Future Games for the AA Engine

[Kevinugly]

Just had a moment of inspired brilliance (or was it lunacy, never can tell these days ). I think that the AA engine would be ideal for a 'Stalingrad' game focussing on the action in the immediate environs of the city itself. The scale would be perfect and with the ebb and flow of the action through the city streets, the battle for the tractor factory, the desperate struggles on the banks of the Volga .... just think of the possibilities! Okay I'm getting overexcited

Opinions anyone?

[JJKettunen]

I think it would be waste for an operational wargame to model rather static, slow moving city fights.

[Firefly]

I remember that during the BFC days, Panther were talking about an Operation Crusader game using the same system. I don't know if that's still a plan, but it's certainly a more fluid operation than the fighting in the streets of Stalingrad

[Golf33]

I'd quite like to see a Korean War game happen eventually. The AA engine is perfect for the scale and there were lots of great battles of manoeuvre with big strategic stakes riding on the tactical outcome. The AA engine would be perfect for the period since none of the great revolutions in military technology like guided missiles and helicopter troop-lift had reached maturity yet.

With the involvement of the UN there was also a great diversity of nations and forces represented, providing a great encouragement to community scenario design (look at the success of the Steel Panthers series for an example of how the presence of lots of different national databases does this).

Regards
33

[El Savior]

Invasion of Crete would be awesome! Actually, all airborne invasions would be nice...

[Arjuna]

Hi all,

Just to let you know our plans. But first, remember that few plans survive contact with reality. And one of the realities will be the commercial success of HTTR. So spread the word and get your mates to buy the game.

So with that note of caution having been said, we plan to focus on the Bulge next. Our aim is to release "Battles from the Bulge" ( working title ) next March 2004. To effectively simulate the Ardenne terrain we need to add in extra altitude and terrain layers to our maps. We also need to factor in slope effects and vehicle weight and gradient capacities on movement. We also need to add in a fair amount of new equipment and unit estabs - mainly American. We'll be providing Exit tasks so that objectives can be set in the ScenMaker for a side to exit forces to gain victory points. We hope to provide an Order of Battle window and the real biggy will be a more detailed resupply system.

After Battles from the Bulge, we hope to release a Normandy game ( title suggestions welcomed ) around September 2004. For this we will have to add in a swag of new equipment and unit estabs to cater for all the "funnies", not to mention polish and canadian forces. We plan to provide new Counter Battery Fire, off-map fire support and recon capabilities. Plus the real biggy will be Team Play.

After that we thought we might head East and introduce a campaign feature. But that's a way off yet. So how does that sound?

[PaulWRoberts]

I'll say it sounds great!

Just a quick question: will Normandy probably include the breakout and Patton's drive as well, or will it be limited to the landings and first weeks?

[Kevinugly]

It's difficult I suspect to balance the 'game that you want to make' with 'the game that people will buy'. My rock band would love to go out and play all the original songs we've written but most of the time we function as a 'Jimi Hendrix Tribute' act (with yours truly as 'Jimi'). So, do 'Bulge' and 'Normandy' if you must but I think 'Salerno', 'Anzio' and 'Cassino' would give better balanced and more varied gameplay.

[Arjuna]

I'll say it sounds great!

Just a quick question: will Normandy probably include the breakout and Patton's drive as well, or will it be limited to the landings and first weeks?

We haven't decided on the full scope of the scenarios yet. It depends greatly on the mapping - how much area and availability of quality source maps. We will be better able to answer that when our new gun scenario designer, Steve "Golf33" Long, joins us in October. He will be tasked to do the necessary research. Steve has been working on our beta team for the last twelve months and has proved a deft hand at designing scenarios. So we're pleased that he'll be joining the Panther team.

[El Savior]

Jippii! Normandy sounds good and Ardenne too.

[TMO]

Looking forward to ALL future Panther games (especially the Normandy campaign!) and like all of you guys eagerly awaiting the release of HTTR. How about a future game involving ' Blitzkrieg'? How difficult would it be to simulate cavalry units (Poland '39) for instance? Am not sure how commercially viable this era would prove to be. Any thoughts?

Tim

[HitMan52]

Acknowleging the greater popularity of WWII battles over everything else (therefore the greater oppourtunity for profits), IMO the AA engine would be terrific for a Viet Nam based game. If HTTR is getting so much acceptance why not then airmobile operations in Viet Nam. While predominance of units depicted would be platoon rather than companies I think the fluid nature of air mobile operations would be a challange for any Gamer.

[von Murrin]

We haven't decided on the full scope of the scenarios yet. It depends greatly on the mapping - how much area and availability of quality source maps. We will be better able to answer that when our new gun scenario designer, Steve "Golf33" Long, joins us in October. He will be tasked to do the necessary research. Steve has been working on our beta team for the last twelve months and has proved a deft hand at designing scenarios. So we're pleased that he'll be joining the Panther team.

Try to get yourself a copy of The Longest Day from AH. It's well out of print. Sorry I can't give mine to you, I sold it just a few months back. In the back of the rulebook is page after page of sources, many simply stunning in their detail. There were even entire compilations of meteorology and analysis of the same. I seem to recall several excellent map sources as well. It's not so much a game as it is a playable citation of information.

Try "Normandy: Beachhead to Breakout" or somefink for a title.

[JeF]

The future plans look OK to me.

Batlles from the Bulge ! -miom-
Improved supply model will be a must.

Am I right to assume that you'll be "exhausting" the current game scale with the west european theatre (Normandy, Arnhem, Bulge) and "enlarge" the game scale for next ones (North Africe, East Front ?), in order to simulate larger battles ?

We will be better able to answer that when our new gun scenario designer, Steve "Golf33" Long, joins us in October. He will be tasked to do the necessary research. Steve has been working on our beta team for the last twelve months and has proved a deft hand at designing scenarios. So we're pleased that he'll be joining the Panther team.

This should related to some "real life calls" he mentionned on one of his recent e-mails.

If it was not for the big amount of work and dedication required and the poor little pay check, I would have said : "Lucky guy !"

Cheers,

JeF.

[Arjuna]

Am I right to assume that you'll be "exhausting" the current game scale with the west european theatre (Normandy, Arnhem, Bulge) and "enlarge" the game scale for next ones (North Africe, East Front ?), in order to simulate larger battles ?

Not necessarily. We haven't yet decided on the scale for the East. I'm inclined to stick with the current level. But I reckon a nice campaign feature for the East front would be great.

[Kevinugly]

Not necessarily. We haven't yet decided on the scale for the East. I'm inclined to stick with the current level. But I reckon a nice campaign feature for the East front would be great.

Don't change the scale pleeeeeeeeease . As I've stated before I think functioning as a Corps commander is about as 'high up' as you can go in a 'real-time' environment without seriously compromising the 'reality' of command. A campaign feature would be good, especially if it could be edited for user mods

[Reiryc]

Please... for the love of all that's good and holy, not another bulge or normandy game...

Honestly, these battles have been done to death in game after game.

How about some kind of maneuver warfare on the easter front, maybe sicily, something in north africa even... but not those 2 battles!

[JJKettunen]

Don't change the scale pleeeeeeeeease . As I've stated before I think functioning as a Corps commander is about as 'high up' as you can go in a 'real-time' environment without seriously compromising the 'reality' of command.

Fully agreed....although I would like to see a possibility for larger eastern front campaigns, which would mean a change of scale, of course.

[Kevinugly]

Please... for the love of all that's good and holy, not another bulge or normandy game...

Honestly, these battles have been done to death in game after game.

How about some kind of maneuver warfare on the easter front, maybe sicily, something in north africa even... but not those 2 battles!

From a gamers point of view I couldn't agree more. However, Normandy and Bulge games tend to sell better than games based on 'less popular' battles so from an economic pov they are a safe bet. Don't forget one could throw the same criticism at the original AA. I would like to see game designers in general looking to other, more obscure, campaigns and wars to draw inspiration from though.

[Kevinugly]

Fully agreed....although I would like to see a possibility for larger eastern front campaigns, which would mean a change of scale, of course.

I could be committing heresy here but if a campaign side to the game was constructed it would work well in a 'turn-based' environment - possibly in the 'wego' manner of Uncommon Valour and the Combat Mission series - leaving the actual battles to be resolved in 'real-time' in the AA fashion.