AGEOD Forums

Dear players,

The forums pertaining to our next game are now open. We will follow up shortly with an official announcement to be a bit more formal, but you can right now ask your questions and post your suggestions. NGC is a working title and won't perhaps be the final one, but for now it will do, as it shows the main feature of our next game. Contrary to its forefather, Napoleon's Campaigns, this one will have a full grand campaign spanning 10 years!
And yes, there will be also additional scenarios and the latest version of the engine, plus novelties like a diplomatic mode!

The release date is not set yet, in 2015 though

Happy gaming,
The Ageod Team.

Wonderful news!

Dare we hope for a return to the classic interface, the one used in PON and Alea Iacta Est?

It is so much easier to use than the new one introduced for Civil War 2 and TEAW. And is much more attractive, though that is a matter of opinion, and reasonable minds can differ.

No, as the new interface is a new and more efficient code. But we are quite open to your remarks on the new interface, things that you miss from the old one. Don't look at the old interface with too much nostalgia though, there was stuff in there which were really not top-notch. Compare the load game window from the new interface and the old one for example.

Pocus wrote:No, as the new interface is a new and more efficient code. But we are quite open to your remarks on the new interface, things that you miss from the old one. Don't look at the old interface with too much nostalgia though, there was stuff in there which were really not top-notch. Compare the load game window from the new interface and the old one for example.

In general, I find that the new interface requires far more mouse clicks from the player to access information, and makes the game more work and less fun. I will provide you with a detailed list of what I miss from the old one, and I appreciate your openness to this feedback. But I will have to stop playing PON to do so, and that will be hard.

Yes, I also think you should look at the interface with "what requires least clicks" in mind and not "how can we make the screen seem less cluttered".
But I understand that newcomers might be overwhelmed by lots of buttons. Obviously as someone who played all AGEOD games I am biased towards making it as fast to use as possible

Pocus wrote:The release date is not set yet, in 2015 though

Dare I guess 18 June 2015?

Please please, I really hope you implement the Guards special ability for certain troops.

Very good news. The scope is massive. 10 years!

Could not be happier! My favorite era, and one of my favorite game developers, are now combining. So excited for this. You have my money on release!

For me the best new when I read is : full grand campaign spanning 10 years! xD

BIG LOVE TO YOU! xD

I try to kill navy of british with France yes I am !

Plz do a easy conquest diplomat option, because I need to see in my Empire or my Vassal : British, Spanish, All Italy, All Germany, and maybe Russia and Suede country =)

(Maybe try to attack India with treaty in Persia if is do xD)

Big +1 to you and plz do a good IA in diplomat, maybe option to see more big coalition to kill Napoleon.

Edit : the time is what for great campagne with 10 years ? December 1804 to December 1814 ?

Wonderful! I am looking forward to this game with great anticipation.

Kensai wrote:Please please, I really hope you implement the Guards special ability for certain troops.

I agree completely.

And I hope for many special abilities to highlight the special nature of units like Highlanders, British rifles, Jagers, Cossacks, Cuirassiers, etc, the superior initiative so often shown by the French and British in this period, the murderous firepower of the redcoats, the incredible courage and endurance of the Russian infantry, and the many colorful and unique aspects of the troops of this period. And first class uniform art, as the uniforms were some of the most magnificent ever worn.

Great news! Thanks.

elxaime wrote:Dare I guess 18 June 2015?

I only know of a proved historical event at this date, this is General De Gaulle calling from French volunteers at the BBC.

December 2 is also plausible

Pocus wrote:I only know of a proved historical event at this date, this is General De Gaulle calling from French volunteers at the BBC.

December 2 is also plausible

Only General De Gaulle could write a history of the French Army ('La France et son Armee' 1938) and fail to mention the Battle of Waterloo.

Weekly or biweekly turns?

Arguably, the most important things should be:

optimizing engine speed
optimizing UI
and maybe also optimizing modability.

This could be more important than the chosen era for the next game.

Good luck

When do you think there will be a call for beta testers?

Wonderful news! In addition to the ancient world, Napoleonic times is my favourite era.

Two things to fix from EAW:

1. The UI. In my humble opinion, the new one is actually worse than the old. It's confusing and requires more work from players. Not good!

2. Differences between units. Armies shouldn't be carbon copies of each other with the only difference being the uniforms. Training, doctrine, leadership and equipment should be modelled also in the unit types, not only in leaders and resources.

Weekly turns probably.

Beta testers called in some months not before!

aww man

Pocus wrote:Weekly turns probably.

Beta testers called in some months not before!

That's good for me. It gives me more time to get my computer
working right again.

Just wondering, will this include scenarios from the French Revolutionary Wars as well? I thought that was a major shortcoming of the original, but the diplomacy and political interfaces it sounds like are being included would make that time period a really fun one to try.

Scenarios from the French Revolutionary Wars would be great indeed.

From my point of view, I would really like to see a great AI. I have to admit that on this point, some Ageod games that I was expecting eagerly have been some kind of a little letdown lately. It doesn't mean that they were not good solid games globally, but the AI is really important.

Aside this , I am really looking forward to this game, this is going to be awesome!

TEAW was my first ageod game and i love it, i will buy this one too ,since i wanna learn more about Napoleon and u guys do one amazing historical work, i will only hope that u guys do one much better and detailed manual this time.

I have just recently started getting into Ageod games but I have thoroughly enjoyed them so far, to the point that I bought WIA, RoP RUS, EAW, NC, and E1936 in the span of 2 months. They are the only computer wargames I've bought that I did not feel my money would have been better spent on boardgames. However, there are just so many things missing or poorly optimized mechanics that hold each of the games back from being truly great to me.

Please Please go out and do more research on other Napoleonic game systems (note: board). There are just so many essential mechanics to simulating operational warfare (in this case Napoleonic) that have been long developed in board wargaming sorely missing from the Ageod system. My constant frustration with the lack of innovation in computer wargaming vs board wargaming has lead to believe that most designers/programmers either stopped playing boardgames after the 80s or just don't know how much the industry has seen a renaissance with the rise of the internet. Though finding out some of the lead people at Ageod have worked on boardgames is reassuring. (though I still haven't played Le Grande Guerre) But please, play/study Kevin Zucker's Campaigns of Napoleon series, Didier Rouy's Le Vol de l'Aigle, Brien Miller's Eagles of the Empire series,and MMP/The Gamers' Napoleonic Brigade Series.

With that in mind, some specific things I believe could make this new Napoleonic game truly great:

Delayed orders:
Being able to issue movement orders to be executed partway through the turn execution as well as the potential for the delivery of orders to be intercepted, delayed, misunderstood, etc. (beyond the just plain ridiculous max activation penalty where commanders just refuse to follow orders at all) The synchronized movement system is very clunky and in many cases prevents anything close to the historical maneuvers of the Corps (see: Ulm in the NB Austerlitz scenario).

Focus more on Napoleon's CAMPAIGNS:
Unless you are going to create a comprehensive political/diplomacy system that can adequately simulate the background of each and every War of the ___ Coalition with the motivations and goals of all the parties involved....don't do a grand campaign. Make an operational game, treat each campaign as their own individuals games with time, map and unit scales appropriate to each. (Sorry but having Jena-Auerstedt and 1813 at the same scale is just plain wrong) I really do admire that Ageod doesn't jam undue tactical considerations into an operational game (though the battle deployments in EAW where a step backward, albeit optional), so please go with smaller time scales so maneuver actually means something. I would vastly prefer a 100+ turn Poland Campaign scenario at 1-3 days to a "grand campaign". Oh, and please include the Italian campaigns this time!

A MUCH SMALLER MAP SCALE:
Individual maps for each campaigns with far more attention payed to roads and bridges and the nature of marching in column. Ideally, these would be open maps with free plotted movement (a la Le Vol de l'Aigle) or at the least a far more granular grid. Realistically though it will likely continue using movement areas, which I highly suggest playing Eagles of the Empire to see how the size and shape of regions correlates to the terrain. (i.e. more difficult terrain = smaller areas which more restrict density and deployment) MUCH more attention payed to the effects of corps level maneuver during battles. (make there a reason to fear being outflanked)

Logistics:
The Ageod supply system manages to somehow be both overabstracted AND inscrutable, however this is maybe the area where computer games potentially have the most advantage. I applaud Ageod for not following the example of nearly every other computer game and most boardgames by not settling for a simplistic trace supply system. Without some level of direct player input in their logistics system, there is little to no sense of operational tempo. The cohesion system is fantastic in this regard, but there is not nearly enough of a sense of supply lines . Supply trains need to be TRAINS and actually flow along roads rather than teleport depot to depot. If this flow was displayed visually along roads with the ability for the player to allocate the planned distribution on a high level scale (certain percentages along each route perhaps) it would be far more intuitive than the current mixture of a nebulous network of teleporting depots and tedious pick-up-and-deliver as well as providing a much more suitable model of logistical networks that could allow for much more detailed modelling of interdiction/raiding.

Command & Control:
The new activation rule in EAW is a promising idea, though it fails in execution. Activation should not be either yes/no or percentile movement reductions, give an estimated march time but have the actual speed always have some degree of uncertainty during turn resolution. Give more attention to distance and communications to show the initiative of the Marshalls operating independently as well as why the arrival of Napoleon & HQ made such a difference on the battlefield. (and no that doesn't mean more silly medical and communications units) This also requires a smaller map scale, but have the actions of Corps deviate further from planned the farther away from Army HQ they are, while having the potential for commanders to take effective action by initiative proportional to their command ratings.

Aesthetics:
Please no more nightmarish eyeless Prussians or blank faces. Either find an actual portrait (preferably with minimal cartoon effects added) or just have something generic like the appropriate rank insignia. And use more flattering portraits of Napoleon, he wasn't balding and pudgy his whole life! Giving the maps a look inspired by period campaign maps (i.e. drawn on paper) would also be greatly appreciated.

Those are just a few of the essentials off the top of my head, and I don't really know how feasible it all is. However, I have very much enjoyed Ageod's games so far and can only hope they are able to live up to the potential I see in the system someday.

These are some good remarks, I'll bring them to the attention of the whole team, but on the engine side, there are plans on some of the aspects you discuss. I would really like to give better feedback on supply for example... Or a delay order would be nice!
Thanks for your input!

The idea of the ranks insignas is a good one, although I am not sure they used that in that age... perhaps we could use may be just the headgear (hats)?

Pocus wrote:These are some good remarks, I'll bring them to the attention of the whole team, but on the engine side, there are plans on some of the aspects you discuss. I would really like to give better feedback on supply for example... Or a delay order would be nice!
Thanks for your input!

Fantastic! The order delay is a big thing for me. Lines of communication should be definitely be directly present in-game. I think Graviteam Tactics and Command Ops use some really great mechanics for command & control and orders that could provide some good inspiration. Particularly how in Graviteam Tactics command & control is represented visually as a sort of meter where the level decreases as units go further out of communications range with a corresponding increase in the delay between order input and execution. I think it would be a really fascinating challenge to manage this in a game similar to NC where you would have to balance both the delay in transmission of written orders on top of timing coordinated multi-Corps maneuvers through issuing an execution time partway through the turn. ETA's could be given for both but if there was always a level of uncertainty during turn resolution, it could really capture a very appropriate sense that the boldness of one's maneuvers could as easily result in utter catastrophe as in miraculous triumph. If you could really feel the very real potential for Davout to collapse at Auerstedt and the chance that Bernadotte might or might not come to his aid, the game would be extraordinarily replayable and exciting.

PhilThib wrote:The idea of the ranks insignas is a good one, although I am not sure they used that in that age... perhaps we could use may be just the headgear (hats)?

I would be personally find the use of more modern equivelant insignia for the respective nations to be fine, since a) most of the significant commanders will have portraits available and b)the insignia would really just be a visual aid and need not really pretend to be historically accurate since NATO unit symbology is similarly used for convenience.

Pocus wrote:I only know of a proved historical event at this date, this is General De Gaulle calling from French volunteers at the BBC.

December 2 is also plausible

Yeah ! bien parlé !!! Waterloo ?? connait pas (comme Alesia haha..) le 2 décembre très bon choix.

Well if you can make an updated version of L'Emperur (sp?) but with your excellent mechanics that would be awesome.

I am assuming that each nation will be able to change alliances, so this will make for some very interesting PBEMS.

My biggest issue coming from TEAW, excluding CW2, ROP and AJE that I also have, is that though the decisions are very historic, they are very railroaded. Germany should be able to play Hindenberg as EE players refuse to invade Germany, same the armenian genocide shouldn't just be a given.

Decision should have the ability to be countered by the other side, making the playing of decisions more strategic.