• Blitz Shadow Player
  • Caius
  • redboot
  • Rules
  • Chain of Command
  • Members
  • Supported Ladders & Games
  • Downloads


Strategic Series
01-01-2025, 11:49 PM,
#1
Strategic Series
Does anybody even play these two games?
Quote this message in a reply
01-01-2025, 11:58 PM,
#2
RE: Strategic Series
Check our scenario database. I don't know the timing but thee are quite a few reports for the first game, just a few for the second.
[Image: exercise.png]
Quote this message in a reply
01-02-2025, 12:51 AM,
#3
RE: Strategic Series
I own both, and when the first one came out I played it quite a bit, but the engine has issues.  WDS is planning a makeover for the series, I suspect they’ll get some love when that happens
Quote this message in a reply
01-02-2025, 07:20 AM,
#4
RE: Strategic Series
(01-02-2025, 12:51 AM)Steel God Wrote: I own both, and when the first one came out I played it quite a bit, but the engine has issues.  WDS is planning a makeover for the series, I suspect they’ll get some love when that happens

Same here. This engine just didn't have the bite that the PzC-based engine does.
Quote this message in a reply
Yesterday, 12:13 AM,
#5
RE: Strategic Series
I was torn between Second Front and FWWC France. It seems the Strategic Series needs work. Is FWWC really good or a niche type of thing?
Quote this message in a reply
Yesterday, 02:32 AM,
#6
RE: Strategic Series
(Yesterday, 12:13 AM)Outlaw Josey Wales Wrote: I was torn between Second Front and FWWC France.  It seems the Strategic Series needs work.  Is FWWC really good or a niche type of thing?

When I came back to gaming in 2020 I picked up F14 and thought I'd give it a try.......and I absolutely hated it.  Then I read the Designers Notes and realized it's not PzC without tanks and there was real nuance in design there, which frankly shouldn't have shocked anyone who knows anything about Volcano Man's work.  I am now firmly of the belief that not only is FWWC a good series, it is, in my opinion, the best designed, best thought out, and best explained series that WDS puts out.  Best designed because within the limits of a game it does the best job of creating a period environment that realistically portrays the combat;  best thought out because the scenarios are the best balanced and conceived of any series; and best explained because the Designer Notes don't just give up a recap of the history they go into the details of why units are the way they are, what the strengths and weaknesses of the armies are, and how to play to those.  PzC, because of its success, has many people that work on it and titles can vary in consistency and quality from designer to designer, and FWWC benefits from being Ed's and Ed's alone, and since he is (again in my opinion) without equal in his ability to design scenarios that make sense, provide options and choices, and are not just "here's the objectives, take em and you win"; FWWC is consistent and high quality.  I could go on and on about why and how, but just go to the WDS website and download the Design Notes for F14 versus any recent game in the PzC series and see what I mean (and see if the Notes themselves don't make you want to own the game).

Now all of that said, I will say this, if the subject matter of WW1 is just of zero interest to you, you're still not going to enjoy the titles.  And having jumped in with F14 and nearly drowned, I usually recommend people start with the 2nd title (EP14) as the lower unit counts and generally more fluid nature of combat in East Prussia in 1914 makes coming in from PzC a little easier to digest.
Quote this message in a reply
Yesterday, 05:37 AM,
#7
RE: Strategic Series
I have a huge appreciation for the design notes that dive into why certain decisions were made and how players should adapt to those in gameplay. In the older games the notes seem to focus more on why the OOB was made and which research was used to construct it like that, which is interesting historical info but not particularly useful to the gaming itself. My favorite examples are France '40 and the FWWC games for really diving into how you should use certain units, why you might pick certain strategies, and why certain mechanics reflect historical realities. (This is also well explained in the black powder manuals!)

Just pulling up the FWWC notes and looking at 3 pages describing how cavalry should be used mechanically and how that reflects history, as well as a couple paragraphs on the typical frontage of an attack and how to stack your units similarly in game, is so helpful as a player. I wish more PzC games went into that level of detail. The closest I can think of is the France '40 Gold notes breaking down how one might use the Panzer Corps once they're through the Ardennes, and how the victory hexes allow multiple avenues of attack. That is just a beautiful concept to me.
Quote this message in a reply
Yesterday, 06:59 AM,
#8
RE: Strategic Series
It is so great to read that you guys are enjoying the FWWC series as much as I do, having assisted Ed Williams on this series from the beginning (as has RickyB) I could not have summed up my feelings about Ed’s design abilities better than Paul did, I am often in awe at the solutions he dreams up to make a modified PzC engine represent WW1 combat, for example the idea to use the T mode feature to represent mounted cavalry was as elegant as it was simple, like the two of you it took me a while to “see the light” in regards to changing my playing style, but once I had seen the light I have not played a single PzC scenario, not because I now dislike PzC I just think FWWC series has so much more to offer *but* only if you are prepared to forget your PzC style of play and learn a new one. 

The series has only one major drawback, the whole team are working on these titles in what spare time we have after doing our real life jobs, it is essentially a hobby and hence the demands of real life can slow the design pace down at times! 

Anyway the good news is that the next title is coming along, sorry I can’t reveal any details of its content or when you might be able to get your hands on it, didn’t someone say patience is a virtue? LOL
Quote this message in a reply
Yesterday, 07:07 AM,
#9
RE: Strategic Series
(Yesterday, 12:13 AM)Outlaw Josey Wales Wrote: I was torn between Second Front and FWWC France.  It seems the Strategic Series needs work.  Is FWWC really good or a niche type of thing?

I am biased, but go for FWWC if you are prepared to adjust you style of play to suit the FWWC engine, read the design notes and the individual scenario notes, you need to be more methodical than in PzC, the casualty count if you overstack can be horrendous  Whistle

As Paul said the unit density can be unnerving at times, so if you buy a title start with the smaller scenarios and work your way up……..  Wink
Quote this message in a reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 4 Guest(s)