From: hand@spc9.jpl.nasa.gov (Kolin Hand)
Subject: Re: Patriot
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 21:33:42 GMT

In article <wright.88.0@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov> wright@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov (Ted Wright) writes:
>Has anyone seen Patriot by 360? It is supposed to be a sort of land
>version of Harpoon. My local store claims they had 2 copies but sold
>out. Nobody here has mentioned it.
>
>Ted Wright (wright@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov)

Picked it up on Saturday.  

Got it from Software Etc.  

Comments:

    Requires at a minimum, 386SX, and at least 2700 K of either extended or
    expanded memory.  Box says it runs under OS/2 with at least 4 Meg of
    system memory (I have OS/2 and 8 Meg -- works great as a full screen DOS
    session).

    Package included:
       2 HD 3.5" disks and 1 DD 3.5" disk,
       Patriot "Training Manual,"
       Patriot "Field Manual,"
       Installation/Quick Start guide + Addendum booklet,
       A Read Me First slip of paper explaining that this version of
        Patriot was "not delayed in order to add suggested improvements."

    Documentation is sadly lacking to say the least.  360 departed from the
    approach taken in Harpoon of having a generic game system document followed
    by a Battleset specific document.  All printed material is tightly coupled
    to the Desert Storm Battleset.  The "Training Manual" skims, to say the
    least, over most of the game controls.  After reading this guide, I still
    felt as if there should be more explaination.  The "Field Manual" is 
    a waste of paper due to the "Brief History of Warfare" that expends about
    half of the booklet.  I must concede that the organizational charts were
    somewhat interesting.  The unit symbology table was nice but the game 
    includes NATO symbols that aren't listed (it seems as if there are some
    composite symbols in the game not quite mentioned in the document --
    Marine Mech Inf if I remember properly...).

    I feel as if the "Field Manual" should have been entirely devoted to
    explaining things such as ground unit posture, formations, and roles
    of various ground units within the game.  All of this is either LIGHTLY
    touched or ignored entirely.  THIS NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED!  Played the
    intro scenario but did not really know what I could do with Engineer and/or
    Atillery Batallions.  (I know what they do in real-life, but how do I
    make them do it in the game?  Things like this are missing in the game
    docs).

    The game includes a scenario editing feature.  Good luck trying to
    create a scenario.  The documentation does not cover this procedure
    in detail.  It appears as if the only thing covered are how
    to edit unit formation charts and individual units.  I really don't
    even know how to set Victory Conditions.  I must say though, that I
    have yet to even try to create a scenario.  It is not even quite clear
    how to get in and out of the editor.  Seems as if once in the editor,
    the only way out is to quit out of the game and restart.
 
    As for game play, looks like the only thing one can do is to set up
    some parameters and watch it go.  Visibility into the action is minimal
    if not non-existent.  Gets a bit tedious.  I base my judgement upon
    playing Harpoon and the ability to make mods in "pseudo-real-time."

   
Overall, I reserve my judgement until I realy get a change to pound on the
game.  I am more than willing to give 360 a chance due to the complexity of
their games in general, and to the new game model used in Patriot itself.

I'll post more about it later.

Kolin
 
+===========================================================================+
+  "Guilt Trip:  The nuclear weapon of relationships."  -- K. Hand          +
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+  Kolin E. Hand                              hand@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov      +