Thinking of buying, have some questions

[borsook79]

Hi, I can't seem to find enough info about this game so allow me to ask here:

1. Is there a demo?

2. What screen resolutions are supported?

3. How good the game is in single player (I'm not interested too much in MP)

4. Does it contain only separate battles or also some campaigns?

5. What's the deal with all the army packs? Do they just allow you to use an army or do they contain also some battles?

[stockwellpete]

3. How good the game is in single player (I'm not interested too much in MP)

4. Does it contain only separate battles or also some campaigns?

5. What's the deal with all the army packs? Do they just allow you to use an army or do they contain also some battles?

I'm not sure about your questions 1 and 2 but . . .

3. The strength of the game is in multi-player, not single player. I would describe single player as very poor.

4. Separate battles only. There are multi-player campaigns, however.

5. The expansion packs have armies and battles.

[borsook79]

3. How good the game is in single player (I'm not interested too much in MP)

4. Does it contain only separate battles or also some campaigns?

5. What's the deal with all the army packs? Do they just allow you to use an army or do they contain also some battles?

I'm not sure about your questions 1 and 2 but . . .

3. The strength of the game is in multi-player, not single player. I would describe single player as very poor.

4. Separate battles only. There are multi-player campaigns, however.

5. The expansion packs have armies and battles.

Thanks for answering. So from what you say I assume the AI is not good? Is there any way to give it some sort of advantage or does it only play "fair"?

[stockwellpete]

Thanks for answering. So from what you say I assume the AI is not good? Is there any way to give it some sort of advantage or does it only play "fair"?

Yes, the AI is very poor really. There are things you can do to help the AI - use open battlefields because the AI gets confused by terrain, or do not deploy all your troop allowance. But these are not very satisfactory really. I think most players use games against the AI to learn how to play and to get used to the different armies - then they go on to multi-player. The multi-player is superb though and you can join the various leagues when you are ready. The scenario design facilities are also excellent for those who are interested in historical replays.

[borsook79]

Thanks for answering. So from what you say I assume the AI is not good? Is there any way to give it some sort of advantage or does it only play "fair"?

Yes, the AI is very poor really. There are things you can do to help the AI - use open battlefields because the AI gets confused by terrain, or do not deploy all your troop allowance. But these are not very satisfactory really. I think most players use games against the AI to learn how to play and to get used to the different armies - then they go on to multi-player. The multi-player is superb though and you can join the various leagues when you are ready. The scenario design facilities are also excellent for those who are interested in historical replays.

So they are not improving the AI with the expansions? That's a pity... MP is great but I tend to play games on and off and it's good to know that 5 years later there will be some fun to be had

[TheGrayMouser]

Thanks for answering. So from what you say I assume the AI is not good? Is there any way to give it some sort of advantage or does it only play "fair"?

Yes, the AI is very poor really. There are things you can do to help the AI - use open battlefields because the AI gets confused by terrain, or do not deploy all your troop allowance. But these are not very satisfactory really. I think most players use games against the AI to learn how to play and to get used to the different armies - then they go on to multi-player. The multi-player is superb though and you can join the various leagues when you are ready. The scenario design facilities are also excellent for those who are interested in historical replays.

So they are not improving the AI with the expansions? That's a pity... MP is great but I tend to play games on and off and it's good to know that 5 years later there will be some fun to be had

I disagree about the AI. It is of course not amazing but If you play alot of turn based tactical games, i would argue its no better and no worse than others. many of the user made scenarios can be quite challenging (and of course you can use the editor to create you own with any type of handicap you want) If you are plsying with the battle generator, you can create an army with less than the full puchase allowance which will give the AI an edge, and as Pete indicated , dont deploy your forces, just play right from the start of the game and accept the random deploy as another type of handicapp.

[TJD]

I disagree about the AI. It is of course not amazing but If you play alot of turn based tactical games, i would argue its no better and no worse than others. many of the user made scenarios can be quite challenging (and of course you can use the editor to create you own with any type of handicap you want) .

I totally agree. The AI is fully on par with anything I've seen, and is often quite good enough. And as noted there are quite a few scenarios that are designed to be challening against the AI and succeed very well. I certainly wouldn't let concerns about the quality of the AI deter me from buying.

Tim

[stockwellpete]

So they are not improving the AI with the expansions? That's a pity... MP is great but I tend to play games on and off and it's good to know that 5 years later there will be some fun to be had

Oh, I think they are trying to improve the AI all the time, but it is just when you start playing in multi-player then the tempo of the games increases very significantly and the tactical variations of the different players make for a much more rewarding game.

I used the word "superb" earlier and I really do mean it - some of the battles that I have been involved in in the recent league season have been very, very exciting. Whereas the AI tends to shuffle along at you, in a "two steps forward, one step back" sort of way; it gets confused by lakes and units cannot seem to be able to move round obstacles; the AI deploys its skirmishers way out in front of its battleline so that they are easy to encircle and kill; and it also deploys all its "poor" rated troops at the rear in front of its camp instead of using them as a second line to support the better units in its army.

I think we have about another two years ahead of us of expansion packs and I am sure a 2.0 version of FOG will appear at some stage - and then there are questions about whether FOG will move into other historical periods such as early modern (pike and shot) and Napoleonic. My own view is that they will be able to do this - so I tend to think that FOG has got a long and exciting life ahead of it.

[borsook79]

Thank you all for your answers. One more question - how easy it is to find MP games using just the basic game (no expansions)?

[stockwellpete]

Thank you all for your answers. One more question - how easy it is to find MP games using just the basic game (no expansions)?

If you put a challenge on with one of those two armies then you should get a game very quickly at the weekend.

[Morbio]

Thank you all for your answers. One more question - how easy it is to find MP games using just the basic game (no expansions)?

Any challenge in MP is usually picked up in minutes, an hour or two maximum. If you wait for challenges then you may wait a long time (a common complaint from many people). There does seem to be a disparity between challenges posted (gone in minutes) and people willing to post them. So, if you are proactive then you won't want for games.

I play FoG with RoR, which is the minimum, and I've always got lots of games. If you get involved in the competitions and tournaments, either run by Slitherine or by keen participants of the forum, then you will have plenty of games. I recommend a look at The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. If you sign up for one of those leagues you will be busy.

[Hoplite1963]

I think its also worth pointing out that once you have the 150 update even without any of the expansions you can download and play any of the custom scenarios including those made with figures from expansion modules. If you look in the scenario thread you will see that these have almost all been collected together in a large zip file so that you can get hold of several hundred historical scenarios in one go.

Enjoy
Ian

[borsook79]

I recommend a look at The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. If you sign up for one of those leagues you will be busy.

Thanks, I've just had a look at it and it does look like a grand idea (a pity that its subforum has a mistake in the name - League of Extraordinary Gentleman

[borsook79]

I think its also worth pointing out that once you have the 150 update even without any of the expansions you can download and play any of the custom scenarios including those made with figures from expansion modules. If you look in the scenario thread you will see that these have almost all been collected together in a large zip file so that you can get hold of several hundred historical scenarios in one go.

Enjoy
Ian

Let me get this straight - so I can buy just the basic version and I'll be able to play all of those scenarios? With complete unit graphics etc? Including MP or only SP?

[TheGrayMouser]

I think its also worth pointing out that once you have the 150 update even without any of the expansions you can download and play any of the custom scenarios including those made with figures from expansion modules. If you look in the scenario thread you will see that these have almost all been collected together in a large zip file so that you can get hold of several hundred historical scenarios in one go.

Enjoy
Ian

Let me get this straight - so I can buy just the basic version and I'll be able to play all of those scenarios? With complete unit graphics etc? Including MP or only SP?

Are you sure that is correct?. If you only own the base game you should be able to accept any challenge on MP, regardless of what expansion pack it is from and have full graphics etc. Howver , if you downloaded all those scenarios you would likly have "gost graphics" for many of the units that arent part of the base game. Put it this way, why would they basically give you access to every graphic so you could use the editor to build any army you wanted w/o having to buy any expansion? I could be wrong though...

[batesmotel]

I think its also worth pointing out that once you have the 150 update even without any of the expansions you can download and play any of the custom scenarios including those made with figures from expansion modules. If you look in the scenario thread you will see that these have almost all been collected together in a large zip file so that you can get hold of several hundred historical scenarios in one go.

Enjoy
Ian

Let me get this straight - so I can buy just the basic version and I'll be able to play all of those scenarios? With complete unit graphics etc? Including MP or only SP?

Are you sure that is correct?. If you only own the base game you should be able to accept any challenge on MP, regardless of what expansion pack it is from and have full graphics etc. Howver , if you downloaded all those scenarios you would likly have "gost graphics" for many of the units that arent part of the base game. Put it this way, why would they basically give you access to every graphic so you could use the editor to build any army you wanted w/o having to buy any expansion? I could be wrong though...

I believe that the new graphics are released in the patches as they are added. The add ons just unlock the appropriate armies in the DAG so you can use them. See Iain's comments about not actually needing the LT download as long as you have the serial number to register it and the 1.50 patch.

Chris

[Hoplite1963]

This used to be the case, but the "ghost graphics" issue does not crop up now I have been playing some if the Irish Wars scenarios with a friend who does not have "Storm Of Arrows" and he has no problems seeing the graphics. You cannot access DAG armies for expansions you don't own and you don’t have access to them in the editor, but you can play custom games that others have designed and see the graphics from modules you don't have that have been used for them..

Try before you buy 

I think its also worth pointing out that once you have the 150 update even without any of the expansions you can download and play any of the custom scenarios including those made with figures from expansion modules. If you look in the scenario thread you will see that these have almost all been collected together in a large zip file so that you can get hold of several hundred historical scenarios in one go.

Enjoy
Ian

Let me get this straight - so I can buy just the basic version and I'll be able to play all of those scenarios? With complete unit graphics etc? Including MP or only SP?

Are you sure that is correct?. If you only own the base game you should be able to accept any challenge on MP, regardless of what expansion pack it is from and have full graphics etc. Howver , if you downloaded all those scenarios you would likly have "gost graphics" for many of the units that arent part of the base game. Put it this way, why would they basically give you access to every graphic so you could use the editor to build any army you wanted w/o having to buy any expansion? I could be wrong though...

[TheGrayMouser]

Nice, didnt realise that!

[grumblefish]

The real reason single-player stinks is that you can't skip the AI turn. I don't mind how smart the AI is, it will never change the fact that I don't want to wait 5 minutes while it moves its army ever so slightly closer. Even on the fastest speed setting, it takes a certain amount of time to move a whole army. I never watch the opponent's turn in multiplayer, and I don't want to watch it in single player.

Hi, I can't seem to find enough info about this game so allow me to ask here:

2. What screen resolutions are supported?

I believe the game simply runs at whatever your native resolution is. When I set my control panel to 800x600, the in-game resolution changes and everything is huge. I usually play on 1720x1080, so there you can assume those two resolutions are supported. The game itself does not have an in-game resolution setting.