HEX OF STEEL : Great successor for Strategic Command 1

[welk]

Name : Hex of Steel
Scale : strategic and operationnal


I founded the successor of Strategic Command 1 : a simple (not "monster game"), addictive, synthetic and classic wargame, with excellent AI (In addition, AI play his turn very quickly : a must)

The game includes a good map editor + unit editor, + country editor. You may use it to build campaigns and scenarios or "what if ?" (I will do when mod will be finished). There is also a quick generator of battles, for those who want randomly operationnal scenarios

Vanilla game comes with operationnel campaigns, operationnel scenarios, or strategic scenarios


Links to the game : https://valentin56610.itch.io/hex-of-steel


The only bad point for this game : Too bad look (in my opinion)

I am working to mod it as I did for Strategic Command 3 and Warplan, in "classic wargame mod"

When work will be completed, the game will have the look of a "old good classic wargame"

Here are screens :
(work in progress)
The look of game after modding (work is in progress and highlight will be a little bit different and better for tiles map ; all unites are not modded : only some US units are modded at this time, others are vanilla or empty)




The look of vanilla game :

[Rosseau]

This is good news, Welk! I did buy the game from Steam on release day but have waited to play it extensively, as it continues to evolve so much.

As I posted on Steam, there is no other game in my 40-year memory, where the dev has updated it every single day.

I look forward to your excellent mod!

Best wishes,

Michael

[Simulacra53]

Welk - you did the map for SC3 and the also the basis for IronX’s mod maps, right?

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4193147

I just have to say I really LOVE this map look, I wish it was in all my wargames.

[Simulacra53]

PS including Warplan / Warplan Pacific.

Very happy to anticipate this type of map in Hex of Steel!
If you need someone to try out, more than happy to take a peek.

[Simulacra53]

…missed the Warplan comment, but I can’t seem to find that one, other than a comment (to me) that you had removed all images and made it a private mod. Did you ever re-release, and if not, what is holding you back today.

Your map art is imo one of the nicest in the genre, heart breaking that we could be missing out on that in Warplan / Warplan Pacific!

Of course the idea of having similar map art in Hex of Steel is very nice indeed.

Fanboi here.

[&o]

[IslandInland]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1240 ... _of_Steel/


Lots of emperor's new clothes about this game.

I played the demo.

I was shelling a Russian city from 50 miles away with German WWII infantry guns.

Ridiculous. Trying to do too much with the game. Is it strategic or operational or tactical or just what the hell.

I don't like it and since the name change from Operation Citadel to the current name the price has nearly tripled.

Not for me.

[MrsWargamer]

ORIGINAL: IslandInland

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1240 ... _of_Steel/


Lots of emperor's new clothes about this game.

I played the demo.

I was shelling a Russian city from 50 miles away with German WWII infantry guns.

Ridiculous. Trying to do too much with the game. Is it strategic or operational or tactical or just what the hell.

I don't like it and since the name change from Operation Citadel to the current name the price has nearly tripled.

Not for me.

I told him to raise the price Actually
I think he's doing a heck of a job for one guy and a novice at that.
I think for a first time novice, I'm plenty impressed.
I've spent a lot more, for a lot more and gotten something I really never got excited enough to play either.

[welk]

ORIGINAL: Simulacra53

…missed the Warplan comment, but I can’t seem to find that one, other than a comment (to me) that you had removed all images and made it a private mod. Did you ever re-release, and if not, what is holding you back today.

Your map art is imo one of the nicest in the genre, heart breaking that we could be missing out on that in Warplan / Warplan Pacific!

Of course the idea of having similar map art in Hex of Steel is very nice indeed.

Fanboi here.

[&o]

I stopped to use Warplan because I saw that editor had bugs. The big problem with actual wargames is that developpers do not enought test their editor, and that players do not use a lot editors : so, by this way, editors are not completly tested and very oft "out" of use.

I never experimented that sort of problems with old good games like Steel Panthers, Civil war general, Age of Rifles, Third Reich PC, Strategic Command 1, etc : in these games, editors were perfectly tested and without bugs, it was a pleasure to work with.

It is not a special pb for Warplan, SC2 and SC3 had same pb in editor : when you take "alternative ways" in editor, you encounter bugs and problems because of lack of test for functions.

I have now the same pb with Hex of Steel : The game is made to be modded, but... It does not work : when you implement more of 100/110 modified files, game fails to load. And to mod Hex of Steel, you have more than 1000 files to modify...

What I wanted to do with this game was to change the look and to modify parameters of units, to implement only essential kind of military units : Infantry, mechanized inf, motoriszed inf, heavy armored, light armored, paratroops, etc (in place of detailled oob with each detailled kind of armor, that has no any sense).

But I have also to stop the work, due to bugs problem. It's a pity, but impossible to mod games with bugged editor...

I have these days found a original wargame made by a old developper and without any bug in editor, he has sent to me the "prototype" (at this time, this wargame is not for sale, it's a private soft, but I will mod it for my way and I will try to convainc the developper to diffuse it. On the other hand, it's a very special wargaming system, I am not sure it would be accepted by wargamers. I will post some screen when work will be more advanced : It covers 1914-1918 war (west front) and also East Front 1941-1944

[welk]

ORIGINAL: IslandInland

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1240 ... _of_Steel/


Lots of emperor's new clothes about this game.

I played the demo.

I was shelling a Russian city from 50 miles away with German WWII infantry guns.

Ridiculous. Trying to do too much with the game. Is it strategic or operational or tactical or just what the hell.

I don't like it and since the name change from Operation Citadel to the current name the price has nearly tripled.

Not for me.

It's just a little thing : I had planed to modify this and to calibrate differently parameters of all units, to have a real classic wargame with realistic units : It was possible to do that with the game. In the final situation, Hex of Steel would have been a wargame with look of "old good classic wargame", with realistic and adapted oob. This game has a real big potential, because AI is excellent. Unfortunatly, the bugged editor blocks the work. I made some suggestions to the developper (in particular to implement the possibility for play to calibrate highlight of tiles map, etc), but it seems have no intention to take this way. I think this game could have been a real great "hit" with some little modifications, but without these modifications, it will stay at level of a "panzer General like". I never understanded why developpers waste their talent : They work hard on their games, they reach approx 75% in quality, but they always miss 25% and finally they have worked for nothing

[Lobster]

From what I see it was never meant to be a serious war game. Just something to do while you wait for the dishwasher to get done.

[Simulacra53]

ORIGINAL: welk

ORIGINAL: Simulacra53

…missed the Warplan comment, but I can’t seem to find that one, other than a comment (to me) that you had removed all images and made it a private mod. Did you ever re-release, and if not, what is holding you back today.

Your map art is imo one of the nicest in the genre, heart breaking that we could be missing out on that in Warplan / Warplan Pacific!

Of course the idea of having similar map art in Hex of Steel is very nice indeed.

Fanboi here.

[&o]

I stopped to use Warplan because I saw that editor had bugs. The big problem with actual wargames is that developpers do not enought test their editor, and that players do not use a lot editors : so, by this way, editors are not completly tested and very oft "out" of use.

I never experimented that sort of problems with old good games like Steel Panthers, Civil war general, Age of Rifles, Third Reich PC, Strategic Command 1, etc : in these games, editors were perfectly tested and without bugs, it was a pleasure to work with.

It is not a special pb for Warplan, SC2 and SC3 had same pb in editor : when you take "alternative ways" in editor, you encounter bugs and problems because of lack of test for functions.

I have now the same pb with Hex of Steel : The game is made to be modded, but... It does not work : when you implement more of 100/110 modified files, game fails to load. And to mod Hex of Steel, you have more than 1000 files to modify...

What I wanted to do with this game was to change the look and to modify parameters of units, to implement only essential kind of military units : Infantry, mechanized inf, motoriszed inf, heavy armored, light armored, paratroops, etc (in place of detailled oob with each detailled kind of armor, that has no any sense).

But I have also to stop the work, due to bugs problem. It's a pity, but impossible to mod games with bugged editor...

I have these days found a original wargame made by a old developper and without any bug in editor, he has sent to me the "prototype" (at this time, this wargame is not for sale, it's a private soft, but I will mod it for my way and I will try to convainc the developper to diffuse it. On the other hand, it's a very special wargaming system, I am not sure it would be accepted by wargamers. I will post some screen when work will be more advanced : It covers 1914-1918 war (west front) and also East Front 1941-1944

Breaks my heart.

[X(]

Like I said, I’m a fan of your map style - would really have love to see that style for both Warplan and Hex of Steel - as it looks wonderful in the SC3 series. Actually any wargame with your map mod style would instantly increase its appeal for a purchase on my side. However if you can’t make it work, you can’t make it work - mods are a labor of love and once the passion isn’t there anymore, you can’t force it - even though I would have loved to have seen Warplan in your glorious map style, or Hex of Steel for that matter,

Thanks for your explanation.

As for Hex.

I disagree with the price strategy, he listened to the wrong people and he’s now in a more demanding niche.
Although development is constant, he’s also listening to everybody and introducing changes at too high a pace - introducing new issues. Indeed it would be better to focus on the core.

I lost some of my enjoyment with 4.0 although I did like his new unit counters a lot.
This is still a beer and pretzels game.

To each his own opinion.

[Waffenamt]

I don't have it myself, but it's included in the current Steam sale. Just thought I'd pass that on... [:)]