Now that we have completed the ‘So you want to design a Wargame’ series, I thought I would give you some insight into what is coming next.

Firstly though, I thought it best to put all the links to the prior series of posts in this blog entry so no one misses any of the prior missives. I haven’t worked out a good way that I can display everything in one spot, but that is more a factor of time rather than effort!

Here are the direct links to each of the entries for the ‘So you want to design a Wargame’ blog series;

1. So you want to design a Wargame? Link
2. The German Order of Battle at Maleme, Crete Link
3. The Allied Order of Battle at Maleme, Crete Link
4. Mapping Maleme, Crete Link
5. Unit Imagery for Maleme, Crete Link
6. Vehicle Graphics for Maleme, Crete and Beyond Link
7. Map Graphics for Maleme, Crete Link
8. Scenario Creation for Maleme, Crete (Part One) Link
9. Scenario Creation for Maleme, Crete (Part Two) Link
10. Scenario Creation for Maleme, Crete (The Final Part) Link

Now to what is coming next….

We are hopeful that we will have the official Patch 1.02 for both Panzer Battles – Kursk & Normandy out in the next week or so. To date the feedback from the beta testing has been very positive.

The changes are pretty extensive for both games. Kursk is getting all the enhancements that were delivered with the Normandy 1.01 patch as well as the latest improvements in features.

These features include improved user interface, new terrain graphics and simplified folder structures. For Normandy, many of the scenarios have been revamped based upon player feedback and further research and the map has had an extensive review by a dedicated member of the team – Chris Haigh. Chris has added over 3,000 new labels to the map as well as correcting terrain errors and inaccuracies. Many more points of interests are named and players will really notice the difference.

We will also be launching these two games as Wargame Design Studio (WDS) versions and to celebrate this we have included two new optional ‘start-up’ covers for each game. The intent is to standardize the look and feel of the Panzer Battles series going forward so that the titles are easily identifiable.

Kursk now has both the Soviet light machine gunner and Panzer commander;

Normandy includes an American paratrooper and a young Hitlerjugend grenadier;

These covers now align with the next two releases in the series, the Demo and the third title in the Panzer Battles series;

As far as these latter titles, they are coming together. A lot of work has been done on both and we’re really happy with the results we are seeing to date.

For the Demo, we have some new designers who are learning the trade and building some fabulous gaming situations.

Here is a shot from a section of David Michas’ Battle of Hannut;

Chris Maiorana is working on the Soviet operations post Kursk in the summer of 1943 and these mobile actions are a far cry from the battering rams required at Kursk;

We’re hopeful that the demo will be a great showcase of both the flexibility of the game system as well as a chance for us to provide a range of interesting battle situations to the gaming community.

Panzer Battles 3 has recently had its scope increased and there will be a strong emphasis on the Italians, a force that has rarely been covered in-depth. We aim to change that and give players a firsthand perspective on the most numerous of Axis combatants in the Mediterranean.

Here is a shot from one of Rick Bancroft’s Italian centric scenarios;

Everything shown here is work in process and quite possibly subject to change but it gives you an idea of the amount of activity within the team. We’re working hard and progress is being made.

Until our next post….