Destrin

Did we have a drop out?

I picked up Combat Mission Touch now that I finally have my iPad 3. I really wasn't initially grabbed by it. The touch camera controls are very imprecise and it feels like a clunky PC conversion. I am sad to say I've not ever played the original combat mission so I don't know how this compares to that. Anyone else played it and can tell me if I am missing something or is this a case of old game not translating well to new platform?

I picked up Yggdrasil. It falls firmly in the camp of 'rubbish at teaching you how to play'. There is a tutorial but it's really just a vague series of chat boxes and gives you far too much information up front. It's not too tricky to work out but I just expect a decent guided approach with iOS games, Titan and Puerto Rico were perfect for that but some of the others have let me down. The actual implementation seems reasonably bug free, I think it needs slightly larger graphics and more obvious touch points for the actions you take but it's a reasonable app. I imagine if you already like the game or enjoy coop gaming you will find a lot to like here.

You just don't know it yet...

I felt very bad for Zyrden in our game, he did NOT catch a break with the dice. Even to the point of knocking his own players out trying to dodge past my incredibly slow treeman the Fact that my first block caused a death (save by apothecary) probably didn't help. I fear for my next game, it is my experience with BB online that good luck one game foreshadows abysmal rolling for the next

Historical context might give you a better appreciation of the specific operations going on but it really has little bearing on the gameplay itself. If you swapped all the units for cutesy anime tanks and teenage schoolgirls carrying large rifles the game would be just as good, honestly. If anything, not knowing about the battles means at least you are learning something about the Eastern Front whilst playing, it's educational!

That is the tricky bit, the majority of decent 2 player games aren't asynch, they're real time (the War of the Ring client included). The other games I prefer to play asynch are all multiplayer (Brass, After the flood to name a couple of good ones). I think you can play Thunderstone at Yucata, that works fine 2 player and I like it as a game - it's not deep strategy like some others but it is a fun game. If your partner is a patient person and tech-savvy my best recommendation would be to look at some of the Vassal modules available. Vassal allows you to play almost anything you could play on a board online with the downside that it's not going to do any rules enforcement for you, it is exactly like moving counters around a tabletop, with all the rules cockups you would expect if it's your first time playing. However, if your partner is patient and interested in exploring other games it really is a good way to play some games you might not otherwise get the chance to play. Keep an eye on GMTGames.com, they will be releasing a PC version of Twilight Struggle soon and frankly it will be criminal if they don't include a pbem mode in that!

The time limit for TI rapidly reduces the more practice you get, we play a 4 player game in about 2.5-3 hours and a 6 player game in about 4-5 nowadays. It's a fun game!

In a way. I love Duels of the Planeswalkers on 360, if the iOS version is a direct port and not a hobbled translation (it needs all the coop modes as well as online support) then I would be tempted to jump ship and play the 2013 on iOS.

Ooo, that must be a new feature (in LE anyway) I ran a league in the older DE edition and that would have been incredibly useful. Actually, it's likely it's an obscure button I never noticed when setting the league up

Does a championship work differently to a normal league? For some reason my team roster hasn't updated with earned gold and any of the injury or Star Player Points from the first match yet. Maybe it only updates when the day ends?

I am excited for my pending destruction!

In many cases I feel it's the permanent loss of resources that is an issue. In Unity of Command those force pool units impact your prestige which is a long term campaign resource. If I can achieve my goals by fully utilising the units that are on map already then why should I damage resources I might need later on? Consumables in RPG's are a similar thing, mostly those cost money, what if I need that money to buy something else? I must be able to get by without using those things that impact my 'net worth' so to speak. As soon as something is a temporary resource (in UOC that's the units I have in this current scenario, in an RPG it's my health which, at least in FF games, regens after the fight) or something that I can get back by taking a minimal action like resting or something, it's acceptable to exploit that resource to it's fullest.

I don't think Bruce gave Titan a fair shake personally, the tip system is great at telling you exactly what you need to know to play the game and learn it as you go. You won't win your first games against the AI, you probably won't win your first 10 actually, but it gives you the knowledge you need to play and learn from that point about the strategy. The latest update which adds the dice rolls and more explanatory tips is really great, I cannot recommend it enough, personally! (Also, I want more players available for when the inevitable multiplayer patch hits!)

Ah, cool Well, I should probably try out a new team anyway rather than falling back on old standbys. Also, means I have an excuse when I fail miserably!

I think a strategy game that does something more interesting in the multiplayer/cooperative area would be what interests me the most. Particularly anything that has a hierarchy of players. Games like Allegiance, Savage, Nuclear Dawn, Natural Selection have all tried the RTS/FPS model where one player is the commander and other players can receive orders from the player higher up the chain of command about where to go and also receive support from the commander player. How about handling this sort of player hierarchy in a strategy game? To apply this to a historical example, what about the Eastern Front? One player is the German OKW/OKH who has to deal with general theatre plans, resource allocation and the raising of troops/allocation of new troops. Then below that you probably have the Army Group North/Centre/South commanders, giving orders to corps/divisional commanders below them within the framework of the operational objectives set by high command. Everything up to this point I would see as an EU3/grand strategy style of view/interface. Then maybe divisional and below might get closer to a RTS style of game where divisional/regimental commanders could take control of discrete units in achieving the directives handed to them. For me, exploring the options for coop gameplay in a new way would make me sit up and take notice of a new strategy game.

Ah, didn't realise you weren't allowing two players to play the same team! Never mind, I'll take the Wood Elves (look to still be available at the moment!)

It is at this point that surely you transition to the (allegedly) balanced PVP maps and have at other players? I admit to not having tried the multiplayer yet but that is where the replayability would come from for me.

Would be nice to be in the same division as people here so we can smacktalk appropriately between matches

That's awesome news. In which case I am in, probably with Dark Elves. New teams only or can I use teams that have been in previous leagues?

This might be heretical but I kind of rank Unity of Command as 'historical Advance Wars' in every good way that can be taken! It's so simple to understand and play yet the victory conditions really do drive you to push yourself to see how well you can do.

I figure someone around here must have pulled the trigger on Battle Academy by now? http://itunes.apple.com/app/battle-academy/id499901136?mt=8 I'm really tempted but I rarely spend $20 on PC games nowadays and the lack of a demo is putting me off. Can anyone convince me that it is worth my time? Also, does anyone have thoughts on Combat Mission: Touch? http://itunes.apple.com/app/combat-mission-touch/id496265964?mt=8 Frankly I would have bought CM:T already if it worked on first generation iPads

Hello other TMA people! A home at last!

I would like to be in on this...although I suspect time zones might be an issue for me, being based in the UK, I can probably play matches up till midnight MOST evenings (that's 7pm EST, 2PM PST), bit later on weekends maybe. If you think I could still participate I would happily join!