Commander – The Great War Now Available!

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

You are hereby ordered to the Front!

Epsom, UK, November 12, 2012 – Slitherine (www.slitherine.com), Matrix Games (www.matrixgames.com), and The Lordz Games Studio (www.thelordzgamesstudio.com) are excited to announce the release of an outstanding new World War I grand strategy game: Commander – The Great War, the latest in the Commander series!

Players can now assume command of the Entente or Central Powers from the start of the war in 1914 to its conclusion in five grand campaigns on a huge hex campaign map that stretches from western USA to Africa and Arabia in the south, Scandinavia to the north and the Urals to the east. Players can encounter more than 40 unique historical and what-if events triggered by their actions on the campaign map, which offers near limitless replay value. Attach historical commanders to exploit their unique strengths (and avoiding their weaknesses), research and develop technology to gain an advantage against your enemies with superior technology such as airships, bombers and machine guns. Command 18 different types of unit types on the battlefield in your struggle to gain victory or stave off defeat. Players can also take the fight online against human opponents on Slitherine’s revolutionary PBEM++ system for easy matchmaking and setup.

Commander – The Great War features easy to learn, hard to master game play that is perfect for newcomers and experienced wargamers. The new engine has been developed from the ground up to support higher resolutions and widescreen monitors. Modders can take delight in utilizing the LUA scripting language to alter many aspects of the game from combat, research, terrain effects and more.

Along with the release of Commander – The Great War, a new features trailer has also been released and can be viewed on the Slitherine and Matrix Games YouTube channels. Subscribe to these channels to get the latest in gameplay videos, trailers, and more!

For more information on Commander – The Great War, visit the official product page on the Slitherine or Matrix Games website.

[The Stranger]

cool game :)

but if i may be so free :P

in my game the screen moves to the right bottom when i end turn it starts to process the ai decisions. also it seems to me that submarines atm are quite useless, they lose every fight and dont kill convoys in one attack or two.

would also be cool if you could plan offensives that include not just the frontline but the second line as well, right now you cant really use those units in the second line. and it seems to me that the upgrades in the management tab are quite expensive, atleast i havent been able to afford them, and it seems that the benefit is quite minimal.


i like it alot, its quite a challenge also :P so far starting in 1914 ive managed to overrun serbia, advance a bit in flanders but i can only hold vs russia. the front is so big and theyre units are actually good :S its funny that in 1915 its totally stuck on all fronts, but from there on i dont know how to advance.

[Myrddraal]

Hey The Stranger, thanks for trying the game!

It may be that your mouse is in the bottom right hand corner of the screen? Try moving you mouse to the centre of the screen after you press end turn.

Subs aren't particularly powerful, their advantage lies in stealth. Subs can't be attacked unless they attack first, so try to pick on isolated convoys. Don't use the to take on the enemy navy directly. In particular, avoid taking on the enemy navy within four hexes of one of their home ports. In this area they will get a significant bonus.

Support units like artillery, fighters and bombers can fire from the reserve line, but land units need to be adjacent to the enemy to attack.

Yes, the management upgrades are expensive. You need to hold back on unit production if you want to upgrade them.

I'm glad the AI is giving you a run for your money, it's my baby! :)

Let us know how you get on. It would be cool to hear your opinions (or maybe could I tempt you to try an AAR?).

[The Stranger]

Ive played some more now, the second attempt is going considerably better :P

1915
I'm at the gates of Paris but my momentum has come to a standstill(sounds familiar -_-). Luckily Belgium was quickly defeated! Italy has just joined the war and I have to send troops from Serbia into the Alps, thus my chances of defeating Serbia soon have evaporated. It's all quiet at the Eastern front, with just a few attacks here and there but no changes on the frontline since Russia decided to march. They did just bring a piece of artillery, which causes some concern. The Central Power's biggest weaknest is the front in Sinai, near the Red Sea where Turkey is fighting bravely, pushing back the initial british assault. They are however greatly outclassed, and England, making use of artillery and bomber runs is looking to deliver a crushing defeat there soon. Already one infantry regiment was destroyed, if the frontline breaks, only inferior levies will be available for Turkey.

1916
I'm still at the gates of Paris, for a brief moment of time our forces held the Arc de Triomphe, the briefest moment of hope. But it signalled a turning point in the war, Bulgaria joined our side to fight and weeks later Romania and Portugal joined the Entente to fight against us. Serbia fell somewhere inbetween freeing up armies for the new front at the east. In Italy the front is narrow and the advance slow but steady, oddly, the Italians have one of the most technically advanced armies of the moment. The front with Russia and France has stretched thin, both sides running out of reinforcements and supply. But the Axis seems to hold. Turkey has fought the UK to a standstill in Arabia and is quickly gaining land in Georgia and Armenia. Prepared for the coming war Bulgaria and the Hungarian veterans of the war with Serbia quickly overrun the borders of Romania. Bucharest is surrounded by Turkish garrison soldiers from Istanbul, the rest of the army pushed back against the shores of the Black Sea. Without artillery of any sort however, they were not able to capitalize on their initial momentum and the front has come to a familiar standstill.

With the arrival of bomber and fighter airplanes nd multiple artillery batteries on both sides, the war at the westernfront has gotten nasty, and it seems like the Germans are the nastiest. Rouen has fallen, the french army is even retreating slowly out of the Alsache where the front had not moved since the war broke out. Only the USA or a fullscale British invasion seems to be able to bring rescue.







That's my little miny AAR :P about the mechanics, I understand that submarines need the stealth but the vision they have is so limited, I can't really locate the convoys even though I'm camping the spot where I think they will pass. Perhaps a solution then would be to allow them more vision on the map, or more like a radar, a vague indication of that there are ships in a certain larger area, but not the exact location. Right now I have just 1 click and if can pass 2 hexes from a ship and I might miss it.

Nope it just goes there, even if my mouse is in the middle. I guess because my mouse is there when I push End Turn, but there is not hotkey for that.

Also I am a a bit confused about the upgrades for units, not all new units seem to come with the latest researched equipment. My hungarian troops are currently at lvl 4 in research but new units still come at lvl 2. But my new german artillery guns, also at lvl 4 do come at lvl 4. However my new german infantry, currently at V still comes out at lvl 3...

About the management upgrades, perhaps give a bigger boon? I understand that you will have to cut military production, but for just 1 extra ammo a turn its not worth it :S perhaps if it was 5?

The anti antillery ability seems quite ineffective to me, it needs +1 range or something. i get targeted down by artillery all the time and the battery just behind it doesnt return fire :S

[The Stranger]

This actually sounds quite good. I'll admit, I was skeptical, but I might have to check it out now.

too be honest, I think its a bit pricey, but sofar i've enjoyed it. besides its a ww1 game and made by a smaller company/orgahs, for that im willing to pay 10-15 extra and thus its well worth it. too bad it came out at the wrong date =_= i should be studying and sleeping instead of playing that game =_=

[Myrddraal]

I understand that submarines need the stealth but the vision they have is so limited, I can't really locate the convoys even though I'm camping the spot where I think they will pass. Perhaps a solution then would be to allow them more vision on the map, or more like a radar, a vague indication of that there are ships in a certain larger area, but not the exact location. Right now I have just 1 click and if can pass 2 hexes from a ship and I might miss it.

Keep moving. You'll stand a much better chance of spotting enemy convoys if you keep on the move, even if it's just moving up and down patrolling the same patch of sea, you effectively double your line of sight. It's also very effective if you can purchase more subs. If you have 2-3 subs each patrolling a different patch of sea, you can cover all the different approaches to the British isles and you'll usually spot the convoys. When one is spotted, you can then hit it with all your subs and take it out fairly quickly. Britain is very dependent on convoys, but watch out; the more convoys you sink, the sooner the USA will join the war.

New units should always come with all the latest techs. Are you sure your new units aren't fully upgraded?

I'm still at the gates of Paris, for a brief moment of time our forces held the Arc de Triomphe, the briefest moment of hope.

One thing to note, you don't actually have to take Paris to cause a lot of grief for the French. Each time you attack the city, it damages the city's production. Losing Paris' production causes a serious blow to the French ability to maintain their army. Actually taking the city, however briefly, will do a lot of damage to their production. You may not have thought it a big achievement, but that brief period when you held Paris will have done a lot of damage to the French economy. You can press the space bar to get a view of what the city's production is at the moment.

Edit: also taking Paris will have caused a major blow to French national morale.

Counter-battery fire kicks in if you're near the unit being bombarded. Hopefully that helps...

[The Stranger]

Keep moving. You'll stand a much better chance of spotting enemy convoys if you keep on the move, even if it's just moving up and down patrolling the same patch of sea, you effectively double your line of sight. It's also very effective if you can purchase more subs. If you have 2-3 subs each patrolling a different patch of sea, you can cover all the different approaches to the British isles and you'll usually spot the convoys. When one is spotted, you can then hit it with all your subs and take it out fairly quickly. Britain is very dependent on convoys, but watch out; the more convoys you sink, the sooner the USA will join the war.

New units should always come with all the latest techs. Are you sure your new units aren't fully upgraded?



One thing to note, you don't actually have to take Paris to cause a lot of grief for the French. Each time you attack the city, it damages the city's production. Losing Paris' production causes a serious blow to the French ability to maintain their army. Actually taking the city, however briefly, will do a lot of damage to their production. You may not have thought it a big achievement, but that brief period when you held Paris will have done a lot of damage to the French economy. You can press the space bar to get a view of what the city's production is at the moment.

Edit: also taking Paris will have caused a major blow to French national morale.

Counter-battery fire kicks in if you're near the unit being bombarded. Hopefully that helps...

ok ill try it, maybe theyre more effective in later scenarios but in the first one you cant really afford more of them :P also my own convoys are alot weaker than the ai ones, they come at 10 strength while mine have only 3 :S even with ships patrolling them i cant really protect the convoy though i can usually destroy the attacking ship to prevent the next few from threaths.

and the new troops eventually do come with the upgrades but it seems to take a little while. im not sure why that is, perhaps because i started making them before the tech finished, im not sure.


i didnt know that about the production, ill check it out. im winning the war tho :P

[Myrddraal]

The 'strength' of the convoy also corresponds to the amount of PP income it provides. The CP convoys are essentially smaller. They represent iron ore convoys from Sweden, and only give you 30 PPs when they arrive in port. The British convoys are strength 10 and provide 100PPs when they reach port. Each PP of damage you do to a convoy before it reaches port is PP denied to the enemy.

[The Stranger]

ah makes sense, thanks for that :P i was actually just wondering where these german convoys came from haha, but ofcourse sweden makes sene.


1917
The Axis are in a very secure position, still defending the gates of Paris, the Allies no longer seem to have the will or the recourses to defend the entire Western Front. Even their newly arrived Portuguese allies can do little to change that and the USA remains absent. Amping up their war effort for a finishing blow the Axis powers stream in troops to the western front, they ar tired but willing to give it their last all. Arabia rises in revolt, turned by the british against their former ottoman overlords. However the veterans of the Sinai war quickly destroy the illequiped but fanatic rebels. It will probably be the last time the world will ever see a cavalry against cavalry charge, the rebels lost but rode gloriously as they went down. With that threat quickly eliminated the Turkish commanders finally felt safe to move troops to the Eastern and Alpine fronts. The Italians defense were crumbling and the front no longer a wall of mud and concrete, became fluid, with the Italians trying to hold on to their last stronghold as the axis surrounded them. Its still quiet at the eastern front where nothing really changed since the start of the war. Koenigsberg is still holding out after 3 years of siege, their port being their lifeblood, convoys from Sweden and elsewhere stream in with precious materials.. The romanians have lost some land and gained it elswhere, Bucharest still under siege after a year. The war at the eastern front will soon be over though, now that Italy is close to falling, the key to the axis success, their superior artillery batteries, are moving to the east. It is a matter of time only...

1918
The USA joined the war, finally (because I declared war for the funz :P) Is it enough to turn the tide, can the yankees free Paris and relieve Rome from siege?

The german spring offensive completely shatters the allied resistance on the western front, already fell, but now even Verdun is completely surrounded and finally taken. With the front opened up, the axis opt for a new way of warfare as the first armored vehicles ride onto the battlefield, showing a glimpse of times yet to come.

The GI's land at Bordeaux in southern France, but it is too late and too little. The green american soldiers equipped with outdated weapons are no match for the triumphant veterans of the Somme valley and Flanders fields. Verdun has fallen and all remaining allied forces are trapped and out of supplies. Bucharest has finally fallen too under the might of Hungarian Artillery. Rome holds out proudly but her fate is sealed.

The loss of Bucharest have unleashed a zeal in the Romanian soldiers unlike seen before while they try to retake their capital with ferocious attacks leading what seems like the first major offensive on the eastern front since the war came to a standstill in the trenches.

It's summer 1918 and the Axis high command is making plans for a simultanious invasion of Russia and England. The slogan 'Home by Christmas' is again cautiously whispered among the ranks of soldiers. Will this Great War really know an end? And if so, are there any victors?

It's june 6th 1918 (I swear I do not make this up!!!), and the first 2 axis battalions land on the shores of England. Their objective is to secure foothold in the city of Norwich. They achieve their objective and try to hold on to their prize, but at what terrible cost. Already 4 veteran battalions have been annihilated. The good news is however, that Rome has finally fallen.


(im surprised there is no Russian rebellion, the tank also seems dissapointing, unable to kill a russian garrison unit, not even damage it :S OMG... landing troops with inferior navy is a nightmare...)

[Myrddraal]

The Russian revolution does exist in the game, but it is triggered by low Russian national morale. If you haven't really been pressurising the Russians, it's no surprise the revolution has been averted (or at least delayed).

[The Stranger]

Nice :P i guess thats why. The arabian revolution however wasnt triggered by low morale (or does it work different for players than for ai?)

im dissapointed by the tanks tho :S they do little damage and infantry without anti tank weapons easily damage the unit. i thought they would be a gamewinning unit like the artillery pieces!

also i captured sardinia, but holding the only city on the island is not enough to give me full supply, that seems a bit odd to me. Naval invasions in general, either im doing it wrong or its way too hard to land on foreign shore. Unless you take a city or a production capital with first initial landing you will be stuck without supplies, and even if you do manage to take a city it will only be on half supply. its impossible to defend against any counterpush.

btw is the game moddable?

I'm going to start another campaign soon, this one is finished. I have to say i enjoyed the game alot until now, it reminds me alot of a different game about the american civil war, also a hex based strategy game (although on a battlefield scale instead of a theatre of war scale). I forgot the name but i always wished to play that again, C:TGW has to do untill i find it again :P

i've been advertising for you guys on different sites ;)

[Myrddraal]

No you're right, the Arab revolt happens on a fixed date. The justification is that historically, the arab revolt wasn't really related to how badly the war was going for the Ottomans. The Russian revolution however was very much tied up with the economic and social effects of the ongoing war.

i've been advertising for you guys on different sites ;)

Thanks Word of mouth is incredibly important.

[The Stranger]

hmm the war ended inconclusively :S thats an anticlimax. I've defeated the allied army and taken both the french and italian homeland but they didnt surrender even though they had no more production capitals and couldnt make anymore stuff.

btw i edited my post before with some new questions :P sorry if i ask too much.

[Myrddraal]

Naval invasions in general, either im doing it wrong or its way too hard to land on foreign shore. Unless you take a city or a production capital with first initial landing you will be stuck without supplies, and even if you do manage to take a city it will only be on half supply. its impossible to defend against any counterpush.

Naval invasions are very hard to pull off. Historically, only the British Empire really tried it, and it was a disaster. Having said that, it seems you're missing a trick: Surface naval units (i.e. cruisers & battleships) can provide supply to friendly units on adjacent coastal hexes. When carrying out a naval invasion it is essential to bring a supporting fleet with you. This way, your beach-heads will remain in supply. Yes, to get supply further in land you'll have to capture a town, but naval supply can help you to capture a coastal town from which you can start your operations.

is the game moddable?

Very, very moddable. Large chunks of the game rules and UI behaviour are written in the lua scripting language. None of the graphical assets are packed in any propriety formats. All the stats are editable etc. We couldn't forget our roots .

[The Stranger]

ah yes, that trick i did not know and is indeed what i was missing :P

nice to know its moddable, i might mess around with that haha

[Myrddraal]

The Stranger, what difficulty level were you playing?

[The Stranger]

the balanced level, why? :) btw since had to do with the ai, what is the difference between balanced and priviliged? will the priviliged ai be smarter or will they just get stat bonusses? if the latter im not really interested in playing on privileged, if the former however :P

anyone up for a multiplayer game? ":P

1915 from the Entente POV

The war has turned into a stalemate. The French are making progress in the Alsache, and the British in Flanders. The Serbians are bravely holding against the Austro-Hungarians, and so are the Russians against the combined Axis forces, allthough the Russians are under alot more pressure. Unable to properly defend their huge empire, they had to yield some land in Armenia to the Ottomans.

The invasion of Gallipoli, off with a slow start, is now finally making progress, but the peninsula has yet to fall. The invasion from the Persian gulf went smoothly, but a strategic error cost the invasion force their lead and they got cut off from supplies and decimated. The same thing happened in Egypt, but the situation is less dire, but a huge setback none the less. Possibly they will have to start all over again.

The Italians have just joined the war, will that bring relief on the Eastern front?

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

First review of Commander: The Great war from 7idgaming (German), gives a 84%!


http://7idgaming.de/content.php?182-...eat-War-REVIEW




Tip: if necessary use Google Translate or similar.

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

Next review of Commander: The Great war from Strategyprime 4/5 stars!

http://www.strategyprime.net/command...at-war-review/

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun like Commander: The Great War!


http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012...y-of-fumbling/




Quote:


I’m about halfway through my first 118-turn Commander: The Great War campaign at present, and can’t recall enjoying a grand-strategic WWI title more. Lordz seem to have judged the scale, pace and workload just about perfectly.

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

Commander The Great War review at The Wargamer.


It is also highly addictive and 'fun' to play, (I’m always a bit leery of using words like fun in conjunction with wargaming) but all credit to The Lordz Studios/Slitherine/Matrix. They have produced a great title, and one that is extremely enjoyable. My advice is to go and buy if you are interested; you are going to be in for a bumpy but fantastic and immensely fulfilling ride!


http://www.wargamer.com/article/3278...-the-great-war

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

Help and spread the word about Commander: The Great War on Facebook:


http://www.facebook.com/matrixgamesl...08195102528120


Thanks!

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

CTGW v1.14 Public Beta is now available at Matrix.
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3233080

Hello All,
We have an update in the works for Commander - The Great War. It is in the Matrix Members Club. you will need to Register your game, if it has not been already. It includes a number of fixes for bugs found since release, plus some other changes and new events.

Please give it a try, and let us know how it works for you.


v1.1.4 – Dec 6, 2012


Bug Fixes:
Spelling fixes
Tsaritsyn city location fixed (behind Volga)
Easiest AI (handicapped) will now correctly receive penalty instead of bonus!
Can no longer detach enemy commanders
Map terrain & railroad fixes
Can no longer swap armoured trains to hexes without a railroad
"At War" Commander requirement no longer checked if nation is still neutral.
Evert (Russian Commander) bonus changed to reflect his description.
Calculation of remaining turns for technologies displayed in research tab fixed.
Fixed Italy surrenders message
Fixed Airships inability to attack revealed submarines


Changes:
German counter colour changed (darker) to differ more from Russians
Convoy kills are counted as naval kills (in stats & Commander requirements)
Combat penalty for amphibious attacks decreased.
1915 Scenario: Entente AI will attempt Gallipoli invasions.
Early submarines deal less damage to convoys.
Anti-sub upgrades rebalanced.
Battleship cost reduction, naval unit upkeep reduced.
Improved opening moves for Austria-Hungary AI, emphasising on outflanking attempt
German AI now pushes harder in France.
Central Powers AI builds more subs.
AI defends the USA and Britain better if these are the only surviving nations.


Additions:
Morale penalty for disbanding a Battleship + event message.
Capture events for Rome, Milan, Madrid, Sofia & Washington
Several events for Greece''''s part in the war.

[lars573]

Eeeeewwwww! Hex based strategy games. Do not want!

[Veho Nex]

Back to your bridge troll!

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

Commander The Great War review from Wargamer France:


http://www.wargamer.fr/commander-the...r-grignoteurs/

“The developers worked hard to integrate innovative concepts in a proven system”
“The Great War is very well depicted and the game will please both the newcomers and the expert wargamers”

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

Commander: The Great War Updated to v1.1.4


http://www.thelordzgamesstudio.com/s...ted-to-v1-1-4/

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

Commander – The Great War – Reviewed!


http://www.gametheorycast.com/commander-the-great-war/


To summarize my summary, if you are a fan of strategy games, I believe this is one that must not be passed up on. Play it, learn it, then dominate in Commander – The Great War!

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

Gamershall gives Commander: The Great War 84%!


http://www.gamershall.de/index.php?p...-the-great-war


(Tip for non-German readers: use Google translate http://translate.google.com/)

Quote:

I was quite fast showing an addictive behavior, so I can heartily recommend Commander: The Great War to any passionate PC general.

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

Commander: The Great War and Panzer Corps: Afrika Korps win prizes at GrogHeads 2012 Readers’ Choice Game of the Year Awards!

Quote:

Digital Strategic Wargame of the Year:


The top three digital strategic wargames of 2012 were all Slitherine productions. World War One games have long been absent from digital wargamers’ hard drives, but Commander: The Great War offered ease of play for an era long neglected the result earned it first place in our voting. Panzer Korps: Afrika Korps, a remake of the classic Panzer General, drew strong second place voting and cemented The Lordz Games Studio as a major wargame player, having released two highly significant and popular games in the same year.

Digital Game of the Year:

Third place went to Panzer Korps: Afrika Korps, and with it a major coup for both publisher Slitherine and developer The Lordz Games Studio.


More Slitherine and Matrix titles fell into the prizes, read more here:

www.grogheads.com