Harpoon 3 and Harpoon Commander

[Herman]

Surface contact! New Harpoon – Commanders Edition screenshots now available

Originally Posted by Alex Fiedler

Matrix Games and Advanced Gaming Systems (www.advancedgaming.biz) are excited to announce the release of a new pack of screenshots for Larry Bond’s Harpoon – Commanders Edition. Sporting plenty of improvements to the AI and modeling system, Harpoon – Commanders Edition takes the enormous success of the original Harpoon series and adds plenty improvements and tweaks!

David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said “Harpoon – Commanders Edition provides all armchair admirals with great visual detail and immersion while still providing the unparalleled realism and accuracy found in the original Harpoon series.”

Don Gilman of Advanced Gaming Systems also commented “We’re proud of the improvements we’ve furnished the Harpoon engine with without sacrificing an ounce of realism and accuracy current fans of the Harpoon system know and love. Harpoon – Commanders Edition offers a great blend of visual appeal and solid naval warfare simulation.”

Larry Bond’s Harpoon – Commander’s Edition is the latest addition to the longstanding naval warfare simulation series that has brought awards and accolades from naval strategy fans and military personnel alike. Like its predecessors, Harpoon – Commander’s Edition allows players to assume the role of a fleet commander, making the same type of decisions he has to make, using the same type and quality of information he might expect to get in wartime.

As players take to the seas and command a huge variety of ships in an equally as varied choice of theaters and historical conflicts, naval officers and naval strategy fans alike will revel in experiencing the depth and richness of Harpoon – Commander’s Edition’s gameplay with all new features, art, and more! Featuring an accurate and editable database of platforms, weapons, and sensors players can fight one of hundreds provided scenarios covering the height of the Cold War to Pirates in Malaysia, or use the provided editors to create their own.

Get more information on Larry Bond’s Harpoon – Commanders Edition from its official Matrix Games webpage.

[Herman]

The latest addition to the addicting naval simulator series has left port - with a special deal!
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/fb.asp?m=1620511

Staten Island, NY, November 22nd, 2007 – Matrix Games (www.matrixgames.com) and Advanced Gaming Systems (www.advancedgaming.biz) are pleased to announce that the new enhanced and improved addition to Larry Bond’s Harpoon series, Harpoon – Commander’s Edition, is now available for purchase.

Matrix Games is also offering a special deal to naval warfare fans wanting the best of both worlds: Harpoon 3 – Advanced Naval Warfare’s unparalleled realism and accuracy and Harpoon – Commander’s Edition easier learning curve and added visual appeal.

Gamers who purchase in the same order the digital download of both Advanced Naval Warfare and Commander’s Edition now pay only $69.98 for both instead of the normal combined price of $89.98 when purchasing each title separately. A discount of $20.00! As for the boxed copy of the game, gamers purchasing both titles in the same order will pay $89.98 for hard copies of both games (digital download also included), instead of the normal combined price of $109.98 when purchasing each title separately. Also a discount of $20! These special launch deals may be available for a limited time, so take advantage while they last!

David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said, “Naval warfare simulation fans will really enjoy Harpoon whether they’ve been playing Larry Bond’s famous tabletop system, the previous computer games or if they’re new to the series. The Advanced Gaming Systems team has worked wonders with Harpoon – Commander’s Edition in improving an already realistic and exciting game.”

Don Gilman of Advanced Gaming Systems added, “Harpoon – Commander’s Edition comes with plenty to offer Harpoon veterans and newcomers alike. This latest addition to Larry Bond’s Harpoon series boasts an improved AI engine, more scenarios, and revamped modeling! All in all, we’re quite proud of Harpoon – Commander’s Edition and think any naval warfare fan would have a blast battling it out with our game.”

Larry Bond’s Harpoon – Commander’s Edition is the latest addition to the longstanding naval warfare simulation series that has brought awards and accolades from naval strategy fans and military personnel alike. Like its predecessors, Harpoon – Commander’s Edition allows players to assume the role of a fleet commander, making the same type of decisions he has to make, using the same type and quality of information he might expect to get in wartime. This is naval warfare strategy and simulation at its very best – addicting and wholly realistic!

As players take to the seas and command a huge variety of ships in an equally as varied choice of theaters and historical conflicts, naval officers and naval strategy fans alike will revel the depth and richness of Larry Bond's Harpoon – Commander’s Edition. Experience realistic gameplay with all new features, art, and more! Choosing from an accurate and editable database of platforms, weapons, and sensors, players can fight one of 269 provided scenarios covering the height of the Cold War to Pirates in Malaysia, or use the provided editors to create their own.

[Herman]

First review already in:

GamersInfo

[Blacklight]

From what I've read, Commander's Edition is pretty much an updated version of the original computer Harpoon. Updated graphics and such and a nice streamlined interface. It's more a larger scale game than Harpoon Advanced Naval Warfare, giving you control over large divisions of warships, but limits you to only certain conflict areas. This isn't a bad thing. It's still a good game and it's a LOT easier for a newb to fathom than Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare. H3 ANW is more designed with the tabletop miniatures feel in mind. While you can still do HUGE naval battles, you get more control over individual ships and such... not to mention the ability to set your missions anywhere in the world. Also.. H3 ANW's database has a lot more info in it. Downside.. ANW has a much clunkier interface that is very daunting for newbs and can be hard to get used to. Graphics-wise, it uses raster type graphics and Commanders edition is a little nice looking... so it's a trade off. The more hardcore people like me will probably stick to ANW while newbs will probably flock to Commanders edition.

I frankly prefer the raster graphics of ANW. It kind of gives me more of that "In the Pentagon Naval Command" room.

Needless to say.. both are supposed to be good games.

[TonyE]

Originally Posted by Blacklight

It's more a larger scale game than Harpoon Advanced Naval Warfare, giving you control over large divisions of warships, but limits you to only certain conflict areas.

For now yes, but soon you'll be able to play HCE across nearly any region you would like (extreme latitudes don't play nice due to the static map projection)
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=1543754 (screenshots)

TonyE

[Blacklight]

I also just found out that Commander's Edition models land units better than H3ANW. Like I said.. It's a trade off between these two games. One seems better at one set of things while the other is better at other things. I'm a hardcore H3ANW player and I'm still teetering on the edge as to wether or not I want to do Captain's Edition as well. I think I may wait for a demo to come out so I can give it a try first.
I CAN say that definitely (with the Players Database Project put in especially), Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare is worth the money as long as you can handle the learning curve. Heck. I've learned more about naval warfare just from reading it's manual (and the manuals for the miniatures version as well) than I've learned from any other source.

[Herman]

Originally Posted by Blacklight

I also just found out that Commander's Edition models land units better than H3ANW. Like I said.. It's a trade off between these two games. One seems better at one set of things while the other is better at other things.

Glad to hear that you enjoy the PlayersDB.

I'm not one to try and categorize one branch of the game as 'better' than another. Suffice it to say, they are different in their implementation of the same concept.

The land units are a good case in point. In H3ANW, land bases are stationary and comprised of individual facilities. An air base is often a group of facilities like hangars, runways, revetments, and other buildings. Each element of the group can be targeted and destroyed individually. As components are destroyed, aircraft contained within the hangars are destroyed, too, and the operational effectiveness of the air base is reduced.

In Harpoon Classic, air bases are usually a single unit that represents an aggregate of all the functional installations normally found on a base. (Kind of like one big hangar/ammo dump/runway all lumped together.) As the base is damaged, aircraft are also destroyed and the group's damage level increases as a percentage. Also, some land units in HC are mobile (something not currently possible in H3).

Both H3 and HC simulate a base in their distinctive ways. I don't know if one is necessarily better than another. Both work. I own both games and enjoy them both equally.