German Biased?

Smersh · #1 May 17th, 2006, 12:45 PM

I'm fairly satisfied with your replys. I did look at the questtionaire, and perferred nation for campigns was 33% germany and 30% USSR, yet there isn't a single Red army campign.
I'm not trying to blame anyone or call it a conspiracy, but there is clearly an un-intentional bais towards the germans.

Cameronius · #2 May 17th, 2006, 01:29 PM

There was a good Red Army Campaign in the original SP. Poland 1944, I think it was?

Panzermeyer · #3 May 17th, 2006, 01:30 PM

I don't really think it's an unintentional bias. The Germans and all their cool WWII hardware are what sells war games. The game is called steel PANTHERS not steel SHERMANS. It's based on a couple of old board games called PANZER leader and PANZER blitz. They're just giving the people what they want.

Smersh · #4 May 17th, 2006, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Panzermeyer said:
I don't really think it's an unintentional bias... They're just giving the people what they want.

like I said, the USSR according the survey on this site is perferred by 30% of the people who voted, Germans recieving only 3% more. again, no Red Army campign, and very little scenarios compared to "demand". people clearly want some Soviet scenarios and campigns

Panzermeyer · #5 May 17th, 2006, 03:30 PM

I think that vote would come out much differently if people were only allowed one choice each.

Smersh · #6 May 17th, 2006, 03:59 PM

steel panthers is not a german army only game. and it shouldn't be. I think people would perfer more variety than a focus on a single nation, which the polls shows.

Pyros · #7 May 17th, 2006, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Smersh said:
steel panthers is not a german army only game. and it shouldn't be. I think people would perfer more variety than a focus on a single nation, which the polls shows.

Smersh,

If you can find me 4-5 Russians that are willing to work hard as historical researchers, map designers, scenarios designers and play-testers; then I will be happy to initiate a project concerning a Russian campaign.

So, what do you think?

cheers,
Pyros

Mobhack · #8 May 17th, 2006, 04:30 PM

I second Pyros' post.

We could do with a user campaign from the Soviet POV, as well as maybe a British one. If I remember, I may borrow my dad's copy of "Bugles and a Tiger" and "The Road Past Mandalay (?)" from his John Masters collection. As well as being an author in the post war time, Masters was an officer in the Ghurkas, and commanded a column in the Chindit operations and these 2 books concern his Ghurka service.

But stuff like that is not easy to obtain in English for the USSR in the GPW. Maybe in Russian, there are histories available of batallion/regiment level stuff?.

Cheers
Andy

Mobhack · #9 May 17th, 2006, 04:21 PM

It isn't a "German Only" game.

It is a fact though, that most WW2 type games originating in the USA from the 70's on whether cardboard-shuffling or computer tend to use German-related names. Like Panzerblitz, Cross of Iron, Tigers on the Prowl, Panthers in the Shadows, PanzerBlitz, Blitzkreig, Steel Panthers etc etc.

Here in the UK, we tended to avoid paper hex based games as wargamers, and concentrate on "proper" tabletop games with model soldiers and rules books. US imports were rather expensive (�30 for each module of Squad Leader, when I bought my first Honda 125 for about �370, which if I had bought all the modules, would be about equivalent ISTR

!) Commercially available wargames rules here tended to the prosaic, like "Wargames Research Group Rules 1925-50" and about the only "snappy" titles were the late Bruce Rea-Taylor's "Firefly" (WW2) and "Challenger" (modern) from tabletop games, or "Cambrai To Sinai" in the 70s (1914-80s) by London Wargames Club (or was it Reading?). A book of rules cost about �3, enough troops for an army in 1/300 were a fiver, and the local wargames club provided the tables and terrain.

Perhaps from a USA-oriented "marketing" POV the Germanic-centred names in games titles were seen as "sexy" or "kewl" ? - who knows?. This side of the pond, certainly not.

Cheers
Andy

Panzermeyer · #10 May 17th, 2006, 04:58 PM

I will agree with Smersh regarding the fact that the long campaign of random battles is not nearly as interesting as a well designed campaign. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of fun with long campaigns because they can cover much more time and geography than most designed campaigns will. But the random maps and VH placement is very generic, you sometimes feel like you are fighting the same battle over and over except with upgraded units. And any scenario will suffer if unit purchasing and deployment is left up to the AI.

I did not mean to imply that this is a one country game, just that it is natural that a game named after a German tank will favor the Germans.