TBS Second Front - WWII turn-based tactical game with hexes

[Serus]

Is this any gud?

I saw on Twich person complaining they are using name "Russia" instead of "Soviets". Looks like it's worthy.

But of course I prefer games I get as a gift for free, I don't enjoy games I paid for, thus it would take a while until I would be able to try it.

Sail the high seas then? Or is it making you unhappy too?

 

[Raghar]

Is this any gud?

I saw on Twich person complaining they are using name "Russia" instead of "Soviets". Looks like it's worthy.

But of course I prefer games I get as a gift for free, I don't enjoy games I paid for, thus it would take a while until I would be able to try it.

Sail the high seas then? Or is it making you unhappy too?

That kind person with a parrot is nice, but I don't think he has it yet. Also I'm trying HoI4 latest version, thus I'd be fed by WWII combat for a while. (I actually don't like what they did with tank and airplane designer in HoI4.)

 

[Retardo]

I’ve been thinking about getting it, since it’s so close to a computerized Squad Leader, my favorite wargame:

Torn between this and Regiments, which looks like it might be too gamey. I want to see what the campaigns for Second Front are like though.

Why not getting both?

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://tallyhocorner.com/2023/02/second-front-review/

Released last Tuesday, Second Front is a sumptuous, lively, largely believable WW2 tactical wargame that manages to feel simultaneously modern and reactionary. Because the design borrows heavily from classic board wargame Advanced Squad Leader, we get somewhat fussy IGOUGO turn structuring (there are twelve phases in a turn) and a clutch of unnecessary realism compromises.

More positively, because Austrian dev, Jo Bader, likes his hexy battle sims rich, legible, ergonomic, and challenging, your £25 (until Feb 7) buys you an impressive roster of German, Soviet, and American units, pleasingly varied venues, unusually practical 3D visuals, an almost faultless UI, and an AI that copes admirably with most situations.

While ‘Gretchen’ needs maps liberally sprinkled with cover to do her thing (Present her with a challenge like ‘Conifer Corridor’ and she flounders) and has a few bad habits (These include failing to align AFVs sensibly on occasion, sometimes choosing sub-optimal targets for her tanks, and forgetting that using Bazookas and Panzerschrecks indoors can be dangerous), she generally handles her units with aplomb.

Fidgety by nature, her constant shuffling of infantry, even when defending, can seem aimless, even counter-productive, but seldom is. Unpredictable, confident on both the front and back foot, and good at exploiting cover, scavenging weapons, and rallying broken units, she ensures player victories never come easy.

Her skill and restlessness combined with some questionable logic at the heart of the rules (Infantrymen under fire are more likely to break than become pinned or suffer casualties) gives SF’s engagements an effervescence that is hard to dislike. Once battle is joined, it’s rare for a turn to pass without a few red exclamation marks – indicators that a unit has ‘broken’ – germinating. Although broken grunts auto-rout, assuming you position leaders sensibly, retreaters usually aren’t unnerved/uncontrollable for long. In peer titles advances can sometimes feel grindy… mechanical… inevitable. The turbulent retreat-return cycles in Hexdraw’s debut ensures you’re constantly adjusting, rethinking, and improvising....

 

[Hace El Oso]

Why not getting both?

I suppose just the principle of pacing myself and choosing one first, but you're right.

 

[fork]

Fuck this lazy "art"-style.
Some games from the 80s looked better than this.

 

[Parsimonious cook]

Yeah, honestly the artstyle is really off-putting for me. The game would have to be exceptionaly good to make me endure it.

 

[Raghar]

Why not getting both?

I suppose just the principle of pacing myself and choosing one first, but you're right.

Yea, test rat, go for it an tell us your impressions about both.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

the art actually is better in game and once you are in engine it appears to me, especially the vehicles...the thing I don't really like the most is the lack of true linking campaign structure and there seems to be no artillery, which does not really make sense to me. Artillery accounted for at least 80% of casualties in WW2, so if you are playing w/o artillery then it can't really claim to be simulating anything close to real tactics.

I don't have the game, so maybe I am wrong about artillery, but that is what I have heard..

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1148490/view/3683422660268333735

New DLC for Second Front Announced!
Hello Second Front generals,
We have good news from the battlefield for all of you! Bully beef and biscuits, the new DLC for Second Front will be coming soon



Second Front - Bully Beef and Biscuits
StrategyIndieSimulation
Coming soon
+ Wishlist
Coming Soon

What is it you ask? But it’s the Commonwealth DLC of course!
Owners of Bully Beef and biscuits will be able to play with the new Commonwealth forces enjoying 24 new scenarios and two brand new campaigns. But that’s not all as we decided to make the desert tile set available for anyone regardless of the ownership of the DLC.
We hope you will like it; this is just a first step in the march to make Second Front the ultimate WWII tactical sandbox!
See you on the battlefield!

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

I did some more reading, it seems like they have mortars, but not longer range artillery. I realize longer range would likely need to be represented mostly by off-board and called in artillery, but that would seem to be a good thing to add to leader and HQ units and would require spotting units to increase accuracy too...it would also give another reason to target (and protect) HQ units. I think I read they were adding it eventually, so I will wait until they do before buying..I honestly don't know how you represent ww2 fighting w/o it, at least not accurately.

 

[Parsimonious cook]

I played this for a while and I am a bit torn on this. The game indeed does have a very strict and deep ruleset, which will make people who dont want to take the time to learn it bash their heads on the desk and once you figure out what is going on the game is fairly satisfying to play. There however isnt all that much content and it seems that the devs want to rely on modders/content creators to upload missions on the Steam workshop. I find this to be quite problematic tbh fam, since the game would really benefit from coherent campaings with units that could be carried over between missions. Instead the base game offers just a series of missions for US, Krauts and ruskies, which arent interconnected in any way.

The DLC might help a bit, though I am not sure if I will be getting it at this point.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1148490/view/3898492545031085339

Second Front Dev Update: Bully Beef to be free and The Roadmap
Thanks for rolling the dice with us so far on “Second Front”. So far you’ve been able to take on challenges as one of three different factions, the US, The Russians, and The Germans. Soon, you will be able to enter the battlefield of Second Front with a new faction.

Bully Beef and Biscuits to become a Complimentary Update
As a show of thanks, we have decided to make the upcoming Commonwealth Forces DLC part of the main game. So you will receive this update for free if you have purchased the game.

This update will include:
45 British Tanks
4 British Assault Guns
6 British Halftracks
18 British Armored Cars
8 British Trucks
9 British Guns
New Scenarios

The RoadMap

The complimentary updates won’t stop at Bully Beef, we will also be building additional features, content, and systems into the game. This process will take between 1 and 2 years and once they are all finalized, we will be ready to bring the Multiplayer experience that many of our fans have wanted since the beginning.

Bully Beef and Biscuits:
Content Update
Disruption:
Units that are disrupted will not be able to flee.
Berserk units:
Units will have a chance to go berserk and no longer be under player control.
Tank commanders:
Tank Commanders will improve the aiming of tanks.
Fortified buildings:
Areas within buildings can be fortified to improve defenses, much like a bunker.
Partisans:
Content Update, American Partisans, French and Italian Underground forces, and Soviet Partisans.
Human wave:
Russians will be able to launch a wave of attackers that have a chance of not following orders.
Mines:
Minefield Hexes will disrupt potential approaches.
Inner Factory walls:
Walls in factories will block movement and fire
Overrun:
Tanks can perform an Overrun attack once they move into an enemy hex with enemy infantry.
Night:
Units will not be visible at night unless illuminated by starshells
Artillery:
Artillery can be called in by leaders with a radio and spotting round in place.
Planes:
Aircraft that will perform a strafing and bombing run.
Prisoners, Interrogation:
Taking prisoners will gain you more victory points, but will become a burden to guard. You may also learn of hidden enemy positions via the interrogation of prisoners.
Japanese, US Marine Corps, and early US Philippines armies:
Content Update
Pacific theatre with new terrain:
Content Update
Multiplayer:
1v1 multiplayer scenarios.

The Dice Don’t Always Roll in your favour
Second Front is not like other digital strategy games, the battlefield is not just a puzzle to solve or a straight-up-the-middle numbers game. You need to account for bad luck and have to think a step ahead.
- What if this attack fails?
- What happens if I lose this Officer?
- How am I going to rally my troops if they are broken?
- What is my plan B, C, and D – when plan A does not pan out?

Whilst the nature of dice rolling can mean you get lucky sometimes and break what might seem like an unlikely opponent - the same can happen to you. The AI does not have a handicap when engaging you, there are no difficulty levels.

The single-player game gives you the opportunity to “roll back” a turn and try a different strategy. The game makes a save at the start of each turn in case you find yourself overwhelmed or at too much of a tactical disadvantage to play through.

The choices and rolls are not pre-determined so the next time you play that turn, you have the opportunity to turn the tables.

However, we know some of you relish the challenge of being flexible and embracing the challenges or failed offensives and defensives and choose to play through until you turn the tables, lose, or surrender.


Don’t run out of breath
We often find new players have their squads run to the front line, While this may get you within striking distance of an objective first, it will get you there with a tired and less effective squad. Be mindful of when you choose to run, as it will take multiple turns for your troops to recover after that.

Thanks
It was a real pleasure to be on the top spot for “Strategy and Wargaming’s” Top 10 strategy games for the year. It has been a really great year for strategy games and the countdown featured lots of games we admire and appreciate. Read it here.

And thank you for your support so far and for reading our latest dev blog. We will continue to add dev blogs in the coming months giving you updates on our roadmap as we reach and near each goal.

Join in the conversation on Discord or the Forums.

MORE ABOUT THIS GAME

 

[AdamReith]

DLC before off map artillery leaves a sour taste. Glad I didn't pick up this one.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

DLC before off map artillery leaves a sour taste. Glad I didn't pick up this one.

The dlc is free innit?

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]