It all comes down to rights, and as Avalon Hill is just a brand name owned by Hasborg, and as Hasborg would be likely to be an even less thrilling experience as was the recent 'fun' with the pricks of EA, I don't really expect to EVER see Slitherine release any manner of game that is a derivative of an old AH title regardless of how many would love to get it.
I don't think the experience would look any better than a gang bang.
And sadly there are so many titles that would likely be brain dead easy to put on something like a tablet too. And regardless of being on a tablet, well anyone trying to tell me Afrika Korps or Russian Campaign wasn't a real wargame or a serious wargame, well this bird is for you
God I would just die to see Advanced Third Reich on a computer or other device. WITH NO F**KING AI either. Seriously, I don't want to play A3R against a moron. If I want to beat up something as challenging as a 6 year old, I might as well take it to my son's old grade school. For people with no opponent, suck it up sunshine. You have no opponent. Play the game against yourself like we real wargamers have done since the 60s.
I am looking forward to seeing what sort of mangled bloody mess that they have created for an AI for World in Flames. Oh it's going to be a real treat a total hoot I am sure. No offense to those working on it, but if I can't play it solo hot seat mode it won't be worth squat as a program to me. They have been wasting their collective time programming the AI all so some people unwilling to find a human opponent for ftf can play it and then bitch about the lacking AI on forums. Oh they are going to bitch about the AI on forums too. I'll bet both nuts it will happen, and neither of them are in any danger.
All I really ever want out of computerized wargames, is the pleasure of not needing to care about 'where do I store this thing between playings?'. Because it is NOT about the need to scroll a page, it is about the fact I don't need to wonder how much it will cost to rent a small warehouse to set up my wargames. I don't care if I need to scroll about to see a wargame's map. I mean shit, have you ever set up Fire in the East? It's not even the whole of Russia, and it is just Russia not all of the Europa campaign. Fully set up, it will eat a 4 car garage!!! You CAN'T see the whole map in one glance, you can also barely reach the middle of the map from any side. And when was the last time you checked out setting up a table that big? More than one sheet of plywood, were talking something like 50 bucks a sheet, plus the needed 2x4 for supports.
Yeah I won't mind needing to 'scroll about' to view the map.
Ever actually seen a common game of Advanced Squad Leader under way? Half the hundreds of counters are just informational counters. One bump of the table is a total disaster. And then there is the family cat. Not to be forgotten but there is also kids, and the open window and the wife that likely wants that room for something more responsible, like your family.
Yes I want to see Slitherine go hog wild on releasing titles for more than just the computer. Because not all real wargames need that much muscle. Graphically speaking, most of my wargame stash would not even task my Nintendo DS. I know, I have Commander Europe at War for it. It runs just fine. Pity it isn't an Android release (YET HINT HINT HINT). Because a 10 inch screen is sooooo much more fun on these old eyes than even my DSi XL screen (which is bigger than the 3DS which is why I don't care how well it is doing, I don't want to go back to the small screen size).
Currently there is quite the war raging here in my home. One camp is all for going all digital and selling the board games (which logic says I will likely never have space for again). One camp is all about turfing the fakers and going back to the real deal (board games and just making the damned space become available by stealing it from my model railroad hobby). The only reason I have not let the board game lobby win so far, is the cat (since I moved here we have gotten a cat). No point setting up The Longest Day and all of it's 5'x5.5' goodness just to have it buggered up by the cat.
The sooner Slitherine delivers real honest to goodness wargames and stops listening to whiny I need an AI complainers (who will never like your AI either) and makes them available for ALL the devices at our disposal simply as it makes sense, the sooner Slitherine can be synonomous with being a current and modern equal to all that Avalon Hill once was to wargaming. Because once upon a time, saying wargame company usually meant AH.
I know you likely will never be able to actually release the actual original games from AH, but that's really not important. You just need to copy them, as after all, it's all history eh. The battles were fought, the forces present really existed, and there is no need to balk about getting the historical record identical to any other previous product.
I want a wargame to actually look like a wargame. I don't want it to look like an arcade game. Leave the arcade games for pricks like EA that couldn't care less about history or credible accuracy. All they want to do is shovel out games where you mindlessly shoot the crap out of things in 3d in real time. It was always fun to do that in the arcades. But when I went home to my wargames, I expected them to look like wargames. And don't get too fixated on the term 'game' either. Life is a game. If you are not simulating what ifs from famous moments in time in a tangible historically relevant fashion, all you will have is an arcade game. Fine of course, if you want arcade games.
But you DID term the phrase Home of Wargamers. I am a wargamer, and I expect wargames.
Many thanks to all involved at Slitherine