Warhammer 40K: Armageddon computer game

[Captain Bubonicus]

Have y'all seen this? It just launched on Steam yesterday - it's the familiar battle for Armageddon with Steel Legion and Space Marines vs. Orks. It's a turn-based, hex-based wargame, so it's a lot like playing Panzer General or similar games, but in a 40K setting.

It's discounted until Dec. 3 - I paid $30 USD for it. I'm playing through the tutorial levels now, and so far it's pretty much like the other classic turn-based wargames, only with a nice variety of 40K units and decent unit animations. Some things aren't well-explained in the tutorial (there are command units, but I'm not sure how they're different from other units?) but it comes with an e-manual that probably would tell me if I bothered to look.

Here's the official website:

http://www.slitherine.com/games/warhammer_PC

Anyway - it's out there, it's standard You-Go-I-Go fare, it runs smoothly on my older laptop, and crisping things with flamer troops is FUN.

[Captain Bubonicus]

Played a bit more before I went to bed last night - there are an awful lot of units available (and you can upgrade your existing units between missions), but the manual is pretty cursory and doesn't explain some important things - I had to learn some pretty basic game functions by trial-and-error. The developer does have forums devoted to the game on their online site, so I might go there and see if I can get some more guidance.

There's a scenario creator/editor included with the game which looks like it'll give it a LOT of replay value - and maybe let you play as the Orks as well. You can also play online against another player in the old "play by mail" style where you can have ongoing games as each player takes their turn at their leisure.

Anyway, looks good so far. If I see any more features or random weirdness, I'll post 'em.

[Captain Bubonicus]

Forums were very helpful - username kerensky offered this list of tips that weren't explained very well in the manual:

1 When spending Points, remember to keep a healthy reserve for issuing replacements and also for replacing units destroyed in action! Don't spend all your points up front during the deploy phase unless you really want to go all in!
2 Infantry require cover to operate effectively, even when on the offensive!
3 Artillery units are excellent when used to soften up a tough or well defended enemy from a safe distance!
4 Most weapons can fire across multiple hexes, but most weapons also lose accuracy when firing from longer distances!
5 If a weapon has a range indicator such as 2-3, it means the weapon only fire at those ranges and cannot fire at range 1!
6 Pay attention to weapon graphics, they are strong indicator of exactly which weapons are actually firing!
7 Infantry units armed with assault weapons ignore terrain cover when using those assault weapons!
8 Combined arms tactics are very powerful, be sure to bring a few of each type of unit and not too many of the same!
9 As a unit's morale falls, turning their strength plate from white to red, they suffer from combat penalties such as reduced accuracy and reduced initiative!
10 Unit hit points only recover by one per rest action. A Titan with 10/15 hit points takes 5 full turns to refit back to full strength!
11 Pick the right weapon for the right job! A high strength weapon might seem to be strong against infantry, but a weapon with a much higher rate of fire will get the job done much more efficiently!
12 Pay attention to the cover ratings that different terrains give!
13 Non-infantry units gained a reduced amount of cover bonus from terrain.
14 Game too easy? There are three full difficulty settings higher than the default level for you to test your mettle against!
15 Infantry are often required to take some Victory Hexes, many vehicles are often too large to enter these hexes!
16 Victory and objective hexes can be identified by their golden outline!
17 CORE units have a gold border plate, AUXILIARY units have a grey border plate, and mission critical special units have a unique border plate!
18 Pay attention to your mission objectives and message prompts; objectives will sometimes change in the middle of a battle!
19 Unit's with the leadership trait are very important for keeping up the morale of nearby units without the need for constant rest actions!
20 Always bring dedicated scouting units to screen your main advance, preventing enemy counterattacks from reaching your expensive combat and artillery units is very important!

[Kirsten]

looks kind of interesting, I like the idea of 40k strategy, but never been a huge fan of those old hex based games. bit too expensive to try it out for me as well.

[Captain Bubonicus]

If you ever played Panzer General, it's a LOT like that, just with 40K units instead of WWII.

[Kirsten]

probably something I will pick up in a Steam sale some time. I have way too many games to play right now, Bayonetta 2, Farcry 4, Astebreed, Smash Bros, Dragon Age, Diablo 3...

[Captain Bubonicus]

Wow, this game gets tougher quickly. They really jerk you around as far as mission objectives - halfway through a mission, you suddenly have to redeploy and get the hell out of Dodge. Make sure you emphasize mobility when purchasing and upgrading!