War Sims for Beginners?

[dr. kwack]

Greetings everyone-

 

I need some opinions on strategy type war simulators (a la Microprose/SSI). What would be a good one for a beginner to learn how the genre works?

 

I never played any back in my C64 days (I was- and still am more of an action/arcade gamer), but now I would like to give one a shot.

 

I tried NATO Commander on my 800XL but it just didn't make any sense to me. I didn't understand movement, round time, etc. It seems like way too much happens too fast. And yes- I did read the manual, in fact the manual seemed to assume I had played this type of game before and didn't explain enough.

 

World War II/Cold War would be the era I would most enjoy (unless there is another you fine folks would recommend).

 

Opinions please!

[Rybags]

There was an article/interview in Creative Computing magazine, way back in Vol. 8 No. 8 - August 1982 with Chris Crawford, about his experiences in programming Eastern Front for the Atari 800 (article name "Eastern Front: a narrative history").

 

Worth a read. He explains how he included features like different seasonal conditions, and influence on units due to terrain and supply lines.

 

http://www3.sympatico.ca/maury/other_stuff...tern_front.html

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(computer_game)

[+MrFish]

I am also mostly an action game player. I tried out Eastern Front 1941 recently, as my first war game on the Atari. I found it quite easy to play. The manual is pretty simple and easy to read. You don't have to read very much to get going.

 

If you're interested, I would suggest the later version (cartridge), as this has several modes including "learner". The manual for this version can be found at: Eastern Front 1941 - Manual

[jaybird3rd]

I had a lot of fun with the SSI war sims on the 400/800; the two I remember playing the most are Nam and Field of Fire. They seemed pretty simple to me: you fire, the computer fires, you move, the computer moves, etc. I didn't get any documentation with them and figured them out as I went, so they couldn't have been too difficult.

[Almost Rice]

Eastern Front is an easy one to get started with. I would also recommend Napolean at Waterloo. The copy on Atarimania is from me. I have a PDF of the manual if you want to try that game.

[dr. kwack]

Ah! Eastern Front. I forgot about that one. I will give it a look. Thanks everyone!

 

Any word on War Game Construction Set? Fun? Easy? Worthwhile?

[devwebcl]

I do prefer Legionnaire, it's from Chris Crawford too and has a better ending.

[Almost Rice]

Ah! Eastern Front. I forgot about that one. I will give it a look. Thanks everyone!

 

Any word on War Game Construction Set? Fun? Easy? Worthwhile?

1029637[/snapback]

 

That one almost does not need a manual. The harder games requires a manual so you can play properly.