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21

Games Discussion / Re: Panzer Corps 2

« Last post by Asid on July 12, 2024, 12:16:31 AM »

A Message from Panzer Corps Developer Kerensky
11 Jul 2024



Hi Generals,

Unfortunately, one of our developers, Kerensky, a cornerstone of the Panzer Corps team, couldn't join us for the celebration of Panzer Corps Day as he is hard at work on the imminent release of the Fall  of Poland DLC. However, he strongly wanted to be part of the celebration, so he has written a special message to all of you, fans of the Panzer Corps franchise:

“Hello Panzer Corps Community,

This is Kerensky here, author of the Panzer Corps Grand Campaign DLC series and Panzer Corps 2 Axis Operations series.  On this special Panzer Corps Day, I wanted to share some thoughts with you all, talking about the past, and maybe a little bit about the future of Panzer Corps as well.

I’d like to start with… what even is Panzer Corps Day, why mark the date at all, and what it means to me.  We want to celebrate the Panzer Corps series today, on July 11th, because this day marks the 13th year since the original game’s release in 2011.

For me personally, I’ve spent the majority of my adult life working on this title.  There is no project I’ve spent more time, energy, and effort into making.  I’m not sure there will ever be anything this grand in the years ahead, I can’t imagine what other project I would devote more than a decade of my life to.  My Slitherine Forum badge goes all the way back to January 2011.  I joined to participate in Panzer Corps.



So as long as the Panzer Corps Series goes on, I would like to try and mark this day each year.  Today is a day dedicated to anyone who has spent untold thousands of hours over more than a decade to create this game, but it is also a huge thank you to all the dedicated players and fans of the franchise that have supported our work.  We would not be here with the thousands of gamers who play and enjoy all of the Panzer Corps content.

We developers create these games, but it is only through the thriving playerbase that our game properly lives on and continues to exist.  Without your support, we could ill afford to spend all the time we have on this game series.
So thank you, for playing and experiencing our game.  It has been a dream come true to make games for a living!

Looking Back
To share some amusing stories of Panzer Corps development over the years…

I remember when I first heard of Panzer Corps.  Some strategy gaming webpage mentioned some company I hadn’t ever heard of was making a Panzer General spiritual successor.  And me, remembering fond memories of playing the original Panzer General on my original PlayStation console, I was definitely eager to see what this Panzer Corps was all about.

Immediately, I fell in love with the game.  Panzer General, and Panzer Corps, have always hit that sweet spot of gameplay for me.  Not too complicated in mechanics to be discouraging to dive into, but advanced enough and steeped in real history to make it the perfect gateway game introducing people to the genre of wargaming.

Right away, I busied myself with all kinds of aspects of Panzer Corps.  I saw so much potential in the series, I really wanted it to reach its full potential.  Back then, before the original game release, I did a whole bunch of volunteer work to help the game out.  I was doing gameplay testing, making MP scenarios, extending the USA invasion campaign with extra battles, cutting gameplay trailers, writing briefings, making custom scenarios to push the game to new heights beyond the traditional Panzer General ‘capture all VH’ gameplay...

Yes, I’ve been writing the majority of Panzer Corps briefings since the original game.  It was a real trip for me to go back and look at the original Panzer Corps tutorial, and realize I wrote it over a decade again.  You can tell it was my writing, even back then I was naming characters ‘Wagner’.  Just like Stefan Wagner from the Axis Operations series, heh.



And that gameplay trailer for the original Panzer Corps I mentioned, I definitely snuck my name of that unit being ‘21st Pz Kerensky’ in there.

[YouTube]https://www.youtube.com/embed/RBRJy4ojdVM[/YouTube]

Even way back in 2011, I’d been pushing Panzer Corps to grow with more varied and interesting scenario types and gameplay.

The most amusing story of all though.  For over a decade working on Panzer Corps, from the original game, through 10 Grand Campaign DLC, into Panzer Corps 2, through 9 Axis Operations DLC…

I have never actually met the main developer and person behind Panzer Corps in all those years.  I’ve never had a face to face meeting with Alex Shargin.  We have worked together on this series for untold countless hours, sometimes day in and day out.  There have been many occasions where we have done development around the clock.  Because our time zones are so far apart, I would often work for about 12 hours, and as I was finishing for the day and preparing to go to bed, Alex would be logging on and starting his workday.  We would exchange messages, update each other on the tasks we had done, what next priority was coming up.  Maybe about 10 hours later I would be awake again and returning to work, and Alex would be winding down his work day, and we would exchange messages on the tasks he was working on.  And as he would turn in for rest, I would now be working again in a new day.  Round-the-clock game development, not unlike the Round-the-clock bombing campaign the US and British waged on Germany during WW2.

But for all that time, I don’t actually think I’ve ever worked so much with anyone on anything in my whole life as I have worked with Alex.  But we have never actually ever met.

What a crazy world we live in.

Looking Forward
Outside of celebrating this day as a very special day for everyone involved and interested in the Panzer Corps Series, we have our eye on the future of the Panzer Corps Series as well.  Truth be told, we were really hoping to have Fall of Poland available for our community to start playing already, but a series of unfortunate delays and real life tragedies have gotten in the way of that.

We are definitely eager to get Fall of Poland out and available as soon as possible, we want to hear what our players think of this potential new series, and its additional elements of characters and extra storytelling as icing on top of the core Panzer Corps gameplay that has proven itself time and again as a true Classic.  We hope you saw and enjoyed the second Dev Diary we’re posting today, Fall of Poland is coming very soon!

Beyond the potential new War Stories series, well, we want to see what you, the players, think of War Stories and Fall of Poland.  We certainly hope you enjoy it, and the new extra twist added with that series, but only time will tell.

In closing, I just want to say that it has been a very unique and amazing career these past 13 years for me to work on the Panzer Corps franchise.  Panzer Corps 2 itself is four years old, but still shows amazingly healthy community size and playercounts, and we would absolutely love to support the title to its own full decade mark.

Thanks again for joining us in celebrating Panzer Corps Day and supporting our game for over a decade!  Here’s hoping there will be even more special days ahead for Panzer Corps to celebrate!”

22

Games Discussion / Re: Gary Grigsby's War In The East 2 WITE2

« Last post by Asid on July 12, 2024, 12:15:54 AM »

Next update info and looking for a few good testers
Fri Jun 21, 2024

We have a new update in testing now, unfortunately, we have few remaining active testers. We'd like to find a small number of players interested in testing out the changes. I'll list the complete set of changes below, but first want to provide some important additional info for those considering helping out:

1) Once you start a game, or load an old game, using the new 1.04.00 Beta exe, you cannot go back and use an earlier exe. For that reason, I would not suggest players use this for an existing MP game, at least not until we've had some additional testing. MP games can only revert 1 turn, so if you run into a new bug, you won't be able to back up and use an earlier version if you've progressed more than 1 turn.

2) We don't yet have a test version on Steam. If you are a Steam user, and don't know how to manually update your Steam WitE2 version, you must have the Matrix copy of the game and use that for testing.

3) This version has a number of new game options, and these cannot be changed after start for PBEM and MP games. These new options will default at the standard (no change) setting when an existing save game is loaded in.

4) We are looking for both players who want to start new games, and those playing existing games (both AI and PBEM) who are willing to continue. AI players can alter the game options at any point during a game, so we could use a few testers willing to try things out and change them up mid-game.

5) As usual, programming time is limited, so for this round of testing, we are not looking for testers that want to push for more game changes or new features. We're just looking to find new bugs and data issues that have resulted from the most recent changes. We do read tester posts, and those testers (and non-testers) that have shown they have dug in and understand how the system works, have been very important in helping us make some game changes. Some things are just impossible to change, and some are not worth trying to change because the odds of improvement are low, and often much lower than the odds of making things worse. A great example of public forum help in this 1.04.00 update is the set of pilot changes made based on the ongoing air war AAR and the comments/analysis of M60A3TTS (thanks to M60 and jubjub).

So, if you've read all of this, and are still interested in testing the update, email us at 2by3@2by3games.com and tell us what scenario you're going to start with, whether it will be an Ai game or one against a human (if you can find an opponent), and/or whether you plan on continuing an existing game. Hope I haven't discouraged all of you. 


As for what's in the update, here's the patch notes:


V1.04.00 – 14th June 2024

New Features and Rule Changes
IMPORTANT NOTE: All save game and scenario files created with this or later versions may only be loaded with this or a later version. Versions prior to 1.04.00 may not load these newer save game or scenario files. Old saves and scenarios may be loaded with this and newer versions.
•   The game options screen now has three tabs, with options categorized as gameplay, difficulty, or balance. Note that clicking on Reset to Default will reset all game options to their default values, not just those visible on screen.
•   New Game Option – Combat Delay Effects, with 3 settings:
o   STANDARD (default) - no change in combat delay (CD) movement point (MP) costs.
o   REDUCED - Extra MP cost for each CD point is divided by 2 (and truncated). Examples: For non-motorized 1 CD adds 0 MP cost, 2 CD adds 1 MP cost. For motorized 1 CD adds 1 MP cost (1*3/2), 2 CD is 3 MP cost (2*3/2)
o   MINIMAL - 0 MP cost for CD points (it still impacts not being able to attack a hex that has 9 combat delay)
This allows players to create a game with more maneuver and chance for encirclements. Combined with turning on Reduced Retreat Attrition, setting to Reduced should open up the game while reducing the value of grinding attacks. The minimal setting is only recommended for novice players.
•   New Game Option – Campaign End Conditions, with 3 settings:
o   STANDARD (default) – no change to campaign end conditions
o   EXTENDED PLAY - If the game ends due to Sudden Victory/Sudden Loss/31 December 1944 High Water Mark check, the game will pause. The victory screen will appear with the victory level displayed, and the player will be able to enter extended play and continue the game. Each player will see the victory screen at the start of their turn one time, and be able to continue the game. When the campaign ends due to Belin falling or time expiring, the game will display the same victory level displayed at the start of extended play.
o   NO EARLY END – The game ignores the Sudden Victory/Sudden Loss/31 December 1944 HWM check conditions completely.
IMPORTANT: The No Early End versions of the 1941 and Stalingrad to Berlin Campaigns are considered to be superseded by the new Campaign End Conditions game option.  We strongly recommend using this game option along with the regular scenarios instead of using the "No Early End" scenarios, but they remain available for players who prefer them. Also, note that the turn summary screen graphic that show the sudden victory and sudden loss levels still shows these values when using the No Early End game option. Players should view the victory screen to see if there are any active sudden victory and sudden loss victory checks.
•   New Game Option – Vehicle Repair Rate – This allows players to adjust the vehicle repair rates (percentages) for Axis and Soviet vehicles (to any value from 5 to 50). There is a repair rate for each side for 1941-42, and another for each side for 1943-45. Default values for Axis are 5% in 41-42 and 10% for 43-45. Default values for Soviet are 25% in 41-42 and 25% in 43-45. A small change could have a large impact over time on the number of vehicles in repair at any given time. Players looking to weaken Soviet logistics in 1943-45 could try adjusting to 20%.
•   New Game Option – Miscellaneous Leader Deaths, with 3 settings:
o   STANDARD (default) – no change in leader deaths not caused by HQ displacement or air attack
o   REDUCED – ½ the chance of leader deaths not caused by HQ displacement or air attack
o   NONE – No chance of leader deaths not caused by HQ displacement or air attack
Note: All leaders that become unavailable, due to HQ displacement, air attack, or miscellaneous deaths, are listed as KIA in the game. However, those that become unavailable due to the miscellaneous leader deaths represent unavailability due to accidents, natural death, other enemy action (artillery while visiting the front, etc.), retirement, and prolonged illness. The last paragraph of section 15.8 of the manual inaccurately described these losses as “killed due to other enemy action”, but in fact they are meant to reflect additional reasons for leaders becoming unavailable. It is these losses that we are now defining as miscellaneous leader deaths (although as stated above they don’t all involve death).
•   New Game Option – Amphibious Invasions, with 3 settings:
o   STANDARD (default) – no change in amphibious invasion rules
o   LIMITED – Only hexes in the regions of Crimea, Georgia, and Krasnodar may be targets of an amphibious invasion (Ctrl-m shows all regions)
o   NONE – No amphibious invasions are allowed
•   New Game Option – No Temporary Motorization (default off). When checked, players may not temporarily motorize any units.
•   New Game Option – No Airborne Operations (default off). When checked, players may not drop airborne units (airborne tab will not appear in F9 window).
•   The country specific Morale Mod game option has been expanded so it now includes entries for 1941-42 and for 1943-45. The values entered alter each country’s ground national morale for the indicated years.
•   Added a new toggle item to the main editor menu: Allow Axis Unit Build Yes/No (default value is No). When Yes:
o   the build unit button is visible to Axis players so they can access the build unit menu
o   any Axis units that are built will go to the Axis reserve
o   fortress and fortified zone units are never buildable on the build menu (like Soviet fort and fortified regions are not buildable on the build menu)
It is also now possible, in the Ob chain portion of the editor, to assign each OB chain an Axis special flag (Axis- Elite, SS-Elite, SS-Non-Elite, LW, LW-Elite). When a new unit is built, it will be given the special flag set in the OB chain.
Note: This new feature is for modders who will need to create their own data for what is buildable for the Axis player. This can be done by changing the OB chain data in a scenario file and then locking the generic data in that scenario.
•   Made changes to cargo and troop ship monthly replacements, and to some cargo ship minimums:
o   Changed cargo ship (monthly) replacements in 3 areas:
for Axis in Baltic Sea from 1 to 3
for Soviet in Caspian Sea from 2 to 3
for Soviet in Black Sea from 4 to 3
o   Increased the 5 cargo ship minimum to 10 in 4 areas
for Soviet in Baltic Sea
for Soviet in Black Sea
for Soviet in Caspian Sea
for Axis in Baltic
o   Added 1 troop ship (monthly) reinforcement in 3 areas:
for Soviet in Caspian Sea
for Soviet in Lake Ladoga
for Soviet in Sea of Azov
•   Made several changes to the way pilots are treated:
o   Adjusted the way pilots are handled when air group is sent from map to TB:
Wounded and other inactive pilots are detached from air group. Wounded should become available once healed (as always). This prevents wounded pilots from being lost when air groups are sent to a TB.
Excess pilots with higher experience are detached from the group first (average group experience in the TB can go down due to this)
o   Increased the pilot experience spread when an air group is sent from TB to map (chance for more higher and lower experienced pilots)
o   When wounded, the pilot will immediately detach from the group
o   When air groups in TBs shrink in size, excess pilots are sent to the “free” pool and given experience equal to the air group experience (they used to be lost)
•   Reduced the likelihood of some ground element substitutions, and eliminated multiple substitutions in the same turn, within a unit, in any specific ground element slot.
•   The baseline chance a non-isolated displaced/relocated HQ will lose a leader was changed in July 1941 from 10% to 7.5%, and for all later dates from 15% to 10%.
•   Errata – Freight in depots may be destroyed by air attacks targeting a port or a railyard. Destroyed freight can cause the loss of equipment and/or supplies/ammo/fuel.
•   Errata – Soviet Mountain divisions may attach one support unit.


Bug Fixes and AI Improvements
•   Fixed Air Directive labels on the map so they do not cover up waypoints. It is now possible to adjust the waypoints even in a hex containing the air directive label.
•   Fixed several display errors in the CR/Equipment/Ground element compare display.
•   Switching air battle reports from the battle report window, by clicking on the quick link in the center of the battle report, can cause an interface glitch. Fixed.
•   Entrained units that rename from on map combat units to a support unit keep their Loaded status for the rest of the game. Fixed.


Data and Scenario Changes
•   Device.dat
o   160mm Stielgranate 41 (0562) – Blast Radius increased from 0 to 1 and Anti-Soft increased from 0 to 21.
•   Gtype.dat
o   Light Tank (0012 ) – Foreign Light Tank substitution removed.
o   Medium Tank (0013) – Foreign Medium Tank substitution removed.
•   Ground.dat
o   37mm PaK36 AT Gun (0067) – Upgrade to 160mm Stielgranate AT Gun removed and Scrap date changed from 1942 to 1943.
o   160mm Stielgranate AT Gun (0150) – Scrap date changed from 1943 to 1944.
o   BAB C Armored Car (0176) – Name changed to BAF C Armored Car; icon changed to BAF C and Type changed from Foreign Armored Car to Armored Car.
o   120mm GrW 42 Mortar (0295) – First Year changed from 1944 to 1943 and Build Limit changed from 1 to 2.
o   160mm Stielgranate AT Gun (0435) – Scrap date changed from 1943 to 1944.
o   Panzer T-34B 747(r) (0457) – Type changed from Foreign Medium Tank to Medium Tank.
o   Panzer T-34D 747(r) (0458) – Type changed from Foreign Medium Tank to Medium Tank.
o   76mm IG 290r Infantry Gun (0547) – Captured Soviet 76.2mm M27 Infantry Gun added with Maximum Imports of 900 beginning 1/42 to 8/45 and “built” at a rate of 5 per week.
o   M3A1 Stuart (0742) – 37mm M6 gun ACC decreased from 625 to 125.
o   M3 Lee (0749) – 37mm M6 gun ROF decreased from -4 to -6 and ACC decreased from 625 to 125; 75mm M3 gun ROF decreased from -4 to -6 and ACC decreased from 600 to 100.
•   Cityowner.dat
o   Corrected six city capture dates that listed 1941 instead of proper 1942.
•   1941 Campaign(s)
o   Axis pool changes:
SdKfz 6/2 SP Flak pool raised from 12 to 30
SdKfz 7/1 SP Flak pool erased
SdKfz 10/4 SP Flak pool raised from 65 to 250
o   Soviet Unit changes:
10 Mech Corps   (reinforcing mech unit in FE), add TB-lock, remove rebuild restriction
142 Rifle Div locked in NF TB, map release delayed to 11/44
deleted duplicates of 51,60,129,184,277 Engineer-Sapper Bns
o   Axis unit changes:
101-103 RHG Cmd rename RHG Command North/Center/South in 7/41
Nord SS mot Div TB-locked, tagged
Rhodos Sturm Div available mid 3/43, Brandenburg PzG Div rename -> mid 10/44 downgrade to Bde, Map transfer removed, TB locked
2 Mountain Div   delay WE transfer to late 1/45, TB-locked, tagged
6 Mountain Div   TB-locked, tagged
52 Security Div   arrival moved forward to early 12/43, arrives to Soviet Garrison, TB-locked, disbands at the end of 1944
163,169 Inf Div   TB-locked, tagged
207 Security Div disbands at the end of 1944
213 Security Div disbands at the end of 1944
221 Security Div disbands at the end of 1944
285 Security Div disbands at the end of 1944
325 Security Div built to higher infantry strenght (created from existing units), TB-locked, disbands at the end of 1944
390 Security Div arrival moved forward to 9/42 and directly to Soviet Union Garrison TB, TB-locked
391 Security Div arrival moved forward to 9/42 and directly to Soviet Union Garrison TB, TB-locked
403 Security Div disbands at the end of 1944
444 Security Div disbands at the end of 1944
454 Security Div disbands at the end of 1944
Hermann Goering Bde renamed General Goering, remove arriving flak guns (supplied by disbanding Flak bns), add renames to follow historical name changes
Rhodos Sturm Bde disabled, modelled by downgrade from Rhodos Sturm Div
16 SS Sturm Bde OB change from 1209 to 1206 to restore conversion to 16 SS PzG Div
108 Panzer Bde    disband delayed to 1st turn of 1945, add 11/44 rename to 150 Panzer Bde
201 Security Bde arrives directly to Soviet Union Garrison TB, TB-locked, disbands at the end of 1944
203 Security Bde arrives directly to Soviet Union Garrison TB, TB-locked
HG Falls Flak Rgt delayed to 3/1944
139 Mount Reg   TB-locked, tagged
Flandern SS Inf Bn OB changed in Sturm Bde rename from 1206 to 1209 to prevent improper PzG Div conversion
Norway Inf Bn disbands 3/43 (became part of 11 SS PzG Div)
1 Rum. Security Div arrives directly to Soviet Union Garrison TB, TB-locked
3 Rum. Security Div arrives directly to Soviet Union Garrison TB, TB-locked
2 Hun. Armored Div arrives directly to Western Europe TB, TB-locked, to Map late 3/44
201 Hun. Security Div   arrives directly to Soviet Union Garrison TB, TB-locked, disbands at the end of 1944
1 Hun. Cavalry Bde restore reformation into Hussar Div
3 Gennaio CCNN Bde disbands at end of 6/43, rebuilt as Axis-Elite
23 Marzo CCNN Bde rebuilt as Axis-Elite
Hun. Constr Bns unfrozen, arrive directly to map, those for 2nd Army arrive in mid 42
63 CCNN Legion disbands mid 6/42
79 CCNN Legion delayed, arrives to map with Expeditionary Corps, disbands mid 6/42
Croat CCNN Legion moves to Balkans instead of Italy
o   New Axis Units:
Brandenburg Mot. Div   Elite Division (former special forces) arriving 4/44 to Balkans, to map 1/45
1,2,4 Ital. Bersaglieri Regiments, locked in Balkans
o   Increased Soviet manpower gain from Soviet Partisan War Ends event 136 from 100,000 to 250,000
o   Germany Fully Mobilizes event now reduces German ground national morale by 2 instead of 5
•   Road to Minsk, DSWF
o   Adjusted starting Axis air directives to better mirror C41 starting air directives
o   Selected drop tank load outs for German fighters
•   Road to Leningrad
o   Adjusted starting Axis air directives to better mirror C41 starting air directives
o   Selected drop tank load outs for German fighters
o   Added German 96th Infantry Division which arrives on turn 4
•   Red Army Resurgent
o   Added two additional Soviet National Supply Source depots, Elton (North) and Surakhami (South)
•   Red God of War
o   Renamed XLIII Corps to XXXXIII Corps
•   Stalingrad to Berlin Campaign(s)
o   Most German Infantry Corps have a TOE around 80
o   Most German Panzer Corps have a TOE around 90
o   Almost all Soviet Armies and Fronts have a TOE near 100
o   16th SS Mot. Sturm Bde renames to 16th SS PzGr Division
o   133rd Littorio Ital. Armored Division removed from AF TB
o   X Ital. Corps removed from AF TB
o   All three RHG Commands moved to OB #8 with 500 support squads not 1,000
o   Rumanian 9th Fighter Group added
o   The following German Corps HQs are Axis Elite:
III Panzer Corps
LVII Panzer Korps
XXXXVIII Panzer Corps
XXXIX Panzer Corps
XXXXVII Panzer Corps
o   Made sure the name changes for the SS Motorized Werfer Bns and Heavy Panzer Bns from the 100s to the 500s were consistent
o   Made change to 16th SS Sturm Bde
o   Made changes to 2nd RFSS Mot Bde which changes to 2nd SS Latvian Mot Bde and finally the 19th SS Latvian Grenadier Division across all Campaigns
o   Made changes to the 1st RFSS Mot Bde which changes to the 18th SS PzGr Division across all Campaigns
o   Made changes to Flandern SS Infantry Battalion which becomes the 6th SS Flan. Mot Sturm Bde and finally the 27th SS Flan. Grenadier Division across all Campaigns
o   Renamed XLIII Corps to XXXXIII Corps
o   Added Soviet manpower gain of 250,000 to Soviet Partisan War Ends event 136
o   Germany Fully Mobilizes event now reduces German ground national morale by 2 instead of 5
o   Minor changes to Escorts Over Germany, Battle of Berlin, and Final Effort events
o   Fixed 287th Arab PzGrd battalion.
o   Made all Bulgarian Fighter units Bf-109G-2s
•   Vistula to Berlin Campaign
o   III and XXIV Panzer Corps are Axis Elite.
o   Made TO&E changes to the SS Motorized Werfer Bns
o   Made changes to 2nd RFSS Mot Bde which changes to 2nd SS Latvian Mot Bde and finally the 19th SS Latvian Grenadier Division across all Campaigns
o   Synchronized the Disbandment of the 11th SS Panzer Army which becomes the arriving German 11th Army in AR and then WE
o   Added as a Reinforcement SS Detachment Steiner Army on April 21, 1945
o   Corrected many inappropriate starting Detection Levels
o   Moved many German Support Units into entrenched hexes
o   Removed the small number of Fw-190A-9s in the Game and replaced them with Fw-190A-9 1944s which also left 450 aircraft as Pool replacements
o   Added Fw-190G’s and Fw-190Fs to the Pool which can be used to replace Ju-87D-5 Night Bombers.
o   Combined the previously Broken-Down 7th Panzer Division with the 507th Heavy Panzer Battalion
o   Added NSGr. 30 as a reinforcement
o   Germany Fully Mobilizes event now reduces German ground national morale by 2 instead of 5
•   Steel Inferno – Road to Karelia
o   Adjusted starting Axis air directives to better mirror C41 starting air directives
o   Selected drop tank load outs for German fighters
o   Added German 96th Infantry Division which arrives on turn 4
•   Steel Inferno – Case Blue Phase II scenarios
o   Corrected leader in V Rum. Corps HQ
•   Steel Inferno - Drama on the Danube scenarios
o   Germany Fully Mobilizes event now reduces German ground national morale by 2 instead of 5
•   Steel Inferno - 1943 Campaign
o   16th SS Sturm Bde renames to 16th SS PzGr Division
o   All three RHG Commands moved to OB #8 with 500 support squads not 1,000
o   The following German Corps HQs are Axis Elite:
III Panzer Corps
XXXXVIII Panzer Corps
XXXXVII Panzer Corps
o   Many Soviet Fronts that were previously at 100% strength have been weakened as follows:
Volkhov Front          80%
Northwest Front       85%
Kalinin Front            85%
Western Front          90%
Bryansk Front          90%
Southwest Front       90%
Southern Front         90%
o   Made sure the name changes for the SS Motorized Werfer Bns and Heavy Panzer Bns from the 100s to the 500s were consistent
o   Made change to 16th SS Sturm Bde to
o   Made changes to 2nd RFSS Mot Bde which changes to 2nd SS Latvian Mot Bde and finally the 19th SS Latvian Grenadier Division across all Campaigns
o   Made changes to the 1st RFSS Mot Bde which changes to the 18th SS PzGr Division across all Campaigns
o   Made changes to Flandern SS Infantry Battalion which becomes the 6th SS Flan. Mot Sturm Bde and finally the 27th SS Flan. Grenadier Division across all Campaigns
o   Renamed XLIII Corps to XXXXIII Corps
o   Added Soviet manpower gain of 250,000 to Soviet Partisan War Ends event 136
o   Germany Fully Mobilizes event now reduces German ground national morale by 2 instead of 5
o   Minor changes to Escorts Over Germany, Battle of Berlin, and Final Effort events
o   Made all Bulgarian Fighter units Bf-109G-2s
•   Steel Inferno - Campaign 1944 (May Start)
o   102nd RHG Command moved to OB #8 with 500 support squads not 1,000
o   The following German Corps HQs are Axis Elite
III Panzer Corps
XXXXVIII Panzer Corps
XXXXVII Panzer Corps
XXIV Panzer Corps
o   II/32nd LW Flak was Depleted.  Fixed.
o   662nd Pion Bn was 41 Pion TOE.  Changed to 43b TOE.
o   I/34th LW Flak was Depleted.  Fixed.
o   253rd Infantry Division from Reserve to Refit.
o   I Cavalry Corps HQ had No Movement Points.  Fixed.
o   Removed 502nd SS Motorized Werfer Bn as the 102nd SS Motorized will change its name to the 502nd SS
o   6th SS Flandern PzGr had a TOE Upgrade.
o   101st Jaeger Division from Reserve to Refit
o   741st Pioneer Bn from 41 Pion TOE to 43b TOE.
o   Added Depots and Freight at Campulung, Roman, and Bacau in Romania.
o   Made sure the name changes for the SS Motorized Werfer Bns and Heavy Panzer Bns from the 100s to the 500s were consistent
o   Made changes to 2nd RFSS Mot Bde which changes to 2nd SS Latvian Mot Bde and finally the 19th SS Latvian Grenadier Division across all Campaigns
o   Made changes to the 1st RFSS Mot Bde which changes to the 18th SS PzGr Division across all Campaigns
o   Made changes to Flandern SS Infantry Battalion which becomes the 6th SS Flan. Mot Sturm Bde and finally the 27th SS Flan. Grenadier Division across all Campaigns
o   Changed XI Motorized Sturm Brigade Rifle Squad 43 to Motorized Rifle Squad 44
o   Added Soviet manpower gain of 250,000 to Soviet Partisan War Ends event 136
o   Germany Fully Mobilizes event now reduces German ground national morale by 2 instead of 5
o   Changed 92nd Motorized Sturm Brigade to 92nd PzGr Division and made it Axis Generic
o   Minor changes to Final Effort event.
•   New/revised artwork:
o   Ground Element Photo GP0547
o   Ground Icon G0176
o   Unit symbols for General Goering Mot. Brigade/Division

23

Games Discussion / Re: UBOAT submarine simulator UBOOT

« Last post by Asid on July 11, 2024, 12:12:48 AM »

2024.1 (Preview 22)
Wed, 10 July 2024



Dear captains,

There is a new patch ready for 2024.1 beta.

Localization:
- Ukrainian localization update by vovanvoks.
- Portuguese localization update by AlexShuma.
- Japanese localization update by かねのもうじゃ.
- Czech localization update by Spid3rCZ.
- Russian localization update by Hard.
- French localization update by FvJ and Placebo.
- Korean localization update.
- German localization update by Ruby.
- Fix: Resolved various issues with fonts used for S. Chinese version of the game.

Achievements:
- Added achievements to the game. Their addition is intended as a beta test of achievements. All achievements gained during beta test will be reset at the time of a full release.

Crew:
- When crew members are drowning inside flooded compartments, they no longer speak that it's hard to breath, but make a more suitable drowning noises.
- Cook now stops to work when a silent run is ordered.
- Fix: Officers could still perform a panic animation in some cases despite a previous change to that in Preview 18.
- Fix: Improvements to passing through obstacles by the crew inside the U-boat, for example when encountering a cleaning sailor on Type II near the radio room.
- Fix: Echosounder reading order was not working when there was some water inside the compartment.
- Fix: Various issues after changing the boat and promoting one of the officers to be a new skipper.
- Fix: If a quick return to port was initiated, while having exhaused officers, the officers were speaking one after the other that they are rested and ready to work during the return cutscene.
- Fix: Officers were sometimes speaking with a low-pitched voice, if they were sent on an external mission and a pause was enabled.

UI:
- Added information who sent the message in the new radio message reading view.
- Added an option to delete crew task presets.
- Lock icons in the periscope were reworked and now appear on the top bearing scale.
- Fix: If a new message notification was clicked when a radioman was walking to his station, there was no reaction to the clicks.
- Fix: Improved reliability of selecting units by clicks on the map.
- Fix: If torpedo launchers UI was open, at least one launcher was flooded, but all launchers were un-ticked, there was information present that the gyro angle is being synchronized, while in fact it's not synchronized in such a case.

Torpedo fire systems:
- Fix: After moving a cursor above a salvo spread angle indicator, the displayed tooltip was displaying a value indicated by the inner pointer, while it makes more sense from the user's standpoint to display the value of the outer one.
- Fix: Schnellgang lights on gyro angle receivers were sometimes pointing a wrong synchronization direction.

Modding:
- Fix: Compilation errors for mods using Cysharp.Text namespace in the code.

Uboatopedia:
- Added a possibility to open Uboatopedia from the in-game escape menu.
- Updated Uboatopedia in English, German and Polish.

Audio:
- Changed a sound effect played when clicking on campaign objective photos on the map.

Ports:
- Added extra defence to Aruba.
- Fix: It wasn't possible to change flotilla from Marseille and Brest. These ports were also not appearing as a destination for flotilla changes. This fix may require a new campaign to work.
- Fix: If a quick return to port was requested when the U-boat was at a periscope depth, the boat was sometimes partially submerging during the return cutscene. In such cases, the skipper was also sometimes starting to run in the direction of a conning tower during the cutscene with an orchestra.
- Fix: Issues with moving onto the U-boat from La Rochelle with a bunker in FPP.

Type II:
- The gauge at the stern of the boat between the officer bunks was changed to be a depth meter Papenberg gauge.

Missions:
- Fix: In the side-mission where command asks to locate a lost U-boat, if the target U-boat is sunk, the mission is now cancelled, since it's no longer possible to investigate the target boat.
- Fix: In the weather station placement assignment, if the radio transmission was received, the crew sent on land was automatically returning back, even if the U-boat was submerged or out of range.

Graphics:
- Fix: The view could freeze in certain cases when zooming map without an enabled upscaling during a snowy weather.
- Fix: Due to an error, in some cases, waves could be rendered at their full intensity in enclosed areas like submarine pens.

General:
- Added voiceover to the commands on the gyrocompass tool.
- Fix: Gyrocompass commands weren't working correctly, when they were used after plotting a route on a map.
- Fix: Messages with personal news sent from the flotilla and a message from the command that the enemy is aware of the mission performed by the U-boat, were having player's ship specified as the sender in the journal.
- Fix: After positioning the orbiting camera exactly at the bow of a moving U-boat and then opening and closing the map, the camera was passing right through the interior of the U-boat and some graphical issues were occurring during this process.
- Fix: After quitting to the main menu from an existing game and starting a new playthrough, blueprint points from the previous playthrough were carried over to the new one.
- Fix: Probable fix for two U-boats displayed on each other in a new U-boat selector screen. We will appreciate confirmation from the community, if this issue is resolved.
- Fix: Issues with air toxicity in Type II conning tower.
- Fix: Fixes to several errors spotted in the logs sent to us using the in-game bug reporting tool.

Yours,
DWS

24

Games Discussion / Re: UBOAT submarine simulator UBOOT

« Last post by Asid on July 11, 2024, 12:12:41 AM »

Steam Achievements beta test
Wed, 10 July 2024



Dear captains,

We are excited to announce that the 2024.1 beta version of UBOAT has been updated with support for Steam Achievements. This new feature adds an extra layer of challenge and recognition for your accomplishments in the depths of the Atlantic.

Achievements in the beta version are not permanent and they will be reset once the full release of the game is shipped.



We are introducing them now to gather your feedback and ensure that they are all achievable in a correct manner.

Please note, that if you use console commands, no more achievements will be awarded during that campaign.

We look forward to your feedback on this feature!

Yours,
DWS

25

Games Discussion / Re: Field of Glory: Kingdoms

« Last post by Asid on July 10, 2024, 12:25:35 AM »

Field of Glory: Kingdoms - Open Beta Patch 1.02
Fri, July 5, 2024




We are happy to announce that the new Open Beta Patch 1.02 is now available
.
You can now opt-in to the Public Beta on Steam.


FIELD OF GLORY: KINGDOMS 1.02 BETA


UI & QOL

- Fixed refresh issue in MP Lobby.
- Adjusted some faction colors.
- Retinue units indicated as such in the unit tooltip.
- You can now send a bug report to the team by hitting Shift-Escape while on the main map or with a new button in the load/save interface.
- In the ledger, Unknown loyalty characters will be sorted as if they have loyalty 101 because they are
your most trusted friends.
- Extra visual option for borders (colored, thin, black, colored from treaties).
- New faction names coloring option.
- Structures text coloring improved, with more emphasis in case of events.
- Some info on the map filtered out depending on zoom level.
- Fixed a message when an HRE nation decides to become a vassal of the Emperor.
- Some Coats of Arms fixed.


SETUP & FACTION PERKS

- Some culture adjustments on the map for the campaign.
- Extra Rus' principalities can be formed (as vassals, e.g.) from the game start.
- Less chance for a CW as BYZ on Easy difficulty.
- When evolved enough, Normans will switch to the English Kingdoms branch of governments and not
French.
- Improved Georgia and Armenia (units roster).
- England can now have Huskarls at start.
- New Kingdom of Sicily banner.
- Fixed Apulia duchy capital moving on turn 1.


DYNASTY & CHARACTERS

- Reworked coup chances so that a loyal army at the capital is more efficient.
- Less rebellion chances for generals with 26-50 loyalty, but more if 25 or lower. Do not risk naming as
general a character with loyalty 25!
- Increased extra characters for bigger nations (even more if Tier III Realm).
- The Max Demesne penalty is limited to -4 in Balanced difficulty (no change), but is now limited to -6 in Experienced and so on.
- Don't pay an Authority cost if you declare war on a vassal of a nation you declare war on due to being
allied.
- Ceding a Domain to a Peer to form a vassal will relinquish your claims in the donated lands.


DIPLOMACY

- Relinquishing a claim will be worth more if you are human and less if you are AI (favoring the human in both cases).
- Relative combat power will be much more important when evaluating peace chances. Should help AI
cede to conditions when severely beaten.
- If the AI agrees to propose peace after a '3rd party request,' then chances will be +100% (was +25%).


MAP

- Some region links fixed.
- More vibrant map colors to help distinguish some colors.
- Lowland food usage is now 2 per pop (was 1).


WARFARE

- Fixed a military reform (Archer tier II). Other pending verifications.
- Peasants and light militia have minor ranged capability.
- Fixed Disband providing too many resources.


AI

- AI will be more reluctant to declare war if already at war.
- Added AI Search Depth Option (SP only).
- AI less willing to propose peace early.


REGIONAL DECISIONS

- Call to Arms Decision buffed: Does not cost Authority anymore, provides 200 (from 100) equipment
points.
- You'll always get a Form Vassal decision if you have none while having 75+ Authority.
- Fixed then improved Decision Fund Holy Order.
- You get a penalty on the amount of RGDs you have if you have 15 or more, otherwise no change at all
(prevent micro-managing & selling every turn).
- Very High Priority RGD will appear more often in your pool through a priority pick procedure, which has more chance to trigger the higher your Realm Tier is.
- When you tweak RGDs odds, a status message will immediately tell you how much money it will cost.
- Fixed convert population (could convert a heretic, not another population).
- Fixed 3 RGDs not having a message in some cases.
- Draft Levies RGD from Peasants roundup provided more often.
- Form vassal RGD overhauled.


BUILDINGS

- Agriculture: Bee Keeper is now tier I.2 (was I.1), Stug is now I.1 (was 1.2).
- Commerce: Candles Shop is now tier I.2 (was I.1), Weaver Shop is now I.1 (was 1.2).
- Barrack building was not constructible, fixed.
- Baronial Vassal / Minor Fiefdom costs less in resources and now provide +1 extra SAU.
- Pilgrim Refuge (Tier I Piety buffed up).
- Furrier more productive (1>2 Leather, more money).
- Town Crier produces more stewardship, its event triggers more often (loyalty boost when loyalty is low).
- Brickwork has no prerequisite anymore (bug), so not dependent on Clay Pit.
- New area 'viticulture' for vineyards.
- Fixed Equipment rebate from structures not working.
- Fixed prerequisite structures not properly checked under some conditions.
- The structure generating a sound in the region panel has a minor visual cue.
- Marble vein and associated quarry fixed and provided less often.
- Walled cemetery produces the same health bonus as Commoner cemetery.
- Cathedrals and Mosques don't have a cost in metal.

VARIOUS

- Fixed Auld Alliance achievement only works if playing Scotland, not France.

We can't wait to hear your feedback.

26

Games Discussion / Re: Field of Glory: Kingdoms

« Last post by Asid on July 10, 2024, 12:24:54 AM »

Field of Glory: Kingdoms - Royalty Patch 1.01 has been released.
Thu, July 4, 2024




Ave!

We are pleased to announce that after a period of beta (and thanks to all that contributed), the v.1.01 "Royalty patch" for FOG Kingdoms is now live. Changelog has not, err, changed since beta, but for your reference, here it is in all its glory.

SYSTEM
- Should skip the launcher when starting FoG for battles the vast majority of times.
- Fewer FOW calculations in hosting (faster turns).
- Improved music handling and reshuffling.
- Tooltip delay added, for now, as an entry only in \Documents\My Games\EmpiresKingdoms\OPTIONS.TXT.
- No City coloring added, for now, as an entry only in \Documents\My Games\EmpiresKingdoms\OPTIONS.TXT.
- Added an additional sound backend.
- Identical sounds will be played less loudly.

UI & QOL
- Pop-up panel has extra functionalities.
- Fixed a slightly misformatted tooltip in battle.
- Modifier tab stays selected when switching factions in the factions lobby.
- Slightly reworked political filter, with relationships more readable.
- Music delay between tracks reduced by 2/3.
- Fixed not being shown in the Piety ranking if you produce no piety at all.
- The tutorial will ensure the enemy can't surrender during the siege.
- Message truncating resulting in an ellipsis (...) will be better done.
- Many text edits.
- Authority and Legacy buttons in the Nation Panel now lead to the relevant ledger page.
- Average HRE member Authority in the nation panel was not /10.
- Removed reference to the Legacy panel in the Help system.
- Relationships in the Political overlay made bigger and clearer. In the same overlay, a new color differentiates between yourself and your vassals.
- Fixed a visual issue when looking at a single trade good if more than 8 were present in a region.

EASY MODE
Overhauled (fully dynamic, you can alternate between easy & balanced in the same game):
- More chance for the event 'noble donation' (free money).
- Less chance of having an epidemic.
- More chance for the event providing a free Defensive building.
- Double reward from Authority mini-events.
- Less stupendous Court expenses.
- Lowered War Weariness by 15%.
- Slightly less chance of a coup or rebellion.
- Better ruler stats.
- Penalty from war occupation is skipped.
- Sedition from Nobles halved.

Only apply when starting a new game:
- More Intrinsic Resources at start (free resources that go away as time passes).
- A player in Easy difficulty will receive +20 Authority and +50% money (scenario start only).

DYNASTY, CHARACTERS, AUTHORITY
- Mercenaries are slightly more prone to degrade the relationship with their general.
- General improvements on how the ruler's Military stat is tied to the actual leader's battle stat.
- If you form a new nation and are under a certain Realm level, you'll be promoted instantly to a certain level (e.g., Apulia > Sicily).
- Clergymen can lead armies with a systematic penalty of 1 to AMP. Other nobles will now have this penalty only if not in a legitimately owned region (was their Domain before, so relaxed rule).
- If a general has a penalty to his AMP stat (while leading an army thus), it's indicated in the tooltip.

CLAIMS
- Claims are now given much more frequently in the first 15 turns of the campaign.
- Hostile claims give you a discount if you declare war on the other nation.
- Claims will, in the vast majority of times, only be added if you are at least distant neighbors.
- Hostile foreign claims penalty is now only in Experienced or harder difficulty.
- Higher chance to get a claim if you have none from an insult; if you get one, you pay 2 Authority though.

VASSALS
- Human vassals will never be forced to give their units to their liege.
- If a vassal, your possibilities to get spontaneous claims are restricted to nations you are at war with or have extremely low relationships with.
- This will also prevent vassal AIs from adding too many claims against other nations, including the players.
- Vassals under threat and sending troops to their liege will be less frantic regarding troop recruitment.
- Vassals giving troops won't give them all at once, allowing you to change the policy (troops won't be given back unless you 'disband' them).

LEGACY & WINNING
- The sudden win condition will activate after 150 turns, not 100, in the grand campaign.

GRAPHICS & ARTS
- New harbor smuggling image.
- Major & important: chicken leg is now roasted.

RELIGION
- Fixed the Jihad being stoppable by the Holy See under some circumstances.
- Holy war targets won't get DOWed by nations not close enough to them.
- Fixed Declare Jihad against target X not working if the playing faction is already within a Jihad (same for Crusade).
- Fixed Christians under Jihad being despised by other Christians. This is now properly reversed (they will like you more).
- More chance to get bonus Authority from units you gave with the Send Crusaders Decision. Reminder, you also get bonus Legacy.
- Made sure any Catholic DOWing the Papacy gets excommunicated. Added a pop-up if you are.

STRUCTURES & REGIONS/DOMAINS
- Some changes in manpower income for some structures.
- More accurate trade status for structures in their detail panel.
- King's Agent properly gives an extra bodyguard and not 'Basque Isolation'. Don't ask.
- Removed the reference to a gain of token upon building a Stone Castle, it's now an Absorb Vassal decision which is provided.
- Structures get their important keywords colored.
- Fixed track requiring Craftsmen borough.
- Fixed Domain Expansion IV & V not available.
- Fixed Domain becoming non-formable as soon as you military occupy one of the regions.
- Fixed very developed regions not properly importing goods within range (if more than 24!).
- Fixed an erroneous link in region Mosul.
- Code will remove 2 capitals in the same region.

WARFARE & BATTLES
- Allies don't pay Authority when joining war, if it is recent (10 turns max).
- Fixed possible crash in battle.
- Some Muslim units renamed so they could be used in more nations (Georgia)
- Training Grounds now handle Heavy Infantry for XP gain.
- A general revolting with his army will not station in the city of the rebelling region, in case the garrison remains loyal.
- Free warscore gain from higher Authority is only done if the two nations at war are neighbors.
- Ships will update their geo-situational combat ability before each battle (e.g., 'Galley in stormy coastal water').
- When you declare war on a liege with vassals or a vassal, all claims you have with the liege or any vassal will be factored into the rebate for DOW.
- Winning a small battle vs. winning a large one was actually more dangerous for generals (fixed).
- Exploit closed: you can only pillage hostile or owned regions, not allied or passage-right ones.

DIPLOMACY & PEACE
- Region exchanges in a peace negotiation (whether acquired or relinquished) will now be a friendly transfer, so no Authority will be lost in either case.
- Fixed vassal/Ally being stolen his land if a third party defends him.
- Bad relations can break a royal marriage or passage rights treaty (Needs Despise level, -35).
- In case of good relations (Amiable, 50+) then allies or vassals can give back a region to its legitimate owner.
- Currently only AI vassals toward a liege or AI allies. (feedback requested)
- Reduced the ratio allowing to absorb through RM a full nation to 66% of the absorbee.

REGIONAL DECISIONS
- Fixed mix-up between Grant Land and Place Holding. Grant Land is only in your land but will now provide significant resources.
- Some changes in RGD allocations for IMRs and Seljuks.
- Fixed your own spy network targeting itself.
- Decision Peasants to Freemen does not provide money anymore.
- Fixed Diplomatic Intrigue RGD able to target yourself.
- Tweaked success chances of the Steal Token RGD (aka Sap Authority). There are fewer chances if you have positive tokens yourself and less chance if the enemy has negative tokens.
- Absorb Vassal should give more plausible results.

EVENTS, SETUP, FACTIONS
- 45 new historical rulers added.
- Campaign map overhauled with extra specific buildings (Abbasid Science Academy, etc.)
- New Campaign setup changing dozens of regions regarding their population mix.
- Improved Crusaders events (fewer cases where they could starve at sea).
- Kalmar union appearance fixed.
- Barghawata (tribal) was selectable (but not playable so confusing), fixed.
- William the Conqueror will always be a 2-2 general.
- In the GC, Normans no longer have a RM with England, and their relationship with France is now 0. This should favor going to England.
- Nations of Scottish culture now also get the Raider effect with Crechrighe.
- Modifications to the initial culture of some regions.
- Portugal is a Condado, not a minor Reino at start.
- Higher chances to get a 0-slot structure built for free if you have regions with high loyalty and high stewardship.
- Updated Manzikert and Angevin setup to have more roads.
- Fixed Taifas triggering too early 'Double-Edged Sword' perk.

ACHIEVEMENTS
- Fixed achievement "A Chip Off the Old Block" where a daughter would work too.
- Life of Bryansk achievement fixed.

AI
- The AI, in higher difficulty levels, will favor players' regions more as an objective.
- Normans AI can break their RM with England in case of negative relationships around 1060.

Thanks as ever for your feedback and it's on to the next one very soon.

Vale!

27

Games Discussion / Re: ICBM: Escalation : Gobal warfare and nuclear mass destruction

« Last post by Asid on July 09, 2024, 12:16:46 AM »

ICBM: Escalation - Dev Diary 8 - Campaign Mode
Mon, July 8, 2024




Hi everyone!

This dev diary is going to be covering something that seems to have garnered a lot of interest ever since it was first mentioned, and now that we’re far enough into development that it’s starting to bear some fruit, we think it’s finally time to spill some more details on it.

Now, I would argue that ICBM is always better with friends, but a lot of people enjoy it solo. And what better way to complement a single-player game, than with an all-new single player campaign mode?

Now, at a first glance, you’re probably wondering how a single-player campaign would even work for a nuclear war game. You know, level 1, you destroy the entire world, level 2, you destroy the entire world, again…? But, that’s not going to be the case here. Well, not if you play well, anyway.

There’s not a lot of room for continuity if everybody dies immediately. So, the campaign is going to run a little differently from your average ICBM match…

So if you don’t just glass the entire planet in an hour, how does it work? Well, it’s simple. Nuclear annihilation isn’t the goal, it’s a consequence. Let me explain. Firstly, this campaign mode in particular is actually quite unique in terms of its chronology. For most games, a campaign story might span, say, a couple weeks that your hero is in combat, or the few dozen months it takes to complete a military operation, or maybe it lasts a few years if there’s a lot of exposition. Our campaign, however, is going to last decades. That’s right, we’re going to be taking you on a ride through history’s near-nuclear hotspots, from the start of the cold war, to modern day and into the hypothetical not-so-distant future. And it’s your job to 1) Achieve your nation’s goals and objectives and 2) Not accidentally cut all of human history short in the process. Now, you’re probably wondering how that works, so what better way to illustrate it than by taking a peak at the first mission?

The single-player campaign starts where the tech tree does, and arguably where the cold war did as well. 1950. And I’m sure many of the history buffs out there will recognize this as the start of the first confrontation between the East and West: The Korean War.

Ladies and Gentlemen, LET’S GET READY TO RUUUUUMMMBLLEEEEEEE

Players will have to command UN forces to repel the North Korean invasion for an hour of in-game time, ensuring that Seoul is free once the timer is up, and that the communists never reach Busan. Doing so will accomplish the primary objective and lead to (a pretty lackluster) victory.

Of course, things can get more interesting than that… ICBM is a game built by and for nuclear weapons. There’s nothing stopping you from using them other than the consequences of your own actions. If you want to unleash your inner Douglas MacArthur, this is your chance. Just remember, the Soviets detonated their first nuke in 1949, and in the world of ICBM, the Cold War isn’t quite as frigid as real life! Tempers are hotter, nukes are more accessible, and war crimes are less like felonies and more like misdemeanors. You can push the enemy farther than you could in real life, but you should expect them to push back even harder as well. So, if you wanted to take the relatively standard conventional Korean conflict of 1950 and say, spice it up by using mustard gas and nuking Pyongyang, the only thing stopping you is your conscience and whatever mysterious, faintly radioactive deliveries the Soviets have been moving into their airbases.

Just like WWI, If you’re a fan of utilitarian ethics, attritional warfare and human suffering, then chemical weapons can be a great way to stop human wave tactics. Just mind the collateral damage…

On the topic of pushing your luck and poking the bear, the campaign also comes with another neat feature: You decide how hard you want to win. Going back to the Korean War mission, the bare minimum for success is that you can’t lose Busan and you need to control Seoul by the time the smoke clears. You can just repel the attack and keep the war relatively small and contained, but for players that are feeling a little more audacious, you can settle the border dispute once and for all by completely invading and occupying North Korea, if you’re ready to deal with China’s response… And if you REALLY want to make your point, you can invade China itself and force a ceasefire if you succeed, while bearing in mind that the Soviets aren’t going to be happy, and things are probably going to get ugly. The harder you push and the more successful you are, the better you’ll score and the better off you’ll be for the next mission. Just be careful not to bite off more than you can chew, especially once Washington is within nuking distance.


Okay, so MAYBE things got a little out of hand…

Speaking of risk and reward, all the technology you gain during a mission will carry over to the next, so your strengths, doctrine and tactics will ultimately be decided by what you invest in. As mentioned before, your performance in a mission will contribute to your score, which in turn means more technology. Since every mission will require a different approach, it’s probably best to think about your overall strategy carefully. The mission following the Korean War is going to be the Cuban Missile Crisis. A ‘guns-blazing’ approach might work, especially if you’re not a fan of Florida, but maybe something more tactful would be more appropriate…

The campaign is still a work in progress and our testers are poking away at it right now, but we’re excited to see how it evolves as we get more feedback. Right now we’re aiming to have a mission for every decade from 1950 to 2040, so there should be plenty to keep you busy once it’s done. Who knows, if there’s enough interest, maybe we’ll add a second one someday… But, until then, we’ll be hard at work on this one, and we’ll see you next time!

28

Games Discussion / Re: ICBM: Escalation : Gobal warfare and nuclear mass destruction

« Last post by Asid on July 09, 2024, 12:16:33 AM »

Dev Diary 7 - World Immersion
Thu, May 30, 2024




Hi everyone!

As you probably know, ICBM: Escalation is all about conquering and/or destroying the world. Usually these dev diaries talk about all the tools you’ll have at your disposal to do that or the mechanics of how they work, but we’ve never talked too much about the world itself. Since we’re going to be destroying it on a regular basis, let’s talk about the work we’ve done to make the world detailed, dynamic and immersive, while it’s being covered in radioactive craters.


Home Sweet Home.

Similarly to ICBM 1, where the map was split 8 ways, the map in ICBM: Escalation is now split into 10 factions, based on political and cultural similarities and boundaries, but with gameplay balance at the forefront. With the advent of territory capturing, we had to take things a step further and split each faction into 15 distinct territories, so that players can invade and annex new land, one region at a time. Each region has its own unique GDP split with certain strengths and weaknesses, and not every territory is created equally, so players will be able to be selective in how they pick their targets. For example, in Europe, Germany is the industrial heart that provides most of its military production power, but the British Isles has a stronger research and espionage base, so if a player wanted to cripple their production capacity or annex some land to boost their R&D budget, it’s more nuanced than just invading Greenland because it’s undefended. Since every territory needs to be adequately represented by its population centers, the map also features a whopping 520 cities, more than double the 200 featured in ICBM 1. Better learn some geography…


The new regional menu gives you an overview of the region’s population, its cities and economic outputs, and also any invasion progress, plus a visual representation of how much damage it’s taken. Mind the placeholder.

The world in ICBM: Escalation is also more alive in terms of the ways you can interact with other factions. Before, your options boiled down to forming alliances with some basic mutual agreements, or nuking everyone into oblivion. Now, ICBM wouldn’t be ICBM without the second option, but the diplomacy and espionage system has gotten a massive rework. Players now have the option to cut deals with factions individually, rather than just forming coalitions, and the breadth and scope of what you can do has expanded considerably. You can share individual technologies, hand off spare military hardware and warheads, support each other’s industry, provide economic aid, and even give up intel on what other factions are doing. Just like in the original, you can form multi-faction alliances if you want a more team-based approach as well, and can even choose to build on each other’s territory, if you’re not expecting to get stabbed in the back.
The new diplomacy and faction overview menu, where you can cut deals with another faction and also see what intel you have on them. You also get to put a face to who you’re dealing with now too!

The espionage menu has also been reworked for clarity, and is also a little more nuanced and less luck-based than before. Espionage was often overlooked in ICBM 1, but a skilled player that can leverage it effectively can work out what their enemies are up to, which makes things much, much easier…

It’s worth talking about the global community as well. As much as ICBM players love to joke about breaking it, ICBM: Escalation now features its own take on international law: The Geneva Convention. With the Geneva Convention, it’s easier to control the flow of the game and enforce certain ‘gentlemanly agreements’ and in a way, sort of change the rules on the fly. Factions can vote on issues like banning specific weapon systems or technologies, issuing a (temporary) nuclear ban to deescalate the situation if things get out of hand, declare a global ceasefire altogether, or to nullify all of the above if they’re out for blood.


The global forum, unanimously deciding chemical weapons should be allowed. Brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it.

And, also worth mentioning, since it’s in the screenshot and people are going to ask about it, we’ve also implemented a DEFCON system, which allows players to evaluate how much danger they’re in and make trade-offs between their economic outputs, and a suite of bonuses to improve their performance in a conventional or nuclear war. Starting at DEFCON 5, which doesn’t change anything, each level progressively drains more of the faction’s GDP but provides bonuses to protect against increasingly dangerous threats. So for example, DEFCON 4 will make it easier to fend off a conventional military invasion and put a slight dent in the economy, while DEFCON 1 will minimize your losses during a full-blown nuclear exchange, at the cost of grinding everything to a halt. There’s also something darkly satisfying about going to DEFCON 1 before launching dozens of nuclear missiles…

And that’s it for our latest dev diary! Let us know what you think and what’s got you the most excited. The beta test is still in progress and we’re looking into expanding the tester pool shortly, so keep your eyes on your inbox and your spam folder, because you might have that email coming your way. Thanks again!

29

Games Discussion / Re: Empires of the Undergrowth

« Last post by Asid on July 08, 2024, 11:02:50 PM »

VLOG 11 - What's next for Empires of the Undergrowth
Mon, 8 July 2024



Empires of the Undergrowth has been out for a month, so what comes next?

In this vlog, community manager Mike goes through the roadmap for the immediate future of EotU.

Since this is a Slug Disco vlog it also has some news about another game published by us - if you'd like to skip that and get to just the EotU bits, the timecode is 1.26

30

Scourge Of War / Re: Scourge Of War - Remastered

« Last post by Asid on July 08, 2024, 11:02:25 PM »

Hey buddy

I'm sure it being on Steam will increase the player base.