Nearing the 100 hour mark

[Mord]

I can see me putting 10X that into FoG II easy. I have been having a blast. Just had a knock-down drag-out 1400 point battle with the Bretons Vs Vikings that went right down to the last turn. I managed to pull a win just as I was running out of moves. Ended up something like 38% to 63% (most of that in the last three turns). The heathen b*stards paid quadruple in bodies for every man of mine they took out. They had over 8900 casualties. Got my first CnC kill too.




What an incredibly immersive game. You wouldn't think it would be at first glance but man, it just sucks me in. The way a battle can flip flop back and forth. One minute the flank is secure, the next it folds in on itself and the enemy is all of a sudden behind your lines. The jockeying for position, the stand offs (who knew they could be so riveting?), the tension, the drama, the violence, the unbridled joy when a rout takes your Cav into multiple flanks. Absolute best money I've spent on a game in the last ten years.




I can't wait for the next dlc (I am praying it's the Crusades)!


Mord.

[MarkShot]

This game is just great fun.

A combined plan/AAR of a fight I just had. (from Alex what if campaign)

2019-09-28 17-07-35.jpg (520.34 KiB) Viewed 3227 times

[jomni]

I can see me putting 10X that into FoG II easy. I have been having a blast. Just had a knock-down drag-out 1400 point battle with the Bretons Vs Vikings that went right down to the last turn. I managed to pull a win just as I was running out of moves. Ended up something like 38% to 63% (most of that in the last three turns). The heathen b*stards paid quadruple in bodies for every man of mine they took out. They had over 8900 casualties. Got my first CnC kill too.




What an incredibly immersive game. You wouldn't think it would be at first glance but man, it just sucks me in. The way a battle can flip flop back and forth. One minute the flank is secure, the next it folds in on itself and the enemy is all of a sudden behind your lines. The jockeying for position, the stand offs (who knew they could be so riveting?), the tension, the drama, the violence, the unbridled joy when a rout takes your Cav into multiple flanks. Absolute best money I've spent on a game in the last ten years.




I can't wait for the next dlc (I am praying it's the Crusades)!


Mord.

Your screens are nice.

[Mord]

This game is just great fun.

Yes it is. I shuffled my feet and argued with myself about buying it for over a year. Once I pulled the trigger I have been hooked. The more I play now, the more I am loving it. I am glad I waited though. I like having the massive amount of content in one go.

I actually grabbed FoG I first because it covered the Crusades and I like it a lot too. I enjoy both for their differences.

I even bought Wolves the day it came out. I can't remember the last time I bought something on release day.

I really love being able to bounce from era to era and playing with such a vast wealth of different nations and factions. I can pretty much read or watch any history from Rome to Medieval and then jump in a game and relive it. It gets me high on history.

A combined plan/AAR of a fight I just had. (from Alex what if campaign)

Very cool. I actually could pictured the battle playing out as I read your notes.

Your screens are nice.

Thanks. Just threw a couple earlier shots from the battle in to help illustrate my enthusiasm. I've been using Reshade in FoG II and it works really well with the engine.

[alphington]

"Reshade in FoG II and it works really well with the engine"

thanks I have not tried this before but your screenshots look noticeably better than my game looks - do you use just default settings in Reshade and am I correct thinking the rendering in FOG2 is Direct3D9?

[Mord]

thanks I have not tried this before but your screenshots look noticeably better than my game looks - do you use just default settings in Reshade and am I correct thinking the rendering in FOG2 is Direct3D9?

Yeah, I believe it was Direct3D9. I always end up downloading all the shaders because I keep forgetting to write a list of the ones I'll never use.

Right now I am using:
Mode1 [finesharp]
Cartoon
FilmicPass
Clourfulness
Tint [Sepia]
(In that order)

It's not perfect and I could probably screw with it a lot more but these settings have very little effect on any UI and menu functions so it's a happy medium until I dial it in just right. The (good) problem with Reshade is you can spend hours and hours looking for that perfect combo. It's a game within itself. However, it works without a hitch. I don't have any of the weird side effects with it that I get in Combat Mission titles on the OpenGL install.


Mord.

[alphington]

Many thanks Mord, I'm going to give this a try.

[Mord]

Many thanks Mord, I'm going to give this a try.

No worries, my man, enjoy.
And if you find a better combo of settings let me know.

Mord.

P.S. In case you don't already know, the order in which you list the shaders can actually change the look. Some are more noticeable than others when placed in the hierarchy.

[alphington]

My ageing video card (Nvidia GEforce GT 740) can't seem to handle many of those Reshade settings. I have managed to find some improvement with Clarity followed by Tint (Sepia) but it's only a small difference.

For the last little while I have been pondering getting a better video set up for a few reasons so perhaps I should think about that again now.

Out of interest, what do folks here consider an optimum video card to run the game? (my PC setup is still pretty good with SSD, 32GB ram, i7 @3.3Ghz).
Kevin

[rbodleyscott]

Out of interest, what do folks here consider an optimum video card to run the game? (my PC setup is still pretty good with SSD, 32GB ram, i7 @3.3Ghz).
Kevin

Not the AMD Radeon RX 5700, at least at present.

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewto ... 88&t=94155

[MikeC_81]

Any midrange or better GPU released 5 years ago or better is already overkill for FoG2 ar 1080p. The GTX 970 I was using had no problems playing and recording at the same time. Should easily handle a simple post processing fx like ReShade too. A used one on the US/Cdn market is about 80/125 bucks.

Though if you intend on playing more demanding modern titles, let me know which ones and at what resolution so I can make a better recommendation.

[alphington]

Not the AMD Radeon RX 5700, at least at present.


Thanks, I didn't know about that and will avoid.

[alphington]

Any midrange or better GPU released 5 years ago or better is already overkill for FoG2 ar 1080p. The GTX 970 I was using had no problems playing and recording at the same time. Should easily handle a simple post processing fx like ReShade too. A used one on the US/Cdn market is about 80/125 bucks.

Though if you intend on playing more demanding modern titles, let me know which ones and at what resolution so I can make a better recommendation.

Thanks this is good to know and I appreciate your offer for advice on requirements of more demanding titles. I've been mostly an AGEOD type of game person but I'll have a think about what might be needed going forwards.

[MikeC_81]

Thanks this is good to know and I appreciate your offer for advice on requirements of more demanding titles. I've been mostly an AGEOD type of game person but I'll have a think about what might be needed going forwards.

Look before you leap in this area. Buying "gaming" computer gear is one of the most byzantine, dishonest, and predatory markets for the uninformed both by manufacturers/retailers and on the used market.

When you say that your video card "can't handle" those Reshade settings, are you saying that the card itself lacks the functionality that Reshade is looking for or is it a frame rate problem (ie choppy, screen tearing, stop motion like movement)?

Be aware as well that in the graphics card market these days, if you want to buy new and avoid potential hazards of the used market (although ebay protection is very good these days from what I hear), the price to performance curve is relatively flat right up until the 130 dollar US mark and then begins to ramp up quickly up to the 250 dollar mark and then rises exponentially after that.

[alphington]

Thanks this is good to know and I appreciate your offer for advice on requirements of more demanding titles. I've been mostly an AGEOD type of game person but I'll have a think about what might be needed going forwards.

Look before you leap in this area. Buying "gaming" computer gear is one of the most byzantine, dishonest, and predatory markets for the uninformed both by manufacturers/retailers and on the used market.

When you say that your video card "can't handle" those Reshade settings, are you saying that the card itself lacks the functionality that Reshade is looking for or is it a frame rate problem (ie choppy, screen tearing, stop motion like movement)?

Be aware as well that in the graphics card market these days, if you want to buy new and avoid potential hazards of the used market (although ebay protection is very good these days from what I hear), the price to performance curve is relatively flat right up until the 130 dollar US mark and then begins to ramp up quickly up to the 250 dollar mark and then rises exponentially after that.

Good advice on buying a new card - thanks.
It's not a frame rate problem but how the game looks.
Using the same combo as Mord uses results in any text on the screen being rendered mostly unreadable plus significant colour changes that are not improvements - in short, nothing at all like Mord's screenshots! However the game still plays ok even while looking horrible. I've now tried many combinations of many effects in different orders but to no avail. This led me to think that my card is not very compatible with Reshade. I can play the game happily without Reshade fortunately, just not as good to look at!

[MikeC_81]

Can you take a screenshot? It seems unlikely that your graphic's card can't handle the shaders if it is not an FPS performance issue. I read a bit into what Reshade does and it seems likely it is just a settings issue.

[alphington]

Can you take a screenshot? It seems unlikely that your graphic's card can't handle the shaders if it is not an FPS performance issue. I read a bit into what Reshade does and it seems likely it is just a settings issue.

Thanks for this, here's the screenshot - I haven't read about Reshade but just tried to use it so maybe this is the issue.This is using Mord's combination as set out above.It's supposed to be green grass not a desert btw!

[Mord]

Here's a desert pic and a Med pic.





All these shots (including the originals) were taken on my old 2013 computer (using my Sharp 42" TV as a monitor).
Win10
AMD A10-6700
12GB DDR3
2MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series

I may have adjusted the Sepia values but I don't remember. But as you can see the text is decently legible for all the different popups and UI stuff.

Mord.

[rbodleyscott]

This is for ancient battles on Mars?

[KiFi]

Where is John Carter?