I just bought this today, and also got Phase One with it for free.

Anyone else play the Panzers series? If so, care to divulge any tactics, stuff to try in game, etc?

Nearly a month with no replies, so I guess nobody here plays this?

If anyone's thinking of buying it, then do so. A very entertaining WW2 RTS, in my opinion.
I'm still playing through phase-1 and I'm looking forward to some more Panzer action in the North African desert, as soon as I finish with phase-1 and move onto phase-2.

I have Phase One and I like it, but as with all RTS games, I eventually reach a point where I get frustrated with in-game situations which amount to nothing less then chaos. I stopped playing on the mission where I have to go and rescue some squad at a school, (I think that's what it was), and you have to haul butt to get there. Of course, you end up losing lots of elite units in a rush to make it in time.

There are other missions like this one and in the end I always feel that I have no real control over the situation. I guess I am getting to old for this kind of click fest... :p

Hi Demonic,

I'm not up to that mission yet, but I don't like the sounds of it from what you've said.
I also usually don't like timed missions, not just in RTS games but in any game. The few timed missions I have done in phase-1, haven't been too daunting so far. I just did the one where you have to retake the train station (within 4 mins) then clear the bridge for the train in your own time... I loved it, made me think of what Blitzkrieg actually means as I stormed the train station
When I get to that mission you mentioned, there must be a way not to loose your elite units I would have thought? Perhaps lots of air strikes?

*edit: Before the edit, I asked you where the unit experience multipliers are displayed (couldn't find em in the manual), but I've just found out that the experience-adjusted stat's are displayed in the unit buying screen.
Lol Demonic, I can relate to that. I've never liked a click fest in any RTS game I've played at any age of my life. I tend to not real-time this or any real-time game, but instead treat them more as a traditional turn-based game by using the pause and command function a lot. It's a good job I have no interest in playing RTS games online, actually thinking about it, this is why I don't play online, lol
The good thing about Panzers, is that once you've given the order, the AI is pretty competent in looking after itself. No need to constantly baby-sit your units, checking that what they're doing is what they should be doing.

Hey Demonic,

I've just done that mission where you have to reinforce the troops at the school, it's the Stalingrad mission.
It's also the last mission in the Axis campaign, so it doesn't matter if you loose some elite units, if this is the one you mean?

Considering the number of real-world 'elite' units lost in the battle of Stalingrad, I can live with the casualty rate in the game, it makes it more realistic... In a computer gamey kinda way. However, it wasn't actually that bad. I only lost 2 Panzer units and 6 Infantry units in total during this mission. I thought it was a nice way to end the Axis campaign, with a bang, so to speak.

Really enjoyed my first Panzers campaign as the Axis. Going to do the the Soviet then Western Allies campaign next. Then it's onto phase-2 and my favourite theatre of WW2 Tank warfare... North Africa.
There's a lot of missions here for the single player in this series, which I think is great.

Does this one have Starforce too?

Hi Eclipse,

I'm afraid it does
You can use a no cd crack and then remove the Starforce drivers.
However, I'm loath to discuss Starforce further, because... well you know and everybody else knows why. Also I would hate to compromise the relationship that SimHQ has with Developers because of this subject.

I tried the demo and didn't like it the first time around (though Blitzkrieg was sort of fun). Maybe I aught to give the demo another try . . .

Thanks Hengist, that's all I needed to know.

I read somewhere that the Panzers series, is more popular in Europe than in the Americas. Strange if true, is it in the shops over there?

For whatever reason, historically themed strategy and RTS games seem more popular on "the continent" than elsewhere. Not the use of the term "historically-themed;" its been my impression that true, historically accurate wargames (i.e. Civil War Bull Run, Close Combat, Combat Mission) are as or more popular in North America than in Europe. When it comes to "light gaming," though, Europeans are more likely pick up something along the lines of Codename Panzers or Imperial Glory, whereas American tend toward FPS and violent RPGs.

Hey Hengist,

please give some impressions of the phase II Vs phase I when you have time. I own phase one and like it, although i also hate it when i have to click too much on far apart areas of the map to keep things in control. I'm only halfway through the german campaign though.

Bongokid

Wilco Bongo,

I've just started the third and last campaign in Phase One, the Allied Campaign and the invasion of Normandy.

As soon as I've finished it, I'll be playing Phase Two and I'll report back asap.

I picked up Phase 1 used for $19.99. I feel like I payed $19 too much.

The German campaign was rather fun, as it kept the friendly to enemy ratio somewhat managable. The voice actor for the German hero did a rather good job too.

However, the Soviet and Allied campaign are an economy size order of suck. I inflict a 10 to 1 loss ratio on the enemy and still getting my ass kicked. It's like the level designers just copied and pasted enemy units over the entire map for the Allied campaigns.

I had more fun with the Great Battles of WWII: Stalingrad Demo. It's nice to not have to pound the reload mission key every time you lose a single tank or worry about some ham fisted "hero" getting his tank stuck in the scenery while being pelted with panzerfausts.

I'm holding out hope that Officers will fill the niche of a RTS game with a heavy dash of realism.

Yeah, it must be because the levels are badly designed

from what i experience in the german campaign, in the last missions your kill ratio should rather be in the 50-60/1. The trick is to win every squirmish with minimal loss, repair your tanks, and then go for the next fight. I've found that infantry is a real asset for detection of enemies at long range, if you use it well you can then pound the enemy well before they respond.
I usually end a map with a few infantry losses but no armour or vehicle lost.


I still haven't reached the soviet and Us campaign though...

Cheers,

Bongokid

Oh no, the level design is wonderful! I love having an AI controled hero plop himself in the middle of a firefight, get himself killed, and cause me to fail the mission.

And I can't get enough of rat maze style levels so cramped that my tanks and infantry get caught in continual traffic jams and I get to spend more time playing traffic cop than General.

Not to mention taking on half the German army while armed with nothing but 2 unicycles
and a sling shot is fun! The only thing funner is beating half the German army with 2 unicycles and a sling shot and then having an AI controled hero get himself killed when the other half of the German army shows up. :rolleyes:

Oh well, At least I got some nifty music out of the bonus materal. Makes for nice listening while playing Combat Mission...

P.S. A fellow in multi-player did set me straight.
Forget about tanks and infanty and all that combined arms rot. Buy as much SP artillary as you can and a few support units and not even God himself can stop you. Of course, no amount of M7s were a match for the uninstall button.

Well KSB you certainly sound like the uninstall buton was the right solution for you.

For my part i find the game extremely fun and haven't had to rely on tactics based on gameplay flaws to win.

Too bad the game didn't manage to satisfy your expectations, at least you did not pay the full initial price.

Cheers,

Bongokid

One of my favourite tactics, so far, is the following...

Scout out enemy using a Sniper unit with Binoculars (so the enemy is unaware of your recon).
Equip Riflemen with Landmines and lay a Minefield at a suitable spot.
Form a defensive line with two groups of Tanks.
Place Artillery behind the Tanks, with infantry as a guard/reserve force.
When ready, use a Recon vehicle to lure the enemy to your pre-prepared ambush point.

The enemy armour will loose it's tracks in the mindfield and become disabled.
Open up with the Artillery.
Send the two groups of Tanks to engage both wings of the enemy attack group.
Sprinkle lightly with a little Carpet Bombing and throw in some Carpet Artillery strikes as required.
Mop-up with the reserve infantry.

That's just one tactic I use. There are many different ways to achieve the objectives in the missions. The more I find out about the game (i.e. At first I didn't know that Infantry could lay Minefields), the more tactics I like to try and use.

I came across this Panzers tactic guide at wargamer, if anyone's interested?

Codename: Panzers Keys to Success

"Introduction

If players so choose, they can play most tactical World War II RTS games with little or no finesse; just get all forces in one place and overwhelm the enemy. These tactics are guaranteed to fail in Codename: Panzers. Below are some hints that players should use to make their experience with this fine game richer."