Waronoi

If you enjoy any type of wargaming, please show love to this game and its developer. There are so few simple wargames like this that do not ruin the overall idea. I heavily enjoy playing more complex games such as HOI or MOW or COH. Yet where those games will take hours and hours a day to receive enjoyment out of, this will take less than an hour to learn and begin playing your first match or two. Sometimes I don't wanna worry about hundreds of minute details and game mechanics, so I come to Waronoi.

While a game that takes into consideration realistic Chain of Command structures that isn't Wargame or Combat Mission sounds VERY interesting, specially in its simplified and arcade form, this game was confusing yet lacking in depth, with a pretty terrible presentation. There's nothing wrong with simplistic game design, but i think this outright lacked depth. So the way the game works is that you spawn with an HQ, which if it gets destroyed, you lose. With the money you earn you can buy a general which gives you access to 2 units + 1 airstrike support which is a cooldown ability. You can then spawn a lower level unit of those 2 that you have access to, which represents a single unit, however the point of the game is that you can use money to reinforce that unit commander with lower unit commanders, and then those units with lower units, all of the same type. For example, your HQ is Batallion level, that means that you can spawn, at highest, company level units, which can control platoon units, which can control squadron units. The higher level your HQ is, the higher level units you can spawn, but that only gives them 3x the units under command. The entire core of the game revolves around having your higher units in the CoC structure out of danger while the squadron or platoon ones stay in the front lines and THEN doing the routine RTS of using a decent unit against the enemy unit in the right terrain to make sure you kill the enemy first... And that's it, i just explained to you the entirety of the game. I think that maybe i set my expectations a bit too high for a small 1-man-developer indie game, but in between the GOD AWFUL artstyle (seriously, the steam pics DO NOT do justice to just how bad the game looks, at first i thought i had my settings ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up, but the game autodefaulted to max settings, everything was a low res blurry mess of what looked like awful pixel art) and the high pitch UX sound effects that played constantly (come on man, couldn't you find something less atari-like to make it nicer to the ears at night?) the game prepared my taste test with the gameplay after the tutorial with a sour mood. There's some grammar errors here and there but im not one to ♥♥♥♥♥ about that, all i can say is that the game is built around a very solid idea... to add to an already good military RTS, NOT to make an entire game just around it. I believe a slightly more worked concept would work better as a turn based or slower paced RTS. And no, having your units move at snail pace doesn't make the game feel slow paced, it makes the game waste your time. I know the game is cheap, and if the price is so low you still wanna give it a go im not gonna be a party pooper and tell you "dont buy it", specially when its made by a single dev, but as far as if the game is good enough to spend your time with it, i wouldn't say so.

While the concept is great the execution is dry. That is, the game is great for what it is, but it's not much. It is not worth the price, unless you're planning to play the multiplayer with friends, a lot.

Very good game. Real Time Tactical so no base building and micromanagement. Just deploy your units, protect your HQ unit and battle the enemy. Love the slower pace and the procedurally generated maps. The ability to watch a replay of each battle is a nice touch.

I'll start from a warning: Waronoi is a project in the making by a single developer, so scale your expectations wisely. Waronoi feels like if C&C Tiberian Dawn took two steps towards a milsim. For instance: - presize army control with an easy subordinate system - no base building, instead control more strategic points to increase money income - terrain type impacts both on speed and visibility You will not feel a strong pattern from map to map because: - procedural generation of maps gives really different situations - types of reinforcements are a limited random set for every general you choose during a battle - adapt to win: you have to form your forces very differently in each battle There are three speeds of game (100%-150%-200%) and you can give commands in the pause mode. Currently you can't save amid game., you can't rebind hot keys. A map editor features a PNG image transparent overlay. But no workshop yet. The generated maps remind of a Voronoi diagram. That's from where the titles goes, I guess. As the developer describes, Waronoi is easy to learn, impossible to master. And I like this concept.

The main problem with RTS games is they have a micro-hell as the game progresses which makes sense that a complex organization means more things to do, but a lack of command structure to delegate and the imprisonment of the freedom to create automated solutions that reduce unnecessary effort and click spam is demonstrated to be very possible with this game. I just bought it and am impressed so far with the mechanics. I hope in the future games can learn from this to combine the highly innovative command structure with the physics-based engines of the past as well as the decent AI of a game like Ultimate General CW which I also recommend for its morale and high ground mechanics. Some suggestions to make this game even better: -I don't know if it is a thing yet, but I would like to see something like total war's spreadsheet statistics, but it's not a big deal. -A way to replicate Ultimate General's drawing movement mechanics rather than clicking would make navigation more intuitive and give more control. For now I can see that the point and click would suffice because of the nature of command. Just wanted to add too that the UI is good, I rather that an innovative game like this keeps focus on mechanics as thats it's main strength even if the graphics are poor. I especially like that it can record games and do multiplayer, something that I wished was possible in UG:CW. What's unique about it's recording is that u can see the enemy's perspective and command structure, and u can see how long the battle is. I'm sure I'll find more answers as I play, but so far this is a very solid game. I'm only disappointed I didn't find it sooner.

Can this be considered a recommendation ? Yes but only on sale is my observation. I love the game and it is fun to play and allows one to play out concepts in a limited fashion. You model your efforts in say regiments or Reddragon or any game really and play the broad strokes using Waronoi. But outside of that imho you need to like wargaming from the jump to appreciate what this game offers. If one not familiar with war games is reading this you may say, " seriously bro how does th game play?". My only response would be watch a video as the ideas for me are hard to translate to a non wargamer. If you are a wargamer this game is a gem. Military strategy without the attrition, just maneuver your org teams see if your ideas work. Nato counters, command trees being fundamental you play the broad strokes and you can call in air strikes. If you play modern turn based combat games or rtt at the operational level you should have this in your collection, purely from a war game hobby perspective. Track the game, follow it and you see a sale you get it. Would I drop 15 bucks on this game, for me it is a hobby/passion so it would make sense but I got it on sale. I posted a video of a game with replays from both sides perspective on youtube and it is the example of a game that for me is easy to like easy to describe to wargamers - but outside of those groups I mean how do you describe a combat game with no markers of combat power, no turns... see what I mean. I played this every day since I bought it, 10 mins to 20 minutes of play at a shot - I could play longer and slower as the game allows for massive conflicts and adjustable game speed. It has the benefit of not being tied to country or an ism. Just red force and blue force and you can customize but I get ahead of myself. War gamers check it out you wont be rooked you will dig it but you may say 15 bucks is steep but then again you may say replay value is off the charts 15 is fine.

Never heard of this until Microprose picked it up and they made a fine choice! Waronoi is a Wargame about Command Structures. Do not expect fancy equipment and sexy vehicles, This is about command structures and how well you position your units, and how you interact with both is ingenious The Goal of the game is to find and take out the enemy HQ while keeping your own protected, you can cap points to increase your resource trickle, and get more units. The Real strength of the game is when you get more units, the game effortlessly scales to accommodate. You see in RTS/RTT games its usually reliant on something like control groups or a menu to select and move individual pieces, things can get bogged down as you add more pieces (or as your units get more complex) and these games and have to shift into different phases, They quite frankly force the player take on jobs that in real life require multiple disciplines to work properly. This is especially true if they are going for a more "Milsim" approach where every piece of equipment is simulated. Waronoi handles the scale of all of this with its command tree system. Every Unit has a rank derived from the unit above it (With your HQ being at the top of the tree, your HQ is also the only unit that can spawn units), Each unit can be moved individually Or you can take the commanding unit and issue an order to everyone under him with the Ctrl key. (As an aside units auto attack in range, there are no attack orders, this is a deliberate design decision and one I actually agree with) You can also bring up an organizational tree at any time with the B Key to easily select units in the chaotic mess. The caveat with this system is when you lose a higher ranking unit, you eliminate all the units below him, hence if the HQ is eliminated you lose the entire army. Hence why your objective is to ultimately defeat the enemy HQ while keeping yours protected. Even lower level command loses can be damaging since you need signifigant investments to field units under their command (And also why I agree with the "No attack command" design decision, it makes command structures more resilient, otherwise you could just dive on Regimental commands and fights would be over way too quickly). It takes about a minute to get used to since to my knowledge no game has ever had a system like this but once you get used to it with a very brief training period you will be issuing orders, coming up with plans to take on the enemy's command structure, reinforcing your units to hold the line, Mixing and matching units within the command structure to suit the mission, and above all else FIGHTING THE OPPONENT. Because of how fluidly it scales and how it frees you to come up with plans without being bogged down, it is probably is one of the best Interfaces I've ever used for a Real Time Strategy/Tactics/Wargame The game's levels are procedurally generated but I think in this case it works to the game's favor, there is a clear seeding that is going on so the maps are "Designed" enough to deliver a specific experience but random enough to always be on your guard. I have had enemies spawn behind me. I actually think the latter is a good thing in this case because It forces me to scout and try and guess where the enemy is. I cant reliably go "Oh he's on the other side..." I have to actually figure out where the enemy (and his command structure) is and to be mindful of flanking attacks. If I have a complaint its graphics, Specifically on units. I know the dev is going for an old school look which is fine! However the blur filter applied to the units is too aggressive IMHO I'd prefer some sharper sprites even if they are jagged and low-res. Its also not a very long game, I'm approaching the latter third and as you can see from my playtime I'm about three hours in, I can see it getting longer as I prieviewed the last mission and its a 3v4 with Corps level unit encounters but I don't mind. I don't feel like this game is wasting my time. Plus its 15 bucks (and includes a skirmish) which I think is fair for an indie title like this. Also impressive given its this guy's first game.

A lot of the reviewers here seem to be writing a positive review as charity work just because the game comes from an indie developer, but not actually considering if this is actually a good game. This is not a good game. The graphics are lousy and the game play is boring. I don't recommend it at all.

I don't think any other strategy game currently around focuses so much on the command structure of an army so I need to give this game props for that. However, the execution of this game is as interesting as eating a dry cracker - you know the ones that stick to the roof of your mouth because they are so dry? Yeah, this is like the videogame equivalent of a bone dry cracker. Boring and ultimately uninspired once one gets past the initial hype of command structures.