Game Concepts Video Released for Battles from the Bulge

[SeanD]

Check out the core concepts that make Battles from the Bulge the highly anticipated title that it is!

Matrix Games and Panther Games (www.panthergames.com) are proud to release a new video for the eagerly awaited pausable continuous-time wargame, Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge. The new video, entitled Game Concepts, is a perfect introduction for newcomers to the award-winning game engine which brought gamers Conquest of the Aegean and Highway to the Reich.

The video is available for download from the Battles from the Bulge product page.

David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said “This new video does a great job of explaining the rich detail that make Battles from the Bulge truly great. Although Battles from the Bulge features unparalleled realism and attention to detail, the core concepts supporting the gameplay make it a great wargame for players of any skill level to pick up and enjoy!”

Assess, Plan, Order and React – The Decisions are Yours!

Acclaimed developer Panther Games brings us to the bitter cold of Western Europe during the Winter of 1944 with Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge. Although the Battle of the Bulge is ground that has been visited by wargamers before, it has never been done with this level of fidelity and historical accuracy. The most advanced and realistic model of command decision-making implemented to date in a commercial wargame, combined with thorough historical research on the battlefields and forces involved in this campaign sets Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge apart from the competition.

Set during the hard fighting of the Battle of the Bulge, Command Ops lets gamers assess, plan, order and react at the operational level just like a real Corps, Division and Brigade commander. Hundreds of hours of gameplay await armchair generals who will be challenged to fight their way across 27 scenarios that stretch from the initial German surprise offensive to the powerful Allied counter-attack.

Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge also sports some of the most advanced and impressive AI ever devised in an operational-level wargame! It is your choice whether to manage every detail of your army, or have the friendly AI manage the war on a lower level while you plan the larger scale maneuvers designed to make short work of your enemy. Just as a historical commander, you can choose where you need to step in and when you need to stand back and let your subordinates do their jobs.

The enemy AI will use its skill to launch well-timed and coordinated strikes as it probes your lines for weakness while realistically reacting to your movements! In addition, for the enthusiastic mod community awaiting Command Ops, powerful tools like MapMaker and ScenMaker allow for the creation of maps and scenarios further adding to already near limitless replayability.

Get more information on Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge from its official product page and be sure to check out the Game Concepts video!

[loyalcitizen]

Downloading now. Exciting!

(edit)
And just finished watching it. This is how to do an intro video!

The only thing I would have mentioned is what the heck the "boxes" on the map were (the 1km x 1km designations). That would give the viewers some perspective on the engagement ranges they are seeing.

Well done!

[OlegHasky]

A fine piece of work, the preassure on mechanics providing a good level of understanding.
Just again.. a warp speed. not a minute with actual "play" speed.
Seems like I am the one who cares about it [:'(] (as from the point of considering laying my money on it - that was the main thing I was looking for).

Overall - pretty like a fantastic vid.

[Arjuna]

ORIGINAL: loyalcitizen
The only thing I would have mentioned is what the heck the "boxes" on the map were (the 1km x 1km designations). That would give the viewers some perspective on the engagement ranges they are seeing.

Good point. [:)]

[Shadrach]

Great video, very detailed and interesting to watch. Can't wait for the game to be released [&o]

[Lieste]

This was a clean and understandable introduction to the AA/CO engine... together with the tutorials and the demo it should attract a lot more attention than previous marketing efforts managed.

I'm going to poke the various fora I hang out in to have a look at this... Any ideas yet on timescale for release? or is it still too early to know?

[Llyranor]

I'm still downloading, but I highly suggest a youtube upload as well.

Okay, I see it's a 30 min video. This can be segmented into 10 min uploads. Youtube also allows for HD (720) uploading now as well.

If Matrix doesn't want to officially do it, I can look into how this can be done properly. I might even upload it myself!

EDIT: Okay, that video was very well-done. Good length and detail (but maybe too long for the ADHD crowd - who aren't the audience for this game anyway!).

[Seydlitz69]

Great Video!! I have to make a compliment to the speaker in this video. As Iam German I often have difficulties trying to understand what commentators are saying in their videos, not he meaning but the pronunciation . But this video is clearly understandable. Great voice acting

[Arjuna]

That was no acting...that was me! [:)]

[Llyranor]

Okay, I've managed to upload the video in 4 parts up on youtube, while maintaining the high quality of the original without black borders.

Here you go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St-qMaqsYlc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJQvxxZ1XEc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueDDVbVBCRk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l17EmXmiKQ

[wodin]

Thats more like it. Perfect....thats all I can say.

[Plodder]

ORIGINAL: Arjuna

That was no acting...that was me! [:)]

..and here I was thinking you'd hired Ian Chappell...[:D]

[Pergite!]

Great videos!

It makes it impossible not to understand how brilliantly this series stands out against all other tactical and operational war-games on the market. This is a true computer wargame, and not a computer simulated boardgame like the majority of the games out there.

I am really looking forward to try out the new features in BFTB. I did not realise how much  the new "attack" option would bring to the command realism, putting a further spin on the OODA-loop and giving the initiative to sub-ordinates in a new and welcomed way.

[Bevington]

Just want to add my two cents as to how much I am looking forward to the release of this game- own the previous three titles with the same game engine done by Panther Games and enjoy them immensely. I wrote a book with a WWII veteran who was in the Battle of the Bulge (US 30th Infantry Division/119th Infantry Regiment/K Company). He is the only known survivor of the Defense of Monville Farm in Stoumont facing Kampfgruppe Peiper. Anticipate re-enacting this scenario in the computer game. After being wounded, this American GI was dragged on his overcoat to safety by two Belgian women, who found him by his machine gun position on the second floor of the main farmhouse. Meanwhile, this veteran believes that some of the SS troops were executing wounded soldiers in the vicinity as they did near Malmedy. As he lay wounded and partially paralyzed, he kept hearing individual German pistol and rifle shots sounding after the position was already overrun.

[OConnor]

This Video Hits It Out of the Park!! Great Job!! Captures the essence of the game and builds interest! I've been coming back to this site several times over the last week to see if there were any more installments up on the net - It was that good! All the Best - OConnor

[Arjuna]

OConnor,

( boy it doesn't sound right typing out my own surname [;)] )

We will be uploading "TM1 - Getting Started" soon. I had to make a few last minute edits. Stay tuned.

[pvthudson01]

that is pretty cool I just wish there was someway to get under the hood and see exactly what is happening when units fire etc etc but I know thats not the scale of these games. I have your other two titles and they are great so keep it up.

eastern front next? [;)]

[Neilster]

ORIGINAL: The Plodder

ORIGINAL: Arjuna

That was no acting...that was me! [:)]

..and here I was thinking you'd hired Ian Chappell...[:D]

If it was Ian Chappell, he would have got sidetracked from the Battle of the Bulge to tell a long winded story about how Javed Miandad missed the team bus and had to ride a street vendor's tricycle, complete with dried fish still in the basket, to the cricket ground in Karachi during the 1978 Australian tour...or something.

Also, for the sake of the potential international audience I don't think we want a New Zulund eeccent [:'(]. Native English speakers have enough trouble understanding most of you. I'll never forget listening to an interview with the manager of the All Blacks complaining that their French translator couldn't understand "stindard New Zulund Unglesh". I could barely follow him myself. Then there was that unfortunate incident with that poor Justin Bieber kiddie recently... [;)]

Only joking...well spoken New Zealand English is very pleasant and easy to understand. It just seems to be a bit rare. Much like the Australian version. I often have people assume I was at least born in England because I don't speak "Strine" (say Australian very quickly and nasally).

Obviously Sir Laurence Olivier would be the ideal choice but he doesn't seem to be working much lately. [:'(]

Cheers, Neilster

[Llyranor]

Ooh, just noticed the lengthy tutorial videos in the game folder. Haven't had time to go through them yet, but there's a lot of content there. Are those going to be uploaded on youtube? I don't mind doing it if given permission.

[elmo3]

Very nice job with the Game Concepts video.  I highly recommend it to anyone not familiar with the previous games.