Strategy and Wargaming

Panzer Division Games has released a first gameplay video of their game Attack at Dawn: North Africa. In the hour-long video, the designer Tomislav Čipčić shows in depth how to play the game in one small but exciting historical scenario – Operation Battleaxe.

To quote the designer: “We wanted to show the players the intensity, dynamics and historical accuracy of the game we’re making. And we chose one of the most interesting operations in the WW2 North African theater – operation Battleaxe. The players will be able to see how to move and fight, how to order air strikes and call in the artillery support, how to plan and redeploy their forces. We hope that this video will give the future players more insight and hopefully raise interest in our game.”

Watch the gameplay video HERE.

About The Game
Attack at Dawn: North Africa is an operational level wargame set in WW2 North African theatre. It features 3 campaigns, and 15 scenarios which can be played in solo or multiplayer modes. It can be played as a real-time, or turn-based (WeGo) game. The game begins with the German troops probing into the Libyan region of Cyrenaica, and finishes either with the total defeat of German-Italian Panzer Armee, or with the British loss of Egypt and their retreat across the Suez Canal.

For more game information, please visit the official Attack at Dawn: North Africa website, or you can visit the games Steam page.

Patches are In! This is a Must Have!

Another Year of Upgrades, Fixes and Additions have arrived.

First, DO NOT apply the upgrade patches while in the midst of a secure PBEM game as the game will fail. The 2021 winSPWW2 v 9.0 – v. 14.0 consolidation patch will upgrade v. 9.0 or above to v. 14.0 and the 2021 winSPMBT v. 10.0 – v 15.0 patch will upgrade v. 10.0 and up to v.15.0.

Available for immediate download, these two patches are loaded, fully loaded. So, let’s take a look at what the great guys at Camo Workshop have added…

winSPMBT, upgraded to version 15.0 includes:

• 2 New Scenarios
• 32 Revised/Updated Scenarios
• 1 New Campaign
• 2 Revised/Updated Campaigns
• 26 New or Revised Map files
• 77 New or Revised OOB Photos
• 47 New or Revised vehicle/aircraft Icons
• 93 Updated OOB Files
• 15 New or Revised Icon files
• 104 New or Revised Text files

And winSPWW2, upgraded to version 14.0 has:

• 9 New Scenarios
• 86 Revised/Updated Scenarios
• 7 New/Updated Campaigns
• 9 Revised Campaigns due to OOB changes
• 1 New map
• 261 New or Revised OOB Photos
• 36 Updated OOB files
• 46 New or Updated Graphic SHP files
• 504 New or Revised vehicle/aircraft Icons
• 353 New or Revised Encyclopaedia/Help Text files
• 3 New/Revised sound files

Head on over to the Shrapnel Games website and check out the press release detailing the full list of changes in these two great games!

A new episode of the Warplan Pacific Tour is now available. Find out how Air and Naval specialties allow you to adapt your units and enable them to excel situationally. In addition, some specialist roles have also been added, such as the “screening” role, which focuses on dealing with hostile air threats. Warplan Pacific has also made some systemic changes to how shipyards work, to better represent the Pacific War.

Episode #5, Air and Naval Specialties

Remember, the official PDF manual is now available! You can download it here.

For more information on Warplan Pacific, you can check out our product page on Matrix Games.

Warplan Pacific, the second game in the Warplan series, will be released on April 29th.

The new episode of the Warplan Pacific Tour is now available. Find out how hidden naval fleets, communications intelligence and encrypted codes were added to Warplan Pacific to better represent the Pacific War.

Episode #4, Hidden Naval and COMINT

Also, the official PDF manual is now available! You can download it here.

If you are hungry for more information on Warplan Pacific, you can check out our product page on Matrix Games.

Warplan Pacific, the second game in the Warplan series, will be released on April 29th.

“Reconquista” The first DLC of Field of Glory II: Medieval brings the battles related to the Middle Ages in South West Europe.

Feudalism did not have such a dominant impact in Spain and Italy as it had in the rest of Europe and both these lands had unique factors which affected the conduct of warfare:

• Spain 1050, with more than half of the Iberian peninsula under the rule of Islamic states, the era of Christian Reconquista began. It would last until 1492, after centuries of clashes between Berber Empires (Murabits, Almohads and Hafsids) and Christian Kingdoms (Aragon, Castile y Leon, etc.).
• In Northern Italy the big cities formed the Lombard League to counter the attempts of the Holy Roman Emperor to enforce his authority over them. This was a part of the Wars between Ghibellines who supported the Holy Roman Emperor and the Guelfs that supporting the Pope.
• In Southern Italy, the Normans rose from humble mercenaries to conquer the whole of southern Italy and establish the great kingdom of Sicily, after conquering the island from the Arabs.

These are the backgrounds, stories and wars that lead to the new DLC, which will include:

• 20 more nations and factions covering Spain, Italy and North Africa from 1040 AD to 1270 AD. These include Andalusians, Almohads, Arabs, Aragonese, Byzantine Catapanate of Italy, Castilians/Leónese, Catalans, Granadines, Hafsids, Italian Guelfs, Italian Ghibellines, Italo-Normans, Lombards, Marinids, Murabits, Navarrese, Papal, Portuguese, the Kingdom of Sicily and Tuaregs
• 41 more units and 45 more army lists
• 8 more historical scenarios covering key engagements of the period on an epic scale. These include Monte Maggiore 1041, Civitate 1053, Cabra 1079, Sagrajas 1086, Legnano 1176, Las Navas De Tolosa 1212, Montaperti 1260 and Benevento 1266.
• 33 more historical matchups added to Quick Battle mode, increasing the total to 98, playable from either side.
• 4 more historically-based campaigns covering major leaders and conflicts of the era: El Cid, Muhammad II of Granada, Normans in the South and Frederick II Hohenstaufen.
• Sandbox campaign expanded to include all the new army lists, allowing you to lead any nation (and their historical allies) against any other nation (and their allies) – giving thousands of permutations.

Find out more about Field of Glory II Medieval on the games the official product page or via Steam.

The first massive mod for Close Combat: The Bloody First is now available.

It is called Veteran and it was developed by a well-known modder in the community, Nomada_Firefox.

He took upon himself the task of converting maps from Close Combat: the Longest Journey, as well as adding a lot more content. We were so impressed with it that we have worked to bring this content into the game as an optional addition you can directly download from the games client.

Nomada_Firefox’s Veteran mod main features include:

• New content that covers the whole of the Normandy landings.
• Adds British and Commonwealth forces as well as many new units for US and German forces
• Two new campaigns, one Allied and one Axis
• Dozens of new battles and operations
• 20 new maps converted from Close Combat The Longest Day

You can now download the Veteran mod directly from the game’s download system by doing the following:

1. Click the button ‘User Content’ which will appear on the game main screen next to the game title.
2. Select the ‘Veteran Normandy’ mod from the ‘User Content List’
3. Click ‘Download.’

Last but not least, Close Combat: The Bloody First is currently part of our Easter sale: If you don’t have it yet in your game library, you can acquire it at 30% off by entering the “happyeaster30″ coupon code. The offer is only valid on the Slitherine and Matrix Games stores.

Stop by the official Close Combat: The Bloody First webpage for more game information!

Leviathan Add-On Introduces New Diplomatic and Development Options

Not everything has to be brute force. Armies are necessary, of course, but there are other ways to succeed. Build a force of diplomats, for example, and use your flattery as a weapon against others. Or draw wealth and power from the remote regions of your realm to construct a metropolis to be the engine of your economy. You can try many new routes to global power in Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan, coming next month.

Leviathan is the newest expansion to Paradox’s grand strategy classic about the early modern world. The first release from the Barcelona based Paradox Tinto, Leviathan adds new options for diplomatic and economic play, and will be available to Europa Universalis players on 27 April 2021.

One of the highlights of Leviathan is the ability to use diplomatic Favors to gain benefits from other nations. If you post a diplomat to curry favor in a foreign nation, you will slowly build up enough diplomatic power to request material aid, changes in alliances and even the return of core provinces.

Other features of Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan include:

• New Regency Options: Regency councils represent the interests of the most powerful estate, and can be extended to delay the ascension of an unfit monarch.
• Specialized Colonial Nations: Let your colonies focus on military help, trade power or self-government.
• Concentrate Development: You can now steal development from your vassals or territorial possessions to enhance the power of your capital city.
• Pillage Capital: Loot an enemy capital as a condition of peace, hauling development back to the capital metropolis.
• Expand Infrastructure: Provinces can expand their capacity to build new structures and manufactories, allowing smaller nations to create centers of wealth for a modest cost.
• Centralize State: Reduce the cost of government by spending unused Reform points.
• Totemism: Nations that follow the Totemist religion can revere a pantheon of past leaders, earning bonuses that reflect the skills they had in life.
• Monuments: Expand and establish great projects, adding new bonuses to your empire.
• New Unit Models: New army sprites for Southeast Asian nations, including Indochinese, Indonesian and Polynesian nations.
• And more: Including the ability to carpet siege enemy provinces, draft transports as a plutocratic nation, watch heirs gain legitimacy as they wait to inherit the throne and other changes.

As usual, Leviathan will be accompanied by a major free update available to all Europa Universalis IV players. This update includes modifications to the maps of Southeast Asia and North America, with major gameplay changes for North American First Nations. It also adds Australian Aboriginal nations.

Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan will be available on 27 April 2021 at the Paradox Store and major online retailers for the suggested retail price of $19.99/£15.49/€19.99.

More game information is available at the Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan webpage, or on the expansions Steam page.

The third episode of the Warplan Pacific weekly tour with Alvaro Sousa is now available: this week, we unveil more details on the games Naval Units. There is some great detail here if you are looking to explore some of the depth on mechanics such as oil, repair and fleet strength.

We also briefly explore WWI battleships and how they function, as they were the main body of what the USA had in 1941.

Episode #3 Naval Units Changes

If you are hungry for more information on Warplan Pacific, you can check out our product page on Matrix Games.

Warplan Pacific, the second game in the Warplan series, will be released on April 29th.

Starting in 1941, Gary Grigsby’s War in the East 2 covers one of the most brutal conflicts in human history. This bitter fight to the end between the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, is lovingly modelled and detailed from the highest strategic overview to the smallest logistical decision. GGWiiE2 is a complete overhaul of the first game. It is richer, more historical, more encompassing and is the most accurate representation of this conflict ever conceived.

Interface improvements, including new art and re-organized screens allow you to discover and access the games rich strategic layer more easily.

Flexible movement, road and rail modelling allows unparalleled realism in how units flow towards or from the frontlines in the conflict. Details such as road quality, the quality of your transport, the weather, the condition of the men and much more determines if those critical supplies will arrive on time.

Discover the history underpinning each and every unit and weapon that was used and how it fits into the grand scheme of the overall conflict, in the games built-in encyclopaedia. Armed with your new knowledge, devise new ways of putting those units and weapons into action on the biggest strategic map yet.

It is not just the game itself that has been dramatically improved. The game comes with an exceptional tutorial and 520-page comprehensive manual, to help new players understand the depth and complexity that underpins how real war is fought and won. The A.I. has also been improved, so veterans of the first game will also relish new challenges in an expansive campaign that covers everything from Barbarossa to the fall of Berlin.

Gary Grigsby’s War in the East 2 has arrived in the Matrix store and is now available for purchase and download HERE.

First post-launch update goes live on Steam and GOG, with a full spring and summer content roadmap revealing Sun Tzu, new units, maps and missions

Firefly Studios has just released their first update for Stronghold: Warlords, adding an extreme difficulty mode, increased troop limits, a new map, AI improvements, balance changes and bug fixes. The castle sim developer also revealed the first part of Warlords’ post-release content roadmap introducing new a AI character and playable unit, as well as extra single player missions and warlords:

Patch Notes
Roadmap Reveal Trailer

“This first phase in our overall roadmap of updates for Warlords covers the spring and early summer period” said Nick Tannahill, Marketing Director and resident castle lover at Firefly Studios. “We have additional smaller patches planned of course and then more to come in the second half of the year, however everything covered in our announcement will be added to the game free for all players”.

Firefly’s content roadmap for Stronghold: Warlords is divided into two separate tracks, creatively titled minor and major updates. Minor updates, starting today with the addition of Extreme Difficulty and numerous AI improvements, will be aimed at improving core gameplay and adding smaller features. Later on players can expect further AI updates, stability improvements, more maps, fixes, quality of life features and series staple features, such as controllable AI invasions in Free Build mode.

When it comes to major updates for the spring and early summer period, two substantial content additions are scheduled as part of the game’s initial roadmap. As requested in post-release feedback, Stronghold: Warlords will first receive a new AI character in the form of Sun Tzu. Available in skirmish mode, multiplayer and all future updates, Sun Tzu will provide players with fresh armies to battle, castles to besiege and tactics to outmaneuver. Following this a larger ‘Skirmish Trail #1’ update is planned for the early summer. The game’s first skirmish trail update will add 10 single player missions, a new unit in the Samurai Lancer and two warlords with unique abilities. The Beetle Warlord in particular is a response to player feedback, introducing the power to heal battlefield units using the new Field Hospital structure. Both major updates, as well as future planned content additions, will aim to improve the content on offer in the core game in both single player and multiplayer modes.

Stronghold: Warlords is now available on Steam and GOG, with a Special Edition including a digital art book, new soundtrack by series composer Robert L. Euvino, ‘Making Of’ documentary and a copy of Stronghold HD.

Visit the official Stronghold: Warlords website for more game information.