Strategy and Wargaming

Matrix Games have published the first Blog Post on Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe.

Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe is the ground-breaking next step in the highly acclaimed Strategic Command series of turn based strategy games. Building on the success of previous versions covering both world wars, Strategic Command is returning the series to its roots as a hex based game, complete with a new engine, new graphics, and lots of new features too!

This latest Strategic Command game retains the best of the previous games in the series, including their accessibility and ease of play, while adding a whole lot more!

Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe is currently in Beta. You can apply for it here.

Middle East! Once a place of advanced civilizations, now is a land plagued by dozens of cruel conflicts. Technology has made possible for small armies to deliver devastating blows to unprepared enemies and, as a consequence, new military canons have been introduced, innovating the entire warfare.

Campaign Series: Middle East 1948-1985 is a turn-based, tactical wargame that focuses on conflicts in the Middle East and today it has received its first major update!

Version 1.02 is now available and it brings a lot of improvements and incredible additions! The graphics have been overhaul improved (in both 3D and 2D mode), several new scenarios have been introduced, the Ode to Arab-Israeli Wars scenario mod has been included, and more!

The changelog is very long, so be sure to check it here!

Download the update and get into action now!

Get more information on Campaign Series: Middle East 1948 – 1985 from its official product page.

Prepare for the battle which shaped the fate of America: Gettysburg: The Tide Turns is coming soon on PC and Steam!

Gettysburg: The Tide Turns, is a turn-based wargame where players will be able to take command of Union or Confederate forces in the iconic battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863.

The game is easy to learn thanks to its clear and minimalistic interface but it is challenging for its innovative activation system. Inspired by board-games, the turn system randomizes when each division moves and fights so each replaying of the famous battle will feel different from the previous one. You will need to learn how to react to ever changing tactical situations.

With tons of period units including infantry, cavalry and artillery and an accurately recreated order of battle, your decisions and military performances will play a crucial role in defining the outcome.

The game will soon go into Beta, and if you’d like to contribute to the bug-fixing process, you can apply here!

Lead your army, face your enemy and win the battle!

More game information, a teaser trailer and screenshots are available on the Gettysburg: The Tide Turns official webpage.

Thirty Years’ War has been updated to version 1.01 and this update it’s very huge!

A lot of improvements and bug fixes have been added, enhancing the game’s experience significantly!

Among all the changes, now the cost for Protestant Artillery have been reduced, the AI behaviour during winter months is improved (now she can look for a city to pass the winter months if she has supply problems) and now during sieges you have to be careful about the “desease event”!

Take a look at the entire changelog following this link!

You can download the update from here.

More game information is available on the official Thirty Years’ War webpage.

Source: Blue’s News

Paradox Interactive announces what they call the grand success of their recent grand strategy releases. They explain: “Hearts of Iron IV, Paradox’s recently released World War II-themed grand strategy game, has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide in less than two weeks after its release, making it the publisher’s fastest-selling historical strategy game to date. Stellaris, the developer’s first sci-fi grand strategy title, has now sold over 500,000 copies worldwide in just over a month since its release in early May. Finally, Europa Universalis IV, Paradox’s iconic world-conquest grand strategy game, has now sold over 1 million copies worldwide, not including sales of expansions and other downloadable content (DLC) for the core game.” They celebrate the news with the release of free musical DLC for Europa Universalis IV and plans for a livestream later today:

To celebrate these milestones, Paradox is offering a new musical add-on for Europa Universalis IV to all players for free for a limited time. Starting today and lasting through July 4, 2016, the new DLC “Fredman’s Epistles” can be downloaded from Steam at no charge, adding a collection of traditional Swedish songs from the 18th century to the game’s soundtrack. The songs, arranged from original works by famed Swedish poet and songwriter Carl Michael Bellman, provide an authentic piece of Swedish culture to Europa Universalis IV, perfect for taking on the world as a Scandinavian superpower. Following the limited free release, Fredman’s Epistles will remain available for 1.99$ from digital retailers.

To further celebrate the one million Europa Universalis IV players the developers will host a special stream on June 21st, 15.00-18.00 CEST, where they will play the oldest available version of the game and talk about its’ development.

Black clouds are gathering over the horizon. For the second time in less than thirty years, Europe is on the brink of another terrible conflict. There is no more room for diplomacy, and mobilization orders have been sent in every nation.

Which side will you choose when the time comes?

Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe is a deeply immersive turn based strategy game covering the greatest conflict in modern history, with a heavy focus on realism and global cooperation.

The game is about to enter Beta and you can help in giving the final touches by applying here!

In the meantime, feast your eyes on this full set of screenshots, featuring Normandy before D-Day, Italian troops in the Mediterranean Sea, US fleet on patrol and more!

If you like large scale strategy this is the game for you!

Get more information about Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe from its official product page!

The expansion for the acclaimed real-time wargame Scourge of War: Waterloo is finally here!

Scourge of War: Quatre Bras will put you in command of the French forces of the Armée du Nord, or the British and their allies led by the Duke of Wellington, in the battle that more than others influenced the outcome of Waterloo!

It’s up to you now! Will you fight to change history?

Grab the game here!

Scourge of War: Quatre Bras is available also on Steam!

You fought on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in Order of Battle: Pacific, but now the war is global!

Order of Battle: World War II, formerly known as Order of Battle: Pacific, is a bigger project with a wider scope and the goal of featuring multiple fronts of World War II, and it is OUT NOW!

It is available to everyone for free: it contains the initial bootcamp missions plus the first scenario of every DLC Campaign, and they are completely free. Players will be able to try the game, play several scenarios and decide if they’d like to get the DLC Campaign.

The original campaigns of Order of Battle: Pacific are now split into two different DLCs:

• The Order of Battle: U.S. Pacific DLC, featuring the American campaign.
• The Order of Battle: Rising Sun DLC, featuring the Japanese campaign.

Important: if you already own Order of Battle: Pacific you will be given these two DLCs, Rising Sun and U.S. Pacific, and retain any other DLC you already own!

Stay tuned for more news in the future: the expansion Winter War is in development, and there are plans for more amazing content…

Grab Order of Battle: WW II via the Matrix Games webstore, or on Steam.

Good news! Victory and Glory: Napoleon has been updated to version 1.0.1, bringing several improvements and bug fixes!

Among all, now there is no activation cost for moving Generals, the strategic AI has been drastically improved and Russia is more aggressive than before!

Take a look at the full list of changes below!

You can download the patch from here.

Get more information of Victory and Glory: Napoleon from its product page!

Liked the game? Leave a review on Steam!

Changelog:

• Generals’ names appear on their tiles
• Generals may now move for free on their own (no activation cost).
• Players may discard Event Cards when their hand gets full and they can accordingly draw a different card if desired.
• When a nation’s capital is taken, there is a percentage chance that it will surrender every turn that it is occupied. This means that nations will hold out longer and have a better chance to re-capture their capital and to receive help from other nations before surrendering. This applies to the ‘General’ and ‘Emperor’ levels of difficulty.
• The Friendly Neutral period has been extended from 6 to 9 turns (‘Corporal’ level of difficulty only).
• Improved strategic AI on re-taking capitals
• Improved strategic AI for Russia: Being more aggressive in driving more armies into Austria and Prussia
• Improved tactical AI
• Adding a combat bonus for Cavalry vs. Disordered Cavalry. This means that attacking infantry with cavalry is more dangerous if there is enemy cavalry in the same area.
• ‘Passing’ in the advanced battles. When the player ‘passes’, the AI automatically wins initiative for the next move.
• The 1800 scenario now lasts until 1815
• A few small improvements in the strategic AI dealing with Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
• There is now a small political cost when France declares war. The exact cost depends on the level of difficulty.
• A few minor reliability fixes.
• Improvements in user control over the game’s hardware preferences.

Experiencing the finer points of all-out war in a truly grand strategy simulation.

By TJ Hafer, IGN 

Hearts of Iron 4 is an incredibly complex World War II simulation that will require potentially hundreds of hours to master, both in-game and poring over wiki articles that read like an economics textbook. And as someone eager to invest that kind of time into a game as long as it continues to reward me with new layers of depth, I consider that a very good thing. Thanks to an unusually striking look and clean, easily navigable interface, the biggest challenges we Hearts of Iron 4 presents us with are the good kind: strategic planning, division composition, and fine-tuning economic and political policies. The payoff is brilliant for those willing to put in the time to learn.

Read on…