Communal Combat Mission game imminent

If you’d like to participate in this year’s ‘play-by-comment’ CM clash, keep a close eye on the site during the coming week. I’m hoping to launch the game on Wednesday morning, and – in a break with tradition – the Cornerites that issue the first set of orders will act as commanders for the entire battle.

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A2J

A is for Abbreviated A2Z. My mammoth monthly news round-ups are on hold, but truncated digests like this may appear from time to time.

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Review Reprise: Apache Air Assault

I’ve written hundreds of reviews and previews during my twenty-odd years as a games inspector. As many of these appeared in the British version of PC Gamer magazine and nowhere else, and involve titles largely forgotten today, now and again something from my archive may appear as one of THC’s daily posts. Below the jump you’ll find my take on Apache Air Assault, a classy light helicopter gunship sim from 2010 that, sadly, still hasn’t made it onto Steam or GOG.

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Alex Williamson is a one man wargame factory

Over the past decade the proprietor of Asymgames.com has crafted around seventy computer wargames. All are free, equipped with competent AIs, and playable online, and many explore the kind of relatively obscure conflicts, ops, battles, and historical events that bigger devs often ignore. Assuming you can live with utilitarian graphics, and are willing to learn the ins and outs of Alex’s various self-built engines (there are eight families of games), his Aladdin’s archive is well worth a visit.

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Traction inaction (Where are the traction engine sims?)

The steam-powered tractors/tractor units of the Victorian era and early 20th Century have reason to cast resentful glances at fellow transport forms like the aeroplane and automobile. Bar a few flimsy Farming Simulator mods, they’ve been completely ignored by sim smiths. The neglect would make sense if these clamorous dinosaurs lacked charisma and interesting quirks. As they’re actually anything but dull, their unsimmed status feels – to me at least – rather unjust.

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