history line, new version?

sabrewolf · July 15, 2002, 08:25

hi there

i remember playing "history line" quite a few years ago.
it was a turn based game where you could choose between french and german fighting the first world war.
each nation had own units which could be produced and repaired in depots (which you had to take and defend). there was artillery, foot units, tanks and planes. and some levels even had naval warfare with ships, subs, etc.

the map was known and was bee-hive-formed (6 neighbor hexagons (="6-cornered squares")), there was fog of war and so on.

it was hell fun to play, but now it's unfortunatly not usable any more because it's way too old! (4 floppy-disks afaik)

now my question:
do you people remember the game? did you like it?
is there any very similar game nowadays?

it doesn't need to be 3D-graphics. something like civ3 with deactivated animations, etc. would be plenty.

Moral Hazard · July 15, 2002, 09:11

I believe it's on underdogs. No I never played it. sounds intrigueing I might test it.

the link
http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.ph...e%3A+1914-1918

Drew Dude · July 15, 2002, 11:35

Wow - blast from the past. I did play this (avidly along with Battle Isles) but didn't equate the title to the game until I saw the screen shots. As your troops gained more experience didn't they get medals, ending in (for the Germans ) the Iron Cross - or was it more Iron Crosses. I seemed to remember sending wave upon wave of infantry against a tank division with an Iron Cross and just waring the bleeder down.

sabrewolf · July 15, 2002, 11:41

Quote:

Originally posted by Moral Hazard
I believe it's on underdogs. No I never played it. sounds intrigueing I might test it.

the link
http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.ph...e%3A+1914-1918

wow, cool! thanks for the link!

well you can download it here, but in the category "if you like this, you might like these games" all other games are fairly old.

does someone know newer games, let's say max. 3-4 years old?

Standup · July 15, 2002, 18:56

I remember playing this on my Amiga A500 so it must be around 8-10 years old. I sometimes think its better to remember old games fondly rather than be disappointed when they're revisited.

It was fun though

Adagio · July 16, 2002, 05:01

As far as I know, there's no new version of the game. Blue Byte (Those who made "Historyline 1914-1918") made a game based on the same system, it's called Battle Isle, but don't even think about go buy BI4, since it's NOT the same thing. Battle Isle 2-4 is using a complete new, and complete boring, system. Only the original Battle Isle, "looks" like Historyline 1914 - 1918...Would be nice if they'd make a new Historyline 1940 - 1945, as long as they don't make the same mistake as they did with Battle Isle

sabrewolf · July 16, 2002, 06:22

Quote:

Originally posted by ADG
As far as I know, there's no new version of the game. Blue Byte (Those who made "Historyline 1914-1918") made a game based on the same system, it's called Battle Isle, but don't even think about go buy BI4, since it's NOT the same thing. Battle Isle 2-4 is using a complete new, and complete boring, system. Only the original Battle Isle, "looks" like Historyline 1914 - 1918...Would be nice if they'd make a new Historyline 1940 - 1945, as long as they don't make the same mistake as they did with Battle Isle

it looks like it's really difficult to make a new version of a game, because you can't change the game idea too much, nor can you keep it the same. coracle won't agree, but i think civilization worked out quite good by keeping the main game idea the same, but extending it and optimizing graphics.

otoh "settler"/"siedler" never reached no 1 any more. it was just too much the same. all you could do is build even more buildings, fight with different sorts of soldiers, etc.
same for Age of Empires 2 (which i consider as the best real-time-strategy game ever). all the games which wanted to be the successors (empire earth, stronghold, etc.) just can't steal my nights as good as AoE2

ADG: yep, i tried one or two of the battle isles but it really wasn't that great. now i'm downloading some "history line 1914-1918"-like games at underdogs and will test to see if they're fun...

sabrewolf · July 16, 2002, 06:35

by the way:

One of the best strategy games ever made, Imperialism is the rare turn-based game that strikes a near-perfect balance between economics, diplomacy, and military action set in a fictitious 19th century world. As in the real world, success depends on the ability to manage the economics -- you can’t drive a war machine for long without a robust economy under the hood. Different natural resources -- foodstuffs, iron, coal, timber and cotton -- are essential for fueling the empire, for creating the trade goods, and cannons necessary for survival. Extracting these resources and maximizing your production is as involving and as challenging as anything this side of Capitalism; and while that may not be everyone’s cup of tea (and the learning curve can be steep), Imperialism treats its subject with such care and detail that hard-core strategy gamers can’t help but be delighted.

32MB, downloadable at:
imperialsm @ underdogs

Grumbold · July 16, 2002, 18:03

I thought BI 2 and its expansion was pretty good.

I didnt get far with BI 3 because they stupidly stopped you seeing anything going on in your opponents turn.

sabrewolf · September 28, 2002, 11:57

btw: i bought "panzer general III" ... it may be graphicly better than the earlier versions, but i just couldn't get the kick as in "history line 1914-1918" or earlier PG versions...

pity...

Dauphin · September 28, 2002, 12:25

I've got the CD-ROM version of Historyline. It was a great game, still is. I originally had the old amiga version - it had nine disks which was really annoying.

The music is good too, especially the remix version.

sabrewolf · September 28, 2002, 12:27

yeah, exactly

remix-version? where did you get that from?

Dauphin · September 28, 2002, 14:41

Its part of the music that came on the CD version of the game

1). Intro
2). Classical
3). Remix
4). Credits

sabrewolf · September 28, 2002, 14:47

ah, i get it... only got the 3.5"-disk-version (i think 4 of 'em). unfortunatly i got rid of all disks and now i regret it

thanks for the info..

long live the classics!

Silpy · October 7, 2002, 08:35

I know I'm a tad late, but I remenber playing a demo around '96-'97 which was similar to what you described, but it was set in WWII. I think it was called Battlegrounds. (Or something like that)