Achtung Panzer: Operation Star

[szmik]

I played the first incarnation, was bored to death when searching for an enemy platoon or two on those huge maps.

[Syt]

Well in my recent battle I had four platoons of halftracks with engineers and a platoon of 4 StuGs. It was very manageable. The maps are HUGE, though, so there's a lot of room for maneuver and recon/probing is actually useful.

Do you control the tanks/halftracks individually, or as a platoon?

Individually, but infantry squads as one unit (though the scale is 1:1, i.e. each soldier is represented).

I'm not quite happy with the pathfinding, though I guess it'll mean I need to babysit my troops some more.

I asked StuGs in the battle above to move to cover between buildings. Two of them crashed into the buildings immobilizing themselves.

Also, sometimes single soldiers of a squad go a bit astray and end up 30m or so from their squad - though you might argue that this can happen in combat.

[Syt]

I played the first incarnation, was bored to death when searching for an enemy platoon or two on those huge maps.

Actually, I find that intriguing, because it adds suspense and forces you to recon and be on your toes. The Eastern Front wasn't an unbroken line of men and tanks from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

[Kleves]

How long do the tactical battles take?

[Kleves]

So, Syt, recommended?

[HisMajestyBOB]

I've owned Achtung Panzer: Kharkov for about a year and haven't really touched it. 

[Syt]

So, Syt, recommended?

I ahven't really continued playing, what with The Old Republic being out. 

[11B4V]

So, Syt, recommended?

I ahven't really continued playing, what with The Old Republic being out. 

Looking at this, but on the fence.

[Syt]

Haven't played recently. I would need to patch the game, I guess, which is a bit - cumbersome. Download patch, install it to a special directory, import it from within the game as mod or some such. The interface is kinda cryptic as well.

A plus of the game is its campaign persistence - losses, battlefields etc. However, you usually have up to three units per side participating in battles on huge terrain which makes it feel rather smallscale. YMMV.

[11B4V]

I'll probably pull the trigger on it. Havent really seen a bad review.

It appears very focused and not as broad as CM. The user vids I've seen look real good.

[Syt]

Holy thread necromancy, Batman!

I'm currently in a bit of a wargaming mood, so I decided to give Mius Front, the successor to Operation Star, a try. Played the tutorials, and then thought I might want to give Operation Star another try for comparison. Apparently they updated their interface at some point, because symbols make more sense now, and there's actually tool tips telling you what each button does.

I got into turn three of a "Defending Kharkiv" (one of the DLCs) campaign on stream yesterday and actually had quite some fun.

The uncertainty going into each combat is quite interesting. You will have a rough idea where the enemy might be, or what their equipment is (or not), and are left to your own devices. My first skirmish had my recon unit decimated because they ran into a group of T-34s. A later one had me decimate Soviet infantry when they tried to take the woods my PzGren company was holding. And one attack had me going nearly unopposed from objective to objective (you still approach carefully, because you have no idea what you into in the woods) - talk about wasted artillery assets.

Combat still feels mostly small scale and intimate, I think Mius Front and Tank Warfare: Tunisia1943 rectify that a bit.

The interface between turns where you repair/reinforce your units remains weird, though.

[The Brain]

Interesting. Thanks.

I've had Mius on my Steam wishlist forever, but so far I haven't felt like pulling the trigger. I probably won't now either, but interesting.

[Syt]

It did have some frustrating bits. I ordered one SdKfz to cross at a frozen bit of river. The doofus took a bad angle and drove into the river, losing the vehicle. Another SdKfz did the same at a different crossing. Though I guess in the pitch black Russian winter night it's somewhat excusable.

[Syt]

While reading the HistWar review over on Wargamer: https://www.wargamer.com/articles/accuracy-vs-overkill-an-overview-of-histwar-napoleon/

The reviewer is amazed at some of the detail in the game, and it made me think of this game again, because it can be similarly insane.

Each shot at a vehicle is tracked and you can look at the ricochets/penetration and what was damaged (if anything), with arrows showing you all hits. Destroyed vehicles may trundle on for a bit. I once took out a KV-I and it kept rolling two hundred meters till it ran into the river bank. And I thought I had come across a glitch when I noticed that weapons visuals and sounds were out of sync. Nope, just the game accounting for the time it takes for the sound to reach where your camera is. Go right up to the weapon and all is fine.