Wargame - European Escalation

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Softball
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Wargame - European Escalation

Post by Softball »

Found this little gem and had to bite based on what I've seen. Supposed to be a more in depth RTS wargame. I'll let you know how it is.
http://wargame-ee.com/

YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/NVeNnQT7uF4

Wargame: European Escalation is a real-time strategy game on PC, that maintains the two core values of the classic wargame (depth and reflection) while offering a dynamic, real-time gameplay, and an incredibly spectacular and realistic visual experience.

Set in the rarely explored Cold War period of 1975-1985, Wargame: European Escalation explores the battles 'that could have been' if history had taken the wrong turn at some point in the conflict. On both sides of the Iron Curtain that tears Germany in two, the two military alliances, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, are on the verge of war. The zeal of a patrol close to the East-german border eventually leads to a firefight with their enemy brothers. Soon the local skirmish pushes the already-tense relationship between NATO and the Warsaw Pact over the edge into all-out war.

Both superpowers have enough nuclear fire at their disposal to annihilate all life on the planet, but of course this is the very last resort; if an open conflict was to happen, it would take the form of conventional warfare in Germany, and throughout Europe.

The world is about to fall into the feared 3rd World War. Wargame: European Escalation plunges you into the midst of this conflict, through a big and explosive military campaign!
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"SILENCE, I KILL YOU!!" - Achmed the Dead Terrorist
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Hammer
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Re: Wargame - European Escalation

Post by Hammer »

dere engrish is horribl.

is looks good and sounds promising. i wonder if they can deliver. nice that it is available on steam. is there a demo?
Helmut
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Softball
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Re: Wargame - European Escalation

Post by Softball »

No Demo yet. I bit the bullet on this one and bought it; I hope it doesn't disappoint.

I had one small issue getting the game to run, but I found a work around which I'll talk about in a min. When I first ran the game, I was required to create a Wargame account (Like usual for certain games). Once my account was created, I entered my serial number and was taken to the Main menu. While I was sitting at the Main menu, the game crashed to the desktop. I thought, ok I'll restart the game. Upon restart, the startup screen showed some graphical anomolies, and once again CTDd. Tried one more time, and same result, CTDd. I then went to the Wargame Forums to see if this was a known issue. I found a few posts saying that it required the latest video drivers, and sure enough, I had an older version of video drivers. I DLed and installed the latest video drivers, and updated Direct X. I tried to run the game again, and same result, CTDd. Check the forums again, and someone suggested running the Steam file verification check. Did that, still no go. Finally, I found a post that suggested running in Windows XP SP2/3 compatability mode. THIS WORKED! Yay! I was now able to get into the game without CTDing. This is good. However, by running in Windows XP SP2/3 compatability mode, I can only run the game using DX9. A minor setback, but at least I can play the game. From what I have read, DX10/11 looks much better. Hopefully they can fix this crashing issue so that I can experience the game in DX10/11 glory.

One other note, the current build of the game supports MP COOP, but only in the Campaign. The Devs are currently/actively working on MP COOP using the Skirmish mode. The current Skirmish mode only supports 1v1 combat. I will be anxiously waiting for this feature to get implemented.

I will report back once I get some more playing time in.
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"SILENCE, I KILL YOU!!" - Achmed the Dead Terrorist
AKA: Staark or Staark_RLG
Hammer
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Re: Wargame - European Escalation

Post by Hammer »

you still have beta as well, right? maybe release will actually fix that stuff.

i am also concerned they are trying to put way too much into a game. detail of combat and managing all of that, as well as supply, etc.

how is it playing out so far?

i see they have a donload, but does that mean it will not run without buying it?
Helmut
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Softball
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Re: Wargame - European Escalation

Post by Softball »

Correct, you need a serial number to play it.

Played for a bit tonight. A few things that need some work: Unit formations (Not available), Unit facing (Not available), and retreating/reversing direction (Vehicles turn around exposing vulnerable rear armor). Still learning how the game works, but I'm starting out on the Solo campaign and I lost (8) Leapard II tanks to various enemies (Troops, T-34s, T-55s). I seemed to be highly out numbered for the number of Points I had and the type of units I could call for. My choices were: Leopard II, Recon LAV, and a Supply truck. The toughest vehicles I had (Leopard IIs) were cut down like soft targets. Not sure if I am doing something wrong or if I just need to learn how the game mechanics work, but terrain and buildings didn't seem to cover or conceal me from distant enemies. While trying to determine if the armored vehicles are actually using armor penetration values, it seems like they do not exist. Enemy fire will either hit near my vehicles or hit my vehicles taking what appears to be flat damage (takes damage from the hit and not calculating armor for penetration or reduced damage). However, I did take a few hits that knocked out certain systems in my tank (ie firing computer damaged), so something is there.

One other detail (Or lack thereof) that seems to be missing is land elevations. I do not see any hills or raised land masses on the area map. You see hills/mountains in the distance (background), but the battlefield seems to be very flat or on a single plane. Not sure if this is a design or the area being portrayed, or that elevations weren't possible with this game engine, but it's something I observed.

I guess you could say I am a paying Beta tester *shrug*, but from what I have been reading on the forums, the Devs are fixing bugs and working on requested features as quickly as they can. I'll give it some time, the game was just released on 2/22/12, so I'm being optimistic.
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"SILENCE, I KILL YOU!!" - Achmed the Dead Terrorist
AKA: Staark or Staark_RLG
Hammer
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Joined: 11 May 2005, 14:50

Re: Wargame - European Escalation

Post by Hammer »

ah - i thought it was not yet released.

yeah those first things definitely need fixing. have they committed to fix the rear armor exposure and formations?

FWIW, NATO was highly outnumbered in that Era in Europe. I was in the 2nd ACR and we patrolled the border like the storyline that starts off the game. The life expectancy of the troop that was at the border was 20 minutes. The life expectancy of the rest of the battalion was 24 hours. Not a lot of people knew this.
Helmut
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Re: Wargame - European Escalation

Post by Hammer »

Softball,
I sw you playing this a few nights ago. Any more input?
Helmut
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Softball
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Re: Wargame - European Escalation

Post by Softball »

They released a patch for it a couple of weeks ago and it seems to have improved the game some. Still no facing commands, but if you SHIFT + click behind your units, they will back up without turning around. SHIFT + clicking also sets waypoints but without markers (somewhat lame). I did see some ground elevations on one of the maps, so it appears that they have improved on that issue. I can now run the game in Direct X 10/11 and it looks a little better graphically. My tanks seem to be a little tougher than I remember them being. Perhaps they fixed the armor rating / hitpoints issue I observed earlier. I have not been able to get back to the game since then, so no additional details to report. I'll try and grab some screenshots the next time I play.
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"SILENCE, I KILL YOU!!" - Achmed the Dead Terrorist
AKA: Staark or Staark_RLG
Hammer
Posts: 5221
Joined: 11 May 2005, 14:50

Re: Wargame - European Escalation

Post by Hammer »

thx. a few people i know are looking at this, so wondering if it is any good.
Helmut
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