Panzer Command: Kharkov Impressions

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Mraah
Speaking of Tutorial ... although the RCG is self explainitory, I didn't see any manual besides the how-to-edit. Anyway, when I built my RCG I had no problem ... except ... I wasn't too sure when it was finished ... it seemed to sit for a bit towards the end. I played it safe and waited until it said everything was saved OK. Again, not a problem, perhaps I need to read the manual, but hey ....[:)]

There's a manual addendum on the RCG and RBG - it's located in the Start Menu group for Kharkov under the Documentation sub-folder. Unfortunately the RCG interface was still a bit in flux when the manual went to print, so we had to put the final info in the addendum.

Regards,

- Erik

[ravinhood]

Ok when are those AI quality reports going to start pouring in? What difficulty are you playing on and how bad are you getting BEAT? Looking for someone like me who usually plays their first games on the highest difficulties...anybody out there doing that?

[ghostryder]

Following Erik's suggestion I played the turorial and here are my first impressions [:)]
 
Buying, downloading and installing went without a hitch as usual for Matrix titles. During installion options to install Netframe 1.1 and Direct X were offered. Although both were already installed I opted to go ahead with it- it simply looks for what needs updated and exits. An extra couple minutes. Game started up nicely- few seconds for it to load.
 
On the startup screen there is an option linking the tutorial-but this is also found under the start-programs menu as well. Under here is also your design and editing tools, a matrix catalog, the manual and a what's new readme and a few other thins I quickly browsed through.
 
I followed the tutorial except I failed to set the game on easy as suggested and went with normal. My advance line was somewhat different and the game played through with different results than in the tutorial. In that the game finishes with a marginal victory while I was able to pull off a historic victory. Again where I veered from the suggestions of the tutorial was somewhat minor. I only halted my halftracks on one turn keeping them pretty much in line with my tanks. On first contact in the tutorial the example had the leader tank getting stunned and returning fire-whereas my result was the anti tank shot missed and was immediately taken out one the second shot where it then exploded.
 
I think I advanced a little too quick as I was fully engaged two turns latter- where even the halftracks were returning fire- and I then took the objective before even my artillery became available. In fact unlike the tutorial the soviet incoming altilery never happened.-
 
from here I'm going to read the manul as suggested but my first take is the game is very easy to play. I'm completely new to the series and I found the interface easy and logical. The camera features very good and as a whole an excellent setup. The whole thing is designed for ease of play from the ground up-yet a lot of details can be brought up with a simple mouse click. If you don't have a middle mouse button the shift ket nicely subs for that and there's the tab key that takes you to an event and 3 default camera mods with the 1,2 and 3 keys. Navigating the map is about as easy as it can be.
 
One major selling point for me was the campaign mod and the random campaign mod with units that follow through. This roleplay aspect is what I would have liked in other games like Talonsoft's campaign series and I am very happy to see it here.
 
The graphics may not be whiz bang eye drop but they aren't bad by any means either. Very nice in fact. Track marks are left in the snow, smoke appears, fire is fast with trails and so on. No complaints here on the graphics whatsoever. They are detailed enough for my eyes while at the same time any halfway decent modeller should be able to model units into a mod very easily and they would look very much in place.
 
As mentioned this was just a quick runthrough on the tutorial and I've yet dived into a campaign- but I'd say there's an awful lot here for the very reasonable price of $39.95. I'll be playing a lot of this.
 
Thanks Erik and Matrix for another winner!
 
 

[WayneBGood]

Congratulations to matrix on their new release. I just have one question after getting burned on purchasing 2 games from other software companies, (Vista issues) will there be a demo released?
Thanks,
Wayne

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: ghostryder
Thanks Erik and Matrix for another winner!

Thanks for the excellent first impressions! Enjoy! [8D]

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Badcat
Congratulations to matrix on their new release. I just have one question after getting burned on purchasing 2 games from other software companies, (Vista issues) will there be a demo released?

Eventually, most likely but we haven't set a date or started work on it yet. I will say this though, we tested Kharkov on Vista quite a bit and it worked perfectly every time, no issues whatsoever. In fact, I believe we included Vista in our "recommended" harware requirements.

Regards,

- Erik

[rickier65]

I've just finished installing this to my laptop. This laptop is at the low end (almost falling off the edge of the low end) of the spec reqirements. It wouldn't run the PCOWS demo even after loading some graphical "emulators".

In any event, I thought I'd give PCK a try on the laptop since Erik made a comment on one thread that it might work.

Low and behold, I installed and fired it up and set everything to low and if came up just fine. I just started the tutorial and didn't play too far, but the PCOWS demo ALWAYS failed when it finished loading the animations. I played through couple of turns.

So thanks good job on this! I'll be able to enjoy it while I'm on the road now.

Rick

[Erik Rutins]

Great to hear, we really put an effort into making sure it would work on lower end systems. It may not look pretty, but it will run.

[Ardem]

Well I purchased the bundle being a huge CM player, I came in after reading the forums expecting a very cut down version, and in many respects I was right, but still enjoyable to play. Some unique command offering such as Bound and more platoon style commands which I have enjoyed.
 
But my main reason for purchase was the Random Campaign Generator, although nice I am a little disappointed, and this may be due to my lack of knowledge, but I one major issue that I would like to be able to do and that is change the core units. The Generator feel very light on and I believe there is much more you can progress with this.
 
Also some wish list things are, which will help the longevity of the game
- Choose the majority of the style of opposition, rather then very similar opponents on different maps. (tank heavy force one map inf heavy force the next)
- Ability to choose how big the core force are, so can play a battalion rather then a cut down battlegroup.
- ability in battle generator to choose your forces would be nice as well, at the moment it seems I can select the whole lot and not 'cherrypick' aka pick a tiger or so forth.
 
-----
Also a small bug that is really annonying is when vehicles can stuck on other vehicles and don't move or reserve back and find a new path, you have to manually plot a course and most times you have to wait till a non reaction phase.
 
I am enjoying the game, although already I know it will be a 1-2 month game v a many year obsession, but I think you can go much further in future releases, even by not running towards a cm like game, I think there is a lot more scope you can do just in AI interaction and ability to play more random aspect.
 
PS any engineering defences in this other then mines?
 
Hopefully you have not found my comments to much of a put down, but I feel there is a lot more this game can use to install a wow factor. Keep up the good work.

[Tomus]

My first impression is excellent. I'm loving the variety of campaigns and the setting. Its still a very hard game to play and I'm finding I'm getting horribly chewed up by the Russians. But that is all part of learning curve. Also which is a bonus is that the LOS seems much more realistic now, in WS it always felt slightly unrealistic. Units that should have been spotted simply weren't. Good game so far!

[Erik Rutins]

Hi Ardem,

ORIGINAL: Ardem
But my main reason for purchase was the Random Campaign Generator, although nice I am a little disappointed, and this may be due to my lack of knowledge, but I one major issue that I would like to be able to do and that is change the core units. The Generator feel very light on and I believe there is much more you can progress with this.
Also some wish list things are, which will help the longevity of the game
- Choose the majority of the style of opposition, rather then very similar opponents on different maps. (tank heavy force one map inf heavy force the next)
- Ability to choose how big the core force are, so can play a battalion rather then a cut down battlegroup.
- ability in battle generator to choose your forces would be nice as well, at the moment it seems I can select the whole lot and not 'cherrypick' aka pick a tiger or so forth.

Thanks for your feedback and suggestions! The RCG was actually the last feature added and it's definitely true that we could do more with it. Regarding your suggestions, the first one is easy to implement. The second and third are a bit harder, but I have some ideas on that. Rest assured we are listening and will continue to improve things.

Also a small bug that is really annonying is when vehicles can stuck on other vehicles and don't move or reserve back and find a new path, you have to manually plot a course and most times you have to wait till a non reaction phase.

Hm, I haven't had that happen in a while, but it may be a play style difference causing me to miss that. When you say they won't move or back up, if you have a save for that I'd love to check it out

I am enjoying the game, although already I know it will be a 1-2 month game v a many year obsession, but I think you can go much further in future releases, even by not running towards a cm like game, I think there is a lot more scope you can do just in AI interaction and ability to play more random aspect.

Well, by 1-2 months from now we should have an update out so hopefully we'll be able to get in some of your suggestions. I agree, there's much more we can do but we had to release the game someday. [;)]

PS any engineering defences in this other then mines?

There are bunkers (log and concrete) and sandbags and barbed wire and tank traps as placeable items in the Scene Editor, but they are not used much on the historical maps. Making a "fortified" map from one of the existing ones by placing these would actually be pretty easy with the Scene Editor (apart from the fact that the Scene Editor is not an easy tool).

Hopefully you have not found my comments to much of a put down, but I feel there is a lot more this game can use to install a wow factor. Keep up the good work.

Thanks again for your feedback, I though you put forth some good suggestions.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Tomus
My first impression is excellent. I'm loving the variety of campaigns and the setting. Its still a very hard game to play and I'm finding I'm getting horribly chewed up by the Russians. But that is all part of learning curve. Also which is a bonus is that the LOS seems much more realistic now, in WS it always felt slightly unrealistic. Units that should have been spotted simply weren't. Good game so far!

Glad you're having fun! It's nice to see someone comment on the improved LOS, something we really focused on over Winterstorm. Have you tried the Boot Camp campaign yet?

Regards,

- Erik

[kam99]

My impressions after several hours of game play are that this game is very, very good, perhaps even excellent, and the system has the potential to be the best WW2 tactical programme ever.

My background is that I bought the original Steel Panthers and all the follow-ups. I still play the occasional game of SPWW2 or SPMBT. I bought the original Combat Mission BO, CMBB and CMAK. I was late into the Close Combat genre, but bought and sold Cross of Iron. IMHO Battlefront have lost their way with Combat Mission Shock Force. Although I have installed patch 8, I just don’t play it anymore.

Anyway, back to PCK. It gave me the same Wow factor as the first time I loaded the original Steel Panthers. Although CM1 was a very good technical system it never had that Wow factor. I have played the tutorial, followed by a couple of random battles (50 points gives a good 2 tank versus 2 tank battle). I have just finished the Boot Camp tutorial campaign. I am very impressed. This is the best war game I have purchased for many years, perhaps the best ever.

There is always room for improvement and I look forward to supporting the project as it matures and becomes even better.

Well done Matrix and Koios. A particular well done to Erik. He seems to have been on the boards 24 hours a day for the last few weeks promoting and supporting this product. It was well worth the wait.

Kam

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: kam99
My impressions after several hours of game play are that this game is very, very good, perhaps even excellent, and the system has the potential to be the best WW2 tactical programme ever.

<snip>

This is the best war game I have purchased for many years, perhaps the best ever.

Wow, thank you!!

[ghostryder]

I agree. this may well end up being one of the best wargames you can get. At first glance it looks like CM but once you dive in and experience the play mechanics you see it's a whole other game.
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I highly recommend boot camp before tackling the campaigns. They are well thought out in teaching good combat tactics. This is one of those games that will make you pay for mistakes on the battlefield.
&nbsp;
For my taste the way the interface is layed out and the command structure is setup this game exceeds the CM series in ease of play and 'fun' factor without giving up anything in depth. It's still there but it doesn't hamper the play of the game.
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There's room for improvement but overall for $39.95 there's lots of game fun here. Even better is the path they choose to impliment the improvements where they combine with previous releases in making one better 'whole' . If you own Winter storm the game updates the new system improvements and all maps and scenarios play as one - and one can imagine what we're have down the road with following releases. It could very well be the Granddaddy of them all.
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I'm also excited in what the modders will be offering now that we have some tools in place. The possabilities are wide open and with the support Matrix shows I can't but be assured things can only get better when right now they are aren't shabby by any means [:)]
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Matrix really has released some gems this year and this is one of them. It's been a very good year if your a wargamer!

[sabre100]

I agree this is an excellent game please make a western front one using this engine ASAP!!!  as well as Modern day equivelant would be cool!

Nice work Matrix and all involved plus the $15 for previous owners was very nice as well. In fact I tossed my CM CDs in the trash dont' need them any more.

[Erik Rutins]

Thanks, sabre100 - and I know this is a nit-pick, but it was actually $15 off which works out to more than 37% off! [8D]

[Capitaine]

I purchased and began playing PCK today. I'm not that into tactical games and I didn't like CM very much. But PZK attracted me because (a) it is turn-based; (b) while it's individual AFVs and squads, it's platoon-based; (c) the terrain is NOT artificially concentrated like board games (Panzerblitz, ASL, etc.) and some computer games but is actual, historic and in-scale; (d) the graphics are high-quality; and (e) there appears to be a lot of dedication to this series as demonstrated by Erik and the devs on this and other forums.

One thing I didn't like about CM was accounting for every man and tank, micromanaging them down to individual LOS, and having way too much information and godlike knowledge and control. With PCK, each tank is modelled but I issue commands at the platoon level and only worry about individual vehicles in very special cases. This is a very big attraction to me.

After playing through the tutorial and 2 Boot Camp scenarios, I'm a bit more clued in with how things work and can say that this game has its own system and doesn't feel at all like CM -- which is good for me and refutes those who would say it's a clone of that game. It's not. I really like the way infantry is done here and don't miss 1:1 accounting for losses at all. This feels more like Squad Leader was, where your individual "steps" are your squad units -- although they do take casualties. Referring to the discussion had here before release, I wouldn't mind seeing 1:1 graphic representation of infantry, and showing reduced numbers to reflect the casualty levels, but the basic representation of infantry as the squad unit is great as is.

The presentation of the game is well done and very professional. It seems to exude quality. I find that the graphic style is very accurate and gives the impression of a first-class game. The maps convey the actual lay of the land and make me feel like it's really Russia from the photos and movies I've seen, not an amateur model train set crammed full of contrasting terrain. And weighing in on another debated point, I like the "coins" used to ID units. They work very well for me and don't interfere with the art of the unit itself. (VERY well done bases could work for me, but honestly I haven't seen a fully 3-D game yet that has done that effectively.)

I prefer the probability-based combat computations of PCK to a supposedly "accurate ballistics" method. I feel it games better and is just as realistic, if not more, as trying to model ballistics in a computer model. I don't feel all the factors of real life combat on ballistics can be accounted for. So I'm very pleased in this respect too.

The only two issues of any kind that I encountered were:
(1) In the Boot Camp 2 scenario introduction, the text states "Don't loose it!" Pet peeve of mine, it's "LOSE"!
(2) In the section in the manual on "Order Execution Delay", it says the Soviets have a 40-second delay and the Germans none due to their use of radios. I can see this for their panzers, but the infantry too? I would think that conveying orders from one squad to another wouldn't involve radio, but maybe it's based on a higher organazation level? I'd like to hear what the rationale is on this point, but it's a fairly minor thing and if there should be some delay I'm sure it can be addressed.

I'd like to commend Koios for embracing historical maps and actions as the basis for their game. I'd like to see more such maps in the future and, especially, the larger ones that've been promised.

This is a really solid product and everything worked without a hitch from a technical standpoint, from purchase to download to installation. To me it seems to be one of the more impressive Matrix products I've purchased in some time. Looking forward to the continuation of this series. Great job to all involved.

[Titanwarrior89]

Down loading now.&nbsp; Hope the game is up to what you guys are saying.&nbsp; I really didn't care for Winter Storm.&nbsp; Not a bad game but not a great one either.&nbsp; [:)]&nbsp;Also ordered my copy of EU: Rome.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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Looks like its going to be a good Month. [:D]

[Stridor]

Thanks for your kind words Capitaine.

ORIGINAL: Capitaine

The only two issues of any kind that I encountered were:
(1) In the Boot Camp 2 scenario introduction, the text states "Don't loose it!" Pet peeve of mine, it's "LOSE"!

Entirely my fault as I wrote the boot camp tuts and I agree it is irritating. Sorry I missed it.