First of all, love this game and love the update. I've been playing it a ton since the update. That said, I do have some comments etc based on my play time. 1) This isn't an issue with the app, but the original game. Is it just me or are the new armies WAY better than the original 4? New York in particular seems really good. I'm surprised they didn't update or tweak the original armies to balance things out a little. For example switch out some of the old armies tiles with new ones using the new mechanics. It's silly that only new york has the shotgun and rocket launches etc. I get each army should have it's own flavor but they don't seem balanced as is in my opinion 2) I really would like to see some small improvement to the AI. Most of the time it is solid but a lot of the time it does some really stupid stuff that'd be easy to fix. For example, I think a hard computer should always be moving tiles that have the move ability if it would be a better spot for them. I occasionally see them rotate them but that's it (and even then not always in the smartest manner. I also think they tend to throw out a lot of the special tiles. I don't think they should ever be throwing out grenades and snipers etc. Very few players i know ever throw it out (except in very rare cases). It's just some small simple things that wouldn't take a lot of programming to update. I understand updating the AI a ton would realy slow things down but i still think some effort should be made to continuaaly tweak and optimize it in obvious places. 3) the new update crashes a lot in random places. It always remebers where i was and reloads just fine... but it is a little annoying and seems to randomly occur. Thanks again for the great update and I can't wait for the 2 remaining extra armies! Keep up the great work!
The new armies aren't much better, they just have easier strategies. New York has no armored units or armor giving modules. Since the units are weaker you keep them close the HQ since it provides defense. That Turtling is New York's main strategy. Fill up the spots near their HQ with your units and they don't stand a chance. NeoJungle's strategy revolves around the motherland. Their units are slow but make up for that with Modules that have single attachment points. Break the chain or net the HQ and you can easily take them out.
Thanks for the input VeganTnT. I will definitely keep that in mind. I still find them a little more powerful than the basic 4 though(which i thought were very balanced). For NeoJungle they are pretty balanced in my mind with the exception of poison. Poison is really good... especially if they hit your base early on. Even the 3 melee net attacker from blue isn't as bad because you can take one hit off an unfortunate board and then get him. The poison one needs to hit once and you're in for a lot of pain For NewYork, they are really good turtles as you said so i feel like you need to devote a lot of your early attention on them or they do get out of control and any army that makes you need to deal with them first (regardless of board position) is pretty strong in my book. They also have two unique abilities (rockets and shotgun) which are very good and spy is also very solid. Yes the units aren't super fast but the can be brutal when used correctly. I really do like both new armies i just which they compensated a little on the other ones (maybe even just spreading a couple of the new abilities to singleton units for some of the armies).
Is there no network multiplayer in this game? Seems like it would be the perfect PBM type of game. A real shame.
Definitely not. Both have strengths and weaknesses, just like the original four. I will add, though, that Neojungle can sometimes be a world-beater ... and sometimes be utterly useless. If you can get a strong Motherland going early, Neojungle can often grow to 10-15 tiles and be one step below indestructible. But if you can't get any momentum going early and/or get your Motherland broken up, then Neojungle is just a bunch of slow units without any sort of ranged attack. I'd say that, more than any other faction, Neojungle is really dependent o the first few tiles drawn.
Wait til you play with Vegas They only have 6 unit tiles that actually do damage and a Sniper tile. Everything else is based on taking control of enemy units. Also, I'm really hoping BDC make Doomsday Machine available as well. Their redirect ability always causes mayhem
On its way, finally. We know that it will be asynchronous, so all is good BigDaddysCreations, while online MP will have me playing Neuroshima Hex over and over again for months and years to come, something that would propel NH over into legendary territory would be if the multiplayer component included persistant stats, and, even more importantly, ELO ratings (or some other mathematical measure of skill). Both Carcassonne and UniWar use ELO to add a persistant component to the online multiplayer, and it really adds incentive to keep playing, improving, and winning. UniWar also features quite detailed statistics, together with some community features, allowing players to visit each other's profiles, look at the stats, and generally makes the multiplayer more involved and involving. All this adds up to a multiplayer experience that offers even more motivation to play than the brilliance of the gameplay alone. Compare this to Words with Friends and Disc Drivin', two immensely entertaining multiplayer titles that wholly lacks any persistence and stats, and almost any community features. The matches are still very fun, but in the long run, a sensation of randomness and lack of purpose sometimes creeps over the players, and the games become just a long string of matches, not a part of any greater whole. Since Neuroshima Hex is one of the most appealing and entertaining tactical experiences in the App Store, I'd like it to offer as much longevity as possible (Ideally, most of these brilliant multiplayer titles would include a strategy/world metagame/MMO-inspired component, where individual duels and matches contribute to an ongoing large-scale campaign. World domination, in the case of UniWar and Neuroshima Hex, colonizing unexplored lands in the case of Carcassonne, and some sort of sports league/athlete fame metaplot for Disc Drivin'. (Words with Friends is a tad more tricky. Becoming the reigning scrabble player in the retirement home, perhaps? ) Such a system would trump even persistent stats and skill ratings (and be compatible with them, of course). I can't come up with a good example of a game where this is already done, but the match-based online fps World of Tanks supposedly launched with the intentions to eventually make all multiplayer matches part of a on-going military campaign, thus giving all battles context and purpose for those that care, while still offering directly available fights for those that do not.)
Did I understand what I read from BoardGameGeek right? Somebody claimed that one of the aspects that helped keep New York a bit more balanced is that Babel 13 introduced a bigger hex map than the original. Is this true and, if so, would it make much of a difference to the New York faction?
All the armies are balanced to work with the main board. However when playing with 4 or more players in Babel 13 the rulebook has you use wasteland tiles to expand the game board. For reference the normal board is 19 hexes 4 players = 23 5 = 26 6 = 29 Does it effect NY? Sure! Their key strategy is turtling so a larger board and few movement tiles means they need to step out a little further when attacking. But again, reaching out like that is how NY gets destroyed in any sized board, so it's less about the board size and more about you leaving yourself open to attack because you wanted to attack the enemy.
That makes a lot of sense. Question for bigdaddy then. Are you going to update the game at some point to allow 6 players and also these bigger boards? That'd be a very neat option and I imagine not too hard to code!
That extra room might make it possible to add the terrain tiles as well. In Babel 13 the terrain is really only for scenarios because each tile type had several different characteristics and the scenario dictated what ones were used. An Example: Forest tiles that were "Thick" meant that any unit standing on it could only be hit by a unit standing next to it. "Jungle" meant armored units were too big to enter that tile. In normal battles you can't use terrain because when choosing those characteristics you always end up choosing the ones that benefit your army. With the iOS version it could be completely automated and really add to the strategy of the game.
OMG bigger game board! Terrain tiles should be fun . But then we will seriously need a team play mode.
Hmmm, good points. I guess I'd hope that one would need to pick their faction BEFORE they saw the generated map but even then how much control should be given to the one setting up the game as to the different densities of terrains? Maybe there could be a few preset parameters, like they did in the Civilization or Age of Empire maps, that determined if special tiles were allowed, which ones, and how frequent. At least in this game there wouldn't be as much need to keep things all nice and evenly distributed, like in the Age of Empire maps, since players can choose anywhere on the map to place their HQs. It sure would add a new level to unit placement but then again I also agree it might often comedown to who has the army best suited to the terrain generated on the map they're playing on.
Team play is super hard. NeoJungle Allies can't be part of the Motherland and their modules only have one connection point. If playing with NeoJungle as an ally they will rarely give you a module because they need it. NY's HQ doesn't give out toughness so they can't do much supporting since they need to continue turtling. Moloch is the only army that can attack friendly units. Not only that but they can still Net allies and be disabled by friendly nets so both teammates need to pay extra attention. I mean I'd love to have Team Play but it requires a ton of coordination that it would have to be local only or online with voice
Well that's the point of adding 'team' mode right? So your allies get all your bonuses and you get theirs. And yes I've played 'virtual' team mode with my friend as Moloch and the nuke can be a life saver even though we are not recognized as team mates by the game.
Well no one terrain type can fill the entire board and not all characteristics are good. Melee units do well in "Thick" and "High" Forests since that keeps them safe from ranged attacks but the Forest could also be "Poisonous" which gives the same effect as Venom. Hills also has great effects like blocking ranged attacks, adding toughness, adding sharpshooter ability, but could also be "Rocky" which means any unit damaged on it is killed automatically. Water is universally bad Wasteland does nothing unless it's "Radioactive" then it has the same effect as Venom. Base/Warehouse probably won't happen since that requires adding Turrents and Prize markers for the pickups. So you may pick The Hegemony, and be glad to see that there is a forest on the board but if it's not "Thick", "High", or "Dismal" (adds Mobility) then it's not helping you. If it's "Poisonous" or "Jungle" then it can be used against you. Once you get the little nuances of the armies and the different terrain types you will always have a fighting chance, that's the beauty of the Hex
As you probably know, we're willing to add multiplayer first. Then different game boards and new armies would be nice. I think that Duel's board is interesting. There's albo a king-of-the-hill board when youget initiative bonuses for being closer to the center.
Yes, please, add multiplayer first. I greatly enjoy this game and it's turning into the best iOS game purchase I've made, but at some point the AI stops being an entertaining opponent. Multiplayer is also the single most important feature if you want to increase the user base and thus make more money. I'd also like an optional "extra hard" AI that uses more time to make its move and/or takes advantage of the top gen hardware's specs. But it's already an awesome game!
I agree. I think we should go for MP first, then look at expansion in terms of more armies, additional game boards, etc. NH is possibly the best boardgame for iOS; I love playing it and there is plenty of room for further development. Exciting times ahead.
