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Armored Task Force

by Jim "Bismarck" Cobb

Article Type: Review
Article Date: December 23, 2002

Product Info

Product Name: Armored Task Force
Category: Real-Time Battlefield Simulator
Developer: Patrick Proctor/Prosimco
Publisher: Shrapnel Games
Release Date: Released
Sys. Spec: Click Here
Files & Links: Click Here

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Evolution

Good games evolve. In fact, with a good system and a dedicated developer, evolution is inevitable. New ideas and new systems appear constantly and dedicated developers will take advantage of them. Captain Patrick Proctor, USA, is such a developer and has brought his modern tactical series along to meet not only new systems but also to make his games as user-friendly as possible. His latest effort, Armored Task Force, is another example of his dedication.

Evolution of a game

Bloodlines

Captain Proctor’s odyssey began with the real-time company/platoon/vehicle game, Brigade Combat Team, ably described here in 2000 by Mike Robel in COMBATSIM.COM's pages. Mr. Robel highlighted the detail of the product as well as the bland Janus graphics and the mind-boggling interface. Proctor recognized that most of his customers hadn’t gone to the US War College and began to make his product more accessible with BCT Commander, a product with two expansion sets along with improved graphics and interface. Peter Pawelek gave COMBATSIM.COM readers a civilian’s look at this here. James Sterrett gave us an early look here at Armored Task Force using a beta copy.

From these articles, the evolution of this series can be traced. Why so many retail versions of basically the same subject instead of some downloadable updates or less-expensive add-ons? The improvements in each product are very significant. In terms of several levels of “look and feel,” these games are very distinct and needed to be sold separately. The question is if Armored Task Force is different enough from its predecessors to warrant purchase.

The lonely Blackhawks get ready to bait the Bear in the Fulda Gap.

Similarities

Armored Task Force’s scale is the same as the older games. Grid lines on the map represent 1000x1000 or 10,000x1000 meter squares with five zoom levels. Time is pausable real time with the slowest being 1:1 second and the fastest of the four levels being 8:1. Engagements last several hours. Commands can be given to vehicles, platoons or companies. Movement is accomplished by planning a series of “go – no go” nodes along a path with units waiting for further orders at the “no go” nodes. Units can be given “Standard Operating Procedure” orders such as defilade, engage on contact in conjunction with formations such as line, wedge, etc. Foot units can mount and dismount vehicles. Superior play depends on players’ abilities to integrate these actions into a plan. Such integration is facilitated by the ability to cut and paste orders to several units. Players can also place and clear mines and obstacles while vehicles generate smoke.

Special troops receive special orders. Engineers can breach obstacles and radar-equipped units can radiate to spot the enemy at the risk of calling attention to themselves. Not surprisingly for a field artillery officer, Captain Proctor goes into detail with “Napoleon’s daughters”. Tubes can fire up to ten different kinds of ammunition with different timings and patterns. Fire is limited by the amount of ammunition, presence of spotters and rules of engagement. Fixed wing and rotary aircraft add their bit to the effort.

Unit and hierarchy commands are chosen via the tool bar or on-screen menus.



Artillerymen have a wide choice of ammunition, types of shoots and fall patterns.

The learning curve has always been steep for this series. The 100-page manuals and the excellent Windows-style on-screen help makes some things easier but, as Pawelek points out, players cannot take a cavalier approach and expect to savor this game.



Significant Differences

So is Armored Task Force just a spiffed-up Brigade Combat Team Commander? By no means. Several improvements cast a very different shade on the project. These improvements make the game much more accessible to more casual gamers while maintaining the rigorous adherence to realism of the earlier offering.

The first difference literally meets the eye. Maps now have an almost 3D look as opposed to plain military cartography. This improvement is not only aesthetically pleasing but helps players position units more advantageously. With this, Armored Task Force can attract players who are not used to the usual 2D contour maps. Unit symbols, other than the NATO scheme, are now portrayed in 3D rather than the earlier silhouettes.

The map for Brigade Combat Team Commander was rather bland.



The new map is an obvious improvement over the old.

The major change, however, is in the interface with accompanying game play additions. Before, players had to give units to each platoon. Every unit had to have orders to dismount, move and fire. One way around this tedium was the usual “lassoing” of common RTS games. As handy as this was, this method felt somewhat out of place in such a grognard environment. Hierarchies are introduced with Armored Task Force.

Hierarchies are basically company HQs. Outlined in blue as to subordinate platoons’ and vehicles’ yellow when selected, moving a company HQ will move every unit in that company. Operational, formation and special orders can also be given throughout the organization in this manner. More importantly though, a completely new set of orders, labeled missions, put the player in the post of a battalion or a brigade commander instead of a micromanagers.

The ten mission choices include offensive maneuvers such as assault by fire and defensive moves like creep and screen. Many of these missions have more than one stage so a screen has one primary line and two fallback positions. After the goals and positions of the missions are established, a dialog box pops up requiring formations, path and triggering events. The whole maneuver becomes integrated with other game functions as well as the activities of other maneuver elements and support units. Care must be taken to protect the HQ because the loss of the leader impairs the mission.

Using a mission order, a company of the Blackhawks form a screen. The green bar is an artillery-delivered minefield.



A pop-up box yields a wealth of information about every unit such as this M1A1.

The “Lasso” technique is still used to move more than one company and is especially important for creating massed batteries. Individual platoons and vehicles can be detached and handled the old way. Individual position can be very important in a defensive situation. However, the hierarchy approach to play not only makes a still intense game to play more user friendly but also mirrors the kind of decisions upper-level field officers make.

Players need every break they can get. The new AI is merciless. The enemy is adept at using unlikely approach routes and setting up deadly kill zones. Unlike most games, the AI cannot be “dumbed down”; it’ll come on like gangbusters the minute the clock starts. Armored Task Force is learned by defeats, not by a gradual ramping up through squishing push-over foes. LAN and TCP/IP play opens up a world of clever human opponents.

The ten missions in this game is a mixture of familiar places and areas about to become familiar. “Death Valley” and the National Training Center play roles in Brigade Combat Team while our old stomping grounds around Fulda provides a look at how the US Army could handle the Soviets in the late 1980’s. Four chilling scenarios in Iraq, including Baghdad, may be a glimpse into the near future. A scenario editor with four blank maps allows the opportunity for many homemade battles.

With or without allies, Baghdad will see some unwelcome tourists.

Irritations

In a good game, small flaws are usually dismissed. However, Armored Task Force requires such intense concentration that its bugs interrupt players’ thoughts. The map system requires a graphics configuration of 24-bit or less. The manual gives very good instructions to lower appearances from the usual 32-bit true color standard. Yet, zooming often creates striations that only zooming in and out a few times clears. Some say that turning off 3D graphics acceleration avoids this problem but this machination adds another step that should be unnecessary. The new vehicle icons are more cramped and fuzzy than the old silhouettes. A very interesting new artillery command, “at my command,” has yet to be implemented and perhaps setting AI levels could make the game even more accessible. Captain Proctor has already released the 1.01 patch; he’ll surely address these issues in the future.

The non-NATO icons in Brigade Combat Team Commander were simple but clear silhouettes.



Although the new icons are 3D, they seem fuzzy and cramped.

Armored Task Force represents a major step forward in the evolution of Captain Proctor’s series. This game still retains the gritty mechanics on modern military command at the battalion level while keeping pace with computer and graphic standards. As such, it deserves as many accolades as possible.


Armored Task Force v1.01





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