Give me a crash course in tactical arr pidgeys

[octavius]

Gold Box games
Disciples of Steel
Nahlakh
Natuk
Age of Wonders

 

[Strange Fellow]

Silent Storm and Sentinels definitely. As for Hammer and Sickle, your mileage may vary, I didn't like it but it's obviously a good game in the vein of the other two.

Same here. I wouldn't recommend it. It uses the same engine as S2 and S3, but it's structured more like an RPG in the vein of Ultima/BG, where you have a main character and recruitable party members with their own stories and agendas. The problem is that it's insanely, unfairly difficult and obtuse to the point that I can't imagine anyone completing it without their eyes glued to a walkthrough and their finger glued to the quickload key.

But hey, some people loved KotC2 and I don't understand that either, so who am I to say the people who like it are wrong.

 

[mondblut]

I look tactical rpgs up on jewgle and all I get is animu.

Right, because no such thing exists in developed world. What we have instead are 1) RPGs who happen to have better than average combat, and 2) tactical strategy games that never claimed to be RPGs until clueless retards invaded our hobby.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Some use acronyms so I have to think TB is different than TBT. I suppose if there is no tactical grid then it must be a blobber or some sort.

TB (TBT)
RT (RTS)
RTWP
Phase tactical combat (PTC?)

TBH, I really never thought about acronyms until visiting sites like this. Mine are just guesses. There are times tactical can feel more like a war game. Fantasy General is an obvious tactical wargame with a lot of fantasy elements. I didn't purchase the new one as I enjoyed the charm of the old general games.

 

[vazha]

Vagrus

I thought this was more of a narrative thing with JRPG combat?

partly true, but still has enough depth to it to qualify as tactical, methinks. Combat is the game's weakest point though, I'll concede that much.

 

[FriendlyMerchant]

Shadowrun games are fairly decent as tactical rpgs. Dungeon Rats is great if you like being punished for every mistake with a high chance of a game over. It has a fairly deep ruleset. Battle Brothers scratches that itch of a freeform tactial rpg.

 

[luj1]

I know about Xcom, Jagged Alliance 2, 7.62 High Calibre, Banner Saga, Battletech, and Shadowrun. I look tactical rpgs up on jewgle and all I get is animu. Just give me a "what to play" list.

I don't count underrail because you only control one character (still one of my favourite games).

ToEE
JA2
KotC 1-2
Dark Sun
Fallout Tactics

 

[luj1]

btw these so called "tactical rpgs" are what rpgs really are / should have been

not enough people understand this

isometric + turn based + squad based

this is the purest rpg format and is derived directly from tabletop and its precursor miniature wargaming

 

[luj1]

Now compare that with something like Witcher, Skyrim or Dragon Age and you will see why many codexers dont even consider those RPGs, but action games with character elements

 

[Thonius]

Start small then gradually increase the complexion of the game hence my advice to play tic toe. Come back after you tick 200h in tic toe.

 

[AdolfSatan]

There really aren't that many tactical rpgs. At least not many that offer a good combat system. Some names mentioned like Shadowrun, Expeditions, or the Ultima clones are so simple that I would say there's rarely any tactical decision being made in a fight.

luj1 already mentioned the most important ones. Goldbox games are cool too, but the AI can feel simplistic when pitched against newer games like KOTC.

Isn't isometric more of a strategy game approach? Like mini figures in real life? What's wrong with the first person view?

It usually* removes the elements of positioning and environmental factors, which plays no small part in giving a combat tactical depth.

*Ambermoon and Amberstar are the only exceptions I can think of

 

[luj1]

Isn't isometric more of a strategy game approach? Like mini figures in real life?

Exactly

That is what RPGs are, but with a story on top. If you ever seen tabletop with figures... it is what it is

What's wrong with the first person view?

isometric is purest but i dont think much is wrong assuming its turn based and squad based

i.e. crawlers

 

[rusty_shackleford]

The most common way to play D&D was without miniatures, not with them. IIRC, Gygax was actually surprised at how common playing without miniatures was, and it was the default by AD&D ...2E? Basically, it's the reason we got the (very good) supplement about playing with miniatures and other combat rules, ended up being the basis for 3E's combat.
I'm firmly on the pro-miniature side btw. I'd rather play using m&ms and cheetos as minis than without them.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

it's the reason we got the (very good) supplement about playing with miniatures and other combat rules

this one

do recommend, can easily be adapted to regular AD&D

 

[gurugeorge]

I know about Xcom, Jagged Alliance 2, 7.62 High Calibre, Banner Saga, Battletech, and Shadowrun. I look tactical rpgs up on jewgle and all I get is animu. Just give me a "what to play" list.

I don't count underrail because you only control one character (still one of my favourite games).

I don't like anime all that much myself, but Troubleshooter is a great game with excellent tactical combat (a mixture of nuXCOM and Final Fantasy Tactics) and a meaty build system. It's also huge, with tons of new systems introduced as the story develops (e.g. several kinds of pets, crafting, etc.), with at least a couple of hundred hours worth of gameplay if you're up for it and get into it. The story is told in manhwa (Korean manga) form (and it's actually pretty decent - restrained and charming, not hyper-exaggerated in style), but the actual battlefield gameplay is just your standard quasi-realistic nuXCOM look.

I'd also recommend Phoenix Point. It's a flawed game that's not as great as it could have been, but doesn't get as much exposure as it (now) deserves. It's marketed as a nuXCOM like, but it's much more of a sim, with an aiming system and bullet physics system that changes the tactical vibe of it quite a bit from XCOM, making it very much its own thing. (Don't activate the air combat DLC on your first run though, it's a bit wonky).

Dungeons of Nahuelbuek is also deceptively simple, but actually quite engaging tactically, with great use of directional facing and adjacency support.

If you want more of an s-f vibe, try Stellar Tactics. It's an indie one man band, and a bit rough and still unfinished, but the ground combat is quite addictive at the tactical level, while the space combat is more arcadey, and the space exploration very open world.

 

[Tyranicon]

If you want more of an s-f vibe, try Stellar Tactics. It's an indie one man band, and a bit rough and still unfinished, but the ground combat is quite addictive at the tactical level, while the space combat is more arcadey, and the space exploration very open world.

Wait, Stellar Tactics is a solodev game? Whoa, props. I should give it a try.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

it's the reason we got the (very good) supplement about playing with miniatures and other combat rules

this one

do recommend, can easily be adapted to regular AD&D

Some would say Chainmail & Battlesystem not to mention supplements for Sea battles and space battles. I recall the Companion & Master set of Mentzer D&D also had rules for large scale war and siege, later repeated in the RC.

My first sea battle and ship management was in Xsolo Lathan's Gold

It was simplistic and I can't even recall the details. Maybe i imagined it.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

If you want more of an s-f vibe, try Stellar Tactics. It's an indie one man band, and a bit rough and still unfinished, but the ground combat is quite addictive at the tactical level, while the space combat is more arcadey, and the space exploration very open world.

Wait, Stellar Tactics is a solodev game? Whoa, props. I should give it a try.

Yeah dude even posted here every now and then.

 

[gurugeorge]

If you want more of an s-f vibe, try Stellar Tactics. It's an indie one man band, and a bit rough and still unfinished, but the ground combat is quite addictive at the tactical level, while the space combat is more arcadey, and the space exploration very open world.

Wait, Stellar Tactics is a solodev game? Whoa, props. I should give it a try.

I think he's had a bit of help here and there (e.g. music, star backgrounds done by an artist, etc., latterly someone's been helping him finish the UI) but the programming, gameplay design and much of the modeling are all his. Even the game's engine he built from the ground up, I believe.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

That cover !

 

[Catacombs]

That cover !

A lot more like it here.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Those would make great codex avatars.