Why should I buy....

[TomBombadil711]

....when I already own Strategic Command Classic: Global Conflict? What are the differences between both games?

[ruixilyy]

Same question. It seems that this version has some enhancements in sounds and graphics?

[Hubert Cater]

Thanks for the query and if you are new to the SC3 engine and haven't played SC3 Europe at War then there will be quite a few changes, fixes and enhancements from the previous release of Global Conflict. Some of these changes include the following:

A Return to Hexes

Our aim with the Strategic Command series is to make attractive, playable and historical games. Our aim for this release is to make a game that will provide one of the best strategic level re-creations of 20th century warfare, while also being a whole lot of fun to play.
The first and possibly biggest decision for us was to return the series to using hexes rather than tiles. There are pros and cons to both, but it was clear that the majority of those who expressed a preference, preferred hexes, and we didn't disagree. So hexes are back!


Enhanced Decisions

On the European side of the World at War players will now be able to consider the following:

• Both Germany and the USSR get to negotiate carving up of Poland. The subsequent borders will therefore not necessarily follow their historic path.
• An Anglo-French Expedition can be sent to support Finland during the Winter War.
• France can reincorporate Vichy territories following her liberation.
• The UK and USSR can carve up Persia between them, and the USA can then choose whether to send supplies via Persia to the USSR. This can provide a real boost to the Soviet War Effort!

Players can also minimize the Decision box to examine the map further prior to making their final decision and many decisions have additional notes providing any necessary historical context as needed.


Dynamic Movement

A major change that players of our previous titles will immediately notice is the introduction of Dynamic Movement.
Dynamic Movement allows units that haven't used up all their Action Points to continue to move until they have done so, even if de-selected and re-selected again later. It applies to most unit types, and takes much of the pressure out of trying to plan your moves. Just click and play!
Air units can also now attack and then move a portion of their normal move distance. This can be especially useful when on the offensive, or alternatively when conducting a fighting retreat. Again, it provides more flexibility than in the past when air units could only either move, or attack.


Enhanced Fog of War

We have introduced enhanced Fog of War, a shroud over the map, which makes it possible at a glance to see exactly how far your own units can see. While this might sound very simple, it wasn't in our previous releases, and at the same time we have also introduced a specified graphical Front Line that updates dynamically showing clearly who controls what.


Time your Offensives

We now have two types of road, paved and unpaved. The latter predominate in Eastern Europe and provide no bonuses in bad weather, so when the ground is muddy, offensives will slow.


New Research Concepts

One thing we decided to do with the Research feature is to expand it beyond just enhancing unit Attack and Defense values, and increasing economic output.
So we have introduced new research areas that represent improvements in command systems, unit training, military doctrine and logistics. These can for example increase unit morale, spotting ranges, command abilities and allow units to launch extra attacks.


Naval Cruise and other Naval Enhancements

We've introduced two very significant improvements to naval operations.
The first is to speed up naval movement through the introduction of a new movement mode: Naval Cruise.
This enables naval units to travel double their normal movement distance for a strategic move. The penalty being that they lose 1 supply point when doing so, and cruising units cannot attack enemy vessels.
Players of our previous releases will be familiar with Subs having two modes, Hunt and Silent, and Subs can only Cruise when they are in Hunt mode.
The second big change is that we've added a second category of Amphibious Transport for landings on enemy held shores. This new unit type is specifically designed to be used when planning operations against distant shores like Operation Torch, as now amphibious units can sail across the Atlantic from the USA and land in North Africa.
This new unit type, called Amphibious Transport (Long Range), is only available in limited numbers to select countries like the UK and USA, though the number of units available can be increased through researching Amphibious Warfare.


Diplomacy

It is now possible to block diplomacy towards some countries, e.g. the USSR cannot attempt to influence Franco's Spain. We have also introduced the ability to limit investment towards historically neutral countries, so that, for example, only a small diplomatic effort can be made to swing Switzerland towards one side or the other.


Improved AI

The AI has been extensively overhauled, something we do for every release, and especially for Amphibious Assaults which is especially important in Strategic Command WWII - World at War when considering not only Torch, D-Day but also the island hopping campaigns of the Pacific.


Improved Interface

Not only will the game return to hexes and include new and sharper NATO and 3D unit counters, the interface has been overhauled as well to provide a smoother and more intuitive game play experience while optimizing the amount of the game play area on the screen.


Rule Changes

A number of rule changes and game engine enhancements as well as fixes have been made to again improve the overall game play experience. This is possible as each release builds on all of our previous releases and even the fix/change list from SC3 Europe to SC3 World at War (built on the same game engine) will have over 70 fixes/changes included.


Hope this helps,
Hubert

[TomBombadil711]

Thank you very much for your detailed answer.

[Hubert Cater]

Forgot to add there are also Kamikaze units in this release [:)]

[ruixilyy]

Sounds fantastic. I think I will skip SC Europe at War and directly delve into SC World At War.

[Kulturhund]

just got the game, looks great Quick question - is the 'War in Europe' option on the start screen the same game as SC2: War in Europe? Or with added changes/rules etc.

Also, what's the difference between the 1939 scenario and the 1939-1945 race to victory?

Thanks in advance.

[Hubert Cater]

The War in Europe option is for this game here:

http://www.matrixgames.com/products/504 ... .in.Europe

The game is not yet updated to the latest changes and fixes that are now available for World at War, but we are in the process of making that happen.

[Numdydar]

IIRC, the 1939 is the historical timeline path. Race to Victory the game requires certain milestones to be met by certain dates and if you miss one you lose.

[Philippeatbay]

Does the map have edges? Is it still static, or is it a cylinder?

In other words, if you move the mouse cursor all the way to the right, will the map scroll east and eventually stop when it reaches the edge of the map, or will it keep going in a loop until you end up back where you started?

[Hubert Cater]

The game map still has edges.

[Hubert Cater]

For those still possibly on the fence or would simply like to know more about the game play:

Truth is this is easily one of the best games I’ve played regardless of subject or command level, but that’s only half the story...

https://www.wargamer.com/reviews/strate ... ld-at-war/

[PvtBenjamin]

This new series (SC3) is a major upgrade to the classic series. If you like large scale WW2 games you wont be disappointed.

[BillRunacre]

ORIGINAL: Kulturhund

just got the game, looks great Quick question - is the 'War in Europe' option on the start screen the same game as SC2: War in Europe? Or with added changes/rules etc.

Also, what's the difference between the 1939 scenario and the 1939-1945 race to victory?

Thanks in advance.

Hi

The Race to Victory campaigns end sooner, meaning that you have less time in which to achieve a decisive victory.

Their greatest aim is to give the Axis a better incentive to keep fighting if they aren't hugely successful in the early years of the war, so they can still see if they can hold out better than the Axis did in real life if the tide starts to turn.

[Champagne]

I began my strategic WW2 gaming when the Avalon Hill Game Company released Third Reich during Christmastime, 1973.

The only problem that I have with this game is that there seems to be no stacking allowed in any hexes.

[Numdydar]

I agree that the stacking system seems odd and takes getting used to. But it does impact your operational decisions in the game pretty dramatically. So it adds an additional operational layer to a strategic level game.

In practice, this means you have to think carefully of where and how your combined arms works. Do I have my planes close to the front at the expense of not having my armies not be available as reserves (since they move slower). Armor on the front so they can maximize their reach or 1-2 hexes back so the Inf can create a hole (hopefully) for the tanks to drive through. So on a front do you want Inf/Planes/Tanks or Tanks/Inf/Planes, etc. As these decisions do make a difference.

Of course no stacking is totally unrealistic but this game is not War in the Pacific/East/West either. The lack of stacking does take getting used to, but if you look at it the right way, it does add to the things the player needs to consider when playing.

[Rosseau]

Having owned every game since the Battlefront days and paying full price for every one, I have to stop here. And I mean every one, so we're talking several hundreds dollars.

If you only have classic, or no games at all, this one is super-highly recommended, imo. But if you already have Europe, we should really have been given a $20 discount. I understand the developers need the $40 to survive, but I have paid my dues so to speak [;)]

[Grim.Reaper]

ORIGINAL: Rosseau

Having owned every game since the Battlefront days and paying full price for every one, I have to stop here. And I mean every one, so we're talking several hundreds dollars.

If you only have classic, or no games at all, this one is super-highly recommended, imo. But if you already have Europe, we should really have been given a $20 discount. I understand the developers need the $40 to survive, but I have paid my dues so to speak [;)]

Although not $20, if you do own the Europe game on steam and you purchase this new one on steam, you do get a 25% discount making the game $29 ($10 discount). It's a shame that if you order through Matrix the same discount is not available. I haven't jumped in either, still seeing what other feedback comes first.

[demyansk]

Same here, just too many games coming out

[Ason]

How do I activate Sc3 on steam? I bought it through matrix, I found the cd-key in the file "serialreg.txt" but im not sure that's the right place. Anyway when I enter it on steam it says it's not a valid key.