HoI v Strat Comd

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.war-historical,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic (More info?)

Thanks to a sale at a secondhand store, I'm thinking of dabbling with
strategic WW2 games, a genre I've not previously had much to do with.

I was wondering which to go for out of Hearts of Iron and Strategic Command.
Money's not an issue; I just don't want to waste time mucking around with a
game I won't like.

My understanding is that HoI is more detailed but is also open to more
unhistorical situations arising, ie that it's a strategic game that could
really be about anywhere but happens to be set on a map that looks something
like Earth in the 1940s.

Strat Comd, I'm led to believe, is less detailed but more faithful to what
actually happened in WW2.

I understand that HoI mucks around with divisions (although they're not
moved on the map as such) wheras Strat Comd is confined to higher level
units. This tends to incline me towards HoI but it's extreme alternative
history aspect leaves me undecided.

Any comments or advice would be appreciated.

Andy

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.war-historical,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic (More info?)

HOI has scenarios which start during wartime, so there is not that much
deviance from history (apart from the natural flow and decisions in the
game).
Pausable realtime.
Vast amount of complex factors to juggle: diplomacy, politics
(including ideology), technology, trade, R&D...and some combat as well!

SC is definitely less detailed, but there is quite a bit of depth in
there. Pure wargame though (with some 'diplomacy': countries joining
according to events, year or attacks - but preset to which alliance):
combat, simple production, R&D.
Turnbased, a scenarios can be played in an evening.

I prefer SC since it is more of a game on WW2 as we know it. And in all
honesty, HOI's complexity and time/effort requirements put me off a
bit. Don't have that much time anymore!
BTW, HOI2 apparently is a vast improvement over HOI.

Best strategic level ww2 game is the recent World at War
(http://www.worldatwaronline.com/main.asp , or
http://www.matrixgames.com/).

Simple to pick up, lot's of depth and combat across the whole globe.
Since it's new it won't be on a budget range though.

Hope this helps,

von Schmidt

 

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic (More info?)

Andy Brown:

ab> I was wondering which to go for out of Hearts of Iron and Strategic
ab> Command.

They are rather different.

SC is more "Beer and Pretzels", quicker, and much easier to play. It
focusses largely on combat. More recently, Gary Grisby's World at War, has
a similar feel to it and is perhaps even more fun (and prettier). These are
turn-based games which can be played in one (albeit long) sitting.

HOI is considerably deeper, much more economically oriented, and includes
diplomacy for better or worse. If you go for that, I'd recommend to get
HOI2, it is apparently a good deal more playable than the original (I never
played HOI1). These games are "pausable real-time" which gives them more of
a simulation feel.

I'd say it's the choice between fun (SC) and depth (HOI). Not that the
first isn't deep and the second isn't fun. Just a matter of emphasis.
Both received excellent reviews:

http://www.battlefront.com/products/stratcom/reviews.html
http://www.wargamer.com/reviews/heartsofiron2/

Both have demos, so why not check them out:

SC: http://www.battlefront.com/products/stratcom/download.html
HOI2: http://www.gamershell.com/news/19111.html

Regards, Hartmut "and then kick Adolf's ass" Schmider
--
Hartmut Schmider, Queen's University

We are capable of sacrificing ourselves for sentiment.
Sentimentality exacts the sacrifice of others.
Yoritomo-Tashi

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.war-historical,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic (More info?)

I can't really speak much for HoI but in terms of SC there is a demo
available that might give you a better idea of how the game plays and
its overall depth.

The demo can be found here:
ftp://ftp.battlefront.com/pub/demos/stratcom/SC_Demo_Setup.exe

Also, feel free to drop by the SC forums. At this point there are
probably many players there that can offer an even better insight as to
how the game plays than I can
http://www.battlefront.com/cgi-bin/bbs/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=18

 

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.war-historical,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic (More info?)

Hubert schreef:
> I can't really speak much for HoI but in terms of SC there is a demo
> available that might give you a better idea of how the game plays and
> its overall depth.

Minor point here : The author of the above sentence is so busy that he
failed to mention :

1) The fact that he's working on Strategic Command 2 which promises to
be one of the most moddable engines ever released.

2) That SC1 can be found for $20 which turns buying this into a
no-brainer.

3) Don't be turned-off by the 7 patches released for SC. The 1.0
version is pretty solid - never crashed on me - a lot of patches are
actually functional enhancements and tweaks.

4) The demo is the full game, but only lets you play untill december
1940 - minor demo challenge : perform a Sealion and force Britain to
surrender.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.war-historical,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic (More info?)

Thanks for the kind words Eddy as they are always appreciated

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.war-historical,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic (More info?)

Thanks to those in both groups who provided feedback.

I'd forgotten about the continuous time aspect of HoI. Seems like the thing
to do there is go straight for HoI2.

I'll have a look a Strat Comd but I suspect GGWaW might be the way I end up
heading down the "more serious" route.

Cheers,

Andy

 

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.war-historical,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic (More info?)

"Andy Brown" <andybrown@somewhere.in.nz> wrote in message
news:d5uhsf$i8v$1@lust.ihug.co.nz...
> Thanks to a sale at a secondhand store, I'm thinking of dabbling with
> strategic WW2 games, a genre I've not previously had much to do with.
>
> I was wondering which to go for out of Hearts of Iron and Strategic
> Command.
> Money's not an issue; I just don't want to waste time mucking around with
> a
> game I won't like.
>

neither

get this game

http://www.worldatwaronline.com/main.asp