I used to play the original game for Win 3.1 (or was it DOS ) back in the 90's.

Now I see 2 versions - Harpoon Commander's Edition, and Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare. Would someone be kind enough to explain to me what the differences are?

Thanks.

The edition you played was Harpoon (now called Classic). The latest edition of that venerable game is called Harpoon Classic Commanders' Edition.

The other version of computer Harpoon is called Harpoon3: Advanced Naval Warfare. Both games are incompatible with each other. They have separate databases, game engines, and scenarios. However, both try to simulate naval warfare in different ways. Good analogies might be the similarity between squash and racquetball. Both are played in similar ways, similar equipment, similar court, but the resulting games are quite different.

Since you have already played the Harpoon Classic version, you generally know how it runs. If you want a demo of Harpoon ANW, you can find it here:

http://computerharpoon.com/public/Harpoon_3_Gouge_Demo_3.exe

I have both games and play both.

Thanks.

Does the modern day version of the classic have updated databases & modern scenarios, reflecting current geopolitics? Or is it still stuck in the late 80's early 90's cold war era?

Very modern.

The HCDB is maintained by Brad Leyte and he keeps it up-to-date with the latest weaponry and platforms. The scenarios are also very modern with guys even trying to write a Georgian scenario at this very moment!

Also, the WestPac battleset covers a part of the world previously unavailable to HC players and the new Battleset function allows designers to make scenarios in any part of the world. The Falklands battleset was just released a few months ago.

I read recently that Matrixgames will stop supporting HarpoonANW probably by the end of this year as they are planning to release a completely new version eventually and don't want to pay to support what is basically a broken game that will never be fully fixed when they should be spending the money on a new version instead. Knowing that, I would not buy HarpoonANW now because it will probably never be bug free.

I believe that this is the message to which you are referring. I don't think it was a definitive decision to end bug-fixing at the end of this year. However, the rate at which they add new problems is still faster than the rate at which they fix bugs, IMO. Unless they fix their process, it won't matter what version number they put on it. The end result will still be the same.

Yes, that is what I was referring to. Oh well, I still have my original Harpoon Classic for Windows cdrom. I still have original HarpoonII also on disk with original manual and I would like to buy HarpoonANW but I see too many complaints about bugs so never buy it.

Why don't you post about your reluctance to buy the game due to the bugs on Matrix?

I don't think they visit SimHQ that much. Other folks have been telling them the problems, but it probably helps to hear it from potential new customers, too. It's YOUR money they want. Not mine.

Hey Herman, if you think HarpoonANW is unplayable due to bugs then why do you make scenarios for it?

Personally, I don't write scenarios specifically for Harpoon ANW. I write them for Harpoon3 (the previous version). It is far more stable and less buggy. It has its problems but, when compared to the problems in ANW, they pale in significance.

The scenarios I (and some others) write for Harpoon 3 may run in ANW, but there is no guarantee (unless it is specifically reported to be tested with the ANW engine). The scenarios specifically tested with ANW can be found: http://www.harplonkhq.com/Harpoon/ANWscenlist.htm

The scenarios released for H3 can be found: http://www.harplonkhq.com/Harpoon/H3scenlist.htm

As you can see, the H3 list is significantly longer.

Speaking only for myself, I don't care if they run in ANW or not. I test my scenarios for the version (H3) that works. If they happen to run in ANW, that's a bonus. I, personally, don't test them with ANW.

However, some kind hearts (usually those folks who have no access to H3) will take the scenarios and test them in ANW. If they report that it works in ANW, that's good enough for me and I tell others about it. Otherwise, I only release a scenario for H3 and make no claims or promises whatsoever of compatibility with ANW unless someone has actually tested it in ANW.