Would you recommend to a brand new player?

[Philllll]

I don't want to make this too long, but the first strategy games I player were the Total War series, then I moved on to mostly Paradox titles like Victoria 2 and EU3 and pretty much all the rest. I've also spend about 80 hours into Distant Worlds.

I came across this game (set in my favourite time period) and it looks very interesting, I like what I've seen of it on YouTube. So, would you recommend buying it for a complete newbie?
How stable is it & how playable is it in it's current state? I've seen a few people complain on this forum.
How is the AI?
Anything else useful to know?
If you don't recommend this game for a new player, what game would you suggest to get into this genre of games? Once I play one game of a certain type I tend to play them all, like I've done with the Paradox and Total War games.

Thanks

[seathom]

I was pretty much in your shoes this time last year. I did dabble in the AGEod games, Birth of America and Pride of Nations, but did not fare too well because I hadn't really learned how the engine works. By watching a Let's Play on you tube, you probably have a pretty decent idea of the basics that should let you enjoy learning this game.

The game is definitely playable and stable. The problems it is encountering is more with fine-tuning diplomacy and correcting scripting errors on events (this game, like many other AGEod games, try to keep the historical flavor of events, which can cause unintended ahistorical/improbable outcomes that will be corrected in time). The developers have always been very helpful in fixing problems as they arise. The forum members have also been very big contributors.

I am finding the AI much improved since release. On more than one occasion, the AI has slipped past my defenses to cause problems in my rear. It appears to be better at not going too deep into enemy territory and be destroyed due to lack of supply (although I am not far enough in the game to definitely say this problem has been fixed). It still moves small units around "front lines" that are easy pickings for a human.

The scope of the game is huge, you will definitely want to start off on the easiest scenario and move up once you feel comfortable with the game mechanics, but I feel it is playable for a newbie to AGEod games.

Other games I highly recommend that I own (from easiest to hardest) are: Alea Jacta Est, Civil War 2 and To End All Wars. All are great games that give you a good feel for the era and are similar to WON.

[Caoster]

I would give the game another month. At least until another patch or two come out, you'll probably just end up angry and frustrated by crashes. Especially if you do anything other than play as France, which seems to be the main faction they tested.

[pablius]

Unless you only want a Napoleonic Wars game, I would suggest starting with Civil War 2 to learn the system, it´s a much more polished game at this point and with only two opposing factions it doesn't involve any diplomacy

Otherwise, if your are willing to wait for a couple of patches to clean up some bugs, the game is playable and enjoyable as it is, just closer to a classic turn based war-game than to real time global strategy like Paradox games are

[lukasberger]

I would say yes, no doubt!

As you can see from reading the forums, the game is not perfect. It does need some work in some areas.

Still, it's awfully fun and I think that even in its current form it's far, far, far better than any other Napoleonic game I've played. It puts March of the Eagles et al. to shame.

It's just a blast to play even now with its imperfections, and it'll surely only get better and better as the guys work their magic on it.

[Taillebois]

Or as a taster for AGEOD games try the earlier Napoleon's Campaigns or their classic first American Civil War game. Some of these are in the Matrix sale for a few more days and only cost about ten dollars/euros.

[bjmorgan]

If you like the period, I would definitely buy this game. It has the potential to be a classic, really outstanding, but ...

It isn't as stable as some would have you believe. The shorter scenarios seem to function almost flawlessly. The Campaign Game, at least as the French go, needs some work. I generally only get about a year in before I start getting minor errors. Sometimes these go away with a exit-and-return strategy, sometimes they do not. In any case, about two years in, I'm stalled completely. Now, I just installed the January 5th beta yesterday and it seems a bit better, but I had a crash that the developers can't replicate. When I get home tonight, I'll see if I can return and continue playing. So, the jury's still out on the patch.

Some will say all the CTDs are a hardware issue, as a former game programmer and computer builder, I say hogwash. A small few might be, but the vast majority are not. No one can explain why I only get crashes with WON, and not the vast library of games I have. I'm convinced it's related to my style of play (what I do that others may not do) or random events (e.g., the "die roll"). Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. An "index out of range" error is hardly due to hardware. It's almost always a database error. And, I'm using an HP computer with no added-on boards to cause hardware issues, so I'm not using one built in my garage. (If I could get into my garage.)

BUT, I'm convinced the devs will fix the problems as soon as they are able to find the causes. In the meantime, I view this period as a learning experience. I'm really getting to learn the system well. I think the next public patch will fix a lot of the issues. In a month or so, this game will be really, really good.

So, buy the game and if it doesn't cause you problems, you're gold. If it does, just be patient. These guys generally find and fix. Remember, under the hood this is a very complex game.

[Sirlion]

I don't want to make this too long, but the first strategy games I player were the Total War series, then I moved on to mostly Paradox titles like Victoria 2 and EU3 and pretty much all the rest. I've also spend about 80 hours into Distant Worlds.

I came across this game (set in my favourite time period) and it looks very interesting, I like what I've seen of it on YouTube. So, would you recommend buying it for a complete newbie?
How stable is it & how playable is it in it's current state? I've seen a few people complain on this forum.
How is the AI?
Anything else useful to know?
If you don't recommend this game for a new player, what game would you suggest to get into this genre of games? Once I play one game of a certain type I tend to play them all, like I've done with the Paradox and Total War games.

Thanks

I'm in your shoes, same background story, and an endless love for l'Empereur and his time. And, as a Napoleonic fanatic, I'd say you must wait. We will see how much, but right now, it has severe stability issues and it is playable only to a certain extent. I'm putting it on hold indefinitely, testing turns here and there with the patches, if you dont want to do the same, wait.

[vicberg]

I wouldn't say that. There's a few low probability events causing CTDs. I ran against one with the Georgia King event (5% probability). It caused a CTD for me. So I rerun turn and that event doesn't fire second time around.

I'm playing 2 PBEMs that are working just fine. They are fixing scripts as they run across the errors. The new patch seems quite stable.

I'm having a lot of fun with it as it is. It will get better.

[Philllll]

Thanks for all the replies & information, I decided to pick up Pride Of Nations (in my mind it's similar with 7 major nations competing) on steam. I'll go through that to see what's what, I'll probably buy this game in a month or so. Even with all the CTD's it still looks like the only good Napoleonic game, I may also possibly get Napoleons campaigns before getting this, money is limited for a student

[Taillebois]

Thanks for all the replies & information, I decided to pick up Pride Of Nations (in my mind it's similar with 7 major nations competing) on steam. I'll go through that to see what's what, I'll probably buy this game in a month or so. Even with all the CTD's it still looks like the only good Napoleonic game, I may also possibly get Napoleons campaigns before getting this, money is limited for a student

Pride of Nations is huge with long turn times. This might not be your best decision.

[Philllll]

Pride of Nations is huge with long turn times. This might not be your best decision.

Yeah, it looks good but a little overwhelming right now, I'm indecisive and I've changed my mind, I'll buy this game now I know I'll enjoy it.

[Philllll]

Yeah, it looks good but a little overwhelming right now, I'm indecisive and I've changed my mind, I'll buy this game now I know I'll enjoy it.

I will enjoy it more when it stops crashing every 30 minutes, how long does it usually take for ageod to patch up a game to be stable for 90% of people?

[Sirlion]

I will enjoy it more when it stops crashing every 30 minutes, how long does it usually take for ageod to patch up a game to be stable for 90% of people?

Told you....

By the way, the Steam version of Pride of Nations is not even the final one, you should check this forum for the last patch. Yes, I know, it takes 5 minutes to upload a patch, apparently it is not common courtesy.