Site Status Update

February 24, 2021
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2021
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2 Comments

WeaponsRelease is humming along and I wanted to give you folks a quick update.

No More Ads

Hosting fees for the site are like $8 a month. I normally run an adblocker and I assume all of you will as well. You’ll see a button on the sidebar for BuyMeACoffee. This is a quick and easy way for you to give a couple of bucks to the site. If you so desire you can pitch me a couple bucks, or not. It’s cool either way. This way you aren’t forced into seeing digital ads, auto playing video, or whatever other garbage Google sends at you.

Additional Authors

You’ll start seeing some other hobbyists that have a particular niche. If you are interested in contributing content please reach out to me at weaponsrelease@gmail.com. It’s unpaid! Seeing as it’s unpaid there isn’t a schedule or anything of that such, contribute as you see fit. I’d love to have a table top aficionado come in…

Content & Reviews

Some of the most popular content here is tutorials. There is a serious lack of decent tutorials for a lot of games. It’s useful and doesn’t involve me chasing after the latest game fad or news tidbit. When there is big news we’ll highlight it here. Same for reviews, they will be broken down into “feature reviews” and “critical reviews”. Think of a feature review as an unboxing and a critical review as an opinion. Feature reviews will tell you all about what to expect in a game along with some thoughts. Critical reviews will dig into the nuts and bolts and define what is good and bad.

I realized there is a distinctive split between telling you what you are buying, and telling you what I like or don’t like about a game. A good example is one of the new JTS games. Me criticizing it because it’s not real time is not useful if all you want to know is what scenarios it has or how it handles artillery. Most of the time I’m interested in the mechanics of the game and what to expect as a player. My definition of fun is probably quite different than yours. (Or maybe not, if you’re reading this)

Let’s Plays

Some of the most useful content is seeing how someone else plays a game, especially a complex one. My tendency in games is small to mid sized scenarios that I can digest in a day or two. I’m also looking at some cooperative Let’s Plays in the similar vein of the Flare Paths / TallyHoCorners version of Combat Mission. Except I’ll probably do CMO or Armored Brigade or some such.

Community Feedback

What do you want to see? More in depth look at Armored Brigade mods? More CMO scenario & Lua design? Professional guest interviews for a look at the other side of wargaming? Let me know!

7 of the Greatest Games I Never Play

February 24, 2021
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2020 Let's Play
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3 Comments

On December 8th, 2015 I purchased War in the Pacific Admirals Edition from the Matrix store. In the 5 years since I’ve probably logged less than 4 hours playing the game. But I’ve spent countless hours following others as they dash across the Pacific, engage in daring battleship raids, and hunt for the elusive Tokyo Bay Fortress. WitP is not alone, there are many games I love to see others play but loathe to dig into myself.

Command Ops 2 : Bombard Tutorial

February 7, 2021
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2021 Command Ops 2
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No Comments

Proper use of artillery can mean the difference between a hasty retreat and a victorious advance. Do you attach it to the main command? Micro-manage and direct it yourself? Or just leave it attached as is? All situations are valid at certain times and with different play styles. So lets dig in and find out what works best.

Battletech, 3d Printers, and Automation

February 5, 2021
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2021 Tabletop Games
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No Comments

Some of my earliest gaming memories are frantically erasing paper mech sheets so I can play another round of Battletech in my grandparents basement. Following a long lapse whilst I whittled away the time in Mechwarrior Online or in the HBS Battletech game, I have finally returned to my gaming roots. Except the paper and pencil is gone and I’m printing my own mechs… Battletech is in an entirely new place and it’ll blow you away.

Command Ops 2 : Manhay Crossroads (Beta AI)

January 27, 2021
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Let's Play
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No Comments

Manhay Mayhem

A quick playthrough from Command Ops 2 base game, the Manhay Crossroads scenario. I’m playing from the Allied side. This was first posted on the new ConSimWorld website. They’ve made some big improvements compared to the 1997 webdesign that the site previously had. But here’s some Manhay Mayhem! Also worth noting, this is the new Tactical AI and it is brutal.

Books and Brawls : Korea 1950

This will be a new column where we’ll look at a piece of non-fiction and pair it up with a game. Few things inspire me to game a scenario than a well written book. Right now I’m reading In Mortal Combat, Korea 1950-1953 by John Toland. We’ll be looking at history through the eyes of the Korea 1950-1951 scenario in TOAW IV.

Command Ops 2 : Probe Tutorial

January 23, 2021
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Command Ops 2 Grognard Games Uncategorized
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No Comments

This tutorial will explore the nuance of using the Probe command. While it may seem like a simpler version of Attack, there’s actually some interesting usage that will allow you to recon in force without locking down or revealing the majority of your force.

Command Ops 2 : Delay and Withdraw Tutorial

January 21, 2021
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2021 Command Ops 2
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2 Comments

The Delay and Withdraw commands offer an important, and very different, way for your forces to disengage and delay the enemy. In both cases you rely on the AI to determine the best way to operate, and this is a good thing! If you play with any sort of orders delay you allow your AI-HQ to properly operate without being micromanaged. This is a feature unique to CO2 that I haven’t seen in other games and is really worth using.

Command : Modern Operations : Sahel Slugfest Start

January 18, 2021
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2021 CMO
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No Comments

This tutorial will cover my initial process any time I play a Command : Modern Operations scenario. In this case it is the CMO:LIVE scenario Sahel Slugfest. In this scenario I play as a combined Sudanese-Chinese task force that must destroy Chadian-French forces. It offers a wide variety of unique Chinese aircraft and a not oft played theater. Spoiler warnings if you click more, I’ll be showing off the Chinese side.

How’s it Going Second Front?

January 15, 2021
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2021 gaming
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No Comments

Second Front has a very fluid and open design process that is well displayed on the Microprose Discord channel. If you’re not using it, well, I’d really recommend it. Every few days Jo, the developer, posts some screenshots or a gif, or some other little tidbit. Check out below for a collection of his most recent hits. I’m really excited for this one, he looks to have combined the right aspects with a UI that is spot on. Grog devs take note.