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Tacview / Tacview 1.9.5 beta 16 is available Now

« Last post by Asid on Today at 12:28:37 AM »

Tacview 1.9.5 beta 16 is available Now

Download: HERE

- Release Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2025
- Operating System: Windows 32-bit / 64-bit
- File Size: 1168.1 MB

Release notes

FEATURES & CHANGES

- ADDED support for the Nuclear Option exporter written by Gabor Nemeth
- ADDED 4 additional chart windows
- ADDED Playback speed of x120
- ADDED ?Data Capture Mode? option to the DCS World exporter to improve recording performance
- ADDED Simulation pause recording to DCS World exporter for accurate media playback synchronization
- ADDED Touchdown velocity addon for MSFS & X-Plane
- ADDED Gibraltar database and terrain for BMS 4.37.6
- ADDED support for relative path to DCS World exporter: lfs.writedir() + "path/"{libreak}ADDED DCS World: CH-47F advanced telemetry
- ADDED DCS World: F4U-1D advanced telemetry
- ADDED DCS World Cold War Germany Map and runways
- ADDED DCS World Iraq Map and runways
- ADDED DCS World Afghanistan Map terrain and runways
- ADDED Event Log Extras add-on to edit events and kill-remove aircraft
- ADDED ComboBoxes to Lua DialogBoxes API
- ADDED Error messages for telemetry export failures when saving to a CSV file
- ADDED Support for multiple XML files for custom elevation and texture maps
- ADDED /ExportTelemetry command line option
- ADDED Carrier Landing Pattern addon from Tickler
- ADDED Lua Command Server add-on to remotely execute Lua instructions
- ADDED Hundredths of seconds to the time displayed in the 3D view
- ADDED AGL Altitude for DCS World aircraft
- IMPROVED you can now remove any type of event from the event-log
- IMPROVED Improved fuel quantity export for most high-fidelity DCS World aircraft
- IMPROVED Fuel Consumption add-on to calculate over distance or time
- IMPROVED updated Earth magnetic field up to 2030 (IGRF-14)
- IMPROVED media synchronization now supports sub-second accuracy via YYYYMMDDThhmmss.ssssZ
- IMPROVED speed calculations especially at very high altitude
- IMPROVED Weapon name is now displayed alongside callsign in labels
- IMPROVED Boats trails

FIXES

- FIXED crash when merging multiple files via the command line with the event log active
- FIXED crash when opening shortcuts via the tacview: protocol
- FIXED crash when reloading addons using the "Pick 3D Point" feature
- FIXED magnetic heading was not always displayed in the 3D view and telemetry windows
- FIXED custom elevation maps with negative altitudes were not working properly
- FIXED events deletion from the event log was not always working
- FIXED bookmarks not always showing in red on the timeline
- FIXED -OpenMedia command line option not working for windows 5 to 8

Restrictions

To run a beta version, you need a product key. Feel free to have a look at the features comparison to know which edition is the best for you if you are interested in buying Tacview.

Please note that even if we are doing our best to produce a high quality product, beta versions usually contains known and unknown bugs, may crash, or have some features disabled because of work in progress. This is why, it is suggested to download and install beta versions alongside the latest official release (not over it). That way, in case of problem, you can simple launch the latest stable version to continue your work...

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Games Discussion / Re: Reentry - An Orbital Simulator

« Last post by Asid on October 22, 2025, 11:35:17 PM »

Reentry has been updated to 0.99.90 - Entry Guidance, Gemini Docking, Missions
Tue, 21 October 2025

This update mainly focuses on bug fixes, polish and mission improvements. Please see that patch notes below for the full list.

Note: If you experience new issues related to this update, please report them. You can revert back the a previous build using the Steam betas tab for the game. Most recent rollback option: Reentry Version 0.99.89.

Entry Guidance for the Apollo Command Module
I have fixed some key issues with the Apollo Entry Guidance logic. The intent of the entry guidance is initially to get you through the atmosphere and survive the entry. Once I get this as stable as possible to reach that goal, I can start to improve the guidance to better guide you towards the actual landing zone.

In addition, if an issue with my Entry Guidance logic causes an abnormal entry, I will bypass the MAX G-LOAD limit to avoid destroying missions that are supposed to work. If you are an advanced player, I still recommend you to learn how to identify this, take manual control, and steer the craft manually.

I also recommend all players to learn how to perform manual entries, it is a lot of fun, and a good skill to have in this game.

Note: You can always toggle the "structural G-load limit" setting completely off to become indestructible during entries. This is typically a good setting to use during training.

Image credit: NASA

Mercury Mission 5 (Hawaii)
The last mission of the Mercury Campaign has received a little overhaul with some improved guidance and a few other things to improve the flow. I can't tell too much to avoid spoilers.

Mercury EPS and Lights Test
I fixed some issues with the Electrical System and the Warning Light system of the Mercury capsule. This improves the light test slightly and corrects the issue where RETRO RESET would not extinguish after the test (getting stuck). It also fixes an issue where some lightbulbs could illuminate even if the power is removed.

Mercury Entry SFX I made some improvements to the Mercury entry SFX to become more realistic. It now uses a similar logic to what Gemini and Apollo Command Module uses. This removes the old annoying entry SFX. I think I will miss it, slightly.

Gemini Docking
This patch improves Gemini docking. I finally managed to find a solution to the Gemini docking interpolation that allows me to be a bit more creative. You will now head a grinding noise as the nose enters the cone (during interpolation), and a sound effect plays from the docking latches as they close. If this seem to work (unlike my previous attempt that I had to roll back a few months ago), I can use this to improve actual collision between Gemini and Agena. This system could potentially carry over the Apollo as well.

Image credit: NASA

Mission System Updates and Typos
Thanks for reporting issues related to missions, and typos in them. This patch rolls out quite a few fixes to various missions, the mission system itself and corrects reported typos.

Patch notes:

- Mercury: Campaign Mission 5 (Hawaii) updates

- Mercury: Retro Reset light didn't extinguish after light test

- Mercury: EPS DC check fix (cabin light could illuminate without power)

- Fixed a bug in Mercury UDP API that triggered the function but did not refresh the cockpit transforms

- Minor improvements to the Apollo Command Module panel models

- Fixed the Mercury entry SFX to be similar to Gemini and Command Module

- Gemini: Improved Docking interpolation

- Gemini: Added docking cone metal noise SFX

- Gemini: Added docking latches SFX

- Mercury/Gemini test: Slight volume mixing of the RCS thrusters

- Apollo CMC Entry Guidance fixes

- Gemini Academy lesson 10 (burns) renamed to lesson 9

- Gemini Career tree node fixes

- Fixed: Camera moves when attempting to slew things like the optics or the LM radar

- Improved gauge sun glare shading

- Typo/spelling fixes

- Fixed an issue that caused the avatar in the character editor to become invisible after the previous patch

- Fixes to target orbit in Campaign 3, Mission 4

- Fixes to target orbit in Campaign 4, Mission 3

- Fixed an issue that made the Avatar in the Character Editor invisible (an issue introduced in the previous patch)

Games Discussion / Re: Panzer Corps 2

« Last post by Asid on October 21, 2025, 12:03:24 AM »

Panzer Corps 2: Elite - 1st Guards | Announcement
Fri, October 17, 2025

Achtung, Panzer Generals!

Special announcement today! The Panzer Corps 2 Elite DLC continues with its second installment: a Soviet campaign titled 1st Guards!

As with the Ghost Division before, the focus once again falls on following the battles of the very best a nation involved in the Second World War had to offer, and for the Motherland, this means the Soviet Guards!

The continued Promise
With the glowing reception and success of Elite ? Ghost Division, and while larger mega campaigns continue their production, we?re eager to fulfill the ideal of the Elite series to bring each major nation its own Panzer Corps 2 campaign. And who better to represent the soldiers of the USSR in their debut campaign than the 1st Guards?

As before, the Elite series is also resolved to its commitment to fight against rising inflation, and will once again release at the 4.99 USD price point. We were extremely pleased with the player rececption from Ghost Division, and see no good reason to arbitrarily raise this series?s price point.

Because in the end, that is what really matters, that we?re making great content that our players are excited to enjoy at fair exchange.

To uphold those values, we?ve got a great campaign lined up, filled with awesome battles of epic size. Elite ? 1st Guards is stuffed full of key battles ranging from 1937 all the way to 1945, and you?ll be deploying almost twice as many CORE units to battle over the previous Ghost Division campaign.

The 1st Guards
When Operation Barbarossa was launched in June of 1941, there was no such thing as a ?Guards? unit. By the time World War II ended in 1945, over 200 formations carried the venerated title of ?Guards?; from Guards Rifle Divisions to Guards Tank or Guards Mechanized Divisions to even Aviation Regiments and entire Guards Armies.

We?ll reveal a more information about this new campaign in an upcoming Developer Diary, but for now you can check out the store page for some more details and screenshots.

Upcoming Holiday 2025 Update

As we approach the Holiday Season and 2025 draws to a close, we have one more tradition we?d like to uphold. Alongside the Soviet Elite campaign, we?re aiming to deploy additional Solo Scenario content that will be patched to the base game of Panzer Corps 2 that will be free for all owners of the game to enjoy, without any DLC requirements.

This tradition of free content during the holidays has been a theme for the last few years, and one we think is worth continuing as a way to continue to show our ongoing appreciation for the amazing community that continues to support Panzer Corps 2. Thanks to you, our community, once again for keeping the Panzer Corps series going after all this time, we?ll have more information about the free solo scenario content soon!

Games Discussion / Re: SAELIG

« Last post by Asid on October 20, 2025, 12:20:36 AM »

Update 57 - In honour of my cat
Sun, October 19, 2025

Hey all!

A few things have happened since we last spoke, which have delayed things a little, so I'm very sorry for the longer time between updates - I had surgery which knocked me a back a bit, and then my cat of 12 years died

Oh and my wife is super pregnant with a human child at the moment, so there's a lot going on there, too.

Without further ado here are the patch notes.

FIXED

- Fixed some nav issues on certain plots.

- Fixed some typos.

- Fixed plague lasting too long in some situations.

- Fixed an issue where a character could get stuck off map in some cases.

- Fixed some productions not showing skill level.

- Fixed an old automation bug with farms that could happen in some instances.

- Fixed an automation bug where items on your do not transport list, would be transported.

- Fixed a bug where some monks and orphans could sleep in abbots house.

- Fixed a ?guard building? loop for Hyrmenn.

- Small trap profile pic has been fixed.

- Fixed starting and stopping when moving to a hunting target from far away.

- When trading with your spouse, you will no longer see their money - since that's already your money.

- Selling cart when hauling it causes issues no longer.

- You can no longer manually offer longhouse for rent.

- Fixed some UI issues.

- Fixed a super easy relationship exploit.

CHANGED/TWEAKED

- Added a notification that tells you if a guard has been dispatched when you?re caught being naughty.

- With foraging is off, coops will no longer be built as misc buildings.

- Peeking can now tell you what upgrades are applied to a building. It is also now faster to do.

- When in conversation, relationship is now displayed.,

- In the relationship window it will now show you the count of people found in a search.

- Removed slander notification for people spreading slander about you to strangers, there will still be a relationship penalty between you and the person they slander you to. If they slander you to one of your friends, your friend will alert you. Also, tweaked the frequency that slander can happen.

- The game now displays numbers on the filters in map mode.

- You can now right click on people in relationship window.

- Automation window - now shows recipe for item you?re adding to priority items.

- Nearby trade inventories of buildings now show the building?s custom name.

- Fields will now display the season requirements on each crop type when selecting a crop to plant.

- The production progress indicator will now show when the game is paused.

- Assigned productions now show the recipes when you hover over them.

- Rooms/sheds upgrades now relocate any nearby carts so they don?t get trapped.

- When the shift is over, production indicators will now continue to show.

- When transferring a worker, their summed skill for that job type is now shown.

- You can now educate workers when they are working. They will stop work briefly to learn the thing you have to teach, and then continue work.

- Refined wording in the employment screen to be more clear about why someone cannot be employed.

- Hovering over productions will no show a countdown as well as the % complete.

- Added more information for each recipe in building info.

- Clicking an ingredient in the recipe window will open the market compare to that item.

- Right clicking an inventory item will open market compare and filter to that item.

- Sick workers try to continue their last task when going back to work.

- Begging balance has been tweaked a lot to bring it into align with other similar systems.

- Tweaked weapon tooltips to better describe what they do.

- Disabled forage command on spouse when foraging is off.

- You will no longer consume drinks automatically when hungry.

- Added rarity to production event notifications.

- Less damage from Seax.

- When going to bed, your character will now default to run.

- Hire window now remains open when hiring people.

- Vikings will now leave if they run out of places to loot.

- Tweaked the horse follow mode to try and keep it out of your way.

- Crops will now show 'growing' when you hover over them in the UI, when they are growing.

NEW

- New advanced gameplay setting - no player aging.

- New advanced gameplay setting - max number of common production events per day.

- Automation - you can now set the number of productions to wait for when transporting with the periodically option.

- Exquisite Bows have been added. They can be made by chance when you have skilled workers making normal bows. Exquisite bows have a higher range than normal bows.

- Pet hens can now surprise you with eggs when you are sleeping at home.

- Weapons can now inflict ?bleeding? which causes damage over time. Can be healed with Balm. Some weapons cause bleeding better than others.

- A new start added for Defenascir - Escaped Prisoner - which makes things a little harder.

- You can now drop items from your pockets or pack. Dropping items will create a little sack on the ground which the AI can pickup.

- Added a new 'Management' system which allows you to purchase the 'Management' upgrade for a businesses and then assign a manager - this works with both automation and manual control. Managers do not work, but rather they provide a continuous supervision buff to increase the production rate of all items being made at that builder. The higher their supervise skill, the higher the buff they provide.

I have also created a translation system that I have started adding into the back end of the game, you won't see any changes yet - but there is magic happening behind the scenes. I've also got a new knowledge base system that I am building that will embed directly into the game, rather than relying on the Wiki. I'm also now ready to dedicate more time to the new map and the Danegeld system.

I hope this update has one or two things that you can enjoy! Again, sorry for the delay.

Much love,

Atorcoppe.

Games Discussion / Re: Black One Blood Brothers

« Last post by Asid on October 19, 2025, 12:02:43 AM »

Something big is coming
Fri, 17 October 2025

Attention, Operators.

You might have seen this, if you're around on the Discord or social media. If you haven't...

Standby for what is going to be the biggest update from Black One Blood Brothers EVER.

Maybe you can have a guess.

Intel is classified. For now.

Stay tuned.

Kane, out.

Games Discussion / Re: Tank Squad Tactical WW II Realtime.

« Last post by Asid on October 18, 2025, 02:32:56 AM »

Game Update 1.1.4
Fri, October 17, 2025

Dear Tankers and Mechanics!

Sitrep
We are back with another patch. This time, we were forced to release it early. Initially, we had planned to release a major update on 11 November. However, issues with the tutorials (the AI gunner was not shooting, thus blocking multi crew) and Unity informing us of critical security issues meant that we had to prepare an earlier patch.

To read more about our latest development progresses make sure to checkout last DEVELOPMENT STATUS #81 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1498130/view/506216199297696167?snr=1_2108_9__2107

What's in Patch 1.1.4

- Graphics overhaul, blurry graphics fix, better sky, shadows and terrain quality
- Lot?s of fixes for AI pathfinding, both for vehicles and infantry
- Issues with ballistics ricochet, the game should be more stable here

Changelog 1.1.4
Below is the full list of changes being made:

Added:

- Keybinding for multi crew toggle and mg reload options
- New voiceovers for Using smoke grenades / extinguishers, no more smoke grenades/extinghuishers, no more ammo or ammo incorrect (played when player hits enemy tank with HE shell without effect)
- Reloading mg with R key (by default)
- Disabling roof mg visibility when player is in commander cupola camera mode (not peeking out)
- Loading progress % of Waiting for all units to be spawned

Fixed:

- KV-1S now correctly applies camouflage and other customizations on turret that has been replaced
- Entering customizer menu disables outline/highlight that was caused by hook of crane
- Entering customizer menu enables vehicle hull visibility (it could be disabled by hook previously)
- AI infantry now uses correctly their weapon as their aiming point origin instead of center of mass
- The game won't block TPP camera on tutorial scenes (it caused error with task that expected player to change camera to TPP)
- Allied tanks when get on fire will say correct voice over
- Mounting and dismounting the turret and then despawning the tank will no longer desync client save state on repair section
- Game will no longer play automatic weapon loop if player playing as character lost control (due to battle ending)
- T-34 tracks should now no longer clip into wheels
- Added quicker reaction to ricochets for voice over and hitcam, the game won't wait 10-15 seconds untill the bullet gets destroyed after flying into the void to say about shot effect
- PTRD now can ricochet
- Added Ricochet voice over as ballistic shot result
- T70 vehicle interior collider was misplaced, sometimes reaching outside the exterior armor
- Added colliders for vehicles for first trench on C1M9 (near first spawn)
- Infantry keep attacking after finishing 3rd objective on C1M9
- Filters now work in Vehicle spawners next to graveyard npc
- Vehicles spawning on repair station should now no longer spawn in air
- A crash of the game that occured on soviet repair section
- Veterans of the War achievement should now work - it wasnt even connected at all
- Error when our AI Gunner in Multicrew mode did not shoot at selected target
- Error when AI infantry sometimes threw grenades or molotovs at significant distances
- PTRD now work

Modified:

- Game version changed from 1.1.3 to 1.1.4
- Graphics overhaul, better shadows, sky and terrain
- Increased price of conversion of all tanks by 3x
- Decreased size of AI vision blocker colliders on few vegetation objects
- Overmatch ballistics mechanic has been disabled as we see it only caused issues. Ricochets should now be better calculated
- Giving orders to our own vehicle will result in specifing which crew role needs to do what
- Added darker background for Info Menu
- Added compressor effect for all VO to be leveled equally
- Added detaching of mudguards/non essentials based on HP and added modifier for penetration of incoming projectile to armor thickness in decision if that armor detaches
- Increased chance to hit crouched/proned units for infantry
- When target moves the shooter will loose his zero-in

What next?
The next patch will bring in gunner direct control when the player is peeked out, battle save system, radial menu for easier control over our units and tank.

Thank you for your support, we are working. See you next time!
DeGenerals

Games Discussion / Re: Battleplan historical, WW2 RTS game of unparalleled realism

« Last post by Asid on October 17, 2025, 12:34:26 AM »

Battleplan | Dev Diary #3 Air Support
Thu, October 16, 2025

The Allies on the western front enjoyed extensive air support

Lets go over the basics so you too can enjoy all the perks aircraft have to offer!

AIRCRAFT

Aircraft are special units they obviously cannot take territory, and don?t fight like regular

ground units. You?ll recruit different types of aircraft to perform different tasks.

CLOSE-AIR SUPPORT

Fighterbombers armed with rockets, cannons & machine-guns swoop down and strafe enemy units, inflicting minor damage but HUGE morale damage & stat penalties. Strafing runs won?t destroy enemy units on their own, but they apply huge stat penalties, making your own ground units have a decisive edge.

You can set your doctrine to have fighter-bombers automatically patrol and aid friendlies in need, or you can give explicit orders to attack enemies within a specified area for a set amount of time.

Closeair support isn?t very effective against enemies in fortifications ? they?re most effective against enemies in the open. Use them to ravage exposed & unfortified enemy units pushing into your territory.

AERIAL RECON

Reconnaissance planes fly overhead, providing many benefits.

- Enemy units are revealed, becoming visible to you on the map. Enemy supply depots can even be spotted from the air, allowing you to plan on capturing them in future offensives.

- Enemy units & positions are ?tagged?, giving them stat penalties due to friendlies knowing their positions ahead of time.

- You also gain ?intel? on the enemy division, learning more information on them such as troop number, types, commanding officer and even their future plans!

CARPET BOMBING

In certain missions, medium bombers are available to make perform a singular ?carpet bombing run?. Bombers fly overhead, dropping a deluge of bombs to plaster enemy positions. Fortifications are damaged or destroyed, enemy units are moderately damaged, and most importantly the majority of enemies break & panic. Use this brief window before their morale recovers to break through their lines and cut them off!

FLAK

Just because the Luftwaffe is mostly a non-threat at this point in the war doesn?t mean your aircraft can get reckless. Enemy flak units (such as the dreaded 88mm flak gun) will fire at your aircraft flying overhead. Flak deals minor damage, heavy morale damage and inflicts a devastating stat penalty. Don?t expect aircraft to perform close-air support or bombing runs very effectively whilst under flak fire! Flak is often positioned near enemy headquarters, so if your recon identifies their HQ you should be able to avoid flak.

FUEL & SUPPLIES

Aircraft take lots of fuel & supplies when performing tasks. After they run out of fuel, they?ll return to their headquarters/airfield (where they also hang out when idle). It?s important to position your headquarters/airfield near a supply depot so aircraft receive supplies quickly enough to refuel. You?ll want your headquarters close to the frontlines so the aircraft don?t have to fly as far, but not too close that they?ll captured or bombarded by enemy ground units.

WHISHLIST NOW:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3743140/Battleplan/

Games Discussion / Re: Field of Glory: Kingdoms

« Last post by Asid on October 16, 2025, 12:07:36 AM »

Field of Glory: Kingdoms - Burghers and Bombards |Announcement + Beta
Tue Oct 14, 2025

Field of Glory: Kingdoms expands with Burghers and Bombards, a new DLC introducing two grand campaigns and powerful new mechanics that mark the dawn of the Renaissance.

Lead the Mongols in the 1223 campaign or shape centuries of history in the Mega Campaign (1054?1470). Master the Advanced Economy, rise with the Guilds, and command the battlefield in the Age of Gunpowder, where bombards, handgunners, and cannon-armed galleys change warfare forever.

Join the Closed Beta now: https://www6.slitherine.com/beta/field-of-glory-kingdoms-burghers-and-bombards

https://www6.slitherine.com/game/field-of-glory-kingdoms-burghers-and-bombards

Games Discussion / Re: Strategic Command: American Civil War

« Last post by Asid on October 15, 2025, 12:24:34 AM »

Concert of Europe - Dev Diary #2
Tue, 14 October 2025

1860 One Lustrous Aim
In the last dev diary, I referenced the trilogy of biographies on Garibaldi written by George Trevelyan as having inspired me to name the 1859 campaign as I did. Perhaps it?s fitting ? Garibaldi in that war played a small but important role as the commander of the Cacciatori delle Alpi, a campaign that rates a brief mention by Trevelyan but little more. In 1860, by contrast, Garibaldi is the defining figure in the story of Italy?s unification, a story Trevelyan spends most of two books recounting. In so doing (and in doing so well) he inspired not only a name but the creation of this campaign.

In studying military campaigns I generally tend against the idea that the personality of a commander will be a dominant factor in determining said campaign?s outcome ? the so-called Great Man Theory of history. Particularly when researching potential games, it is factors such as terrain, available infrastructure, the size, strength and available supplies of each army, which I look most closely at.

Yet if there was ever an argument for the Great Man Theory, it exists in the person of Giuseppe Garibaldi. The Thousand could not have sailed without him, nor could it have succeeded had it lost him. This was a campaign that defied every military maxim ever written, from the fact that Garibaldi?s Thousand defeated a hundred times their number, to his success in a land of fortresses while commanding so little artillery, to his crossing of the Straits of Messina without possessing a navy, and in face of the formidable Bourbon fleet at that.

Before reading Trevelyan, I had never considered Garibaldi?s Expedition a possible setting for a campaign, but his telling of the story was so compelling that I soon added it to the shortlist of campaign options for this expansion. I began creating the map the very next day.

Trevelyan remained my main source while researching the campaign ? very unusually so given it is a biography rather than a history of the war ? but this too seems fitting. The expedition is Garibaldi?s story, and I wanted the campaign to reflect that. In naming this campaign, I turned again to Trevelyan, who quotes ?The Centenary of Garibaldi? by George Meredith twice in his work ? once at the beginning of the second book, to introduce Garibaldi as an exile following the fall of Rome in 1849 but already a man perceived as the future unifier of Italy; and again to open his chapter on the Battle of the Volturno, the epic climax of the Expedition (and a battle which gives rise to a unique victory condition offered in this campaign).

?We who have seen Italia in the throes,
Half risen but to be hurled to ground, and now
Like a ripe field of wheat where once drove plough
All bounteous as she is fair, we think of those
Who blew the breath of life into her frame:
Cavour, Mazzini, Garibaldi: Three:
Her Brain, her Soul, her Sword; and set her free
From ruinous discords, with one lustrous aim.?

The ?one lustrous aim?, to which Garibaldi devoted his life, is the unification of Italy and thus the subject of the campaign itself. I can think of no better epitaph.

1866 Whirlwind of Flame
Another biographer who I need to give a shout-out to is the late Jonathan Steinberg, whose work I first encountered when a lecture he gave about Bismarck appeared in my Youtube feed about the time I began planning out the campaign for the Austro-Prussian War.

Steinberg began that lecture with a quote from Bismarck, to an astonished Benjamin Disraeli, in 1862, in which he outlines his plans to reorganise the Prussian army, provoke a war with Austria and use this to subdue the north German states. Steinberg then labels the unification of Germany the ?greatest diplomatic and political achievement, by any leader in the last two centuries, for Bismarck accomplished all this without commanding a single soldier, without dominating a vast parliamentary majority, without the support of a mass movement, without any previous experience of government, without the charisma of a great orator and in the face of national revulsion at his name and his reputation?. He finishes his introduction by asking a single question: ?how did he do it??

Steinberg spends the remainder of the lecture attempting to answer that question by exploring aspects of Bismarck?s personality, but one possible answer I think he overlooks is just how effectively the Austro-Prussian War was conducted. From its conception through every action of the war on the Prussian side, this was a masterpiece of strategic planning carried out with a ruthless efficiency, illustrated best by another name given to the conflict: The Seven Weeks War. Seven weeks is already a remarkably short length of time for a war to be fought and won, but what?s even more remarkable is that the war?s decisive battle at Koniggratz was fought just half way through week three.

In choosing a name for this campaign, I wanted something that would reflect both the speed and the decisiveness with which the Austro-Prussian War was fought and won. The poem I chose is titled ?Cavalry Charge ? Koniggratz? by John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, with the campaign?s namesake taken from a line in the poem?s seventh stanza. In three words it reflects on both the political revolution Bismarck initiated ? thirty-nine German states at the beginning of the war were reduced to around half a dozen, the experience of the soldiers that participated, and the shock that the rest of Europe must have experienced watching these events from the sidelines.

As I designed the map, I listened to every one of Steinberg?s Bismarck lectures that I could find, while his book ?Bismarck: A Life? arrived shortly before I finished making the campaign. Though it lacks the sort of short, evocative phrasing that makes for good campaign titles, it is not the poem?s seventh stanza but the sixth that offers an answer to Steinberg?s question:

?Their order was perfect and splendid,
And his voice, that at first held them in,
Had rung down their ranks for the onset,
As though it were fate they should win.?

1877 Feel Not the Red Rains Fall
Concert of Europe aims to tell a single tale. The five campaigns, while each self-contained and intriguing in their own right, have all been chosen for their parts in this story. Each chapter was brought on by the events of its predecessor, and laid the unlikely path to its successor.

The story is that of Europe?s reaction, three decades long, to the revolutions of 1848. First it was one of those revolutions, and the Tsar?s efforts to crush it, that gave Russia the confidence to embark on a war, known to us as Crimea but begun in the Balkans. It was Sardinia?s contribution to the Crimean War that won them the support of Napoleon III and allowed them to embark on war with Austria. It was Magenta and Solferino that sparked a wave of nationalism in Italy, creating the conditions that would enable Garibaldi?s expedition to succeed. It was a Prussian alliance with the now-unified Italy that split Austria?s forces, enabling Bismarck to shatter them at Koniggratz. So how does this story end? It ends where it began, in the Balkans. This is the seat of Europe?s last 19th-century war, and where Bismarck asserted Germany?s new place in the diplomatic world at the Congress of Berlin.

The poem in this case is ?A Watch in the Night?, its author Algernon Charles Swinburne. This poem is my favourite of the five I have quoted, partly because there are many ways to read it. The line I have chosen for the campaign title alone can be read to refer to the rains that troubled the armies during this war ? a campaign in which the weather steadily worsened, beginning in early summer and ending in March. The ?red rains? can evoke images of blood, whether from the atrocities denounced by Gladstone in 1876 which caused the war, or the tens of thousands who perished during the conflict. ?Feel not? can echo Gladstone?s frustrations about Britain?s neutrality at the beginning of the war, or it can welcome Bismarck?s efforts to restore Europe?s peace at its end.

I have chosen this poem not just for its reflection on a war that, at the time of writing (1868) had not yet been fought, but for how it represents this period of history as a whole. The fourth stanza describes men ?mowed us as sheaves for the grave? ? an increasingly common image as weaponry improved ? but also notes that ?freely to freedom we gave?, which encapsulates the aspirations of those who took part in the Springtime of Nations.

The poem also reflects on the fate of nations by 1878: England (?warm, no season to weep?), entering its period of global hegemony and splendid isolation; France (?crowned, there is no more France?) shattered by the defeat of 1870; Italy (?a light too strong for a star?) and Germany (?long has it lulled me with dreams?) emerging as united nations for the first time. The final stanza reads as follows:

?Liberty, what of the night?
I feel not the red rains fall,
Hear not the tempest at all,
Nor thunder in heaven any more.
All the distance is white
With the soundless feet of the sun.
Night, with the woes that it wore,
Night is over and done.?

With this the story closes. I hope it is one you enjoy playing as much as I enjoyed creating.

Games Discussion / Re: Strategos : Classical antiquity RTS wargame

« Last post by Asid on October 14, 2025, 12:07:57 AM »

Progress Update 8
Mon, October 13, 2025

UI Overhaul, AI improvements, Hannibal campaign, and many more changes

We've been very busy since the last update, especially on the UI, AI and getting the demo ready for the Next Fest (which is now live!).

UI

The largest update these past 6 weeks or so has been a complete overhaul of the menu UI, especially for unit selection in the battle simulator (including all new functionality for selecting options from portrait popups and the unit panel), although there have also been minor edits to the in-battle UI. The main menu, settings, and key rebinds pages have also been updated. The manual text is also updated and better formatted, including new POA tables. We've also started adding faction icons, and new unit portraits.

We've also added fixes for different resolutions, including 16:10 and ultra-wide, and improved waypoint visuals and top down banners. All fonts and tooltips are updated, the tutorial gif UI is improved, and the improved combat log is searchable by unit number. We also updated the tutorial texts, significantly decreasing their length and improving clarity

Localization

We are continuing to improve localization, and we have also added a new and improved Cyrillic font. Strategos will also now include Simplified Chinese in the initial release!

Maps

Made some fixes to the tutorial map visuals, and various minor edits and fixes to other map visuals and terrain colliders.

Optimization

Massively optimized load times, especially for game startup, as well as some minor optimizations to basic soldier movement and velocity calculations.

Armies

Added a Kappadokian (Early) list, and did overhauls to the Pyrrhic, Kappadokian, Carthaginian, Antigonid, and Pergamenid lists.

AI

There has been an overhaul to many aspects of AI formation moving, making them especially better at dealing with doing minor fights and then realigning before further advancing. Cavalry evasion calculations vs certain enemies have been updated, and they are better at defending obstacles like river banks now. Light horse units are more intelligent and aggressive about when to charge light foot and when to take opportunistic flanks. The AI and deployment of bowmen armies have improved, and the AI's treatment of player bowmen armies has correspondingly gotten better. General evasion and skirmishing AI has improved, and so has the reenactment AI for Bibracte and Raphia. The AI has better control over far flank units when the player deploys at extreme angles, and there are improvements to the aggression and intelligence of AI flanking cavalry, and finally the AI has improved its use and formation movement of reserves.

Combats

fixes to many aspects of combat code, improving rotation speed on overlap charge visuals,

fix to issues with recoil re-charge

fix to goadable charges

fixed warband vs elephants POA and some other POA calculations

improved overlap charges

improved visuals of flank attacks

improved intelligence of automatic and manually given flank charges at certain angles to take better unblocked flanks

Campaigns

Added Hannibal text-based campaign

updated Early Rome campaign texts

further progress on map-based campaign

updates to many text-based campaign writings and battle balance

Balance

more balancing around different unit type run speeds

adjustments to pursuit times

Visuals

overhaul of animation controller for speed matching animations

SFX

fixes to looping march audio

added more on-click buttons sounds

Miscellaneous

improved splash screen and startup background

fixed some edge cases bugs with percent force points calculations

fixes to setting visibility for routed units

made aiming arc orange if unit selected