Lost Victories is FINISHED

Grenadier · Post by **Grenadier** » Fri Dec 07, 2001 10:51 pm

For those of you who have sweated waiting for it as much as I have sweated making it. Merry Christmas. We both get a present. I get time back in my life to actually PLAY Steel Panthers and you get the culmination of 10 months work by a dedicated team of gamers like yourself who are bringing you the ultimate gaming experience in SPWAW, Lost Victories.

This project would never have gotten done without the dedicated people who worked with me on this project. Their names are on the credits, but there are a few who deserve special attention for their willingness to get me what ever I needed whenever I needed it. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

Bryan Melvyn-Who kept the line of communications going in the team and did many of the nodes

Mosh-A dedicated nodemaker and tester as well. Always there to help when needed and a strong team leader

Dr. Klaus Muller-Buschbaum. herr professor put in a huge amont of time recording and translating OKW communiques and did some of the best nodes in Lost Victories along with some great maps.

Rockin Harry Zahn-a wonderful nodemaker and a great mapmaker, who also dedicated himself to being the "Voice" of Vebber's commander <img src="cool.gif" border="0">

Don Doom-Started out as an apprentice in my scenario design class and ended up a a member of Wild Bill's Raiders. He carried the ball in converting my SPWW2 scenarios into nodes.

Paul Lewis and Mike Amos-THey made my dream of having airplanes on the ground and abandoned equipment for the players to destroy into a reality
Red Baron-An excellent designer who was in from the beginning to the end and brought Wittmann's first tank battle into the campaign

Bob Wallace-Who did my document maps and put together the whole branch into the Crimea. he also did a great job in research and making node maps. he set a new standard in mapmaking for this project.

Neil Stalker and Fabio Prado-Did the Crimea battles to complete the campaign and fill out the campaign plus fabio kept the interest going in the project thru his website

Derek Boain-Who did the music from my ideas and patiently put up with my "one more photo to convert" requests <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

Michael Wood-always willing to put up wityhbmy phone calls or ICQ messages. He did a wonderful job in his editor and the changes necessary in the code to make the mega campaign editor much more than a campaign vehicle

Wild Bill-Who alway took my phone calls and answered my questions, even after he "retired". His dedication to this game is amazing. <img src="cool.gif" border="0"> I would never have completed this project without his being there for me.

And lastly-David Heath-Who put together the idea for mega campaigns in SPWAW and took a leap of faith in giving me the opportunity to make Lost Victories and stuck by me in all my times of troubles.

Lost Victories is so big that even now it is still being tested and there will be a patch for it to coincide with the release of the CD to deal with any last minute issues. The sound files alone originally started out taking 100MB so to get it to fit on the CD we redid them in another format that had the added bonus of making them sound like old radio broadcasts.

One of the major decisions about the design is how realistic do we want to make it. The war on the Eastern Front was like no other. Rule of decency and chivalry were non exixtant. It was not a PC war like that in Desrt Fox. Do we deal with the partisan war? What about the Commisar order? The objective was to give the player the experience of fighting on the Eastern Front, warts and all, and I think we acheived a good balance of realism and political correctness. If the player wants to recreate some of the less stellar behavior of the landsers in Russia, the opportunity is there. Ther are also articles in the documents section dealing with these areas, such as the fate of the OUN, the Ukranian Independence movement headed by Stepan Banderas and a reproduction of the Commisar order. All the other aspects of the war, the mud, the rain, the bitter breakout battles from the pockets, the freezing cold of the Russian winter are fully portrayed.

All of the Fuhrer directive's, 21, 33 33A, 34, 34A and 35, have been reproduced in their entirety and many of the OKW communiques as well along with the complete speech given by Dr Goebbels on June 22nd 1941 to the nation and read to the landsers on the evening of June 21st. Full biographies of Kleist, Budenny, Reichenau, Cruwell, Rokkosovski, Runstedt and many other are included as well.

It is my sincere hope that all of who who have ordered Lost Victories will find the value of it far exceeds the price paid., For the number of photos alone a book equivalent would be at least $50.00. I know, I have several that cost that much and more <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0">

Randy · Post by **Randy** » Fri Dec 07, 2001 11:06 pm

Brent, I don't know what to say other than thanks!
To you, Wild Bill, and everyone who have put so
much into the game this had to have been a labor of love. The credits which you posted about the details is really impressive. I'm glad I've already ordered one for myself and one for my friend. Thanks guys

bchapman · Post by **bchapman** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 1:25 am

Brent, It's good to know that there are still people who take enough pride in their work to do it right the first time! I know that we will be richly rewarded for our anxious wait.
THANKS

mao · Post by **mao** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 4:58 am

Rule of decency and chivalry were non exixtant. It was not a PC war like that in Desrt Fox

<img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0"> Tell that to all the British tank crews I massacred...

rlc27 · Post by **rlc27** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 5:10 am

Awesome!

Can't wait to play. Still lost in North Africa somewhere, but perhaps I'll take a break from the heat and fly on up to the Ukraine.

Thanks for all your hard work. You guys are the greatest. <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

Drex · Post by **Drex** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 5:51 am

Think you men have created a new wargame genre. I don't think anything has been done like the Mega-campaigns before and it sounds like MCNA has been out-classed by an even higher level of achievement. Do they give awards for this kind of creativity? All I can do is buy it and hope others wil also, but surely it should be recognized by your peers in the industry.

darroch · Post by **darroch** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 6:00 am

What a tremendous accomplishment!

Thank you for your dedication and all the long, hard hours

I wish I could convey the depth of my appreciation somehow - this is very important to the SPWAW community

THANKS!!

achappelle · Post by **achappelle** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 7:21 am

can't wait, can you give me directions to your place so i can come pick up a copy, or just play on your PC?

A.H · Post by **A.H** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 7:31 pm

Thanks Matrix. Soon as I get the LV, I'll tell my friends about it too. Maybe you will get couple more buyers.

Alexandra · Post by **Alexandra** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 9:10 pm

Having been involved in the testing of both Desert Fox and Watchtower, I'm sure that Kudos are well deserved for Brent and his team.

I too am looking forward to Lost Victories.

Alex

Grenadier · Post by **Grenadier** » Sun Dec 09, 2001 1:38 am

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Alexandra:
[QB]Having been involved in the testing of both Desert Fox and Watchtower, I'm sure that Kudos are well deserved for Brent and his team.

I too am looking forward to Lost Victories.

Alex,your're to modest. You also tested for LV as well, so take a bow. <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

Larry W. Wilson · Post by **Larry W. Wilson** » Sun Dec 09, 2001 4:20 am

Yes, there really is a Santa Claus after all. Now if I can get the game along with a huge snowstorm to keep me at home for several days!

ruxius · Post by **ruxius** » Sun Dec 09, 2001 10:32 pm

YEEEEEEEEEE:
I will give you MONEY and THANKINGS !!!!!
YEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wild Bill · Post by **Wild Bill** » Sun Dec 09, 2001 10:50 pm

Let me add my sincrest congratulations to the Lost Victories Team for a job well done. I've had a peek at it and was very impressed. I was also delighted to be of service to Brent in the final days as he worked so very hard to bring this great piece of work to a successful conclusion.

As I've said so often before, only one who has done the design and coordinating of a Mega Campaign knows the hundreds of hours and multiplicity of problems that he faces to get the job done.

That (at least until now) is a rather small group <img src="eek.gif" border="0"> , which includes Michael Wood, Brent and me.

Once the MC is done, however, and one has the opportunity to view the handiwork of so many put together into a hemogenous whole, a sense of relief and pride fills his soul.

I don't know if you'll see any more Mega Campaigns after these three in SPWAW. I hope so. The idea behind it, however, will carry over into other games of the same ilk by Matrix I am sure.

The three Mega Campaigns that now exist have enough gaming possibilities within them to keep a good wargamer busy for six months to a year.

Great scenarios, superb maps, great pictures, and very illuminating and inspiring documents pervade the entire program of each MC.

Any one of the above mentioned inclusions would make a Mega Campaign worth the price. I don't think you'll find a better deal anywhere if you are a lover of SPWAW as I am.

North Africa, Russia and Guadalcanal. Its a nice world-wide package that cannot help but greatly enhance your gaming experience. I hope you'll get them all. It is money well spent.

Wild Bill

rich12545 · Post by **rich12545** » Sun Dec 09, 2001 11:28 pm

Well, I ordered the first two and will do the same with the third (and any future) when it comes available. And now that this half of the disk is finished, is there any word on when the whole thing will be shipped?

tracer · Post by **tracer** » Mon Dec 10, 2001 6:54 am

Sounds like you guys shot the 'old' SP engine full of steroids <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0"> I pre-ordered 2 copies; plan on using the second as a stocking stuffer. And a big, heart-felt thanks to the best team in the gaming biz.

Figmo · Post by **Figmo** » Mon Dec 10, 2001 7:56 am

Brent - thanks for all the hard work. I look forward to playing it. I will be ordering it soon - had to wait until the credit card was down a bit before using it.

When is the next one starting!!! <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0">

Jody · Post by **Jody** » Mon Dec 10, 2001 2:30 pm

Thank you Guys
Words can not explain how you make all us Wargamers feel with your enthusiastic approach to making these games for us to enjoy. Please keep them coming as SPWAW is the best I have seen in my 36 Yrs.

Thanks Again Guys You are all legends

Jody

Fabio Prado · Post by **Fabio Prado** » Mon Dec 10, 2001 7:36 pm

Thank YOU, Brent! If it weren't for your decisive leadership we would still be spinning the tracks at the Russian mud right now! <img src="wink.gif" border="0"> <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0"> <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0">

Fab

WW2'er · Post by **WW2'er** » Mon Dec 10, 2001 11:15 pm

Brent,

A hearty "Well Done" to you and the whole team. I tested a couple early scenarios from Lost Victories, but then had to drop out. I eventually returned to help WB by testing scenarios for the third MegaCampaign. The amount of work you guys did and the sheer amount of scenarios and material is really mindboggling! You should take great pride in your accomplishment and I hope it sells ridiculously well!!

WW2'er