stamps and it seems to be easier for me to grasp and use. But, time will tell.
The one negative I have, so far, is that you cannot generate a jpg of the current map. One of the fun things for me is to generate a jpg, down load to a graphics package and print, and then write all over it as I plan the round. At the beginning of the next round I can reference it to see what I attempted compared to how it came out. Hopefully they will fix that soon.