Thats it?

Discuss John Butterfield’s Battle of the Bulge: Crisis in Command Vol. 1
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s_HammerNAnvil
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Thats it?

Post by s_HammerNAnvil »

I just played battle of the bulge against a human player, and I was under the impression that there was more to the game than just the one mission in battle of the bulge..??
s_nkarp
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Re: Thats it?

Post by s_nkarp »

Battle of the Bulge is a historical simulation, representing an actual battle in considerable depth, with LOTS of replay potential. Think of it as a historical chess. You can play the same scenario a hundred times and have new challenges and insights each time.

Sorry if it's not the type of game you thought it was; but I hope you'll give it a try on its own terms.
BigTroy68
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Re: Thats it?

Post by BigTroy68 »

There are two scenarios, but the primary game is the full scenario representing the entire battle. I think the team did a great job of providing a large variety of victory conditions to allow for players to try different strategies. The short intro scenario is more limited, but it has the advantage of very quick play online. I have already run through 10 games of RttM scenario online and every one has been different.

Hope you give the game another chance, but hard core wargames are not for everyone.
s_HammerNAnvil
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Re: Thats it?

Post by s_HammerNAnvil »

I've played several matches now, I think the game is pretty great, I just thought it would be the whole campaign
s_MesaDon
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Re: Thats it?

Post by s_MesaDon »

I would like to see more short scenarios like RttM. Different parts of the battle covering two to three days which would create some quick solo games and a greater number of multi-player choices to play especially when you have limited time and want a quick fix.
Pat
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Re: Thats it?

Post by Pat »

HammerNAnvil wrote:I've played several matches now, I think the game is pretty great, I just thought it would be the whole campaign
Just to be clear you'd of prefered it to go beyond the 28th?

Pat
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Pat Ward
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Frank
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Re: Thats it?

Post by Frank »

Pat wrote:
HammerNAnvil wrote:I've played several matches now, I think the game is pretty great, I just thought it would be the whole campaign
Just to be clear you'd of prefered it to go beyond the 28th?

Pat

This is the only thing i dislike about this really fantastic game. It would be nice if we can play till middle of January. The old Ardennes Offensive from SSG was better in this regard. Maybe you can add this to an DLC?

Frank
s_HammerNAnvil
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Re: Thats it?

Post by s_HammerNAnvil »

well every game ive played win or lose allied or axis, theres only december 16-20, unless i'm missing something... you either cross the river or you dont, either way results in game over
AdmiralEggman
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Re: Thats it?

Post by AdmiralEggman »

Frank wrote:
Pat wrote:
HammerNAnvil wrote:I've played several matches now, I think the game is pretty great, I just thought it would be the whole campaign
Just to be clear you'd of prefered it to go beyond the 28th?

Pat

This is the only thing i dislike about this really fantastic game. It would be nice if we can play till middle of January. The old Ardennes Offensive from SSG was better in this regard. Maybe you can add this to an DLC?

Frank
Frank,

Glad you are enjoying the game.
Having done a lot of playtesting for bulge I can say that this game with this system running into Jan would stop being fun pretty quick. Once the allies can get their airpower and some larger tank formations even strong German defenses can wither pretty quickly. Add to that, the fact the day get longer at the end and the German players will be bugging out long before the new year. I agree that there is fertile ground there, just challenging the rule set and OoB that currently make the game streamlined as it is.

Hope to see you on Game center.

Ros
rddfxx
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Re: Thats it?

Post by rddfxx »

Whew! Beyond the 28th, that's a real tough slog for the Axis player within the current framework. I'm sure that would work better in a larger game, either with a broader front at the same scale or a finer scale and "granularity". But lengthening this game is probably undesirable in an iPad app. When I play the Axis in the BotB scenario, It's good to get it over with when the tide takes a serious turn for the worst ;)
s_nheather
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Re: Thats it?

Post by s_nheather »

Must admit I thought the same when I first ran the game. But then I thought that this is pretty similar to a boardgame I enjoy, 1812 - Invasion of Canada.

I guess my one remaining concerning is about how the AI will resond. With 1812 I play against human players so each play is different (well, sort of).

But wit Battle of the Bulge I will be playing against the computer and I wonder how similar each game will play if I play similar opening moves. Hopefully the luck of the invisible dice will be enough to prevent each game turning out too similar.

By which I don't mean that it is luck based but that the randomness of individual dice throws will cause the computer player to do something different to the last time I opened with those 3 moves.


Cheers,

Nigel
s_HammerNAnvil
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Re: Thats it?

Post by s_HammerNAnvil »

Don't you mean 1812- The burning of the white house? :mrgreen:
AdmiralEggman
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Re: Thats it?

Post by AdmiralEggman »

nheather wrote:Must admit I thought the same when I first ran the game. But then I thought that this is pretty similar to a boardgame I enjoy, 1812 - Invasion of Canada.

I guess my one remaining concerning is about how the AI will resond. With 1812 I play against human players so each play is different (well, sort of).

But wit Battle of the Bulge I will be playing against the computer and I wonder how similar each game will play if I play similar opening moves. Hopefully the luck of the invisible dice will be enough to prevent each game turning out too similar.

By which I don't mean that it is luck based but that the randomness of individual dice throws will cause the computer player to do something different to the last time I opened with those 3 moves.


Cheers,

Nigel
There are a few opening moves that tend to come regularly, both vs the AI and humans. You will likely see many similar positions in the first few hours of the 16th. After that though you really will see some diversity based on a few choices and the results of the dice. I've been play for months now and it still hasn't hit the "samey" wall. The AI may get there, but the Game Center match against the other generals out there are always fun.
s_MesaDon
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Re: Thats it?

Post by s_MesaDon »

Off topic.

I am glad to see all of you survived the Mayan end of the Earth!

Guess that is a shocker!
Pat
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Re: Thats it?

Post by Pat »

What's a shocker is so many people seem disappointed!

What's that all about! :roll:
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