Solaris_Wave

I agree with a lot of your points, although I will admit that I maintain my own particular criticisms of the game and that some of it definitely is dumbed down. Or, if not dumbed down, made overly convenient. Shared inventory, weapon modding and crafting, some combat mechanics; those are my own personal concerns. I find that some of the things that I don't like will leave me liking the game for what it is, rather than anything more than that. That is no bad thing, but it is like enjoying something that is good, very good even, just not truly great. I will still enjoy it but instead of it being a landmark game, it will fall shy of what I hoped for and gave plenty of suggestions for. We've all got different opinions of whether the game either looks all-out great, a worthy and fun addition to the franchise, or a missed opportunity. I can fully understand @MagicShadow's concerns but I made my comments about whether Haemimont could avoid criticism or not, when it comes to enemy appearance. Several of us aren't keen on the face painted militia in one way or another because, despite tribal origins, the worry was that they looked cartoony (and I think some look better than others). Haemimont then goes in a different direction and features enemies in camo battledress, with one soldier wearing a shemagh scarf. That brought criticism too. That could probably be demoralising for Haemimont to read as they could do something and get criticised, take the opposite approach and get criticised again, only for them to finally say, "Sod it, we will do it our way and ignore you all." While that may sound like I am targeting @MagicShadow directly, that is not really the case, as I have often found myself agreeing with other things he has pointed out. You could sum it all up and say that 'you can't please everyone'. We have all got ideas of what the perfect JA3 would be and I have been on the forums long enough to see that we have sometimes got conflicting views of what that perfect version actually is.

I am happy to finally see enemies that look more professional and wear camo fatigues (even if the urban pattern colours might have been better if switched to something more befitting the African terrain). I am curious about the enemies that wear any camo. Is it purely cosmetic or does it actually make them harder for your mercs to spot?

I thought Fox's quip after shooting that enemy right in the Jacobs was pretty good. Overall, it was a good looking and sounding video. In fact, the only thing I thought looked artificial at times was that there were several moments in the video where your mercs were all running with matching animations. The same leg moving forward, followed by the next leg; each merc moving the same arm in motion. They could do with a little randomisation so they don't have a synchronised robotic running animation. If they were marching then I would expect synchronised movement. Running in that fashion would be less likely.

I too have expressed my concerns over some of those perks. Just as @ShadowMagic has said, a lot of them just make them seem like comic book superheroes and they take the game into levels of absurdity. Having perks that lower action point cost to use certain weapons, slightly increased reflexes or endurance, better recoil, steadier aim, longer duration before needing to rest, etc., are the kind of perks that I am happy to see. I don't want to see perks that lets a merc Dragon Punch an enemy ten feet into the air.

I have to make a protest here. People are complaining about the look of the militia with their face paint, saying they look cartoony. Then, when we get to see a screenshot of more professional looking enemies, I am then seeing complaints about them. Is it possible for Haemimont to do right in people's eyes? I personally am okay with the enemy militia's appearance to a certain degree. I was also hoping to see more serious looking enemy soldiers as your mercs make progress. I have now seen that and am pretty happy with their appearance (although their camo colour and various ethnicities suggest people not used to being in Grand Chien). I don't have a problem with the 'face mask' at all. In fact, it looks like a shemagh, which are very popular with multiple nation's militaries, whatever they are.

So far, I don't think I have seen too much about the history of Grand Chien. We know that the government has been overthrown but how easy was it to do so? What was the prosperity of the nation beforehand? What was the original government's military like? How well equipped were they, how large was the force? I am trying to get an idea as to how easy it was for the President to be overthrown and how easy it was for the government's defences to be overwhelmed. It isn't like a standard coup where the military organisation remains the same but then there are loyalists and rebels within. You've got what appears to be a completely new force that has taken over. There must have been a lot of unhappy people in Grand Chien beforehand, for this militia to gain such numbers.

Haemimont still haven't said anything in terms of better trained enemies. Maybe that is one thing they are keeping tight-lipped about. Maybe the face painted enemies are just the standard militia. By the time you start making serious dents in the enemy's overall control of Grand Chien, you will start to see better dressed enemies, indicating their equipment and training level. I am still hoping we get to see enemy mercs or PMCs that have been hired to eliminate your own mercs. I wouldn't want to see the enemy militia just disappear because that wouldn't make sense. What I would prefer to see is them being assisted/assisting better equipped enemies. They could still make attacks on your sectors because they would be the most numerous but if enemy intelligence knows your mercs are in a particular sector, or there is a primary target, that is when the stronger enemies move in.

Wasn't there concern that Steroid was overdoing it in JA3, regarding him talking about his muscles and having them oiled? I wonder how often he will talk about such things throughout the game? Maybe, if each character's stereotype is mentioned during the hiring process and sporadically throughout the game, then that should be okay. If it is something that always comes up and becomes their sole personality, it will possibly get too annoying.

Are there any other ways to make money involving capturing enemy convoys? Are there convoys that transport other items, such as munitions, medicine and food? Also, if you take out enough convoys, does that have an adverse effect on enemy sectors? I also have a question regarding rivers and coast lines. Do you have to commandeer or hire boats, or is that automatically handled? I always look at JA3's poster and see a boat on there, hoping that they can be utilised in combat and transport.

@LoboNocturno; looking at those screenshots and seeing the weapon stats, along with their pros and cons, makes me want to immediately start tweaking them. It shows you how long it has been since I last played JA2 because I have also forgotten that the Rocket Rifles weren't tied to the Sci-Fi mode. I have played so many other games since JA2 (vanilla especially) that it is easy to forget all the little things. Strangely, I have always remembered the exact weapon stats for JA2's Steyr AUG.

That's a very good question! I would like to know that as well. It really helps to bring characters to life if they communicate with each other when idle (not just reacting to each other). Baldur's Gate II did that so well, even more so with mods.

Absolutely. If you weren't using the Rocket Rifles from the Sci-Fi mode, the C7 was the next best thing to equip for the final stages of the game. Other than dedicated snipers, machine gunners and mortar teams, I would give almost everyone else a C7 by the end. If they didn't have the C7, then it would be the Steyr AUG. The AUG turns up earlier and while slower firing, remains an excellent weapon throughout. It couldn't annihilate enemies like the C7 though. If you could go full auto and get every bullet to hit an enemy, they could be killed outright.

There seems to be a few WWII turn-based squad games in development right now and I am getting them mixed up. They all tend to look fairly similar, being WWII. Forgotten But Unbroken is one of them. That had a Kickstarter that didn't quite make it. I wasn't aware of it until later in time but backed it any way. The game is still in development but due to lack of pledges, will have to take a different approach. I am not sure why it didn't meet its target because it looked good from the made up screenshots and the description. The Troop is another one but looks to be more focused on vehicles, or additionally so. Headquarters: World War II is another. This is by Slitherine Games, so could be a virtual successor to the Battle Academy series, more than anything else. As a side note to Battle Academy (which is definitely not JA or X-COM in style but is WWII, turn-based and less strategic level), there is an upcoming WWII game based on the Winter War and beyond (Finland vs. Soviet Union). This is called Strategic Mind: Spirit Of Liberty. I think that Forgotten But Unbroken, The Troop and Classified: France '44 are the three I get mixed up with though, because I added them all to my Steam wishlist at exactly the same time and all were still in development stage.

I read in the latest PC Gamer magazine that co-op is supposedly good fun. During the real-time phase of battle, the chance for two people to handle groups that are split up is supposed to lead to an enjoyable working of tactics. Sadly, not too much was covered about multiplayer in the published preview. Therefore, I don't know how co-op is handled (who controls what) or whether there are any other modes.

Having a team classed as 'intellectuals' has just given me a vision of mercs that are wearing black polo necked jumpers, black berets, round glasses, a pipe in their mouth and talking both about philosophy and the Human Condition. "My father has been taken prisoner! The state of the country has been thrown into turmoil! I beg you to help us!" "I think, therefore I am." "What!?"

The C7 (Canadian M16) was pretty much an endgame rifle. I knew the M4 wasn't present in vanilla JA2 while the Colt Commando was, so I was thinking that @ShadowMagic was correct in saying the M14. Being such a long time since I played JA2 and vanilla especially, I wasn't aware that the M14 was classed as a light rifle. The real thing is pretty heavy for a rifle and heaviest of the big three battle rifles (including the H&K G3 and FN FAL). I am talking about the original stock versions and also not their game versions.

Are there any other ways to increase agility, such as running, dodging or melee combat? You will need to refresh my memory as it has been a long while since I played JA2.

Did you mean an M4 instead of M14? M14s are big and heavy battle rifles.

When did Ivan lose his ability with heavy weapons? I always used him as squad support in JA2 and gave him a machine gun at the earliest opportunity.

You could potentially have an all-female mercenary unit without any Steroid in sight. Actually, come to think of it, looking at the female mercs, there aren't any particularly tough or muscular women to choose from. If we are picking stereotype mercs in certain cases, there have been a few movies in the past that have featured female body builders.

I really don't know what rating I could give it, without playing any of it. I am happy with the 3D camera (you could possibly keep it at an angle so the game looks isometric all the time, of it bothers you). My main concerns are weapon realism, inventory system and finally, some of the overall 'look' of the game. Yes, Jagged Alliance has always had humour and outlandish characters but there was surprising restraint with it and the humour was often dark. I am concerned that JA3 might have made it look like a 'fun, jolly boys and girls outing' for characters from a Hero shooter to sign up for, rather than a serious coup d'état that needs deadly mercenaries to change.

I quite like the idea of not having too much money in the game, at least for a while. Having to make do with more basic weapons, such as Cold War-era and just iron sights, or basic hunting rifles. Guerrilla tactics would be necessary as you wouldn't particularly outnumber your enemies or have top of the line equipment.

In JA2, I kept many of my starting mercs and took them through to the finale. It felt better to see them through the entire campaign, getting better and better as they proceeded to liberate the sectors. It was also economical to do that and keep the incoming money for equipment, ammo and any other regular fees. I am guessing that for JA3, your later funding comes from acquiring enemy assets and fortunes. Capturing convoys, taking over mines and completing small contracts will help too.

I wonder if money is easy to get in the beginning because you are going round hacking laptops, cash machines and stealing little Timmy's birthday money. Then, it either runs out or people get wiser to your RPG stereotype of casually walking into people's homes, rifling through every drawer, cupboard and cabinet, before happily walking back outside, carrying everything that isn't nailed down.

Is it just money that unlocks availability of high level mercs or does your overall reputation affect it too? The overall reputation is a tricky one because there would be things like, how good you are as an employer, your successes in the campaign and whether you have tried to gain favour with any gangs in Grand Chien.