Strategy and Wargaming

Source: Matrix Games

Juha Kellokoski is the main programmer and game designer of Armored Brigade. Together with his three fellow comrades Sam, Nikola and Dmitriy, they form the team developing the game.

We met Juha and we had the chance to ask him some questions about its latest work.

First off, thank you for answering these questions about upcoming game, Armored Brigade.

Matrix. Would you like to tell us what has been the driving force behind its design?

Juha Kellokoski. The starting point was to make a game I like to play. I’ve combined elements from games that I have enjoyed, including wargames and simulations, and even flavors from outside these genres. I’ve been an avid gamer since the mid-80′s. The original Steel Panthers is perhaps the greatest inspiration, if I had to name just one, but I’m sure that the players of many other PC wargame classics will feel like home when they try Armored Brigade. Also, especially in the earlier days, I did a lot of research about what the players think is missing from other games, and did my best to make sure Armored Brigade won’t be lacking in those respects.

M. When it was available for free, Armored Brigade got a strong reputation among wargamers. What is the story behind this incredible project?

J.K. Armored Brigade was actually my first game project. The initial steps were taken as early as 2004 when I decided to do something else than just modding the games of others. I considered different ideas, including a “Roguelike” game concept, but with real graphics. A bit later it evolved into making a Steel Panthers clone, with turn-based gameplay. I think the current real-time concept matured in late 2005, and later the ’87 equipment became the data set. Since then it’s been expanding and expanding in all directions. Basically, everything has been redone several times, and even now we’re ditching old stuff we know can be done better. The first freeware version was made public in March 2008. It was a very sincere effort, like “Hey, I made a game, do you want to try it?” I was fairly ignorant about the “grognard scene” and all that. I started receiving emails from the grognards, (ex-)servicemen and established publishers, saying very positive things about the game, even in its early, crude form. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very responsive those days, and even left some of the emails unanswered. Hopefully I’ve improved from that. Around the same time the discussion forum was opened, and I got feedback and help from the players, and kept developing the game. All of the current team members were “recruited” from the forum. I’m still the only programmer and the project leader. Sam is mainly responsible for the textures, Dmitriy makes the maps and additional artwork and Nikola is building the database. In 2016 I decided to work on this project full-time, to give it all the polish and chrome it deserves. For that purpose, I established my company, Veitikka Studios, and signed a contract with Matrix Games. That’s where we’re now.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE

First, a big thank to all the community for the patience regarding the long development time for The Operational Art of War IV. Despite some bumps along the way, the TOAW Development Team is working very hard to deliver the great wargame everyone is awaiting.

Today, we are very proud to announce that this project is in its final stages!

The Operational Art of War IV is the new generation of operational wargames. With more flexibility than before and with a new array of exciting features, it will make you relive the most iconic battles from the dawn of the 20th Century to modern day, including the ones that never occurred!

More than 200 scenarios like the Battle of Marne, Dien Bien Phu, the Batte of Arnhem, the Falkland Invasion – and lots more! – will forge your strategy skills and ability to master all kind of troops and terrains!

Check out its official product page for more information!

Order of Battle: Kriegsmarine is the upcoming, newest expansion for the Order of Battle series, and it’s coming out on April 20th!

It features the German Navy in a series of exciting and hard-fought battles. It innovates the naval gameplay of the base game decisively, adding plenty new units as well as several new mechanics and features, including new rules for submarines – naval warfare in Order of Battle has never been deeper!

Watch the Order of Battle: Kriegsmarine release date announcement trailer here.

Learn more about Order of Battle: Kriegsmarine at the games official webpage.

Go for the Golden Era in Mandate of Heaven

With one eye on the rising sun and another eye on a glorious future, Europa Universalis IV: Mandate of Heaven is available today. Mandate of Heaven is the new expansion to Paradox Development Studio’s flagship franchise about exploration, religious turmoil, economic dominance and conquest. Taking its name from the Chinese belief that their empire was divinely ordained, Mandate of Heaven will bless your ambitions for years to come.

At the center of Mandate of Heaven, players will find the new Historical Ages system and the associated Golden Eras. The four centuries of play are divided into four Historical Ages, each with seven objectives and seven special abilities that can be unlocked. If you accomplish three objectives in an Age, you may choose to initiate a Golden Era, giving your empire 50 years of prosperity and military prowess. But choose your time wisely! You only get one Golden Era per game.

Mandate of Heaven’s other features include:

• Empire of China: The Chinese Emperor has great powers at his disposal, and the efficient bureaucrats keep things running smoothly. But greedy neighbors may seek to take the Mandate of Heaven for themselves.
• Ashikaga Shogunate: The Japanese Shogunate has been reworked for more interaction and political considerations among the daimyo. As Shogun, carefully balance the pride of your subjects or compel them to choose and honorable death.
• Confucian Harmony: Keep order in your eastern realm or risk short term spiritual disruption in exchange for long term religious harmony.
• Shinto Isolation: Will your Japanese kingdom seek benefits in an open society or promote greater unity through closed doors? Major incidents will challenge your aspirations.
• Tributaries: Eastern empires can persuade weaker neighbors to pay an annual tribute in gold, manpower or monarch points in this new subject nation format.
• Diplomatic Macro Builder: New addition to the left-hand side macrobuilder automates many repeated diplomatic tasks.
• And more including Chinese meritocracy and Manchu Banner troops

As usual, Mandate of Heaven launches alongside a major free update to Europa Universalis IV that improves and updates many aspects of the core game experience.

Watch the Europa Universalis IV: Mandate of Heaven release trailer HERE.

Starting later today, a number of Paradox Interactive titles will go on sale on Steam for the weekend, including the Europa Universalis IV core game. Ambitious rulers who have yet to try their hand at world conquest will have the perfect opportunity to try the latest version of the game alongside its newest expansion. Europa Universalis IV: Mandate of Heaven is available now on Steam and the official Paradox Store for $19.99.

The expansion for the acclaimed real-time wargame Scourge of War: Waterloo is finally here!

Scourge of War: Wavre will put you in command of the French forces of the aile droite of the l’Armée du Nord lead by Marshal Groucy, or hold the line with the Prussians of Johann von Thielmann and protect the rear of Blucher’s Army!

Are you ready to fight in the last battle of the Napoleonic Wars?

Grab the game here!

Scourge of War: Wavre is available also on Steam!

Exclusive Beta Access Included in Pre-order Bonuses

Paradox Interactive, a publisher of triple-ace strategy titles, today announced that Steel Division: Normandy 44 will release on May 23, 2017, and that pre-orders are now available. Developed by Eugen Systems, the veteran game creators of the Wargame series, Steel Division: Normandy 44 is the upcoming tactical real-time strategy game for Windows PCs that puts players in command of World War II military divisions. Pre-orders include in-game bonus content, as well as immediate access to the game’s exclusive beta, lasting from now until the game launches on May 23, 2017. Steel Division: Normandy 44 can be pre-ordered at https://www.paradoxplaza.com/steel-division-normandy-44.

Take an early glimpse at Steel Division: Normandy 44 in a new trailer HERE.

Players can now pre-order Steel Division: Normandy 44 for $39.99/£34,99/€39,99, or the Deluxe Edition for $59.99/£49,99/€59,99. Both versions include access to the game’s exclusive beta with pre-order, allowing players to access and play the game early and get a feel for the battlefield. Both versions also include two historical aces as a pre-order bonus, giving division leaders new cosmetic faces to put in command of their vehicles.

The Deluxe Edition of Steel Division: Normandy 44, in addition to the full game, will also include:

• A Digital Art Book offering a look at the art and creation behind the game
• The Tactical Guide and Battle Log featuring tactics, terrain tips, and major maps of the game
• Six Additional In-game Historical Aces to add cosmetic variety to your divisions.
• Deluxe Avatar and Icon for the Paradox Forums
• Unique Ringtones and Text Message Alert Sounds for your mobile devices
• Desktop Wallpapers from the Steel Division art team
• Custom Streaming Overlays designed for content creators on Twitch and YouTube

Steel Division: Normandy 44 is a Tactical Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game, developed by Eugen Systems, the creators of titles like Wargame and R.U.S.E. This new game puts players in command of detailed, historically accurate tanks, troops, and vehicles at the height of World War II. Players can measure their tactical skills against several opponents in big multiplayer battles or against enemies in a challenging single-player campaign.

For more information on Steel Division: Normandy 44, visit the games official website.

Source: TechPowerUp!

Creative Assembly is one of the biggest players in the RTS genre – a genre that is exclusive to our platform of choice. You do have leave out some outliers like Halo Wars – of which its second installment was indeed developed by Creative Assembly itself – and Command & Conquer 3, but those are the exceptions that prove the rule: the PC is the place to strategize.

Now, Creative Assembly has announced yet another iteration on their Total War series of game, which borrow from Civilization’s “just one more turn” addictiveness. And this one is set on one of the most cherished IPs in gaming: the Warhammer universe. The first Total War: Warhammer was a poster child for DX 12 integration and performance improvements (at least on the AMD side of the equation). Total War: Warhammer II should also carry some of those optimizations with it, and the second installment in a planned trilogy of RTS titles on the receiving end of the Total War treatment.

Watch the Total War: Warhammer 2 Announcement Cinematic Trailer HERE.

Read on…

Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations and Northern Inferno have been updated to version 1.11 SR7 (Hotfix 2)! This new version brings a lot of improvements, including an improved version of the Korean Missile Crisis scenario, it fixes a “stutter” issue that popped up after the last update and a much improved ASAT logics!

You can download the link from here.

CMANO Public Members Area

CNI Public Members Area

Be sure to check the entire changelog here.

winSPWW2 10.01 Replaces winSPWW2 10.0 and winSPMBT 11.01 Replaces winSPMBT 11.0

Every once and a while corrections become necessary. You can always count on Camo Workshop to make corrections efficiently and immediately. The new upgrades for winSPMBT and winSPWW2 are now available. These upgrades replace the upgrades from March 3rd. A description of the changes follow.

A couple of obscure but serious database errors were discovered in the Orders of Battle (OOBs) in both games after the latest patches were released. That lead to the discovery that an error that we had thought had been corrected in the coding of the master unit cost calculator a year ago had resurfaced and after tracking that down and checking the recalculated OOB’s it was discovered that perhaps 5% of the units in the games had incorrect costs. The problem is , in the two games combined, five percent of the units is about 2,400 units.

Most of those cost errors were minor in the 1-2 point range but some unit classes like attack Helicopters as well as SEAD and COIN aircraft in winSPMBT for example were out by 20 points or so and the ground attack unit class in winSPWW2 was out by a bit less but roughly the same amount.

Since this was also a year a new version of the CD was being created we could not knowingly ship the new CD with these errors so the decision was made to correct the CD before it was released and that meant a revised patch needed to be issued.

Those who have ordered the physical, safebox, version of these games will be receiving the latest 10.01 and 11.01 versions. Those who ordered the download versions will be receiving new download links to the 10.01 amd 11.01 versions. Those who were just upgrading using the patches can go to the games’ product pages to get the new upgrade patches. Just look for the links under the ‘Downloads’ section.

For those who ordered the download version, all the new download links will go out today. The physical safebox versions will start shipping today, but will take through tomorrow to ship all games. All orders will ship in the order received. Those who ordered the safebox games will receive an email when your order ships.

Please note if you are currently playing in a secure PBEM game applying the patch WILL cause your game to FAIL. So be smart, wait until completing your game, and then make sure to patch up.

The Camo Workshop regrets the errors and the necessity of issuing updated game patches so soon but we strive to release the best possible game we can and sometimes that means things like this will happen from time to time.

Get the winSPWW2 10.01 patch here.

Get the winSPMBT 11.01 patch here.

To get your gaming on please visit us at www.shrapnelgames.com. Check out our catalog of eclectic strategy titles and download demos for all our titles!

By Ian Boudreau @ The Wargamer

Now approaching its sixteenth year, the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan is the longest armed conflict in American history, and arguably one of the most difficult to capture in a wargame format. That’s probably why Afghanistan ‘11 isn’t really a wargame, but rather a strategy game about a specific kind of war: counterinsurgency. As such, the game is less concerned with enemy casualty counts and focuses instead of the decidedly fuzzier notion of “winning hearts and minds” as laid out in the COIN theory.

Read on…