State of the game, mid-2014?

[sandman2575]

I have my eye on PoN, but I'm wondering how playable the Grand Campaign has become, several years, patches, and add-ons since original release?

I'm a relative noob with AGEOD games. I made a serious attempt a couple years ago to learn Napoleon's Campaigns, and despite my efforts just couldn't get the hang of it. The outcomes of battles really seemed *very* difficult to decipher. I've long been a big fan of WW1 Gold, although I know it's not a AGEOD-developed game -- quirks and all (many of which I've come to find endearing), I'd count WW1 Gold as one of the best grand strategy games I've ever played.

Being in the mood for a Civil War game, I recently picked up Civil War II, after reading many glowing reviews. I am *hugely* impressed at how much an improvement CWII is over my previous experience with Nap's Campaigns. UI, tooltips, the battle-report are all are markedly better, and I am really glad I've 'rediscovered' AGEOD, in a sense.

I guess part of my question is: is Pride of Nations going to feel like a step backward from Civil War II? I notice, for example, that PoN seems to use the same battle mechanic and presentation as Napoleon's Campaigns, which for me raises a red flag.

The persistent reports about long turn-resolution times and general bugginess of PoN concern me. Have things improved on this front? Or does PoN still have the feel of a work in progress? (I should say that turn-resolutions for me in CWII are probably about a minute or so to process, which is totally fine as far as I'm concerned. I have a reasonably high-end computer, i7 3770k, 16GB Ram).

Any thoughts or advice welcome.

[Kensai]

Graphics-wise, it will feel. But PON has been so far the most ambitious game AGEOD has ever undertaken. The situation with the latest patch is quite good, the game is stable. However there is an annoying bug with certain sieges. You may notice it or you may not.

For me PON at its current state shines with the 1880 DLC Campaign, so make sure you grab that as well. But even if you don't you will have a lot of fun with the grand scope of things. It's a different beast from the combat-specific titles. Even grasping the economy and trade system (which works better when NON mercantilistic, as in the Victorian era!) of the game is a huge epiphany.

[vaalen]

In my opinion, PON is the best strategy game ever designed in the history of this planet. There is a learning curve, but the rewards are fantastic. It does have a couple of serious bugs in the latest patch, the immortal garrison bug, and the lag when F4 is hit, which makes it difficult to play the game. When these bugs are fixed, the game will once again be awesome! I have reason to believe that a quick fix for these bugs is coming.

[ajnatalo]

I would say that PON is the only game that I'd ever play despite all the bugs. I've found I can script corrections to most anything or correct what appears to be a funky outcome, even fixing things like the ITA unification files so that they work on my games. However, that doesn't mean the game doesn't currently suffer from some major problems. 1.04RC2 still has problems like the immortal garrison (which if you like playing Prussia like I do, makes the franco-prussion war, war with denmark, etc. pretty much impossible since the events triggered require the taking of the entire territories to trigger) and the rather extreme lag issues on the f4 and b screens. Minus these issues, RC2 would be the best way to play, as it, at least in all my games, made the AI function like an actual human might, in that they actually do things. However I still try to keep the game at 1.03e because that is that last truly stable iteration. I will continue to say that certain things need polished like missing text and pictures for events and certain events that fire despite their conditions appearing to violated (i'm looking at you event that gives gabon to France even though the Prussian Reich already colonized it). Those constant glitches can make the game feel a bit clunky and poorly done, which can unfortunately distract from what I consider to be the best historical simulation ever made, ever.

[sandman2575]

Thanks to everyone for the informative feedback.

I'm tempted to dive in but I may have to wait for the next patch. It sounds like the game still has some fairly serious glitches. I'm sure I don't have the expertise to script corrections to bugs that pop up, so that probably isn't a work-around for me.

I'm sure Civil War II can keep me busy in the meantime, although I'll keep an eye out for a new PoN patch / hotfix.

[HerrDan]

Thanks to everyone for the informative feedback.

I'm tempted to dive in but I may have to wait for the next patch. It sounds like the game still has some fairly serious glitches. I'm sure I don't have the expertise to script corrections to bugs that pop up, so that probably isn't a work-around for me.

I'm sure Civil War II can keep me busy in the meantime, although I'll keep an eye out for a new PoN patch / hotfix.

Great to know that a new player is interested in learning this wonderful game that is PoN! It's one of the best games I've ever played, I would advice the 1880 scenario if you want to play, and the patch that comes with this scenario is the 1.03e that is free of bugs, just don't buy on steam or they'll force you to update to the last patch 1.04 that is still buggy, buy here in the AGEOD site if you want to try the game, but be warned, the game isn't like civil wars or napoleon wars, as it covers an ERA, and not a single conflict, indeed you could have as many conflicts as you'd want if you play the game, but it isn't only about a specific conflict, as you have to manage your economy as well as your army and there are many turns when there isn't much "action" (when you're not at war with anyone etc), so you need to deal with it with patience, the game was made for you to experience the imperialism age as one of the leading powers of the time, so it's much more than a single conflict and for some it's too overwhelming.
But I can assure you, it's worth it!

Cheers.

[sandman2575]

Yes, it's the grand sweep of the whole 19th / early 20th c. era that makes PON so appealing to me. I'm very fond of Paradox's Victoria II, but I'm interested in trying my hand at something deeper and more challenging. With Civil War II and my past experiences with Napoleon's Campaigns and WW1 Gold, I feel I'm finally familiar enough with the AGE mechanics and user interface to be up to the challenge of PON.

Your German Empire AAR is quite engrossing, HerrDan. It and some of the other AARs like Loki's are really tempting me to buy this game, even with the 1.04 bugs, although I hope those will get fixed soon.

If I buy PON through Ageod or Matrix, can I still get a Steam key? I'd prefer to play with v.1.03 given the current problems with 1.04, but I also really like the convenience of having games organized and updated through Steam.

[HerrDan]

Yes, it's the grand sweep of the whole 19th / early 20th c. era that makes PON so appealing to me. I'm very fond of Paradox's Victoria II, but I'm interested in trying my hand at something deeper and more challenging. With Civil War II and my past experiences with Napoleon's Campaigns and WW1 Gold, I feel I'm finally familiar enough with the AGE mechanics and user interface to be up to the challenge of PON.

Your German Empire AAR is quite engrossing, HerrDan. It and some of the other AARs like Loki's are really tempting me to buy this game, even with the 1.04 bugs, although I hope those will get fixed soon.

If I buy PON through Ageod or Matrix, can I still get a Steam key? I'd prefer to play with v.1.03 given the current problems with 1.04, but I also really like the convenience of having games organized and updated through Steam.

Thank you very much Sandman for the compliment about my AAR, it's a hard work, but it's rewarding when I read people telling me that they liked it, Loki's AAR is more useful to learn the game I have to say, as mine is concentrated on the political/military side of the game and I don't explain things, besides some interesting discussions I had with other players, I'm just roleplaying there basically, by the way I'm planning to resume that AAR soon.

I fear that for the moment if you want to enjoy the 1880 Scenario you'll have to buy it either from Ageod or Matrix, but if you use steam to play it you'll be forced to update to the newest version that is still undone and buggy. So my advice to you is to buy it on Slitherine/Matrix or Ageod (I would prefer the later because I love these guys :coeurs and install it in your computer without steam and them you'll have the version 1.03e full, that is the last stable version, you'll also need a quickfix for the SOI events, but I can provide you with that if you want.

If you need any help after buying and installing the game, just ask me and I'll be there to help you.

Cheers.