March of the Eagles trailer

Dopo il developer diary ecco il nuovo trailer:

Birth of Rome disponibile sul sito Matrix

La nuova espansione per Alea Jacta Est è disponibile sul sito Matrix Games. Contiene anche la precedente campagna, Cantabrian Wars. E' stato rilasciato in formato stand-alone, così non richiedo il possesso del precedente gioco.

Ecco l'annuncio:

http://www.matrixgames.com/products/460/details/Birth.of.Rome

A great new grand strategy game set during the wars of Early Roman Republic is here!

Birth of Rome covers the important and epic wars that led the Roman republic to unify Italy, then defeat Carthage in Sicily. Relive the first conquests of the Roman consuls as they face powerful and determined opponents such as Pyrrhus of Epirus or Hanibal Barca of Carthage. Don’t let history write your destiny, it is completely up to you on how to handle the situation, or try your hand at rewriting history as Rome’s enemies.

Birth of Rome offers a level of historical accuracy and detail never reached before in a video game. Birth of Rome is a true simulation where players are challenged to create armies and fleets, organize and maneuver them, sustain and reinforce them. All the time taking into account military, economic, political and diplomatic parameters.



Scenarios:
The 3rd Samnite War opposing Rome and the Etruscan are the Samnite tribes between 298 and 291 BC, that will bring Rome control of central Italy.
The Senones War (284 to 282 BC), a violent Gallic tribe in Northern Italy at war with Rome. Victory against these powerful Celtic warriors allows the Romans to take their revenge against those who plundered Rome in 390 BC.
Pyrrhic Victories (280 BC to 272 BC) where the Senate of Rome finally manages to capture Tarentum and southern Italy after repulsing one of the greatest ancient warrior kings, Pyrrhus of Epirus.
The First Punic War, a very long campaign between 264 and 241 BC, pitting Rome against Carthage for the control of Sicily. A balanced struggle, focusing on naval operations. A shorter version starts in 256 BC.
The Mercenary War (241 BC to 238 BC), a fight between an exhausted Carthage and her own rebellious mercenaries in Africa.

Nuovo dev diary per March of the Eagles

Nuovo dev diary per March of the Eagles:

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?661550-March-of-the-Eagles-developer-diary-17-Prussia-vs.-Austria

Il gioco dovrebbe uscire a metà Febbraio.

Total War Shogun 2 - Gold Edition

E' stata annunciata per Marzo la versione Gold Edition di Shogun 2, che conterrà tutto quello che è uscito per il gioco. Qui trovate la notizia ufficiale:

http://www.totalwar.com/en_us/shogun-2-gold

Turno 12 War in the East

12mo video con WITE; il mio avversario sta premendo davvero tanto ed è riuscito a mettere piedi oltre Rostov, gli sto contestando ogni palmo in questa fase, anche a costo di perdite dolorose, perchè ad Aprile comincia il fango ed ogni perdita adesso sono meno truppe durante la stagione del bel tempo. La differenza è che a Maggio avrò un bel nucleo di Tanks Corps e corpi di fanteria che gli renderanno la vita più difficile.

Ageod American Civil War 2, anteprima della mappa

Sul forum Ageod è apparsa un'immagine di anteprima sulla mappa strategica di ACW2; è davvero enorme e molto dettagliata nel numero di regioni. Davvero bellissima.

http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?27897-Ageod-American-Civil-War-2!

Gameplay con Achtung Panzer Operation Star

Dopo un po' di tempo torno a fare un video con APOS (patch di Agosto); questa volta potete vedere dei Matildas e Valentines in azione contro la fanteria. Purtroppo lo sviluppo del multiplayer del gioco parrebbe ancora lontano, perchè rallenterebbe lo sviluppo di altre parti considerate prioritarie.

Nuova partita con Scourge of War GCM\HITS

Ieri abbiamo fatto una nuova partita con il GCM\HITS a Scourge; come al solito  è stata molto combattuta piena di colpi di scena e, fortunatamente per noi, vittoriosa. I movimenti li potete vedere dal replay, ma sommarizzando come l'altra volta, abbiamo vinto a seguito di un contrattacco concentrico nord-sud dopo aver subito la pressione nemica.

Detto ciò, sono abbastanza critico con l'impostazione data dal comandante (lo stesso dell'altra volta); ancora una volta ha fatto dei grandi movimenti con lo scopo di riunire le truppe direttamente nel punto di probabile scontro e ha dato per scontato che le truppe nemiche arrivassero da nord-ovest (invece come vedete erano a sud-ovest). La divisione Palmer, che partiva da sud-est, ha fatto un giro tremendo per andare a nord-est dell'obbiettivo, con il risultato che, non solo si è praticamente frantumata, andando un po' qua e un po' là (grazie a cielo una delle brigate è arrivata a sud), ma è arrivato con mezz'ora di ritardo, e quindi abbiamo combattuto con un inferiorità di una divisione per un bel po'.

Originariamente io dovevo andare sull'obbiettivo e difenderlo, poi quando ormai ero arrivato, mi ha detto di andare a nord dell'obbiettivo, perchè aveva visto truppe nemiche ed il terreno era buono, mi ha anche chiesto di andare ad esplorare personalmente il terreno e proprio mentre mi faceva allontanare le truppe nemiche comparivano sull'obbiettivo che originariamente avrei dovuto difendere, e invece le mie truppe stavano andando a nord. Ho dovuto fare una conversione delle brigate in mezzo a boschi, coprendo non solo a sud, per evitare di essere tagliato fuori dalla divisione di KGSoldier che avanzava da sud e doveva passare un torrente per raggiungere l'obbiettivo, ma anche il centro e centro-nord. Perchè il nostro comandante, aveva mandato una brigata isolata e tenere l'obbiettivo centrale, che adesso era sotto grossa-pressione, ed insisteva che mandassi una brigata a nord per tenere l'obbiettivo, mentre lui teneva il grosso dell'artiglieria ben distante. Ovviamente nel caos di questo spiegamento assurdo, mi sono dissanguato anche perchè il bosco non mi permetteva di vedere da fermo le due ali della mia formazione, ma grazie al cielo ho retto abbastanza da supportare l'attacco di KGsoldier e attendere l'arrivo di Palmer a nord. Il nemico poi si è usurato durante la sua avanzata nel bosco quando il mio centro è crollato, anche perchè preso alle spalle dalla brigata che all'inizio teneva l'obbiettivo centrale.

Insomma anche questa volta ci è andata di culo.

Test di tiro con un 12 Pounder Napoleon caricato a canister

Interessante test di ricreazione storica

Eador 2 beta comunicato dal sito della Snowbirds

http://snowbirdgames.com/?p=672&lang=en

Hello everyone!

The first beta stage of Eador is coming to a close. And while we’re still giving out keys to those who wish to continiue playing the current beta, let’s see where we’re at the moment:

1) First of all, a big thanks to everybody who spent their time writing bug reports. We’ve got a ton of useful feedback that we’re looking into right now.

2) We’ve taken into account general feedback concerning the interface. We’ll try to reduce the ammount of unnecessary actions.

3) Animation will be sped up once again, now including attack and heroes movement animation. We’ll also make an option with no animation at all for instant actions.

4) Hotkey system will be added.

5) We’ll probably add sound in the game and a new system of special effects for spells and rituals for the next version.

6) A big part of bugs will be fixed including crashes during shard’s size changes.

7) We’ll add some astral quests for the next version.

The second beta stage will be held in February and the final one is planned for March when we hope to test multilplayer.

The release date for Eador is the end of March – the beginning of April.

Turbo Tapes viene silurata da Paradox

Turbo Tapes, lo studio creatore di Naval War Arctic Circle è stata silurata da Paradox, dopo il fallimento totale del gioco, afflitto da bug irrisolti da più di un anno e da indubbio carenze nelle vendite. Probabilmente anche la DLC rilasciata qualche mese fa si è rilevata un flop, indubbiamente perchè i molti afflitti da bug non l'hanno presa (e pare fosse anche una DLC piuttosto scadente).

Ecco la notizia data sul forum:

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?660304-The-state-of-Naval-War-Arctic-Circle&s=a231f44a16265959ca308eca0210ce64

Potete notare anche un bel post di insulto alla fine.

Random maps 5 per Scourge of War

Garnier ha rilasciato il random maps 5 mod, che contiene 15 nuove mappe per Scourge of War. Ecco il link per scaricarlo:

http://sow.philipmcg.com/downloads/RandomMaps5.zip

AAR con Panthers in the Fog

Su Grogheads trovate un AAR con Close Combat Panthers in the Fog:

http://www.grogheads.com/aar-pitf1.html

Strategic Command WWI Breakthrough! nuova patch

Uscita patch per l'espansione del gioco Battlefront sulla Prima Guerra Mondiale:

http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=266&Itemid=475

Change log:



GAME ENGINE CHANGES
fixed an AI combat error that allowed an out of range unit to attack

CAMPAIGN CHANGES
1914 Call to Arms; 1914 Ostaufmarsch
Ottoman mobilization scripts amended (Isnogud).
Port sub defence bonus raised from 4 to 8 (Catacol Highlander).
1918 Russian Civil War
Pilsudski removed from the North Caucasian Emirate’s build list and replaced with Haji (Ancient Demon).
Terek, North Caucasian and Stavropol revolt scripts amended (Xenon 141).
Scripts added so that if France has withdrawn from the war then she can receive German and Romanian income if they are still in the war (Xenon 141).
Scripts added for the three White factions to surrender when their Political Standing is zero.
Port sub defence bonus raised from 4 to 8 (Catacol Highlander).
1914 March On Paris
the German Fortress of Metz, and all the French Fortresses, will bombard attackers
1912 First Balkan War
Albanian Legion unit script corrected (Ancient Demon).
1914 Ludendorff Offensive
If the Germans capture, but subsequently lose the following locations then they will suffer a 2,000 National Morale penalty: Ypres; Amiens; Arras; Abbeville; Soissons; Reims; Verdun; Nancy; Epinal; Belfort

Nuova partita con Shock Force

Abbiamo cominciato un nuovo scenario con Shock Force; sono ancora in difesa, ma stavolta sono truppe inglesi al 100%. Sembra essere uno scenario più bilanciato.

La THQ è ufficialmente finita e la SEGA prende i diritti per COH2

La THQ è alla fine fallita dopo una lunga agonia e la SEGA ha acquistato i diritti per Company of Heroes 2; dopo il colpaccio con Warhammer, la casa giapponese si aggiudica un'altro pezzo del settore degli strategici in tempo reale. Stranamente, mentre le vendite degli ultimi due Total War sono state deludenti rispetto al passato (500.000 ognuno, rispetto al milione di Empire), la SEGA sembra credere ancora nel genere, non si sa bene perchè, dato il target parecchio diverso da quello solito delle console.

http://www.wargamer.fr/company-of-heroes-warhammer-sega-se-fait-la-totale/

Articolo sul combattimento in Crusader Kings 2

Interessante articolo su La Gazette du Wargamer in Crusader Kings II

http://www.wargamer.fr/les-combats-dans-crusader-kings-ii/

Turno 12 con War in the Pacific Admiral Edition

Ho ricominciato la mia partita con WitP AE, la campagna di Guadalcanal e ho ricominciato alla grande. Con un colpo grosso ho mandato a fondo la Zuikaku e danneggiato gravemente la Shokaku. E' vero la North Carolina ha subito pesanti danni e temo di non riuscire a portarla in un porto, ma la perdite di due grosse portaerei per i giapponesi, con pesanti perdite aeree non è roba da poco. Adesso spero di riuscire a sbarcare un paio di convogli truppe e rifornimenti sull'isola. Nel frattempo spero di intercettare due convogli giapponesi vicino alla Nuova Guinea.

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm - Opening Cinematic

Devo dire che, a parte la storyline, ben poco mi attira mi attira della serie; anche se sembra chissà cosa, per quello che ho visto del gameplay, mi sembra il classico RTS.

Una mia considerazione su RTS\RTT e Wargame parte 2 - L'importanza dell'interfacciamento

Torno su questo argomento che ho lasciato in sospeso da parecchi mesi ( http://warforgame.blogspot.it/2012/08/una-mia-considerazione-su-rtsrtt-e.html ); alla fine avevo concluso con l'idea che il termine RTS\RTT ormai fosse totalmente improprio dato che rientravano nella categoria sia giochi che del wargame avevano solo l'ambientazione bellica, ma non avevano realmente di realismo o profondità strategica o tattica, sia realtime che sottendevano verso il wargame, sia veri a propri wargames dell'ultima generazione (vedi Commands Ops). Avevo concluso coniando vari acronimi non proprio brillanti per nuove categorie, ma li avevo improvvisati sul momento :)

Volevo discutere su un argomento a cui stavo pensando nell'ultimo periodo, collegato appunto al legame tra bellici realtime e a turni, e all'interfacciabilità\interoperabilità tra giochi diversi, e quindi, in senso lato, anche la moddabilità.

Chi bazzica le comunità di giocatori di strategici, avrà ben visto che le iniziative di meta-campagne (gestione extra-software delle partite ad un determinato gioco, dando una consecutio logica tra loro tra i match, con gestione delle perdite, terreni, rifornimenti, spesso con un po' di roleplay da parte dei giocatori) sono numerose. Spesso gli ideatori di queste meta-campagne creano piccole software per estrapolare dai file di salvataggio le info da elaborare per la creazione degli scenari successivi. Ovviamente questo è possibile se il gioco in questione permette una certa manipolazione dei dati in entrata e in uscita per la creazione degli scenari. L'esempio più completo che conosca è appunto Scourge of War, che non solo permette di creare gli scenari manipolando dei file csv, ma permette di salvare sempre su CSV anche la situazione post-battaglia e persino la posizione dei morti sul campo di battaglia. Infatti il GCM è sicuramente uno dei meglio riusciti e complessi generatori di meta-campagne che abbia mai visto. Sulla sponda opposta abbiamo Combat Mission Shock Force, la cui unica iniziativa di meta-campagna è naufragata prima di partire, a causa del tempo enorme necessario alla partenza e alla gestione totalmente manuale attraverso l'editor del gioco per creare e gestire gli scenari. CM permette la gestione di campagne consecutive, ma tutto all'interno del gioco stesso, senza nessuna possibilità di gestione extra-software che non sia manuale e laboriosa.

Ora, sui forum dei giochi, si chiede sempre più spesso da parte dei giocatori sia maggiore moddabilità sia possibilità di interazione con l'input\output del gioco, appunto ai fini di poter gestire meta-campagne. Chiaramente il passo successivo sarebbe quello, da parte degli sviluppatori, non solo la creazione di file scenario e di salvataggio apribili e modificabili, ma anche user-friendly, cioè facilmente creabili e replicabili da strumenti esterni al gioco. Inoltre nel caso specifico dei giochi a turni, la possibilità di determinare esternamente l'esito dello scontro e importarlo nel gioco, permetterebbe di creare legami diretti tra giochi a turni e in tempo reale. Per fare un esempio pratico: ho un wargame a turni operazionale dove gestisco truppe divisionali: per ogni scontro posso decidere di esportare un file di informazioni con le truppe coinvolte, che potrò masticare in un altro formato e passare ad un altro wargame a turni o in tempo reale tattici dove potrò svolgere il combattimento divisionale. L'unico wargame che conosco e che permette di fare questo attualmente è Empire in Arms the Napoleonic Wars of 1805 - 1815, che ha proprio un sistema pensato per poter svolgere gli scontri con le miniature e quindi importare i risultati nel gioco. Viene usato da alcuni giocatori in collegamento con Histwar Les Grognards, ma dato che anche questo gioco pecca di modificabilità in input\output la gestione è complessa e tediosa. Quando con Scourge si potrà usare il mod napoleonico, la combinazione tra i due giochi potrebbe rivelarsi ottima.

Ma perchè questa strada non è seguita dagli sviluppatori: probabilmente per due ragioni suppongo:

1 - io sono un programmatore ERP, quindi nel mio lavoro l'interfacciamento dati tramite qualsivoglia strumento (file, RFC, OLE, databases) è importante e vitale, un software gestionale blindato non è concepibile. Un programmatore di videogiochi ha una mentalità diversa: pensa al proprio gioco come un mondo a sé e ha proprie idee anche sulla sua espansione; non si pone il problema del potenziale dell'interfacciamento che appunto andrebbe pianificato alla partenza del sviluppo e non si può improvvisare; ma l'inizio dello sviluppo pone problemi di tempi e budget, per cui gli aspetti secondari nello schema delle cose sono tagliati.
2 - appunto molte software house e editori hanno proprie idee sullo sviluppo di un gioco di successo, tra cui appunto parte strategico proprietarie e questo di sicuro non incoraggia a dare gli strumenti per la gestione non proprietaria delle stesse cose (vedasi in parallelo la questione DLC->moddabilità)

Insomma non penso che, salvo rari casi, gli sviluppatori sceglieranno mai questa strada in toto per i loro sviluppi e la gestione delle meta-campagne sarà sempre molto più onerosa di quello che sarebbe potuto essere con scelte architetturali differenti.

Turno finale partita multi a Command Ops

Ieri abbiamo terminato lo scenario che giocavamo da circa 2 mesi, purtroppo, come temevo, sono stato sconfitto; alla fine mi sono deciso ad usare dei gruppi da combattimento ad hoc, invece che puntare all'offensiva coordinata di interi reggimenti, ma era tardi e il nemico troppo arroccato nel complesso urbano. Anche la sua artiglieria da quello che ho visto alla fine era bella potente e fuori portata della mia.

Vediamo che scenario giocheremo settimana prossima.

Gloria o Morte - libro sulla Guerra di Crimea

Si tratta di un libro che ho letto qualche anno fa e parla della guerra di Crimea (uno dei pochi in italiano). La trattazione è principalmente incentrata sulla realtà della vita del soldato del periodo (organizzazioni, freddo, fame, realtà del combattimento, rapporto ufficiali e soldati). Certo c'è una breve introduzione sulla campagna militare in sé, ma lo sforzo dell'autore è mirato essenzialmente a far capire il contesto di brutalità e sofferenza che fa da contorno all'assedio di Sebastopoli (con brevi e illuminanti sprazzi di umanità).

Per 8 euro vale la pena leggerlo.

Change log parziale della patch di Marzo di Achtung Panzer

Mea culpa è un po' che non gioco a APOS (e anche molti giochi sono rimasti indietro, ma The Witcher è davvero bello). Posto il change log della prossima patch ( Marzo 2013 ) di APOS; io speravo nel multi ma ancora non si vede.

1) Fixed crash when pressing ESC while loading district maps in operation.
2) The algorithm of broken tracks is improved.
3) Weapons overheating algorithm is adjusted.
4) Differentiation and locks for paths on operational map is introduced.
5) Principle of editing paths in operation editor is improved.
6) The ability to import a database description for operation from other operation is added.
7) Fixed a bug with the repair in the abandoned vehicles (crew members now leave repair).
8) Added a separate button for the ambush. At this command the infantry and gun crews will be lie, vehicle crews will be close a hatches.
9) Removed the option for buttoned state for vehicles.
10) Now you can set the "level" of defensive structures in a quick battle.
11) Added the ability to set placement in defense without digging trenches.
12) Fixed a bug with the canceling of serial orders in battle.
13) Adjusted indication and view modes for serial orders in battle.
14) Added button for automatic platoon placement.
15) Added separate command teams for different types of troops.
16) Added the support units in a quick battle.
17) Added a separation for radio stations by type and his type indication.
18) Fixed a bug with icons remain after disable (and enable) the mini-map.
19) Added the indication for the radio/voice/wire communications in battle.
20) Button for platoons table in operational phase is changed from F1 to F3.
21) Added an antenna on KV-1S and KV-8S tanks.
22) Added an option for icon types on operational map (option 4.20).
23) The algorithm for ammunition and fuel replenish is cahnged, added indication for supply level on map.
24) Command radii is removed.
25) Company and battalion commanders are added in a quick battle.
26) During the retreat without a combat (in operational phase) platoon loses morale.
27) Added the fire platoon commanders in artillery batteries.
28) Staff for the troops in quick battle has been modified and expanded.
29) Added a group of messages for breaking and restoring wired connection.
30) Adjusted an algorithm offers ceasefire from AI (removed immediately cancel after offer).
31) Added target designation by flares.
32) Added a button to apply the last selected filter for soldiers or vehicles.
33) Staff for the troops in operations has been modified and adjusted.
34) Squad parameters panel is changed.
35) Rotate order is moved to squad panel.
36) Added a separate button for reverse move.
37) Added indication for suppressed squads in 3D and on the map.
38) The "quick" orders adaptively vary depending on the number of troops who are given the order.
39) Added a button on the orders panel, which allows to transfer troops under the control of AI.
40) Put a penalty at the start of the operation if allied troops is transfer under the players control.
41) Added automatic movement for signalers to laying wire communication.
42) Feature 42, now without name.
43) Added indication and options for valid orders.
44) Removed the outline of the selected units if individual icons is displayed.
45) Added a separate option for block of squads exchange in the operational phase (by default is enabled).
46) Added tank Pz I ausf. F and a platoon of this tanks in a quick battle.
47) Tankers do not close the hatches and do not climb into the tank if detecting enemy.
48) Added icons in Wehrmacht style on operational map.
49) Fixed a bug with the wrong choice of the level of detail for grass when you attach the camera to an unit.
50) Corrected the appearance for contact signs.
51) Added full automatical firing on external target designation.
52) When the defence "flag" is set during placement mode, changed the principle of defence points selecting.
53) The base color for summer camouflage on some vehicles of Red Army is changed.
54) Visual look of vehicles is changed due to humidity level.
55) Added Red Army's icons for operational map.
56) Fixed a bug with incorrect display of sides color in Quick battle editor due to change side.
57) Fixed a bug with black squares on an operations map.
58) Added Dunkelgelb 1943 color scheme for Pz III ausf. N tank.
59) For external target designation spot time and target direction will be transmitted.
60) Added ability to set delay for order execution until some time (right click on the "Stop" order).
61) Vehiles and squads that left without user control automatically returns to the commander.
62) Added ammo reallocation for guns and mortars at the end of the battle.
63) Slight adjustments for opponents AI.
64) Changed some icons of the squad and vehicle information.
65) Fixed disappearance of the sounds for rolled guns.
66) Added a color scheme selection for the map marks on operational and tactical phases.
67) Added NATO icons for operational map.
68) Fixed bug with unit dragging on the map in deploy phase.
69) Added an option for showing an alphanumeric platoon's codes on the map.
70) Added the wire-reel model for signalman's in the battle.
71) Added muzzle velocity dependence from the temperature.
72) Sounds for Pz III and Pz VI tanks engines and Marder SPGs based on the Pz 38(t) tank caterpillars are changed.
73) Added Soviet Army icons for operational map.
74) Display on the map ally AI plans and their changes during the battle is added.
75) Some shot sounds are corrected.
76) Added some armor piercing ammunition to the penetration diagrams.
77) Added detailed description for the orders delay and for player's command level into the built-in help system.

Review di Squad Battles : Dien Bien Phu

Su La Gazette du Wargamer trovate una review di Squad Battles : Dien Bien Phu.

http://www.wargamer.fr/test-de-squad-battles-dien-bien-phu/

March of the Eagles Video Developer Diary: Armies on the move

Video diary su March of the Eagles: stavolta si parla del movimento delle armate

Intervista agli sviluppatori di Crusader Kings II

Sulla Gazette du Wargamer trovate un'intervista agli sviluppatori di Crusader Kings 2 sulla loro idea di AI e su come l'hanno implementata nel gioco:

http://www.wargamer.fr/ia-t-il-un-wargamer-dans-mon-pc-le-cas-de-crusader-kings-ii/

DCS World video presentazione di 30 minuti

Ecco un video di presentazione di DCS World, l'ambiente di simulazione modulare della DCS. Davvero un video esplicativo e degli obbiettivi ambiziosi.

Rome Total War 2 Presentata la fazione dei Macedoni

E' stata presentata una nuova fazione del prossimo Total War: si tratta dei Macedoni:

http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War:_Rome_II_-_Macedonian_Faction

Non è che faccia vedere molto, mi sarei appunto aspettato di vedere una falange o qualcosa di più specifico.

Sempre su Combat Mission

E' uscito su Armchair General il sesto video tutorial sulla tattica nel gioco del Col.Paulding,

Video di gameplay con Battle for Normandy e piano rilascio moduli

Ecco un bel video di gameplay e inoltre il piano di rilascio dei moduli della serie per questo e il prossimo anno, così come descritto sul forum:

Our schedule is a bit flexible, but as of now for 2013:

Normandy 2.01 patch
Normandy 1.12 patch
Italy 1.02 patch
Something Nice
CMBN Market Garden
CMEF 1 (1944-1945, starting with Bagration)
CMSF 2 (introduces v3.0)

For 2014:

CM Bulge
CMEF 2 (1943-1944, starting with Kursk)

Various Packs sprinkled in here and there along the way. But it's too difficult to say what and when specifically.

We have no plans on doing a North Africa game at the moment, but I wouldn't rule it happening.

Patch 1.09 e trailer di The Republic

E' uscita la patch 1.09 di Crusader Kings 2 e anche un trailer per la nuova DLC.

Ecco il change log:

MAJOR:
- Merchant Republic gameplay (Duke or higher tier Republics with a coastal capital)
- Added a 'Grant Independence' diplomatic interaction
- Titles can now automatically change name depending on the culture of their top liege
- The Reign length opinion modifiers are now dependent on how long a character has been the liege of someone, not how long the primary title has been held
- Added 1241 Bookmark - "The Mongols"
- Save file transfer now works on Mac
- Reduced max demesne size from ruler tier, especially for Dukes
- Reduced the effect of Stewardship on max demesne size (now 15%, down from 25%.)
- Added a max demesne size bonus (+1) for dukes with more than one duchy
- Increased the Prestige effects of a rank difference in marriages by a factor of 5
- All merc regiments now grow in max size over time
- Added more mercenary bands: Finns, Lapps, Abyssinians, Nubians, Lithuanians, Scots, Irish and Alans
- Added Ultimogeniture succession law
- Added Tanistry succession law

MINOR:
- Fixed a bug with religions that have become or stopped being heresies not being correctly reset on reload
- Sunset Invasion: Slightly increased the arrival strength of the Aztecs
- Increased the strength of the Timurids
- Added a hidden event that clears diplomatic immunity from faction members if the faction leader dies while waiting for the liege response to an ultimatum
- When forming the Roman Empire, de jure assimilation into the Byzantine Empire is now carried over
- Fixed a bug allowing you to declare excommunication wars on lieges above your immediate liege (the war would then invalidate)
- AI: Will not attach units to allied units unless they are in the war target area
- Fixed a bug where a king who was also emperor lost the empire title in a civil war, but retained all dukes as vassals under the kingdom
- Fixed a crash in the province view
- Retinues no longer cost maintenance when you are out of money ( since they do not reinforce when you are out of money )
- Fixed a rare crash that could occur when a character was exiled from the last existing republic
- Fixed a bug with de jure withdrawal out of empires where the counter would reset and nothing would happen
- AI: Infinitesimal chance that the AI will fold to faction demands from tiny factions
- Fixed some bugs with the outcomes of the Imperial Reconquest CB
- Fixed a bug with characters not always returning correctly from foreign courts
- Fixed a CTD with the GamersGate in-game store API if there was a network error
- Forbidding councillors from leading armies is now saved
- Forbidding councillors from leading armies will no longer lead to an out of sync in multiplayer
- Fixed issue where a settlement could be awarded to an enemy after a siege was won
- Character screen no longer moves to front when it updates its data
- When creating a new unit one subunit will automatically transfer over if the selected unit has at least two
- Added a message for when someone takes over as a faction leader
- Prerequisite building missing text in building tooltip is now localized
- Fixed issue where character browser was showing some rulers when set to "all characters" and "no rulers"
- AI: Fixed a somewhat borked odds calculation vs attached units
- Army AI: Fixed an indecision issue - will be more determined to hunt down certain armies
- Army AI: Fixed a bug with splinter armies putting the whole agent into retreat mode
- Army AI: Fixed a rare collection livelock issue if a splinter army was besieging a holding
- Army AI: Fixed a glitch with the potential target province calculation due to moving enemy units
- Claimant Factions are no longer valid for non-elective titles if the claimant has no claim
- Fixed a confusing "any demesne title" trigger tooltip
- Removed the kingdom of Pommerania from the de jure HRE
- Liege levy maintenance cost is now shared with sub vassals
- The old liege now only gets weak claims on members of successful independence factions
- Fixed a rare crash in AI flank leader unit assignment
- Fixed an issue that could allow vassals of vassals to launch independence faction wars
- Independence faction wars are now invalidated if the pre-war liege becomes vassalized himself
- Fixed a bug where the successor of an Ecumenical Patriarch (or a vassal Pope) could change religion to the liege's.
- Vassals of vassals can no longer start claimant factions for claimants in another realm
- You now correctly gain Piety for granting bishoprics to courtiers
- Muslim rulers no longer get Piety for creating a random mosque holder
- Hamburg and Celle now have ports
- Province of Alexandria adjusted to include the site of the actual city
- Gender corrections to certain characters
- Added missing parents for Roupen I of Armenia Minor
- Fixed broken House Oitir dynasty
- Fixed several Mongol characters having the wrong religion
- Constantine de Hauteville is no longer female
- Gytha Thorkelsdottir now has the correct deathdate
- Louis d'Evreux now has the correct mother
- Fixes to Václav II and descendants
- William 'Adelin' now has the correct deathdate
- Miscellaneous database corrections to the de Luxembourg dynasty
- Miscellaneous database corrections for the Normans and the 1st Earl of Chester
- Fixed the birthdate of Saint Louis IX of France and his brother Robert of Artois
- Switched culture for two characters from Irish to Scottish
- Fixes to Danish and Norwegian bastards
- Added the Hvide Bishops of Roskilde
- The culture of Khwarizm now changes to Turkish at the correct date
- Updated the Jarls of Västergötland
- Fixed various issues with wrong or missing mothers for Frankish characters
- Fixed the lineage of Erik III of Denmark
- Added new Maghreb Wikipedia links
- Tweaked deathdate of Mubashir, Duke of Mallorca, and made him eunuch
- Fixed the spelling of the de Cuiseaux dynasty
- Corrections to the Af Sverker family
- Fixes to the ruler history of the Perigord and La Marche counties
- The Pirate King Kyrillos is now correctly imprisoned when captured through event
- Added dynasty and descendants to Umar ibn Khattab
- Fleshed out the the Rassid dynasty of Yemen
- Additions to the Banu 'Amir dynasty and its descendants
- Various changes and additions to the Hammudid dynasty
- Added the Mayzadids of Hillah
- Updated the Scottish name list
- Minor changes and additions to the Italian name list
- The Umayyad and Hashimid now have Muslim-style Coats of Arms
- Added some missing Dukes of Brittany
- Namechanges for several Scottish characters
- Constantinople is now protected by the Theodosian Walls
- Some corrections to Swedish kings and their families
- Links for Hungarian names added
- Changes to the Baltic pagan setup
- Corrections to Birger Jarl's family line
- All Armenian characters are now Miaphysite
- Added descriptive texts of all buildings
- Fixed issue with certain buildings referring to an obsolete Seljuk title
- Updated the credits
- Basra and Tigris now have the correct ruler in 1152
- Blocked claimant factions for vassals of vassals under Medium or higher crown authority
- Blocked most factions for vassals of vassals under Medium crown authority in addition to High and Absolute
- Fixed a problem with the limit of children for heirs
- AI: Fixed a bug with it not dismissing liege levies when done with them
- The pre-spawned 1066 conquest armies in England now suffer normal attrition
- Event spawned civil war armies now suffer normal attrition
- Made the bastard birth event (450) more common
- If married, women now fool their husbands about the parentage of children born from the bastard birth event (450)
- Fixed a bug with kingdom adjudication and barony tier titles under lieges with split allegiances
- Lowered the inheritance chance a bit for most congenital traits
- Fixed some glitches with the Mongol conversion events
- There is now a chance that the Ilkhanate will convert to Nestorianism
- There is now a small chance that the Golden Horde will convert to Nestorianism
- AI: Tweaked the effect of the Content trait on the creation and joining of Claimant factions
- AI: A bit smarter about launching claimant ultimatums
- Diplomacy View: Fixed a minor prestige tooltip issue when marrying lowborn characters
- AI: Vassals of a conqueror's title should not support claimants of another culture
- DoW AI: Now more aware of the possibility of mercs and the military value of Gold
- AI: More keen on using mercs if even slightly outnumbered
- AI: Very rich states are now more likely to use multiple merc regiments if needed
- Renamed the merc fleets after sea zones
- Added a hidden event to disband William's special invasion fleet
- AI: Lords and their heirs always answer each other's call to wars
- AI: Fixed a bug that could prevent the passing of laws
- AI: Smarter about trying to institute Agnatic-Cognatic law
- Retinues are now correctly passed on to the _player_ successor, not the primary title successor
- Fixed a crash bug in the Diplo and Province views with character with a null list of enemies
- Fixed a bug where characters inherited debts
- Fixed a minor bug in the effect 'vassalize_or_take_under_title' that would allow vassalization of unvassalizable titles like the Hashashin
- The religious CB now vassalizes lords of your own religion in the target Duchy
- AI: Fixed an issue where lords would marry off their councillors matrilineally to lowborn courtiers
- Fixed a bug with succession law opinions of children not of their parent's dynasty
- Optimized the line of succession calculation code
- AI: Fixed some bugs with elective successor choices
- Fixed (hopefully) a gross bankruptcy bug with the 'transfer_scaled_wealth' effect
- AI: External powers now more aggressive against civil war revolters
- Various code speed optimizations
- Fixed another bug with dead character in the Allies list
- AI: Husband and Wife always answer each other's calls to war
- Reversed the order of rulers in the Title History View (latest now on top)
- Invasion AI: Fixed a bug where fleets were afraid of loaded armies on enemy fleets
- Army AI: Fixed a brain death issue when under invasion by a Mercenary company whose unit was destroyed
- Army AI: Fixed an issue where it would not raise its own demesne ships
- AI: Will tend to hand out the latest acquired baronies rather than the oldest
- The Traitor opinion is now inherited by ruler successors
- Calling someone to war now makes them dislike you by the same amount you will like them for answering
- Conquerors (rulers of conquered titles) can now call on rulers from back home (Cultural Bonds) while defending against other cultures
- Fixed a rare crash in the Diplomacy View
- The 'vassalize_or_take_under_title' effect now correctly restores the taker liege afterward
- Fixed a bug where certain event effects in CBs could take Patrician titles
- Fixed a bug with the backend poster not having a HTTP POST timeout
- Fixed a bug with the random seed in event effect descriptions not matching the actual effect
- Fixed a bug where rampaging mercs would make an invalid DoW
- Fixed a bug preventing you from nominating bishop successors
- Muslim pulse events are now triggered correctly
- Fixed misplaced IF in decadence_invasion
- Added additional rulers to Chalkidike in the history database
- Chancellor event while improving relations is now properly triggered
- Fixed error in polygamy event
- Fixed issue with event where a character tries to free his/her spouse
- Added missing parents to several Arabic characters
- Added additional Alan dynasties
- Fixes to several Welsh dynasty names
- Some Armenian dynasty names are now Greek as intended
- Fixed the dynasty of Udalard de Besalu
- Characters older than 50 will no longer fight in tournaments
- Fixed pronoun error in Guardian event
- Removed superfluous church opinion effect from several Muslim-only event modifiers
- Fixed issue where the wife of a courtier could suggest a new Lord Spiritual
- Fixed option effect in event 1009
- Added additional Irish and Welsh dynasties and characters

FOR MODDERS:
- The event trigger and effect 'any_faction_backer' without a 'faction' field now work for the backers of all factions
- The 'copy_title_history' effect now also copies de jure assimilation
- Fixed some bugs with the 'de_jure_liege_or_above' and 'de_jure_vassal_or_below' triggers
- Character event flags are now shown in the portrait debug tooltip
- The modifier 'assassinate_chance_modifier' on the acting ruler now has an effect
- Added trigger 'is_at_sea'
- Added trigger 'is_patrician'
- Added trigger 'is_merchant_republic'
- Removed unused on actions 'on_siege_won' and 'on_siege_list'.
- Added on action 'on_siege_over' which triggers for all characters in the province
- Exported PATRICIAN_CAMPAIGN_FUND_FACTOR to defines
- Exported DOGE_SUCC_RANDOM_FACTOR to defines
- Added effects 'embargo' and 'lift_embargo'
- Added trigger 'has_trade_post'
- Added event target 'trade_post_owner'
- Added event effect 'seize_trade_post'
- Added 'attrition' field to the 'spawn_unit' effect. This is an attrition multiplier.
- Added 'cuckoo' (impregnation) console command
- Added 'culture = random' to 'create_character' and related event effects
- Added 'rep_trade_posts' Plot type
- Added define 'ENFORCE_ONE_OF_EACH_HOLDING' (Require players to build at least one City, Temple and Castle in each province)
- Added event target 'plot_target_province'
- Added a 'capital_holding' event target
- Added trigger 'num_of_trade_posts'
- Added trigger 'num_of_trade_post_diff'
- Added event trigger 'any_trade_post'
- Added event effect 'any_trade_post'
- Added event effect 'random_trade_post'
- Added 'same_religion = yes' field to the effect 'vassalize_or_take_under_title'. It will only vassalize rulers of the taker's religion
- Added 'is_patrician' filter to events
- Increased max demesne size limit for Patricians by 1 (define DEMESNE_MAX_SIZE_PATRICIAN)
- Added trigger 'any_attacker' (war scope)
- Added trigger 'any_defender' (war scope)
- Added 'inherit' field to opinion modifiers

Uscito CKII The Republic

E' uscita la nuova DLC per Crusader Kings 2: The Republic, che appunto introduce la gestione degli stati repubblica nel gioco. Assieme sono uscite due DLC con le facce di personaggi mediterranei e i suoni mediterranei.

Molti commentano che è assurdo far pagare una DLC per una gestione che sarebbe dovuta essere inclusa nel gioco base.

11mo turno con War in the East PBEM

Ho decisamente di terminare un po' in anticipo l'offensiva di inverno per consolidare la nuova linea e reintegrare le perdite avute; sto creando una massa di riserva di armate parecchio scaglionata. Mi aspetto parecchia pressione da lui alla ripartenza della stagione favorevole, cercherò di consumarlo il più possibile.

Eador 2 accettato ufficialmente su Steam Greenlight

Eador 2 è stato ufficialmente accettato da Steam Greenlight per la pubblicazione su Steam ed è stato rilasciato un quarto video intro stavolta sulla battaglia tattica:

Turno lunedì 14/01 a Command Ops

Non sono convinto di riuscire a prendere la città prima della fine della battaglia; il tedesco ha ricevuto rinforzi e la sua artiglieria spara ancora molto; il mio ultimo rinforzo è arrivato, ma sta impiegando molto a giungere sul posto e mancano solo 12 ore. Sto letteralmente arando il terreno con l'artiglieria di fronte alla mia linea di avanzata ma non penso sarà sufficiente.

AAR della battaglia di sabato a Scourge

http://www.sowmp.com/gcm/battles/battle/13817

Ecco due aar dai due punti di vista:

Confederato

The Confederacy’s return grudge match to reclaim Cumberland Gap got off to a rocky start with our force spread between several compass points. Undaunted, our fearless leader, Gen. Byrd, determined to make lemonade from the lemons he’d been served by an inordinate dispersion of Rebel divisions. He quickly decided to leave cohesion to the realm of the enemy – our plan was to boldly attack from opposite ends of the Gap! The risk was great: if the Yanks became aware of our divergent routes of approach early on, they would certainly, given their experienced leadership, make short work of one or more of our elements and smash us in detail.

No wonder then that Gen. Byrd expressed consternation when I brought my corps up to the woods near Harris (just south & east of the objectives). My desire to be in position for a quick move on the southern-most objective (#2) created a greater risk of early discovery than he was willing to take on. So we relocated perhaps a half-mile more southeast to await the pre-appointed jump-off. When the time was right, we would, as the plan unfolded, attack from southeast-to-northwest and (hopefully) smash into the defending enemy simultaneously with Gen’s, Sspoom, Soldier & Mitra coming from the west, north and northeast, respectively. The timing of all this, though not perfect, was pretty good.

My corps consisted of Swinder’s division and my own, with one brigade under the direct command of BoldRover, in his first-ever battlefield command. My initial plan was for my brigade to lead an attack on the southern-most objective, in a road march with BoldRover behind me and Swinder bringing up the rear. In this way, my brigade would form the left wing of the attack with BR in the center and Swinder taking on the right flank. As we were getting underway, Gen. Byrd arrived to announce his wish that we drive instead for the center objective. I understood his thinking to be that this would put us directly opposite and behind the attack being staged by Gen’s. Soldier and Sspoom for greatest impact, and that the southern objective would be an easy conquest once this was accomplished. In any event, this adjustment necessitated a reordering of our approach march: Swinder took the lead and our left flank while my division with BoldRover would take the right/north. Through some confusion or perhaps an unexpected positioning of the enemy, BoldRover’s brigade went in on the left making first contact with the enemy near the southern objective. Swinder, now in the center, pressed on down the road per arrangement and engaged the enemy between the 2 objectives. BoldRover, after taking some damage, did manage to disengage and relocate closer to my brigade which helped maintain division integrity. My brigade, with guns in tow and Gen. Mitra’s division on my right, came to the edge of the woods to an incredible sight. Before us loomed both the objective and the enemy, hotly engaged with Soldier’s force across the way and almost directly opposite. Accurate perception was a rare commodity in this battle and my first thought was that the enemy force was deployed to defend primarily against me, when, in fact, I was looking into the rear of several enemy regiments. Urged on by Gen. Byrd’s subtle “attack, attack, attack!” direction, I passed on the orders to Swinder (who was also keeping an eye on our left flank and the enemy to the south) and ordered my own brigade to mount an all-out assault in double-line. Onward we went, carrying the objective and directly into the teeth of a line of infantry and substantial Union battery well-trained in the use of canister. My boys took fretful losses, but with Mitra pressing on my right, Swinder on my left, BoldRover coming up behind and Soldier/Sspoom attacking from the opposite direction, the enemy was in a nearly impossible situation and the outcome was not long in doubt.

As the fighting in the central clearing wound down, Gen. Byrd came by to say that his biggest fear now was for an enemy counter-attack from the south and southwest. I knew that Gen. Swinder was looking toward that direction and covering our flank. However, I didn’t fully appreciate how heavily engaged and how challenging that situation was until after the fighting near the middle objective died down and I brought what was left of my division back to form a line at the objective. There was Swinder, fighting it out on our left toward the south and east with what appeared to be fresh Yankees. Fortunately, there was little opportunity to ponder further the dangers that lay in that direction -- the enemy withdrew from the field a few moments later.

In retrospect, it is nearly impossible to separate the roles played by luck and planning, but I believe we benefited from both. Coordinating an attack from opposite directions in an area so large must rank as among the most difficult to pull off – Gen. Byrd managed this to great result.

Given our wide dispersion and always-present intervening enemy, losses had to have been frightful among our couriers. I can’t but wonder how many sad letters must now be written to mothers of our dedicated messengers after this battle at Cumberland Gap.

Nordista

As the union started in the SW corner of the map, we decided to approach the objective from two directions. Hays and Stefan would approach from the south, while Robinson, Jones and Scott would deploy west of the objective. The plan was to stay in the wood line that bordered the objective and force the rebs to attack over the open ground. Since our lines of deployment were on high ground, we had excellent positions for our artillery. If the enemy really wanted the objective, it was going to be expensive.

As the divisions began to move out, I rode to a point east of the objective to try to catch sight of the enemy approaching from that direction. Right on queue, a rebel division marched past, heading for the objective. I rode back and informed the division commanders that the enemy was approaching. By the time I got back, all the divisions were filing into position. This was the high watermark for the union forces that day.

Robinson sent me a message that Scott was not following directions and in fact not responding at all. He was somewhere far to the north of our line. I also sent him several messages and finally his command seemed to turn and march in our general direction.

Within a short time, a rebel division appeared to the east of us. It did not move forward, which made me think that it was presenting itself as a trophy to try to make us advance off our good ground and chase it into a prepared ambush. I had word that the rebels finally replaced their former hapless leader with one that was known for such ungentlemanly behavior.

Next Robinson sent word that an enemy division was approaching us from the west. This was an opportunity. The enemy had split his forces. I felt that the bulk of his forces were east of us and this other force would be only one or at best two divisions. I sent word for Scott, who was approaching our line to move back west, engage that division and send word as to its size. Once the details were established I would send a 2nd and possibly 3rd division to overwhelm that force. Unfortunately, Scott continued marching past our line towards the waiting rebel division to the east with a force of two regiments. I was surprised that the enemy didn't immediately attack, but I guess he was as shocked as I at this sight.

Soon firing could be heard to our rear and several routed union guns rush past our line headed for points east. Robinson rode west and soon reported that the enemy division was attacking Scott's guns and a brigade that he had left behind.

I ordered Robinson and Jones to each use a brigade to throw back that force. To the east, more and more enemy showed up and began to advance across the open ground. I sent a message to Hays to immediately advance and hopefully distract the enemy and stop him from attacking Jones' and Robinson's weakened line.

Stefan stepped off smartly and engaged the southern most rebel division. One of Hay's brigades was very slow to deploy forward and seemed almost afraid to engage. I learned after the battle that this brigade commander was a conscript who was at heart a coward. Hay's would have had my full support if he had executed the man on the field.

At this point, the battle grew desperate. Robinson was beset by three rebel divisions attacking from three directions. Jones was forced to use his entire division to stop that division to the west. The center of our line consisted only of artillery. Amazingly, the guns stopped the attack on our center and appeared to have driven off the enemy in that sector. Hays and Stefan were pushing hard on the enemy left and it appeared that the enemy was shifting some troops south to address this situation. Jones had stopped that division in the west. While Robinson seemed to be extracting what was left of his force and moving them south toward our artillery. For a brief moment, I thought we might be able to hold.

I rode north and saw the enemy had stopped their advance. I thought that perhaps we had damaged them to the extent that they were unable to continue. However, as I watched, I saw that they had merely stopped to reorganize their forces.

Five minutes later they began advancing again and a gray tidal wave washed over Robinson's men and the artillery to the north. The battle was over.

This was a very good battle on a great map. I am sure that the results of the next contest will be more to the liking of the north. Many thanks to Ron for organizing this fight.

Annuncio per Italian command ops wargame-club

http://www.netwargamingitalia.net/forum/showthread.php?18368-Italian-command-ops-wargame-club&p=314851&viewfull=1#post314851

Ci sono parecchi (rispetto a prima) giocatori in MP per i Command ops che si sono fatti vedere sul sito Matrix
Molti mi hanno contattato per sapere se ci sono giocatori interessati, e c'è pure qualcuno che scrive italiano!
ora per me è un periodo impossibile, ma se qualcuno vuole, mi scriva che faccio da tramite

Il gioco in multi merita molto è 10 volte meglio che in singolo

Video di SimHQ con Ironfront

Su SimHQ organizzano serate con Arma 2 e Ironfront Liberation.

Ecco il video di una delle loro serate con Ironfront (si tratta della DLC Normandia)

Nuovi screenshots per Wargame: Airland Battle

Nuovi screenshots per il seguito di Wargame European Escalation

Quinta battaglia con il GCM\HITS a Scourge

Ieri quinta battaglia, in 10 stavolta. C'erano anche giocatori nuovi alla modalità HITS che hanno ricevuto il comando di una brigata per prenderci la mano.

Battaglia decisamente strana, come potete vedere dalla posizione iniziale delle truppe confederate. Il nostro comandante ha attuato un piano decisamente ambizioso di colpire da dietro le truppe nemiche e come potete vedere è andato a buon fine oltre le nostre aspettative. Detto questo devo però constatare che alla fine è stata solo questione di fortuna e errate manovre nemiche: praticamente le nostre truppe sono rimaste isolate l'una dall'altra per un tempo infinito e le truppe di accerchiamento hanno rischiato di essere distrutte separatamente, se solo in nemici,  che avevano sicuramente visto l'ufficiale in ricognizione non fossero stati dei boccali e non avessero proseguito verso est senza preoccuparsi del mondo attorno a loro. Insomma la manovra è stata una classica concentrazione di truppe sul  campo di battaglia e come sempre in questi casi, funziona solo per gli errori nemici non perchè sia una manovra corretta.

Qualche screenshot di Birth of Rome

Ecco qualche screenshot della prima grossa espansione per Ageod Alea Jacta Est, Birth of Rome

Sono rimasto un po' indietro con AJE perchè sono preso da The Witcher in questo periodo e i PBEM mi prendono parecchio tempo

Ultima parte del PBEM a Shock Force

Con il mio avversario abbiamo visto che lo scenario era decisamente squilibrato e mal fatto. Potete vedere dall'ultima parte del video il numero di truppe nemiche e che dopo 15 minuti ancor non c'erano rinforzi ad alleviare la pressione nemica.

Ne cominceremo un altro, il tempo di vedermi bene il briefing.

Flaming Cliffs 3 - MiG-29S TWS Dual Track Demo

Video dimostrativo del radar del MIG-29 in Flaming Cliffs 3

Video "promozionale" del Garnier Campaign Mod

Non l'avevo mai visto, ma è d'effetto.

Campaign Overland

Sempre targato John Tiller è uscito Campaign Overland.

http://www.johntillersoftware.com/CivilWarBattles/CampaignOverland.html

Uscito Napoleonic Battles : Campaign Bautzen

Per gli appassionati dei giochi John Tiller è uscito l'ultimo nato:

http://www.johntillersoftware.com/NapoleonicBattles/CampaignBautzen.html

Documentario sulla Guerra Civile Inglese

Ebbene si, non tutti lo sapranno ma nel XVII secolo gli inglesi hanno avuto la loro guerra civile e sono stati anche una Repubblica per un ventennio.

Video della beta di Eador 2

Ecco qua un video girato da uno dei partecipanti alla beta del gioco:

E' un gioco davvero bello.

Sessione di Command Ops di ieri

La sessione multiplayer di ieri con Highway to the Reich, è diventata ormai una guerra di attrito e tempo; sono ormai molto vicino alla città e ai ponti oltre di essa, ma ovviamente la resistenza nemica è davvero ardua. Mancano circa 24 ore alla fine dello scenario e davvero è tutto ancora da decidere.

Immagine e descrizione dell'interfaccia di Company of Heroes 2

One of the most important components of any Real-time Strategy game is the User Interface. Often overlooked, the UI makes all the difference in how you experience the game and execute your strategy. This is why we are happy to give you a first look at the new UI for Company of Heroes 2!

Designed to give the player a full view of the battlefield and quick unit control, all the information you need to command your army is presented in a clean, concise and straightforward manner, with many improvements being made over the original design from CoH1.

Starting on the lower left of the UI is the Minimap. Similar to the design in CoH1, the minimap panel gives you a bird’s eye view of the battlefield, displaying capture points and territory control lines. More prevalent are buttons for easily locating idle units and marking points of interest on the map. Unique map objectives are also identified with their own set of icons. The aesthetic of the minimap image is cleaner and allows for better friend vs. foe recognition, it also provides more contrast for the major geographical and tactical elements on each map.

To the right of the minimap is the selected Unit Portrait. Apart from providing a high fidelity visual representation of the selected unit, the portrait displays vital combat information including health, experience progress, experience rank, allegiance, kill-count, temperature, active abilities and vehicle criticals. Much of this information can be rolled over with the mouse to provide an expanded level of detail to the player.

Beyond the unit portrait is the main information panel, the Bridge. The bridge presents all of the critical and tertiary information for a selected unit, giving the player a quick reference for how to be effective on the battlefield in various combat scenarios. This information is presented through the unit decorators and text content. Selecting multiple units displays a list of unit decorators on a single line, allowing for fast unit sub-selection, upgrades and reinforcement.

Along the top of the bridge is the Resource Panel. This horizontal layout allows players to quickly and easily comprehend the various resources in the game, and compare and contrast the costs of issuing orders or purchasing new units vs. their available funds.

Every soldier and vehicle has a unique unit decorator. These are iconic representations which display each type of unit, their health, their veterancy, upgrades and combat situations such as idle, attacking, pinned or suppressed states and other information. These build from the UI decorators in Coh1, but provide more information and better clarity about what’s happening to a particular unit. The decorators are shown in 3 places: in-game overtop of units, in the bridge when a unit is selected, and in the top right of the screen in the Global Unit Control.

The Global Unit Control is the collapsible list of unit decorators in the top right of the screen. Infantry are displayed on the top row, with vehicles below. Units are displayed by build order, and re-arrange to form a 3rd row when put into control groups. This feature allows players to rapidly navigate between their units and see things like which units are under attack, or which are idle, all at a glance.

In the lower right of the screen is the Command Card. We have kept most of this as it was in Company of Heroes – we didn’t want to fix what wasn’t broken! You can now see each command labeled with a hotkey for quick reference – which by default favors complete control with the left hand on the keyboard.

Above the action panel is the new Commander Ability Menu. As you gain experience in combat, you may select one of three commander types (chosen before the game begins). Once the commander type is selected, the new commands and abilities are displayed in the column above the action panel. This is where you’ll see passive abilities, artillery strikes, air strikes, and more!

That’s the new Company of Heroes 2 User Interface! Small tweaks are still being made as we get feedback from the Alpha Stress Test and upcoming Closed Beta, but functionally the new UI is complete. We think you all will really like the new functions and look of the UI once you get your hands on it. We welcome all feedback on the UI as you see more screenshots or use it in the upcoming closed beta, so be sure to tell us what you think about it! Be sure to join the discussion here.

Take Command - 2nd Manassas free su Gamersgate

Trovate il predecessore di Scourge of War gratuitamente su Gamersgate; ecco il link:

http://www.gamersgate.com/FG-TC2M/take-command-2nd-manassas

Sempre a proposito di Scourge Napoleonico

Zeke sul forum del gioco aveva già postato qualche tempo fa uno scenario fictional usando il mod Road to Wagram: Gattensburg

http://www.norbsoftdev.net/forum/napoleonic-era/42534-gattensburg-a-napoleonic-gettysburg


Adesso ha aggiunto nuovi OOB per Road to Wagram per le battaglie di:

1. Montebello
2. Marengo
3. Ampfing
4. Hohenlinden

http://www.norbsoftdev.net/forum/napoleonic-era/54277-1800-battles-montebello-marengo-ampfing-and-hohenlinden#54563

Review di Close Combat – Panthers in the Fog

Sulla Gazette du Wargamer:

http://www.wargamer.fr/test-de-close-combat-panthers-in-the-fog/

Nuova splendida partita con GCM\HITS ieri sera

Altra splendida partita ieri sera a Scourge of War con l'ibrido GCM\HITS; eravamo in 14 in battaglia, 25000 truppe per parte: 1 comandante di armata, due di corpo per parte, ogni corpo aveva una divisione AI di riserva alle dipendenze del comandante di corpo + 2\3 divisioni umane. Finita con vittoria yankee ma davvero di poco, ancora 20 secondi e avremmo vinto noi.

Qui i dati della battaglia: http://www.sowmp.com/gcm/battles/battle/13719

e il video replay:

e il resoconto della mia parte (ero comandante di corpo, ma alla fine mi sono ritrovato a comandare l'intera armata perchè Lee è "deceduto") (è in inglese perchè l'ho messo sul sito kriegsspiel

"
Yes splendid battle, the flow changed three times and, at the end both, the armies are still full in fighting. The victory was a matter of 20-30 seconds. Sorry to my subordinates for my bad english during the battle.

at the start of battle I sent Abbercrombie to the left flank, behind Sharpe, because I know the corps right flank was covered by Palmer corps so I fear more for the left. But the first attack develop against our center, against Hood: first I asked him to defend around the hill south east of objective, I asked kgSoldier to move the right of Sharpe at place of left and I moved Abbercrombie to the right of KgSoldier. Sharpe confirm me that for the moment he didn't see enemy troops, so I feel confident to move troops to the center, but I asked Sharpe and KGSoldier to have defensive stance and fall back if necessary, leaving the objective.

Seeing more and more union troops to deploy before Abbercrombie (east of south objective) I asked Hood to move a little more north respect the hill for cover the gap between him and Abbercrombie, but I saw 10 minutes later he was already under a heavy attack on his right flank, so I risked and I sent one of Abbercrombie brigade to help Hood's left, asking kgSoldier to help eventually Abbercrombie remaining brigade and hoping the union attack to the center was no rapid. At the end both the attacks were repelled and I moved back in the forest the Abbercrombie brigade. At this point I realized our Lee was shoot again some time before and Sharpe warned me he must fall back because is under attack of superior union force.

Because Lee was no more between us, I asked Palmer corps to attack first possible the enemy flank in the center, because I saw from the losses counter is gaining the upper hand; I sent also to Grog a message asking to attack in north west of Langston direction because i saw here a gap in the enemy line and he's the nearest of Palmer's corps troops. I moved to the left I saw with orror Sharpe critical situation: he's under danger of encirclement also in the new position: so I asked him and KgSoldier to retreat SouthEast for negate the flank: a very difficult manouver but Sharpe did it very well. I sent to Palmer a message asking urgent attack to north-west and I sent order to Abbercrombie to move from the center to a wooden hill south of objective as extreme force for avoid encirclement on the left: later I asked to Kgsoldier to leave the last of objective for retreat on the same line also.

When Palmer confims me he's attacking the enemy flank on the right, I asked to Hood to probe from the center for help him (but I think is already doing this without order from what I saw) without full engage them. Kg repelled enemy center attack to the new line in the woods and to the left of the hill, but Sharpe warned me his division is no more a fighting force, so I feared to be attacked on the left in few minutes, but it didn't come, so I asked to Sharpe what is happening on the left: he confirmed me the enemy stopped the pursuit. So I asked Sharpe to regroup what he can and move north for join with Kg and Abbercrombie. I received message from Palmer they are pressing hard the enemy east of NE objective, so evaluating all the information I asked to KG to press north again with Abbercrombie against the S. objective, thinking that, under Palmer pressure they are regrouping, so a southern attack it would help Palmer. Our advance met less opposition than I though and Sharpe join us in the attack (he had more troops than I hoped), unluckily it was now Palmer corps under heavy pressure, but we recover the South objective and our troops are advancing to NW objective when the game stop. We was at -1400 at the 11:30 but at -680 at 12:00 for give a idea of recovered ground.

This is more or less the battle how i lived it, I don't know if all the messages are arrived and if they were sufficiently clear; probably my subordinates are already doing what I suggested with the messages, but better a message more than one less
"

 

Documentario sulla Wehrmacht

Si è visto anche su History Channel in italiano ed è stato tratto da un libro tedesco molto interessante (tradotto anche in italiano). Mostra come anche l'esercito tedesco e non solo le SS ha una grossa parte di responsabilità sulle atrocità organizzate specialmente ad est.

Sempre a proposito di guerra di secessione...

Bella canzone

The Ten Days - 10 scenari bonus per Scourge

Rilasciati degli scenari bonus che erano originariamente parte del CD bonus:

This is an alternate history Mod that contains a series of 10 linked carryover division sized scenarios. You must start at Day 1 and win a Major Victory on each day to progress to the next days scenario. Your surviving troops will periodically gain experience as the days go by.

Alternate Historical Setup: After the unexpected death of General Lee from a stray artillery round on the afternoon of July 2nd, General Longstreet moved the Confederate army south and away from Gettysburg in an attempt to maneuver General Meade into attacking on ground more favorable to the Confederates. Reinforcements are being sent to Longstreet but strong blocking forces at the gaps in the Catoctins are forcing the reinforcements to march farther north.

Mission: Your division is hereby ordered to remain at Gettysburg and to block any and all reinforcements from reaching the Confederate Army. Your division has been reinforced, but any additional troops will be going to the Army to make good the losses of July 1st and 2nd.

http://www.norbsoftdev.net/media/kunena/attachments/67/TenDays.zip

Arctic Circle freeza ancora...

Ho provato ieri sera, ma in effetti ora ci mette solo più tempo a freezare: sembra abbia parecchi problemi di refresh delle immagini 3d e penso che il freeze sia anche legato al passaggio dell'immagine 3d nel main screen. Comunque è incredibile che un baco del genere e così diffuso sia senza risposta da mesi.

Documentario battaglia di Antietam

Trovato su youtube

Antietam fu il più sanguinoso singolo giorno di battaglia della guerra civile.

Forse risolto freeze Naval War Arctic Circle?

Leggevo sul forum Paradox che una fantomatica patch installata da Steam sembra aver risolto il malefico problema del freeze. Nessuna conferma ufficiale di questa patch, ma proverò ancora il gioco per vedere se è davvero vero. Chissà mai se potrò finalmente giocarci dopo un anno?

Sessione di ieri a Command Ops

Ieri sera sessione più produttiva nella mia battaglia multi con Highway to the Reich; sono riuscito a passare sulla sponda destra del fiume in tutte le direzioni e sto tenendo sotto tiro di artiglieria i suoi rinforzi per rallentare la loro marcia in avanti. Adesso si tratta di vedere se riuscirò a prendere gli obbiettivi cittadini e oltre.

Video presentazione di una comunità che gioca ad Arma 2

http://www.folkarps.com/

DCS A10C su Steam scontato a 20 euro

Trovate il simulatore di A10 su Steam a 20 euro per un po':

http://store.steampowered.com/app/61010/

Terza parte del video PBEM con Shock Force

Non sono messo benissimo in questo scenario, probabilmente l'autore voleva compensare il naturale sbilanciamento tra blu e rossi del gioco, ma praticamente ha creato una situazione senza speranza: il bombardamento iniziale dei "talebani" su uno spazio così ridotto non può che causare danni ingenti e buona parte delle truppe blue sono anche arabi e non inglesi o americani.