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I said I was gonna wait for a sale, but I gave in and purchased Scourge of War: Chancellorsville after visiting that darn Chancellorsville 360 website. :D Oh well. I am more than happy to give some bucks to one of the last remaining ACW game developers (I think I am going to reinstall HPS' Gettyburg, too. I might have to pick up their Vicksburg expansion soon :)).

Anyhoo, I installed the game and immediately tried a sandbox scenario on one of the new Chancellorsville maps. The first thing I will say is that now I fully understand why the Plank Road and the Orange Turnpike saw so much activity! SoW really did an excellent job of bringing the Wilderness to life! Wow, you could really lose an army on that terrain it was so densely wooded!

I picked Union Col. Walter Phelps Jr.'s First Brigade (First Division/First Corps) in a division level engagement. Now, when I was ordering my brigade, I made the mistake of setting them off after the secondary objective to the far southeast of the map, instead of heading with the rest of the division to the main objective that was to the far southwest corner of the map. I was gonna stop my brigade and reverse march, but I figured what the heck, this was just a test of the new game anyway. I realized I was probably gonna get cut off and destroyed in detail marching off all alone like that (and, no doubt, face a court martial upon returning! :D) but I figured lets see what happens when we throw the AI a curve ball.

So I made a looong march after the secondary objective, which was nice because, again, I got to see how wild the Wilderness actually was. I eventually reached the secondary objective (far south of Tabernacle Church) without meeting any resistance, albeit, I could hear the cannons firing off to the far west (SoW has some real nice sound design). So I decided to march due west and try to take the Rebs from the rear.

After another 10 minute march, we came upon the rear elements of A.P. Hill. So I signaled the attack, and my regiment commanders did a real good job of deploying in textbook fashion, two up with two back in reserve, right across the Plank Road, and started hitting them in the rear. :horse: We quickly got the upper hand as I think our surprise attack shook their morale.

chan1.jpgHow pleasant to fight in the woods :)

What's that saying: "You messed with the bull, now here come the horns"? Well, the AI eventually recovered itself and threw everything it had in my direction. My NYers did a find job of holding their ground, so the AI started to pivot to turn our flanks. Seeing what it was up to, I threw in my reserves, including the 84th New York Zouaves:


chan2.jpgBrooklyn represent!

Again, we held them. But not for long....

Later in the battle we intercepted a note from the Reb commander pleading for support from A. P. Hill! Guess we got their attention! Unfortunately, Hill must have responded because we soon had an entire division coming down on us, something that forced a slow retreat back down the Plank Road. It was clear that we were just over-matched at this point. I did send out a messenger to my commander asking for support, too (but I don't think higher level HQs respond to player requests; I think that was in the manual). I don't know if it was coincidence, but soon after I could see a single AI-controlled unit trying to fight its way to my position. Unfortunately, it never made it and I had to retreat with what was left of my brigade: a single regiment (24th NY):

chan3.jpg
Interestingly, the AI only pursued us for a short distance. Once we left the Plank Road and withdrew into the Wilderness, it broke off its attack.

I eventually marched my brigade across the map to where my division had a supply wagon so we could resupply (the 24th NY was down to 4 rounds apiece!). When we got there, it was clear that he missed one heck of a fight:

chan4.jpg
Wow! :crosseye:

Unfortunately, we could still spot a few reb units in the area, so we had to hightail it out of there right behind the supply wagon.

Seeing that my units fighting days were over for the time being, I ended the game and got an inconclusive battle result.


As always with this game, I had a great time. Norbsoft really nailed the sweet spot between realism and ease of play with this franchise. Sure, the graphics are dated (albeit, I think they added some nice new trees and unit sprites with this expansion), but as far as ACW wargames go, you really can't do better at the moment.

Highly recommended. :thumup: Attached Images

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Might as well give this stand-alone its own stand-alone thread. :)

Here are some screenies I took of a 10v10 MP match I was in. I tried the WP Polish deck this time.

This is my starting forces: some T-55s, a helo and some assorted light armor:



My first fight was for a little complex. We met some light resistance that my infantry and APCs handled with not too much fuss and the help of a teammate:



Infantry dismounting and going into the fight:



Still advancing:



Later in the battle, I purchased some arty. Here you can see them firing on some assorted NATO units. Off to the left, you can see a Cobra hitting some of my T-55s:



Later in the battle, one of my T-55s spotted a lone Bradley and popped it. That's it burning on the road in the distance. It was recon for a larger force (of M1s...I would later discover to my chagrin :():



So I laid down a smoke screen and sent in the tanks:



My tanks got chewed up real fast, so I sent in a recon helo to see what was the deal. Here, it can be seen firing its rockets at some infantry and light armor:



It got shot-up pretty good, too:



So I sent it to the rear to re-arm and repair:



Continued....

Just backed this. I know if I'm not keen my daughter will love it. It seems to have taken all the good bits from minecraft and it's clones etc and wrapped it into one bundle with a god game elements and RPG elements etc etc.


http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013...h/#more-151480

I just find it supremely humorous that now that we own PCs capable of photo-realistic graphics and realistic physics, the most exciting & popular games are those that resemble and operate at the 16-bit level, such as Minecraft. Case in point: Starbound:

http://playstarbound.com/

Quote: About

Starbound is a brand new game undergoing active development by Chucklefish, an indie game company made up of a lovely group of dudes and dudettes. If you like what you see, please feel free to leave a comment or tell your friends. We hope this blog can be an insight into the trials and tribulations of the development process, the people behind the game, and what we hope to achieve.
A story within a sandbox

Starbound begins with you fleeing your homeworld in a space shuttle, just as it’s destroyed by an unknown enemy. With nothing to guide it, the escape pod shoots into space without direction, becoming hopelessly lost in a sea of stars. As luck would have it, the space shuttle touches down on a habitable planet and an adventure begins that will take you hurtling across the universe. Starbound contains both quests and story driven missions, buried inside its vast sandbox universe.
Endless Planets to visit

Planets in Starbound are entirely procedurally generated and filled to the brim with unique content. We went into the planet generation with one simple goal: no two planets should be the same. By procedurally generating even the smallest details, we’re doing just that. Not only is the terrain of the planet procedurally generated, but the weather, the gravity, the difficulty level, the plant life, the behaviour and appearance of alien creatures, and much more all contain random or procedurally generated elements.

We want you to feel like an explorer!

Because we’re working so hard to make each planet unique, we want to give you the tools to catalogue the things you find and make sure absolutely everything you find has depth in the world. Much like old school point and click adventures, absolutely every object in the world, right down to the trees and flowers, can be examined for a description.

See a weird alien tree? Examine it! Maybe you’ll discover something about its use! For any explorer, sharing discoveries is important. So whilst the game is fully coop (Bring your friends along! Form an expedition!) you can also record your findings in an electronic logbook. Not only that, but each and every planet has unique coordinates in the Universe that you can share online, so other players can check out exactly what you found!

Finding a new home

Exploring is wonderful, but everyone needs a place to call their own. That’s why we’re letting you claim an entire planet!

When you claim a planet as your new homeworld, a whole new aspect of gameplay opens up. Everything that makes a planet unique is at your command. Feel like changing the weather? Build a weather centre! Don’t like the terrain? Terraform it! Every aspect of the planet is under your control. Once you’re happy with it, start populating it with characters you’ve met in your travels and take care of them! They’ll have needs and desires and won’t hesitate to ask for your help if they require assistance.

This is only just scratching the surface of what we have in store for you in Starbound. It certainly sounds good. Apparently, others think so, too:

Quote: We’ve officially sold $1,000,000 in pre-orders! Words can’t even express how grateful and overwhelmed we are by all the support you’ve shown us– not just over the past couple of weeks, but for the past year or so since Starbound was officially announced. You’re all amazing, and we’re going to continue to work our butts off to make Starbound an awesome game for you. You can't make this up. Gaming, like the rest of the world, is clearly in a state of regression. Don't know what to make of that....What do you think? Is this trend good for gaming? Or just a sign that perhaps video games are jumping the shark? Maybe it just means that AAA gaming has killed itself by raising the production costs to unsustainable levels?

Kotaku spotted this one:



Not much of a city builder fan myself, but this one looks interesting. I like the sedate nature.

Website: http://www.shiningrocksoftware.com/?page_id=680

strafing suitable for what kind of weapons?
There crossbow of course, diablo 3 gold buying the best, after all, the upper and lower limits, and the IAS is also suitable. The power of the wind that should also be good, after all, more than a 1:00 hate reply. The landlord does not have the force of the wind, can not test. One-handed crossbow, estimated to be not very suitable for this build

So, I was browsing Steam the other day and I saw the latest trailer for Metro: Last Light, the sequel to Metro 2033. The trailer was interesting in that it seemed to emphasize that some of the more critical flaws of the original game were thoroughly dealt with once and for all. I particularly found the enhanced stealth mechanics to be interesting (and reminiscent of Far Cry 3 and Deus Ex):



Okay, you have my interest.

I figured, though, that before I jump into the sequel, I should at least play the original. Seeing how Last Light doesn't come out until mid-May, there was time. So I went looking for a copy and was surprised to see, once again, that GameFly had it at a deep discount for $4.99 (GameFly has been having some excellent weekly sales. Keep an eye on them as well as Steam, especially seeing how most of their games come with a key for Steam anyway)! So I bought it for that price. Heck, what was there to lose?

Now, I had heard that a portion of the original Stalker team had formed 4A Games, but I didn't realize that Metro was clearly meant to be the other side of the Stalker coin! And that is exactly what it is. In fact, in one scene of the game, you find a dead human clothed just like a Stalker. You co-hort says: "A Stalker. These poor souls wander the poisoned surface looking for bits of scrap they can sell for a profit". Stalkers are even mentioned by the game! There are all sorts of other Stalker elements, too: such as anomalies, psychic flashbacks, mutated monsters, limited ammo and other survivalist elements.

Speaking of the survivalist elements, you can clearly see that Metro took it a bit more hardcore than Stalker. The big addition here is your gas mask. Whenever you venture outside, or enter underground chambers with seeping gas or leaking radiation, you need to put on your mask. Since your filters only last a few minutes, you are always worried about running out of air, something that becomes increasingly claustrophobic as you hear your breathing becoming more labored as your filter runs out. Nice touch! Then there are the pneumatic weapons (quality cartridges are a rarity in this world), and your all important helmet lamp that needs to be powered by a hand crank every so many minutes.

Now, most of Metro 2033 takes place underground in the Russian subway system. This was something that I didn't think I would like as I got a kick out of the open air environs of Stalkers, especially the random weather. But I have to say that 4A Games did an excellent job with this environment, too. Basically, the Russian Metro is portrayed in a similar fashion as Stalker's larger underground and interior environments: it is big, rusting, and littered. Likewise, it is filled with environmental hazards, roving gangs, and mutated monsters lurking in the shadows. It is also very claustrophobic, too. 4A Games plays this wonderful trick on the player whereby you are constantly coming across sunny day posters of Moscow before nuclear Armageddon. At first, you don't even pay them any mind. But after a few hours in the dark tunnels of the Metro, you suddenly find yourself starring at these scattered posters with the same forlorn passion as the game's characters. This game really makes you feel like a tunnel rat. This is something enhanced by 4A Games excellent use of lighting. Nothing in this game is brighter than a 60W bulb (well, except for a handful of searchlights). Everything is suitably dark and grim.

The only real distinction I see between Stalker and Metro is that Metro is an on-the-rails shooter. You are pretty much led along by the nose as you are passed from one character to the next. Truth it, this also didn't turn out to be as disappointing as I thought it would as the story is pretty darn interesting, and the characters are memorable, too, with each having an interesting story to tell about their experiences in the Metro. I remember one of the devs saying that they went with this scripted approach precisely because they thought having a good story was more important than allowing the player to go off on his own. Usually I am skeptical, but in this case they were right. I just hope the story doesn't flop in the end like Black Ops 2 did. :rolleyes:

My only real criticism is the somewhat broken combat AI, one of the things critics knocked the game for when it was released. The mutated monsters act okay, but the human bad guys swing between stupid and all knowing. I really haven't seen all that many stupid things (occasionally an enemy will inexplicably turn his back on you) so maybe they patched that, but I have seen the AI know precisely where you are from one second to the next. This is bad because there is a nice stealth element to this game where you can turn off lights and knife people from behind. Unfortunately, as soon as an AI spots the body, it immediately knows where you are hiding! This completely kills the stealth mechanic and almost always forces you to go on the offensive after a kill! Stupid! (I am glad to see that the sequel seems to have addressed this.)

I also don't like the checkpoint system - no quick saves here. This can lead to some frustration, especially in tough firefights.

My last concern is the game's length: it is reported between 8-15 hours (depending on who you ask). 8 would be short, 12+ would be okay with me. I mean, I only paid $5, and the sequel is due out in four weeks, so I won regardless of the length. :D But I am really enjoying the story, so I don't want it to end!

All things, though, I am so sorry I didn't play this game sooner! If you are a Stalker fan, go get it now!

Color me interested:



Only $10! The feature list sounds good:

• Tactical Action: Plot out your turn in advance and watch your plans come to fruition alongside your foes’ moves
• Form Your Fleet: Customize your fleet choosing from multiple ship types and arm them with a vast set of both offensive and defensive weaponry
• “Sink” Your Devices: Cross-platform play between PC, Mac, iOS and Android with built-in cloud saving functionality, allows you to continue your sessions from any computer, tablet or location (Mobile versions sold separately)
• Enlist Your Shipmates: Bring along up to 3 other players for five individual challenge missions, or a full co-op campaign spanning nine levels
• Own the Oceans: Prove your dominance of the sea by saving replays of your battles
• Support for Marooned Sailors: Offline mode available for campaign and challenges

The only thing that bothers me with these small games is that they rarely achieve critical mass and the community often quickly dwindles to you and one other guy. :D That is why I rarely jump right onto these titles. I rather wait and see 1) how well it is received, and 2) If the dev is committed to long term support.

Still, this one might get me to jump in sooner rather than later.

I didn't even realize there was a sequel in the works!



Time to jump back in to this EXCELLENT space strategy game!

Link: http://triton.ironhelmet.com/#landing

So who's playing Bioshock Infinite? I just started, but I can say it retains the same wild design and great production values from the earlier titles in the series. And it's got a very weird vibe to it. I'm not sure what the hell is going on in this game just yet, I'm just killing everybody who attacks me.

This is not the era of bad AI everyone is talking about....

Whatever Happened to Video Game AI?


Been reading excuses and promises like this for the past decade. No matter what they say, we all know that AI in most games operates at the cognitive level of an infant. And it's not getting better.

This got caught in my TF2 net. For $5, it might be worth it. The last good game of poker I played was in the FC3 poker minigame. :)



Quote: Poker Night 2 ??

Poker Night 2 is the unnecessary sequel to Poker Night at the Inventory! In the original game, you played poker with a bunch of weirdoes for fame and fortune Team Fortress 2 items and the satisfaction of beating the odds. Now, In Poker Night 2…

A different bunch of weirdoes officially licensed, triple ‘A’ characters (Claptrap, Brock Samson, Ash Williams, Sam)
More prizes than ever before (what you can win depends on the game system you’re using)
From the Portal game series, your dealer is GLaDOS!
Two poker styles – Texas Hold ‘Em and now Omaha!
MORE satisfaction in beating the odds (though it’s not guaranteed, since satisfaction is subjective and it must be pointed out, not legally binding in any way)!
Hilariously witty banter between your new poker buddies
It’s a dream come true!

Are you a poker wizard? You’ll love it. Can you barely count to 21 or remember what day it is? You’ll love it too because in Poker Night 2, even when you’re losing, you’re winning. And vice-versa.

Man, Ubisoft is throwing a lot of curve-balls lately. It appears this FC3 stand alone is going cyberpunk...and stars Michael Biehn!

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is standalone; features Michael Biehn

Quote: “Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon is THE Kick-Ass Cyber Shooter taking place on a bizarre open-world island crawling with evil. Welcome to an 80’s VHS vision of the future. The year is 2007 and you are Sargent Rex Colt, a Mark IV Cyber Commando who’s fighting against a cyborg army gone rogue. Your mission: get the girl, kill the baddies, and save the world. Experience every cliché of a VHS era vision of a nuclear future, where cyborgs, blood dragons, mutants, and Michael Biehn (Terminator, Aliens, Navy Seals) collide. Playing Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon doesn’t require a copy of Far Cry® 3.” Sigh. Guess it is time to get back to my FC3 campaign.... :)

I think I have a new passion in life! :D



I never realized how huge this game is. I mean, I've come across plenty of news reports about TF2 "hats" and stuff like that, but I never knew the game had evolved from a popular F2P title to a cult that has spawned graphic novels, clothing, action figures and videos like the above. I mean, I am finding tons of stuff like this around the internet!

Yeah, I am very late to the party. Man, where have I been....:o

Anybody play TF2 around these parts?

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2013/04/lucasarts-disney/

Quote:
Disney Kills Star Wars 1313, Lays Off LucasArts Staff
BY CHRIS KOHLER04.03.133:08 PM

That noise you just heard was the other shoe dropping: Lucasfilm said today that it will cease internal game development at LucasArts, following the company’s acquisition by Disney in November.

“After evaluating our position in the games market, we’ve decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company’s risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games,” read a statement issued by Lucasfilm. “As a result of this change, we’ve had layoffs across the organization.”

Reached for comment by Wired, a representative said that internal development on announced games, like the next-gen shooter Star Wars 1313, had been ceased but that the company was evaluating its options as regards having those games completed by an outside developer. However, Kotaku quoted an anonymous source inside the company that said such options had already been explored, and Disney found no takers. So it’s looking quite unlikely that 1313 will ever come out.

Even though Disney said at the time of its $4 billion acquisition of the Star Wars company that it would “focus more on social and mobile than on console,” a Lucasfilm representative did say to Wired that future Star Wars console games were not off the table.

It’s hard to be surprised at this turn of events when Disney spelled it all out at the time of the acquisition. It’s moving away from internally-developed console games, having shut down Warren Spector’s studio Junction Point following the release of Epic Mickey 2, and towards social and mobile. There will still be Disney and Star Wars console titles, but these will be produced by external developers. Lucasfilm has been trying to turn the struggling LucasArts division around for many years now, with a musical-chairs game of ever-changing creative leads and executives.

I can see why Lucas, as a standalone company, would want to fix its games division. But Disney has no such need. It has a games division already, it doesn’t need to try to fix LucasArts’ problems. It’s sad when hundreds of people lose their jobs, but organizations that are no longer competitive need to die to make room for ones that are. If it’s Star Wars games you’re after, there’s no reason an external developer can’t handle them.

And if you’re nostalgic for the great old Lucas games of old, like Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion, this is good news for you. First of all, the people who made those games are already working at Telltale or Double Fine making exactly what you wish Lucas was still making. If you want a new Grim Fandango, a shift to a licensing-only model makes it more likely that Disney will look to cash in on that latent demand.

Again, if you’re in that latter group, the LucasArts you’re so nostalgic for died a long, long time ago when the company cancelled its Sam & Max sequel and laid off the whole team. And then that team formed Telltale Games and eventually made The Walking Dead. The LucasArts that died today is not the one you loved, and it was never going to be again.

My good friend Les from Wasteland Interactive have just launched his ne wgame on Kickstarter. Worlds of Magic. A game totally inspired by masters of Magic. Go take a look.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...x-fantasy-game

Also I'm running a competition to win a copy of DoorKickers at my FB page...scroll down abit..like my page, Killhouse Games page, share the competiton post and type entered in the comments. Ends Firday. Winners announced on Saturday.

https://www.facebook.com/Tacticalwargame

Seriously:

Quote: STOCKHOLM – April 1st, 2013 – Paradox Development Studio and Paradox Interactive will soon bring Crusader Kings Z to the masses, the fifth expansion to one of 2012’s most acclaimed strategy/RPG games and inspired by zombies.

Crusader Kings Z adds a zombie invasion to the medieval Europe, as a way to make the Black Death come alive in a physical form. This is a world where gruesome death dominates Europe, when zombie armies pillaged towns and monasteries in their search for brains, slowly walking to wherever the promise of human flesh awaits them.

Expanded gameplay mechanics will allow you as a player to become a zombie ruler, rallying your undead hordes throughout Europe or a Zombie Survivor fighting for your dynasty’s survival.


Crusader Kings Z, the fifth expansion for the critically praised strategy/RPG, finally enables you to play as a Zombie ruler or a Zombie Survivor, with particular focus on the dreaded undead hordes and their tradition of pillage and devouring of flesh.

Crusader Kings II explores one of the defining periods in world history in an experience crafted by Paradox Development Studio, the masters of Strategy. Medieval Europe comes to life and undeath in this game of knights, schemes and zombies.

Crusader Kings Z will be available at All Hallows' Eve 2013,
so prepare yourself for a terrifying new experience.


Main Features:

Two separate possibilities for gameplay: Zombie Ruler or Zombie Survivor

Zombie Ruler
• Play as a Zombie ruler and ravage your weak neighbors. If you remain at peace for too long, your undead will grow restless...
• New gameplay feature: Devour your rivals and earn their traits through eating their brains
• New gameplay mechanics: Use plagues to spread your influence and expand your undead armies
• Your zombie ruler is strong, but plots may decapitate you or burn you at the stake, so be on your guard. Your heirs can only be chosen from the people you have infected personally, and not from anyone infected by your horde.

Zombie Hunter
• Experience a new and different type of game by playing as one of the great Zombie survivors
• As the head of a Zombie Survivor family, you must guide your dynasty through a world infected by zombies
• New seasonal effects will encourage you to expand to the northern parts of Europe where the winter will give you a breathing space for when zombies freeze
• Build fortifications with dozens of unique new buildings and expand your empire by controlling the sea lanes and coasts of Europe since zombies have a hard time crossing waters…
• Christians and Muslims can dispatch Holy Wars against the infected hordes.
• Experience feuds with other survivors and plot to seize their supplies and beans; many special events for characters in Crusader Kings Z

Crusader Kings Z also includes:
• New dark Zombie interface skin.
• Unique torn clothes and crude ship models created from whatever survivors can find in Crusader Kings Z CrusaderKingsZ_conceptart.jpg Attached Images

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http://worldoftanks.com/news/2175-zo...-swarm-battle/

From the creators of Homeworld...need I say more? :D



I love the artistic direction. Reminds me of the great, hand-drawn sci-fi art of the 70s-80s. Gamewise it reminds me of the 8-bit game, Kronos Rift.

The next chapter in the Red Orchestra francise is a Pacific based WWII shooter. Several other games have visited this Theater before, but I played them and came away unimpressed. Still early, so we shall see. http://risingstormgame.com/