Initial Impressions

[aknott01]

Hey, this is fun. A couple of times I've sat down, just to deploy troops or look over the next map and before I know it I've played through another scenario. So far I've played the tutorial and the 1939 campaign through the Low Countries scenario.

A couple observations from someone who played a lot of Panzer General:

* Wow, it is really like Panzer General, right down to the "Deploy Your Troops" font. Maybe this shouldn't have surprised me so much, but somehow I was expecting something a little more different then the original. I guess this may not be relevant feedback for a beta, it's a design decision long since made, but it does make we wonder about how replayable the game will be. One, it really feels like a game I've already played; it definitely fun and brings back good gaming memories, but I wonder if that's enough new for weeks and months of game play. Two, there's really only one scenario, a grand campaign (playable from one side only) and some smaller subdivisions of that grand campaign. Three, now granted I played the original PG over and over, but today the competition for the computer wargaming dollar (and time!) is much greater....

* I may just be missing it, but it would be nice to see some kind of visual indicator, both in the deploy screen and the regular game play screen that an infantry/towed artillery unit has transport assigned (and which kind).

* Beta seems rock solid. No crashes, nothing.

* Performance seems fine on my mid-level machine -- Win 7 64, duo core, 4gb, Nvidia 9500.

* One of the strategy wrinkles of the original PG was that (unless my memory has gone; possible) was that units that were under strength at the end of one scenario had to be brought back to full strength in the first turn of the next scenario. Same went for making units over strength. So you had to watch your casualties in the late turns of a scenario and make sure a portion of your units were rested and ready to go for the next battle. Not having to do this in Panzer Corps makes the end of scenarios easier as you don't have to plan for the next one.

* I'm not sure I'm clear on what ends a scenario early. I don't think it affects anything (see the point above), but it seemed like the Poland scenario ended as soon as the objectives were all captured, but the Norway scenario continued until......I'm honestly not sure. All enemy units eliminated? All cities captured?

* To be honest I'm playing on the default difficulty level, so this may not apply on the higher difficulty levels, but seems like I have piles of prestige points available. It would be nice to see this a little more balanced where some tough choices have to be may as to new equipment and upgrading equipment. Is there anything that explains the differences between the difficulty levels (at least in terms of game-play, hopefully the AI is tougher the higher up the ladder you go)?

* I like the one-time tutorial pop-ups. I don't believe I seen these in a game before, but they make perfect sense.

* It would be nice if there was something in-between scenarios, maybe even in the briefing, that let you know that new equipment was available.

[lordzimoa]

Great feedback, thanks.