TBS Fantasy General II by Slitherine Games

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://www.slitherine.com/news/fantasy-general-ii-to-be-released-on-september-5th

Fantasy General II to be released on September 5th!

Published on August 22, 2019
The date many of you have been waiting for is drawing near: Fantasy General II will be out on Steam, Slitherine, GoG.com on September 5th!

The sequel to a true gem from the 90s, Fantasy General II brings a classic formula to the modern era and innovates on it. Prepare to lead the Barbarian Clans in their fight for freedom against the oppressive Empire. Make use of powerful and ancient artefacts, magical spells, side with (or fight against!) fantasy creatures such as dragons, trolls, golems, harpies and many more!

You will be able to buy Fantasy General II plus two special editions: the Hero Edition and the General Edition.

The Hero Edition will comprise of the base game plus the following exclusive content:

• Tale of Falir PREQUEL CAMPAIGN
  Tolk Headsplitter and his band of trolls have been pillaging the western steads of Clan Donagh. Many brave souls died facing the giant troll and Clan Donagh has offered 200 Gold to the hero who can best Tolk. Eager to make a name for himself, Falir of Clan Baileach sets out with his band to claim the prize. Thus begins the Tale of Falir. Experience the prologue to the single player campaign in this exciting prequel campaign.
• ARTBOOK (available both digital and physical)
  This book introduces you to the world and people of Fantasy General II and gives you never-before released background information on the game’s story and units as well as putting the beautiful art of the game into your hands. A unique collection book, 104 pages long, containing the amazing art of Dominik Mayer.
• DIGITAL SOUNDTRACK (includes the original Fantasy General’s soundtrack)
  A digital package containing the marvelous original soundtracks of Fantasy General and Fantasy General II! Relive the music that inspired generations of strategy players in the 90s, then prepare to be amazed by a brand new modern epic soundtrack for its sequel. A total of 20 amazing tracks.
• PRINTABLE WORLD MAP
  A high-resolution printable version of the map of the world of Aer. From the cold, magic-rich highlands of Fareach, to the Borderlands with their fertile river valleys and deep woods where witches and monsters still roam free; from the Sunken Land, submerged through a great Cataclysm and filled with treacherous swamp and Lizardfolk, to the refined and temperate Empire to the South, home to wondrous cities and built upon undead labour. The world of Aer is vast and filled with wonders.

The General Edition will include all the content from the Hero Edition plus the two expansions available in the next future: Onslaught and Empire Aflame!

This edition is the go-to choice in case you want absolutely everything and you also would like to save on future content, working essentially like a season pass.

We have plans to keep expanding and improving the game after its release, so we consider September 5th to be just the beginning of a long voyage. We will reveal more about our plans for Onslaught and Empire Aflame in the months to come.

Both the Hero Edition and the General Edition will be available on September 5th on all stores – Steam, Slitherine, GoG and other digital distributors across the world. A physical version of the Hero Edition will be available on Slitherine, containing a printed hard-cover version of the amazing artbook. Truly a collector’s item!

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

this game actually looks pretty good so fa to me. I liked the way it appears that each group of soldiers you controlled looks like they may have their own individual upgrade abilities and perhaps limited inventory slots. I am mildly optimistic. Also I actually think it looks fairly decent from an art perspective. Maybe a little generic, but its clean and easy to see what is going on and nice to look at..

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

Disregarding whether I like the aesthetics or not (I don't), this game carries zero resemblance to Fantasy General whatsoever. I mean, with some abomination like Fallout 3, despite it being a console fpp shooter with eye-raping gembryo graphics versus iso crpg one could pretty immediately tell "yup, this is supposed to be an fpp Fallout, it just sucks balls". Here - not at all. This leads me to believe that this might've been some typical semi-shovelware slitherine project that was re-branded and got additional funding for better recognition.

Mind you, I'm not saying this will be bad and I'm potentially interested in it.

 

[fantadomat]

I am interested,hope that there is more than a single campaign.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/08/30/the-flare-path-operation-barbarouser/

 

[markec]

Disregarding whether I like the aesthetics or not (I don't), this game carries zero resemblance to Fantasy General whatsoever. I mean, with some abomination like Fallout 3, despite it being a console fpp shooter with eye-raping gembryo graphics versus iso crpg one could pretty immediately tell "yup, this is supposed to be an fpp Fallout, it just sucks balls". Here - not at all. This leads me to believe that this might've been some typical semi-shovelware slitherine project that was re-branded and got additional funding for better recognition.

Mind you, I'm not saying this will be bad and I'm potentially interested in it.

I think the leader of the project confused Fantasy General with Fantasy Wars since the game looks much more like a sequel to that game.

 

[fantadomat]

Disregarding whether I like the aesthetics or not (I don't), this game carries zero resemblance to Fantasy General whatsoever. I mean, with some abomination like Fallout 3, despite it being a console fpp shooter with eye-raping gembryo graphics versus iso crpg one could pretty immediately tell "yup, this is supposed to be an fpp Fallout, it just sucks balls". Here - not at all. This leads me to believe that this might've been some typical semi-shovelware slitherine project that was re-branded and got additional funding for better recognition.

Mind you, I'm not saying this will be bad and I'm potentially interested in it.

I think the leader of the project confused Fantasy General with Fantasy Wars since the game looks much more like a sequel to that game.

Or maybe fantasy war was spiritual successor to fantasy general...

 

[sser]

I'm very much in for this game as I love the mix of fantasy with TBS, but this feels like a very early release. Probably buy it and report back anyway, though.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://www.slitherine.com/news/fantasy-general-ii-the-minor-factions

Fantasy General II - The minor factions

Published on September 03, 2019
The main factions in Fantasy General 2 have quite a deep and extensive unit roster to pick from – around 30 units excluding heroes and thus there are a lot of choices to make.

But not every enemy or allied faction in the game has that variety – there are a number of minor factions on the map that may work with or against you. Players can gain access to them in the course of the campaign and they consist of colorful fantasy creatures that enrich the setting.







The three minor factions in this campaign are the Harpies, Centaurs and Lizardfolk – each consisting of 4-5 different unit types with a specific strong theme. While the major factions have themes as well – as described in our Vlogs on the Empire and the Barbarian faction- they are wider and more generalist.

Minor factions can usually do one thing exceptionally well, meaning they are more situational with a pronounced strength and weakness. Take the Lizardfolk, for example.





Encountered in the Sunken Lands, they have two major assets: Being amphibious (moving in water quickly and able to hide below the surface) and having magical attacks, making them dangerous ambushers even for heavily armored units .Thanks to their witch doctor and swift movements, they can really disrupt your army quite efficiently. They are especially deadly in their native swamp lands, but useful for any map that has a lot of water! The LIzardfolk have their own story and background stemming from FG1 and associated with one of the leaders you could play there and their own settlement types as well. Allowing you to harvest Liquid mana from raiding them!







In the other factions, Centaurs are heavy cavalry troops with exceptional mobility and bow range and harpies are flying units able to charm males or drop poison bombs on your heads. Each of these factions has a home and excels in certain areas, so it can support your main faction in a specific role or pose a particular challenge to your tactics. As always, they come with their own background and motivations as well as a role they play in the larger scheme of things.

Some even have their own heroes – such as the Harpy Queen Arylis or Tirea the Swift, proud leader of the Great Herd, who is renowned for her skill with the composite bow.







Lesser factions add new variety and a welcome dose of extra fantasy to the mix and you will meet them frequently throughout the world, so don’t say we didn’t warn you!

 

[Fishy]

It's out on Steam.

... for €34

edit: also on GoG for $38, and, well probably also directly from Slitherine.

 

[MSP]

I got it, since I loved FG1. GOG is giving out codes for FG1 with the purchase of FG2, so if anyone is interested: 4CFDF-6ABFD-626E7-FCB41.

 

[Fishy]

I got it, since I loved FG1. GOG is giving out codes for FG1 with the purchase of FG2, so if anyone is interested: 4CFDF-6ABFD-626E7-FCB41.

Post your impressions here please. If anything, screenshots look seriously pretty and dragons look cool. Scale looks shit, but that's a disease of modern wargames with giant oversized units over a map with cities too small to match the units yet too big to fit with the landscape.

 

[chuft]

I never played FG1, would anyone care to compare the FG games to AOW games?

 

[Jeff Graw]

I got it, since I loved FG1. GOG is giving out codes for FG1 with the purchase of FG2, so if anyone is interested: 4CFDF-6ABFD-626E7-FCB41.

Thanks!

 

[Fishy]

I never played FG1, would anyone care to compare the FG games to AOW games?

All units on map, limited stacking per hex (flying units are allowed to stack above ground units), no base/unit building, no separate tactical combat (map units engage each other directly on map). FG1 was very much classic hex wargame, not a 4X like AoW. Not sure what FG2 is like though. On one hand it's Slitherine so it could well be the same, but on the other hand, the first game was a very very niche genre at the (limited) intersection of the wargaming crowd and the fantasy crowd. I'd be surprised if this one wasn't an attempt at making it more broadly appealing.

 

[Raghar]

I never played FG1, would anyone care to compare the FG games to AOW games?

The same as Panzer General.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

the one worrisome thing I read in one of the previews is that it seems like it might be deterministic based instead of dice based combat odd calculations (too hit and damage). Anyone know if this is true? If so does it suck?

 

[zapotec]

What worries me is the system requirements higher than total warhammer 2

 

[Galdred]

I never played FG1, would anyone care to compare the FG games to AOW games?

The same as Panzer General.

Actually, that is a rather accurate definition: Panzer General with fireballs (you can try either the old FG, or Fantasy Wars/Elven Legacy to see whether it clicks for you or not, as these would be much cheaper).

 

[chuft]

I don't think I ever played Panzer General. I played Allied General once and it sucked. There was this big race/puzzle aspect to get to the objectives in very few turns, and if you killed enemy units, they would respawn in your way at full strength and prevent you from getting there. So the best thing was to kind of trap them to the side, damaged and out of supply, and not kill them so they would not respawn in the way you needed to go.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

I never played FG1, would anyone care to compare the FG games to AOW games?

The same as Panzer General.

Actually, that is a rather accurate definition: Panzer General with fireballs (you can try either the old FG, or Fantasy Wars/Elven Legacy to see whether it clicks for you or not, as these would be much cheaper).

except there is a tech tree, leaders, a story campaign its a little different..the underlying game is built using the same engine and same combat logic however, but its a good combat system and it has some twists like the skirmishers..its not just putting some horses in place of a tiger tank, they put work into making a complete and sensible system with a tech tree which panzer general never had.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

I don't think I ever played Panzer General. I played Allied General once and it sucked. There was this big race/puzzle aspect to get to the objectives in very few turns, and if you killed enemy units, they would respawn in your way at full strength and prevent you from getting there. So the best thing was to kind of trap them to the side, damaged and out of supply, and not kill them so they would not respawn in the way you needed to go.

I did not play allied general, but in panzer general the units are not "re-spawning" the computer is using its build points to rebuild destroyed units, you can stop this by holding cities or placing ground units next to enemy owned cities or ports which are needed to place new units; if you have occupied all enemy cities or even have a combat ground unit next to a non captured enemy city the computer can not place new units even if they have the economic ability to build new units.... Or you can destroy their economic ability to build units altogether by using strategic bombers and bombing cities and ports.

This can actually reward blitzkrieg tactics by pushing fast panzer units forward ahead of the initial breakout and placing them next to enemy occupied city hexes, not to take the cities with the panzer units (who are poor at city assualt) but to stop the computer from rebuilding destroyed units. usually the entrenched city infantry won't be able to attack the panzer unit who will be in an open terrain hex. If you do this quickly you can catch the computer before it has fortified its back-lines sometimes, meaning these cities will have a single infantry unit instead of an infantry unit surrounded by a bunch of support units like artillery and anti-tank guns.

You can also use paratroopers to help do this.

 

[Carls Barkley]

They seem to have got the music down at least

 

[Beowulf]

Pretty expensive, but that was to expected given it's Slitherine publishing it.
I'm tempted, but at this price point I'll wait for more impressions.

 

[Fishy]

Pretty expensive, but that was to expected given it's Slitherine publishing it.
I'm tempted, but at this price point I'll wait for more impressions.

It's even steeper considering there's an entire campaign locked behind the middle price point. If I'm going in, I'm going all-in. I'm also tempted and waiting for impressions too but the reasonable voice at the back of my mind tells me I have enough wargame scenarios to explore already with TOAW IV and that I don't absolutely need FG2 right now.