Do You Like Wargames?

[Leonidas]

Originally posted by ravagon
LOL@Leonidas!
I haven't seen that one before. You've inspired me to have another go at it too now. However given my past performances I will almost certainly NOT be posting results here.

ravagon: It surprised the heck outta me too, lol

Glad to see you're having a go at this scenario. You'll definitely have to let us know how you make out

[Leonidas]

THE KOREAN WAR - ROUND TWO

Well, after the surprising results of the last Korean War I fought, I decided to have another go at it. I changed my tactics. This time I will not rely on Chinese reinforcements, but will take the battle directly south to the UN forces.

I know my boys are spoiling for a fight (some of them have been playing the "Rocky" theme on their tin whistles), so I decided to play a very aggressive, offensive campaign.

Here is a map of Korea that includes the major place names to help you follow along:




By turn 17:

1) The UN has moved huge forces north-west from Taejon to Ch'onan and are presently on the outskirts of Suwon, which is just south of Seoul. I am holding them with entrenched elements, but my forces are slowly being pushed back.

2) However, while the UN forces are moving north along the western routes, I have taken substantial NK troops, and I am attempting to do an end run down the east coast road. In the process, I have surrounded and destroyed massive UN troop formations.

3) Presently, I just captured P'ohang, which puts me just north-east of Pusan. I have a defensive line running diagonally from P'ohang that extends to Andong, Yech'on and Ch'ungju (which is south-east of Suwon).

4) I am meeting only Republic of Korea forces, and have been sweeping them aside. My main goal is to push south and capture Pusan and other supply hexes. If I can do that UN reinforcements will be severely curtailed. However, I also run the risk of American retaliation in the form of chemical and/or nuclear weapons. If the Americans do use these weapons, I wonder what China and the Soviet Union will do. . .

5) As I push south I have been meeting very fierce resistence from UN air and naval forces. The buggers. Why can't they let me invade in peace.

6) My forces have been in continuous combat for weeks and they are exhausted. I would like to stop and rest them for a turn or two, but fear that I may lose the initiative. I'm hoping that this threat to Pusan and other supply areas will force the UN froces in the north to turn around and come south again (or at least draw off some of those forces south). It's a risk I'm taking. If the UN forces in the north can win the battle for Seoul, they will have effectively cut me off from my supply. But I'm willing to take the chance. The next several turns will be very tense. . .

7) I have given my commanders only one order: "Attack, attack, attack. . ."

It's all or nothing. . .

[Keygen]

Does anyone remembers the old commodore 64 "Raid over Moscow" and "Theater Europe" back in 80's?
Some awsome war games back then

I also enjoyed Close Combat II.

Some RTS and Civ-like games also rocks but not that relative with the games you mentioned.

BTW, has anyone played Sudden Strike?

[Leonidas]

Originally posted by Keygen
Does anyone remembers the old commodore 64 "Raid over Moscow" and "Theater Europe" back in 80's?
Some awsome war games back then

I also enjoyed Close Combat II.

Some RTS and Civ-like games also rocks but not that relative with the games you mentioned.

BTW, has anyone played Sudden Strike?

Keygen: Hi

There are many excellent games out there. Unfortunately, I never got to play those wargames on the commodore 64.

With regard to Civ II, have you or anyone else played Nemo's "Red Front" scenario?

[Freeze]

Congrats guys! Norm just sold another copy. Somehow TOAW slipped under my radar -- I'm still coping with a nasty Steel Panthers addiction.

Craig

[Leonidas]

Originally posted by Freeze
Congrats guys! Norm just sold another copy. Somehow TOAW slipped under my radar -- I'm still coping with a nasty Steel Panthers addiction.

Craig

Freeze: Welcome to the fold!

There are just so many battles that can be fought with the TOAW game engine.

Did you get the COW version of TOAW? There are a ton of scenarios for the game at the wargamer site.

I know what you mean about Steel Panthers - some of the tried and true games wil never die. . .

[Cookie Monster]

Wow!!!


There has been a lot of activity since my last post. Looks like all you TOAW fans are coming out of the woodwork. Glad to see it. Wargames are really fun and it's a shame more people aren't into them.

Leonidas:

Impressed by your report on your second attempt to subdue the South. I'm also intrigued at your aggressive style. Everytime I have tried to be agressive it's only ended in my defeat. Good luck and take Pusan!

To everyone else:

Welcome aboard!!!!!

[Leonidas]

SITUATION REPORT

1) I have played this Korean War scenario many times, and have won marginal victories in the past. But the fun of playing it now (at least for me) is trying different strategies, especially as the North Koreans.

2) Playing aggressively with the NK has been a blast. It has been a nail-biter right to the very end. Every turn has been filled with surprises, set-backs, attacks and counter-attacks.

3) In the south I managed to fight my way to the outskirts of Pusan. This is the farthest I have ever made it in this scenario. The South Korean army put up a very stiff resistance, especially after Turn 25 (does anyone know if the UN receives shock/attack bonuses about this time in the game?).

4) The UN force heading north along the western front eventually drove back my forces and made it all the way to the Yalu.

5) Several times, the UN forces had cut off the supply route to my army around Pusan. But persistent and repeated counterattacks kept my supply routes open!

6) By Turn 30, my forces were still in the game; they were being supplied; my forces were stretched fairly thin, but they were all hanging on, waiting for the Chinese to enter the fray. I had even maneuvered some NK units to sever the supply lines going to all the UN forces in North Korea. All I needed were the Chinese forces to tip the delicate balance. . .

7) Ahhh, the Chinese - the wild card in the entire affair. Rumour had it that the Chinese were threatening to invade. Yes, they issued threats. . . Yes, they blew their little bugles. . . Yes, they waved their little flags from balconies. . . Yes, their Ambassador smiled and bowed and said "Ahh, so sorry, we come soon. . ."

China, China, wherefore art thou China?

Alas poor China, I knew it well. . .

I came to bury China, not to praise it. . .

As you may already have suspected, the Chinese again failed to intervene in the conflict

gah. . . MacArthur won again. . .

Even so, it was a blast playing this time. It was alot more fun playing aggressively than sitting on defense waiting to be hammered.

Too bad the Chinese failed to show up. It would have made for a very interesting battle. . .

[Leonidas]

Well, I was just stretching my legs and checking up on some of the latest news updates. And I came across some interesting information.

If you think strategy gaming is dead; think again.

Here are two sites I highly recommend:

1) Antik Games

They are making big, historical strategy games like "Pax Romana", "Imperialism", "Napoleon", etc

http://www.antikgames.com/indexuk.html

2) Superpower

Here is a game that turns my crank. It's due out at the end of March. This game encompasses the entire world. Check out some of the screenshots - pretty impressive If the developers can deliver on all that they promise for this game, it will be worth looking at when it's released.

http://www.golemlabs.com/

Here's some info on the game Superpower:

DreamCatcher Acquires SuperPower:
Hard-core PC Strategy Game Using the Largest Military Database Ever assembled in a PC Game


Toronto, Ontario (January 23, 2002) : If you crave ultimate world power, then SuperPower is the PC game for you. DreamCatcher, a fast-growing publisher of PC and console software entertainment, just acquired the North American rights to SuperPower (formerly Defcon) developed by GolemLabs. Set in a real-world scenario that starts January 1,1997 and continues to the present, SuperPower is a vastly complex turn-based PC strategy game that contains the largest military database ever assembled in a strategy game, providing every significant statistic published about the 140 most important countries around the world and more than 4000 different military unit designs.

In SuperPower, players can lead nations to ultimate worldwide dominance (or ruin) by directing the country's political, military, economic and secret service organizations.

SuperPower is a highly sophisticated strategic experience. This game will attract a new audience for DreamCatcher and we are happy to be including it in our 2002 line-up," said Richard Wah Kan, CEO of DreamCatcher Interactive.

"We wanted to make a game that played differently than any other current RTS title," said Jean-Rene Couture, President of GolemLabs. "Sure, in SuperPower you're competing for world domination-but the world in which you're fighting is late 1990's Earth. And our game isn't about building lots of tanks and rumbling into your enemy's city. You have to use demography, politics, economics, and covert action as well as military might to achieve your goals, which makes SuperPower especially cool," Couture explained, "because all of the countries' economic and other data is taken from declassified CIA world fact book and the USNI (periscope database). In fact the gameplay in SuperPower is so realistic, various military personnel have actually contacted us to say that the game is something they might use for their own strategic action and defense training." "When DreamCatcher approached us to publish this product," Couture concluded, "it just seemed like the right publisher/developer match."

Good decision-making skills make or break nations in real life and in this game, where there are lots of choices and decisions to be made. SuperPower has four main goals: remain in power, balance national resources, rid the nation of domestic rebels and terrorists, or world domination. Luckily, players have numerous actions that they can deploy to reach their chosen goal, everything from spying to assassination, rigging elections to terrorist actions, and more.

The political features of SuperPower put the player in the all-powerful driving seat. As the leader of a nation, players will need to negotiate treaties and build relationships with other countries. They can also decide to use secret service organizations, which can also turn against you. But sometimes, unfortunately, countries need to go to war. SuperPower's WarArt system gives players the power to be the ultimate armchair general. Design the battle, instruct the troops with a plan, then the troops need to be left alone to execute. Players don't control every individual unit. Instead, the player places their troops and supplies them with their orders. Hopefully, these troops have enough training, morale, experience and firepower to perform their orders and come back alive. Combat takes place in real world locations generated from the game's complete topographical map.

Players shouldn't get too cocky in this game, as SuperPower's AI supplies a revolutionary approach by combining both neural networks and expert systems. Computer-controlled countries are independent entities that actually learn using the game's problem-solving model. These countries learn how to solve their problems, play against each other and even the player.


Players will also need to decide how much time it will take them to make their mark - one year, five years, ten years, or an unlimited time frame. The game ends when the player has accomplished their chosen goal, reached their time limit, or is overthrown or assassinated.

SuperPower will be released in the Spring of 2002

[Cookie Monster]

Can't wait for Superpower. I heard about it a couple of weeks ago from another poster on this forum. Sounds like a must have for any military gamer.

Leonidas:


I can't believe Peking let you down again. Sounds like you had the battle firmly under control. All you needed was those PLA reinforcements. Oh well there's always next time!

I'll let you know how I did if I get a chance to play this weekend.

[Leonidas]

Originally posted by Haupt. Dietrich
Can't wait for Superpower. I heard about it a couple of weeks ago from another poster on this forum. Sounds like a must have for any military gamer.

Leonidas:


I can't believe Peking let you down again. Sounds like you had the battle firmly under control. All you needed was those PLA reinforcements. Oh well there's always next time!

I'll let you know how I did if I get a chance to play this weekend.

Haupt. Dietrich:

Yes, I had heard about Superpower a while back myself. But I withheld comment, until the game matured a bit more. After spending more time recently looking at the game, it looks and sounds like it will be a very interesting game. I hope it can deliver the goods. If so, it will definitely be a game worth playing.

As to Korea, the Chinese were fickle. Ahh, well, you know what happens to the best laid plans of mice and men

Best of luck on your next game. . .

[Leonidas]

Here is another game I have been keeping tabs on for some time.

It's called Supreme Ruler 2010.

Huge and detailed in conception, it is similar in scope to Superpower. You can take charge of any country in the world and lead it to glory through politics, economics, diplomacy, and war. . .

It's definitely worth a look:

http://www.supremeruler2010.com/index.html

[Leonidas]

I downloaded Shadow President yesterday from the underdog site:

http://www.theunderdogs.org/game.php?id=963

It's been fixed to work better under Win'98.

Or download it here:

http://www.reservatory.org/getgame.php?game=sp

The graphics aren't flashy (1994), but I'm impressed at the detail and info in this simulation. In keeping with the scale of several of the games already mentioned in some of the above posts, you play as President of the US in a shadow government with the ability to have total control of all policy within the US and around the world.

It operates in real time, but involves more thinking than clicking. It might be too sedate for most tastes, but gives you an idea of the overwhelming considerations a global leader is confronted with. If you like making political, diplomatic and military decisions on a global scale, where your every action could have far-reaching implications, then you might find this game interesting.

Just for fun, I pulled a "Dr. Strangelove" heh. . .

I nuked the Soviets and all heck broke lose. The world condemned me. Then the Soviets nuked the US Sirens went off, lights flashed on and off, and a couple of my cabinet members either resigned or were killed. So I nuked the Soviets again.

After a couple of exchanges like this both countries went into a tail-spin and I was finally impeached

So I started a new game (as Dr Strangelove) and nuked China, Syria and Iran. Ohh, boy - the fat hit the pan. . .

World leaders condemned me left, right and center. Nukes were flying at the US from every direction. But I was determined to hang on. . .

I finally met my end through assassination (I discovered this when four gunshots rang out and bullet holes riddled my computer screen!).

I'm now playing a more serious game. I'm giving funding and military hardware to Israel, sending peace overtures to Russia and China, and currently have crises developing along the Iraqi/Kuwait border and in North Korea. I think it's time to call in the CIA and use spy satillites. . .




A quick interface overview:

When the game starts you'll be confronted with a blue screen asking you to type information from the manual. Ignore it. Just type anything, press "Enter" and you'll be able to start the game.

Keyboard keys F1 - F12 gives you global information

Keyboard Keys 1 - 0 increases game time (speed)

In the picture above, moving down the screen on the right hand side:

1) Clicking on the small globe gives your leadership and country's standing against that of the world.

2) Clicking on the next small icon, gives you a picture of a country's city size (click on the respective country first).

3) The small buttons in the lower right hand corner give you a global, regional, or country view of the country you have clicked on (you know you have selected the country when it turns red on the main screen), as well as taking you to a menu screen where you can adjust game options and save/load a game.

4) All your advisors are pictured at the bottom of the screen. Click on them for advice.

5) After you click on a country, move your mouse to the left-hand side of the screen. A small rectangular menu will appear. From this screen, clicking on the various boxes and names (Social, Economic, military ,etc) will take you to sub-menus where you can initiate policy and/or enter the war room. From these sub-menus you will also have access to advice from your cabinet members. It's wise you listen to them. Experiment a bit and get a feel for the menus.


Here's a review of the game from Reservatory.org:

Rating: 9.03 012345678910


Shadow President
DC True 1994

You're the president of the United States of America. Every decision is your decision. There's no one to blame for your mistakes. There's about to break out a war between Kuwait and India; what do you do? Do you threaten to blow India into a thousand pieces, or maybe Kuwait? Or maybe you should support the local guerrillas in Iran. That might help. Maybe, or maybe not. This is what Shadow President is all about making crucial decisions. Except from the foreign issues, you'll also have to tend to the native issues. That can be just as hard, because if you don't keep an eye on the native issues, you will not be selected as president for the next election. You can consult all kinds of ministers, the CIA and others government organs. Just to complete the picture the ENTIRE CIA worldbook of facts is included and at your disposal for quick reference. So you aren't left completely in the dark. You can even launch war against a country (anything from sending troops to launching nuclear warheads). It's an extensive simulation much like Hidden Agenda. If you're into politics this is the ultimate game for you! No question about it!

Playability:

Sporting vga graphics at a high level for the time being and even some small animation clips, this is very good indeed. Just dont forget that a menu will pop up on the lefthand side of the screen by moving the mouse to the outher left egde of the screen! This is essentially where all the actions is executed. The rest is facts and advices. Without knowledge of this bar this game would prove an utterly unrewarding and totally boring experience. The second you get the hang of this menu the fun begins! You can even give fundings to any country in the world. The menu has 5 categories. Social, Economics, CIA, Military, and Nuclear. You can take all sorts of actions against/for/with the country currently highlighted. Or as mentioned, send fundings in one or many of the above categories. In conclusion, great playability.

Durability:

This game certainly doesn't have a fixed ending, at least I've never been able to remain precedency long enough. Please give a shout if you've exprienced a fixed ending. The endings I know of are: booted from office, nuclear war takes out the world(so I've heard at least...), coup 'd etat, and assasination. It's great how Shadow President really doesn't have a fixed ending in the sence that it gives a great feeling of freedom, on the other hand, achieving set goals are great too! It's really not all that important in an simulation like this one. Anway, there's always some new and exciting events to keep you wanting to go just a little further before hitting the crib or going to the grocerystore. Just remember there are bills to be paid!

Originality:

As far as originality goes this game doesn't score high at all. "Balance Of Power" was made in 1985, "Hidden Agenda" in 1988, and "Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator" in 1990, "Balance Of Power 1990 edition", and finaly "Crisis in The Kremlin" in 1991.This game(at least on my behalf) is still the best out of all these. Balance Of Power is too advanced and dry for my taste. Its b/w... Hidden Agenda is my second favorite political simulator. You are the leader of a newly revolutioned contry and building it up from scratch anyway it suits you. I must confess that I haven't played "Conflict" or "Crisis in The Kremlin" so i can't make any statement on their behalf. But fear not, I will. I'll update this review then... Animations and elaborate use of colours to try and hide away some of the uneviodable tedious parts of such a game is original though.

Addictiveness:

This is addictive all right! At least for people with a keen eye for strategy/simulations games... I myself is definatively one of those. I'd say this game is extremely hard to quit if you have all those international decisions just waiting to be taken. It's all upto you. A lot of the time playing this naturally goes in thinking through options and trying to logically guess the outcome, much like a game of chess!

Reviewed by the--dud
Download Shadow President (2.91 MB)
Shadow President cover

[Keygen]

You have post some nice links here Leonidas.

I liked a lot what I saw when I visited SuperPower's web site.
Looks like a powerfull game

[Cookie Monster]

Good stuff there Leonidas. Looks like Shadow President is worth a look.

Haven't started a new Korean War game yet. What little time I had this weekend went to trying to finish a Civ ToT game I currently have going. Rest assured though the North Korean's will be back!