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TBS Ogre - official adaptation of the wargame from Steve Jackson Games

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
Developed by Auroch Digital (Chainsaw Warrior adaptations, Last Days of Old Earth). This was part of some Kickstarter IIRC.

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Ogre is a turn-based strategy game of mechanised warfare, requiring tactical decision-making and strategic thinking. It's the official video game adaptation of the legendary tabletop wargame from Steve Jackson Games, developed by the award-winning Auroch Digital.

In the warfare of the near future, one type of unit inspires such fear that even allies keep a safe distance: the Ogre. These AI-powered tanks are so powerful they're the equivalent of a battalion of tanks and infantry.

Hovercraft, tanks, marines, infantry, and the monstrous Ogres all take part in an endless world war. As a player, you take command and vie for supremacy on the irradiated battlefields of the future.

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  • Time-Tested, Compelling Gameplay: The Ogre tabletop game has withstood the test of time, captivating gamers for over forty years. This new release is the definitive digital edition of Ogre - including expanded G.E.V. rules for even more variety - and is the first digital adaptation since 1986.
  • Meticulously Crafted Adaptation of the Original Game: Ogre veterans will be instantly be at home with this adaptation, while new players will find a deeply rewarding, turn-based strategy game.
  • All-New Campaign: Engage in brand-new missions created in partnership with Steve Jackson Games.
  • Multiplayer Capability: Test your skill against other players with online turn-based multiplayer gameplay with ranking and matchmaking, plus local "hotseat" multiplayer.
  • Single Player Skirmish and Tutorial Modes: Completely new to the world of Ogre? Learn to play with our in-depth tutorial, then set up a custom game of Ogre and fight against devious AI opponents.
  • Wide Variety of Units and Factions: Build out your faction with Light, Heavy, Superheavy, and Missile Tanks, G.E.V.s, Infantry, Marines, Howitzers, and Ogres (Mark I - Mark VI), while utilizing Trains and Command Posts as you see fit. Choose to play as either the North American Combine or the Paneuropean Federation.
  • Varied Maps Offer Strategic Decisions: Roll through many types of terrain, across bodies of water, and make use of defensive areas to shield your units from attack.
  • Playable Again and Again: Multiple game modes (including single player and multiplayer) plus achievements provide hundreds of hours of entertainment.

http://www.sjgames.com/ogre/products/ogrevideogame/
 

Ebonsword

Arcane
Joined
Mar 7, 2008
Messages
2,326
Sounds pretty cool. I've considered buying the Designer's Edition several times but never got around to it.

Hopefully the skirmish mode will be good, that can add a ton a replayability to the game if done right.
 

CreamyBlood

Arcane
Joined
Feb 10, 2005
Messages
1,392
It's funny, I always wanted to try adapting that game to a computer as a programming exercise just to see if I could do it. Unfortunately by the time I had enough skills to make the attempt my little black plastic Ogre box was long gone. I might check this out just for the hell of it, just to see what could have been.
 

Galdred

Studio Draconis
Patron
Developer
Joined
May 6, 2011
Messages
4,346
Location
Middle Empire
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Wargamer.com has a review:

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REVIEW: OGRE
BY MATT THROWER 09 OCT 2017 0
REVIEW: OGRE
Released 05 Oct 2017
Developer: Auroch Digital
Genre: Turn-Based Strategy
Available from:
Steam

Once upon a time, in 1977 to be exact, there was an Ogre. It lived in a small plastic case and ate gamers. Or rather it ate their time and money in small amounts. It was cheap and fast playing yet stayed true to the basic precepts of hex and counter wargaming -- if you wanted a satisfying strategic challenge in a convenient package, you wanted an Ogre. It first made a digital appearance in 1986, so this new version celebrates 40 years since the board game and just over 30 since the last video game.

For all those decades, Ogre remains popular. Some of that is nostalgia, of course, but nostalgia alone can't explain the continued appeal through so many editions. Some of its is the concept: one side has a slew of sci-fi vehicles from infantry through tanks to hovercraft. The other only has a single unit, the fearsome Ogre, a vast cybernetic tank which is the equivalent of a whole army. The fact that one side only needs to worry about a single unit makes this a great hex and counter game for beginners.

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Most of what keeps the Ogre fed, though, is a simple matter of it offering a lot of cybernuclear bang for its buck. There are two sets of rules, classic and advanced, both available for play here as you prefer. The classic ones are super easy, a fine lesson in boiling down mechanics to first principles. You move, then you attack. How much damage you do is down to a dice roll cross-referenced with the amount of ordnance used. It's an exercise in using movement, terrain and a little bit of playing the odds to try and apply your firepower as efficiently as possible. It seems a little primitive by modern standards, but it does what it does with austere skill.

Little tweaks to the system add depth to the puzzle. Hovercraft are pretty rubbish units but they can move again after firing, making it possible to keep them out of range. There are several models of Ogre but all have multiple systems: tracks, missiles and guns. Damage to each reduces the Ogre's potency. So units targeting the terrible tank have a dilemma in choosing the most important aspect to take down. It's engaging, fun and - by hex and counter board game standards - fast.

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So it's frustrating that this particular adaptation does its best to try and make the translation as slow as possible. Movement and combat animations are either off, leaving the unfolding turn a mystery, or slow, meaning a game takes as long on the screen as on the table, which is 30-60 minutes, depending on the scenario. The UI is obtuse, with critical information difficult to find when you need it. There's no undo, no auto-save, making the ease of clicking the wrong button a double d'oh. It doesn't help that the game looks like it could almost be mistaken for the 1986 version, with clumsy sprites and flat, dull terrain.

Gameplay, though, is faithfully intact and it still holds up after 40 years. There are a series of tutorials to guide you through how both rule sets work. And once you've got over the initial barbs on the interface and presentation, it's easy to get sucked in. Ogre has that puzzle-like quality that all the best wargames do, and if you get the answer wrong, it's just the click of a button to try again.

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This aspect is well emphasised in what is the game's strongest feature: its single-player campaign. This consists of ten brand-new scenarios of increasing difficulty. Each is a fresh puzzle in its own right, and some bend the rules of the original to add new twists and turns to the potential solutions. As a bonus, a threadbare but engaging narrative develops as you beat each one. It's not much, but it adds some much-needed colour to the otherwise drab near-future setting of the board game.

The AI is serviceable but not spectacular -- while you can also play the original game scenarios solitaire, they're less appealing than the campaign. Although solo is where the game works best, multiplayer is well catered for, too. You can play hotseat or online with the latter offering a variety of game modes, including ranked play. The reliance on dice - especially the ubiquitous 5+ to knock treads off Ogre tracks - can be annoying in ladder matches. But hey, it's a fast, fun game, best not taken too seriously.

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What's rather more serious is a slew of bugs. When I first tried Ogre on a gaming PC, it was unplayable. The units didn't line up with the hex grid, so you had no idea where anything actually was. I tried it on another, lower-spec machine and that problem went away. But there were other, less serious issues. The "move history" box not opening, or failing to populate when it did. Save games crashing. The whole thing locking up when trying to attack scenery. Nothing that completely ruined the game, but a very poor showing at a premium price point.


In spite its age, Ogre deserves to be introduced to a new generation of gamers. It remains an exemplary game of its style and it should be easy to smooth over any quirks with a smart digital makeover. Unfortunately, although this version ticks all the basic boxes for a board game adaptation (including cracking solo play), it's anything but smooth. You might be better off trying the bargain basement Pocket Edition of the physical game, and waiting to see if its digital cousin gets a few patches.

TLDR: slow animations, lack of autosave, and undo make playing this worse than its tabletop counterpart. Wait for a few patches and get the TT in the meantime instead.

:negative:
 

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