[ 5 STAR HOME ] [ PEOPLE'S GENERAL WEB SITE ] [ PEOPLE'S GENERAL FORUM ] [ 5 STAR GAME COMPARISON ] [ LEADER SPECIALS ]

Comparing Selected 5 Star Games

This is a feature of the various 5 Star Games. Technically they aren’t all “5 Star” games, but I can’t think of a better unifying title for all the games of this series. This is a running list. Please add suggestions for this list by e-mailing them to me or by clicking HERE. NOTE: This list does not yet take into consideration all of the great add-ons that have been made for various games. That will come soon, though. Also a very special thank you to Reepicheep for providing extensive PGIII and PGIII SE (Scorched Earth) information! I have also started adding a “U” code for things that are allowed only with the various upgrades that are being created by our community of developers, and that are not part of the stock games. And I’ve added an “LS” code for features that become active as Leader Specials. “P” is for an SSI patch. BTW, if you’re noticing that the columns don’t align perfectly, I have seen that as well, though it looks perfect before I post this to the internet. Also note that this list doesn’t aspire to show all of the things that the different games all have in common (i.e. tanks units). Suggestions?

Narayan Sengupta

NewFrontiers@Mindspring.com

July 20-August 27, 2001

Thank you for feedback and suggestions to: Mark Kirby, Andy “Spunkmeyer” Gouck and especially Philip “Reepicheep” Nelson.

Feature PG Allied Pacific PGII People’s PGIII PGIII SE

General General General

MISCELLANEOUS

Maximum number of units allowed in equipment file 450 450? 1000 1000 1000 ? ?

Unlimited Unit purchases during play — —

Variable Campaign Path ? — — — — — —

Realistic Equipment Availability Levels — —

Realistic Equipment Strength Levels — —

Leader based promotions — —

Veteran Orders (hull-down, wedge attack, etc.) — —

Night turns — —

SCENARIOS/CAMPAIGNS

Scenario Loss allowed — U U ? ?

Defensive scenarios allowed — — — U U

Scenario Loss allowed with modification to campaign file U U

Historic strategic battles (e.g. Normandy) — — — U U

Victory by destroying target units —

Victory by exiting units from map —

Campaign map displays completed scenarios and locations —

Player can make some campaign path choices — — —

MAP/GRAPHICS

Map changes during night turns —

Units stand out clearly against the map — — —

3D units — — — —

Rapid combat resolution — — —

Deep sea —

Rotateable map — —

Weather Graphics (rain, snow, fog, lightning, etc.) —

Dynamic icons (turrets swivel independently, etc.) ? —

Map Autoscrolls — P — — — — —

PURCHASING

Can purchase experienced units —

Can purchase specials —

Can purchase ships — U U

Can upgrade ships —

Can purchase heavy bombers — — — U U

Can purchase core units from allied countries — — —

Unit availability/Units expire as time goes on — — — — —

Can capture enemy equipment ? —

TRANSPORT

Automatic mount/dismount of towed units — — — —

Integral Transport — — —

Can purchase Attachments (extra munitions, etc.) —

Campaign configuration at startup — —

Weather and Date always visible — ?

MOVEMENT/VISIBILITY

Visibility based on profile — — —

Reconnaissance Movement — —

Complex reconnaissance visibility — — — —

Fuel Ratings — — —

Simple reconnaissance visibility — — —

Discovered hexes visible — — —

Movement and combat can be separate for units — — — — — —

Partial discovery show unit existence but not unit type —

Partial discovery shows unit type but not strength —

Naval Night Optics —

Naval Radar —

Multiple Move and Shoot per turn — —

BATTLE GENERATOR

Battle Generator — — — —

Leader Specials w/ Battle Generator —

Trigger Hexes for special awards — — —

COMBAT

ASW Warfare ? — —

Standard Air Combat — — — — — — —

Strategic Air Combat (Air combat points) —

AI can be “surprised” — — — —

Overrun Combat — — — —

Maximum Unit Strength 15 15 15 15 21 19 19

Ranged tank attacks — — — —

Multiple ranged tank attacks ? —

Reserve fire — —

Multiple attacks/moves possible for any unit — —

INFORMATION

Campaign Dossier — — — — — — —

Scenario Dossier — — — —

Individual Unit Dossier — — — —

High Score Reset — — ? U U ? ?

High Score ? ? ? — — ? ?

ARTILLERY

Ranged artillery support — — — —

Multiple artillery support (can defensively support multiple units in one turn) — LS LS LS

Counter-battery Fire —

SPECIAL UNITS

Naval units — — — —

Carrier-borne aircraft —

Combat Support —

Aircraft Carriers with Hangars —

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? FEATURES MISSING ON ALL OF THE GAMES

Sentry/fortify Allows player can just tab through all of the active units

Campaign Generator

Unit bases Optional toggle for visibility

Resource management Managing factories, production, etc.

Note that some of the missing features have been fixed by add-ins. Most notably PGII has an incredibly array of equipment editors, scenario and campaign editors, map editors, etc.