Should I get this (WARNO) or Wargame: Ultimate Franchise Pack?

[YourMumsMilkman]

Wargame: Ultimate Franchise Pack is a bit cheaper. Some of the comments in the discussions there were saying that WARNO is a bit better put together and has more polish on it so to speak.

I've played RTS's for decades, but this would be my first modern RTS type and first game from this company. I'm not sure what to expect.

[[ACPL] Jon]

Go with WARNO.

[Murgs]

Hey Dad, I reckon that you should get WARNO if you are interested.

imo (60+ Gamer)

It's probably better to get WARNO which is newer. I have both and much prefer WARNO - in fact, hardly played RD at all.

There are RD stalwarts that will tell you that RD is better, the gameplay is quite similar in many respects, but I think most pundits will agree that WARNO is a better evolution.

[Ahriman]

Definitely WARNO, the old games are not bad, but they lack a rather painful amounts of QoL features that make them more a chore to learn, but also show their age in terms of graphical fidelity and mechanics.

Content-wise WARNO is also a lot more varied, while the Division system ensures that be it MP or SP, you'll be enjoying a notably more choices alongside more flavourful opposition. Between Army General Campaigns, Operations, Skirmish, and MP, you'll take a solid moment before you run out of things to do.

[Snake]

Originally posted by Ahriman:

Definitely WARNO, the old games are not bad, but they lack a rather painful amounts of QoL features that make them more a chore to learn, but also show their age in terms of graphical fidelity and mechanics.

Content-wise WARNO is also a lot more varied, while the Division system ensures that be it MP or SP, you'll be enjoying a notably more choices alongside more flavourful opposition. Between Army General Campaigns, Operations, Skirmish, and MP, you'll take a solid moment before you run out of things to do.

I've been looking into both RD and Warno and I keep seeing posts and comments about QoL improvements in Warno, but I don't know the specifics.

Could you list a handful of major / meaningful QoL improvements in the newer game? I'm all for comfort and QoL, especially when the game is as complex as those two but I don't know the details and they don't seem too easy to find at a glance.

[Ahriman]

Deployment Orders, you can give your units commands during deployment basically, reducing the intensity of the initial micro post deployment phase.

Line of Sight Tool, in the previous titles, you had to effectively datamine the information on line of sight on maps, due to no tool of any kind helping you tell if a unit could see from a treeline or not due to bumpy terrain and whatnot.

Cleaner and more informative UI, unit information is notably more clearer and not something that has to be datamined to fully figure out how everything ticks. Linked to the LoS tool as well, as you can now see the range of your units easily and relative to the map itself, and things like artillery spotting radius.

Unit Behaviour, you have settings which allow you to modify all kinds of behaviour-related options for your units. Including firing missiles, be it ATGMs or AA, at empty transports, smoking and retreating if the enemy is out of sight or outranges your unit, and if you want your units to automatically seek nearby cover or not.

Smart Orders, for those that want to use them, you can have the game AI effectively command certain things, usually most effective for Infantry fighting. Depending on the unit, you can have Planes perform automatic strike missions, Artillery perform counter-battery fire or fire at enemy units by themselves, and have units assault positions, where Infantry will try to effectively use cover to get to the assigned target, for example.

Division system, though not exactly a QoL feature, it makes getting into making Decks significantly easier than before. You don't have hundreds of nigh identical units to go through to figure out what units work well, instead you focus on figuring out which Division best suits your playstyle, and those Divisions have options, but not in an overwhelming degree.

Trait system, part of the UI aspect, as it explains what certain units do again without having to datamine things, or trial and error your way into figuring it out. The tooltips provide the basic information necessary to figure it out.

Lastly, though not exactly a QoL feature and more of an additional mechanical improvement, destroyed buildings no longer continue to block Line of Sight, allowing for Urban fighting without turning it into Infantry Only battles.

[Snake]

Thanks for the detailed write-up and information, appreciate you taking the time!

I have Steel Division 1 and have played a bit of Red Dragon, but I feel those games are just not the thing for me.

I love military strategy but I'm really bad at micromanagement and my experience is mostly limited to games like Call to Arms / Gates of Hell Ostfront and Men of War Assault Squad, maybe even something simpler as the Blitzkrieg games.

In those I can do reasonably well at lower difficulties but in SD and RD, I feel like there's always something going on that I don't quite understand and I am always on the losing side, even though I thought I made tactically sound decisions and did my best with unit placement.

I just don't feel Warno will feel any better in this regard as it looks like a repackaging of Red Dragon with the additional QoL you listed above.

[mndbsd]

If you already knew this game's not for you then why did you ask the man to write an essay for you on QoL?

[YourMumsMilkman]

Interesting info guys. Thank you all.

[Murgs]

Originally posted by mndbsd:

If you already knew this game's not for you then why did you ask the man to write an essay for you on QoL?

@mndbsd - some people only care about #1 - consideration for others - ?

Yeah, in some traditions, you cannot ask the price of something - if you have no intention of buying it.

Why don't you try Sudden Strike, that "looks like" a good fit - in retrospect.

Just FYI - it's impossible to see from the outside. whether or not WARNO is a repackaging of RD - they may have used some of the code (prerogative to do so) but it's a different game and it plays differently, albeit similarly in some ways.

@Milkman - hope it helps...

[luftwaffel]

PVE WARNO
PVP Wargame Red Dragon

[oli249]

I went for WARNO first and then got Wargame as it was on sale for the ultimate edition. WARNO is more polished and the tutorial missions are much better than whats on offer in Wargame. If you can get both, I generally use computer for WARNO and steam deck for Wargame when on the couch.

[YourMumsMilkman]

Been trying WARNO. Holy Guacomoly the warsaw pact can throw a lot of tanks and arty at you. Also the aircraft seem to be made of paper in this game...

[Murgs]

Originally posted by YourMumsMilkman:

Been trying WARNO. Holy Guacomoly the warsaw pact can throw a lot of tanks and arty at you. Also the aircraft seem to be made of paper in this game...

Welcome to the WARNO club....