Conquest of the Aegean is based on an advanced wargame engine from Panther Games. No hex, no phase, no turn. A complete chain of command gives the player control over his troops. Fluid movement and realistic combat rules.
Here is an overview of the most impressive features.
Pausable Continuous Time
Many traditional wargamers don't like the idea of a real time wargame. They have been burnt playing click fest games like Command and Conquer or Age of Empires. Conquest of the Aegean is NOT like that. It is real time but pausable - that's why we refer to it as Pausable Continuous Time or PCT for short. Why we opted for this over turns is the simulation fidelity. We use a one minute time interval and this means we can cater for an incredible range of different effects and shades in the way time impact the battlefield that traditional turns cannot.
The game time is not broken into phases and turn, but flows continuously. Three speeds and a pause are available. Commands can be given at any time even when game is paused, facilitating the handling of reinforcements or evaluation of tense situations. In addition there is an option to run the game until a certain time.
Vector Game Map
For the same simulation fidelity reason, the game map is not divided into zones or hexes : it is a vector map. Maps are designed with the map editor ( MapMaker ) delivered with the game. Each level of land is a complex geometric shape, each feature, like woods, towns or villages are complex polygons. Roads are broken lines. From that information, the MapMaker tool computes elevations, slopes, passable terrains, etc. , all the data used by the game engine.
Historical Chain of Command
To help the player control all his units, we implement a Chain of Command. As in real armies, your units are organized in a hierarchy. Each unit has a commander and a staff, each with their own capacity to command and manage the units under them. You, the player, can assign a task to any unit in the chain of command. The artificial intelligence (AI) controlling the unit will then assess the task, develop a plan and give orders to its subordinates. In turns, they will develop their own plan and issue their own orders down the line.
So you do not have to give an order to each or every unit under your command. Neither are you obliged to form group of units. The units hierarchy, presented in the OB (Order of Battle) tab in the side bar, is designed to relieve you to the burden of micro-managing the large forces involved in a scenario.
The commanders and their staffs have their own characteristics. Some will be very capable and reactive, while others will be inexperienced and lacking aggression. These factors help differentiate elite units from others. Your best units will react faster, hold strong and assault efficiently.
Orders Delay
Conquest of the Aegean has orders delay that applies a time delay to the delivery of orders to simulate the time taken by commanders and their staff to receive, process and send orders. As in real life the amount of time varies with the size of the force and the efficiency of its commanders and staff. With one minute time intervals, we can simulate a wide range of order delay periods from a few minutes to many hours.
In a typical operational level turn based system you have two to four hour turns so your options for varying the order delay period are minimal. You can't adequately differentiate between efficient commands and those that aren't. And yet in real life this difference wins battles. Getting inside your opponents decision making cycle means you can gain the initiative. You can have your forces moving before he can respond adequately. Your opponent ends up always responding and always too late to effectively counter you. This is how Conquest of the Aegean simulates the effects of surprise. This is such an important aspect of the operational level of warfare.
Realistic Resupply System
The most impressive new feature of Conquest of the Aegean is the new Resupply System. The system is complex and realistic, without burdening the player : the AI takes care of all the clerical work.
Twice a day, every unit determines the Base it will draw on. If in the course of play a Base is destroyed, those units drawing from it will have to wait until the next Resupply Determination event before they can draw from another Base. While there is no problem with doing so, a Base only has so much transport and handling capacity and if this is overloaded it may not cope, deliveries may take ages to dispatch and units may not receive emergency resupply. All in all it's BAD news to lose a Base.
Mixed Mode Movement and Slope Effects
To realistically simulate the steep terrain of Greece and Crete, Conquest of the Aegean implements specific movement rules. The Slope Effects code slows down move rates as units try and climb slopes. In some cases where the slope is greater than 30 degrees, it prevents motorised units from entering but still enables foot units to traverse the location. The Mixed Mode movement code manages such cases.
The new Mixed Mode Movement code also manages the generation of routes for a force containing a mix of foot and motorised units.This automatically creates rendevous points where the entire force can form up and move off together in formation or where the force needs to split and move independently.
Realistic Delay and Withdraw Tasks
Given the importance of effective delaying and withdrawal tactics in Greece, this code has been re-written and enhanced. It now deploys multiple blocking forces, leap-frogs delaying positions and manages firebases and support assets in a realistic manner.
Similarily, the Withdraw tasks now divides the force into a main body which will move to the objective and a rearguard that delays back to it.
Exit Tasks and Linked Objectives
Conquest of the Aegean implements the four types of objectives already present in the previous games of the series : occupation of a zone, with eventual points awarded for the time the objectives has been occupied, secure or deny crossing and destroy the enemy.
Now, the game supplements these with a new Exit Task, where you have to exit a required force (determined by Firepower, Armour and Bombard values) to gain the objectives points. This is especially useful to simulate an ordered retreat or an important breakthrough.
The scenario designer can also specify that two or more side tasks are linked. This means that you achieve points for securing either. For example, a scenario can present the player with three crossings linked. Securing any one of these three crossings will award the specified points.
Message Log and Filters
To let you have better information on your troops, the game implements a new message log located in the "Msg" tab in the side data lists. It holds all the messages you've received so far. By the end of the game you can imagine this gets pretty big. Below it are 3 toggle buttons to view any combination of Flash, Urgent or Routine messages or none if they are all toggled off. Clicking on a message selects the unit which sent it and centers the map to its location.
On the display toolbar to the right of the intel filter, there is a new message filter button. This works in much the same the manner as the message tab except the filters are hierarchical, for example the routine will show routine messages, urgent and flash, whereas the urgent filter will show urgent and flash. There is also a None filter for when the Commander has taken leave from the battlefield in his vacation house and doesn't wish to be bothered.
Other User Interface Improvements
Not only was the User Interface enhanced to add the new features described above (Like OOB display, Supply and Depot tab), Conquest of the Aegean adds many more improvements to provide a better experience.
To cite a few :
- A Display Toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen. It offers quick access to functions and map filters that were previously available in the option tab on the left side bar. Functions include : Unit Info, Unit Type, Intel and Message filters, Command or Supply lines display ,Range Rings, Map Grid, Eliminated Unit Icons, Objective and Task Icons, etc.
- A new Tools Tab in the left side bar contains a lot of useful tools. In addition to the classic LOS tool, there is a new Area LOS tool which displays visible locations within 10 kms. Then there is a new Pathing Tool to calculate and display the different types of routes between two selected locations.
- The Force Data displayed in the Gen tab in the left side bar have been reorganised and enhanced with additional data, covering most unit parameters.
- Right clicking on the map now brings up an comprehensive popup that details the dominant terrain types, the X,Y and Z location parameters, move effects for foot and motorised, hit effects for direct and area fire and the current slope in degrees.
