Your 2023 Game Watch List

It says a lot when I'm still playing TW3 but have only played through CP2077 the once and never went back 🤷‍♂️
The opposit here. I started a second pt of awitcher but it was just too long. I think i took 1 1/2 months of normal gamesessions to complete it. Now a couple years later, I may try again.
 
I think WoWS cornered that niche and fully occupies it

WoWS is just a soggy WoT which is just counterstrike with armor. They're very actiony and simplistic. The WWII ship and submarine combat genre that was more simulationy doesn't get many games anymore, none of them by large studios, having gone cold before WoT existed, but it used to be very popular. There's plenty of room in the market for it to return, if people want it again.
 
WoWS is just a soggy WoT which is just counterstrike with armor. They're very actiony and simplistic.
Okay first:
The WWII ship and submarine combat genre that was more simulationy
I was answering to someone who was talking about "WWII era naval surface combat" I know it's on the previous page and you've forgotten it completely but still, there was no mention of "more simulationy".

Still, going "just CS with armor" and "actiony and simplistic" is a huge hyperbole here. WoWS (notice we were not talking about World of Tanks) has a full ballistics simulation, inertia, rudder control (and delay), atmospheric conditions, full ship component simulation with component location damage, armor thickness and angling and shell hit calculations, various shell types producing different results, and even a few warfare subsystems like radar. So yes some aspects were simplified for sake of being a multiplayer combat game. But comparing it to CS which runs a basic FPS engine with quake-like player movement and straight bullets is dishonest.
 
TF1942 was the name I think. The only game that had destroyers make smoke screen and steam full speed towards the enemy. You must be brave or stupid for that. You wiped the couple Japanese cruisers and the you had a boring rest of a campaign with just hunting outdated destroyers. But when you made custom battle it was great.
Todays sims focus on one or two key parts. Ultimate Admiral is quite good - janky early access but they put it together. It's Dreadnoughts to Modern Battleships. You run campaing from the Kaiserreich, I mean 1890 until 1950. No carriers just gun splashes. We have U-Boats tho, but for that I recommend Grey Wolves SH3 or 'UBoat' - a worthy modern successor to all your Kaleu dreams.
 
I was answering to someone who was talking about "WWII era naval surface combat" I know it's on the previous page and you've forgotten it completely but still, there was no mention of "more simulationy".

It's implied since you thought WoWS was an answer to that question.

Still, going "just CS with armor" and "actiony and simplistic" is a huge hyperbole here. WoWS (notice we were not talking about World of Tanks) has a full ballistics simulation, inertia, rudder control (and delay), atmospheric conditions, full ship component simulation with component location damage, armor thickness and angling and shell hit calculations, various shell types producing different results, and even a few warfare subsystems like radar.

It's actiony and almost a third-person shooter. That's the WoT formula (and the WoWS formula, since they're almost identical games), actiony combat with simplified controls intended to attract traditional FPS gamers. They added armor penetration, slow turning, and controversially a little "commander mode'" from BF in the form of artillery/carriers and the rest is counterstrike with some window dressing to make it feel tanky shippy. They even followed the shooter genre into ridiculous "gun" skins. Going after a different audience with those themes made them a fortune, but that original audience still remains, and only gets indie games in the naval combat genre today.

It's a bit like the RTS genre, how that died and got replaced by the simplified MOBA, having reworked the games to aim at a larger pool of gamers yet the original audience remained and only got indie games for many years. The existence of DOTA 2 doesn't prevent RTS games returning if people want them as the similarities are skin deep, just like WoWS doesn't prevent naval games returning if people want them as the similarities are skin deep.
 
WoWS is just a soggy WoT which is just counterstrike with armor. They're very actiony and simplistic. The WWII ship and submarine combat genre that was more simulationy doesn't get many games anymore, none of them by large studios, having gone cold before WoT existed, but it used to be very popular. There's plenty of room in the market for it to return, if people want it again.
I used to enjoy using the game start editor in Silent Hunter 4 to position opposing surface fleets just out of range with courses to intersect. I'd then start the game and just observe the navy battles that would ensue between the AI-controlled ships. It was actually quite enjoyable and immersive! And for an old game, it had a decent damage model, too.

I feel like I tried to get SH4 up and running a few years ago and it revolted against modern Windows... Maybe the Steam version would work. It was an enjoyable game, and I could go back and replay it if I found a version that would allow me. Granted, this isn't surface combat like you're asking for, but as mentioned above, it does support AI-vs-AI surface engagements.
 
I feel like I tried to get SH4 up and running a few years ago and it revolted against modern Windows...
You might be able to get that one running by setting the executable to use Vista as the compatibility mode.

I was never big into water stuff, but 688 attack sub was a favorite. Ironically it's easier to get running because it's older. Games from 2000-2007 can be a nightmare.

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I used to enjoy using the game start editor in Silent Hunter 4 to position opposing surface fleets just out of range with courses to intersect. I'd then start the game and just observe the navy battles that would ensue between the AI-controlled ships. It was actually quite enjoyable and immersive! And for an old game, it had a decent damage model, too.

I feel like I tried to get SH4 up and running a few years ago and it revolted against modern Windows... Maybe the Steam version would work. It was an enjoyable game, and I could go back and replay it if I found a version that would allow me. Granted, this isn't surface combat like you're asking for, but as mentioned above, it does support AI-vs-AI surface engagements.
What was that name of the Sonalyst sim.... Dangerous Waters. You had Kilo, 688, the newer classes of UBoats (which name I forgot) and the OH Perry as platforms. It has rudimentary scenario editor I never fully understood, but you could place all the other platforms (Krivak, Kirov, the American stuff, loads of other nation's ships and boats) and get into a silent sub and listen to what was happening. Modelled fairly well the "overwhelm the missile defence" of launching mass volleys of A/S missiles in the hope one gets through. Then come the rocket booster torpedoes that drop willy nilly everywhere and your silent sub may be picked up by a lucky torpedo sonar.
It was a bit like Harpoon but you controlled one of the platforms. Sonar, Helm, TMA (which I never really understood). The Perry had a towed array with lots of hdrophones (which I never understood either).
Oh, and you had the Orion plane (I think) and the helos of the Perry to control. It was rudimentary flight sim. Focus was electronic systems, tracking targets, and weapons control. The helo could map like 4 channels of sonar buoys and could relay those to the mothership. A bit of triangulation and you had good fix on enemy sub.
Probably you'd run into the same windows problems with that one. It was a very good sim, though. They don't do games anymore - they went completely professional software for the military.
 
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With emphasis on "watch" list, Starfield is #1 for me by a huge margin.

Second is update 6.0 for X4 Foundations and the accompanying DLC - Kingdom's End.
Agree 100%.

I still hope for something coming to Elite that would get me interested in playing again. But I probably should put that under 'wishful thinking'. :(
 
I still hope for something coming to Elite that would get me interested in playing again. But I probably should put that under 'wishful thinking'. :(
Yeah if I ever reinstall Elite, it'll be for the old things (VR in Legacy to be specific), not the new things. Maybe someday somebody will release the ED version of OOLite! 😇
 
There's Flight of Nova (amazing flight model !), and SpaceBourne 2 coming maybe this year maybe later (small teams... Flight of Nova is just 1 guy !). Love what they are doing so far and Flight of Nova has a great feeling, the ship moves correctly for once, and it's quite satisfying flying it. Recommended for space truckers who want some actual challenge :)
 
Flight of Nova ... how did I miss this one. Oh well, I've missed a lot lately.
The game's site has a good video at the top. It looks like a big work in progress game but it sure looks nice and it has very nice flight mechanics.
The vid on the game site has some nice Blade Runner-like music. If they can expand the places you can go, it may be real good.
I'm still eyeballing Space Bourne 2.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
 

Ozric

Volunteer Moderator
Hows your experience with the game performance? Is it as bad as reviewers say or did you made it work?
Do you know what, I have had almost no issues. I did have to download the latest AMD drivers and then set it to run as Admin in order to get the game running.

Ryzen 5 3600x, 48GB ram, Sapphire RX 6700xt and I'm running in 1440 on mostly High graphics with a few Epic. Motion Blur turned off, no Ray Tracing.

The opening titles stutter ridiculously every time the game loads. The cutscenes have occasional stuttering in them, but after the first couple it's not been so bad. But other than that the gameplay has been silky smooth. I don't bother tracking FPS while I'm playing, but the Radeon software says:

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I've been really enjoying it so far. Top end rigs are overrated ;)
 
Really glad to see 2 iconic franchise are also making comeback this year:

Robocop: Rogue City

Starship Troopers: Extermination

Starship Troopers is currently in Early Access with very good reviews,but people noting lack of content, and since it's an online game, it will need players to function.
Edit: After trying the game for few hours, it is true content is low and very repitetive. Also the company is a bit scetchy, they seem to have abandon their last FPS online game released last year. So risky, but the price is also low, just 25$. Would keep an eye on it for sure to see if it developes in to a good game over it's Early Access periode.
 
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