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MATRAKA14  
#1 Posted : Thursday, November 9, 2017 8:28:41 AM(UTC)
MATRAKA14

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Hi, i just wanted to know how is it doing the game in other countries because in spain some stores are retiring it from the shelves.

It seems like the game sold quite well at the beginning but it has lost steam really fast, there is almost no community here and absolute 0 tournaments.

In my case i have enjoyed the game just because it has made possible to introduce some friends and my girlfriend to wargaming but without a stronger rule set and sistem i see really difficult the return of the game, or a competitive / active comunity. And it's a shame because in my opinion it has a really strong potential but the rule set is too simple and has too many holes.

In my opinion GF9 should consider a new and deeper rule set (still simple but something with more depth) an official army builder, and a complete recopilation of cards if they follow with the card sistem, i mean the card packed in the gf9 glue ... that was a mistake.

it's heartbreaking for me because i see games like infinity and their clever decisions to keep growing and making a strong game, or the big community and somewhat better sistem of x wing and really makes me realise how easily this game could improve and grow, but now the comeback seems unlikely.

what do you honestly think?
Necrogoat  
#2 Posted : Thursday, November 9, 2017 9:29:16 AM(UTC)
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Waves are coming to slow and incomplete (for example nothing for soviets)
CmdrRook  
#3 Posted : Thursday, November 9, 2017 11:09:40 AM(UTC)
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I love Infinity, but that system is a mess. It was supposed to be a d20 rpg conversion, was written pretty poorly, and when they hired actual designers to editorialize 2nd edition, they refused to let them strip the game down and build fresh. Now that we're knee deep in N3, they're patching over the stuff that's still inane and overly complicated to the degree that even the creators often get the rules wrong. Any time the description of a keyword references other keywords (sometimes more than one), you know you're in trouble.

For the very reasons you list that Tanks is failing actually prove to be it's strongest attributes. Interactions rarely lead to extensive debate, and I agree that when they do, they should be addressed quickly and definitively. Tanks doesn't need reverse gear. Tanks doesn't need True Line of Sight. Tanks doesn't need exacting movement templates. Other games have these, but Tanks succeeded without them. Listen to the Tread Talk podcast and listen to the enthusiasm these folks have for such a simple game, and their reasons, and you might come to understand them and the game a bit more clearly.

http://treadtalk.libsyn.com/tread-talk

I'm not saying don't advocate for the change you want to see in this game, or to not voice your concerns, but this game, and its community, would suffer for trying to be like something else.

Edited by user Thursday, November 9, 2017 3:24:26 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Wow, I'd be impressed if anyone found this at all legible, at first.

Waster  
#4 Posted : Thursday, November 9, 2017 11:53:58 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: CmdrRook Go to Quoted Post

I'm not saying don't advocate for the change you want to see in this game, or to not come your concerns, but this game, and its community, would suffer for trying to be like something else.


Seconded. I'm not much of a history buff, and I'm definitely not a WWII buff. What attracted me to the game is the simplicity and elegance of its core gameplay and its extensibility through the interesting interactions of cards. I like Tanks as a game. My problems are with the oddly absent community management, poor quality control, messy and incomplete organized play, and lack of accountability and transparency with pretty big mistakes (Achilles with Coordinated Fire, anyone?).

That being said, none of that is enough to get me to stop playing the game. We're still constantly finding cool new strategies and combinations that point to the game itself having good longevity, even if support for it is waning.
MATRAKA14  
#5 Posted : Tuesday, November 28, 2017 11:07:13 PM(UTC)
MATRAKA14

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I mentioned infinity not because the system but because they have managed to have an ever growing and live community with constant updates, tournaments, warcore system, official sites, videos, excellent army builder and wiki, and now even annual campaigns. I'm not saying tanks should have all that but anything could help with the community part. where i live there is a huge wargaming community for historical fantasy and scifi but even with that the game has no tournaments or visible communities. In my opinion the community is as important as the game, without players there is no game and if stores are retiring the game that's really close to a no turning back.


Its true i have some gripes with the system, not because they are simple but because they are oversimplified, and in some cases uninspired.

In my honest opinion the faction special abilities could have been somewhat more inspired by real facts rather than magical blitzkrieg but that's not my biggest problem with the game, additionally factions could have different ones to chose from like choosing a commander or a doctrine, this way you win replayability and more combinations with the given roster of units, for example soviets could have additional choices further tan being close together.

the card system is a nice idea but makes difficult to change rules or values because then you have to replace the card, also the numerical system makes quite difficult to introduce a lot of units without them feeling the same or having stats that brake the suspension of disbelief.

in my opinion manoeuvring could be really fun but its oversimplified, restricting movement in forests or going backwards helps a lot to give more tactical choices to the players and makes the game more solid encouraging flanking manoeuvrers and adding strategy, having to move the most part of the movement arrow to gain the defence bonus is also a great idea. Additionally a simple turret mechanic adds a lot of fun and tension, its a really good experience to chose what side you are looking at or getting a turret stuck in one position.

Also maybe tanks should block movement and line of sight while dead or alive, dead tanks could give cover.

Some other ideas that i have tested are one extra damage deck for rear shots with more cards related to that part of the vehicle like engine or fire to encourage flanking manoeuvrers, and additional objective rules for machineguns, flamers, mines etc (the official operations are not perfect but definitely a good start)

I don't know its just my opinion, this game is failing in my area and i see it as a lose opportunity, with some small changes the game could be a more interesting simple tournament ready game, but right now its not going to happen at least in my area.

Edited by user Tuesday, November 28, 2017 11:12:26 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Raider4  
#6 Posted : Wednesday, November 29, 2017 5:29:14 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: MATRAKA14 Go to Quoted Post

Also maybe tanks should block movement and line of sight while dead or alive, dead tanks could give cover.


I thought they did? At least, I've been playing it that way.

CmdrRook  
#7 Posted : Wednesday, November 29, 2017 6:24:55 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: Raider4 Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: MATRAKA14 Go to Quoted Post

Also maybe tanks should block movement and line of sight while dead or alive, dead tanks could give cover.


I thought they did? At least, I've been playing it that way.



Tanks block line of sight while they're alive, but can be driven though. A destroyed tank becomes impassible terrain, blocking both movement and line of sight.
Zerstorer  
#8 Posted : Wednesday, November 29, 2017 3:52:05 PM(UTC)
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Tanks is a game. A simple game with a nod to history.

Tanks alive or dead do provide cover. I believe the reason live tanks are not impassable is because all tanks are presumed to be moving around simultaneously.

All I know is this game is working well with my circle of players. We don’t have time for long, complicated games these days, but these rules allow us to put our nice models on the table and have a good time. We play this game, Wings of War, X-Wing and on occasion, Armada and FOW. I miss playing Command Decision and other games, but thems the breaks!
thanks 1 user thanked Zerstorer for this useful post.
CmdrRook on 11/30/2017(UTC)
Kelvin  
#9 Posted : Friday, December 1, 2017 11:10:00 AM(UTC)
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I agree toatally Zestorer.

I have a huge LOTR collection, which is great but takes hours to play at times, a large STAW collection which is more an hour to hour and half game then theres my Tanks.

Tanks I love because its fun, simple and great if you want a satisfying game, but dont have a lot of time to play.

With the other systems I own, me and bro have to pre plan our games, with tanks, we just usually say 100pts, and have planned, played and packed up in an hour. Best part, its always tactical and engaging.

I know the game state officially is always up and down, but personally, a good game is a good game forever. You get out what you put in. Since I ve really started putting effort into making my tanks look good and getting some appropriate WW2 scenery Ive had a blast, my Fury force has become three of my treasured models in my entire collection of minis.

To those on the fence, or thinking of throwing in the towel, play a few games again, or paint up a tank or two to how you WANT to see it. It did wonders for my enthusiasm for this game again.
Kelvin Griffiths, Attack Wing Captain, Lord Of Rings Hero and Tank Commander. Sort of...
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CraigH on 12/2/2017(UTC)
Slim  
#10 Posted : Monday, December 18, 2017 12:08:01 PM(UTC)
Slim

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Originally Posted by: MATRAKA14 Go to Quoted Post
Hi, i just wanted to know how is it doing the game in other countries because in spain some stores are retiring it from the shelves.

It seems like the game sold quite well at the beginning but it has lost steam really fast, there is almost no community here and absolute 0 tournaments.

In my case i have enjoyed the game just because it has made possible to introduce some friends and my girlfriend to wargaming but without a stronger rule set and sistem i see really difficult the return of the game, or a competitive / active comunity. And it's a shame because in my opinion it has a really strong potential but the rule set is too simple and has too many holes.

In my opinion GF9 should consider a new and deeper rule set (still simple but something with more depth) an official army builder, and a complete recopilation of cards if they follow with the card sistem, i mean the card packed in the gf9 glue ... that was a mistake.

it's heartbreaking for me because i see games like infinity and their clever decisions to keep growing and making a strong game, or the big community and somewhat better sistem of x wing and really makes me realise how easily this game could improve and grow, but now the comeback seems unlikely.

what do you honestly think?


I just bought it. I think I have seen it here a few years back but didn't pay much notice to it. Even believe I saw it at a game convention now when I think about it.
Now, the local store "across the border to the south" (haven't found it in my country yet.. except for the glimpse those few years ago) had like 15 starter boxes and some different tanks for a nice price. So why not. My GF asked me why I'm smiling when I opened the box.
-But its soo wonderfully cute!

I'm not part of any community over here so I can’t really say of the spread. People know about it as far as some one recommended it to me a month ago. Flames of war, x-wing/armada, magic and War hammer seem to be the main games over here in the local tournaments. I believe most play at home with friends and not official games. In the parts I lurk casual gaming is far more popular than competitive. You can’t relax and have “fun” in a competitive game.

I'm a tank enthusiast and worked on several quasi realistic game systems based on real tank warfare (and long hours of reading, interviewing and researching past >10years). This is a fun arcade like game, believe me you don't want to over-realism things here as reality has far more game options then even a seasoned "tank" game designer is aware of.

I mean do people for real have a general concept of how smokes was used in combat and the different smoke systems that was incorporated into tanks ranging from external turreted smoke discharges, smoke candles/flares or grenades thrown out of hatches/launchers or delivered through rear hull armored smoke racks?

Yes, one can question some basics as you say or (at time) mine ex. how SP artillery acts in a skirmish game which is a little bit to hard arcade-ish for my taste, or why text on some damage cards are a little bit cute/plain (there is a hundred juicy ways to explain damage or problems in a sentence when a AT-round or shrapnel starts to fool around in a tank being the transmission, crew or engine compartment or why a tank or crew acts as it does in the heat of combat), but if both kids and adults can play it, it's a +.

I plan on having games using scenarios or campaigns where the players are only allowed to choose between specific tanks to avoid too much of the arcade feeling. Let’s say its related to a real shoot out, then I cant have tanks that wasn't around at that specific moment. But I don't want it to be over-zealous either, simply say select from tanks that was part of the specific divisions/regions that were involved (which is of course already presented in the rules).

And yes. This game has A LOT of potency if handled correct, and if they have enough tank combat knowledge to play with to exploit into the game so we get more juice.

Gonna try it out a little bit later, and if its good I'm quickly gonna buy some dozen tanks in case of the game goes flat line, I mean just to pull off a selection of ideas for scenarios I already have (I’m a games workshop veteran so if there is anything fun you better be quick). =)

/Slim

CraigH  
#11 Posted : Tuesday, December 19, 2017 11:58:01 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: Slim Go to Quoted Post
(snip)

Gonna try it out a little bit later, and if its good I'm quickly gonna buy some dozen tanks in case of the game goes flat line, I mean just to pull off a selection of ideas for scenarios I already have (I’m a games workshop veteran so if there is anything fun you better be quick). =)

/Slim



One hint - the models are from the same molds as the Flames of War plastics. So if you are concerned about Tanks being hard to find in the future, one of each expansion gets you the cards and you can "always" get identical models from the Flames of War line.

That's basically where I'm at now. I have at least one of each expansion so in looking for duplicates, I either get the Tanks expansion or consider a FoW box set which lacks the cards but does, typically, contain decals and commander figures. Price is about the same, per tank - at least where I shop.

Hope this doesn't break the rule on "third-party" models... :-)

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