DesertFox Posted May 15, 2000 Share Posted May 15, 2000 SP-Camo Workshop brings you a bigger and better Steel Panthers ! Welcome to our preview of the NEW SP:WW2 (Version 3)! V3 enlarges on our previous versions and has been re-built literally from the ground up. So What Are the Major New Changes? SP:WW2 V3 allows you to choose from NINE map sizes to a maximum of 100x200 hexes. All other Steel Panthers based games offer three map sizes to a maximum of 100x80 hexes. This change allows you to play a game on a simulated battlefield of up to 50 square Kilometers! SP:WW2 V3 now gives you up to FIFTEEN levels of terrain to work with. All other Steel Panthers based games allow only three elevations above ground level. SP:WW2 V3 now allows each player to command up to 500 units. The previous limit for SP:WW2 was 200. The maximum number of formations per side has been increased to 200, it was about 50 before. SP:WW2 V3 has removed many of the previous terrain editing restrictions in the original SP games. Now, every terrain feature except swamp and pavement can be edited into any level on a map. Cultivated fields and multi-hex buildings can be placed on any level. This new feature is not simply restricted to hand made maps and scenarios! Computer generated maps will now use 24 variables when creating a map! Previous SP map generation routines used only 10 variables and only 6 of those actually caused changes to the maps . In addition, we have added 100 new battle locations over and above what were published in SP:WW2 ver 2.2. As a result, you will be presented with MUCH more interesting computer generated maps than ever before. AI map deployment has been completely overhauled and the computer set up has been made much more challenging than in the previous versions of the game. Here is a short overview of what is available in the new SP:WW2 V3. The following only represents a partial list of changes. Maps and Terrain 9 map sizes: 40x100, 60x100, 80x100, 100x100, 120x100, 140x100, 160x100, 180x100, 200x100. Up to 15 levels of elevation can be created. There have been an additional 20 terrain tile SHP file SETS added to the game so as to allow old features such as crops to be edited onto higher elevations. We have added numerous new functional terrain features such as Snowdrifts, Light snow, Rice paddies, Mud, Orchards, Impassable Terrain, Hedgerows, and Trenches. Terrain descriptive text can now be added on scenario maps. Additionally, elevations can be changed right on the map so if you wish to place a small elevation change in a map to break up LOS, that can now be done. Battle locations SP:WW2 V3 now has 237 unique battle locations built into it! With the increased number of map variables the code uses you will now see computer generated maps that could only have been hand made before. ( and with the added elevations and new terrain could never have been made before ) For example; Hedgerows are auto generated in Normandy maps, Raised dike roads in Holland, Pacific maps will have rice paddies and raised rice paddy bunds. Streams create valleys across the map now rather than run up and down hillsides. Cultivated fields may be bordered by trees and the fields themselves are much more realistically generated than in the past. You will find maps that contain rolling hills covered in high grass or deep ravines that cut across flat plateaus. New Units We have added over 100 new unit classes to the MOB’s. Many of these have special characteristics such as ski troops which move faster than regular infantry in snow terrain. There are now 169 unit classes in SP:WW2 V3! PLUS we have added new code modifiers to the Orders of Battle which allow us to create formations with increased or decreased battle experience and morale! This has allowed us to create Elite and sub standard formations which gives us much greater freedom to create more historically accurate formations for the game. More units and formations may be added to the Orders of Battle in the future. Appropriate points are now charged depending on the national characteristics when that option is selected. If your base experience for that year is above 70, you will be charged more points, if less, your troops will cost less. Contrast this to previous SP versions where some nations received a free bonus and others such as the French in 1940 were paying full cost for less capable units. Elite units such as SS will now cost over and above the national base cost, but less capable units like Volksturm will cost below the national average. We have also created new bunkers including turreted forts and Panzerturms as well as Caves. World War II Long Campaigns SP:WW2 V3 now includes a long WW2 campaign similar to the one included with the original SP game. We have written long campaigns for the following countries: USA, UK, Germany, USSR, Canada and Italy. (We will add other nations and cover the Pacific front in a later release). Campaign Engine Improvements: The Campaign upgrade screen is now at the start of next game so upgrades will be at that battle date. Previously, you upgraded at the end of the last battle and therefore would be required to carry obsolete equipment forwards. The update screen has been upgraded to include a review option allowing you to look at unit statistics. We have additionally added a new encyclopedia button to this screen. The campaign upgrade paths have been overhauled. For example; a towed artillery piece can now become an SP gun (which previously was not possible). The player can use these “cross overs” to change core units as desired over the life of a campaign, the same towed gun which upgraded to an SP Gun is now considered ‘armor’ and so could finally become a tank (if this was desired). Finally, we have doubled the Campaign core unit limit to 200 units. User Generated Campaigns: Linked and Branching We have written new code which allows up to 999 scenarios to be linked together creating user generated campaigns. Unlike SP3, which was limited to a straight linear progression, SP:WW2 V3 has linked campaigns which can branch to different scenarios depending on what the end battle results are (there are 5 end conditions ranging from total defeat to stunning victory). The designer can determine final victory from the number of battle victory points, and optionally reward players who have unspent campaign repair points with extra victory points as a reward for prudent players. Designers can write their own descriptive introductory texts for each battle location and also separate end game messages for each of the possible exit conditions for each battle. Graphics Over 150 SHP files have been either added or improved in SP:WW2 V3! This includes an additional 60 unit Icons. The result is that SP:WW2 V3 now has over 570 individual unit Icons! Reinforcements Reinforcements have been added for scenario design and uses a system similar to that in Steel Panthers 3, but with a number of improvements . Reinforcements can easily be set up to appear on ANY hex on the map and the chance of arriving can be adjusted from 10% to 100%. Reinforcement units can carry passengers and off map support units can be selected as reinforcements. General Game Enhancements ( short list, there’s much more ) The AI will now frequently fire a preliminary bombardment when you have an “advance” mission. Tanks, both yours and the AI’s, will often turn to face their opponents thus presenting their thicker frontal armor. If they have smoke dischargers they will now often use them. The AI will fire smoke more often than before. This is a random event and not predictable. In the defense, AI units are now deployed in much improved “killing zone” formations. Thus they will cover better arcs to spot you and the AI will sometimes place pillboxes turned so as to generate flanking fire. A help file facility has been added for basic in game help (for example to point users to the game documentation or the list of new hotkeys we have added). A ‘bail out’ key for vehicle crews has been added, so you can retreat and perhaps save your vehicle crews from immobilized wrecks! SP:WW2 V3 reports firing ranges in yards (or metres, user’s choice) rather than the previous count of hexes . Indirect firers now correctly report as firing indirectly. A building ‘lock’ facility in the editor allows you to repeat a selected building during placement and is ideal for quickly building city grids. In the encyclopedia, we have presented the user with the basic ammunition loads for a unit. This information not previously available outside an actual battle. Additionally the OB designer can write descriptive text for each unit which will be displayed in the encyclopedia. The encyclopedia is accessible from many more locations than before to aid decision making. For example; on the main battle screen or in the campaign upgrade menu Allies are available, you can buy supporting troops from an allied nation, or if desired, buy those of an opponent and mark them as captured forces (they will then use your national flag, leader names, and qualities). Firing ranges can now be set during deployment. This was not possible with an SP2 based game before. Darkened hexes can be cleared during Artillery plotting Rafts are now useable! In previous SP games when too many infantry were deployed in the water in rafts, the game would crash. SP Camo Workshop has fixed this problem. Additionally, rafts will now use a rifle type weapon to provide a little self defense. Air units, if called in too close to your own forces, will often engage your forces instead of the enemy (more like Steel Panthers 1). Very close air support is now the dangerous proposition that it really was in WW2! Units can now be stacked during initial deployment phase. Jungle grass: When high grass is set in a jungle map (palm trees on) then it gets a bonus random 3 foot height to represent the sort of high grass or bamboo found in tropics. Major changes have been made to the OOB code ( Orders Of Battle ). Previous versions of SP2, SP3 and SPWW2 allowed 249 units, 199 formations and 249 weapons. SPWW2 V3 allows the creation of up to 599 units, 399 formations and 249 weapons in it’s lists for each country. The game will also have a copy of a new MOBHACK in it’s own sub directory for use in creating custom OOB’s OOB’s have been extensively redone. Accuracy and authenticity are greatly improved over previous versions. Even small details, such as proper SABOT ammunition availability, have been addressed. Artillery Effectiveness: Player Preference The artillery routines have been extensively reworked. However, since there are various opinions on just how effective artillery should or should not be, we have added an artillery effectiveness control to the Player Preferences which will allow players to fine tune the effect of artillery. Scenarios Due to the huge number of programming changes that have been made, unfortunately, no saved game, PBEM game or Scenario made for any previous version of SP:WW2 will work with the new SP:WW2 V3. However, we are preparing all NEW scenarios to be released with the game under the expert direction of Marc Bellizzi and an all new team of scenario designers. Included will also be two linked campaigns, Stalingrad and Monte Cassino. In Conclusion: You will find all this and much, much more in the new SP:WW2 V3! The release date for SP:WW2 V3 is July 10, 2000 and it will be available on TGN (http://spcamo.thegamers.net/). Due to the large number of changes made to SP:WW2 V3, we need to release it as a complete game (not as a patch). We have tried to keep the download size to a minimum and it is currently projected to be under 30MB. The SP Camo group is an uncompensated, voluntary group of 12 hobbyists committed to improving the Steel Panthers game system for the benefit of other hobbyists to enjoy. It has now been 28 months since our original game SP2WW2 was conceived and developed. After releasing several upgrades, we still have many new ideas to implement and will continue to develop this game further. We thank SSI and TGN for the opportunity to do so and hope that you enjoy playing the game as much as we have enjoyed creating it. On Behalf Of The SP Camo Group: Don Goodbrand, Andy Gailey Producers/Programmers Helge ------------------ Sbelling chequed wyth MICROSOFT SPELLCHECKER - vorgs grate! - The DesertFox - Email: desertfox1891@hotmail.com WWW: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Capsule/2930/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattias Posted May 15, 2000 Share Posted May 15, 2000 Congrats DesertFox! Another fine testimony to the strength of enthusiast and a sound game engine The first SP:WW2 really made SP live on for me and by the look of it the V3 will take that even further. Good job Cheers! M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hnh3_cm Posted May 15, 2000 Share Posted May 15, 2000 Yes, I am really looking forward to this. These are the sorts of changes I really want in the SP series. Great job, guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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