Help me understand best game for me

[ascanio1]

Hello Everyone,

I am Italian, living in Tokyo, 50 yrs old and new to this (and other) PC strategy wargames forums. In fact I only recently developed interest after I played on an iPad battle academy and I was very much taken. I have been advised on another form to look at battlefront combat mission which I really liked except it is very poorly packaged: I am not a boy anymore and I don't have time (nor would I know how to) to fiddle and fuss around with settings. This particular developer designed the game poorly and when I select speed (Vaio VPCSA) the mouse pointer disappears while on stamina the graphic card is not working and the display quality is poor.

In short I want something as easy to play as battle academy but as detailed and realistic as combat mission. I am looking for PC (not iPad) but I want simple plug-n-play kind of under interface.

I like:
realism, graphic & display quality, turn based, war (not necessarily WWII), ease of use but also complex options (they are not contradictory: you can have complex options which are easy to understand ad use).

Any advice? Thanks in advance for your time and help.

[ERISS]

I am new to this (and other) PC strategy wargames forums. I played on an iPad battle academy and I was very much taken.
battlefront combat mission which I really liked is very poorly packaged: I don't have time nor would I know how to fiddle and fuss around with settings. designed the game poorly.
In short I want something as easy to play as battle academy but as detailed and realistic as combat mission. I want simple plug-n-play kind of under interface.
I like: realism, graphic & display quality, turn based, war (not necessarily WWII), ease of use but also complex options (they are not contradictory: you can have complex options which are easy to understand ad use).
Any advice?

Rise of Prussia - Gold is maybe the more stable AND refined game here.
Maybe start with it, however you should wait for further answers.
http://www.ageod.com/products/476/details/Rise.Of.Prussia.Gold
Beware these games, in another scale, are more detailed than Combat Mission... so you could "not have the time (nor would you know how to) to fiddle and fuss around" with the game itself...

[Owl]

A Tokyoite!

AGEod games are complex and certainly will require you to do quite some reading to get into, though the helpful forums will be a good resource should any questions arise which you can't answer by searching around. AGEod games also have beautiful maps and unit graphics, so they should satisfy you in that department. That being said, as ERISS already said, it's another scale, you are dealing with entire wars or at least large operational areas, which is a rather different thing from Combat Mission. Of course there is no reason to just focus on wargames dealing with scenarios of a certain size, personally I enjoy strategic and tactical titles alike. Alas, AGEod games are a fine thing to get into.

As you seem to also be looking for a polished experience, may I also perhaps suggest Pike and Shot (Campaigns)? It's built on the same engine as Battle Academy, but plays quite differently, given that it's dealing with an entirely different period. Easy to pick up and no fiddling around, even new scenarios can be downloaded from inside the game, so you won't have to deal with manual installations if that's not your thing.

[ascanio1]

@ Eriss,
Thanks for the advice. I guess that my OP could have sounded rude and I guess that I deserve the warning:

... so you could "not have the time (nor would you know how to) to fiddle and fuss around" with the game itself...

@ Eriss & Owl,
From what I see from youtube the way to move is very straightforward: pick and drop. Perhaps the complexity is the strategy itself. Again, I gathered this by youtube so I may be wrong. Given the above, please help me refine my search considering that:
1. I don't like the complexity of the strategy (I prefer more generalized as in Battle Academy where you only have to think to build up a critical mass of units gathered together to destroy the Tiger etc...)
2. I don't like the non very realistic terrain. Looks like a table game.
3. I do like the accuracy of the generals and the units.
4. I have not seen any screen shots of down on the ground, face to face with the units. Is there an up-close level in this game?
5. From the very little I saw on youtube I don't like the fact that there is only one level of zoom or interaction. As if you were stuck with a table game (which I used to play and love before the era of the computers).
6. I think that the Napoleonic era of muskets is not my first choice... either well before or well after that. But this is not a main point, and I may chose a Napoleonic game is the above points are taken care of.
7. I like that AI moves its pieces at the same time as you do your positioning and that, then, the ensuing battle is the result of these 2 side's simultaneous positioning.
8. I do not like detached turns where one side moves and the other responds and then the roles get inverted.

Thanks for helping thus far and for any further help and time that you will engage for me!

[ERISS]

From what I see the way to move is very straightforward: pick and drop. Perhaps the complexity is the strategy itself. I may be wrong. Given the above, please help me refine my search considering that:
1. I don't like the complexity of the strategy (I prefer more generalized as in Battle Academy where you only have to think to build up a critical mass of units gathered together to destroy the Tiger etc...)

It only seems straightforward: if you only move, you'll lose: an army needs food and bullets, needs to recovery losses and strain, needs to levy more troops, etc. That is why these games could not please you, as they ask much time for the player in the logistic parts.

2. I don't like the non very realistic terrain. Looks like a table game.

This is not an RTS or 3D game. The map are divided in regions.

3. I do like the accuracy of the generals and the units.

Here you'll very much like this part, it's amazing.

4. I have not seen any screen shots of down on the ground, face to face with the units. Is there an up-close level in this game?
5. From the very little I saw I don't like the fact that there is only one level of zoom or interaction. As if you were stuck with a table game (which I used to play and love before the era of the computers).

Yes it is like a 'table game', these are not TotalWar(fromCreativeAssembly) games: the battles are not in 3d real-time, but there are much detailed reports.

6. I think that the Napoleonic era of muskets is not my first choice... either well before or well after that. But this is not a main point, and I may chose a Napoleonic game is the above points are taken care of.

So...
. Thirty Years' War, Napoleon's Campaigns, Wars in America (Birth of America 2), Civil War II
should be too 'napoleonical' (inf-cav-art trinity) for you
. España 1936, Revolution Under Siege Gold (my prefered)
need some patches
. Pride of Nations, To End All Wars
should be too complex strategy games for you
. Alea Jacta Est or Birth of Rome
is one of these last you should try (or España 1936 after a next patch)

7. I like that AI moves its pieces at the same time as you do your positioning and that, then, the ensuing battle is the result of these 2 side's simultaneous positioning.
8. I do not like detached turns where one side moves and the other responds and then the roles get inverted.

So that's okay for you here.

[H Gilmer3]

All I know is I like Rise of Prussia a lot. I lost a lot and finally beat it playing as Frederick and that was a very good feeling.

[Durk]

Sorry to be late to chime in, but ascanio1 it looks like WIA is the game for you unless you want a game set in Europe. If so, the Alea Jacta Est games series.

[1stvermont]

I suggest

http://www.norbsoftdev.net/