BattleScapes
I wanted to pay my respects to the service men and women who have sacrificed to keep us safe. I'm not really into "military/war" games, so I wasn’t sure where to start. The Atari ST has a huge selection, and the closest I’d ever come to the genre was probably D-Day a few years back. But I knew I had to do something for our pride in #VEday80 - and then it hit me, like a cannonball fired from The Golden Hind! (geddit??)
Okay, I’ve got a bit of a "thing" for Atari’s ARC label. I've been slowly collecting their games over the years - I'm just waiting on a (decent) copy of Photon Storm to complete the set. Anyhow, that also means some games have been merely sitting idle on my shelf! Heck, I've never played Gettysburg, Armada, Prince, or Borodino. Well, I dabbled in Prince, but was blown away by its learning curve (I'm lazy). It was now that I realised how many "war" games I owned - maybe I’m more of a fan than I consciously realised. Ha, maybe!!
So, what to play for the big day? Well, I just flipped a (virtual) coin and took a chance...
Armada was the winner, which means I was about to set sail on the high seas around southern England for a war against the superpower, Spain. Armada was released in 1990 by Peter Turcan, the same developer behind Waterloo, Borodino, Austerlitz, and Gettysburg. Wow, I guess he really likes his history?
The game is based on historical events and is definitely one you will struggle to play without the manual. Not just for the backstory but for an understanding of how to command your fleet, as I discovered. The manual is great, providing a concise account of the historical events without becoming a long-winded chore to read through. I'm not much of a reader, but I set aside an evening to go through it. And I’m glad I did!
It’s a fascinating period in European history. I learned that the sheer numbers the Spanish managed to gather were impressive, becoming nothing less than formidable. But when you look back on these events, things did not go according to plan. It's an understatement to say the battles didn’t quite live up to their expectations - more like a soggy dud firework that failed to go off. Regardless, it’s surreal reading about these events, especially considering the limited technology, navigation, and communication of the time.
For me, that "dud firework" moment came early on. It became clear that, while the Spanish had an enormous fleet, they lacked the skill and experience of the English, who had the disadvantage of a smaller fleet. It’s hard to go into much detail without spoiling the game you will play. That said, it was heartbreaking to read how the men in the Spanish fleet ended up circling Britain, almost starving before facing their cruel and bloody fate. And then, how the English government appallingly treated their victorious veterans afterwards.
I hope this is proving as interesting for you as it is for me. Shall we pause for some screenshots...
The game introduces the opening moments of the war.
You are asked some questions that assist in your learning of this deep game!
The graphics draw before your very eyes and look pretty nice.
The ships are well represented, as is the coastline of southern England.
Reliving the War
It's 8am, July 31st, 1588, and the Spanish Armada have been sighted off the coasts of Cornwall. It's time to gather the brave men and head out into the seas to defend England. But wait, don't sail out yet because a few questions require answering. These help to configure your experience, especially for new players:
- Trail Fleets - Basically, lower the number of ships to make it quicker and manageable. Choose "Y".
- Two-Day Battle - A shorter game, so newcomers should choose "Y".
- Human/Computer - Either can be chosen for English and/or Spanish. (Y/N)
- Signalling - Used as a trainer, believe it or not, for new players, so answer "Y"
- Viewpoint - Another "cheat" for new players, but something I'd consider answering "N" to.
- Cannon firing - Of course, you must answer "Y" to see the action! (sarcasm)
- Existing Orders - Choose whether to keep things historically accurate, but you can still override.
From the perspective of the English, we play as Admiral Lord Howard. We will take command of our squadron along with those captained by Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher. The game begins at the battle's dawn, and depending on how you answer the human/computer question, you are either English or Spanish.
If you choose to be Spanish, you are Alonso Pérez, the Duke of Medina Sidonia (the computer could play the part of the English). Of course, you could attempt to play both sides or leave the computer to act out both sides of the conflict for you. But why you would want to do that is anyone's guess!
Now the game begins, and you are bewildered! Yep. So let's pause for a couple of screenshots...
You can request updates from particular captains or the squadron as a whole.
Use the mouse to identify places and any vessels.
A time to lead
The game begins, and you feel abandoned and left without a plan or any kind of assistance. Armada leaves you out in the cold!! So, grab the manual and also look at the underwhelming paper map inside the box. What? You have a cracked copy? Ha, play something else then - you don't stand a chance mate!!
I mean this - immediately, you are thrown in at the deep end. A visual representation of the day is drawn before your very eyes. You are instantly expected to command and give orders. If I'm honest, this is a truly bewildering moment. Quite mind-blowing, and I felt lost wondering where to begin. I'll say it again, you must read the manual. But, even then, you're left unaided with a fleet of men looking at you for leadership!
Armada is nothing like I expected. I thought I would have icons to click, but instead, we use a command-line parser much like a text adventure. Commands are structured and issued in a set format of [to whom] [when] [what to do] [timescale]. This is powerful but very difficult to understand, as I found out.
Here are the commands that I have come to use often. There are lots more commands apt at particular points in the conflict, but consider the following a list of the base commands you will probably use. There are two main types of commands: either you signal the squadrons (or ships) directly, or your own captain.
With that in mind, here are some examples...
signal all squadrons to sail to plymouth
captain sail to plymouth
These mean exactly what they say, everything heads in the direction given. The first, commands the fleet. Whereas the second, yours. You can tailor that to send Drake to Poole, for example.
signal Hawkins to sail in line astern formation
captain sail in crescent formation
You may wish to adopt a nice pattern to sail the seas? The first command directs Hawkins' squadron. Whereas the second is ours. You can also command all the squadrons.
signal drake to blockade Plymouth
This is mentioned in the manual and something to consider, but maybe not only Plymouth?
signal all squadrons to attack enemy
signal drake attack enemy
When the time is right and the enemy is closing in - fight (with lame cannon effects). The first commands everyone to attack. However, if you have left (as in the example above) Drake elsewhere, then you might direct him separately. It depends on how you direct the battle.
captain adopt short/long range tactics
signal all squadrons to adopt short/long range tactics
signal Frobisher to adopt grappling tactics
These commands are interesting. If you aren't close, then long-range tactics (cannons) are needed. Grappling is when you are close and you attempt to board an enemy ship.
signal all squadrons disengage
signal all squadrons send me your battle reports
The first command helps you to backtrack, if in trouble. The second command provides feedback provided by each squadron. It's slow and pre-internet speeds!
As you can tell, the manual is desperately needed. I personally think this game is impossible to play without it. The manual may have a fantastic backstory to the war and provides lots of technical details about the ships, and much more. But it's not great at assisting a (new) player. I felt it didn't help with the basics, so you spend the first few games blindly guessing what to do without much visual feedback to aid.
With that in mind, we definitely need a break! So here are a few images you will appreciate...
After reading all the above, you may be disappointed. Fear not, we have a mouse!
That's right, whenever the fleet requires commanding, use the mouse to identify ships/etc.
I had a play with formations, but I think I made things worse! lol
Here you can see my ships heading towards the distant Spanish fleet.
The CryptO'pinion
Beginning Armada is baffling. More than I realised, so I dug out the map and re/read parts of the manual - yet again. Learning the commands and their finicky structure was tough, very tough. So I don't think this war game will be for everyone. If you're brave enough to download it, then this is my humble advice:
Remember that you have your own Captain onboard (and your own squadron of ships). This means you don't need to worry about the finer details because you should leave the captain to worry about that. However, you still need to address your squadron as you would the others - Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher. Get an image of how that setup looks in your mind, and rather than directing commands at ships, use squadrons.
For a quick start, I figured Plymouth or Poole were destinations worthy of a Spanish attack. So my tactic was to flood these seas with my fleet. I blocked off Plymouth using Drake's squadron and left Frobisher nearby. That left two squadrons, which I took towards Poole. Well, that was my novice theory. And I felt it worked.
Regardless, this game is huge and with a technical command-based system. So that means its learning curve is massive and probably the biggest of any ST game I've played. I fear this could put many off it. Having said that, I rather enjoyed playing Armada a bunch. I ended up beating the Spanish after a handful of games. That was quite a proud achievement, considering the negative thoughts I had on my first attempt.
Armada is only for serious war fans. If that's you, I would easily rate this old seadog an apt 80%.
This doesn't happen often (and it didn't happen on my first "few" attempts!).
But eventually, I did it and stopped those Spaniards from invading my country. Woohoo!
