The Troop

I'm not much for spending time reviewing games; however, The Troop is an exception and after finally getting the chance to really figure out what's going on it has earned my respect for the effort shown by the dev and has given me a ton of enjoyment. Who am I to discuss a wargame? I grew up playing Avalon Hill and SPI hex-based wargames (Flattop and everything tank related were my favorites) and transitioned to digital once the John Tiller's East Front/West Front were released. JTCS is still on my systems and played all the time to include PBEM etc. So I'm a pretty old school grognard without the grumpy factor. I liked Panzer General 1+2 but it lacks depth....good for beer and peanuts. I tried Regiments and CTA:Ostfront and honestly....cool but to me not very different to the frantic clickfest of Command and Conquer. I like to take my time and not have to micromanage stuff all over the battlefield. So why The Troop? Let's do this with a wishlist of improvements and positive commentary so you can make an informed decision based on what it's not: -I'd like to see this translated to the open tank country of the Eastern Front. As it is though it does a nice job of conveying the difficulties slugging it out post D-Day. If you are playing this game "hey diddle diddle straight up the middle" with no regard for LOS you will be frustrated and wrecked super quick. -Off screen arty or air support might be fun but the maps would have to be a lot larger. The claustrophobia of fighting through bocage country is well-depicted here. And the weather in France can be just as bad as that in England-no sunny skies for air support on a regular basis. I don't miss either though-it is BRUTAL and unforgiving on this scale. -Destructible environments please. Even ancient JTCS has hexes that change state. Its a reason I love playing the excellent Battletech (and blowing up buildings to drop enemy mechs never gets old). Changed state gives more cover, dynamic line of sight and so on. At this tactical level of combat sim it would add to the grit and realism. -Ambushes are king here. No you don't get opportunity fire; however, catch infantry in the open with your hidden gunners and chances are that squad is dead meat. And you better hope you don't run into a hidden flamethrower unit. Setting up on defense and being patient are rewarding. -Combined arms are mandatory. Poking around with tanks without infantry support is a bad day. Even regular infantry can kill a tank with grenades if its on its own thanks to facing and turret movements being limited. -I can't tell if the RNG is actually masquerading as "sh*t happens its war" or not. I have been hit unexpectedly, missed unexpectedly from point blank and I'm ok with it. It builds tension and honestly some of the action feels cinematic enough that luck should be a minimal factor. Being former military myself "better lucky than good" is a thing sometimes and I'll take it when given and cuss when it doesn't work out! After 50+ hours I'm still working through the story missions (both sides) and its honestly a treat if you are a contemplative wargamer. I don't find it to be light and the constant tension has me thinking of the scene in Band of Brothers when Private Blythe gets shot-you know something bad is gonna happen....just when and how you react keeps the suspense high and the action well-paced. There's clearly hundreds of hours here and oh-added bonus-it plays on the Mac natively. Take that Slitherine! The Troop is worth every penny-true bang for the buck if you'll forgive the saying. Given its a small dev shop (based on reading interviews etc) I am always astonished when I come across a labor of love like this. Give it a shot fellow digital warriors. Thanks for reading!

I'm an old tabletop wargamer who fell in love with the hobby through ASL. Some of the critical reviews of The Troop caused me to delay purchasing fearing it was either "too light" or had other fatal design flaws. But once playing I didn't agree with some of these complaints. I can tell you this isn't a game to rush or plan too short term. Surprisingly typical WWII squad tactics hold true and seem to have been in mind of the designers. Pinning, flanking, smoke, position of attack all apply. Sometimes it is advisable to engage in tactical retreat or repositioning while other squads try to take advantage. As I said, don't rush because units can be extremely brittle. I think the pace is what bothers some players. The game can create incredible drama that brings the battle field to life. Some tense moments are to be had here. There are weak aspects to note however. The game isn't clunky per se, but getting the information needed to make good decisions sometimes feels tedious. The battlefield graphics that can bring the battle to life sometimes get in the way. Its hard to always tell line of sight or comprehend at a glance unit positioning. There is a necessary LOS tool but its use involves a lot of clicking where a better choice might have been a toggle that simply allows the player to move the curser around automatically revealing each hex like a flash overlay. Allowing this to stay active while making move or firing decisions would really facilitate the process. I don't mind not revealing enemy exact current state as a nod to fog of war, but I wish I could see enemy armor values for example during gameplay so I can make more informed decisions of approach. Overall its a good game I recommend. I am looking forward to its next installment raising the system to a even higher level.

le jeux en lui même est bien. MAIS il est injouable, l'ordi a toujours 90% de chance de hit. Quoi que vous faite vous ne pouvez touché qu'un fois sur cinq. La balance est mauvaise. Dernier point les arme et véhicule ne sont pas réaliste. La pénétration des chars est juste débile. Bonne idée, bon gameplay, IA invincible, réalisme des armes inexistante.

Ce jeux pourrais être vraiment sympas, mais le ratio de la balance des hit IA et Joueur est complètement faussé pour trois tire ratés par le joueur, l'IA touche avec un seul tire. De plus l'IA semble connaitre au centimètre prêt les cases qui seront cachées a votre vue même a plus de 800 mètres de distance. Donc soit l'IA du jeux a une boule de crystal intégrée pour savoir ou se placer a la case prêt ou les ratios de hit joueur IA doivent être revus.

This is a solid and challenging turn-based tactics game. Success requires playing smart, concentrating your forces properly, and making use of combined arms tactics. Having been to Normandy, the team captured the essence of the region really well. Yes, it can be deadly, but that's the nature of fighting in the hedgerow country. Definitely recommended for wargamers who enjoy working out tactical puzzles. Beware the 88s.

If I could I would give it a side thumb rating. Even though the game has a lot of short comings especially when it comes to things like control scheme and atmospheric stuff like sounds, it still is a game without any real competition. What I disliked: - Playability is not good at all on the Steam-Deck because everything is just too small - German translation is horrible - Bad control scheme. No standard. E.g. why not use contextual right clicking? - Somewhat barebones regarding sounds. Especially the infantry voice overs are extremely repetitive and therefore annoying. And some more environmental sound effects would also go a long way.

Не хватает нейтрального отзыва, поэтому скорее палец вниз (об этом чуть ниже). Задумка хороша, реализация спорная. Никаких холмов, оврагов и прочих возвышенностей. Но, как будто это бы еще сильнее перегрузило то, что есть. А есть тут карта состоящая из гексов. С каждого гекса есть свой обзор и этот гекс светится с тех, которые он сам видит. И вот тут кроется рутина в виде первоначальной проверки всей карты на прострелы при расстановке войск и потом при каждом(!) движении, каждого(!) отряда. Ладно, иногда можно и без проверки, но всё равно есть риск вайпнуть свой юнит, когда соперник видит тебя через пиксель между домами. И это никак не сказывается на точности его стрельбы. И вот это просто духота. Либо ты для каждого отряда однообразно проверяешь маршрут, каждый(!) ход. Либо тебя вайпают. ИИ в игре глуповат, но он шарит за гексы и всегда встает так, что с ваших гексов его видит самое малое количество ваших юнитов. И ему хорошо, он эти самые прострелы чекает за пару секунд. И это вынуждает вас двигаться. Но вот движение в этой игре это не жизнь, а бесконечная проверка всех прострелов, выверка маршрутов для своего танка, который всё равно поимеет соперник, который держит свой танк в стелсе. Механика стелса непонятна и никак игрой не поясняется толком. Механика кошки-мышки, когда преимущество у того, на кого выезжают - интересна, но ломается об тот же ИИ, который может и не имеет подкрутки на шанс попадания, но явно не стесняется терять свои юниты, идя даже на минусовый для себя размен. Не на первой карте, так на второй или третьей он пробьет ваш танк или элитный отряд пехоты и прокатившись(!) и покрутив башней(!). И то и другое снижает точность стрельбы на текущем ходу. Возможно игра раскрывается в режиме истории, но скриптовые задания меня не впечатлили. Я пошел в последние 2 режима. В одном - ночная миссия с ужасной видимостью. И о чудо, противник кидает осветительную ракету и вся карта превращается в тир, а как мы выяснили, все прострелы ИИ знает наперед. Поэтому ваши юниты не держат выгодные позиции, а вынуждены прятаться от прострелов, которые даже не посмотреть, пока осветительную не выпустили. Во втором режиме чуть интереснее было. Но очень спорное решение при вайпе отряда - терять его на постоянку. Но если в отряде выжил 1 человечек из 5, то без всяких штрафов тебе докупают до полного отряда перед стартом новой операции. Ну либо штраф есть, но как и всё в этой игре, это нужно с опытом понять. И да, я играл на стандартной сложности. Даже не знаю, что там на сложной. Вполне возможно, что геймплей слишком медленный для меня. Многие люди игру хвалят. Потому и указал на скорее нейтральную оценку. Но, обучение слабое. Перевод машинный и то очень уже некачественный, что и зароляло на палец вниз, а не вверх.

Lots of variation., great graphics, very playable, being able to play from both sides makes it interesting. When advancing in the FOG of war do you creep along or make a dash for it! Only missing prime movers for the guns, which you could do with in some scenarios. Play a campaign or a set peace.

good game, well balanced

There is something wrong with this game. It's really well done, but its basically a fight between allied land forces and german land forces - nice but not accurate. There are no Allied Air Forces present !! From what have read, the allied air forces were responsible for blunting and destroying most of the german armour and transport. And giving a helping hand with the breakthoughs, and destroying strong points. Allied land forces are therefore hamstrung by not having that support. In an alternate world, the germans probably would have held onto Normandy if it wasnt for the allied air force. So this game has a problem, and the gamer will have a tough time. GO in wit your eyes open people.