Things SoWWL got right
Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 8:03 am
Naturally there is a lot of discussion of what people don't like, but here I would like to mention some of the things I think have been done well. On the whole I'm very happy with many aspects of the game.
Hurry up and Fight
Sandbox battles are quick and easy to configure. There are some other excellent games where this is not the case, and I sometimes 'can't be bothered' to go through the tedium of setting up and deploying for battle. Not in SOWWL, a few clicks and we're into it. Last night I played a Corps v Corps Sandbox battle, line of sight. I played French, and was pitted against the Prussians.
Replay value
Straight away it was clear I was quite outnumbered (I didn't select 'balance forces') - with probably about 3 times the number of Prussian cavalry squadrons, and more infantry besides. A compensation for me was my larger artillery park. Although so far I always choose the same map to play on, I've never once had a sandbox battle start in the same place. It really does feel like a surprise each time a battle commences, and since I never know exactly what the enemy will consist of I think replayability is almost infinite.
AI
There was the usual confusion at the start, with both forces at times tripping over themselves to take up whatever positions their respective commanders ordered. But soon enough the battlefield solidified into what could have been a painting from the era with the stage set for a gripping fight.
The AI performed excellently. On my right flank where my few cavalry were deployed they were soon outnumbered and cut up by successive waves of Prussians, some of whom survived the tender attentions of my largest artillery park. Meanwhile on the left flank Prussian Cavalry tied down my battalions and then advanced infantry to make things rather tricky for me. My artillery here could dissuade the occasional cavalry advance, but generally they were coming from too many directions to cover them all. I ended up losing two battalions to well timed cavalry charges, where the Prussians quite cleverly feinted and maneuvered to eventually catch them off guard. This isn't the first time I was impressed with the AI handling combined arms so well - text book coordination to tie down, harrass, then apply concentrated pressure. This is not just SOWGB with squares - cavalry mostly perform as they should. Meanwhile I had only a single squadron of cavalry intact, so the Prussians had a free pass to hold much of my left flank in squares for the majority of the battle.
The Prussians had a sound plan and took advantage of their numbers to slowly and inexorably roll up my right flank, capped with a well timed commitment of their reserves to my centre. The weight of numbers soon told - although I was inflicting greater casualties on them (in part due to my superior artillery position) it was evident the Prussians would succeed but I didn't mind. We've all had years of playing games where the AI is just a whipping boy, and while no doubt the AI in SOWWL is going to get better over time I think it's an excellent start and I'm more than happy with the challenge it presents. The times where it fails I can sometimes put down to the same difficulties the human player faces - units might not want to advance right now, or commanders have other ideas.
Spectacle
Given I'm playing on a laptop (macbook pro, but with a dedicated graphics card) at maximum resolution the framerates were quite good, not that I ever measure FPS. I noticed moving the camera around is smoother when paused, so clearly calculating combat and movement for tens of thousands of troops understandably takes up a lot of grunt work. The battlefield looked spectacular, and I will admit I let my own AI control most of the battle - I was enjoying the grand spectacle too much to get involved in micromanaging everything. I occasionally TC of a battalion here or there, but always returned them to AI control since it's too easy to forget units in the thick of battle and they end up badly compromised.
Sound
With a good set of headphones the sounds of battle are immersive. I especially like the canon sounds. Sound is an often under-rated aspect, here it adds to the sense of a brutal battle being fought out.
Delayed Orders
The courier system is the icing on the cake. Just to be clear, I'm not actually composing and dispatching orders but using couriers to transmit my orders (custom difficulty, couriers for brigades and above). This adds delay to orders and so my forces are not a networked borg host. There are times when I've seen impending danger for a battalion but can't get an order to them quick enough - and other times where I've given an order but the situation changes thus making my order something that will soon compound disaster. All of this adds a realistic layer of chaos and takes the whole experience to a new level.
The Future
Nearly 40 years ago I started playing Napoleonics on tabletops with miniatures. I miss those days but SOWWL more than satisfies - it would be impossible to set up and play a Corps sized battle in a couple hours, even if there was a table large enough. Nothing can replace the satisfaction of painting and raising an army of your own, but SOWWL easily provides a superior battle experience. I am keen to see what expansions we get, and of course the SDK tools, especially a scenario design app. Even at release 1.0, SOWWL is easily the best Napoleonic game I've experienced and I'm very optimistic about the future of this game. I reckon it will be taken up by tabletop grogs and PC gamers alike, modded to a high sheen, and be considered the benchmark Napoleonic wargame.
What do you enjoy most about the game?
Hurry up and Fight
Sandbox battles are quick and easy to configure. There are some other excellent games where this is not the case, and I sometimes 'can't be bothered' to go through the tedium of setting up and deploying for battle. Not in SOWWL, a few clicks and we're into it. Last night I played a Corps v Corps Sandbox battle, line of sight. I played French, and was pitted against the Prussians.
Replay value
Straight away it was clear I was quite outnumbered (I didn't select 'balance forces') - with probably about 3 times the number of Prussian cavalry squadrons, and more infantry besides. A compensation for me was my larger artillery park. Although so far I always choose the same map to play on, I've never once had a sandbox battle start in the same place. It really does feel like a surprise each time a battle commences, and since I never know exactly what the enemy will consist of I think replayability is almost infinite.
AI
There was the usual confusion at the start, with both forces at times tripping over themselves to take up whatever positions their respective commanders ordered. But soon enough the battlefield solidified into what could have been a painting from the era with the stage set for a gripping fight.
The AI performed excellently. On my right flank where my few cavalry were deployed they were soon outnumbered and cut up by successive waves of Prussians, some of whom survived the tender attentions of my largest artillery park. Meanwhile on the left flank Prussian Cavalry tied down my battalions and then advanced infantry to make things rather tricky for me. My artillery here could dissuade the occasional cavalry advance, but generally they were coming from too many directions to cover them all. I ended up losing two battalions to well timed cavalry charges, where the Prussians quite cleverly feinted and maneuvered to eventually catch them off guard. This isn't the first time I was impressed with the AI handling combined arms so well - text book coordination to tie down, harrass, then apply concentrated pressure. This is not just SOWGB with squares - cavalry mostly perform as they should. Meanwhile I had only a single squadron of cavalry intact, so the Prussians had a free pass to hold much of my left flank in squares for the majority of the battle.
The Prussians had a sound plan and took advantage of their numbers to slowly and inexorably roll up my right flank, capped with a well timed commitment of their reserves to my centre. The weight of numbers soon told - although I was inflicting greater casualties on them (in part due to my superior artillery position) it was evident the Prussians would succeed but I didn't mind. We've all had years of playing games where the AI is just a whipping boy, and while no doubt the AI in SOWWL is going to get better over time I think it's an excellent start and I'm more than happy with the challenge it presents. The times where it fails I can sometimes put down to the same difficulties the human player faces - units might not want to advance right now, or commanders have other ideas.
Spectacle
Given I'm playing on a laptop (macbook pro, but with a dedicated graphics card) at maximum resolution the framerates were quite good, not that I ever measure FPS. I noticed moving the camera around is smoother when paused, so clearly calculating combat and movement for tens of thousands of troops understandably takes up a lot of grunt work. The battlefield looked spectacular, and I will admit I let my own AI control most of the battle - I was enjoying the grand spectacle too much to get involved in micromanaging everything. I occasionally TC of a battalion here or there, but always returned them to AI control since it's too easy to forget units in the thick of battle and they end up badly compromised.
Sound
With a good set of headphones the sounds of battle are immersive. I especially like the canon sounds. Sound is an often under-rated aspect, here it adds to the sense of a brutal battle being fought out.
Delayed Orders
The courier system is the icing on the cake. Just to be clear, I'm not actually composing and dispatching orders but using couriers to transmit my orders (custom difficulty, couriers for brigades and above). This adds delay to orders and so my forces are not a networked borg host. There are times when I've seen impending danger for a battalion but can't get an order to them quick enough - and other times where I've given an order but the situation changes thus making my order something that will soon compound disaster. All of this adds a realistic layer of chaos and takes the whole experience to a new level.
The Future
Nearly 40 years ago I started playing Napoleonics on tabletops with miniatures. I miss those days but SOWWL more than satisfies - it would be impossible to set up and play a Corps sized battle in a couple hours, even if there was a table large enough. Nothing can replace the satisfaction of painting and raising an army of your own, but SOWWL easily provides a superior battle experience. I am keen to see what expansions we get, and of course the SDK tools, especially a scenario design app. Even at release 1.0, SOWWL is easily the best Napoleonic game I've experienced and I'm very optimistic about the future of this game. I reckon it will be taken up by tabletop grogs and PC gamers alike, modded to a high sheen, and be considered the benchmark Napoleonic wargame.
What do you enjoy most about the game?