First of all, I would like to say thank you for accepting me into the Beta. I used to have Panzer General for the Playstation, and I loved it so much. I used to play it for an hour or so before work and then go into the office and tell my wargaming mate how far I'd got, and so on. Anyway, anecdotes aside.....
I played the first two tutorials on this, just to get a feel for the game. I was expecting more of a tutorial in the sense that I get told what to do, rather than just doing it (as in Commander Europe At War). I guess that will come later.
Anyway, I was impressed. The battle effects are really good - the explosions, gunfire, etc., are really good to see. The sounds are excellent (esp. the MG42!). The maps and models are really well detailed. Without the hexes present, the Panzer Corps looks impressive indeed (I normally prefer to have the hexes, but this game seems to look better without them - they can be toggled, though, and I may change my mind).
The only criticism I can offer is this: the game seems to run only in windowed mode. For me, this is a problem because I have my taskbar at the top of the screen (and I have to autohide it just for this game) and Stardock's ObjectDock at the bottom, meaning when I try to scroll up, the taskbar appears and covers the top of the game, and when I try to scroll down ObjectDock offers to open programs for me. If the game can be made to run full-screen (or in a smaller window) then this would solve my specific problem. However, I can't find any graphics options anywhere......
At this point (20-30 mins playing time?) this is all I can say. I am pretty sure I will be able to comment more with a bit more time under my belt.
Cheers!
Kage
Played First Two Tutorials
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KageToraUK
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IainMcNeil
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About the fullscreen, the game is supposed to run in this mode, with no taskbar intervention, so what you describe sounds like a bug. What version of Windows are you using? Could you please send me a screenshot of how the game looks after start (you can send it directly to my email, rudankort@rsdn.ru). Thanks!
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KageToraUK
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Fullscreen
I've been playing Panzer Corps for on and off for most of the day (and night!) and I've had the taskbar showing at the top for the whole time - except when I went in just now to get a screenshot of it for you - suddenly everything was fullscreen..... typical! If it happens again, I'll grab a screenie and send it on to you. Oh, and I am on Vista SP2.
Continuing on from my post earlier:
After playing the two tutorials, I played the Poland and Low Countries scenarios. With Poland, all was going well enough until I got to Warsaw and had a nasty surprise with all that arty surrounding the city. I'd used up much of my army just getting there, so now I really had no chance (I still had a sizable force down south but they couldn't get to Warsaw in time to help before the time limit was up). The invasion of the Low Countries was hilarious and I just got massacred. I think I was just enjoying myself too much to concentrate on winning (the models are superb!)!
Is there a manual available? I'd like to know how to upgrade units, and if there is a way to get reinforcements. I see there is a buy menu, but what is that based on? There is prestige and core slots. It seems similar to Commander Europe At War, but I haven't played that for about six months.
Also, what is the difference between replacements, and elite replacements? Also, what is that unused icon going to be used for? There is a target over a tank.
So many questions......
Finally, a little criticism: (besides the fact I have never lost in any other game against Poland or the Low Countries before!!!) the short loading cinematic is laggy on my PC (Intel Pentium Dual Core, 3GB RAM).
Oh, and one last thing: how long will the beta last? Shall I blitz every scenario as fast as I can, or do I still have a bit of time to play them at a slower pace? I know I'm a late arrival, you see........, plus I have a friend who wants to join in (he applied yesterday).
I'd better stop here - I do have more questions (including some about the very very user friendly scenario editor you have provided - as far as I am concerened this is a MUST for any game!).
Kage
Continuing on from my post earlier:
After playing the two tutorials, I played the Poland and Low Countries scenarios. With Poland, all was going well enough until I got to Warsaw and had a nasty surprise with all that arty surrounding the city. I'd used up much of my army just getting there, so now I really had no chance (I still had a sizable force down south but they couldn't get to Warsaw in time to help before the time limit was up). The invasion of the Low Countries was hilarious and I just got massacred. I think I was just enjoying myself too much to concentrate on winning (the models are superb!)!
Is there a manual available? I'd like to know how to upgrade units, and if there is a way to get reinforcements. I see there is a buy menu, but what is that based on? There is prestige and core slots. It seems similar to Commander Europe At War, but I haven't played that for about six months.
Also, what is the difference between replacements, and elite replacements? Also, what is that unused icon going to be used for? There is a target over a tank.
So many questions......
Finally, a little criticism: (besides the fact I have never lost in any other game against Poland or the Low Countries before!!!) the short loading cinematic is laggy on my PC (Intel Pentium Dual Core, 3GB RAM).
Oh, and one last thing: how long will the beta last? Shall I blitz every scenario as fast as I can, or do I still have a bit of time to play them at a slower pace? I know I'm a late arrival, you see........, plus I have a friend who wants to join in (he applied yesterday).
I'd better stop here - I do have more questions (including some about the very very user friendly scenario editor you have provided - as far as I am concerened this is a MUST for any game!).
Kage
Re: Fullscreen
No manual yet.KageToraUK wrote: Is there a manual available? I'd like to know how to upgrade units, and if there is a way to get reinforcements. I see there is a buy menu, but what is that based on? There is prestige and core slots. It seems similar to Commander Europe At War, but I haven't played that for about six months.
To upgrade a unit, just click "upgrade" button in the UI. On deployment phase you can upgrade any unit; in the middle of a scenario you should be in a city to do that (airfield for planes). To get reinforcements, click "Replacements" or "Elite replacements" button. The difference between them is, the latter allows you to preserve all experience the unit has, but it is more costly.
This will be used to toggle unit like 88mm gun between anti-air and anti-tank modes.KageToraUK wrote: Also, what is the difference between replacements, and elite replacements? Also, what is that unused icon going to be used for? There is a target over a tank.
Does it play without issues in the Media PLayer? You can find the video file in game's Video subfolder.KageToraUK wrote: Finally, a little criticism: (besides the fact I have never lost in any other game against Poland or the Low Countries before!!!) the short loading cinematic is laggy on my PC (Intel Pentium Dual Core, 3GB RAM).
Beta will last till the game is finished, so a few more weeks from now.KageToraUK wrote: Oh, and one last thing: how long will the beta last? Shall I blitz every scenario as fast as I can, or do I still have a bit of time to play them at a slower pace? I know I'm a late arrival, you see........, plus I have a friend who wants to join in (he applied yesterday).
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KageToraUK
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Re: Fullscreen
Yes, the video plays fine if I play it twice. The second time it plays OK. This just may be an issue with my PC at the moment, so not to worry.Rudankort wrote: Does it play without issues in the Media PLayer? You can find the video file in game's Video subfolder.