SRPGs on the PC?

Eduardo X · Post by **Eduardo X** » Tue May 31, 2005 3:20 am

There something about the seemingly console-exclusive Strategy RPGs that really make me happy. Games like Disgaea, Phantom Brave, Final Fantasy Tactics, and the like, are really fun to play.
However, I'm a PC person first and foremost, and I'm getting sick of only playing these games on a console. I know I can use emulators to play these games, but I really just want to play SRPGs designed for the PC. I think I would have heard about some, if they existed, but does anybody know of any I may have overlooked?

warning · Post by **warning** » Tue May 31, 2005 7:10 am

You mean like the Heroes of Might and Magic series, Disciples series, Etherlords, and the Age of Wonders series?

Back on the console side, you really should check out the two Fire Emblem games for the Gameboy Advance.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue May 31, 2005 9:33 am

Having not played a single thing on that list, so I can't compare gameplay, the title that jumps out at me as a "Strategy RPG" is Spellforce: Order of the Dawn. Fantastic game - it got me out of a slump, and really sucked me in.

warning · Post by **warning** » Tue May 31, 2005 10:02 am

Blackhawk wrote:Having not played a single thing on that list, so I can't compare gameplay, the title that jumps out at me as a "Strategy RPG" is Spellforce: Order of the Dawn. Fantastic game - it got me out of a slump, and really sucked me in.

Spellforce is a great game but it's also a real-time strategy/RPG hybrid. The ones Ed listed are all turn-based.

Eduardo X · Post by **Eduardo X** » Tue May 31, 2005 10:18 am

While Age of Wonders and the Heroes of Might and Magic series are fantastic, they're somehow not exactly what I'm looking for. I guess the TBS SRPGs on consoles are pretty easy, simple strategy games that can take 40-100 hours to beat.

Kaigen · Post by **Kaigen** » Tue May 31, 2005 10:21 am

There's nothing quite like Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem on PCs that I know of.

Closest I can think of is probably Fallout Tactics.

Creepy_Smell · Post by **Creepy_Smell** » Tue May 31, 2005 12:13 pm

Silent Storm or Jagged Alliance 2 or other similar games.

RPG in the sense of the team members having skill advancement and they are strategy games.

I havent played any you mentioned so I'm just thinking about FFTA or Tactics Ogre on the GBA.

Main thing I was thinking of was turned based combat with multiple members you control, who advance in skill throughout the game.

Peacedog · Post by **Peacedog** » Tue May 31, 2005 12:36 pm

Cry Havoc is very much a console inspired game in the FFT tradition, coming out for PC. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if it will ever see the light of day.

EddieA · Post by **EddieA** » Tue May 31, 2005 2:34 pm

There's a free game from Falcom (makers of the Ys games) called Vantage Master available here.

Kaigen · Post by **Kaigen** » Tue May 31, 2005 4:24 pm

Shadow Watch is another option, but I don't recall that have much in the way of RPG elements going for it.

Eduardo X · Post by **Eduardo X** » Tue May 31, 2005 5:00 pm

EddieA wrote:There's a free game from Falcom (makers of the Ys games) called Vantage Master available here.

I downloaded this, going to check it out!

I may just have to stick to rich, feature-filled strategy games like R:TW, AoW:SM, Jagged Alliance 2, etc. and that doesn't bother me at all. I just hope for SRPGs on the PC one day.

Peacedog · Post by **Peacedog** » Tue May 31, 2005 10:05 pm

I just hope for SRPGs on the PC one day.

IMO, there is great potential for a niche market here. I think the only problem you'd run into is people excepting FFT like graphics, which potentially get pricey.

Kaigen · Post by **Kaigen** » Tue May 31, 2005 11:18 pm

It would? FFT isn't quite the king of eye candy these days, what with it being eight years old. Don't know if you've noticed that or not...

D.A.Lewis · Post by **D.A.Lewis** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:03 am

Well there's always Shining Tears and Shining Force Neo while you wait.

Peacedog · Post by **Peacedog** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:08 am

It would? FFT isn't quite the king of eye candy these days, what with it being eight years old. Don't know if you've noticed that or not...

Actually, I did notice that.

For a small, and likely one-man operation, that might be too expensive. And that's the most likely place that this would come out of, I think.

Kaigen · Post by **Kaigen** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:14 am

Ah, didn't realize you were talking about such a small operation. Maybe if someone made a SRPG mod on the Unreal engine, then? Hmm? Or isn't the Quake engine totally free these days? They could squeeze FFT type graphics or better out of that, I'd think. Or a small developer could license the Torque engine.

Peacedog · Post by **Peacedog** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:24 am

Maybe if someone made a SRPG mod on the Unreal engine, then? Hmm? Or isn't the Quake engine totally free these days? They could squeeze FFT type graphics or better out of that, I'd think. Or a small developer could license the Torque engine.

Dunno about Quake - are you allowed to sell games with stuff made from it? Potentially, no (but I don't know the details).

How much is Torque going for these days? Not that a small (say: 3-10) developer couldn't do it, but I think the chances for something like this drop proportionally to the size of the house.

And if it's a first time small developer - I think any extra costs up front are really dangerous. Using a reasonably priced 3d engine doesn't garuntee increased sails - and it does significantly change how many games you need to sell. Distribution on the net is easy, but marketing is not, unfortunately.

J. Lutes · Post by **J. Lutes** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 6:09 pm

SRPGs are easily my favorite genre. I second Kaigen's recommendation for Shadow Watch, an underrated classic. If you scour the budget bins you might be able to find it for a couple of bucks. It works in XP if you set it to run in Windows 95/98 compatability mode.

The Silent Storm games are excellent, but verge on simulation with the amount of attention paid to physics, etc. I tend to think of SRPGs as being a bit more "gamey."

If you don't mind old-school graphics, you must check out The Battle for Wesnoth, an amazing open-source project which is packed full of gameplay and draws inspiration from other SRPGs, but seems to owe its heritage primarily to SSI's classic Fantasy General. I started contributing art to the project about a month ago.

Also, you may want to keep an eye on Tactica Online, a multiplayer online SRPG that's still in development.

Kaigen · Post by **Kaigen** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 6:17 pm

Peacedog wrote: How much is Torque going for these days? Not that a small (say: 3-10) developer couldn't do it, but I think the chances for something like this drop proportionally to the size of the house.

And if it's a first time small developer - I think any extra costs up front are really dangerous. Using a reasonably priced 3d engine doesn't garuntee increased sails - and it does significantly change how many games you need to sell. Distribution on the net is easy, but marketing is not, unfortunately.

$100 per programmer for the 2D engine for an "Indie" developer or $400 for a commercial developer.

$100 per programmer for the basic 3D engine for an Indie developer or $500 for a commercial developer.

$150 per programmer for the shader engine for an Indie developer and $1000 for a commercial developer.

And my understanding of their definition of an Indie developer is a developer than makes less than $250,000 in sales annually. Once you get over that, prices go up.

And Garage Games operates as a publisher for many of the games based on their engine, and some that aren't.

morlac · Post by **morlac** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 1:58 pm

J. Lutes wrote:
If you don't mind old-school graphics, you must check out The Battle for Wesnoth, an amazing open-source project which is packed full of gameplay and draws inspiration from other SRPGs, but seems to owe its heritage primarily to SSI's classic Fantasy General. I started contributing art to the project about a month ago.

That looks fun, thanks for the link.

Eduardo X · Post by **Eduardo X** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 1:16 pm

I just saw a Battalion review at Game Tunnel. Looks like my kind of game! It resembles Advance Wars on GBA.
I'll definately try it out.

Gizah · Post by **Gizah** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 4:10 pm

I think Odium would fall into this category as well.

Eduardo X · Post by **Eduardo X** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:45 pm

J. Lutes wrote:SRPGs are easily my favorite genre. I second Kaigen's recommendation for Shadow Watch, an underrated classic. If you scour the budget bins you might be able to find it for a couple of bucks. It works in XP if you set it to run in Windows 95/98 compatability mode.

The Silent Storm games are excellent, but verge on simulation with the amount of attention paid to physics, etc. I tend to think of SRPGs as being a bit more "gamey."

If you don't mind old-school graphics, you must check out The Battle for Wesnoth, an amazing open-source project which is packed full of gameplay and draws inspiration from other SRPGs, but seems to owe its heritage primarily to SSI's classic Fantasy General. I started contributing art to the project about a month ago.

Also, you may want to keep an eye on Tactica Online, a multiplayer online SRPG that's still in development.

Thanks for the headsup on Battle for Wesnoth. Its some good stuff!
I happen to suck at it, but I like what I've played so far.

J. Lutes · Post by **J. Lutes** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 9:10 pm

Eduardo X wrote:Thanks for the headsup on Battle for Wesnoth. Its some good stuff!
I happen to suck at it, but I like what I've played so far.

It really can be quite hard until you get used to the nuances of the game. I would recommend the "Liberty" campaign for a well-paced experience that isn't too tough.