Initial comments (feel free to dump yours in here too I gues

[VPaulus]

I'd like a way to re-name or custom-name units.

ALT+N
Page 33 list all the hotkeys.

[TheGrayMouser]

Overall very slick and polished, however:

The manual: despite assuming I know all the basics because i played the spiritual predecesor 10 years ago , many things are unclear to me and the manual is lacking even some basics...

*bridge engineers: work as I expected, however , if you never played the original how would you ever figure out how to use them??

*pioneers / engineers: do they bypass entrenchment like the original??

*ambushes.. i chucked a battleship way out into the drink and ran into an enemy sub previously unspotted ,( and i mean ran into as my movement was halted) i assumed the torpdoe ambush would have been severe, wasnt attacked though.. Shouldnt all units be subject to a massive attack if you run into them when they are unspotted?

Same thing with a recon unit, bumped into an entrenched enmy infantry and i was NOT slaughted like i should have been.....not even attacked...

couldnt figure out how to tell what advantage you get from having multiple units adjacent to an enemy, i know th emanual states you reduce the enmy units initiatve , but not sure how to get the feedback that i am doing it correctly...

Pleasant surprises:
strategic bombers can bomb cities and destry resources? Wow, i assume it effects pestige, very nice. Also destroys a units fuel and ammo , nice touch!

units and map tiles a very nice to look at , but even with the "glowing unit" option on, brown uniformed troopies tend to get washed out in city and hill tiles...

Request for UI changes
*please offer option to turn off the shooting /blowing up etc graphics Im old and cranky and the second delay to wait for the combat to be resolved makes my blood pressure rise. ( if i have a coronary i probobly wont be able to buy more games)

*please get rid of/offer an alternative to the solid available movement radius . The almost solid opaquness and the very solid white dots, truck emblems is very intrusive and distracting. Even more intrusive is the solid arrow that shows you move path(is that really even necesary?).....
also i click on a unit and then went to the unit on the far right of the screen where al lthe option are and that damn arrow followed me (mouse pointer) ziggzagging all the way over, jeesh
alternative: have a slightly shaded move radius, have the mouse pointer change to leg or truck icon when you hover over a legal hex to move to.

cheers!

[WabeWalker]

I also was wondering if Pioneers bypass entrenchment. I only knew about this because I played PG - but that was a long time ago?

Are there unit descriptions that I'm not aware of?

[TheGrayMouser]

I also was wondering if Pioneers bypass entrenchment. I only knew about this because I played PG - but that was a long time ago?

Are there unit descriptions that I'm not aware of?

The ones I found offer pretty generic advice and descriptions: infantry are humanoid, like to be in trenches and dont like armour driving over them...etc..

I was also suprised that one is allowed to move a towed artillery and then fire (and vice versa!) heresy!

Oh another thing: do the mobile anti tank class units (tank destroyers) lose a LOT of initiative if they initiate an attack? (which seperates them from tanks and makes them cost effective but more defensive)

Hmm, maybe i must unlearn everything

[Kerensky]

Bridge engineer functionality is explained in the tutorial.

Pioneers and Engineers(not bridge engineers though) are immune to rugged defense and they do ignore entrenchment.

Ambush tactics are a little different now, this thread has some explanation. Mostly some safeguards were put place (transports cannot 'ambush' combat units)
viewtopic.php?t=25893

The only feedback for mass attack (currently) is the expanded combat log. L hot key.

An option to speed up the attack animation would be nice, and it is possible to turn off the animations entirely (for the enemy player) through the options menu.

Movement visualization.... has room for growth, although the exact path drawing is very important to have, especially for rail movement, it could use more pleasant appearance.

All anti-tank units have a penalty for initiating an attack on a recon or tank unit. Last I checked it was -3.

[TheGrayMouser]

Thanks for the reply

Ah the tutorials, something i always skip but sounds like i needs to check those out

Hmm, ok i havent tried the rail moevment yet and if it helps a player not derail his troops accidentaly then i can see it for them but regular movement? Fail to see how that is important but oh well. Dont get me wrong , the actual movement arrow is crisp clean and well done. it would be perfect for a a game where you plot all movements for your units and then execute all to move simultaniously. As is i find it a distraction

good stuff though, MP is as clean and easy as i had expected!

BTW, the message when you accept a challenge that the scenario is modified seams a little more like an urgent warning than a reminder you are playing a custom scenario.... Could scare people, being in red and all

[devoncop]

Well I have got through the first five tutorial missions I think and am now about to come up against some jealous rival trainee

This is a new experience for me as never played the original and I am loving it............there is enough to make you think without being a total stat fest..........I also has an excellent UI and I am not even scratching the surface of the game yet.......

Havent looked at the manual but the tutorials are doing a great job introducing me to the concepts...........

Top job guys

Ian

[PatrickStar]

I´m playing the first campaign (1939-45), have successfully accomplished Polen and Norway - but i´m only playing on the middle level of difficulty and it´s much more harder to win as in Panzer General. It´s truly a challenge, but i´ve seen, that the balancing isn´t always the best. (for example a polish cavalry defeated a PZ 38 in open terrain)

Edit: I found a discrepancy. When you upgrade for example your Panzer 2 to a Panzer IVD, you pay the same price as you upgrade from an Panzer 3. Is this circumstance projected? Shouldn´t it be much cheaper when you upgrade from a newer vehicle?

[Jajusha]

I´m playing the first campaign (1939-45), have successfully accomplished Polen and Norway - but i´m only playing on the middle level of difficulty and it´s much more harder to win as in Panzer General. It´s truly a challenge, but i´ve seen, that the balancing isn´t always the best. (for example a polish cavalry defeated a PZ 38 in open terrain)

Edit: I found a discrepancy. When you upgrade for example your Panzer 2 to a Panzer IVD, you pay the same price as you upgrade from an Panzer 3. Is this circumstance projected? Shouldn´t it be much cheaper when you upgrade from a newer vehicle?

Was that polish cavalry the one in the first campaign map - Poland - just south of Kalisz? If it is, the i believe its heavily entrenched, and the poor Panzer 38 (1935 model) has some troubles facing it. Mind you, the cavalry is also in forest, and while you can attack from open terrain, what matters is the terrain the defender is in.

On upgrades, i noticed it too, but in the end, this model makes sense. This kind of games normaly suffer from one thing, the reload sindrome.
Let me explain, if the upgrade was only a small % of the cost of a new unit you would:
- Get some experience in your panzer I in Poland
- Upgrade it for a small amount of prestige to a Panzer III in the next map
- Upgrade it for a small amount of prestige to a Panzer IV in the next map
- Lose the Panzer IV in a battle, and immediately reload the game to a previous save, as buying a new Panzer IV would be too expensive.

So, with upgrades costing as much as a new unit, you remove that "reload sindrome" a bit, as losing a unit or two, while costly, doesn't mean game over due to prohibitive costs of new units vs upgrades.

[PatrickStar]

On upgrades, i noticed it too, but in the end, this model makes sense. This kind of games normaly suffer from one thing, the reload sindrome.

Ok - that sounds logical.

Was that polish cavalry the one in the first campaign map - Poland - just south of Kalisz?

Yeah - exactly. But i didn´t drive into the forrest with the tanks respectively the cav was also on free terrain and not in the forrest. Thats the reason why i´m wondering.

Just one more thing: Sometimes i´m not able to drop off an airplane. I´ve to click outside the airplane radius, then i can click on a ground unit.

[SAS]

To jump onto that, since one is getting a brand new tank it makes sense to have to pay for it entirely. Not many if any were brought back to the shop and "upgraded" to a newer tank. New ones were built and then sent out.

[Rudankort]

Yeah - exactly. But i didn´t drive into the forrest with the tanks respectively the cav was also on free terrain and not in the forrest. Thats the reason why i´m wondering.

If you encounter any more strange combat outcomes, use L hotkey to see what exactly is wrong there. Maybe that cavalry just got extremely lucky, this can happen, it is war.

Just one more thing: Sometimes i´m not able to drop off an airplane. I´ve to click outside the airplane radius, then i can click on a ground unit.

If you are talking about paratroopers, click the "Embark/Disembark" button and you should be able to disembark anywhere within 1 hex radius from your plane.

[PatrickStar]

If you encounter any more strange combat outcomes, use L hotkey to see what exactly is wrong there. Maybe that cavalry just got extremely lucky, this can happen, it is war.

Thx for the tip!

If you are talking about paratroopers, click the "Embark/Disembark" button and you should be able to disembark anywhere within 1 hex radius from your plane.

No, i´m talking about normal bombers or fighters. If i click on my Me109, sometimes i´m not able to unclick it. (sorry for the poor instruction - english isn´t my first language ). The only way, that i can choose after the Me109 an other unit (land or air) is to click out of the airplane´s range. It sounds crazy i know, but i notice this 4-5 times.^^

[Rudankort]

No, i´m talking about normal bombers or fighters. If i click on my Me109, sometimes i´m not able to unclick it. (sorry for the poor instruction - english isn´t my first language ). The only way, that i can choose after the Me109 an other unit (land or air) is to click out of the airplane´s range. It sounds crazy i know, but i notice this 4-5 times.^^

Cannot you just right-click any empty hex to unselect the unit?

[PatrickStar]

Cannot you just right-click any empty hex to unselect the unit?

I´ve tried this, but exactly this does not work every time.

[Kaiser]

I love the game so far. I've been playing PG since 1995 and PG Forever last couple years. Here's what i think after making it to France...

I like how your units are not automatically replaced between scenarios, makes you much more careful.
I llike how the price of some vehicles has gone up, no more buying a horde of 24$ anti-tank guns.
The library is great for tanks but sucks for everything else.
I agree with some other comments, if you're new, how would you know what different infantry units are for?
I like being able to switch from anit-air to anit-tank - cool!
I don't like the poor spotting from the air - no air recon in this war i guess. Even ground recon units have poor spotting. Don't like it.
I'd like to see a better campaign tree with turns required for a desisive victory.

Questions
What are the medals for, just fun? I guess they don't really do anything for you. what do you have to do for one?
Are the 'elite' units, the SS units without the name? I'm guessing you left out the name SS in this game?
Does bombing an enemy city still reduce their prestige?

[Rudankort]

I agree with some other comments, if you're new, how would you know what different infantry units are for?

Tutorial explains this.

I don't like the poor spotting from the air - no air recon in this war i guess. Even ground recon units have poor spotting. Don't like it.

Ground recon units should be pretty good actually, their spotting range is well suited for the size of maps in PzC. What spotting range would you prefer for them? As for air - yes, their recon power is limited.

I'd like to see a better campaign tree with turns required for a desisive victory.

Some victory conditions are pretty complex, so they are shown only when you play a given scenario.

What are the medals for, just fun? I guess they don't really do anything for you. what do you have to do for one?

Yes, medals are just for fun. They are given when you reach a certain number of kills (much like in real life).

Are the 'elite' units, the SS units without the name? I'm guessing you left out the name SS in this game?

Yes.

Does bombing an enemy city still reduce their prestige?

If it is a victory hex, yes.

[Kaiser]

Rudankort, thanks for your reply. I will have another look at the ground recon, i guess i got spoiled by the spotting of some of the tac bombers in PG.

All in all a great game! and much harder than PG or PGF even at the default level.

[Szabtom]

and much harder than PG or PGF even at the default level.

[ryanglabb]

I'm a long time PG fan. I've only played up until Norway but so far the game is brilliant. I'm playing at the 2nd highest level and can say the game has much better balance and AI than the original. For a decisive win in Poland there was a tradeoff with time to complete and losing units. The AI was much more aggressive than what i remember in PG where leaving units exposed has consequences. Also having to use prestige for reinforcements between scenarios makes a big difference. In PG, units that were depleted could just sit in an occupied city until the next scenario to save prestige and were magically elite reinforced by High Command. The other thing i like is the tradeoff of elite reinforcements seems better as the cost/benefit needs to be evaluated for every unit and it's not practical to always use elite.

Still in the early stages but so far great job guys...