Matrix Games Announces Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare

[Alex Fiedler]

Major New Addition to Harpoon Series Includes Multiplayer!

Matrix Games and Advanced Gaming Systems (www.advancedgaming.biz) are pleased to announce that Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare, the new multiplayer addition to the distinguished Harpoon modern air and naval strategy series, is scheduled for release this quarter via digital download and game on demand from the Matrix Games online store.

Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare is the result of decades of development and fan support, resulting in the most comprehensive, realistic, and accurate simulation of modern combined air and naval operations available to the gaming public. The new Multiplayer support raises the bar for the Harpoon series to a whole new level of immersion and gaming excitement!

David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, stated, “We are privileged to have a chance to work on the Harpoon series and the great team at Advanced Gaming Systems that has worked hard to bring it to a whole new level. If you’ve ever played or thought about playing Harpoon, this enhanced, fully upgraded releases are a must have for your game collection!”

Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare gives you the opportunity to manage some of the most advanced air and naval assets available in the world and puts you in the middle of many historical and ‘what if’ scenarios (including six multiplayer scenarios). Battle Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the Persian Gulf – or to take the opportunity to re-live Operation El Dorado Canyon and strike at the heart of Libya. Try your hand at guarding the Greenland-Iceland-U.K. Gap to stop a Soviet naval invasion of the Atlantic – or stalk unwary U.S. shipping in a Soviet Akula-class submarine. The NATO versus Warsaw Pact conflict that never came to be serves as fertile wargaming ground to provide many chances to explore any eventuality. You'll have the chance to play from either side, experiencing a wide variety of challenges.

Don Gilman, President of Advanced Gaming Systems, said, “Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare has been a while in the making, but we feel the result is well worth the time spent. We’re excited to be working with a wargame-friendly publisher such as Matrix Games on this release and we are looking forward to the response from strategy and wargamers around the world!”

Your control over your forces gives you the flexibility to manage air strike loadouts, determining what kind of weapons to place for the aircraft's upcoming mission. Task force composition and layout can be determined, so specific ships can be set to anti-air, anti-submarine, or anti-surface warfare; you can set threat axes and guard against enemy incursions. You can even set sonar variables for surface ships and submarines alike, commanding their crews to sprint, drift and scan passively, sprint again, and scan with active sonar – all control over these aspects, and more, is completely up to you.

Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare also gives you access to other players over the Internet, allowing two to six players plus additional spectators to be engaged in a single game. When not shooting the seas up in multiplayer mode, a single player mode is available allowing you to access any one of the scenarios and fight against a savvy A.I. opponent that knows how to control and coordinate large and small forces alike.

Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare supports third party databases, two of which will be announced on the Matrix website on launch. These are in addition to the updated Legacy database and the scenarios shipping with the game (giving you over 300 scenarios total). Also included is a configuration and launcher system to allow for easy tuning of the many configuration options addressed by this sophisticated simulation. Additionally, for ultimate control over your gaming experience, Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare ships with the Scenario Editor, and features two database editors (to be shipped later). These provide the tools to create your own fleets, weapons, and scenarios.

For more information on Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare, please check the main Matrix Games page for future press releases and discussions in the new Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare forums or the Advanced Gaming Systems site at www.advancedgaming.biz.

[Ursa MAior]

What the heck?? I was hoping to read something similar since the discontinuation of the original series.

Hope in this game it will take more than 12 HARM armed Hornets to take out the entire Keflavik airbase.[;)]

[hermanhum]

That was the old Harpoon Classic line of games.

Harpoon 3 is a different cat. However, the situation and difficulty is determined by the scenario designer. One designer could make it very easy for 12 Hornets to knock out the base while another designer could make it very difficult.

[Spartan07]

Is there a beta demo available? The link seems to be broken..

[rroberson]

WOO HOO!!!![&o]

[RedMike]

Wow! Awesome news!

[USSAmerica]

Oh, man! I've been hearing noise about this release and getting very excited! Now, I'm gonna have two Matrix "must haves" that I need to save my meager funds for, WitP and Harpoon 3 ANW! Great problem to have. [8D]

[hermanhum]

There was an open Beta testing process, but that has now been closed as they near the release date. However, they say that they are still willing to accept participants to the [closed] Beta test group.

Check it out here if you are interested in helping out.

[GBS]

It's called the new multiplayer edition. Will it be playable solo also? I loved Harpoon II but just don't have time for multiplayer.

[hermanhum]

I've been looking at the Beta release and I can confidently say, "Yes, it will be playable as solitaire, too."

Just make sure that the scenario you select is set up that way. Some scenarios may be set up that can only be playable by more than one player.

[Spartan07]

Can you give us the link to the beta?

[hermanhum]

I just looked on the Wiki maintained by AGSI and it appears that they have taken down all the Beta access as they said that they would about one month prior to release. Rest assured, this is a good sign. It means that they expect to release, soon. [;)]

Check it out here if you are interested in helping out.

[MemoryLeak]

Harpoon was about the second software application that I ever purchased for a PC. The first was the Flight Simulator.

I had to buy software at a Hobby Shop in Sacramento. I played Harpoon on my IBM clone and old XT seriers. I thought it was awesome.

I will be the first in line to buy Harpoon 3.

[Mr.Frag]

Curious what this means to existing Harpoon 3 owners.

[hermanhum]

In what respect?

Cost? Scenarios? Future H3 scenarios?

ANW scenarios will not be playable by current H3 users. ANW users are expected to be able to play H3 scenarios.

[comrade_stuvak]

Hi,

I was wondering if Harpoon 3 ANW will feature any significant single player improvements over Harpoon 3. If ANW will cost more than the origional Harpoon 3, I guess I'll just purchase Harpoon 3 since I dont plan on playing mplayer much,

Thanks

[hermanhum]

I'm not the AGSI rep, but I play and test a lot. From my perspective, there are quite a few significant bugs that are being stamped out. Three of the biggest known bugs are:

1) Sonobuoys will now work properly. The work at about 50% on H3. 2) No more unlimited ammunition! 3) Air-to-Air refueling is supposedly fixed (I haven't teste for it, personally)

There's lots of other fixes. These are just the big three that come to mind. You can look for yourself on the Mantis site: Username: guest Password: guest

Personally, I don't play MP, either. However, I have an older computer and the ANW appears to run a fair bit slower than the H3 runs on it due to the presence of more code.

In the past, the talk has been that ANW will cost about $15 more than H3. However, if you decide to purchase H3, be sure to buy it quickly. When ANW is rolled out, AGSI has said, quite unequivocably, that H3 will no longer be supported or sold.

[showboat1]

I have always been a HUGE Harpoon fan. What theaters of operation will be available? Does anyone have an idea what price they are looking for? I was pretty discouraged when H4 got cancelled (though from what I've heard since it was maybe a good thing) and I would love to get something new.

[hermanhum]

You are mixing up two different games, my friend. [:)]

The Harpoon Classic line of games is defined by the theatre map. There is G-I-UK [Greenland-Iceland-UK], NACV [North Atlantic Convoys], MEDC [Mediterranean Conflict], WestPac [Western Pacific], and IOPG [Indian Ocean Persian Gulf]. Any scenario ideas outside of these pre-defined map areas are just not possible for Harpoon Classic fans.

A new version of this game will be out after H3 ANW.

Now, Harpoon 3 ANW uses vector maps. and the entire world can be used. You can set scenarios on either north or south poles or anywhere in between. Only limited by your imagination. Here's a couple of screenshots for the different games.

The Harpoon2, Harpoon3, and Harpoon3 ANW systems use vector maps that look like this:



The Harpoon Classic (original) game used a different graphic system. They look like this:



Some folks like one map over the other.

This is just to make it clear to you. The ANW will basically be using the map and interface found with the Harpoon 2 system.

[JRyan]

Multiplayer has finally come! I can tell you that it brings a whole new aspect to pooning!

[:D]