On the eve of 1914… what will happen to WW1 milsurp values?

i think if people can only think of static trench warfare for a WW1 setting, then they need to read history books or get out a little more. For one thing, the situation did not become static until well into 1915. The first year of the war was very mobile on the western front. Then you have the late-war breakthroughs after the advent of the tank, lots of movement then as well. Lots of fortress assaulting in Liege and Verdun. Then you have other fronts, like the VERY mobile battles on the Eastern Front - Tannenberg for example. Or how about a nice beach assault at Gallipolli? Or the camel-back cavalry charges in middle east? How about some cool mountaineering warfare between the Italians and Austrians in the alps? Or colonial jungle warfare in Africa? The possibilities are as endless as they were for WW2.

Ever hear of the Phony War? There were LONG periods of WW2 that were more static than the trenches of WW1.
 
vermintrex said:
Ok...guess I have to admit I was wrong...my apologies, wasn't trying to piss anyone off.

Seems the general consensus is that milsurps cost less now, are just as plentiful and interest in them is at an all time high because of video games and SPR....also there is an all time high disinterest in WW1 cause the current generation hasn't seen a big budget movie about it yet.

Now that that's cleared up, gonna go drive some brake-cleen through the crack in the fore stock of a 1918 BSA
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Don't feel so down trodden there vermintrex as you are not really wrong if you compare prices to some of life's luxuries like a television, in the early 90s i paid $1800 for a 29 inch colour TV which was on special (down from $2400) could have brought half a dozen or more (most likely more!) SMLEs for that then, the 32 inch flatscreen TV we brought the other year for the Bedroom (rule that idea out back then!) cost $399 which today would get me 1 SMLE.
 
vermintrex said:
Fair enough...but I think that WW1 hasn't been seen as a viable story line for most developers due to the nature of trench warfare. Months of stalemates, achievements in metre's and death by dysentery have been hard to wrap up into an "instant" gratification game.

Yes, I may be throwing my peers under the bus...and even lending creed to the seemingly general consensus that we don't care about WW1.....but as a video game, WW1 would probably be best suited to a RTS game....which don't typically appeal to a younger crowd. No paratroopers, no helicopter gunships, slow and mostly over-heating tanks, no large formation sustained daylight bombing runs, no plasma rifles or ninjas..and of course...no Nazi's.

Stagnant wars of attrition are a tough nut to crack when your primary market is used to seizure inducing, frenetic gameplay, a la HALO.
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Dont forget the Zombie troops :)
 
Claven2 said:
I'd bet if Call of Duty or Medal of Honor produced an award-winning WW1 FPS, that might also help ;) Yes, I know, some people have used those engines and produced aftermarket skinned WW1 games (like Verdun), but they aren't mainstream and can't be bought at EB Games.
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French, Italian and Austrian milsurp-rifle would still be a "primarily handloading" affair, though.


Call of Duty and Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers "lit the fuse" - but it's a but unfair to discount the widespread availability of factory .30-06 in "exploding" the Garand's popularity.
 
Don't forget Spencer-Spicer, and the Navel Battles on Lake Tanganyika. Or the L59. Or the sailing commerce raider.
 
Claven2 said:
i think if people can only think of static trench warfare for a WW1 setting, then they need to read history books or get out a little more. For one thing, the situation did not become static until well into 1915. The first year of the war was very mobile on the western front. Then you have the late-war breakthroughs after the advent of the tank, lots of movement then as well. Lots of fortress assaulting in Liege and Verdun. Then you have other fronts, like the VERY mobile battles on the Eastern Front - Tannenberg for example. Or how about a nice beach assault at Gallipolli? Or the camel-back cavalry charges in middle east? How about some cool mountaineering warfare between the Italians and Austrians in the alps? Or colonial jungle warfare in Africa? The possibilities are as endless as they were for WW2.

Ever hear of the Phony War? There were LONG periods of WW2 that were more static than the trenches of WW1.
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I know...I'm collecting SMLE's after all...I'm well aware of the history....as are more of us than you think.

I was talking about the general audience....you can argue it until you are blue in the face....but even history "aware" 13yr olds think of WW1 as trenches, bi-planes and "over the top"......try to sell that to kids used to spastic, rocket launching games like Unreal.
 
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