Couldn't imagine playing base HoMM3 again. This mod just adds so much in a one stop DL. For simplicity, I set the res to 800x600 window mode and just stretch the window near full screen. Then surf on the other monitor while the opponents do their turns.
Incredible strategy game with infinite replay-ability due to random map options. Even an editor to create your own maps and campaigns. But on multiple computers with different OSes, the game occasionally crashes. There are also some balance issues with the base game. Hence the 4-star rating. The Horn Of The Abyss (HotA) third-party download fixes 99% of these issues and adds a new faction: The Cove. I wouldn't play this game without it and kicks it easily into the 5-star arena. Either way, if you're a turn-based strategy fan, it deserves a look. (Base game also has worked well in linux with "PlayOnLinux" - or even just base WINE - but I haven't tested HotA. But you could always run it in a VM and then move the dir into the linux Win directory as an easy test.)
Simplified version of the Starfleet Command series. Some will prefer this, but so much has been taken out it loses much of the flavor and strategy. There aren't even any extended & unique firing arcs. But the return of officer ranks is interesting. TNG really features some ugly ships outside of the iconic designs. (Mods and converted ship used to be available but those sources seemed to have mainly died.) Goofy problems with Win8 & 10. Not worth the hassle of figuring out so I have been playing around with this on my older Win7 machine. (Which works fine.) As mentioned, it seems like the mod community has flopped over for the most part on the SFC series, which is a shame. (There seem to be a few all-in-one mods still available.) Meh.
More like SCAMDOG.
Heroes that can quest and gain in abilities and levels, monsters that can gain in power in fights they win. There's a lot to like. All sorts of maps and campaigns setup to eat the hours and days away as befits a strategy title. And random maps, large and small as you prefer. So why the four rating? The pseudo random number generator SUCKS. BAD. You'll no doubt experience this directly as you watch units "magically" get on a roll and wipe out chunks of enemies they had no business doing so. Funny when it's you on the roll, but when you're on the receiving end, it can make one want to go all German Kid. You can't say you haven't been warned.
Based on the boardgame Starfleet Battles, this meshes in a real-time aspect to combat. However, that combat is more similar to sailing ships than aerial fdogfighting. So, for example, after firing your various weapons, you may be left maneuvering for some time until those systems are ready to fire again. There is a speed adjuster, so you can speed up or slow down combat as you like. At its higher settings, it's very near an arcade. Where at the slower settings, it gives to time to consider things as if you were playing a boardgame. The three rating is due to the fact, as others have noted, is it gets extremely repetitive. And in the campaign game, the enemy ships upgrade as you do. So there can be weird situations where you're at a disadvantage because of that as some ships are better at some missions. You also really don't have a huge effect (if any) on the campaign map, so events can seem very arbitrary. If you just want to fight in skirmish mode you can set up some truly grand battles. SFC: Orion Pirates is a standalone expansion that is better in every way save one - that being SFC Gold has officers that increase in experience. SFC:OP does not. I'm not sure why they removed that feature. But if you're OK with sailing ship style combat in space, you'll have fun killing time. (Each combat typically lasts around 10-30 minutes.) As an aside, in the "SFB" subdirectory of the game, you get the "cadet" version of Starfleet Battles in PDF. The counters are crummy looking (lots of artifacts - like a 90s era jpeg saved at extreme low quality), but usable.
This game is hilarious. Never played the missions, just flew around and fired & rammed Starfleet Stations until my ship blew up. Then Red Shirt guy would come on and chastise me over the whole thing. Ramming didn't really come into style until Klingon Academy though, another I'll watch out for.
Just like Baldur's Gate so far. WINE set to Virtual Desktop. Sweet!
