Stop The Cavalry...

...and the panzer divisions, artillery regiments and marine corps.

Man, that old retro man Baz took delivery of some more gubbins through the post this morning of a military strategy nature.

These little beauties are for the Beeb and were produced by the software house Lothlorien:


ABOVE: Your starter for 10 - which WWII general is here seen gazing down on Baz's tat despairingly?

Anyone else here also enjoy the odd wargame or are you not as sad as old Baz and his toy soldiers?

(answers on a microbe to the usual address) ;-)

 

The old ads...




The old game screenshots...


ABOVE: Played Johnny Reb to death for hours on the old Oric(!)

 

I used to play Johnny Reb on the Spectrum a lot then I started playing a game by Imagine called Stonkers which was good.
It was when I got a 16 Bit ST and started playing things like Austerlitz and Waterloo that it really started to show the potential. Fast forward to PC and the Total War series and modern graphics cards and we have come a long way.
Anyone recommend a decent war game for the Atari?

 

Theatre Europe's good, Rich:

 

PS. I've always fancied a game on Stonkers but never got round to it... maybe this Christmas?

 

I used to play Eastern Front on the A8

 

BITD my mate ran a mail order company called Strategic Plus software (or was it Strategic software plus) Steve and his business partner Simon just loved all the war stuff so much they made a business of it, orders from all over the place, even opened a shop in Hampton. Personally I never saw the love of these games but it was very clear I was in a minority.

Lovely fella's tho, both midgets or is that vertically challenged these days??

Doubt if its still going but when it was it was tanking it in..

 

Aye, Eastern Front is an absolute classic, Al - but have you ever got through it all and achieved a victory? I tell you what, for the strategy war gaming purist it has no equal but my god, it's the equivalent for most of us in computing gaming circles to watching a ruddy cricket test match which goes on for days and days and days and days... you need to be totally committed to the thing else totally on mind-enhancing drugs(!)


ABSOLUTE CLASSIC - Eastern Front

I like Paul's post too - I think I recall those guys, Paul. Strategic (Software) Plus rings a bell and I'm sure if I had a flick through some of my retro computing mags, I would find an ad or three of theirs. When were they running Paul, latter 80s/early 90s and beyond? As you guys probably already know, I love the SSI titles and PSS Wargamers series and also the MicroProse Command games - there are some absolute belters out there so I'm not surprised that those guys made a healthy living from this genre, mate, as there's something definitely addictive and curious about "what if...." scenarios and "make yourself an armchair general" - instead of my usual mode of operation - an attic Oric loony(!)


Even the cover art of these award winning titles are absolute winners - great games from our
golden era of computing, fellas.


Atari User and Page 6 magazine ran War Gamer specials and I just lap this kind of stuff up.



My personal faves are these three crackers from Microprose - they are so absorbing - I've played em for hours and hours over the years and still come back to them:


WARNING: these titles are ADDICTIVE if you enjoy your wargaming, Atarians (also available on the C64 and other platforms).

 

Great score for war Andy! PSS Wargamer's series? Quick search...Ahh, I see, never published anything for Atari, that's why I never heard of them...

Yep, Microprose and SSI war games are good, Datasoft had a couple good ones too. Even Avalon Hill had some good, if early and more primitive, war games for the Atari.

 

Agreed, Matt - Avalon Hill are indeed also recommended. I'm not sure I know any Datasoft wargames but I'm sure you'll be correct and yes, PSS tended to cover the C64, Spectrum and Amstrad with some really good ones including the one Atari title - Theatre Europe (see the 4th post down, fella).





Oh wow - look at that - Theatre Europe also out on the Datasoft label... very interesting - the same program as the PSS (originally coded in UK - AFAIK) and I wonder if it was sold on license to Datasoft OR are they two different programs under the same title? We must look further into this but for now... I am being summoned and being Bev's carer now... I'd better get me finger out and leave tickling the ivories on here for now...

Cheers guys...


BEV putting her feet up after the nasty fall here last Saturday night.

 

I'm well aware of Theatre Europe Andy, but yes, since it was published by Datasoft (at least in the U.S.) I still wasn't aware of PSS, but Theatre Europe is one of the reasons I named Datasoft. Bismark: The North Sea Chase (I've also seen it listed as Bismark: Battle for the North Sea...maybe under another publisher?) is another good Datasoft war game, and even takes advantage of extended memory for additional animations and FX, but I'm not aware of exactly what, since I only ever played it starting with a 130XE, so I always had the extra memory. Napoleon In Russia completes the trilogy of Datasoft Atari 8-bit war games.

Beyond SSI, MicroProse and Avalon Hill, Datasoft, there is few else on the Atari, except for one-off's like Windcrest Software's Panzer War: http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-panzer-war_3880.html

That being said though, including one-off war game publishers and the top 4 publishers, there are a large number of strategy war games on the Atari! 7 pages worth (162 games!) on Atarimania. There are a few repeats, so lets call it 140-150 games. I guess another publisher that stands out with quite a few war games, though I've never tried any of them, is Dynacomp.

http://www.atarimania.com/list_game...p_total-page-step-genre_162-1-25-155_8_G.html

 

I remember that Atari User cover! It was one of my favourite magazines, must have a look and see if I have any issues hanging around.

Like you Andy, Stragetic Software sounds familiar. I think I remember adverts for them.

Good to see Bev home and tucking into her Christmas dinner

 

Many thanks, Al.
Huge relief to get her home safe and on the road to recovery on Christmas Day - albeit late on - and she didn't escape my sprout surprise!!

 

Wonderful news to see Bev back at home, bad news for you Andy is that those cast also act as wonderful spuds / arse kicking weapons so stay on the right side of her. Seriously, to see one of our NHS heroes out of hospital is just great, especially on a wonderful day such as Xmas.

Mind you anyone directly working with the public in these times is a hero to me, the numpties around here just stand right up the back of you in queues, had quite a few "stand back please" growls since coming out of covid. They just don't see there's an issue so hats off to those that have to deal with them day in day out.

PS if you ever did deal with my mates you would remember if you spoke to Steve, he was an ex Charity fundraiser and could talk the back legs off a donkey (very odd saying) and if you wanted info on a game he could sit there an hour telling you. They knew their stuff and played it all.

Two lovely blokes tho except for Basil their King Charles spaniel, who took a very excited liking of Cindy's leg, I'd nip over to Steve's all the time but Cindy only went twice because she was leg raped on both times and that dog would not accept a NO...

 

PMSL!
You tell the greatest of stories, Paul - please, please, please write a book of your micro memoirs someday and get me down for a few copies right away (they'll make good presents for retronauts next Christmas!)
We appreciate all your positive comments about the role of the NHS and care/care home workers during the pandemic, not to mention the emergency services and even shop workers, bus and taxi drivers etc who have had to put up with a lot of flak from the sometimes "know it all" public (or just the plain ignorant pillocks who will never take advice or possess a modicum of common sense).
Bev used to often say "Doctor Google has a lot to answer for" as patients would invariably turn up thinking they were suffering from everything from rabies to lhasa fever - and this was before the pandemic - so they now imagine a whole lot worse when really they need to await proper tests, diagnoses and leave some space for the actual professionals to have a good look at them before they trust entirely to.... Doctor Google!
It's the world we live in nowadays, isn't it? Everything's got to be a quick fix and instant gratification and if they don't get it - they kick off big time.

 

Doctor Google...LOL! Now that my sister has moved back to Texas I can laugh about it, but that crazy bitch was always looking medical things up on "Doctor Google" and jumping to outlandish conclusions about what's wrong with mum, her cats, her dog, and herself. None of which was even vaguely right once it all panned out!

Life here has been almost a joy since she has been gone and not stirring up trouble with my mom, my brother and I. A real drama queen, just like her mother and daughter. Life isn't worth living to them if they can't complain about stuff and live life like it's a soap-opera! One of the biggest mistakes of my life was asking her to come help out. Luckily I have a logical man in my brother to help out now, and the sun is shining on the Baker homestead once again. I love my sister, but Baker men got all the brains and logic and Baker woman all the families' insanity.

Glad to see Bev at home and recovering Andy. You blokes are so lucky to have level woman in your lives (compared to the woman in my family anyway).

 

By the way to answer the question to your first picture in the thread, Rommel, of course, I can't mistake that face for anyone else...I wouldn't even need the thread topic or games shown as hints to that one!

 

As with all my tales, 100% the truth..

Yeah tell me about Dr Google (nice one Bev), my sister in law thinks she's medically trained because she was an operation room assistant, basically she laid out the tools and made sure they were sterilized etc. She passed the course by 1 mark but that made her the family medical person (in her head). So now she's long out of that job and doing bugger all she still feels she must give her diagnosis of everything including covid etc. Her poor mother is always the subject of her Frankenstein medical knowledge that of course all comes from Dr Google. trouble is that its us who have to fix the hysterical mother when Fiona has diagnosed breast cancer from nothing. try as I might to get her to stop all this nonsense she still continues because the other sister thinks she's was trained as a nurse thanks to Fiona not putting her right.

So yeah, I know all about Dr Google..Why can't people just use common sense, ask the one person who can properly answer it and not the 50 million who have no clue or worse still decide that you can instantly achieve 10yrs medical training by looking at a web page..You are not Joe 90, putting on specs will not make you brighter..

My job is the family enforcer, if my mother in law or Sharon need medical help we sit down and get all the info out of them, we then strip out the non relevant stuff like Sharon hating men or Mum wondering if she will die from eating sugar free jam, that sort of stuff and then go in with them to the Doc and give them the notes. It stems from the mum being told she had an ear infection but when the doctor saw her she could not hear a lot of the questions and the doc was a keyboard rattler, always typing and not really listening. After a couple of visites with us seeing a marked decline in her health I went along for the first time and told the doc all the issues and said this needs more looking at and quickly please. That second she was booked in hospital and in that evening, brain tumor, caught just in time.

So that's why I go in for them...Max info, less tripe and a doc made to listen.

 

Thank god for you fellas - sounds like Matt, his brother and you, Paul, just stepped in in the nick of time to save both your respective families from a whole lotta trouble and possible disaster.

As you say, they seem to think that the contents of Twitface, FaceAche and other social media platforms and web pages are somehow a quick fix Idiots Guide to becoming a fully trained G.P. Are these folks actually living in the real world? I have my doubts and once more, thank god for the common sense you guys have brought to the party.

 

In the case of my sister in law Sharon, sadly she's so mentally broken she has no real concept of 'the real world', we have barely even convinced her that covid is a real thing, not because she's a conspiracy theorist but simply as it never has happened to her it does not exist. As for the mother in law, her grip on reality is slipping as the dementia starts to deepen. The world be nurse sister in law is just a sheep that follows the crowd, if her mates say its so then it is.

Like with most people we just assess the situation and use common sense just like you, Bev, Allan etc etc would do. the nearest I have to a super power is that I don't panic easily, I quickly see what is happening and act..

Hardly a super power

And I aint wearing spandex (although I'm told I have 'good legs')

 

Too much Google can be a dangerous thing, that's for sure. I've had to bring a few people I know 'down from the ledge'. I do quite like some of the conspiracy theories though. Mainly because they are so crazy!

But it's also scary how people easily people can get misinformed. Maybe if they spent a couple of hours in an ICU they would change their minds.

Now excuse me, I have a Microsoft Teams meeting to attend and need to find my face mask first...

 

Just turn up stark bollock naked Allan, apparently very good for team morale......That is until about 3 secs later when you become and ex team member..

 

Al gets ready for his Teams meet... I'm liking the dickie bow...nice touch, buddy and should make a good talking point to get things moving right from the OFF(!)

 

Never have bike handle bars been more appreciated

 

All the woman in my family, unfortunately, have no clue what is the "real world." My mother at least has the excuse of being 80+ and growing mental issues. My Sister and her daughter are just insane idiots. I still wonder how there became such drastic differences between the males and females in my family line, which started with my grandmother (mother's side)who was most definitely mentally ill, I don't know previous to her, but apparently all the females in the family took after her and the males somehow escaped it. At least in the immediate family, I can't fully say for the extended family, except one male cousin on my mother's side who was mentally ill. The families' mental issues most definitely stem from my mother's side of the family. My father's side are all highly intelligent, stable people that went on to get degrees, while my mother's side not so much, except one uncle who seems to be more mentally stable than all the rest.