Three Moves Ahead

GameShark's Bill Abner joins Troy and Rob to discuss Shogun 2, mortality rates among Japanese generals, and Bill's enchanted copy of Shogun 2, in which everything awesome that can happen, does.

Rob's Gamepro series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Bill's GameShark review

After the panel completely falls apart on the eve of recording a Dawn of War 2: Retribution episode, Troy and Rob soldier on by themselves. Troy hasn't played Retribution, but he is happy to announce his upcoming marriage to Field of Glory. Rob forgets that he's on a podcast and just starts talking with Troy, and along the way he mangles a great Provost Zakharov quote and explains why he thinks refinement is undervalued compared to innovation.

At the end, Troy talks about his upcoming meet-up, and Rob asks for listener input on a 3MA website. Then Audacity eats his audio file and the episode is produced from a Skype recording.

The Zakharov quote:

"There are two kinds of scientific progress: the methodical experimentation and categorization which gradually extend the boundaries of knowledge, and the revolutionary leap of genius which redefines and transcends those boundaries. Acknowledging our debt to the former, we yearn, nonetheless, for the latter." - Academician Prokhor Zakharov, "Address to the Faculty"

Julian and Rob are at death's door following PAX East and a week of cruel beatings at the hands of Men of War: Assault Squad. Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Jim Rossignol, author of This Gaming Life, comes to their rescue, and together they try to figure out why this genre-breaking, rule-defying battlefield simulator exerts such a tremendous fascination.

Wot Alec Meer Thot of the original Men of War

Jim, in The Escapist, on Men of War and heroism

Jim on Men of War: Red Tide

Jim on Assault Squad

During GDC, Tom Chick and Soren Johnson hosted a talk that was so good that a single panel couldn't contain them. They have invaded Three Moves Ahead to talk to Rob and Bruce about why strategy gaming is in a platinum age, how the business of development is changing, and the relative importance of AI in the development process. Then Tom, Bruce, and Soren freak out over League of Legends, although Bruce is convinced it's Land of Legends. Whatever it is, it sounds pretty good.

Paradox's Johan Andersson talks to Rob about EU3: Divine Wind, expansions, the design process at Paradox, and the newly-announced Sengoku.

Johan's Q&A with GameShark

In the wake of another successful Rabbitcon, Lara Crigger and Rob Daviau join Julian and Rob to talk about good luck, bad luck, and fun luck. Rob and Lara discuss her first wargaming experience, Hold the Line, and how it came down to a photo finish despite some unspeakably bad luck for her American forces at the start. Rob Daviau explains how luck aids the storyteller, and shapes game narratives. Then the panel considers why the sort of luck in a deck of cards is often more interesting than the luck in a roll of the dice, and how luck can shake up repetitive gameplay.

Rob (Red) vs. Lara (Blue) at the Battle of Long Island

Bruce and Rob welcome Troy back to the show by monopolizing conversation as they describe their reactions to War in the East. Bruce consults von Manstein's Lost Victories in the hopes of discovering where they went, but Rob is pretty sure the Germans dropped them somewhere in the Pripyat Marshes. All Troy knows for sure is that 2by3 scored a big win with this game. Then Rob takes a trip into Dungeons and finds a pleasant surprise, while Bruce is pleased by an invasion of Poland wargame with a marvelously bad interface.

Show links:

Battle of Smolensk (1941) - The map may help you enjoy the show

Rob's Dungeons review

Rob turtles up for a free-for-all discussion of RTS multiplayer gaming with Tom Chick and Chris Remo. What really powers the Starcraft II community, and why can't other RTS games match it? It looks unstoppable, but does a challenger arise with League of Legends? 3MA favorites Supreme Commander II and RUSE depress the panel with their multiplayer front-end, but Chris cheers himself up by building a cathedral in Dawn of Discovery.

Game Table Online's Robert Eng joins Bruce, Julian, and Rob for a discussion about online board gaming. Topics include business models, what goes into a successful conversion, and what these services mean for the board gaming hobby.

Game Table Online

Rob and returning guest Jenn Cutter discuss what they saw at the Paradox convention in New York. The Escapist's Greg Tito helps out with some good questions and pro-tips on how to make a game presentation awkward for journalists. Troy Goodfellow just can't quit you, and refuses to leave until you understand how great Crusader Kings 2 looks. Games discussed: Naval War, Magicka, Pride of Nations, Salem, Pirates of Black Cove, Gettysburg Armored Warfare, Crusader Kings 2

Production: Michael Hermes

Greg Tito's previews from the Paradox Convention:

Magicka

Mount and Blade: Fire and Sword

Salem

Jenn Cutter's previews from the Paradox event:

Magicka

Pride of Nations

Rob's thoughts for Gamers With Jobs.