Scenario Editor Video Tutorial – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPKmgzQtLvM

I’ve HPS Gallic Wars and HPS Punic Wars too; I was looking for something a little more visually pleasing or with a superior AI than either.

I’ll think I’ll delay purchasing for now but I definitely enjoyed your comments and would welcome more.

You can get HPS games for $29.99 at a couple of places online now NWSonline.com is one and there’s another on Amazon.com advertised with cheaper shipping than NWS.

While the official site the games are $49.99 you hardly have to pay that if you just look around so really the $49.99 price is rather a moot point.

The price comparison is the same both games are $29.99 and you get a whole lot more with the HPS games than you do this one. I don’t care how spectacular they think multiplayer is, PBEM is PBEM it’s move and wait no matter how you put it.

First, the things that I do not like – AI needs to be more aggressive – of course I am an experienced gamer so you do have to take into account new gamers; no campaign, and no army builder. Making an AI good is a very hard thing to do, especially for a game like this that will cover everything from the earliest armies of history to the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire. Every army fights differently so it is real hard to reproduce a decent AI that plays all armies well. This is something that the team is working on and one of the constant points brought up by the beta team. Campaign? Do not know if that will happen, it would be a big boost to those who do not want to play multiplayer. Army builder, it is on its way and is in development. This will be the key to keeping this game alive!

Now for what I do like, graphics is just fine – I really like the idea of using actual painted miniatures for the game (just to cool!), the editor is easy to use and you can put together a scenerio quickly and share it with friends. One of the things mentioned in earlier posts is the small army list, but more are coming and what they do not mention is the absolutely awesome convertability built into the game. You can change the stats on any of the game pieces and create your own units for historical games – I have been having a ball playing Maccabean Jews versus Seleucids even though the Maccabean Jews are not one of the armies listed. The figures provided are very flexible and it was easy to find the right pieces to put together the Maccabeans. You can adjust everything, change weapons, unit types, quality of troops, armour, command units, and level of training. Again, absolutely awesome. The last thing I want to talk about is the multiplayer aspect of the game – and boy did it evolve in leaps and bound from it’s origional setup. I love the multiplayer! Yes it is turn based, and if you are both online at the same time the game can go very quickly. If you want to take your time then it reminds me more of chess with carefully thought out and crafted moves. It has a built in chat that helps to create that miniature games feel in that you and your opponent are chatting away with each turn that you send and you develop friendships that you just don’t do with other games (that is part of why I enjoy table top wargaming). The last thing about multiplayer that I want to let you know about is the amount of games you can have going at the same time. Unlike most other PC games you can have up to 20 games going on at the same time! This is wonderful – I have turns to play almost everytime I turn on my computer! Also, because of the way that multiplayer is designed you never have to worry about wether your computer can keep up with your opponents – it is all about you and what skills you bring to the table. I really love the adaptability that this game has, a army builder is on its way, and more armies to boot. Yes this game has some growing to do, but this game will blossom quickly! Thank you.

I *hate* multi-player. I dislike RTS’; when I play an RTS, I play it like a turn-based game pausing all of the time. Move, pause, move pause. Needless to say, almost all of my gaming is solo.

The multi-player on Field of Glory is, I daresay, spectacular. It is dead simple to get a game set up. When your turn is over you push “Done” and you truly are done until you get an email letting you know it’s your turn again. Perfect.

While perhaps only for a certain type of player – who still prefers board to computer games; who likes turn-based as opposed to RTS games – I think they are hitting precisely the right note. I’m recommending it to literally all of my game playing friends, and I do not recommend games to friends. As opposed to my typical computer gaming, I expect to play this almost entirely with other people. I consider that an eminently good thing.