Game flow - Ergonomics - Pleasure

[Von Bert]

Hello, Bon jour a Vous!

I just bought your game NCP, and having already BoA i must say that i overall like the style of this serie.

Graphic/map is excellent, interface is usually mostly intuitive, and the game is detailed in a way that history appassionate may really love it . BRAVO !

But..as little grognard-wargamer-ergonomics/student/sw-web-developer i am (?) i wish humbly present some remarks to the develop. team:



1) border/boundaries of areas are not always so clear: maybe would be in certain occasion useful an highlight function/mode that would mark more deeply the boundaries... sometimes i cant see well where the borders are.


2) i think the movement phase, and battle phase are not so "pleasant" (sure..is just my opinion).
what happen on the map is not so.. "clear"
I like the map/interface.. but after organizing my army maybe 15 minutes.. giving orders etc, i press "Next turn".. and what happen on the map is not so.. "clear" (?) .. and surely is too fast.
I think the main reason are :

a) "time-on-task": after organizing for 5-10-20 minutes your forces.. then the "real-move" phase.. it last in seconds ! .. this is not so equilibrate.

The "move" phase is too short.. and maybe would be better think a way to "focus" the screen view on moving units . It does already ? ..mmhhh..
well it can be done better.. maybe focusing attention in different parts of theatre/campaign.
Would be maybe nice, also the chance to use a STEP by STEP (day by day) time-advancing of the move phase.. so that players can have time to really appreciate what's going on. (ie.. use the classic "controls" of videorecorder ) . This would give the chance to see what's going on on different theatre also.. having the chance to "see again" with "replay".


b) movement of corps/div/units is not CLEAR !
On my PC, in the "move" phase, the PC it stops for 10-15 seconds..then suddenly "all" moves..just for 2 seconds, giving confusion to follow the action.. and then is quickly ended.
This dont give the change to appreciate the "action"..
and is frustrating after you did use many minutes to planify it.

Why do not leave on map some colored "lines" showing the movement just done in the "Days/week" by a unit/corps/div ? (maybe as a grpahic option ?)

This would create on the screen something really similar to operational/strategic map we are used to see in history/military books.


3) Battles (are there any ? )
Yes.. i know there is a battle report view..
but..this is not sufficient to any old grognard.. or at least is obvious someone can wish for more.
Battle resolution now take in account MANY aspect/factors.. and this is good...
But..the only factors it does not consider is.. "player's pleasure" ..

Visual pleasure .. as nothing is seen. (why dont think to a BATTLE MODULE as other people request)

Action pleasure.. as nothing can be done ! not even a sinple click for a random/bonus ..or just .. "let me throw the dice!!! " )

Report pleasure.. as the final battle report is very UN-clear, not showing total strenght (fant/cav/arty numbers) .. or how the action did develop (charge.. coloumn attacks..retreats.. etc).. and who has been the most courageous, most coward and so on..
(and give some medals maybe too ? )

This is for me a little frustrating..

I think a Battle module is necessary (especially for solitaire games).

It can be designed also in some simple way..
maybe with just a 3 coloum battle-front, with "left-center-right" sectors.. then with "front-rear-reserve" areas .. where player can maybe deploy units, then do some move/options during the battle (moving troops from adiacent sectors to the front-battleline, order attacks/charge , decide to retreat a brigade from the front line..).
then.. being able to see some little-animation correlated to the various moves being done.. also being able to see casualties growing.. (and decide a retreat maybe)

Then some general "morale" level that would decide who win/when.

In the game now, i.e. some brigades in a division fight quite 'til the last men.. while other dont receive a shot..
with this ideas the player would be able to change a brigade with another from the front line.

Most of all.. what is a Napoleon game.. if u dont see the battle ???
I know.. this is a strategic/operational game..
but i also think that "games" now.. have the chance to give the player sensations from different "levels"..
and the abilities of designers is also to mix this in a coherent smooth way.

And.. as it is good to organize the Army as Marechal Berthier would have done .. is also good to "charge in" as Ney would have done.. and see if that "red-square" will crash or not under the charge !!! Or if Maitland brigades is able to shoot down the old guard once again.

I think.. the Battle module, if there will ever be.. it can (must) be done in simple way.. so that a big-battle maybe it will take an average of 5 minute to run..

Now..you play , organize, move.. then the Battle of Waterloo is just a complicated report with numbers..with no interaction at all..

Maybe even a system as "axis and allies" would be better then now..

Anyway.. this are just suggestions, from player point of view, and from a designer point of view... most of all.. is just my opinion..

Thanks to read.. and feel free to contact for more insight, ideas, development !

Anyway, the game is great, and i cant wait to begin my next match !

Thanks for your work, merci beaucoup !

Ciao a tout

Von Bert
aka Roberto Dell'Agnola
Torino - Italia
..from the 111th regiment of the ville de Turin
Vive L'Empereur !!!

[Von Bert]

hello , bonjour

Last night i did play the prussian campaign, and i did enjoy a lot the most of it

Well as this forum is for improvment/suggestion i ll post some other impressions:

1) generals on the map: i did play with the general counters/faces on the map.. and i feel that sometimes when the map is very full of them in small spaces.. i have some difficulties in see the MAP, or understand "who is where".
The counters of generals/armies are very beautiful .. but also very big ..maybe could be possible to set a visual/game/option that will show generals on the map with a smaller ( 50% ?) counter.. maybe losing the general face, and having just his name and national flag ..
I would not put this as a real "visual option" but something that the player can easily click/re-click to pass from big generals to small one while playing.

Sometimes also i have difficulties to see ZONE borders..
i think the highlight effetc when "mousover" is maybe not enough contrasting.

Btw tha map is wonderful ! bravo !

2) as other people said elsewhere here, i miss a "order of battle" screen that will reflect the organition of the army. Something like a tree maybe, that would also show relative strenght ( remaining soldiers vs official total strenght of the unit/division/corp, or maybe just using "%")

3) after defeating the enemy in large battle i see 3-4-6 enemy generals moving on the map, alone ??? i cant understand when/who has soldiers with him.. or is just a lone escaping general.
Strange thing, as many of them also did easily pillage some area.. with maybe 200 men .. not an easy task to pillage a 100km x 100 km area with hundred men in a week..( shell be fun anyway.. not for the peasant .. yep !)
Other strange thing.. the prussian Queen did ride alone along the whole front.. trying to escape to denmark..
if i were in her i would have tried to go to east, konisberg mayb..
anyway.. my men did miss the chance to encounter/capture her properly.. )

4) not so easy to see the strenght of corps/division without checking it units/by units.. maybe some colored bar (red /green ) could be shown near generals to show how many men they still have compared to the start

5) my PC is set with "big letters" for windows, and 1280x 1024 size .. so.. some instructions/tips shown previous to the "move" did not show completely.. as some of the text is going out of the screen.

[Adlertag]

Numerous good propositions but very time consuming to implement them.

The "order of battle", like a tree as you've said, is one of the fisrt features to add, although be patient if not in the next patch.

[Franciscus]

This is not beating an old dog, but I was scanning the forums and could not but just say how I agree with the ideas that Von Bert expressed in this thread. I for one also have more than once said that not going all the way to my "holygrail" of strategic Ageod + tactical Madminutes in one game , some things would immensely enhance the pleasure of ageod's games, and they are:
- battle reports (and the juicier the better)
- proper OOB (glad to hear they are coming

- and did I mention battle reports ??

[Pocus]

These things take time, but some are being done ... but it takes time

Realistically, major modules can only be added within the frame of new games, and then retrofitted into older ones.

We don't have plan in 2008 to make a tactical battle engine though.

[Franciscus]

That's great news, Pocus.
Realistically, I am not asking for an integration of something as AACW or NCP with a tactical engine, although that would be a dream come true. But I understand that it could probably be unmanageable (would a life span be enough tp play all battles, etc) and difficult to keep consistency between AI managed battles and the ones managed by the player.

But, battle reports, that's another thing. Although it could be argued that they would not really add anything new to the game, it would certainly add to the pleasure of the game (after all, AACW or NCP could be played also with an excel-like UI, and the "game" would be the same. But that is not the way things are done, fortunately )