Out now. From the screenshots looks like graphics and interface has been much improved.
I’m going to download it later on.
I’m going to download it later on.
Decisive Campaigns Ardennes Out
- Thread starter Zeke_21
- Start date
Waiting for Steam Release...
O
OnWargaming
Guest
This is a title that I am watching closely, what are your impression so far?
I played the first one "Warsaw to Paris" and it was fun, not complex and a bit old style.
I played the first one "Warsaw to Paris" and it was fun, not complex and a bit old style.
This kinda looks like it is creeping into Gary Grigsby territory. 
Actually no if you're referring to GG monster games like War in the West and East. The scale is battalion level and distance scale is much lower. Also the card system allows you to do things that you can't in Grigsby games I'm familiar with.This kinda looks like it is creeping into Gary Grigsby territory.
My first impression is highly favorable. No in game tutorial so I'm learning as I go along. Still the initial impression from playing one of the smaller scenarios is very good. Its very fun and the improved graphics and interface is a welcome change. I enjoyed just looking at the unit cards and clicking on them to read the descriptions.
The American artillery is brutal. In the Westwall Scenario
While the Campaign is the Bulge, smaller scenarios include Arracort which took place in September. There is also a comprehensive editor so some user created stuff can be created.
While I like the card system, I do question the historical and accuracy of the ability to pick a card like get an armored or infantry unit and place it on the map. Keep in mind though I've not played the Ardennes Campaign so it may be implemented differently that the smaller scenarios or there may be a way to keep thing historical.
I'm very pleased with this purchase. I have a ton of h2h Combat Mission games going on at the moment, but will definitely be playing this.
Decided to jump in headfirst and start a Campaign as the American side with Germans attacking. I set it for long AI turns-you can set the speed and the long one says the AI will take longer and make better moves. I have a fast computer and it took a while for the AI to process turn. There is a replay feature so you can replay and pause the turn.
Here are some screen shots from the game...
Here are some screen shots from the game...
Turn-1. The map and counters are very nice looking.
I've read a few book on the Battle of the Bulge and played quite a bit of SPIs Battles for the Ardennes back in the 80's so this is appealing to me. Also with the extensive map and unit editor included we could see some good user created stuff. Someone already mentioned North Africa on the Matrix board.
Decisive Campaigns seems more like a brand now than a series. For instance, Ardennes has LOS and smaller scale that previous DC titles.
I bought all of the previous DC games when on sale. Installed them and played a little, then uninstalled and went back to whatever I was playing atm. I just re-installed from back up drive to compare and yeah DC is definitely a different beast.
Besides scale and things like LOS, the stark contrast in presentation and interface is a major update. These days regardless of genre graphics and presentation matter. After looking at Ardennes and the older DC games its going to be difficult to go back to the earlier series. Warsaw to Paris looks like something I would have seen back in the 80s on an Atari machine.
This will probably need a patch. I did suffer one crash to desktop.. Restarting the game fixed that. I did suffer a game freeze in the Arracort scenario and restarting the auto save turn had same issue. Once I reloaded the previous turn and replayed the turn fixed the issue.
Reviews on Matrix site are highly favorable. One reviewer called it the best operational wargame hes played.
If you're into this sort of wargame I say get it...
Just saw this review. Explains Ardennes well. Didn’t know it was based on Shadow Empire game engine as I never played it but now I’ll look into SE.
Thx for the link, the game does look impressive and seems a reasonable price. Ardennes/Bulge not my favorite campaign but I'm sure I will add it to my burgeoning list of excellent games - we are spoiled for choice/style! Another plus for more recent games tends to be the AI performance, presume it gives a decent challenge in this title?
O
OnWargaming
Guest
Thanks for your insights @Zeke_21, much appreciated!
A digital boardgame with all the plus for a detailed combat system and supply network, I like the graphic.
For me, the best operational games are still the GG ones, nothing can beat War in the Pacific and War in the East (at the moment), anyhow you can play big campaigns without tons of details that it is a plus for whom has few time.
This week-end I am going to read the manual.
A digital boardgame with all the plus for a detailed combat system and supply network, I like the graphic.
For me, the best operational games are still the GG ones, nothing can beat War in the Pacific and War in the East (at the moment), anyhow you can play big campaigns without tons of details that it is a plus for whom has few time.
This week-end I am going to read the manual.