Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Wargames recommandations

Morm

Novice
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
35
Location
Paris
Hi everyone,

I've recently discovered the fantasy wargame Fantasy General on another topic and I love it ! For me it's the perfect balance between deep tactical gameplay and some light army management.
So I looked at the other games of the series and I began a campaign of Panzer General, I'm enjoying it for the moment.

These are my first "wargames" and I want to delve deeper in this niche gendra. I've planned to try other games in the series (maybe Pacific G or directly PG2) and some other SSI titles (mainly the Steel Panthers series).

So my question is simple, what is your recommandations for some wargames with similar scales (tactical/operationnal) ?
 
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
1,370
Hi everyone,

I've recently discovered the fantasy wargame Fantasy General on another topic and I love it ! For me it's the perfect balance between deep tactical gameplay and some light army management.
So I looked at the other games of the series and I began a campaign of Panzer General, I'm enjoying it for the moment.

These are my first "wargames" and I want to delve deeper in this niche gendra. I've planned to try other games in the series (maybe Pacific G or directly PG2) and some other SSI titles (mainly the Steel Panthers series).

So my question is simple, what is your recommandations for some wargames with similar scales (tactical/operationnal) ?
Try "Unity of Command"
 

rezaf

Cipher
Joined
Jan 26, 2015
Messages
650
There's quite a few games like that, but it's probably debatable whether or not they can or should be called wargames. ;)

If the fantasy angle is of any interest, there was (is?) a series of games similar to FG which started with Fantasy Wars followed up by the sequel Elven Legacy for which a couple of expansions exist.
Personally, I found that FW emphasises the "puzzlegame" angle these games sometimes had to it far more than FG/PG and thus they were not really my cup of tea, but YMMV.

Other fantasy games which should be obvious but I'll mention them regardless are Battle Brothers (which some people claim is an RPG and others claim is similar to XCom, but IMO has more in common with FG instead) and the long running open-source freeware classic Battle for Wesnoth.
There's also Warbanners and Fantasy Kommander, which I personally haven't played yet.
And a real underdog if you can understand (or tolerate) german: Ikarion's Demonworld (NOT it's much worse sequel, which is an RTS!). The game has some neat elements such as formations, morale and also some features not often seen elsewhere such as multi-tile units.

When it comes to WW2/Panzer General, a guy called Rudankort developed a free remake (Panzer General Forever) and later decided he might as well make a commercial product out of this. Born was Panzer Corps, which plays pretty close to the original game (with some caveats). It had two decent full-fledged addons, Afrika Korps and Allied Corps, as well as a series of DLCs called "The Grand Campaign" which extends the experience to in excess of 50 missions total. The game also had a small, but productive modding community going on which released a couple of neat mods over the years.

Rudankort later moved on to build a similar game in the WH40k universe (Warhammer 40k: Armageddon) which also saw several expansions. The scope was slightly different, and some rules didn't really do it for me, so I quickly stopped paying attention, but it might be worth a look, especially if you're into WH40k.
By now, a sequel to PzC is in the works, but progress seems to be slow.

Back to WW2, another game in that vein is Order of Battle: WW2 which is similar, but throws in some additional mechanics such as supply. I really liked the initial game, but some of the DLCs/addons took the system to scenarios not that suited for it imo.

This should get you started. :P
 

Morm

Novice
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
35
Location
Paris
Ho great, that's a lot ! I'll definitely try FG/EL and Wesnoth for my fantasy fix, and I'll probably play Panzer Corps, UoC and OoB after PG 1&2. The Warhammer 40k games seems cool too, but before Armaggedon i'll play Final Liberation and Rites of War.

There's quite a few games like that, but it's probably debatable whether or not they can or should be called wargames. ;)

Why ? Are they considered too abstract ? And what would be your recommandations for true wargames then ?
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

Filthy Kalinite
Patron
Joined
Apr 24, 2015
Messages
19,110
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria

Kabas

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Feb 10, 2018
Messages
1,258
Don't forget about rites of war.
Edit: Oh, it was already mentioned. Didn't notice.
I will still recommend anyway.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Removal

Scholar
Joined
Jun 23, 2017
Messages
204
seconding Unity of Command for a good entry level wargame
if you want something a little more board game-y, Byzantine Games entries are great, FoG2 is the most recent but Pike and Shot and Sengoku Jidai are both good, all depends on what flavor of history you like
 

mbv123

Arbiter
Joined
Apr 1, 2017
Messages
917
Location
Lettland
Panzer Corps is just Panzer General remake for modern systems. It's very enjoyable and has lots of campaigns and scenarios covering every battle and campaign of the European Theater.
 

Tse Tse Fly

Savant
Joined
Dec 26, 2017
Messages
622
Could you help me remember the name of a certain game? I believe it was a strategy/simulation computer wargame (not sure I'm using this term properly though) set in sometime around the Great War where you had to command battleship fleets. It barely had any graphics (as in 2d sprites/3d models, animation, effects etc) as I remember, there were just plain window interface elements like labels, listboxes, etc and some images (much like Aurora 4X).
 
Last edited:

Burning Bridges

Enviado de meu SM-G3502T usando Tapatalk
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
27,562
Location
Tampon Bay
I've recently discovered the fantasy wargame Fantasy General on another topic and I love it ! For me it's the perfect balance between deep tactical gameplay and some light army management.

If you don't insist on it being turn based you should give Ultimate General: Civil War a try. It is a "perfect balance between deep tactical gameplay and some light army management", in some ways more than PG (only replayability is an issue).
 

Burning Bridges

Enviado de meu SM-G3502T usando Tapatalk
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
27,562
Location
Tampon Bay
Panzer Corps is not really on par with Panzer General, only a substitution drug or a way to get into that genre.

Panzer General was not perfect even in 1993 but it had a very consistent artstyle, a very challenging gameplay (at the time, and at least when the AI was on the defence) and came out 25 years earlier.

Panzer Corps just rested on the deficiencies of a 25 year old game, like the nonexisting offensive AI. It added a pointless isometric perspective, much too big graphics, terrain tiles that are joke and generally they got lazy and washed everything in depressing olive green. They did not really work on anything.

It's ok and fun, like Panzer General but tbh it's just lazy.
 

Dayyālu

Arcane
Joined
Jul 1, 2012
Messages
4,465
Location
Shaper Crypt
Panzer Corps is inferior to Panzer General. While Panzer General at least tries to be a strategy game, Panzer Corps is straight out a puzzle game, you do as the designer wants you to do or you suffer endlessly. Muddy and subpar graphical choices do not help.

The fun thing is that Panzer General Forever, the remake-thing that the dev of Panzer Corps did, manages to be far more fun than Panzer Corps.

And it's free

Hell, Fantasy General is more fun than Panzer Corps, and feels more modern.

What the hell.

I do have a question for the thread tho, there are any good "strategic air simulators"? Dunnow, like you running a bunch of Bf-109s defending the Reich or the like? Some kind of Air Rule The Waves. I can think of Sid Meier's Skies of Something, but that was a casual game and doesn't fit the description well.
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

Filthy Kalinite
Patron
Joined
Apr 24, 2015
Messages
19,110
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria

Burning Bridges

Enviado de meu SM-G3502T usando Tapatalk
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
27,562
Location
Tampon Bay
I do have a question for the thread tho, there are any good "strategic air simulators"? Dunnow, like you running a bunch of Bf-109s defending the Reich or the like? Some kind of Air Rule The Waves. I can think of Sid Meier's Skies of Something, but that was a casual game and doesn't fit the description well.

There are quite a few that could be for you, you should look at Matrix and Slitherine.
there is also this turn based thing from Sid Meier

You might even get Battle Of Britain II and play only the strategy part (the green map graphics you see in the video the is made by me btw)

 

ValeVelKal

Arcane
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
1,604
Absolutely do not play UOC. It is so strict on number of turns that it is a puzzle game. UoC2 is outstanding but also very difficult (not in a puzzle way, in a good way) so not a recommand for you as beginner to the genre.

Battle of Wesnoth and Order of Battle are good evolution from where you stand. For real time, Blitzkrieg 1 or Firefight depending on much realism you want (Close Combat is better than Firefight, but NOT beginners friendly, so play a bit of Firefight before that). Blitzkrieg 2 is mediocre.

For OoB make sure you play the Pacific Campaigns first (Burma, Japan in China, Japan in Pacific, US Pacific ; US Marines is weaker but still good)

For medieval and earlier, Field of Glory 2 dominates the genre.
 
Last edited:

ValeVelKal

Arcane
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
1,604
Also, check my blog (https://www.zeitgame.net) if you want to know more about the earliest computer wargames in history, good or bad, and almost all obsolete now.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom