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General discussionRelease: Close Combat series(140 posts)(140 posts)
(140 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted February 06, 2018
Keep your soldiers close, keep your enemies closer.

The Close Combat series has arrived, DRM-free and up to 65% off on GOG.com.
Bridge Too Far, The Russian Front, and The Battle of the Bulge, three legendary top-down RTS classics chronicling the gruesome battles of WWII are finally back, exclusively on GOG.com. Known for their snappy AI, realistic sound design and well-researched scenarios, Close Combat games let you side with either the Germans or the Allies as you pull off smart tactical maneuvers and desperate acts of heroism.

Additionally, two of the recent entries in the series, Gateway to Caen and Panthers in the Fog, bring a modern touch to your real-time WWII battles. Relive or change history as you experience the British assault on the aftermath of the Normandy landings and the ruthlessness of the desperate German counterattack at Mortain.

The discounts last until February 13, 2PM UTC.
Posted February 08, 2018
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Crosmando: You know, it's rather sneaky to have a sale and say it's "up to -65% off" when some of the items on sale (Battle of the Bulge, Russian Front) are only -10% off.
I mean, it makes sense - the discounts can be up to -65%. Just don't get your hopes up that the game you want in the sale will be -65%.

And if the classic games have never been legally released on other online stores before, they're not going to get any big discount, or any discount at all, presumably depending on what the publisher and GOG decide (Jazz Jack rabbit 1 & 2 got -10% discounts when they were released but today's "Lighthouse the dark being" didn't).
Post edited February 08, 2018 by tfishell
Posted February 08, 2018
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animalmother2105: Are the remakes (like Cross of Iron or Wacht am Rhein) worth waiting for or should I pull the trigger on the CC2-4?
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athineos: It is up to you how much money you wanna spend and how much you like a particular game. For example I really like CC3
and I have the Original game. But I may also buy the matrix version (has enhanced gameplay and approx 30 new maps)
Thanks. It is not so much about money as buying games that become "obsolete" by a remake which tweaks details for better gameplay/more content.
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Hicks233: ...
Based on the one's I've played.

CC2: lots of suppression and infantry rushes. Very brutal with high casualty counts.
CC3: infantry and armour are relatively well matched. Sprawling battles, excellent tank hunting opportunities. Lots of different types of map setting and seasonal variations. Troops can be upgraded and receive promotions. You don't have to play as the US!
CC4: interesting shift to winter setting. Very powerful snipers, lousy armour and maps can sometimes feel too compact despite being larger than previous entries. Bit of a weak point in the series. Did introduce the tactical map though.
CC5: Brilliant. Infantry are ruthless, armour gameplay is solid [not as good as CC3 though], tactical map and support options are well handled and has an excellent range of mods available.
Cross of Iron: avoid.
Gateway to Caen: Pretty good, infantry are more capable than in the remakes, armour behaves more sensibly [apart from their tendency to screw up movement by an obsession with roads]. Maps can be too large in terms of pacing. The mini operations play better than the main campaign.
Would you mind elaborating more on why one should avoid Cross of Iron? Thanks!
Post edited February 08, 2018 by animalmother2105
Posted February 08, 2018
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athineos: It is up to you how much money you wanna spend and how much you like a particular game. For example I really like CC3
and I have the Original game. But I may also buy the matrix version (has enhanced gameplay and approx 30 new maps)
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animalmother2105: Thanks. It is not so much about money as buying games that become "obsolete" by a remake which tweaks details for better gameplay/more content.
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Hicks233: ...
Based on the one's I've played.

CC2: lots of suppression and infantry rushes. Very brutal with high casualty counts.
CC3: infantry and armour are relatively well matched. Sprawling battles, excellent tank hunting opportunities. Lots of different types of map setting and seasonal variations. Troops can be upgraded and receive promotions. You don't have to play as the US!
CC4: interesting shift to winter setting. Very powerful snipers, lousy armour and maps can sometimes feel too compact despite being larger than previous entries. Bit of a weak point in the series. Did introduce the tactical map though.
CC5: Brilliant. Infantry are ruthless, armour gameplay is solid [not as good as CC3 though], tactical map and support options are well handled and has an excellent range of mods available.
Cross of Iron: avoid.
Gateway to Caen: Pretty good, infantry are more capable than in the remakes, armour behaves more sensibly [apart from their tendency to screw up movement by an obsession with roads]. Maps can be too large in terms of pacing. The mini operations play better than the main campaign.
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animalmother2105: Would you mind elaborating more on why one should avoid Cross of Iron? Thanks!
The short answer would be that it removes more than it adds, it doesn't function as well as the original CC3 release [compatibility point now moot] and the changes to soldier AI make things more frustrating than they need to be. Stick with the original releases of CC3 and CC5. For the newer titles go with Gateway to Caen.

If you'd like the added units of Cross of Iron while maintaining the AI behaviour of CC3 then your best bet would be to get Der Ost Front mod and then apply it to the base CC3 game. All you'd then really be missing out on would be the included campaign that came with Cross of Iron. It's not so different from the original campaign that it is an irreplaceable loss and is outdone by comparison by Der Ost Front's campaign.

Longer review of CC3 I did which should explain things in more depth here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/96044-close-combat-iii-the-russian-front/reviews/164016
Posted February 08, 2018
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EndlessWaves: "Based on Operation Garden, Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far challenges you to take control of five strategic bridges"

I suspect something gotten lost in translation there, shouldn't that be Operation: Market Garden?
I'm generally worried a bit about the spellcheck with these…

"Command a fire brigade of soldiers on the Russian Front in this real-time strategy game set in World War II featuring unequaled detail, realism and scope. Player as either the Soviets or Germans as you orchestrate your squads' attack, defense, and survival over four grueling years of the grandest and bloodiest war the world has ever seen. To succeed, you must guide your man through the moral dangers of war while physically an psychologically defeating your enemies. Your soldiers are counting on you. Don't let them down!"
Posted February 08, 2018
I generally have a deep dislike of RTTs (hey, to each his own), but somehow Close Combat 3 & 5 captivated me for hours on end when I first got the chance to play them, so this series is definitely doing something right.

Now I have a chance to try the rest of the games in the series and I'm not going to let it fly past me, even if I know I've already had a taste of the best it has to offer.
Posted February 09, 2018
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Crosmando: You know, it's rather sneaky to have a sale and say it's "up to -65% off" when some of the items on sale (Battle of the Bulge, Russian Front) are only -10% off.
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timppu: On the other hand, it is the newer and more expensive games that have the higher discount. I guess it would be unrealistic to expect that the first three games, which cost only little over 5€ to begin with and were just released in GOG (with GOG's compatibility work), would get a deep discount right away.
True, but it's still annoying that you need to manually go through each of the items to discover which ones are actually discounted at what rates.
Posted February 09, 2018
I was pretty surprised to see these here since I thought that Matrix had an exclusive deal to distribute SLitherine games,but I guess that contract expired and Slitherine can now pretty much distriubute it's games through any company it wants to;

I have the Matrix versions of CC 2,3,4,and "The Longest Day" (the grealty expanded remake of CC 5...now it covers all of D Day, not just Utah Beach,) and since the Matrix versions include the original games as a bonus so I will probably give the GOG versions a miss for now. (BTW the Matrix versions are pretty much DRM free; they have a number code a lot like the old CD codes you need to install the games, but once installed you don't need the code and as long as you have the CD code and the downloaded installer you have unlimited installs of the games).

But I am VERY interested that GOG is working with some old SSI people on bringing Steel Panthers here.
I would love for gog to do a updated version of SP:WAW....
Posted February 09, 2018
Really wanted to check that series back in the day, especially A Bridge Too Far. Great to see "new" good old game coming to GoG. Will definitely grab CC2 and CC3.
Post edited February 09, 2018 by Lebesgue
Posted February 09, 2018
I would also like GOG to get the other two versions of the Combat MIssion games: Combat Missiion Barabarossa to Berlin and Combat Mision Afrika Korps to gog.
Posted February 09, 2018
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dudalb: I was pretty surprised to see these here since I thought that Matrix had an exclusive deal to distribute SLitherine games,but I guess that contract expired and Slitherine can...

But I am VERY interested that GOG is working with some old SSI people on bringing Steel Panthers here.
I would love for gog to do a updated version of SP:WAW....
Matrix and slitherine are one company
Posted February 09, 2018
YES FINALLY! Thanks you GoG. Please bring the other ones too!
Posted February 09, 2018
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dudalb: I was pretty surprised to see these here since I thought that Matrix had an exclusive deal to distribute SLitherine games,but I guess that contract expired and Slitherine can now pretty much distriubute it's games through any company it wants to;

I have the Matrix versions of CC 2,3,4,and "The Longest Day" (the grealty expanded remake of CC 5...now it covers all of D Day, not just Utah Beach,) and since the Matrix versions include the original games as a bonus so I will probably give the GOG versions a miss for now. (BTW the Matrix versions are pretty much DRM free; they have a number code a lot like the old CD codes you need to install the games, but once installed you don't need the code and as long as you have the CD code and the downloaded installer you have unlimited installs of the games).

But I am VERY interested that GOG is working with some old SSI people on bringing Steel Panthers here.
I would love for gog to do a updated version of SP:WAW....
I have a feeling that Steel Panthers: World at War - Generals Edition from Matrix will be one of the games that will be offered at GOG at a deep discount in the near future (overpriced at $49.99 on Matix site). It is on the top of my to-buy list.
Posted February 09, 2018
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dudalb: I was pretty surprised to see these here since I thought that Matrix had an exclusive deal to distribute SLitherine games,but I guess that contract expired and Slitherine can now pretty much distriubute it's games through any company it wants to;

I have the Matrix versions of CC 2,3,4,and "The Longest Day" (the grealty expanded remake of CC 5...now it covers all of D Day, not just Utah Beach,) and since the Matrix versions include the original games as a bonus so I will probably give the GOG versions a miss for now. (BTW the Matrix versions are pretty much DRM free; they have a number code a lot like the old CD codes you need to install the games, but once installed you don't need the code and as long as you have the CD code and the downloaded installer you have unlimited installs of the games).

But I am VERY interested that GOG is working with some old SSI people on bringing Steel Panthers here.
I would love for gog to do a updated version of SP:WAW....
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athineos: I have a feeling that Steel Panthers: World at War - Generals Edition from Matrix will be one of the games that will be offered at GOG at a deep discount in the near future (overpriced at $49.99 on Matix site). It is on the top of my to-buy list.
I hope so too.
It would be nice if they fixed issue with sluggish artillery control interface.
Posted February 10, 2018
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cosmicdolphin: I has a somewhat similar problem, at one time it definitely stated on the Matrix site that the game would only be available for download for a period of time, but you could pay an extra charge to 'keep it available'. Which I didn't want to do, so I downloaded, and backed up the file (subsequently lost in a drive crash) This is a long time ago prior to the merger with Slitherine. However after seeing your comments I re-logged in to my matrix account, and found that access to the game has been restored in the period since.

But again, I felt this was a bit poor so I never purchased from the site again.

Rich

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IainMcNeil: I suspect you may have contacted the payment provider and not us as we never charge to redownload. Any game you have registered with us can be downloaded as often as you want and like GOG, we never use any DRM. Either through the members area or by contacting support. If you contact PayPal or Bluesnap by mistake they may tell you you incorrect info as they deal with thousands of accounts and we tell people never to talk to them but they see a payment invoice and respond to that address and not us.

So if you have any issues please do contact support and they'll sort you out.

We'll have more games on GoG soon but they need to be selective to avoid overloading you! We have 300 strategy and wargames in our line up and release ~3 new releases a month.
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cosmicdolphin:
Okay so I wasn't crazy then. :P Good to know that they fixed this issue.
Posted February 12, 2018
Anyone having issues with the game crashing after finishing one battle in the Grand Campaign? Been pretty consistent on my platform. The game runs great during the battle, ask to wait the battle for a perod of time, to move on to the next one, then it just crashes? A little aggraviating, since I would hope that GOG would have worked out the stability issues before release. Any ideas from anyone would be appreciated
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionRelease: Close Combat series(140 posts)(140 posts)
(140 posts)