SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - Totem games "Ironclads"--- DEMO is up

OldNuke · 09-05-08, 09:58 PM

I tried it and it was pretty buggy...probably not surprisingly, considering the size of the file.

The most frustrating thing about the game is the turn-based architecture. I don't understand why they would go to all the effort to make the ship models look realistic (down to the turrets turning before firing) and then limit them to board-game-like turns. It reminds me of the old X-Com game.

Graphically, there are some clunky aspects. All the smoke plumes go straight up, with exactly the same shape, even when the vessels are moving. The background steam engine noises are repetitive and annoying. The models have serious z-axis problems with the undulating water surface rising inside the bulwarks and covering the decks of the ships on occasion. (Think submarines with funnels.) In one game, all the ships acted like they were on teeter-totters for a brief period. Maximum speed of movement is unrealistic for the scale.

The in-game help was limited. I would hope the production version will be more informative. When I saved a game and logged out, I couldn't reload the game.

Similar ships are grouped at the beginning of a battle so they can move as a unit, but can be split up for individual ship-on-ship engagements. However, there is no provision for regrouping them later in the battle.

You really have no idea of how much damage you are doing to the enemy other than tool-tips indicating "Undamaged", "Light Damage", and "Damaged". I didn't notice any effect of battle damage on rate of fire to the enemy ships, but YOUR ships take damage that eventually can leave them without guns. The instructions tell you to shoot at point-blank range for greatest effect, but often I would lay my ship right next to the other and have no more than a 62% chance of a hit. Didn't make sense.

In each battle I tried (3), at some point the movement phase of either friendly or enemy ships developed errors. Either the friendly ship didn't track along the specified PIM, or the enemy ships ran into their own ships, or they took extra movement turns. The demo wouldn't let you finish your turn until all of your ships had moved to their maximum extent, even if that wasn't what would have been prudent in the tactical situation. Even X-Com allowed you to skip a turn for one of your soldiers! The ships are slaved to a pseudo-inertia model, so they speed up and slow down gradually over the course of several turns (you can't do All Back Emergency or All Ahead Flank, in other words).

The map in the demo is limited to just showing positions of friendly and enemy ships at a single scale. The circular markers are not identified by name, only by color indicating side. There is no heading marker (think NTDS), so it's hard to relate the map positions to what you see in the camera view. Speaking of the camera view, it is slaved to only friendly ships. You can pan around, tilt, and zoom relative to the selected friendly ship, but there is no overall battlespace camera that lets you get a view of all the ships.

I could go on, but you get the idea. Just thought I would provide fair warning. I would like to get copies of the plans they used for their ship's models, though.

Terry
Greenville, SC

09-05-08, 09:58 PM	#39
OldNuke Nub Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Greenville, SC, USA Posts: 3 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Ironclads Demo I tried it and it was pretty buggy...probably not surprisingly, considering the size of the file. The most frustrating thing about the game is the turn-based architecture. I don't understand why they would go to all the effort to make the ship models look realistic (down to the turrets turning before firing) and then limit them to board-game-like turns. It reminds me of the old X-Com game. Graphically, there are some clunky aspects. All the smoke plumes go straight up, with exactly the same shape, even when the vessels are moving. The background steam engine noises are repetitive and annoying. The models have serious z-axis problems with the undulating water surface rising inside the bulwarks and covering the decks of the ships on occasion. (Think submarines with funnels.) In one game, all the ships acted like they were on teeter-totters for a brief period. Maximum speed of movement is unrealistic for the scale. The in-game help was limited. I would hope the production version will be more informative. When I saved a game and logged out, I couldn't reload the game. Similar ships are grouped at the beginning of a battle so they can move as a unit, but can be split up for individual ship-on-ship engagements. However, there is no provision for regrouping them later in the battle. You really have no idea of how much damage you are doing to the enemy other than tool-tips indicating "Undamaged", "Light Damage", and "Damaged". I didn't notice any effect of battle damage on rate of fire to the enemy ships, but YOUR ships take damage that eventually can leave them without guns. The instructions tell you to shoot at point-blank range for greatest effect, but often I would lay my ship right next to the other and have no more than a 62% chance of a hit. Didn't make sense. In each battle I tried (3), at some point the movement phase of either friendly or enemy ships developed errors. Either the friendly ship didn't track along the specified PIM, or the enemy ships ran into their own ships, or they took extra movement turns. The demo wouldn't let you finish your turn until all of your ships had moved to their maximum extent, even if that wasn't what would have been prudent in the tactical situation. Even X-Com allowed you to skip a turn for one of your soldiers! The ships are slaved to a pseudo-inertia model, so they speed up and slow down gradually over the course of several turns (you can't do All Back Emergency or All Ahead Flank, in other words). The map in the demo is limited to just showing positions of friendly and enemy ships at a single scale. The circular markers are not identified by name, only by color indicating side. There is no heading marker (think NTDS), so it's hard to relate the map positions to what you see in the camera view. Speaking of the camera view, it is slaved to only friendly ships. You can pan around, tilt, and zoom relative to the selected friendly ship, but there is no overall battlespace camera that lets you get a view of all the ships. I could go on, but you get the idea. Just thought I would provide fair warning. I would like to get copies of the plans they used for their ship's models, though. Terry Greenville, SC