Fantasy war games?

[ValeVelKal]

You may have missed my answer but for fantasy tactical Battle for Wesnoth should have you covered for one year.


Final Liberation is excellent, but futuristic (Warhammer 40K). Shadow of the Hornet Rat and the second Warhammer Battle games are average-good ; they aged.

Another outstanding strategy game with tactical combat à la Heroes is Eador Genesis. I did not like Eador 2 though.

I ran the GOG version of warlords I II and III without problem recently (I was talking to their designer Roger Keating (with the late Ian Trout) and he wanted to play his old game he did not have any more).

I'll look into battle for wesnoth, I think next time I play a strategy game I'd like to try Warlords 1. I've read that Shadow of the Horned Rat was one of the first RTT games and was very difficult. Have you played any of the Warlords Battlecry rts?

edit: Oh, when you said second warhammer battle games did you mean warlords battlecry?

No the second Warhammer Battle game is Dark Omen. I prefer SoTHR but ymmv. The third one (Mark of Chaos/Battle March) is pretty bad by the way.
Dark Omen is certainly not one of the first RTT games. The first RTT game on PC is Legionnaire in 1979, then its clone Centurion in 1981 (or 1980?). Both were confidential and anecdotical. The first significant RTT was Legionnaire (v2) in 1982. There are plenty of RTT starting in 1983.

Ravenmark is mediocre. Its saving grace is that it was ported on mobile…

People mention Total Anniliation : Kingdoms but it is imo a terrible game. Avoid it. On the other hand, someone else mentionned Myth and yes, outstanding recommendation. Play it ! Unfortunately I have not tested Myth2.


Another forgotten gem is Siege. It is so good I almost did a let’s play. Walls of Rome (the historical reskin) is good as well, but Ambush at Something, the third game in the engine, is average-bad.

I haven’t played Warlord Battlecry and Warlord III. Warlord I aged and had historical value only. Warlord II aged as well. Still interesting but much better games around too.

 

[KainenMorden]

You may have missed my answer but for fantasy tactical Battle for Wesnoth should have you covered for one year.


Final Liberation is excellent, but futuristic (Warhammer 40K). Shadow of the Hornet Rat and the second Warhammer Battle games are average-good ; they aged.

Another outstanding strategy game with tactical combat à la Heroes is Eador Genesis. I did not like Eador 2 though.

I ran the GOG version of warlords I II and III without problem recently (I was talking to their designer Roger Keating (with the late Ian Trout) and he wanted to play his old game he did not have any more).

I'll look into battle for wesnoth, I think next time I play a strategy game I'd like to try Warlords 1. I've read that Shadow of the Horned Rat was one of the first RTT games and was very difficult. Have you played any of the Warlords Battlecry rts?

edit: Oh, when you said second warhammer battle games did you mean warlords battlecry?

No the second Warhammer Battle game is Dark Omen. I prefer SoTHR but ymmv. The third one (Mark of Chaos/Battle March) is pretty bad by the way.
Dark Omen is certainly not one of the first RTT games. The first RTT game on PC is Legionnaire in 1979, then its clone Centurion in 1981 (or 1980?). Both were confidential and anecdotical. The first significant RTT was Legionnaire (v2) in 1982. There are plenty of RTT starting in 1983.

Ravenmark is mediocre. Its saving grace is that it was ported on mobile…

People mention Total Anniliation : Kingdoms but it is imo a terrible game. Avoid it. On the other hand, someone else mentionned Myth and yes, outstanding recommendation. Play it ! Unfortunately I have not tested Myth2.


Another forgotten gem is Siege. It is so good I almost did a let’s play. Walls of Rome (the historical reskin) is good as well, but Ambush at Something, the third game in the engine, is average-bad.

I was talking about shadow of the horned rat being one of the first RTT games but I must have misread something. Thanks for all your recommendations.

Have you ever played medieval total war?

 

[ValeVelKal]

You may have missed my answer but for fantasy tactical Battle for Wesnoth should have you covered for one year.


Final Liberation is excellent, but futuristic (Warhammer 40K). Shadow of the Hornet Rat and the second Warhammer Battle games are average-good ; they aged.

Another outstanding strategy game with tactical combat à la Heroes is Eador Genesis. I did not like Eador 2 though.

I ran the GOG version of warlords I II and III without problem recently (I was talking to their designer Roger Keating (with the late Ian Trout) and he wanted to play his old game he did not have any more).

I'll look into battle for wesnoth, I think next time I play a strategy game I'd like to try Warlords 1. I've read that Shadow of the Horned Rat was one of the first RTT games and was very difficult. Have you played any of the Warlords Battlecry rts?

edit: Oh, when you said second warhammer battle games did you mean warlords battlecry?

No the second Warhammer Battle game is Dark Omen. I prefer SoTHR but ymmv. The third one (Mark of Chaos/Battle March) is pretty bad by the way.
Dark Omen is certainly not one of the first RTT games. The first RTT game on PC is Legionnaire in 1979, then its clone Centurion in 1981 (or 1980?). Both were confidential and anecdotical. The first significant RTT was Legionnaire (v2) in 1982. There are plenty of RTT starting in 1983.

Ravenmark is mediocre. Its saving grace is that it was ported on mobile…

People mention Total Anniliation : Kingdoms but it is imo a terrible game. Avoid it. On the other hand, someone else mentionned Myth and yes, outstanding recommendation. Play it ! Unfortunately I have not tested Myth2.


Another forgotten gem is Siege. It is so good I almost did a let’s play. Walls of Rome (the historical reskin) is good as well, but Ambush at Something, the third game in the engine, is average-bad.

I was talking about shadow of the horned rat being one of the first RTT games but I must have misread something. Thanks for all your recommendations.

Have you ever played medieval total war?

Not Medieval. I played some Rome and Napoleon Total War and decided I did not like the series.

If you like Turn-Based ancient (historical) battle, Field of Glory II (or Field of Glory Medieval) is for you.

 

[Lagi]

shadow of the horned rat - has very unreadable main game view, clunky UI. And all game is about weakening enemies with your fire wizard and cannon, before they come to close so you finish them off.
same gameplay done 100X better, with godlike narration is done by Myth1 or 2. There is mod port for it, that improve a bit the graphics.
You can check Nordic Warriors. Newer game have better controls and UI, same units types. but story is poor.

total war?! come on. This is not a war game. Tactical battles are super one sided.

 

[ValeVelKal]

shadow of the horned rat - has very unreadable main game view, clunky UI. And all game is about weakening enemies with your fire wizard and cannon, before they come to close so you finish them off.
same gameplay done 100X better, with godlike narration is done by Myth1 or 2. There is mod port for it, that improve a bit the graphics.
You can check Nordic Warriors. Newer game have better controls and UI, same units types. but story is poor.

total war?! come on. This is not a war game. Tactical battles are super one sided.

Indeed, Myth is by far the better game. You can play on the offense in SOTHR and Dark Omen, but only if you are familiar with the complex Warhammer ruleset (which is not explained in the manual ; one example among many you need to know that Skaven slaves routing will never spread panic, but normal Clan Warriors routing will, so while attacking Slaves seems a safer bet in reality you should focus on the warriors and totally ignore the slaves who will panic when any other skaven unit near them rout). Even then, playing defensive is still safer. Lots of walking dead situations, too.

And that fucking dragon when leaving the Dwarven Halls. The battle is like drawing a die to know which units you lose, with extra steps.

I actually never finished Dark Omen. I accept setbacks, so I ended up n a walking dead situation with a final battle just too difficult for me or really anyone normal.

 

[KainenMorden]

shadow of the horned rat - has very unreadable main game view, clunky UI. And all game is about weakening enemies with your fire wizard and cannon, before they come to close so you finish them off.
same gameplay done 100X better, with godlike narration is done by Myth1 or 2. There is mod port for it, that improve a bit the graphics.
You can check Nordic Warriors. Newer game have better controls and UI, same units types. but story is poor.

total war?! come on. This is not a war game. Tactical battles are super one sided.

I'm just asking about people's experiences with strategy games that are fantasy/not modern day in general now.

Have you played Myth recently? How do you download it and what mods do you need?

 

[Lagi]

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/myth-the-fallen-lords-on-a-modern-pc.119358/

 

[KainenMorden]

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/myth-the-fallen-lords-on-a-modern-pc.119358/

Thanks

 

[Nathaniel3W]

You want hex-based fantasy war games?

https://store.steampowered.com/search/?tags=1684,1717 I think that should open up Steam's browse-by-tags for fantasy and hex-grid. I haven't played many of them, but I did like Age of Wonders III. I'll also recommend Himeko Sutori, but I might be biased.

 

[KainenMorden]

You want hex-based fantasy war games?

https://store.steampowered.com/search/?tags=1684,1717 I think that should open up Steam's browse-by-tags for fantasy and hex-grid. I haven't played many of them, but I did like Age of Wonders III. I'll also recommend Himeko Sutori, but I might be biased.

Thanks and yeah I want to check out the age of wonders series at some point for sure.

 

[Gaznak]

People mention Total Anniliation : Kingdoms but it is imo a terrible game. Avoid it. On the other hand, someone else mentionned Myth and yes, outstanding recommendation. Play it ! Unfortunately I have not tested Myth2.

No comments. How these two can be mentioned together is beyond me.

TAK is like Total Annihilation, just better in almost every department (except for music).

 

[Lagi]

I was thinking about fantasy war games... and the best is Fantasy General 2. I was dead-sure this would be another mass-produced souless cash grab title, and i hold this impression even after Beta, fortunately a lot have changed after DLC's.

there is a wide range of different and interesting units (crab with ship on his back is my all time favourite)

Every unit have nice abilities, that fit thematically to units, this skills are not overpowered, so you cannot just spam one skill.
There is a nice variety of units (with all DLC), and each unit have sensible upgrades (not like in FG1).
Items are excellent touch. its not making from the game a dressing contest, but add new gambits, and even open unit for enemy gimmicks (like amulet that make unit an animal, and it can be charmed by opponent shaman)
extra upgrades between mission are serviceable.

game rules are thoughtful. Morale defence against magic attack is excellent and brave touch. melee units capturing hex they're attacking. Different number of figurines in unit (infantry can have 8 dudes, while giants is just 1 entity) and this affect areal attacks. Excellent rest-healing from FG1 is still there.
most important there is nothing broken rules wise (one winning strategy), and you don't have a feeling that there is a spam of rubbish content (like 100x colours of magic swords to equip ) just to say the game have depth ( like Dominion).

Ai do the job, it plays sensible and create some challenge. There are much worse on the market.

the only thing i dont like is the clusterfuck main map visuals, and cringe story (except lizard campaign).

 

[KainenMorden]

I was thinking about fantasy war games... and the best is Fantasy General 2. I was dead-sure this would be another mass-produced souless cash grab title, and i hold this impression even after Beta, fortunately a lot have changed after DLC's.

there is a wide range of different and interesting units (crab with ship on his back is my all time favourite)

Every unit have nice abilities, that fit thematically to units, this skills are not overpowered, so you cannot just spam one skill.
There is a nice variety of units (with all DLC), and each unit have sensible upgrades (not like in FG1).
Items are excellent touch. its not making from the game a dressing contest, but add new gambits, and even open unit for enemy gimmicks (like amulet that make unit an animal, and it can be charmed by opponent shaman)
extra upgrades between mission are serviceable.

game rules are thoughtful. Morale defence against magic attack is excellent and brave touch. melee units capturing hex they're attacking. Different number of figurines in unit (infantry can have 8 dudes, while giants is just 1 entity) and this affect areal attacks. Excellent rest-healing from FG1 is still there.
most important there is nothing broken rules wise (one winning strategy), and you don't have a feeling that there is a spam of rubbish content (like 100x colours of magic swords to equip ) just to say the game have depth ( like Dominion).

Ai do the job, it plays sensible and create some challenge. There are much worse on the market.

the only thing i dont like is the clusterfuck main map visuals, and cringe story (except lizard campaign).

Thanks for talking about your experience with this one. So you actually think it's a slight improvement in gameplay/mechanics from FG 1?

Also quick side note, how many hours did it take you to complete it?

 

[Lagi]

yes, its a gameplay mechanic improvements from FG1
its a big UI improvement
and its terrible graphic readability decline

steam saying i played fg2 for 45,6 h
i only complete lizard campaign (twice , its just hilarious and the text to read is funny, also the campaign choices lock out some content), its very adult friendly. I was ironman'ing Onslaught procedural campaign, but all my heroes get killed, due to my recklessness (im not even sure if there is end? you cannt play it infinitive because you reach your units max upgrade at one point).

from gog timers
i played fg1 - 98h (i play it also before gog)
aow1 - 115h (again i play it before gog)

 

[KainenMorden]

yes, its a gameplay mechanic improvements from FG1
its a big UI improvement
and its terrible graphic readability decline

steam saying i played fg2 for 45,6 h
i only complete lizard campaign (twice , its just hilarious and the text to read is funny, also the campaign choices lock out some content), its very adult friendly. I was ironman'ing Onslaught procedural campaign, but all my heroes get killed, due to my recklessness (im not even sure if there is end? you cannt play it infinitive because you reach your units max upgrade at one point).

from gog timers
i played fg1 - 98h (i play it also before gog)
aow1 - 115h (again i play it before gog)

Thanks for sharing your experience, I'll keep these things in mind

 

[pakoito]

If you want the 4x strat and not MoM or Dom5, there are a couple more options: the original Eador with mods, or Civ 4's Fall From Heaven 2 and its modmods.

 

[KainenMorden]

If you want the 4x strat and not MoM or Dom5, there are a couple more options: the original Eador with mods, or Civ 4's Fall From Heaven 2 and its modmods.

Thanks, fall from heaven 2 looks really interesting. Dom5 seems too complicated for me to ever get into and I only play sp anyways

 

[pakoito]

I just found this which seems very up-to-date and somewhat complete, alongside explainers for how the modmods evolved:

 

[KainenMorden]

I just found this which seems very up-to-date and somewhat complete, alongside explainers for how the modmods evolved:



View attachment 28976

Awesome, thanks

 

[Dadd]

Dominions 5 is complex but generally the rules are intuitive and you can learn them as you progress

 

[Haba]

I want a fantasy Panzer General. Someone please make it

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[ValeVelKal]

I want a fantasy Panzer General. Someone please make it

You mean Fantasy General ?

 

[razvedchiki]

warhammer armaggedon is a nice panzer corps clone.
rites of war is also a good panzer general clone.

 

[Galdred]

I also support the recommendations for Warbanners and Drums of War. These are quite solid titles. They may feel a bit more like tactical RPG, as they focus on the skirmish level.

You want hex-based fantasy war games?

https://store.steampowered.com/search/?tags=1684,1717 I think that should open up Steam's browse-by-tags for fantasy and hex-grid. I haven't played many of them, but I did like Age of Wonders III. I'll also recommend Himeko Sutori, but I might be biased.

I happen to have a significant part of these on Steam, so here is my take on them:
Not a wargame(more of a tactical or RPG):
Urtuk
Fabled Lands
King's Bounty
Blackguards
Chaos Reborn
Braveland

More 4X than wargame
Deity Empires
Thea
Endless Legend

4Xish wargame:
Wizards and Warlords: good system, but very poor AI

Wargamish 4X:
Warlock: Master of the Arcane: another good system with a very poor AI. The end game DLC that adds Demons kinds of makes up for that, as they don't follow usual rules
Age of Wonders 1-3: these might feel closer from Fantasy General than a traditional 4X actually.
Eador Genesis: Very good game, but the campaign is a bit repetitive


Board games:
For the King
Armello
Gem Wizards Tactics

Discontinued:
Dogs of War Online: This one was actually a miniature-y wargame based on Confrontation

warhammer armaggedon is a nice panzer corps clone.
rites of war is also a good panzer general clone.

Rites of War feels closer from a fantasy game, with its overpowered heroes. It is also better than most Warhammer Armageddon campaigns (because the system in Armageddon doesn't work with super strong units, so the better campaigns are the ones which limits you to low tiers units).


There was also a game from Slitherine using the Battle Academy engine, named Hell. I didn't play it much, and it has Mixed ratings though.
There is also the BattleLore game, which is a mobile port from the adaptation of the board game.

Vestaria Saga and Symphony of Wars could fit the bill, but they are closer from tactical RPG (like Ogre or Fire Emblem).