Yeap, it´s that great time of the year when Matrix Games starts it´s holiday sales

From the 21st. of this month, till Jan. 13th. 2019. Up to 90% off on some of there titles. Recent new releases are not on sale...

Enjoy your purchases!

Matrix Games Store

Red

Grigsby's War in the East, normally $70, on sale for $24. War in the West, normally $80, on sale for $30. Great deals! I will definitely pick up War in the West. And maybe a few more. Has anyone tried Armored Brigade yet?

I beta tested it, and just bought it now, but it´s not on sale, I had a small discount as a beta tester. Also downloaded Desert War 1940-1942 of which I have to do a review/aar of soonish for Matrix Games.

This year i got GG War in the West, The Operational Art of War IV and Command Silent Service. So basically i have my hands full for the whole 2019

Good choices! Iam on the fence (been for awhile) with "Silent Service", for next month. With Armored Brigade being the "CMANO" of land warfare in some way, Iam therfore missing the maritime modern warfare. Always been a fan of Janes "Fleet Command", and played that alot back in 2000, including MP with the folks from Seawolves, a none exsisting community now. I have Harpoon, but the outdated UI and stuck at a low res put´s me off. I would rather play "Harpoon High Tide" but Bond and Co. are working on a newer version of v4, they just seem to be at it for to long now LOL!

Enjoy your games!

It´s worth saying that for those who don´t have the more expensive Matrix Games titles, like War in the East or West, War in the Pacific, CMANO or World in Flames, now is a good time to pick those up. Plenty of good discounts with the rest of there catalog too.

and NO, I don´t work for Matrix/Slitherine

Red

I picked Silent Service as a smoother entry into Command. I have CMANO with Northern Inferno and Chains of War but missions and campaigns there are a bit overwhelming. Focusing just on subs might be a good start for doing bigger things.

Armored Brigade is on my wishlist. Bit to expensive for me now but i'll definitely pick it up at some point.

Didn't know that newer version of Harpoon is on the way. I find it a bit odd since there's CMANO.

How do you like AB? And as a brand new release I suppose it was wishful thinking that it would be in the sale.

I see...

Well, sub sonar and ASW are not easy to master, and some thought is need to understand how it all fits in, but I guess it could be easier then a full blown sub-surface-air encounter. I do have Northern Inferno, but I do prefer ASW, so theres my interest for Silent Service.

The new version of the Harpoon 4 "rules set", is not for PC, It´s for the tabletop (miniature or not) version of Harpoon...

Harpoon 4

Ahoy!

Sorry for the delay, cooking lunch at present and had to attend.

Yes, new releases are never on sale with there Holiday sales, but hey whishing is free That´s why I went ahead and bought it, because till there "summer sale", it wont be discounted, even then, it wont be as big discount as there holiday sale which is once a year.

I personally like AB alot, aside from some other reasons like the battle generator, data base editor and other goodies, the main reason is it´s lethality!

By this I mean that even in the cold war era, weapons, and warfare in general is lethal. In any footage of modern land warfare, or if you ever played Steel Beast, or even CMBS or CMSF, you know that if your hit, your most likely destroyed/dead/inoperative. Weapons are lethal, and you find that in Armored Brigade. If your spotted by the OPFOR, your most likely dead, by that I mean there isn´t that much "random CRT" dice rolls in the background as in some wargames. Sure there are some, because you don´t always have perfect aim/LOS/track, but for the most part, if they see you (spot), your done for!

Which is how it is in real life. You also have more control over your units, as opposed to CMANO or CMSF. Although you have most of the options (in gameplay) that these formentioned have, I find it easier to play/manage. Tacticaly, one could argue with the AI, but I find that NO AI is perfect. Overall I think the AI does a good job, and if your not to demanding, some input on your own always helps, by that I mean "understanding/flexible" on behalf of both sides.

Really enjoying it, and to be honest, I was looking forward to AB since the free version came out some years ago.

Red

Thanks Red, and no worries. Sounds good, although my wargame cup currently runneth over, and especially so once I pick up WitW.

Is there a campaign in AB, or does the generator only make 'scenarios'?

My pleasure!

There´s fifteen scenarios ready made to choose from, and a campaign in the works. Aside from the battle generator. You also have "mods" and user made "scenarios" in the forum. Not much yet but they will fill up over time Iam sure...

Armored Brigade Matrix Forum

Red

Not sure if it still uses the algorithm for the 'two parameter' accuracy/pen with range I proposed and was in use for the later 'free' versions though - as I have been out of the loop since Veittika started on the retail development, but based on the last version I have played:

In AB if you have composite armour, you get *some* survivability at longer range and directly to the frontal arc. Terrain masking and keyholing allow you to fight with these heavier vehicles, but almost everything will one hit kill them with flanking hits, even with significant angle off.

Thermal imaging gives a standoff in poor visibility which can be exploited, but firing signatures will attract return fires and artillery, including Illum, to aid spotting. NATO has a range and accuracy advantage, generally, but Warpact has adequate performance and some 'high tech' solutions - e.g. the GL-ATGM of the appropriate T64/T72B/T80 and upgraded T55/T62 variants.

Infantry is deadly because at the shorter ranges of engagement and restricted LOS terrain, the shots will come from many directions, it is hard to spot and hard to kill quickly.

I pulled the trigger on boxed versions of GG WotS, GG WitW, and GG Torch. All run under XP and with the sale, it is about the same as download. There was a problem with my card. I assume it was because I added credits to that card that morning.

I will try again after posting this. If it fails again, I will call the bank. I have the paper and want these games.

But, I have a few questions. Can the boxed versions be given away after purchase? An old friend had a father who earned the silver star at Iwo. He quit playing SP2 when it became unplayable on faster CPUs, but we played older Combat Mission games until a few years ago. Is GG WitP similar to SP2? He has Win10. Is the Admiral's edition the version I should give him?

Shipping of the boxed editions is reasonable, but being cheep, I would prefer to make one order if tonight's order fails.

I also have to order HeinKill's book as a gift. Christmas is so soon.

Hi Brit44,

I don´t think there should be any problem by gifting a box version to a friend. Matrix Games does not use a DRM system, but just In case, you could always ask there support team. Worst case would be that your friend "might" need to be registerd on Matrix/Slitherine. I know for a fact that you can give someone on the forum (that you don´t know, but is registerd) a catalog game as a gift, but you have to do it via there support team if it´s a download. (It´s not like Steam)

Personally, I would not take the time to post here if I did not think Matrix/Slitherine was/is a great company, by that I mean Iam sure that if you contact them, they will sort you out and fufill your needs. They might take a few days to get back as there right in the start of there holiday sales, but they will get to you. It even happens on weekends

The only thing I would like changed from Matrix, is there outdated forum system. Slitherine by the way is better, but since day one I have always posted on the Matrix forum.

Yes, I red they had some issues lately with the "overflow" of there server´s (sale), and should be fixed by now.

--

With regards to AB, yes as stated above by Lieste, AB does take into account hulldown/ERA/armour hit box/dug-in ect, as a good game should. Hopefully, it will just get better, if the nature of the beast allows it (game engine), as ppl give more feedback.

Red

Matrix has a serial number system. The serial number for the game is on the DVD (well it was when I last bought anything from them). You probably also will get the serial number when you get the purchase confirmation. Thus, you can take your physical copy and wrap it up and gift it to your buddy.

Yeap, S/N are on the DVD hard copies, and also sent to your purchase mail...
You can also register your game in your "Register Game" user hub.

IIRC, WitP Admiral Edition needed a patch/update in order to work with newer screen resolutions. I remember having two .exe´s on my desktop, one with the original install, and another with the resolution fix. Not sure if it still works like that, but here´s a link...
WitP Resolution Change

It´s worth reading, as this is a old game and most of us are now on W10 and some care is needed to get it to work...

The patch is the 07 Unofficial Public Beta 1126b (other official patches might be needed beforhand)...
07 Unofficial Public Beta Patch 1126b

Back to the OP, I just bought "Command Silent Service" aswell

Red

Official War in the Pacific Admiral Edition patches...



Red

I have been a fan since WWIISP. This is why I am purchising my first "new" games since the early 2000s.
My ordering problem was related to my bank locking my card for perceived fraud problems last October. Thank you both for your input and I wish you grand holidays.
Allen

Your welcome Allen, and if in any doubt, just give me a call and I´ll see if I can be of help. May you enjoy your new games and your holidays too! Thank you.

Just a heads-up for all with CMANO, new update is available v1.14.16, can be updated via your auto-updater in your game launcher...
CMANO update v1.14.16

Your game UI should look like this (build 998.16)...



Red

Once the card block was cleared, the order process was painless. I went ahead and ordered the WitP-A as well as the WitW, WitWTorch, WbtS. All were boxed editions.

The price of the games was exceptional with the sale. The cost of the boxed editions is understandable and acceptable. But, the one thing that bothered me was the increase in shipping by the number of games I added to the order. Adding WitP-A added $10 shipping for a total of $30 shipping.

This purchase is my Christmas gift from my mother, so I have no right to complain, but Matrix may want to revisit there shipping policies for a single order.

I know I will receive more enjoyment from these games, and the gifting of WitP-A, then the $171 total bill, but somehow I feel my shipping costs helped to subsidize the holiday sale price. It is simply my perception that you would be better served to factor the cost into the boxed version price then into the shipping.

Do not read this wrong, I am an independent mechanic who understands the necessity of profit, I am simply giving my impressions of the ordering and billing process.