Mon Apr 16, 2012 8:56 am
I prefer BoA1 to BoA2 (in my mind). BoA1 is closer to a pure wargame, since it doesn't really attempt to deal with econmonic (or other intangible) factors. The design (and abtraction levels), are made simple, and suit the early versions of AGE engine. There is less noise, and I can get a major campaign completed in a fun afternoon of wargaming.
That being said, there are a number of must mods, that must accompany BoA 1.12a, and that poses an issue, because some (but not all), were addressed in BoA2. Tracks need to be eliminated, the blocked region displays must be fixed (its easy), auto-raise has to be fixed, and the region and port mod needs to be applied. Taken together, this is a lotta work, and you can avoid the last 3 items by going to BoA2.
Then there is the issue of noise, which is made more difficult in the later games, since they are usually more complex, with more units, deeper scenarios and campaigns. The basically problem here, is testing, never mind which kind (alpha, beta, whatever). There are no tools i know of that were developed in tandem with the engine, to reduce the time a scope required to tests events, and other features (like auto-raise). The deep test cycles required to test the longer campaigns and scenarious, are unfortunate, and sometimes critical bugs are discoverd years after the game's release.