Shrapnel Games Blog

I was a bit concerned to hear Scott Udell refer to our next-generation project, Air Assault Task Force, as “vaporware” in his recent article at Wargamer.com (see http://www.wargamer.com/articles/roadtowar_1/ for the 16 March 05 article). Not upset, mind you, just concerned. I guess I can see where he is coming from. I do a lot of communicating on a daily basis with players of our current games, BCT Commander, Armored Task Force, and Raging Tiger. But, as I do a little reflection on the aforementioned article, I realize that I am not doing a good enough job of keeping our fans apprised of the upcoming releases from ProSIM Company.

I hope to remedy this here, and resolve to do better job of keeping everyone informed about our progress.

“The Vision Thing”

After the release of Armored Task Force, I began to feel that we were selling our fans a bit short. We were absolutely putting our all into each game, but that took time. As a result, we were averaging three years between releases. And no matter how much content or how many scenario building tools you put in a game, that is just too long to make a fan wait for a new game.

The result was the ATF Engine Project. The idea was simple. We would find teams that were as passionate about wargames as we were, arm them with the tools they needed to make their ideas a reality, and provide top-quality games to our fans. Here were the principles that we decided on when we began the project.

As for the ProSIM Company’s core developers, the idea was that we would deliver a set of code changes to each game in the ATF Engine Project, extending the usefulness of the Engine to multiple genres and situations, and then go, full bore, into development of Air Assault Task Force, while the ATF Engine Project games took shape.

What’s Gone Right

The first game in the ATF Engine Project, Raging Tiger: The Second Korean War, was released late Summer, 2004. It brought a slew of innovations to the ATF Engine: reinforcements arriving during game play, locked and partially controlled units, amphibious operations, and civilians on the battlefield, to name a few. Lead developer, Curt Pangracs, really raised the bar on modern wargaming, and he isn’t resting on his laurels.

As he announced on the Blog last month, he is getting very near to completion on a almost completely historical game, The Star and the Crescent: The Arab-Israeli Wars, 1956-2009. I say “almost completely historical game” because the title will also include some very real hypothetical military operations set in the near future.

Another project that we are very excited about is also nearing completion. Gary Bezant’s historical simulation, The Falklands War: 1982, is the most realistic and thorough treatment of this conflict ever attempted. Described by early testers as “an interactive history book” it really does teach as it entertains (its still fun, I promise ). It starts with 100% authentic British and Argentine maps and orders, takes off running, and never stops.

There is also a team hard at work on our first treatment of the War on Terror. War in Afghanistan begins with a “prologue” mini-campaign covering the Soviet-Afghan war, and then takes you through all of the major battles of Operation Enduring Freedom. It wraps up by giving you a chance to catch Ossama Bin Laden yourself! All of the elements of the ultra-realistic simulations you have come to expect from ProSIM Company are there.

What Hasn’t Gone Right (sorta…)

What can I say? The developers here at ProSIM Company love war games. So, when the teams working on the ATF Engine Project came to us with ideas for adding additional capabilities to the ATF Engine… well… they were really good ideas.

We had to make a decision: add the great capabilities, and temporarily delay work on Air Assault Task Force, or deny the new ideas and drive on with coding Air Assault Task Force.

Well, the good news is that we have some really great new capabilities in the upcoming ATF Engine Games. We have added variable skill levels, both at the beginning of the game to increase re-playability, and in specific units in scenarios, to simulate the disparate training levels of coalition forces. We have also increased the resolution of maps at higher zoom levels, so that you can really get “down in the weeds” if you want, and see your subordinates slugging it out on the ground (all still controlled by the same ATF Engine AI, if you desire). We have added all kinds of radars, from aerial platforms like J-STARS to counterfire radars like the Q-36 and 37. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are tons of other new innovations in these upcoming games.

And the rest of the good news is that we have wrapped up all of the engine changes and are now back at work on Air Assault Task Force.

So What is AATF?!?

Air Assault Task Force is, quite simply, the next step in the evolution of wargames. It starts where the ATF Engine leaves off, and then launches into orbit! He are a few of the design principles that we can share with you now.

There are a lot of other great features taking shape in Air Assault Task Force, but, like I said at the outset, I have resolved to do a better job of communicating what the future holds to our fans. So it is my intent that this will be the first of many updates on our progress.

So for now, I will leave you with our latest crack at release dates (which, as always, carries a cautionary note on the unpredictability of software development). Thanks to all of our great fans for their support, suggestions, commitment, and energy over the years. You guys really are what keeps us going!