Behind the Lines
January 2006
In This Issue
A Letter from the Editor
Welcome to 2006 everyone! Let me just say that,
apart from our neighbors nearly setting their house ablaze with illegal
fireworks, this was the quietest new year I have had in ages... So thank
you to all the people who left me alone for a day! Mind you, it was
just twice as busy when we returned from our day off, but for a brief 24
hours I was in heaven. Let me not bore you any more with the day to
day life of the newsletter editor. Instead, lets focus on some cool
items we have lined up for this little shindig. We've got
interviews, satire, and an After Action Report that's over 100 pages long!
Well, ok, more like a LINK to an AAR over 100 pages long... but that's
still pretty darn cool.
So sit back, grab a cup of bevvy-drink, and enjoy the
first issue of Behind the Lines for 2006! Oh and don't forget to give
me feedback on this month's newsletter. Send your thoughts to
JoeL@matrixgames.com.
Sincerely,
Joe Lieberman, Editor
Feature: Battleground Europe
To sum it up in one sentence: Battleground Europe is like real
life war, without any of that getting shot nonsense. What is it?
Well, in case you hadn't heard of it before, it is a Massive Multiplayer
Online Game (MMOG). To be more specific, it is a First-Person
Shooter MMOG. Now wait, before you write this off as some lame
fantasy setting where you spend 25 hours killing small rodents before your
axe wielding psychopath can dare challenge a small child with a fork, let
me tell you exactly what Battleground Europe is. It is a realistic
first person combat simulation where every other person you meet is a live
human opponent. It contains a strong mix of tactics, action, and
hiding in uncomfortable places while mortar, bombs, and enemy fire explode
all around you.
Yes, in short, it rocks. It contains dozens of realistic weapons,
hundreds of realistic cities, and the entire world is pretty much
interactive. Players can fly planes, sail ships, and take to the good
old ground to capture cities and objectives. One of the things
that will instantly grab you is the sound effects. Sounds are
realistic, and each gunshot has a specific sound tied to a specific weapon.
I am told there are many veterans who know, just by the sound alone, if
person shooting nearby is friend or foe... and just what weapon he is using!
It doesn't end there though. While you are out in the countryside it
is pretty quiet. You hear your boots, maybe he occassional plane in
the distance, and that's about all. Enter a warzone and the atmosphere
changes radically. There will be the whistle of bombs falling,
explosive blasts (you can usually see those too), planes flying and
crashing, AA guns chugging away, tanks rolling, and plenty of bullets
flying. It's like a non-stop audio assault that relays the battle
without even seeing... and trust me- it is a LOT safer to stay hidden and
listen than it is to poke your head out a window to watch the goings-on.
BUT MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL:
We will be featuring a special Matrix Allied Task-Force Invades
Battleground Europe WEEKEND event. We've talked the good fellows
over at Playnet into offering up a special 14 day trial, completely free.
To kick off this special offer, Matrix Games will get their own special
channel inside the game. Once you download the demo and join the
Allies (Britain or France) and tune to channel 79 by clicking F7
on your chat bar, selecting "Custom" and entering the numbers 79.
You'll get a chance
to play Battleground Europe alongside all your Matrix friends, the
developers, the Matrix staff, and a variety of "newbie" helpers who will be
volunteering to organize us into an effective and ruthless unit. The
Germans are winning with the entrance of the Tiger tank, and we can't have
that (No offense to the Germans out there)! So join the Matrix
Allied Task-Force on Jan 28 and Jan 29 for the first ever in-game event
for Matrix fans. This is your best opportunity to try Battleground
Europe, and we are bringing it to you absolutely free!
The free trial download will be available on Friday, Jan 27th at around
4:00 PM Eastern Time. You can download it from
www.battleground-europe.com.
So come on, or I will be lonely in there... I can only take on 10,
maybe 20 Germans at a time... I need your help!
Wargaming and Romance, Never the
Twain Shall Meet
I apologize in advance to female wargamers, but our survey indicated that
the male wargamers were most in need of advice.
Ask a wargamer what V-Day is and you'll get a mix of answers.
Some will say it is victory in Europe, some the Pacific, and others will
give the exact date and time of either of those events. Usually,
none of them will suggest that it is valentine's day. Some would say
that wargamers have a lot to learn about romance, but we all know it is
the women who have a lot to learn about romancing a wargamer. I took
some time to talk with some of the guru wargamers on V-Day romance; here
is the result.
#1: An Explosive Evening: Nothing says "I Love You"
more than fireworks- Except shooting cannons. We recommend no
less than a 3 inch bore with a 7 inch muzzle. Firing black powder
cannons in a safe environment... true romance.
#2: Storming the Bastille: Most fortresses overlook
water. Water is romantic right? Get cracking as you re-enact
what it would be like to defend a fortress from a raid in a variety of
century-specific settings. A romantic game of storm the battlements
will always result in a perfect view of a harbor or water-way!
#3: Show your Soft Side: Girls love a tender guy.
V-Day is your chance to show her your softest moment. Visit a local
national war memorial and pay homage to those who gave their lives to
protect your freedom! Shed a tear and she'll be yours all year!
#4: Impress Her With History: Hey, history isn't ALL
about war! Something darn important happened on Valentine's day that
resulted in the decline of Al Capone's empire. The turning point in
the bootleg wars of the roaring 20s happened in Chicago in 1929. So
find a local speak easy and retell the story of the St. Valentine's Day
Massacre... do it with miniatures and you'll earn some bonus points.
#5: Game On!: Why be tied down to do something extra
special when you can say you love her on a variety of hex sizes.
Find a significant battle and lay out your soldiers to spell out something
romantic before they charge valiantly into the field. We recommend
the War of the Roses, because girls like roses.
And so it goes: Wargamers and Romance, never the twain shall
meet.
Note: If you do any of the above items, I am not to be held
accountable for the result. Any of the above actions may result in
your taking out the trash for the rest of eternity, doing 3-5 in the dish
department, or even death by cold-shoulder after spending a night in the
dog-house.
Interview with Dave O'Connor
BTL: Hi Dave, could
you please introduce yourself to our fans? Who are you, where are you from,
what experience do you have?
Dave: I’m
Dave O’Connor, President of Panther Games. I am 50 years old. I live in
Canberra, the capital of Australia. I grew up in Newcastle, New South Wales,
about 160kms north of Sydney. Like many people of my age, I have had a range
of experiences. Work wise, I have been an articled clerk in a law firm, a
training officer at Garden Island dockyard in Sydney, a senior policy
officer in the Strategic and International Policy division of our Department
of Defense, an officer in our Army Reserve, a database developer, a designer
and manufacturer of board games, a company director and developer of
computer wargames.
I’m married ( over 30
years now ) with two children. My son is just starting university and my
daughter is sweet 16 ( going on 25 ). I work from home, which is both
rewarding and challenging.
BTL: Tell us a little
about Conquest of the Aegean.
Dave:
Conquest of the Aegean ( COTA ) is the third in our Airborne Assault series
of realistic computer operational level wargames. Like it’s predecessors Red
Devils over Arnhem ( RDOA ) and Highway to the Reich ( HTTR ) it’s a
Pausable Continuous Time ( PCT ) game whose artificial intelligence ( AI )
makes it stand out from the rest of the wargaming pack. The AI is powerful
enough to be trusted to manage subordinate commanders. This allows it to
support a realistic command system and enable the player to focus on the
things that real world operational level commanders focus on. In short it
supports macro-management. Players can still micromanage but they don’t have
to. So players will find that there is more fun than work, playing COTA than
playing your traditional turn based micromanagement wargames.
Our game engine has
undergone some serious development work for COTA and includes a swag of new
features. The biggest of these is the Realistic Resupply system and the
Mixed Mode Movement system. Over all the AI is significantly improved. We’ve
listened to our customers and addressed many of the items on the “wish list”
like better basing code for artillery, better delay code, new and improved
reaction and reassessment code. The user interface ( UI ) has also been
enhanced. It now supports a minimum screen size of 1024 x 768 and can be
customized to work on the largest of today’s monitors. We’ve taken advantage
of the extra space to display more data in the sidebar, an Order of Battle
display, a display tool bar at the bottom of the screen, new Depot and
supply arrival tabs, enhanced terrain popup and many other UI improvements
to make it easier to access info and play the game.
BTL: How realistic
will the scenarios be compared to what was actually going on at the time?
Dave: Steve Long
did most of the historical research on COTA. He was given tremendous
assistance from the Australian Dept of Defense, who arranged access to many
historical records. Xavier Davis did most of the maps and these were based
on scans of the WW2 maps of the region, provided by the Australian National
Library. So the historical scenarios are very close to what actually
happened in terms of unit organization, orders of battles, objectives and
the terrain on which they were fought
BTL: Is it a campaign
or a scenario driven system for COTA?
Dave: While we
intended to add a Campaign feature to COTA we had to shelve this in order to
incorporate the mixed mode movement system required to effectively simulate
the rugged Greek terrain, much of which was impassable to motorized but
passable to foot and mule. In HTTR terrain was either passable or impassable
to all units. Motorised units could move through forests, albeit very
slowly, but they were not prevented from doing so. Further, because of the
relatively flat nature of Holland, slope effects on movement were not
factored into. For Greece, this would not do. So the Campaign feature got
dropped to make way for Mixed Mode Movement.
I might add that the
Mixed Mode Movement feature was the hardest thing to do of all the work we
have done on COTA.
BTL: Give us a
breakdown of some of the more interesting missions.
Dave: There is a
tremendous range of scenarios. There is a good mix of small, medium and
large sized scenarios from the Greek, Crete and the hypothetical Malta
battles. There is also a good mix of historical and hypothetical or “what
if” scenarios.
First Contact at Veve
sees the German LAH trying to force a passage through the mountain gap in
northern Greece. Elasson Rearguard has the New Zealand cav regiment fighting
a desperate rearguard action to buy time for the Allies to dig in along the
Olympus line. Foothills of the Gods is a pitched battle with the Australian
6th Division defending the Olypus line against a German Korps
comprising strong panzer, infantry and mountain troops.
Springing the Trap pits
the 2nd FJ Regt against a mixed Allied Bde in a do or die battle
to control the vital bridge across the Korinth canal. Cutting the Line has a
Greek motorized division conducting a raid on the German supply lines. The
Pindos Historical Campaign recreates the Italian offensive launched from
Albania into Greece in 1940.
From Crete we cover each
of the historical landings at Iraklion, Meleme and Rethymnon. We also
include a number of what-ifs including Folgore at Meleme, which sees the
Italian paratroopers making the main assault.
The Malta scenarios are
designed by one of our Panther Prowlers, Ray Wolfe. He has done a marvelous
job of creating two very tight, tense and desperate struggles. Battle of the
Maltese Cross sees Italian and German forces invading by air and sea in
1941. Ray of Hope sees British Commandos and Armour along with Australian
“diggers” counter-invading in 1942. Great stuff.
But I must say one of my
personal favorites is the second tutorial scenario titles Setback and
Rebound. Steve Long originally designed this but I couldn’t resist the
temptation to rejig it. It’s a classic “club” and “counter-club” scenario in
which the Germans go on the offensive first to wrest control of three
crossings over the Sperkhios river, gateway to Thermoplyae and Athens. The
Allies must delay and deny the crossings to the enemy, while the 6th
Australian Div assembles for the counter-attack to Lamia. This scenario has
it all.
BTL: On a scale of
1-10, 1 being the easiest and 10 being the most grognardtastic, where does
COTA lie?
Dave: That’s a
difficult question to answer simply. In terms of attention to historical
detail and the level of realistic simulation, COTA is a 10 for sure. Yet the
beauty of our game system is such that it is simple to learn but difficult
to master. The ability to macro manage (IE just give orders to HQs ) means
that even a novice can start playing straight away. After a while players
gravitate to whatever level of play they are most comfortable with.
Personally, in the larger Corps level scenarios, I tend to give orders to my
Brigades and when the action heats up I may give direct orders to several
battalions.
BTL: When COTA is
finished what will Panther Games work on next?
Dave: Next cab off
the rank is Battle from the Bulge ( BFTB ). All the maps bar one are done.
Most of the research into units, estabs, order of battles etc is also done.
We’re hopeful we can release BFTB around six months after COTA’s release –
though I desperately need a holiday ;)
We have now set up five
Data Design Teams ( DDTs ) to focus on developing the data content for our
upcoming titles, thereby freeing us to focus on engine development. The West
Front team is working on BFTB. We have East Front, North African and Pacific
teams focusing on WW2 and a Modern team looking at doing a modern warfare
version.
Our aim is to release one
new title every six months or so, each with one new BIG feature. The big new
feature for BFTB will be Minefields and Road blocks and the engineering
tasks to clear them. For the first in the East Front series we will do
Soviet doctrine; for North Africa the new feature will be vehicle breakdown
and recovery; for the Pacific it will be offmap fire support and for the
Modern it will be helicopters.
BTL: Are there any
Panthers in Australia?
If you mean the four leg
variety, then no, not in the wild – though we do have some in the zoos.
BTL: If you could
travel back in time and witness one single event, what would it be?
The Wright Brothers
making their first flight.
BTL: Do you have any
words of wisdom to convince someone unsure if COTA is the game for them?
Try it. You won’t be
disappointed. Check out the HTTR and COTA forums. Do a search on the
war-historical newsgroup and find out what other unbiased wargamers think of
it.
If you want to be
challenged but don’t want to be overloaded with micromanagement; if you want
to gain an appreciation of what a real commander faces in operational
warfare; if you want to be able to play out a scenario in a few hours; if
you want to see the future of wargaming; if you want to be part of a very
supportive and responsive wargame community; if you want to have bucket
loads of fun, then COTA is your next purchase.
BTL: Do you have any
words of wisdom to bring us closer to true self awareness?
Sure do – 100%
commitment, 0% attachment that is the secret to a happy and fulfilling life.
BTL: Do you have any
words that rhyme with Hamburger?
Never heard her
BTL: Well, it’s been
great talking with you Dave. Thanks for the great information, the
enlightenment, and the absolute assurance that your ability to rhyme and
ability to produce great games are separate. I hope everyone will stop by
and participate in the Conquest of the Aegean forums and find out more about
your great game (COMING SOON)!
Whispers...
What on Earth are all these people talking about?
Holy AAR Batman!
MarkShot, who did the Highway to the Reich miniguide and After Action
Report has
released a whopping 120 page holy GRAIL of AARs for the upcoming Conquest
of the Aegean. Follow the link below to download this monstrosity,
and special thanks to Mark for taking the time to put it together!
It's fans like you who give Matrix that extra bit of flavor and spice!
COTA download link (ftp://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/conquestoftheaegean/COTA
Mini-Guide Dec-22-2005.zip)
So with that in MINED (ok, I'm allowed one wargaming pun per issue,
right?)
Crown of Glory Wins Game of the Year
Definitely my pick for our Rookie of the Year studio, Western-Civ
proudly accepted the Wargame of the Year award from War-Historical.
Read more here:
http://www.matrixgames.com/news.asp?nid=289
I would like to say Happy Birthday to... us?
That's right! It's Matrix Game's 6th birthday. We wrote
about it in this thread:
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=1035590
But the real important announcement is at the end of the thread where
we shamelessly put together our video trailer:
http://www.matrixgames.com/aboutus/matrixvideo6.asp
As sappy as our trailer is, the importance of it may not be instantly
apparent. We hope to use our new streaming video section to deliver
live interviews and live events from the conventions and other on-location
activities of the Matrix crew. Yes, you too may live the highlife
vicariously through our new streaming video. For now, enjoy our
little test video and birthday present to ourselves!
Updates
This section will provide links to the updates released between the
last newsletter and now. No more having to search for download
links; we've got 'em right here!
War Plan Orange 1.15:
ftp://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/warplanorange/WarPlanOrange-UpdateRelease-v1151.zip
PureSim Baseball 2005 1.20:
ftp://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/puresimbaseball/PureSim2005Gold-UpdateRelease-v120.zip
Battleground Europe:
BGE uses an auto-patch feature, but just the same the Sniper and
Tiger Tank were released this month onto the virtual battlefield.
And Coming soon will be a patch for Star Chamber: The
Harbinger Saga and another patch for War Plan Orange!
A Parting Shot
As we sign off our first issue of 2006 I want to take a moment of
thought to remember the brave crew of the Columbia. By the time you
get your next issue of Behind the Lines it will be almost a month after
the anniversary when the Columbia Space Shuttle broke apart over Texas at Mach 18.5, instantly
killing all seven crew members. In many ways it is easier to
remember a fallen soldier who died defending a cause. I believe the
death of the Columbia crew and their pursuit of science is no less noble,
though much easier forgotten. So on Feb 1st don't forget to take a
moment to remember the Columbia. I sincerely hope it will be the
last vessel in my lifetime to go down with all hands.
And so, by the next issue of Behind the Lines the dreaded Valentine's
Day holiday will
be behind us; and while some of us without that panache for love will be
stuck doing the dishes for weeks to make up for it, I leave you with the
one fallback plan. Find a rose or pretty flower in a nearby garden,
write a sign that says "I picked this one for you" and bring the girl out
to it. Cheap, fast, easy, and you will go down in history as a
creative leader in love.
As usual, if you have any ideas for next
issue just drop me an e-mail at
JoeL@Matrixgames.com.
Good luck all you lovebirds!
Joe Lieberman
Newsletter Editor
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