Armoured Commander: WW2 Tank Commander Roguelike

[Rev_Sudasana]

Glad to hear it! I thought it was time to work on some of these larger projects and implement them all at once. Hopefully it'll only keep getting better.

[Avagart]

Yup, your pace of work is impressive! When when I thought it was time to check out beta 1.0 it turned out that most recent version is beta 1.5...

[Rev_Sudasana]

The main number just indicates saved game compatibility; a lot of 1.1 - 1.5 was just fixing minor but annoying bugs that players identified. I really should have adopted a more conservative version numbering system but I didn't know what I was doing when I started, so here we are!

[monkie]

Really enjoying 1.5, I especially like the sound effects, they are perfect. I like the 8 bit retro sound, takes me back to the classic SSI sims.

Had some very intense encounters, had myself ducking a few times my tank was fired on. It's heartbreaking to follow a crew through tough encounters and wounds only to have them all lost with one shot from a hidden ATG.

no crashes or issues, very stable.

The interface is very smooth, easy to play without having to hunt and peck for awkward keystrokes. Using the Enter or Spacebar for most tasks is great vs say the END key which is a pain to use on my laptop keyboard.

The only suggestions I have are mostly cosmetic.

1) The text line that shows the Sherman's current position or movement ie. Stopped, Hull down etc. Maybe this can be changed so that when the
    Sherman has achieved Hull Down the text is shown in Green? It's kind of hidden in the grey and maybe showing Hull Down in green will encourage
    new players as to the importance for survival and also serve as an easy reminder that we have achieved it during the heat of battle.

2) I like that terrain the enemy vehicles occupy is shown next to the icons. Is there a way to have an icon next to it that shows it's facing? maybe a "< >   V " type thing. Could help quicken the process in deciding whether to shoot at that Panther if it's facing away or backup for the hull down if it's facing towards.

3) For the ATG, the symbol is an X. The X reminds me of the Nato icon for infantry. Maybe something more like an "Y" symbol?

Really enjoying it, thanks again for the hard work.

JC

[Rev_Sudasana]

1) The text line that shows the Sherman's current position or movement ie. Stopped, Hull down etc. Maybe this can be changed so that when the
    Sherman has achieved Hull Down the text is shown in Green? It's kind of hidden in the grey and maybe showing Hull Down in green will encourage
    new players as to the importance for survival and also serve as an easy reminder that we have achieved it during the heat of battle.

2) I like that terrain the enemy vehicles occupy is shown next to the icons. Is there a way to have an icon next to it that shows it's facing? maybe a "< >   V " type thing. Could help quicken the process in deciding whether to shoot at that Panther if it's facing away or backup for the hull down if it's facing towards.

3) For the ATG, the symbol is an X. The X reminds me of the Nato icon for infantry. Maybe something more like an "Y" symbol?

1) Can do, will add in the next version

2) I will give that a try and see how it looks. My only concern is if the encounter hex map gets too confusing with too many symbols being displayed at once. My goal is to keep it as clear as possible, but I'll see how it works in practice.

3) Problem with this is that the character for the enemy unit has to work no matter what its facing is. A "Y" would kind of make it look like the gun is facing downward, which is true in many cases but not all. I will try out some alternate characters, however, and see how they look.

Thanks for the feedback!

[monkie]

Just curious and maybe I missed this in a previous discussion but might there be a future possibility showing the stats for crews that were lost on previous campaigns?

I know I can see high scores and date of KIA but it would be very cool to see how that crew did up to that point, with types of kills, awards, etc. Kind of a memorial but also a way to judge how your current crew is stacking up the achievements of others.

Also in the same way we can choose to start in other tank types maybe a choice to start at a later date in the campaign, could simulate replacements and they're experiences later in the war.

Just thinking out loud.

JC

[monkie]

After reading some more into things using the readme text (duh) I see that the Combat Journal has been introduced. This is pretty much what I was thinking in my previous post. I guess it's necessary to copy the journal file and save it under another name because when you start a new campaign it starts to overwrite the previous crews actions.

Very cool feature.

[Rev_Sudasana]

I guess it's necessary to copy the journal file and save it under another name because when you start a new campaign it starts to overwrite the previous crews actions.

Hmm - when you finish a campaign, either because of the commander going out of action or reaching the end of the calendar, the game should save your combat journal as a text file, stamped with the current time and date, so older journals should not be overwritten. There's currently no way to view the journal unless you end your campaign, but that will change in the future.

[monkie]

My Bad, I made the error thinking it was my current tank on campaign because the tank names were similar. Also I changed the crew names at some point during the first campaign and they didn't match the ones shown at the start which confused me. All makes sense now, and it's a very cool feature.

Had my first main gun broken result and had to leave the battle group for the day. It felt like I was letting the rest of the team down.

[Rev_Sudasana]

Had my first main gun broken result and had to leave the battle group for the day. It felt like I was letting the rest of the team down.

I wonder how they fared! In the future the rest of the units in your battlegroup will be individually tracked, so you'll get a report on just how many of them survived the day.

[monkie]

That would be great, as of right now the player has little concern for the other friendlies other than losing some VP and maybe some fire support. However it is fun to rip up MG and LW units knowing they won't be taking out friendly infantry squads.

It does make for some interesting moments when you have to consider balancing keeping your tank safe (using smoke grenades, finding hull down cover, firing at ATG, etc) vs supporting the infantry units that are part of the battle group.

[Rev_Sudasana]

Copied from my dev blog post of today:

I’ve uploaded a preview build of Beta 2.0; it doesn’t include all the new features that I had hoped to include, but I think it’s a marked improvement over the Beta 1 branch.

I’m particularly interested in feedback regarding the campaign day missions and the new procedure for Counterattack mission days. I’ve tested everything a little but there’s bound to be bugs, so please report any crashes or other strangeness to me.

Direct download link is here: [link removed]

Edit: Official Beta 2.0 is now available for download: http://www.armouredcommander.com/downloads.html

[Incognito]

My Roguelike experience being relatively limited, I didn’t expect much when I picked this up, but boy was I blown away. It can be unforgiving, yes, but that’s part of the fun. You’ve created a historically accurate roguelike that’s accessible (quite a feat) and entertaining; it’s detailed without being clunky. And, of course, the game play is brilliant.

On the most recent patch:

Has the call-up roll got the axe? It seems your crew fights in every battle. (Not a complaint, I’m just not getting as far into the far into the year as I used to)

The new counterattack mission seems cool. The enemy taking ground does give the feeling that you are actually helping to repel a significantly sized offensive. Ultimately, I played it like the old version—sitting and awaiting attacks. Am I doing it wrong?

The new in-battle missions are great. The transmissions from HQ are awesome, and the other random events (ammo trucks, ground being taken/re-taken, etc.) really add something to the atmosphere! Any additions to these mechanics in the form of different missions/events would further enhance the experience.

In general:

The 8.8cm Flak 18 (most famously, though incorrectly, known as the Flak 88) would make a great addition to the AT gun lineup. With a production figure of over 21,000 (compared to the 2,100 of the Pak 43), it saw relatively widespread employment in the anti-tank role, including during a number of famous battles on the Western Front. As an 88L, it could strike fear into tankers in game much as its iconic counterpart did in real life.

Random events between battles might add something to the campaign interface. Some could just be for flavor (A la “Hundreds of bombers passed over in formation just as we were finishing breakfast”), while others might provide a bonus like a few extra HVAP shells, and others could in the future be tied to crew personalities. An occasional ambush (which would send you straight to the tactical interface with a panzer to your side or rear) could keep tankers on their toes!

I don’t know if it’s plausible, but representing the various field modifications seen on Shermans during the war would be cool. Sandbags could provide protection from panzerfausts, while appliqué could give a little boost to the tank’s protection against AP rounds.  Both would be at the cost of increased weight, leading to a negative modifier of movement roles and increased chance of bogging.  On historical usage, appliqué armor in the form of spare track sections and salvaged German plate was relatively common, though its hard to verify exact figures. Sandbags piled on the hull were found effective in pre-detonating the shaped charge rounds of panzerschrecks and panzerfausts, so much so that they became nearly standard for tanks of the 14th armored.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all the time I’ve spent with Armoured Commander and wish you the best as you continue to develop it!

[Rev_Sudasana]

Has the call-up roll got the axe?

Yes, from Beta 2.0 onward, the calendar has been edited down to 68 days, and every day is an action day. I've tried to include the most important battles of the campaign while not leaving too many long gaps between days in the campaign calendar. I think it plays a lot better, and should keep things interesting. I went through the activation chances and on average a player would see about 60 days of battle over the course of the campaign, so this is actually more than average action.

The new counterattack mission seems cool. The enemy taking ground does give the feeling that you are actually helping to repel a significantly sized offensive. Ultimately, I played it like the old version—sitting and awaiting attacks. Am I doing it wrong?

You can of course continue to play as before, but you should know that the encounter enemy resistance level is based partially on that of adjacent map areas, so if you have a Heavy resistance area next to you, you're going to see more Heavy battles. In the future, moving around will sometimes be required, as you shouldn't get cut off from the rest of your defending forces. Resupply will be affected by this as well.

Any additions to these mechanics in the form of different missions/events would further enhance the experience.

Now that the mission system is in place, it's easy to add new types of mission in the future. Random events that let you choose how to proceed (eg. "You spot what looks like an abandoned fuel dump. Do you investigate it further, or leave it be?) would also be a positive improvement, I think. They would not show up too often, but enough to break up the monotony of battle encounters all day.

The 8.8cm Flak 18 (most famously, though incorrectly, known as the Flak 88) would make a great addition to the AT gun lineup.

Definitely a great addition to the game. I think for the moment I've made an error with the stats for the in-game Pak 43, since it's listed as having a 360 mount, whereas it was the Flak 18 that had that mount. I'll have to differentiate the two guns better in a future update.

I don’t know if it’s plausible, but representing the various field modifications seen on Shermans during the war would be cool. Sandbags could provide protection from panzerfausts, while appliqué could give a little boost to the tank’s protection against AP rounds.

Improvised armour is definitely on the longer-term to-do list, as are other modifications such as hedge cutters.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all the time I’ve spent with Armoured Commander and wish you the best as you continue to develop it!

Thanks very much! Hope to have the official Beta 2.0 version uploaded soon, after that I'll work on some more cosmetic improvements before doing another big update that adds more stuff!

[Rev_Sudasana]

Ah I figured it out. The PaK 43 in the game is on a cruciform carriage. So as an AT gun pretty similar to the Flak 18 except it's a 88LL rather than an 88L gun.