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Tim Stone (ex Flare Path) has new column after SJWs cancel him

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
https://tallyhocorner.com/2022/06/thcs-top-50-combat-sims/

THC’s Top 50 Combat Sims​

  • June 17, 2022
  • Sims



Put down those Billhooks, Stanley knives, and Jeremy hammers, readers! This is the 21st Century for Pete’s sake. There are better ways to settle “What’s the best [insert game genre here] ever made?” disagreements than mano a mano melees. Cornerite-sourced ‘Top 50’ articles for example.
50sims-5b.png

Remember how, last year, we proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Combat Mission was the finest wargame series 3vAr? Well, I think it’s high time we established once-and-for-all which combat simulation out-brilliances all others.
50sims-5c.png

As the voting system seemed to work pretty well last time, I see no reason to alter it. To participate all you need to do is post a comment listing your five favourite combat sims in order of preference. This act will cast the fifteen votes that are at your disposal (Your top choice will get five votes, your second choice four votes, third choice three votes, and so on). It might take me a day or three to process your comment, but rest assured your ballot paper will eventually get counted.
50sims-2b.png

If you’d like to explain or illuminate your choices with a pithy sentence or two, that would be most helpful (screenshots submitted via tim at tallyhocorner dot com would be very welcome too). As there are sure to be numerous titles on the list that I’ve never played, I’d much prefer to use a quote from a true fan than rely on something desiccated, vague, or silly that I’ve cooked up myself.
50sims-1b.png

In order to keep the list to a manageable size…
  • My definition of combat sim is fairly pedantic (see below).
  • I’ve clustered games into series and families where possible. Please don’t cast separate votes for, say, Silent Hunter 3 and Silent Hunter 4. A single vote for ‘Silent Hunter’ will cover your deep affection for the series. Clarify your votes with footnotes, by all means.
  • I’d to re-emphasise that you should cast your votes for the five mil sims that have brought you the most pleasure over the years and not use them to limelight novel/interesting curios. I’m not out to fashion a list of every combat sim, just the cream of the crop.
If you don’t see a favourite in the table, that doesn’t mean you can’t vote for it. I’ve added 25 potential chart-toppers to get the ball-turret rolling, but expect the list to, at the very least, double in size in the weeks to come.
50sims-4b.png

To be eligible for tabulation a sim must…
  • Have combat at its core.
  • Be historical or reality-based (Sorry MechWarrior, Crimson Skies, Carrier Command etc).
  • Offer first-person views.
  • Fit more naturally in the ‘combat sim’ genre than any other.*
* As one man’s hi-fi military FPS is another man’s soldier sim, I’ve decided I won’t exclude a title just because it’s not vehicle-focused.
Games can be sorted alphabetically and by popularity. While the table seems to display fine on a standard PC monitor, you may have problems viewing it on a phone or tablet. Sorry about that.
50sims-3b.png

G
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
https://tallyhocorner.com/2022/10/sagger-review/

Sagger​

Despite exposure to Charles Games’ and iNK Stories’ fine creations I still recoil slightly when I see the word ‘edutainment’ in the blurb for a game. I recoil because I know – or think I know – what’s coming. 1. Lots of reading, listening, or watching, when I’d prefer to be scheming and doing. 2. Little recognition of the fact that I might not be completely ignorant of Subject X. 3. The nagging suspicion that I’d have been better off investing my limited funds in a respected book on Subject X than an untried game.
sagger06.jpg
Here I am, a week prior to the outbreak of war, talking to Golda about an unfolding hostage crisis in Austria. How you choose to deal with situations like the Schoenau ultimatum impacts a range of variables that disregarded can create serious problems for you further down the line.

sagger09.jpg


Reading hyperlinked reports as they come in consumes a fair portion of an average day. Dismissing these sitreps without perusing them, makes informed decision-making that bit harder. Clicking on a link usually either takes you to a page in the game’s sizeable integrated encyclopedia or to one of the divisional counters on the map.

sagger20.jpg


The Polish devs (the creative leads, Hannah Samira & Daniel Wencel, hail from the US and Israel) aren’t ‘mini game’ enthusiasts it seems. Besides the slightly silly general knowledge questions used to verify the trustworthiness of the various spies who periodically supply intel, there’s no attempt to abstract or stylise situations. ‘Analyse available info then choose a course of action’ is the straightforward Sagger way.
 

udm

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Make the Codex Great Again!

Hey wait a minute this sounds familiar...

Sandnigger
:philosoraptor:


lol sorry this was too good a chance to pass up the joke
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
https://tallyhocorner.com/2022/12/dusty-but-trusty-silent-storm/

Dusty But Trusty: Silent Storm​

To qualify for a Dusty But Trusty article, a game must be old enough to vote in Nicaragua, buy tobacco in Djibouti, and make the beast with two backs in Nepal. More importantly, it must be demonstrably super, smashing, great, ace, wizard, bonzer, the knees of the bee, the testicles of the dog, and the whiskers and pyjamas of the cat. You don’t need rose-tinted pince-nez or a cutting-edge pixel pump to enjoy 24 karat golden oldies like… Silent Storm.
If my fond memories of this nineteen-year-old Jagged Alliance-style TBT are trustworthy, it doesn’t matter which campaign mission or random encounter I pick as the basis for today’s feature. All Silent Storm outings produce enough tension, spectacle, and surprises to make memorable After Action Reports.
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
https://tallyhocorner.com/2023/01/demo-disc-3/

Sky on Fire: 1940​

(download link)

sof55.jpg


A pay-what-you-like “student project” rather than a demo, Sky on Fire is as full of surprises as a YB-40 Flying Fortress. Shunning superfluous polygons and lavish textures, Parisian code wizard Vinh-san Bernaud has built a WW2 flight sim that, at times, stirs memories of The Greatest Combat Flight Sim Ever Made.

sof58.jpg


Although there’s no campaign yet and all the action takes place over a small corner of Kent, an impressive choice of flyables equipped with respectable* flight models and decent** AI, ensure the Unity-powered SoF is no fifteen-minute flash-in-the-pan. When the brief introductory recce I had scheduled, turned into a three-hour bandit savaging session, I knew I was in the presence of something special.

* Read on for a qualification.
** If slightly accident prone.


sof54.jpg


At regular intervals during my marathon first encounter, I happened upon features I hadn’t expected to find in a 130 MB flight sim. G-force-induced blackouts, airframe creaking, crewable gun positions, openable canopies, a bomb sight view, a quick mission builder, slo-mo, functional barrage balloons, a photo mode, on-the-fly cockpit switching (you can even switch to enemy crates mid dogfight)… the pleasant surprises kept coming.

sof63.jpg


Only when I took some time out from lead spewing and crater making to investigate stalls and spins, did I experience anything resembling disappointment. Right now aircraft that exceed their critical angle of attack nose down but never seem to gyrate.

sof68.jpg


For a game so framerate friendly, so short of graphical frills, SoF is also uncommonly photogenic. Looking through the 60+ screenshots I snapped yesterday, there are dozens that would make worthy accompaniments to this articlette. In fact, I’m not sure I can resist an impromptu photography exhibition at this point…

sof51.jpg


sof62.jpg


sof69.jpg


sof65.jpg


sof52.jpg


sof59.jpg


Already great fun, Sky on Fire with spins, sortie sequences, and new maps, would be quite the thing. Fingers crossed, Vinh-san has big plans for this timely reminder that sims don’t need to melt video cards and monopolise hard drives to mesmerise.
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
https://tallyhocorner.com/2023/06/angola-86-interview/

Angola ’86 interview​

Most wargames are designed by people with no personal experience of the modelled conflict. Currently in the early stages of beta testing, Angola ’86 springbucks the trend.
THC: How long has Angola ’86, your South African Border War project, been in development, and how much of the work have you done yourself?
angola03.jpg

Johan Nagel of Every Single Soldier: The game has been on my radar forever. Actual development started eighteen months ago. Building it from scratch by myself* using Unity (During the past few years I have invested considerable time in learning to code, as it was frustrating trying to convey, and constantly change, the game direction to third parties.) has been a fascinating journey – one I actually don’t want to end.
* Only the artwork was outsourced.
THC: In terms of weaponry and capabilities, how different are the three player-controlled factions, SADF, SWATF, and UNITA?...
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
https://tallyhocorner.com/2023/06/alex-williamson-is-a-one-man-wargame-factory/

Alex Williamson is a one man wargame factory​

Over the past decade the proprietor of Asymgames.com has crafted around seventy computer wargames. All are free, equipped with competent AIs, and playable online, and many explore the kind of relatively obscure conflicts, ops, battles, and historical events that bigger devs often ignore. Assuming you can live with utilitarian graphics, and are willing to learn the ins and outs of Alex’s various self-built engines (there are eight families of games), his Aladdin’s archive is well worth a visit.

Videos like the one above, together with brief integrated tutorials and abundant tooltips, aid acclimatisation considerably.
asym02.jpg

I recommend starting with a Bobcat-engined hex-and-card title – Gazala for example – as these are, mechanically speaking, fairly conventional. Don’t expect fog of war, leaders, or subtle damage/morale/cohesion modelling, but supply and fortifications are influential, and the artificial Auchinleck puts up a good fight.

Chockablock with neatly abstracted sensors and weapon types, Vikrant vs. Shandong, the first of a naval battle series that may one day include a Russo-Ukrainian War instalment, is a more intimidating creature.
asym04.jpg

Used to simulate history like the anti-apartheid struggle, the Flint sit-down strike, and the Mexican Revolution, the card-reliant, resource-sprinkled ‘Rhino’ titles are Asymgames’ most abstract offerings. Boards are a made up of a network of linked boxes. AI opponents generally start on the edges of the board, and attempt to advance to your ‘capital’ box in the centre via judicious card plays.
asym03.jpg

If Alex’s creations came with zoomable boards and prettier art, I’m certain they’d be much better known. I wonder if he has ever been approached by Matrix/Slitherine’s talent spotters.
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
https://tallyhocorner.com/2023/08/road-to-glory-is-great-gratis/

Road to Glory is great/gratis​

  • AUGUST 30, 2023
  • SIMS
In Simulatia, ubiquitous WW2 vehicles like the Sd.Kfz. 250 and the M3 are always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Offerings like Road to Glory that insist you ride a halftrack into battle are almost unheard of.
roadtoglory03.jpg

The handiwork of a talented one-man-band called Some Random Designing, Road to Glory is a free, memorable, low-complexity Eastern Front artillery spotter sim which makes up for in atmosphere and action what it lacks in realism...
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
https://tallyhocorner.com/2024/04/32824/
...

I is for Inspired by an antediluvian RTS​

Talking of interesting projects from the land of Smetana, Staropramen, and Sparta Prague, Spytihněv, the developer of HROT, one of my favourite retro FPSs, is currently working on a homage to Paranoia, a (very) early Czech RTS. SHROT, a “bite-sized old-school action RTS set on a sandy planet with horses, tractors and techno music.”, is expected to arrive in June and has a feature list too good not to paste verbatim:

  • 3 playable stellar clans, each with a different color
  • Procedurally generated battles that never play out the same way
  • Base building, hops mining, and large-scale battles lasting hours with hundreds of units and thousands of casualties
  • Techno soundtrack as the most suitable background
  • Voice acting by my mom...
 
Glory to Ukraine
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Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming!
Holy shit! I played Paranoia like crazy as a kid, it was my very first RTS that got me into the genre - great to see this.

:greatjob:
 

Naraya

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https://tallyhocorner.com/2024/04/32824/
...

I is for Inspired by an antediluvian RTS​

Talking of interesting projects from the land of Smetana, Staropramen, and Sparta Prague, Spytihněv, the developer of HROT, one of my favourite retro FPSs, is currently working on a homage to Paranoia, a (very) early Czech RTS. SHROT, a “bite-sized old-school action RTS set on a sandy planet with horses, tractors and techno music.”, is expected to arrive in June and has a feature list too good not to paste verbatim:

  • 3 playable stellar clans, each with a different color
  • Procedurally generated battles that never play out the same way
  • Base building, hops mining, and large-scale battles lasting hours with hundreds of units and thousands of casualties
  • Techno soundtrack as the most suitable background
  • Voice acting by my mom...

This gives me a lot of warm and fuzzy Dune 2 vibes!
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
https://tallyhocorner.com/2024/08/burmese-days-firefights-juicy-jungle-scraps/

Burmese days: Firefight’s juicy jungle scraps​

The Close Combat-esque Firefight has matured splendidly during the past twelve months. Dipping into its cache of seventy-two South-East Asian/Pacific Theatre engagements this week, I’ve been struck by the way sage improvements such as new order types and infantry formation options have enriched the game’s tense top-down tactical tussles without compromising one of PC wargaming’s most elegant command systems. If developer Sean O’Connor could fix the occasional crashes and furnish some minor play tweaks, I’d have no problem describing his creation as the finest WW2 Burma wargame money could buy.
firefight209.jpg

For the unversed, Firefight is a multi-front £13 RTT in which you orchestrate infantry squads, weapons teams, and AFVs via effortless ‘footprint’ dragging.
firefight211.jpg

As in CC, morale and cover are paramount, and vehicles can be slain by single AP rounds or AT rockets. Although no campaigns are included, 27 maps – each the venue of eight scenarios – plus a skirmish generator…
firefight212.jpg

and mod support…
 

sser

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I've been eyeing Firefight for what seems like a half-decade now. With the way Close Combat petered out, I thought it was in a good spot to be stiff competition. The dev should really go full mast and turn this Firefight into a cockfight, like add campaigns, roster experience, ABTF style battle maps, the full monty.
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
https://tallyhocorner.com/2024/09/ghost-games-the-eu-funded-video-games-we-may-never-play/

Ghost Games – The EU-funded video games we may never play​

This year the European Union will spend around seven million Euros on video game development. Is this sizeable sum likely to be expended wisely? Having looked at some of the games Brussels has helped fund in the past, I have doubts.
homini01.jpg

One evening last week I found myself perusing the Steam page of Homini et Armi: The End of Knights, an upcoming turn-based tactical game based on “authentic 15th century economic-military texts”. AgeofGames, the Italian studio behind this intriguing oddity, sound almost as interesting as the project itself…
“We’re often in conflict with everything and everyone (even ourselves), and launch ourselves into projects similar to desperate battles in which one tries to fight against the chaos of existence. We believe that history and culture are games and not the other way around.”
…but internet searches inspired by the star-spangled Creative Europe MEDIA logo in the game’s sidebar, eventually swept all thoughts of disputatious devs and Renaissance battlefields from my mind.
creativemedia.png

Currently, the over-arching goal of the EU’s Creative Europe programme is to “safeguard, develop and promote European cultural and linguistic diversity and heritage” and “increase the competitiveness and economic potential of the cultural and creative sectors, in particular the audiovisual sector”. The substantial sums periodically pumped into the Union’s video game industry via the programme’s developer grants, are intended to “increase quality, appeal, feasibility and cross-border potential for selected projects” and ensure devs gain a “stronger position on the European and international market”. Are any of these goals being achieved? Are Europe’s hard-pressed taxpayers getting value for money? Based on the armchair recon I’ve conducted over the past few days, I strongly suspect the answer to both of those questions is “Nobody really knows”.
One thing is clear from examining the lists of projects previously funded by the EU – when it comes to interactive entertainment, the cash distributors in Brussels wouldn’t know a hot prospect from a hole in the ground.
eu10b.jpg

The EACEA’s bizarre obsession with ‘narrative’ and irrational hostility towards certain genres and play elements (more on which in Part 2) may partially explain why so few sims and wargames end up on grant lists like these. However, it doesn’t explain why the lists are chock-a-block with titles that never reach the finish line, and projects that seem to do little or nothing to “safeguard, develop and promote European cultural and linguistic diversity and heritage”...
 

Galdred

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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
https://tallyhocorner.com/2024/09/ghost-games-the-eu-funded-video-games-we-may-never-play/

Ghost Games – The EU-funded video games we may never play​


One thing is clear from examining the lists of projects previously funded by the EU – when it comes to interactive entertainment, the cash distributors in Brussels wouldn’t know a hot prospect from a hole in the ground.
eu10b.jpg

The EACEA’s bizarre obsession with ‘narrative’ and irrational hostility towards certain genres and play elements (more on which in Part 2) may partially explain why so few sims and wargames end up on grant lists like these. However, it doesn’t explain why the lists are chock-a-block with titles that never reach the finish line, and projects that seem to do little or nothing to “safeguard, develop and promote European cultural and linguistic diversity and heritage”...
Wait, this list culls a lot of popular genres while being compatible with RPG and wargames, so it's not that bad!
 

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