The Competition & Teaser Thread

[GerryM]

I am guessing that "being burned" is being used in a different way here. I myself have purchased 9 computer wargames (4 of them Tiller games) and do not play them (tried for a while of course with each but cannot get into them enough). So I am cautious about any new game. No point in me buying another one and not playing it. As the girlfriend says when she is breaking with you, it is not you, it's me. I am sure there are many that will love this game and I am happy for them. The potential for further releases is incredible. I may buy it after I see some AARs. And the best of luck on this series to David et al.

Gerry

[Strela]

I am guessing that "being burned" is being used in a different way here. I myself have purchased 9 computer wargames (4 of them Tiller games) and do not play them (tried for a while of course with each but cannot get into them enough). So I am cautious about any new game. No point in me buying another one and not playing it. As the girlfriend says when she is breaking with you, it is not you, it's me. I am sure there are many that will love this game and I am happy for them. The potential for further releases is incredible. I may buy it after I see some AARs. And the best of luck on this series to David et al.

Gerry

GerryM,

I couldn't agree more. I have a cupboard full of PC & board games that I never get to. Some because of time, some because they just don't grab me.

I think I mentioned in an early post that I have found this new series more enjoyable to design for than say Panzer Campaigns. That's partly due to the smaller scope and the size of the scenarios. Many a time PzC is just unplayable - both because of scale and the time that has to be dedicated to it. It is very much a 'monster game' for the PC. Squad Battles is the other extreme with much smaller, compact battles.

Panzer Battles does fall between them but is probably closer to Squad Battles with the added bonus that armour & other arms are well represented. The scale keeps it playable and it will be a great series for tournaments and PBEM's. There is also enough PzC DNA in the game for it to feel familiar but also enough innovations that there is some different twists in playing it.

It's been a deliberate move to provide a lot more information on the series before release. War gamers are generally a sceptical group and we wanted to ensure that people had a good idea of what they are getting. There are already a number of AAR's being prepared and we will be sharing more info on the series very soon.

Finally, we won't be releasing the game in January but February is looking really good...

David

[GerryM]

Hello David:

I think ye have done a wonderful job explaining features of the game. I think you mentioned doing the campaign notes for Moscow? Super stuff.

Really hoping it will sell great for ye.

Gerry

[Strela]

Hello David:

I think ye have done a wonderful job explaining features of the game. I think you mentioned doing the campaign notes for Moscow? Super stuff.

Really hoping it will sell great for ye.

Gerry

Hi Gerry,

Yes I did the complete game & notes for both Kharkov '43 & Moscow '42. The notes were all part of the 'marketing' in that they were available for download without purchasing the games.

The same is being done for Panzer Battles. All the documentation is ready to go other than a few minor tweaks as we finish up the scenarios. I expect at a minimum you will be able to download the Getting Started guide that walks you through a short five turn scenario, the Designer/FAQ notes and the really superb Map Pack the Mike Avanzini has put together. These will again be free.

Brian (Dogsoldier here at the Blitz) is writing up some AAR's that will hopefully be ready at release as well as some notes on some of the new game features that are important to understand when playing the game.

The above should go a long way to ensuring people understand what they are buying and whether its for them.

David

[76mm]

I've never heard of anyone ever getting burned by John Tiller HPS or JTS games. They have the best customer service and all of their games are still supported, even the ones released over 10 years ago.

I'm not talking about customer service (I've never had any interaction with JTS customer service), and I agree that game support via patches, etc. is good (as well it should be for a series selling for $40-50 more than ten years after inception).

But I have bought many many wargames over the years because they looked generally interesting only to find (ahem, once I'd read the rules) that for one reason or another the game didn't appeal to me. I've got very limited gaming time and have to be very selective about what I play.

I don't see the issue with allowing downloads of the manual; anti-piracy concerns don't make sense, because surely if someone is going to pirate the game they will pirate the manual as well? David your designer notes for Moscow 42 were excellent but IIRC they focused on historical context and some design decisions but didn't really explain how the game worked (that wasn't their purpose...).

[Strela]

I don't see the issue with allowing downloads of the manual; anti-piracy concerns don't make sense, because surely if someone is going to pirate the game they will pirate the manual as well? David your designer notes for Moscow 42 were excellent but IIRC they focused on historical context and some design decisions but didn't really explain how the game worked (that wasn't their purpose...).

76mm,

I'm going to ask John if he is ok to included the manuals for free download for exactly the reasons you mention. I' hoping he doesn't have an issue with that.

The positive thing about the Designer notes is that there is an included FAQ that lays out exactly what features have come from Squad Battles & Panzer Campaigns and what is specifically new for Panzer Battles. This is contained in the manual, but is in a digestible format in the FAQ.

David

[PawelM]

I am not concerned about being burned by the game. I am sure it will be an interesting one. For instance CS I play has similar scale and I would like to have a chance to assess better if panzer battles has got something CS does not. I mean something appealing to me. For instance Outlaw mentioned for him it was enough PzB units had man count and Cs had steps as a reason to buy. I am following this thread and have not found my reason to buy yet. So, I am watching with interest but am undecided yet. And for me a 1-2 scene demo would be better helper for the decision than a manual or any AAR. Hence my question....

[Richie61]

I don't see the issue with allowing downloads of the manual; anti-piracy concerns don't make sense, because surely if someone is going to pirate the game they will pirate the manual as well?

Agree. You can download lots of board game manuals for free, but without
the game, maps and counts, it's just bathroom reading material till you buy the game

[ComradeP]

Well, I never actually finished a Moscow '42 campaign game properly due to some, to me, problematic things I ran into, but I certainly don't feel I got "burned". I've spent more hours just looking at the map and OOB and thinking about potential strategies than I've spent on many full games.

I've never played Squad Battles, so I guess the SB part of PzB will take some getting used to, but I'm sure it'll be a nice series and judging by the scenario list, a good first title in the series as well.

[Xaver]

A little question, is possible have manuals in ebook format??? not only in PDF, is possible read them but is not perfect, i think in epub or mobi to have all bigger

I very rare times dislike a Tiller game, i like more or less... maybe SQB is the serie i never find the point...

Here is the secret behind PzB staff, fuel for their brains... but is hard find this energetic drink