Panzers East - Tactical Warfare on the Russian Front 1941-1945 Panzers East is the name of Arsenal Publishing's upcoming WWII grand-tactical armor game. Based on Arsenal's award-winning TacOps, Panzers East turns the clock back to the early 1940's in Eastern Europe, and places the computer gamer squarely in command during some of the most famous and crucial battles of the Twentieth Century. Historical research, unit and game data, scenario design, and documentation are being done by Ed Rains, one of the original designers of Three-Sixty Pacific's V for Victory series, and co-author of Arsenal's recent Utah Beach Battlebook. Programming is being done by I.L. Holdridge, designer and programmer of Arsenal's TacOps. Like TacOps, Panzers East is grand-tactical in scale, intermediate between traditional tactical games and operational-level simulations. Most units in the game represent platoons and companies of tanks, assault guns, infantry, and support weapons, although dispersal to individual vehicles, guns, and squads is easily accomplished if the player so desires. Also like TacOps, the time scale of Panzers East is one minute per game-turn, and the realistic terrain map does not use hexagons. But there the similiarities between the two start to end. The map scale of Panzers East is 5 meters per pixel, half that of TacOps. This means that one kilometer spans approximately three inches on the screen. The scale change (in effect, a 50 percent zoom in from TacOps) allows larger unit symbols and graphics, with recognizable vehicle silhouettes. In what may be a first for a tactical computer game, the scenario maps in Panzers East will be accurate (not abstract) representations of the actual terrain of the battle being depicted, including elevation changes. Several terrain maps of various sizes will be included, covering many different types of terrain, including open steppe, rolling hills, rivers, deep gulleys, dense forests, and urban areas. The smaller maps will fit easily on one computer screen, and the larger ones will offer huge areas for maneuvering your forces. As the name implies, Panzers East covers action on the Russian Front from 1941-1945, with each scenario representing a separate engagement. More than twenty historical scenarios will be included in the box, each with a large number of possible variations. In addition to the 20-plus ready-to-play scenarios, players will be able to create their own customized scenarios, using any of the maps included in the game, and standard TO&E unit templates (also included). Scenarios in Panzers East will range from small infantry-only actions with a few platoons on each side and covering only a few square kilometers, to huge armored engagements with hundreds of vehicles and covering 50 or more square kilometers, such as the climactic battles near Kursk. All the famous German and Russian armored vehicles of WWII will be included and available, from the tiny PzKw I and T-60 light tanks right up to the mighty King Tiger and JSU-152. Also included for use in player-selectable variants and options will be late-war "might have beens" like the enormous German Maus and the Russian JS-III heavy tanks. Each vehicle is accurately modeled with respect to armor locations and thicknesses, weapons ranges and capabilities, mobility, and "soft" factors such as command/control and crew capabilities. Most of the different types of infantry and heavy weapons units fielded by both sides are also included, along with realistic treatments of off-map artillery barrages and tactical air support. Players in Panzers East will be able to command either side against the computer or another player. The game will also allow two-player play by network and by BBS e-mail. Using the already-capable TacOps computer opponent as a starting point, the computer AI will be fine-tuned to provide a challenging opponent that utilizes historically accurate tactics for both Russians and Germans. With TacOps, Arsenal established itself as an industry leader in customer service and product support. This tradition will continue with Panzers East. After release of Panzers East, Arsenal will start work on a package of additional Russian Front scenarios and enhancements to the basic game engine. By focusing Panzers East on the Russian Front exclusively, more historical detail, accuracy, and "chrome" can be included in the unit data and program code. This approach also permits the inclusion of a large variety of unusual units, weapons, and vehicles that would be out of place in a more generic game. We predict that wargamers, historians, military enthusiasts, and armchair generals will all find Panzers East to be fascinating, challenging, addictive, and fun! Panzers East Program Information Game scale * Grand Tactical * 5 meters per pixel (approx. 3 inches per kilometer on the screen) * 1 minute per game-turn Game features * Accurate, full-color terrain maps * At least 20 historical scenarios * Custom scenario templates for design-your-own engagements * All significant vehicles, units, and weapons from the Russian Front 1941-45 * Command either side against the computer or another player * Two-player network and BBS e-mail supported * Extensive database of unit and weapon characteristics Macintosh System Requirements * Color Monitor (or 256 shades of gray) * System 7 with at least 4 MB of RAM reserved for the program Windows system requirements * Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 with at least 4 MB of RAM reserved for the program * Standard SVGA graphics card * Standard sound card Target release date: 2nd Quarter 1996 Hank Meyer Some amplification for the "Arsenal blurb" than Hank posted. >Macintosh System Requirements Will require a double speed (or better) CDROM. There will be no floppy disk version. >PC/Windows system requirements Will require a double speed (or better) CDROM. There will be no floppy disk version. There will be no DOS version. >Target release date: 2nd Quarter 1996 That was before I had to get personally involved in the contemporary TacOps Windows conversion. Looking at late summer now for Panzers East - particularly if we try to get the Mac and Windows versions on the same CD. We may just opt to aim for release at ORIGINS - I have a personal nostalga for the days when ORIGINS was a big deal to game companies . Best regards, Major H majorh1@aol.com