Matrix Games Forums

Hi guys. I really love your works! But why its so hard to find your games on mobile Devices? I read ah article stating that more than 50% of games are played in mobile..... now come most of your games are still only pc based? I guess there would be huges opportunities for you in mobile platforms.... i even own so e games on both iPad and PC (panzer corps for example) .


Please give us a sign of hope!

Cheers Ciccio

It's likely not so much the device is not desired or the operating system is the problem, but most wargames require a sizable viewing surface, and require the employment of a mouse.

Battle Academy is not impossible, and Panzer Corps is possible, but a game like War in the East is just way to complex, needs a much larger screen to be enjoyable, and would suck the battery power out of a device rapidly. That would also apply to most opertational level wargames such as The Operational Art of War, Strategic Command, and the Close Combat series is just to much in need of a mouse input device.

Most wargames on a small screen would be about the same as most movies on a small screen. I have no intentional of ever watching a movie on my phone or instance. Ok to use to play music, but not video. Those willing to use small devices for long periods of time for intense viewing needs, are probably ruining their eyesight.

There ARE a lot of wargames made for mobile devices. But they are made for the device. Most PC wargames are made with the expectation they will be played on a PC.
Chec out Joni Nuutinen if you need a wargame fix for your mobile.

Mmmmh, i am not sure i agree. I used to play Commader the Great war and still have fun with Civilization VI: both games have huge maps, a lot of units and plenty of graphical details. Than u should know that Total war porting was a huge success.

I think dimensions dont metter here .... I Think it is just a question of production strategical choice.

Hugs, Ciccio

if there was any money to make, then pc developers would still be there, as there not, it speaks for itself

ORIGINAL: cicciopastic

Mmmmh, i am not sure i agree. I used to play Commader the Great war and still have fun with Civilization VI: both games have huge maps, a lot of units and plenty of graphical details. Than u should know that Total war porting was a huge success.

I think dimensions dont metter here .... I Think it is just a question of production strategical choice.

Hugs, Ciccio

I played the Nintendo DS Civ on a tablet, it was ok. It was a severely stunted version though.
You will find no shortage of wargamers who play Civ but refuse to compare it with actual wargames such as War in the East.

You have a right to play whatever you wish on a tablet. But I have talked with actual developers, and they don't do it for the money in most cases, because there isn't much money in it. That's not strategic marketing, that's the actual reality of wargaming.

Civ and titles like Total war are mainstream products. Most 'wargames' are niche inside of a niche product sold to specialty consumers. Which is why most mainstream gamers have never heard of Matrix Games and Slitherine. We are very demanding of accuracy and method of being played. And they are well aware of those demands.

ORIGINAL: cicciopastic

Hi guys. I really love your works! But why its so hard to find your games on mobile Devices? I read ah article stating that more than 50% of games are played in mobile..... now come most of your games are still only pc based? I guess there would be huges opportunities for you in mobile platforms.... i even own so e games on both iPad and PC (panzer corps for example) .


Please give us a sign of hope!

Cheers Ciccio

Apple simply does not have a market share worth exploiting. Android certainly does though.

but most android users expect free or for very little, so the margins aren't worth the time or effort to develop on imo and is why most don't or no longer port

From my experience:

Android Users basically expect games to be free or almost free. Only real way to make money is to have in game purchases or advertising. Neither models fit traditional wargames that well.

iOS user will buy a game but not in sufficent volumes or price point to make it worthwhile. Again companies make money by in game purchases or advertising.

Despite the widespread use of Mobile devices, PC is still the number one for most developers to make any money, especially in the fairly niche market of wargames.

I have bought most of Joni Nuutinen's WW2 titles (for Android), at usually 6 bucks a go (Canadian).
That's like 20+ titles

He regularly updates them.

6 bucks is not much to ask for a decent wargame. And with something like Bluestacks, I can play the game on my big TV screen through my PC and not need to wreck my eyesight in the doing.

They are decent games, and shouldn't be felt to be lame based on price or device.
But he will tell you, he wouldn't expect to get anything out of porting them to PC.

One of the harsh truths of wargaming, is you likely need a real day job as a developer.
This hobby won't pay your bills for the most part.

One of the harsh truths of wargaming, is you likely need a real day job as a developer.
This hobby won't pay your bills for the most part.

100% agree with this part, from what i'm told anyway and by Lance the yobowargames developer and others, and not just a few, quite the norm now days as so many say the same thing

..... ok i see your points. I really am not in the position of discussing the marginability of mobile games .... so i will not insist on this point .... anyway to me is a great pity! I know we are in a niche (i have been a niche player since the spi and avalon Hill era!) .... but i Miss the opportunity of playng My favorite games anyware without been stick to my pc.

I was sick when commander the great war was not upgraded ..... even if i do not consider it a very complex game. I would love to play strategic command on my tablet! I think there may be some way to rise profitability! Say for istance..... immagine to port strategic command.... you my sell different scenarios as in app purchases or give the chance to play diferent nations only as in app purchases.

On the Other hand i would not stand the idea of having ads while playng.

Surely i would love to play ageod games, panzer corps, order f battle, toaw,field of glory ..... and many other on iPad. And i would surely consider to pay the app as much as i pay on steam.....

But probably i am once more in a niche....

A few options still exist:

- If you had them purchased, buy a used iPad 2 or 3 with older OS and then install from App Store - they are still there but can't be seen with newer App Store versions. Then turn off wi-fi to avoid IOS upgrades. I did this on my old iPAD 4 and still have functional copies of BA2, CTGW and P & S.

- If you would like to play within your house but away from the computer - use Steamlink on either IOS or Android. I play everything Matrix / Slitherine from Pride of Nations to Strategic Command WIE on my tablets with no problems. Turn based games are low on graphic updates so you can use 2.4 ghz and get some additional range. If you are near your wireless router and want some more graphic updated speed for RTS etc - then use 5 ghz.

- There are some non-Matrix games that can satisfy a strategy or war game itch:

The Last Warlord = Romance of the 3 Kingdoms on Tablet.
Rome Total War Series - I hate RTS but you can choose when to fight the real time battles or just use auto-resolve.
Egypt Old Kingdom - great for early history buffs
Command and Colors The Great War - produced by Hexwar but don't dismiss it just on that. It's actually fun.
Wars and Battles - Normandy and '73 October War - nice turn based system.
JTS Mobile Apps - Civil War Battles, Panzer Campaigns, Modern Campaigns - still all fun and supported.
Realpolitiks - casual modern political game.
Wars Across the World - lots of scenarios historical across various eras in a easy to play format.

ORIGINAL: DonCzirr
- If you would like to play within your house but away from the computer - use Steamlink on either IOS or Android. I play everything Matrix / Slitherine from Pride of Nations to Strategic Command WIE on my tablets with no problems. Turn based games are low on graphic updates so you can use 2.4 ghz and get some additional range. If you are near your wireless router and want some more graphic updated speed for RTS etc - then use 5 ghz.

wow i didn't know it!!!!!! [&o] i already installed it on my ipad! i will try it next weekend!!!! thanks a lot!!!! [&o]

about the games you proposed:

The Last Warlord = Romance of the 3 Kingdoms on Tablet.

never heard of it, i will have a look to it

Rome Total War Series - I hate RTS but you can choose when to fight the real time battles or just use auto-resolve.

i got it on pc, but i dont play it much

Egypt Old Kingdom - great for early history buffs

i knew it and always thougth it was promising ... i will give it a chance

Command and Colors The Great War - produced by Hexwar but don't dismiss it just on that. It's actually fun.

dont like it

Wars and Battles - Normandy and '73 October War - nice turn based system.

i have it! its very nice! unlukily the editor disappeared after the second title [:(]

JTS Mobile Apps - Civil War Battles, Panzer Campaigns, Modern Campaigns - still all fun and supported.

mmmh ... i got a couple of them: i used to play them a lot, but i got bored

Realpolitiks - casual modern political game.
Wars Across the World - lots of scenarios historical across various eras in a easy to play format.

never heard of those, i will have a look to them

thanks very much my friend ... your post was VERY interesting! i will let u know how was my experience with steam link!!!

cheers, Pietro

NP - we mobile war gamers need to stick together - as the odds are always stacked against us [:D]

Just buy a tablet with Windows operating system and play any Windows game on it the hardware can run. I have now an old one with 1,47 GHz Atom processor and Win8, and it runs every Matrix game I have thrown at it, including Panzer Corps, Battle Academy, and Pandora. Most demanding game I have played on it is Age of Wonders III. That... wasn't pleasant, but playable nevertheless. Just remember this: first touch on the screen moves pointer on it, and you need second touch on the same spot for a click. I didn't understand it the first time I played Battle Academy and I almost tore my hair off.

What tablet do you have?

I've considered this path in the past but the Surface Pro line seemed a bit pricey - compared to the Samsung Tab A I got for 229.00 USD that allowed for playing just about anything via Steamlink.

The obvious advantage of the Windows tablet is that you are not tied to your router range - so this still interests me.

Lots of tablets that run Windows: https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=windows+t ... sdeptsrh=1

Thanks Lobster.

The reason I was asking Kuokkanen was that in PCs and other equipment, what is good for gen pop is not always good for gamers.

So a recommendation from a gamer would be more appreciated than the bulk reviews on vendor sites.

It's not neglect. As one of those have-to-have-a-day-job-to-pay-the-bills wargame developers, We already spend a ton of hours just dealing with the support issues of the windows PC platform that we develop in and understand the best. Yes, I can hit a switch in our IDE and compile a MacOS or other port (not quite that simple, but for sake of arguments will go with it), but none of our team has the equipment with the OS, none of us have years of experience debugging and troubleshooting player issues that arise, nor do we have the extra money sitting idle to find a few programmer who are experts in iOS or Linux who could support things once we spend even more time and money getting them familiar with our code. No player is going to want to pay 80-100 plus bucks for a game to "help" support that effort either. Too many folks already complain if a game is over 20 dollars these days even though the economics of it show those 20-60 dollar wargames in the 80s/90s would cost 40-120 bucks in today's dollars adjusting for just standard inflation. If there are indie developers out there making war games, they aren't getting rich from it and that also limits what can be done in terms of ports and localizations and other niffty things like that. It's just the world we live in right now. Maybe one day it will change. [8D]

ORIGINAL: DonCzirr

What tablet do you have?

Asus T100TAM-DK002B
(B could also be 8; damn fine print)

Intel Atom CPU Z3775 @ 1.46 GHz
2 BG of RAM
Intel HD Graphics (GPU)
50 GB solid-state drive
Windows 8
32-bit operating system, x64-processor (wut?)
Attachable/detachable keyboard
Touchscreen doesn't work every time I start the thing (don't work now, trying reboot ... works after reboot)

As I said, it's old by now and I don't recommend it with Win10 (look up YouTube videos how it runs with 2 GB of RAM). I might have paid ~600 € for this when new.