Pocus wrote:I won't offend you by telling you exactly what happened on April 12th, a long time ago...
AACW was out in April 2007. CW2 in September 2013.
In retrospect and with some patches under its belt, how would you compare it with AACW.
What are your overall thinking of the game?
What are the biggest cool things about the game and what would you have liked to see done differently?
First, I would like to congratulate you and the entire AGEOD team for your fine work. I'm in and out for long stretches (and about to be out again for a while) but I go all the way back to 2007, and a little further if you count Birth of America. In that time the overall quality and depth of AGEOD games has improved, and while the output has increased the team has remained responsive and open to the community.
Overall, I think CW2 is a better game at this stage in its development. I can't speak to multiplayer, but the single player experience offers a deeper, more challenging experience. My thoughts on specific areas:
The MapIn most ways, I like the larger map. It remains surprisingly large and I am still discovering things about it after several months. However, at this point in the game's life much of it is underused. This is more of an observation than a criticism, and I suspect other areas will come into play down the road. Part of me wonders what the game would be like if there were a few more regions in northern Virginia. But I say that with the knowledge that this map already has more regions in in northern Virginia than all the other Civil War Strategy games combined.
AthenaIt's a lot better, and the AI in AACW was already great. Less reckless overall now; the deep raiding is all but gone. On the other hand my stacks often wind up destroying lone cavalry brigades blundering into my defensive stacks especially in Virginia. At times she's too conservative, even when using the optimized settings. There are times when I feel like I should be attacked, and Athena sits on the defensive. For example, if a player is besieging the capital or a major objective the AI should concentrate her forces and attack. Athena still gets hung up on secondary and tertiary objectives such as coastal holdings, Fort Leavenworth, and the Far West. I typically see these areas with 1200 power stacks that could make a real difference on the main fronts. Another poster recently pointed out Athena doesn't seem to play for National Morale. I don't know if this is something programming can address, but it might be the next step forward for what is one of the best AIs out there.
CardsProbably the most controversial change from AACW. Personally I like the idea of cards and the dynamics they introduce, but it's an aspect that needs to fleshed out and balanced.
User InterfaceAgain, steps in the right direction. I like the new unit recruitment system. As others have suggested, reorganizing how the units appear in the recruitment panel (so that they appear in order by state) would make things even better. Don't know if it's possible, but being able to assign a "go-to" location after completion would be nice as well.
One thing I think you should look into for the future is changing or clarifying certain terms. There can be confusion over terms like Stack and Unit, particularly when it comes to some unit abilities, even for veteran players. I think it stems from the fact that divisions can either be both units and stacks, and that some elements with special abilities can be found both in brigade units and as independent elements which can then be added to division units.
LeadershipSomething I was hoping for and didn't see in CW2 was a bit more control over leader promotions. It can be hard to get any leaders to promote from combat experience, let alone the good ones.
Unit RecruitmentI wish integrated 6lb artillery still upgraded to 12lb artillery, at a cost. Or that there were more brigades without integrated artillery. This, in my opinion, is a step backwards from AACW.
ModdingI can't remember how it worked with AACW, but so far there hasn't been much modding support for CW2. I know this has been discussed previously, but I bring it up because it's probably what was (and is) most missed.
These are some thoughts and
suggestions, and are not intended as criticism. This is a wonderful game, and I appreciate you taking the time to check with us.
"Thank God. I thought it was a New York Regiment."- Unknown Confederate major, upon learning he had surrendered to the 6th Wisconsin.