verus first impressions

Verus · Post by **Verus** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:47 am

First I want to thank you for giving me the chance to test the game. I am an old panzer general fan and still got the floppy disk and cd-rom version around here somewhere

30sec
So the game starts quickly and I always like that. First thing I notice is the lack of intro movie. Is this not there because of it being a beta version or there sinply is none ? What panzer general did was to use with great effect old ww2 archive footage with a voice over (cd-rom version). Next thing I notice is a very nice looking background image and a well thought out menu. Only odd thing is that there is black borders on the startup image screen (1920x1080 resolution). But as I click the other menus it covers the whole screen. Perhaps fix the first image to have a 16:9 version also.

5min
First thing I did was to take a look at the library function. Really nice work here with the tank information and I especially like the tank layout images. Perhaps add the nations and list the tanks under them for those unfamiliar with ww2 tanks. Or perhaps just small flags next to the tanks.

15min
Next I tried the tutorial campaign and load that up. Once again it would be nice with voice overs for the text if possible and for the real campaign missions. The game itself reminds me a lot of PG2 style and is very well done. The graphics is a lot better than old PG2 of course but for some reason I have some difficulty to easily see what side the units are on. I go through the tutorial missions. They are nice but as someone who has played PG for a long time they do get a bit boring. Perhaps I should just have jumped over them.

60min
The game is great. I do 3-4 tutorial missions and then skip the rest. How many of these are there ? I go for the 1939 campaign. Good to see that the scenarios are not the same as in PG. The computer does good defending but not as good at attacking. Perhaps that is only because I left it at normal difficulty. I start to notice some small imporvments over the old PG such as ammo indicator on the units when they start to run low, the ability to switch the german 88 from AA to AT and so on. This makes the game feel fresh even for old PG veterans.

Anyway I will continue to play but these are my initial thoughts. Game is great and I can´t thank you guys enough for bringing to life this old classic. Only thing missing is perhaps some presenation to add that little extra. I also tested the game on a netbook and it worked very well except for some menu options ending up outside of the screen.

lordzimoa · Post by **lordzimoa** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:35 am

Thanks for the feedback.

30sec
So the game starts quickly and I always like that. First thing I notice is the lack of intro movie. Is this not there because of it being a beta version or there sinply is none ? What panzer general did was to use with great effect old ww2 archive footage with a voice over (cd-rom version). Next thing I notice is a very nice looking background image and a well thought out menu. Only odd thing is that there is black borders on the startup image screen (1920x1080 resolution). But as I click the other menus it covers the whole screen. Perhaps fix the first image to have a 16:9 version also.

There is a short intro movie with logo`s and animation, maybe you clicked by accident as any click or button will skip it and get you directly into the Main Menu.

5min
First thing I did was to take a look at the library function. Really nice work here with the tank information and I especially like the tank layout images. Perhaps add the nations and list the tanks under them for those unfamiliar with ww2 tanks. Or perhaps just small flags next to the tanks.

Good idea, we had that I believe in our original design sketches, but probably forgot!

15min
Next I tried the tutorial campaign and load that up. Once again it would be nice with voice overs for the text if possible and for the real campaign missions. The game itself reminds me a lot of PG2 style and is very well done. The graphics is a lot better than old PG2 of course but for some reason I have some difficulty to easily see what side the units are on. I go through the tutorial missions. They are nice but as someone who has played PG for a long time they do get a bit boring. Perhaps I should just have jumped over them.

The tutorials are really there for novice players, new to the genre.

60min
The game is great. I do 3-4 tutorial missions and then skip the rest. How many of these are there ? I go for the 1939 campaign. Good to see that the scenarios are not the same as in PG. The computer does good defending but not as good at attacking. Perhaps that is only because I left it at normal difficulty. I start to notice some small imporvments over the old PG such as ammo indicator on the units when they start to run low, the ability to switch the german 88 from AA to AT and so on. This makes the game feel fresh even for old PG veterans.

There are 6 tutorials, so the new players, who never experienced a game like this, have a basic and better understanding of the game-play mechanics.
Nose a bit through all the menu`s and hotkeys...

Verus · Post by **Verus** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 10:50 am

Played some more and the game is great but I got a few more ideas.

One thing is that it is difficult to know what units I have left to move and by default the warning for units left to move is turned off also. The original PG had small blinking indicators for units left to move that then stopped blinking after they had moves. Perhaps something similiar for this game ?

Also I find it a bit difficult to see on a big screen what units are core and aux units and I can´t find any info when I right click a unit either that says core or aux unit ?

edit. just noticed something that feels like it is not working the way it should. I love the operational move idea you guys added. Simply brilliant addition but when I click it to see what towns I can go to and then unselect it again if I decide it is not worth using it. Then it looked as if that unit could not move that turn at all anymore. This a bug or supposed to be this way ?

lordzimoa · Post by **lordzimoa** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 3:27 pm

One thing is that it is difficult to know what units I have left to move and by default the warning for units left to move is turned off also. The original PG had small blinking indicators for units left to move that then stopped blinking after they had moves. Perhaps something similiar for this game ?

A unit has a small green arrow and red crosshair for move and attack that wil indicate if you still have a move or attack left.

I love the operational move idea you guys added. Simply brilliant addition but when I click it to see what towns I can go to and then unselect it again if I decide it is not worth using it. Then it looked as if that unit could not move that turn at all anymore. This a bug or supposed to be this way ?

I tried to reproduce it, but here it works fine, if you mean selecting a unit, use the moving arrows indicator to see where a unit could go, deselect, than select again and use the arrows again or move? Or I may misunderstand your question.

Verus · Post by **Verus** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 4:22 pm

Yes I noticed the little green indicator now. Perfect.

What I mean is if I load up a campaign say operation barbarossa and then select a unit in town such as the one at Siedice and click E to embark then click E again if I decide to not move the that units turn is gone.

lordzimoa · Post by **lordzimoa** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 4:33 pm

Ah ok, some actions cost you a move turn, so it is by design.