Great Game - Review/Suggestions

[Thork]

this thread was posted at atari too..

i just wanted to thank all those who made axis&allies possible.
(even "if" most/all wont read)..

im mostly a tbs gamer (favorite game all time: panzer general) but this game is by far the best rts out there.
(panzers nearly equals but lost in gameplay)

so since im stoned - and in the mood..
and i realised.. this forum is pretty deserted for such a nice game..

getting to the point:
im trying to write kinda review of this nice game (for those undecided) to hopefully get you a few buyers and me a nice community!

im just going through the most important stuff so dont expect 2 much...
a complete review at a game that complex would be pretty long..


Good Ones

Research/Resource Management:

• making money kinda reward for owning strategic positions (flags) and/or expand the base is a great idea (reminded me of "Z")
• the 2 other resources ammunition and oil dont need "harvesting" - which means more time to concentrate on the main fighting..
  (just need to watch your depos)
• research differs depending on the nation and needs wise choice.
  each nation got weaker and stronger parts - choose what you like best.

War Management:

• small squads for land units was a good choice. (balances performance and playability)
• all supplies for your squad will be send automatically inside your supply lines.
• oil/ammo and/or supplydepos expand the supply lines and need protection.
• sea force consists of battleships and aircraft carriers - both are able to send troops.
  -battleships bomb pretty far and provide headquarters for disembark.
  -aircraft carriers like airfields are able to fly airmissions.
  Theres also a choice of abilities to use depending on nation and commanding general.

Gameplay:

• complex stategies are possible.
  f.ex:
  -a massive attack with combined forces takes out every stronghold
  -an ambush in a valley may stop/delay ground forces
  -a surprising attack at depo-supplylines may give you an crucial advantage-stalingrad really works
  
• nations are nicely balanced as i can tell to now - still no multiplayer experience.
• squads got leaders and get experience - both interact with squad-attributes..
• terrain effects your units abilities.. f.ex infantry got a good chance against tanks in a city.
• even the ki is surprisingly hard.. week points mentioned below
• slowdown/accelerationg time option is a life-saver.. wont go over 50% in fights. (i hope there is an option in multiplayer)

Media/Campaign:

• nice soundtrack - i leave it on
  when in the mood some megadeth fits better - but thats just me
• great and lots of movies - more!
• ingame sequences give you a nice introduction to the szenario.
• nice option to save your replays.

Bad Ones/Suggestions

Resource Management:

• packed trucks should provide small additions to your supply line.
  when deployed outside the supply line they should provide supplies for some time.

War Management:

• supply radiation of trucks would raise strategic possibilities.
• a menu option to limit or raise max units and buildings would be great.

Gameplay:

• artillery should automaticaly attack enemys in range.
• more options for units plz. they are pretty nice done but i need a few more.
  f.ex.
  -withdraw to: withdraw to a defined line if energy below 1/3 (or give a choice)
  -hold ground: wont move unless fleeing
  -custom formation: set your own formation and use it
  
• terrain effects are nice - but i would like to have infantry occupy the houses for a nice streetfight.
  -to make this a huge update just add +5 defence when in buildings. and give a research option for infantry streetfight +10 attack.
  -maybe give the tech to banzai infantry by default.. japan seems a bit weak.
• loss of a squad member and/or at least leader should reduce squad xp.
• aircraft/ships should gain experience.
• add a posibility to exchange equipment in the same batallion class with reduced xp.
  (f.ex while in supply line show a option to change infantry to mortar/flamethrower/...)
• terrain should have greater effects. especially height should increase fire-range.

Media/Campaign:

• map in user-interface should be rotatet like camera (or at least the formation) (kinda weird)
• user-interface is to big.. (maybe a hotkey/option to switch between disabled shown and minimum)
• grafics are pretty nice but needs a lot of power..
  batallion emblems should match the nation -
  i dont want a communist symbol on a us-battallion.
• would like to see other animations for somethings. f.ex. kamikaze (more zeros)
• ki is generally very good.. but got its weaknesses.. f.ex wont build bunkers/anti air.
  -additional ki troups (f.ex. stalingrad city) dont seem to be controlled at all.
• tank crews should be shown where it fits.

so.. thats all about the rts part..
dont wanted the "bad" side to dominate but these mostly are suggestions to make a brilliant game perfekt.

about the ww2 mode (which is more like the boardgame or hasbros earlyer game.)
its 2 easy.. its a nice addition to the game but not more.
getting this all worked out needs a lot of time. (multiplayer would be great 2)
would be nice for an expansion or update but i dont expect it.

Summary

if you buy axis and allies you wont get whats the board-game is all about.
but youll get the best rts out there.
...and im too f****** stoned to write...

-------------------
got a few questions after all
is there an irc channel? (multiplayer)
any fansites out there yet?
how (if possible) do i move the camera in a horizontal line?

[Chimaeros]

Originally Posted by Thork

any fansites out there yet?

Thanks for the review, Thork.

And yes, there is at least one fansite out there

The Spotter's Guide - Axis & Allies

[Thork]

kinda weird to post/update on 2 forums (atari,timegate).. im getting in trouble if the german forum goes online too
just close one down!

additions (will be updated..):

gamebox: (german)
i wont ever like the allmighty dvd-box-size.
since i didnt expect something else - its ok.
but im disappointed by the content.
66 pages manual (many blank/credits aso) wont work for a complex strategy game.
paperboxes for the cds - its ugly!

for 44 bugs (€) i want more!
at least get the cds proper covered or include a bonus poser/map or something.
the only thing nicely done is the design.

anti-air:
anti-air cant fire at ground units which is incorrect - not very disturbing but you could have done better.
my suggestion: give the antiair squads 3 instead of 2 air units and let them have a switch for ground/air attack(so no special ki needs to be done)
stationary anti-air should have that switch2.

in addition give the germans a tech upgrade on 88 anti-air which would then be pretty powerful. (dont make it cheap! 200 would be appropriate)

capture:
withdrawn squads should surrender if still under fire for some time.

more unit types:
include units that dont exist like the panther and stug.
(make additional build options or include them in existing squads)

better engineers:
make an auto repair option.
a possibility to lay mines would be great 2. in addition a pioneer class (f.ex with mines and/or repair function and flamethrowers) for assault could be a nice special unit.

[Abwehr]

There is no true 88 the game as of yet, so they first need to add it.

Giving AA the ability to attack ground units would make infantry obsolete as AA and tanks would crush anything. giving the AA bunker anti infantry capabilities would make the bunker obsolete and making the AA an 88 would make artillery obsolete to in case of the Germans.

Of course, 1 Wirbelwind mowed down almost 800 soldiers on its own during 1 battle, but such things are hard to balance in a game.

Furthermore: the 88 for example should be better vs tanks then vs infantry, mainly due to ROF for example and the type of shells used.

Towable guns would be nice in a true RTS, I've been waiting for that for a while and Blitzkrieg, Codename: Panzers and numerous other games all try to implent them, but most of the time it's a bit odd. I like Blitzkrieg and I like it a lot, but the things I don't like is that I can't kill tank crews and capture a tank and that I can just repair anything. It's also quite unlogical that every soldier inside a resupply truck knows exactly how a gun works, when they capture it.

I agree with most of your points though.

The things I dislike about the game is that my King Tiger tanks have a PzIV as a commander, but as all troops from an HQ get the same commander, it's not odd and that there are no "Infantry guns" like the German SiG33 for example, perhaps on a Panzer chassis even. That would create a sort of "support" artillery instead of just artillery. And perhaps every nation could get rocket artillery, as the Russians already have 2 unique units. The Germans could get the Panzerwerfer or Nebelwerfer for example, the Americans could use the M4 Calliope and the Brits could perhaps..well, I'm sorry but I don't know the name of the main British rocket artillery vehicle.

BTW: reducing exp for every lost man in a regiment would make an elite regiment recruit in 10 seconds perhaps. Unless you mean a penalty like 5 exp lost for every man lost or the like. That should be possible.

P.S.: Yes, megadeth is nice when playing A & A.

[Chimaeros]

Originally Posted by Thork

gamebox: (german)
paperboxes for the cds - its ugly!

for 44 bugs (€) i want more!
at least get the cds proper covered or include a bonus poser/map or something.
the only thing nicely done is the design.

Not a big fan of those flimsy things either - same deal with Kohan 2. Luckily, I have a few empty dvd cases courtesy of AOL. Knew they would come in handy for something. 'Course that doesn't help those not in the US.

[Chimaeros]

BTW, you guys seem like a knowledgeable crew...

What about putting together a list of units you would like to see in the game, assigning them stats, and then creating a mod? I'd be happy to help out in that department (I can't do anything with the models I'm afraid, so using existing ones is a must at the moment).

[Thork]

@abwehr:
im not that lucky with the chosen units either.. but adding just a few could unbalance the game.. (its pretty balanced now i think)
plus-to make it "realistic" it would need lots of changes.. f.ex. armor/attack data - maybe even such things as degree of impact like in combat mission
about the anti-air units.. ok-think not possible for a patch..
but 88 as technology (with air/ground switch which needs some time) would be nice i think..
it kinda makes the artillery obsolete.. but a combined attack land/air could be more powerfull.. could be funny
i think that wouldnt even unbalance the game..
about xp- it shouldnt be too much.. cause xperienced squad members may teach the newcommers

@chimaeros:
a "realistic-mod" should be well worked out - i will be in if they release a nice editor. (or if its not that hard to work around)

[Abwehr]

Well, perhaps they could implent an "Heavy anti air defence" structure. Because you can pack/unpack structures, you could move them around. That would create "towable" guns in a way. If you unpack them they should have a button or the like that would switch them to a ground attack role, but I don't know if such a thing is possible, as it would need a lot of coding. Or perhaps we could just have an extra Corps HQ for artillery alone. The current artillery regiments would need to disappear. Perhaps we could also add some units to the HQ's. Like: Ground attack aircraft (basicaly a fighter with a small bombload would do) ?Amphibious tanks? (that would be tough to code I guess) Perhaps the engineers could become Pioniers and recieve the ability to place landmines (we all know they're in there, because we encounter them in some campaign missions) perhaps an "Anti tank minefield" build option, which does armor piercing damage and an "anti infantry minefield" build option which would do the current high explosive damage.

The new artillery Corps HQ could include:

-Mobile support for infantry; which would be the basic unit and could include for example the SiG33 on a Panzer chassis
-Light artillery/assault guns; think StuG
-Medium artillery; think Wespe, Priest and so on.
-Heavy artillery; think Hummel
-Rocket artillery; think M4 Calliope, Panzerwerfer, Katyusha (the problem is that the Katyusha is on a truck, the Panzerwerfer is on an APC, The Sdkfz 251, but the M4 Calliope is a Sherman tank with lots of rocket pods. The armour values would not be equal. BUT as the Western Allies got their rocket program late in the war, their Calliope should be a lot more expensive.

So much for my suggestions, feel free to criticize my suggestions/add suggestions.

[Panzeh]

I disagree with the concept of a whole 'artillery HQ'. In my opinion, mobile artillery(mortars, halftrack artillery guns, and armored artillery) should be the more 'direct' fire units, and a new unit, towed artillery can be built from the corps HQ.

Towed artillery would be a truck that can deploy and become a rather long range artillery piece with the appropriate bombard function. It would be weak and have to be protected, but more powerful than mobile pieces(particularly to morale). Actually, I think mobile artillery could be modded into game as of present, if I forego animation from truck to mobile artillery. I'd just have to use existing models.

I do believe that players should have the option of putting artillery into its own regiments, and that can be done already(e.g. mortar team having four mortars instead of two, but without infantry protection, save a captain). I also believe tanks should optionally be tied to infantry, so that the player can choose what sort of army he wants. Maybe the Germans could have the option to tie their tanks to motorized, too(as an exclusive regiment).

I wonder if engineers could be made an assault unit, instead of an understrength infantry unit. Perhaps they can be specialized infantry that are good against bunkers and entrenched units.

[Thork]

so.. i really like most of the ideas..
i didnt even thought about minefields until now.. but the idea is great.
in addition automatic repair would be great 2.

but we still need to figure out what will/should be patched and where a mod is more likely.

i dont think they will code a whole new army management like an additional artillery corps - but something like mine laying/ground attacking anti-air and some other minor bugfixes/additions could be patched.
(its all about balance - its tricky)

as for a mod there are many possibilitys - so if we decide to make one - we should first gather staff and knowledge and discuss the mod-contents..
doesnt make much sense to discuss that here..

would be nice if we could get an official statement on what is planned for updates.
(maybe an email to support would help - but dont think so)

[JaredRP]

maybe this could be done in the next patch or maybe moddified by the community, but here's a few things i've come up with having to do with WW2 mode:

have set maps for each territory on the map instead of randomly generated maps. For example you could use the high quality map of guadal canal to replace the randomly generated map in ww2 for the marshal islands. same thing with the stalingrad and pearl harbor maps. Set those as permanent maps for the corresponding territories in ww2 mode. I'm guessing that is most likely moddable?

My other idea was to some how add naval warfare to ww2 mode. a single unit whther it be armored inf or mech represents 1 battleship or If it has wings attached it's one carrier. Somehow maybe we could figure out away to create more provinces out in the ocean

And my final idea would be to limit the hqs in the ww2 mode. For example if I attacked with 2 inf and 1 armored. I could only build at max 2 inf hqs and 1 armored hq. if i only have one set of wings won one of my divisions that equals one airport.

anyway if these are possible, maybe we could implement them in a mod. Or maybe these features would be added later on in a patch or expansion. Anyway these are just a few ideas i have, let me know what you think. Thanks in advance.

[Abwehr]

Just in case you think you've read JaredRP's post already: it was in an other thread already, but I thought it might be a good idea to keep all suggestions in 1 big thread.

Panzeh:

"I disagree with the concept of a whole 'artillery HQ'. In my opinion, mobile artillery(mortars, halftrack artillery guns, and armored artillery) should be the more 'direct' fire units, and a new unit, towed artillery can be built from the corps HQ."

I don't like the fact that I get crappy artillery guns with my mech and armoured regiments. A seperate Corps HQ would make sense. In my most humble opinion, of course.

"Towed artillery would be a truck that can deploy and become a rather long range artillery piece with the appropriate bombard function. It would be weak and have to be protected, but more powerful than mobile pieces(particularly to morale). Actually, I think mobile artillery could be modded into game as of present, if I forego animation from truck to mobile artillery. I'd just have to use existing models."

The towed truck idea is good. Could you clarifiy your idea of "weak" in HP numbers perhaps? Or do you mean weak in damage, or both in HP and damage?

"I do believe that players should have the option of putting artillery into its own regiments, and that can be done already(e.g. mortar team having four mortars instead of two, but without infantry protection, save a captain). I also believe tanks should optionally be tied to infantry, so that the player can choose what sort of army he wants. Maybe the Germans could have the option to tie their tanks to motorized, too(as an exclusive regiment)."

Customising regiments would be nice, but that's just not in the game and not likely to be simply patched into the existing code. Infantry and tanks as a combination in 1 regment won't work for a few reasons, one of them being that the Blitzkrieg special ability provides a speed bonus to tanks, but they can only move at medium, with the infantry. You'll just have to combine regiments of infantry and tanks. OR APC's could be build in, but that might be "a bit" of a problem, yet still it would solve quite a lot of thinks.

"I wonder if engineers could be made an assault unit, instead of an understrength infantry unit. Perhaps they can be specialized infantry that are good against bunkers and entrenched units."

Hmm, imagine an engineer unit waxing through defences, only to build its own defences on the spot. Engineers are good and weak now, in my opinion.


I just thought of the main problem for minefields: they can only be placed there by mine-resistant units. Let me explain what the problem is of that fact. In a game like Blitzkrieg I enjoyed placing mines all over a strategic location, but sometimes my tanks got stuck on my mines, to prevent that you'll have to make all units vulnerable to all mines, whether you put them there or not. Engineers are small, so they could place a minefield, but the only thing that keeps them from blowing to smithereens is a 5-10 second cooldown for the mines to become active (think of a "militia"/ airfield bar filling up)

Reactions are as ever appreciated.

[Thork]

(edited cause uncorrect)

about the ww2 mode.. this is a completely own subject and should be discussed in an own big thread.. would be too much for this one.
its all messed up and there would be much too do..

i dont see a problem with the mines.
one possibility would be to make all own/allied units invulnerable to own mines (i know some wont like cause it looks unrealistic.. but its pretty realistic cause own troops should know the mine-positions and know a path through them - cant display that)
other thing would be to make it just anti-tank mines which could be cleared by engineers and probably all infantry by tech upgrade.
i generally dont like the idea of anti-infantry or anti-inf/anti-tank mines..
anti-tank mines should be enough.. infantry mines werent as faar as important i think.

[JaredRP]

is it even possible to have set maps for the ww2 mode instead of the randonly generated ones. I'd love to use the normandy map for the normandy province in ww2 mode instead of random

[Abwehr]

There were quite a lot of anti-infantry mines and other booby traps. In World War II, they would put mines on a road and mines in the ditches/natural trenches next to the road, so when the engineers came to blow up the mines, they would jump into the ditches/natural trenches to avoid the explosion and be blown up themselves.

Infantry is however a smaller target than a tank, so most people tend to forget about anti-infantry mines, until a mine explodes underneath them of course.

Oh, Thork, I'll have to correct you on something: you CAN attack ships with artillery just fine. Try the first mission of the Axis Campaign, you can sink the HMS York with artillery, you just have to bombard them.