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gamespy.com 05.2003
Total 3D environments are nice, especially when you can zoom in and out and also rotate the camera to fit your needs; but 3D environments are even better when they are filled with dynamic and destructible objects. No longer will trees and telephone poles block your way -- because you can run them down!
ign.com 06.06.2003
E3 2003: CDV shows off the best-looking WWII RTS on the floor.
wargamer.com 06.06.2003
The game is on par with this year's Blitzkrieg, and still has a year of development left to improve it even more. Not that it needs it. E3 - best of Show
gamespot.com 06.06.2003
... manages to set itself apart with impressive graphics and gameplay elements.
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INTERVIEW WITH JUSTGAMERS.DE (back to top)
Big thanks go to Lennart Kaiser and Dominik Marosi from justgamers.de that made the translation and reprinting of this article happen
Codename: Panzers by CDV takes a different approach to WWII-based games: While other games by CDV like Blitzkrieg, Sudden Strike or Combat Mission focus on precise, often slow manoeuvres, with Codename: Panzers the Hungarian developers are delivering more action into the often used WWII-scenario. Hollywood-esque explosions, detailed models and landscapes combined with a twisted plot, interesting features and a huge bunch of tactical possibilities make Panzers one of the most promising runner-ups for the strategy throne in 2004. We sticked our heads together with Achim Heidelauf, Senior Producer at CDV, responsible for Panzers among other games.
Hi Achim, would you first please tell our readers some details on yourself: Who are you, what are your responsibilities at CDV and which projects did you watch over in the last years?
I work as a Senior Producer at CDV Entertainment for two years now. My projects at CDV till today included No Man’s Land, Combat Mission II, the Santa Clause and Rosso Rabbit in Trouble series, the Kore Gang (X-Box) and now Codename: Panzers.
Before my time at CDV i was a Producer and later on Development Director at TopWare Interactive among other companies. During the last 8 years i produced and co-developed more than a dozen games.
The official trailer, published some months ago, showed lots of action at the same time. The alpha version, playable at the Games Convention played much alike and few tactics already were in the game. Is there more to be expected in the final version or is Panzers focusing on action all along the way?
Graphics and speed may seem to make Panzers very action-orientated, but clearly it’s a strategy title. At any time, you can pause the game, giving orders to your units still being possible. Winning the game with quantities will not be possible- you always have to look out for choosing the right unit against the enemy.
Panzers is going to be released spring/summer 2004. so the version showed at Games Convention and the first trailer are both seriously outdated at this moment. The real game couldn’t be shown at that time, with everything being under construction. But a new trailer as well as a playable demo are up on the horizon...
Infantry, judging by the first pictures and the trailers seems to play quite an unimportant role amongst the Panzers, with the title of the game indicating this. Which function will infantry have later on in the game, making them an absolute necessity for the player to win?
Even with the title indicating to the tanks, Panzers lets you win or loose depending on your infantry. Only soldiers gain experience, making the handling of the vehicles a decisive ability.
Additionally, Panzers lets you invade buildings, build bunkers, drop commandos and so on...
Airfields were among the most often chosen targets in WWII, some screenshots were already showing these important positions in detail. Will they be handled as normal buildings or, like in Sudden Strike 2, will they be more important making it possible for the player to reload his planes and send them back into air battles again?
Re-equipping ones planes will not be possible, but airfields are to have an important role in Panzers. Some missions have them as setting for goals like „destroy all planes before they get into the air“.
What can we expect regarding battles in city perimeters? Many objects were destroyable as early as in the alpha demo or got under the chains of the tanks (like street lamps). Can we go for whole cities or will it be only single objects?
In brief: Take the city! :)
The Co-op mode from Codename: Panzers was heavily featured in the trailer, will it make its way into the final version? Which other modes are to be expected and what are the plans concerning multiplayer mode (supplies etc.)?
Panzers will deliver everything the multiplayer soul wants: At least four different modes will be available as well as Internet ladders (including such for successfully completed solo campaigns).
Modes include besides Co-Op are Capture the flag, Deathmatch, Hold the line and Kill the leader.
Supplies and ammo work just as in the solo part. Repairs and the like are done by dedicated vehicles and technicians in an automated manner if you want to. Our goal was not to divide the players attention from the regular action.
There is gonna be a big surprise concerning the multiplayer part which i will announce next year. The feature really rocks and my palms are sweating as i think of the upcoming test-battles- be prepared!
Motion Capturing is a big thing among FPS, but strategy titles almost never use it. Why did Stormregion think of it as an important means to enhance movement credibility? Why didn’t this show in the alpha demo (infantry just fell over synchronously when hit) ?
The alpha demo was never meant to be released due to this. This version you’re speaking of is almost two years old! Galaxies lie between movement of these soldiers and the actual ones today. Motion Capturing was done after the demo and is almost completely implemented- so look out for the demo, the trailer or the game...
A splendid, long story is told by Panzers, and due to this, heroes and main actors have to be believable for the player, graspable. MC being a good technique for delivering lots of variation and “authenticity” in the characters movement (as well in-game as in cutscenes), it was a must have for us. Far more than 3000 moves were recorded!
By the way, don’t think of the Matrix game here... many ads focused on MC for matrix, but i’m talking about really good lookin’ movements. ;)
Which missions will be in the campaigns? Big battles like Stalingrad or Kursk or just skirmishes with exploration units? Will the campaigns be linear or dynamic?
Campaigns will be linear. On the German side, 12 missions between 1939 and 1942 are included. Followed by the Russian campaign with 8 missions between 1941 and 1945. At last, the allies with 10, 1944-1945.
How will mod-support be handled by CDV and Stormregion? Is it gonna be decided shortly before the release, or are there existing plans on how to support the community?
It’s being planned at the moment. Fans and Modsupport are really important to me. Those of you who played Earth 2150 & other games I've produced will be able to recall what we set up for these. I want it to be just like that with Panzers, too... concerning tools as well.
Unfortunately, I can’t go into details right now, too early for it.
After Blitzkrieg or Sudden Strike, no one is surprised about not being able to build bases in Codename: Panzers. Even though, the previous titles included limited assembly options, like tank obstacles and the like. Which possibilities will there be in Panzers?
Not the smallest bit is gonna be constructed in Panzers. Believe me, you won’t miss it- it just doesn’t fit into this game, this is a design decision and nothing else. It flows, it’s fast and really exciting- “economy” and “base-building” aren’t included and won’t be.
Thanks a lot for the detailled answers and the two new screenshots. Me being a huge Panzers fan i’m glad to hear the answers to my questions and don’t regret having waited for them!
Thanks for the interview! The questions were really interesting.
Q&A - COMPUTER AND VIDEOGAMES.COM (back to top)
Created on November 5th 2002
1. Could you start by telling us your name and how you are involved with the development of Panzers?
The questions are answered by two of us: Attila Banki-Horvath lead designer and Janos Ibranyi designer.
2. Could you give us a brief overview of Panzers, telling us about the setting and the genre that the game falls into?
Panzers is a real time strategy game, in which you control a hero and his elite detachment of up to 16 units in a full 3D environment. The soldiers’ experience grows with every fight. They start as rookies and in later missions they fight as veterans or aces in 3 campaigns containing 30 missions. Plenty of in-game animations tells the story and adds a unique and thrilling atmosphere to the game.
3. When you started work on Panzers, what were you setting out to do? What where or are your main aims/objectives for the title?
We knew our next project would be an RTS game. Then came the idea to place it in a WWII environment as most of us are fanatic WWII fans and embed the game in a good story. In the process of devising an experience system, we started adding RPG elements. The planning and the preparations of Panzers started about a year ago and our first task was to improve the GEPARD engine to make it capable of running any kind of RTS. The result is a general purpose RTS engine also suitable for licensing.
The features of said engine will provide a real war feeling to Panzers.
4. Presumably you’re aiming to make Panzers historically accurate? Could give us an idea of how you’re going about doing this in terms of research and also game content?
Just to give you a few examples: the vehicles are absolutely correct, the soldiers are proportional to the buildings and in general this accuracy of proportions has been maintained throughout the game.
The armour thickness of a vehicle on different sides, the armour piercing capability and traversing speed of the turret are all based from accurate data.
For instance, we would strongly advice against attacking a Tiger tank from the front but rather from the rear as this strategy has a much higher chance of leading to success. We stick to historical facts until it hasn't got a drawback on the gameplay.
5. Panzers will come with three campaigns and over 30 missions and includes Russian, German and Allied troops. What conflicts from World War II are you setting these missions and campaigns around? Will we be able to play the game from all three nation’s viewpoints?
Certainly you play from each nation's viewpoint and fight battles at well known places like Warsawa, Stalingrad, Kursk, Normandy, Arnhem.
6. What can we expect in terms of ground troops and units from the three nations in Panzers?
We will include more than a hundred vehicles (most of them are already completed): tanks, tank-hunters, self-propelled artillery, armour cars, trucks, self-propelled and stationary AA-guns amongst them the feared 88 gun. Each nation has more than 10 types of soldiers organised into squads. A few examples: rifle squad, flamethrowers, panzerschreck squad, mortar squad. The squads can have nation specific equipment like: single-shot panzerfaust, magnetic handmine, molotov-coctai, etc.
7. In terms of scale, are we looking at massive numbers of units engaging in combat, or will it be more of a skirmish affair?
Panzers will be made up of both type of missions: massive tank battles when our detachment only helps the main army and “commando” missions when you have to complete the objectives with only a few elite units.
8. Something that’s become the norm in RTS games now is a unit’s ability to “learn” as the game is played. Will you be employing a similar experience system in Panzers? If so, could you tell us about this?
We've seen the experience system of a few RTS games, but either they are very simple or they don’t really have an effect on the game. We wanted a more complex system with completely new elements. A soldier will handle the weapon best he uses most. A more experienced soldier not only shoots more accurately, but there is a difference in functionality as well. A veteran soldier can tell a Pz IV from a Panther after only hearing its sound, just like in real life.
9. Similarly, do you plan to give individual units emotions or morale, so that the affects of units being in combat becomes a strategic consideration for the player? If so, could you give us an example of how this will work?
The squads have a moral like feature we call “persistence”. The more damage a squad sustains over a period of time, the more their persistence decreases. Eventually it will go back to maximum by time. An ambushed squad may surrender or panic and run away.
10. Visually, Panzers looks quite stunning. Can you tell us about the 3D engine using and how it will affect the title’s gameplay?
I think a look at the graphics tells you everything you need to know :).
11. Judging by the shots, you keeping the camera quite close in on the action. Is this actually the case, or will we be able to zoom in and out of events?
The default zoom level will allow you to zoom out farther than shown on the shots, as you might have already suspected. We just wanted to show the highly detailed objects from a closer range;-) While playing you can zoom in and out freely, or press the default zoom level key. We took time to consider the camera control as well, to make it easy to handle. Still you can have a closer look at anything you like or have a strategic overview of the battlefield.
12. What are your plans for multiplayer Panzers?
Besides the known multiplayer modes like deathmatch, there is a new one, which has what it takes to become a standard. Let us keep it secret just yet.
13. You’ve developed S.W.I.N.E. previously. How has, or is, your experience with developing this previous game helping with the development of Panzers?
As S.W.I.N.E. was our very first computer game we've gained tremendous experience (and ascended a more professional level:) ). From enthusiastic beginners we became zealous game developers in two short years. Our record shows one fantastic game, we are currently developing another potential hit, and I wonder what the future holds for us. I am confident we will be out there for a long time!
14. We’ve already had plenty of World War II RTS games on PC and there are a number in production. Aside from its graphical quality, how will Panzers stand out from this crowd?
This game just simply will by just being what it is. What I mean is such things like the damage model, visibility… who sees whom, hearing of gunfire and engine noise, surrendering, experiencing system, strongpoints, buildings to enter, equipment and numerous other strategic elements. The in-game story of the chosen nation's hero which is revealed in animations.
INTERVIEW WITH ACTIONTRIP (YU) (back to top)
Answered by Attila Banki-Horvath and Janos Ibranyi
1. Your team at Stormregion proved they’re capable of creating a solid RTS game - S.W.I.N.E. Did this experience help you in any way?
It still helps us all the time. The most important we've learnt is how to work in a team. We've learnt the whole process of making an RTS, how a mission plan becomes a real map with buildings and enemy units on it. It makes creating the campaigns easier and faster so we can finish the milestones on schedule.
2. Over the years, World War II has inspired so much video games, it would be almost impossible to name them all. Tell us what specific period during WW II will be covered in Panzers.
From the beginning to the end. The German campaign starts with the invasion of Poland and the Soviet campaign ends with the occupation of Berlin which means the end of the war (in Europe). The game doesn't cover the battles in Africa, probably the Mission CD will.
3. Describe some of the missions we’ll see in Panzers. Do you intend on reviving some of the historical events that took place in WW II?
You can fight the Battle at Stalingrad with both the Germans and the Russians. The game revives the Battle at Kursk, the landing in Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, the occupation of Crete. In one mission Tito's partisans will cause a lof of trouble for the Germans, I mean for you.
4. What is the most challenging aspect of this strategy game?
The game, the battle itself! You have the same soldiers, vehicles and planes to fight a WWII battle. The units are well balanced, they all have the same purpose as they had in the war: tanks for assault, artillery for long range support, armor cars for reconnaissance, infantry for all purposes. In-game animations reveal the story of the campaign and of the heroe and spectacular effects make the game similar to a war movie. Altogether it creates a real WWII atmosphere.
5. How does you game differ from numerous strategy games out there?
The infantry can hear engine noise and gunfire. You don't see the enemy but a simbol appears showing that an enemy tank is advancing or gun is firing. The soldiers can capture enemy armored vehicles and use it againts its formal owner. Completing mission goals provide prestige, causing civil casulities decreases your prestige. When a squad of soldiers enters a house, the inside becomes visible and you see them taking positions. This is not all, there are many other features that you will see in the demo after E3.
6. We’re interested what specifics are you adding to the unit behavior patterns to improve the AI in general.
Some examples for the "army-level" AI:
- Protects areas and buildings considering priority
- Sends reserved units where they are needed most like groups suffered heavy losses
- Decision making to retreat, advance or hold position based on assessing the human player's force
- Transporting munition supply and sending repair car and traction truck before final need
7. Tell us which nations will be making an appearance. And, reveal some of the vehicles and units we’ll get to use.
German, Russian, American and English units play leading role. French, Polish, Hungarian and Yugoslavian partisan units play supporting role. You'll control numerous tanks (e.g.:Sherman M4A3, Cromwell IV, Tiger I E, T-34/76)and self-propelled guns (e.g.:Stug III B, Wespe, Sturmtiger, Bishop, M12, M7 Priest, SU122, ISU 152).
8. The game looks amazing on the screenshots that were released so far. What kind of engine are you using?
Gepard - the graphics engine of SWINE - is being updated, partially rewritten and most importantly extended with advanced technology.
I'm glad you like the graphics. We are not satisfied though, there is plenty of things we'd like to improve.
9. Does Panzers feature a multiplayer mode? If so describe some of the modes players can look forward to.
We've got deathmatch, Kill the leader and Hold the line, the others are secret just yet. Up to 8 players can fight the battle against each other divided into two sides, two team of players.
10. When will the game hit stores?
It'll be there under the Christmas tree.
11. Feel free to add anything else about Panzers if you wish.
I hope our southern neighbours will have a good time playing Panzers.
INTERVIEW WITH THE NICE PEOPLE AT GAMERSHELL.COM (back to top)
1. Hello, please introduce yourself and your company to our readers.
The questions are answered by Attila Banki-Horvath lead designer and Janos Ibranyi designer.
The team had been formed in 2000 by five members. Soon four new members have joined and helped finishing SWINE. More members have joined since then and now the team consists of 14 members: 3 designers, 5 programmers, 5 graphical artists and one musician.
2. Please briefly introduce the concept and storyline behind Panzers?
The idea was to create a game which conveys the atmosphere of a real WWII battle. Therefore we decided to create a 3D RTS game with several tactical elements as realistic as it can be in a computer game. High polygon vehicles and objects, realistic sound and graphical effects help entering into the spirit of the battle.
After selecting a nation you control a hero and his detachment. On the German side you assist in the invasion of Poland and finish the campaign with the occupation of the west side of Stalingrad. The Soviet hero plays an important role in the defense of Moscow, in the reoccupation of Stalingrad and his detachment will occupy the Reichstag in Berlin. The Anglo-American allies land by gliders in Normandy behind the lines to prepare the landing on the beaches, then they advance through the bocages and finally repel the last German counterattack.
3. Is Panzers a tactical game like Platoon or more “arcadish” like Sudden Strike where losing one soldier usually doesn't affect the gameplay much?
In Panzers the health and damage values will be adjusted so that the soldiers won't die suddenly from one strike :). Compared to Platoon, in Panzers you have to spend less time with micro-management, several actions are automated or can be set automated. Our game is more tactical game than Sudden Strike but more action oriented than Platoon. Panzers is the golden mean.
4. Which games, movies or books have influenced the game development the most, if any?
We are fans of WWII military vehicles since we were children influenced by movies like Kelly's heroes, Dirty Dozen, The guns of Navarrone, Das boot, Stalingrad. Later came the Enemy at the Gates and Saving Private Ryan. Besides movies we've got countless books about certain tanks, airplanes and about different forces like the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe, Fallschirmjäger, SAS, Rangers and finally but not lastly we use the Internet. You can read veterans' stories on the Net and with some exceptions you can find any information on units you need.
5. Will the game be played in 2D or 3D?
It'll be completely 3D: the scene, the units, the buildings, the trees and all the decorative elements. All the effects are also 3D.
6. A lot of hardcore RTS gamers can't stand the new genre of 3D RTS games because of the bulky camera controls. How will the Point of View controls be managed in the game?
Our previous game SWINE was also a 3D RTS game with free camera control and we made an effort to make it simple. Apparently we succeeded as we haven't heard anyone on forums complaining about the camera controls of SWINE. In Panzers there will be additional aids to make it more comfortable. Besides free camera control there are a few preset camera positions which can be recalled by pressing a button and the player can define some more as well. By pressing the proper button the cameras tilt, height and direction can be recalled. Free view allows us to zoom in onto a detailed, high polygon unit or any object to inspect and we can have an overview of the battlefield too by zooming out.
7. What kinds of units will be used in the game - all realistic or some fictional too? Can you give us some examples? What about the weapons?
There are squads of soldiers in the game wearing the national proper uniform. Squads consisting of 2-5 soldiers can have 10 different types of weapons (e.g. bazooka, flamethrower, sniper rifle) on each side. Furthermore they can be equipped with various equipment (e.g. radio, magnetic AT-mine) to make them versatile.
As for the vehicles, there won't be any fictional just the real ones scaled correctly. There are tanks, self propelled and towed guns, trucks, airplanes, gliders, landing crafts, armored cars, jeeps all realistic. New developments appear in the game not before it was actually produced.
Just a few examples from the list:
- the most famous Tiger (PzKfw VI ausf. E) tank
- Wespe self-propelled artillery
- Ju-87b "Stuka"
- BM-13 rocket launcher placed on a Zis-6 truck together known as "Katjusha" or "Stalin's organ"
- the successful T-34/76 Russian tank
- Il-2 "Sturmovik" ground attack plane
- Sherman M4A3 and the Firefly version
- M26 Pershing
- Churchill III tank
- Willys jeep
8. Will it have a linear or dynamic campaign?
We know that a linear game can be better and more varied than a non-linear one as you can see in Mafia, a brilliant example. In the campaigns of Panzers mostly map follows map but some missions include two maps and you can travel between them freely. What about secret maps? It is a secret yet :).
9. What is the maximum size of game maps?
Our programmers made it possible to create a map as large as 1024x1024 meter. I wonder if we'll ever need such a large map. Testing SWINE we learned that the size of the map doesn't really matter as completing even the smallest map can contain plenty of objectives. More than 30 maps will provide more than 50 hours of exciting gameplay.
10. What kinds of missions will the player have to complete in order to finish the game?
Most of the missions are historical events like landing in Normandy, Battle of the Bulge, Stalingrad, Kursk and "commando" missions like the assault on Eben Emael fortress. There are a few fictional missions as well which could have happened in the war. Missions include some adventure elements like finding the right arm of the statue of Stalin in Sevastopol in order to find out the location of a secret ammo store and include mass tank battles.
11. How many missions will there be in the final game?
There will be 12 German, 8 Soviet and 10 Anglo-American missions.
12. How smart will the enemy AI be? Can you tell us where it possibly surpasses AI in games already existing on the market?
At last we can implement the ideas that we couldn't in SWINE due to the short development time. Some examples for the "army-level" AI:
- Protects areas and buildings considering priority
- Sends reserved units where they are needed most like groups suffered heavy losses
- Decision making to retreat, advance or hold position based on assessing the human player's force
- Transporting munition supply and sending repair car and traction truck before final need
- Well balanced armies by combining arms against armor and men too
13. What graphics engine are you using for game development?
Gepard - the graphics engine of SWINE - is being updated, partially rewritten and most importantly extended with advanced technology.
14. What are some of the particular strengths and unique features of this engine?
Everything you've seen in SWINE has been optimized, the real time shadow (and self-shadow) is complete and there are new features under development but we'd like to keep them secret for some time.
15. What kinds of multiplayer modes will be included with the game?
There is Deathmatch, Kill the leader, Hold the line and some others, a quite unique amongst them what we'll reveal later.
16. How many players will be able to play the game at once?
The battle is fought between two teams of players. Up to eight players - human or computer controlled - can join one of the teams.
17. How far along into development is the game at this stage and when do you project it will be complete?
On one hand a lot of the objects are already complete with textures on them, on the other there are subjects that we have to talk over and over again not to make the game too complex (as we always want :) and to make sure the game system will work perfectly.
18. Where will the game be distributed after it's complete - do you have local publishers/distributors in most territories?
CDV handles the world wide publishing. Partner companies will publish the game in some countries like France. More details about that will be official later.
19. When can we expect to see a playable demo of the game?
We've got a playable demo in schedule next year for E3 which will be available for the public a little later.
ANSWERS TO THE CDV BOARD COMMUNITY, AUGUST 2003 (back to top)
1. Will Codename: Panzers be mod-able? If yes, which possibilities will users have? Will Stormregion/CDV offer any support for the modding community who wish to add units/items/values to the game?
We've already got the tools which could support modding, custom maps and missions but he Panzers CDs will not include them. This, however, doesn't mean we don't want to publish them. Our intention is to make them available later.
2. The troops can be equipped by the player. How will this work?
You may decide to put magnetic mines into the first equipment-slot of an infantry squad. This makes them able to fight against armor too. You can fill the second slot with a mine-detector and you are ready to go in the mission.
3. What size will the maps have? We’ve heard about missions like the landing in the Normandie or Kursk. How will this presented and how many and what kind of units will the player get?
The engine supports up to 1024x1024 meter maps though we designers haven't ever need such a large map, there is enough "playing-field" in the missions.
The landing at Normandy is at the beginning of the Allied campaign so it isn't a hard one. You've got infantry only (M1 Garand rifle squad, Thomson smg squad, BAR lmg, M1 bazooka, Springfield sniper, M2 mortar squad) until you secure the beach and the vehicles arrive (M4A3 Sherman, M2A1 half tracks, Willys jeep). Therefore you have time to familiarize yourself with the various type of soldiers.
4. How will the war damage work? Will it be simple or complex? Could you please explain the armour ratings of the tanks and how damage works?
The damage system is quite complex. I've got a spreadsheet full of formulas which simulates damaging an armor unit. Briefly this is how it works: when one side is shot, first the armor on that side decreases than the remaining damage hits the "hp" of the tank. After a little playing you will simply "feel" how it works.
5. What about the AI and how complex will it be? Or will most of the game be scripted?
The AI on unit level is highly intelligent but there is group-level AI too. The computer player will actively react to what units the group of the human player consists of.
The other thing - we call it triggering - is essential and extremely useful. As you know when a condition is set it triggers an action. There are lots of situations when we want the computer opponent behave differently than in general. For example if the enemy spots your detachment they flee in terror :). In short, triggering complements the AI. 6. Will infantry play an important role?
Just a few example that vehicles can't but infantry can do: hearing, occupying buildings, capturing enemy vehicles, lying down to take cover and conceal, placing mine and magnetic anti-tank mine. A tank has no chance against a bazooka squad hiding in the grass. That's another story if the tank is accompanied by submachine-gunners.
7. What kind of units will be able to gain experience ? What influence will this have on the units’ skills?
Every soldier squad gains experience including the crew of armored vehicles in the fighting.
8. Will it be possible to destroy the terrain/landscape? Will craters or destructed houses have an influence on the units? If they have, is it a dynamic destruction or a replacement of the new house by a ruined one?
There are plenty of objects to destroy if you ran out of enemies! As many buildings will be destructible as we manage to create. Smaller houses become rubbles than you can climb with you tanks, larger houses collapse but remain obstacles. Trees and poles are not obstacle, just run over them. You can pass through the "bocages" or hedgerows freely and without destroying it.
9. Will there be airplanes in the game? If yes, what kind of planes?
Bombers, ground attack planes, scout planes.
10. Is it true that Codename: Panzers will have RPG elements or even a complete RPG system? How will this work and what can the player expect from it? Will units get experience points? Or will it work like the “learning-by-doing”-principle e.g. a unit that fires constantly with a mortar will increase its artillery skill?
The more experienced a squad is the more damage they can take and cause to the enemy. They receive experience not only in a fight but after using mine-detector, healing(medic), spotting never-seen unit, hearing something in the fog of war. Perhaps we can say we've got a simple RPG system.
11. Is Codename : Panzers more a strategic or more a tactical (faster) game?
It's what you'd like it to be. It's very interesting to watch people playing in completely different styles. One plays like Patton, daring and bold. No matter if a unit dies but he completes the objective quickly. The other plays like Montgomery, careful and effective. He often uses the "handbrake" (pause-space bar) to optimize every movement and never a unit dies. The game allows you to decide which you like: strategic or more action-packed.
12. Is it correct that the weapon ranges are very short?
Not long ago we found out where this gossip comes from. Some earlier screen shots gave this impression but I can assure you it is not the case. What's more most tanks and SP-guns have minimum range too. This means if a squad gets close to a tank and place a magnetic mine on it, the tank can't shoot.
In WWII tanks had up to 2km fire range, not to mention the artillery. The German 105mm leFh18 howitzer had an unsatisfactory range of 10km. That's ten times the length of a map! All ranges are moderated to keep a good gameplay.
13. Will the textures be improved?
No, they won't. There isn't many gamers having 128mb video card.
14. Are battles fought with squads from house to house, with only a few tanks, or will they be the large scaled battles like we know from the SS series?
The number of commando missions and large scale battles are about equal. 15. How much micromanagement will the gameplay require. Will it be a case of "Quick Save" "Quick Load" as you got in Sudden Strike. Or will the game flow more?
In our game, the units have more HP than they could be killed by one shot, so you can pull the damaged/injured back and repair/bandage, no need to reload the game.
1. What expertise and skills do the team believe they have that will ensure this WWII strategy game is both detailed, authentic and offers strategy gamers something new and challenging?
The programmers already proved their competence as they created a capable and smooth 3D engine. There are several screenshots on our homepage (www.panzers.com) which can give you a glimpse of what our graphical artists are able to produce. We designers do a lot of research and make every effort to improve the gameplay. You can put it to the test what we managed to achieve as we publish a playable demo in autumn this year.
We've got a finished game (S.W.I.N.E.) that we are proud of. Creating this strategy game we've learnt that individual expertise and talent in not enough. Organizing experts and artists into a team, doing a teamwork is the real key to success.
2. How much research have you done to ensure everything is accurate and are any of the campaigns based, even loosely, around any real events and how did you go about designing the levels. (Do you look at other titles?)
We've done a lot of research but it is far from over. We've got a bookcase full of WWII volumes covering every subject we need and more than a hundred modelling magazines but the Internet is our largest source of information - you can find full and detailed battle descriptions, veterans' stories, data on vehicles and pictures of uniforms. The Net is not the most reliable though so we check as many pages as we can to make sure the data is correct. We try to stick to historical facts as long as it's in harmony with the gameplay - our first concern. Most missions are historical or linked to historical events but there are some fictional too which let us indulge in our imagination.
3. Can you give us some extended details as to the Training camp for all strategies and units with special abilities?
It would take pages to describe them all so let me tell you about my favourite.
The flame-throwers are primarily against infantry but they have a funny feature, that allowsto capture enemy tanks. Their flame heats up the unlucky armoured vehicle which starts glowing in red. "Bake" it until the inside temperature reaches a certain level and the crew will escape the tank for good. Serve it chilled... I mean wait for the tank to cool down and you may enter your crew, and control the enemy vehicle.
4. What aspects are you adding to this genre to push both the technical aspects and gameplay to let this game stand apart from the other games in its genre?
Gameplay, atmosphere and story.
Our first and most important concern is the GAMEPLAY. In three campaigns (German, Soviet, American-British) you've got 30 challenging sometimes adventurous missions placed on varying locations. By accomplishing objectives you receive prestige that can be spent on requiring newly developed tanks, self-propelled guns and infantry with the latest weapons. Every good deed is rewarded including freeing civilians from houses kept by the enemy. Realistic damage model, revolutionary experiencing system, easy and obvious unit and camera control make the game even more enjoyable.
The ATMOSPHERE is guaranteed by high polygon objects with detailed textures, authentic vehicles, air planes and infantry uniforms and amazing visual effects like explosions, fire, smoke, real time self-shadow. In addition to the graphics impressive sound effects will help you enter into the spirit of the battle.
The STORY of your hero unfolds presented by in-game animations as you advance in the campaign. Motion captured animations, smooth and realistic camera movement creates the impression of a war movie.
5. Will the game contain some sort of story-line? Will there be a connection between the missions/campaigns in the form of, for example, movies or historical stories?
The three stories of the three heroes are not separate as their ways sometimes cross each others'. When playing the American-British campaign you meet Hans von Gröbel who was your hero through the German campaign.
The American hero Jeffrey Wilson and your British hero James Barnes have to save each other from time to time. In the end they don't even know who owes the other more.
6. Talking about enemies, how many different ones will there be? What is the difference between the enemies, considering strength and especially artificial intelligence?
German, Russian, American and British are the playable armies. You'll encounter Polish, French and Hungarian armies and Yugoslavian partisans. French partisans will help us on the western front.
In our previous game in SWINE the units with different experience level had different unit AI which proved to be not the best idea. The player couldn't really know what to expect from an advancing enemy. Science often adopt solutions from nature. That's exactly we had to do, look at history, and tell why an army is stronger than another. Technological development of weapons, quantity of weapons and soldiers and the quality of the soldiers determine the strength of an army. This is altered by several factors like the terrain.
7. Could you describe one intense mission, which is memorable for the game, to expound the variety and intensity of the game??
In Stalingrad Hans - the German hero - saves the life of a little Russian girl who got lost. The girl is about to walk out to the open straight into a crossfire when Hans dives saving her life while himself gets injured. He is being transported back to Germany into a hospital and his fate in unknown until ... well, you'll see in the game.
The story of the Russian hero contains some emotional parts. Alexander (Sasha) meets his parents when he leads his recon team into the village where he was born. He haven't seen them for a long time so it's a warm welcome. Sasha gets to know a spy-girl and they fall in love with each other.
A French resistance group led by Michelle helps us in Normandy by spying on the enemy. Later Jeffrey and James the American and British hero free her from German captivity.
8. Graphically the game looks stunning. Is this a prime focus and what kind of special effects, even in game animation are you creating to make the presentation perfect? (Are you creating all your own tools and engine?)
Starting with the last question: yes, we create all our tools and it have been proved several times that the effort making editors pays off very well.
The graphics wasn't our first priority. However we know that new games can't be successful without good graphics. Thanks to our graphic artists - Bruzsy, Floyd, Gaab, Mogyi, Termi - we've got nothing to complain about :). The complex effects are being created in our effect-editor. We've got every kind of explosions, smoke effects, snow, rain, fog created by our programmer-graphic artist Accord.
9. Who is the player in charge/control of and how many soldiers will be at your disposal. (Are there limits to creation of a combat force?)
You control a hero and his elite detachment. The number of units you can send into battle is limited by the mission but as you advance you can have more and more units. In some missions you receive allied reinforcements that will double your force just enough to repel the enemy attack.
10. What kind of actions can the soldiers perform and how influential is the weather?
The soldiers can see much farther than tanks so you have to use them as the eyes of the tanks. They can also hear which means a half-track or tank symbol appears where they heard it. This hearing range is reduced by the noise of rain.
You can give the soldiers equipment like magnetic AT-mine, inflatable boat, hand-grenade, tank mine, mine-detector etc. to make them versatile.
11. How important are the vehicles and what is on offer?
Our intention was to balance infantry and vehicles so that they are equally important in the game. No more disposable infantry, actually they are very important since it is the crew not the tank who learns. On the other hand infantry is far from enough to stop a combined attack. Armoured transport vehicles increase their mobility and defence, artillery and bombers increase their range of fire and damage, recon planes extend their sight and tanks help them to break the enemy line.
12. Many games like this start off at a very difficult level and do not introduce the player to the setting and requirements. Do you intend to have a nice lead in into the game with some cool tutorial?
Familiarizing with the game is not over with the three tutorials, as the first missions of the campaigns are easy. In these missions you practice fighting with infantry only then later with the different kind of vehicles and off-screen fire support.
WORTHPLAYING.COM PREVIEW, MARCH 18 2004 (back to top)
There was a point in time when real time strategy games were more about thinking quickly and less about banging out hundreds of zerglings to over-run your opponent's base. Codename: Panzers has more in common with Close Combat than Command & Conquer and given how bloated the RTS genre has become it's a welcome sight. There's no resource management here, just honest-to-goodness strategy.
The first mission, where you need to capture an airfield in Poland, wasn't overly challenging but did a great job at introducing me to the concepts of how the units move and react. Once I got into the second mission, where I had to capture a Russian commander, forced me to kick in the gray-matter as it was a long slog through the city he was holed up in, and it took several attempts to devise a strategy that worked out. Each mission will usually have multiple objectives - for instance, the city mission required me to keep one alive (more on him later), find the opposing commander as well as the key to the basement he was in. The cut scene that introduces the mission will give you a clue where to go. I found the two missions provided just the right amount of challenge; even if I failed a mission, I never felt it was impossible. At the conclusion of each mission you get prestige points that let you purchase reinforcements for the next mission. All-in-all there are 3 campaigns and about 30 missions in the single player portion. You can take command of the Germans as they blitz through Poland, the Russians as they bog the Germans down in the Eastern Front, and the Allies as they invade Normandy.
There are over 100 units in Panzers, with the mainstays - Panzers, Tigers, T-34's, halftracks, deuces, etc. - from each side represented. The units appeared to be decently balanced, with the slight possibility the tanks are a tad over-powered as a few of them lived a little longer than I expected. In addition to the assault troops there are also support units, like medics and mechanics, who will automatically heal nearby units. It is also possible to use infantry units to capture enemy tanks and artillery pieces as well; use the flamethrowers to heat up enemy tanks, forcing them to abandon it letting you capture it.
There is one unit I'm not happy at all with: the hero. You see, Panzers is being billed as hybrid RTS/RPG game - much like WarCraft III was. The hero unit is who the story revolves around, usually a unit commander. One of the mission objectives is to keep him alive, yet he has no apparent extra powers - like a morale bonus - that I could see and is just baggage; it was easier to leave him at the start of the mission. I don't see the need for a RPG element in this game, as it stands quite well without it.
The AI for the units is reminiscent of Close Combat, where you could tell your unit where to go, but how and if he got there was up to them. If your units are under heavy attack, they will seek defensive cover, or worse, turn rabbit. The units can also report on their surroundings, and you'll see icons that represent where they thought they heard movement. The enemy units still need some work as they held their locations too often and didn't pursue me, even when they had superior firepower.
The user interface right now is a mixed bag. The game does use the standard RTS commands (right click to move, etc.), but the game assumes you have a 3-button mouse, which I don't. One of the 3 mouse button is used to rotate the map, and if you don't have a 3rd mouse button you have to hold both buttons down to rotate the map. This can be a real pain if you are also trying to mark where you want the bombers to attack and frequently I found myself bombing the wrong target. I also hope the limitations on mid-mission saving were a crippling of the demo, and not an indication you can't save during a mission. It does allow you to group the units into control groups, and takes this one step further by giving you an on-screen notification of what group numbers you have set.
In the "looks and sounds" department, the game over-delivers. The city map totally immersed me into believing I was fighting building-to-building, and each tank shot came alive with the fantastic sound engine. The environment is completely 3d and is not totally static like most games; if you run a tank through a fence it will collapse. The same holds true for the street lights and trolley poles, the latter making a nice shorting sound when they hit the ground.
While it doesn't provide anything revolutionary, it looks like a great game for people who prefer their combat based on actual events, and not a made-up fantasy land. We weren't able to test out any multiplayer components, but it has the potential work very well - acting more like a chess mach with WWII units than seeing who can steamroll who the fastest. This is one of the few beta builds I've done where once the last mission was over I was disappointed and wanted more. I was certainly impressed and look forward to seeing the final version.
GAMESPOT.COM PREVIEW, APRIL 2004 (back to top)
Codename: Panzers is an upcoming World War II real-time strategy game that falls into the middle ground between wargame and real-time strategy. Though it's billed as a real-time strategy game, it does not involve any of the base-building or unit-construction associated with traditional real-time strategy games. Instead, like a real-life military commander, you will be given a certain number of infantry squads and vehicles at the beginning of a mission, and you'll have to employ them properly to accomplish your objectives. And though the game will feature amazing levels of historical accuracy and detail--enough to make a veteran wargamer proud--it's not being designed to be a wargame. Instead, Codename: Panzers is being developed to be a beautiful and fun strategy game that any gamer, including beginning ones, could enjoy.
The game is being developed by Stormregion, a Hungarian developer whose previous credits include the humorous real-time strategy game SWINE. Codename: Panzers is Stormegion's attempt to tell a more-serious and interesting story. You'll follow the adventures of various "heroes" who represent each side in the war, and you'll command German, Soviet, American, and British units in battles. You start off playing as German Wehrmacht officer Hans von Gröbel, a real-life figure, at the start of the invasion of Poland in 1939. Gröbel's story, and that of the other heroes, will be told through more than 100 cutscenes and diary entries.
Stormregion felt that it had to develop a graphics engine capable of rendering in-game scenes, because prerendered cutscenes take the gamer out of the experience. In-game cutscenes aren't unusual in most real-time strategy games, but what Stormregion has in mind is much more ambitious. To tell a personal story, the game needs a graphics engine capable of rendering both the traditional top-down look of real-time strategy games and the close-up, lifelike characters found in adventure games. For example, in one scene, you'll watch as German infantry storm into a building to wage a firefight against the partisan fighters inside. One soldier will even jump on a table to shoot at the enemy. This animation is delivered in such a way that it looks like it belongs in a prerendered cutscene. However, it's actually rendered in real time.
Prior to beginning a mission, you'll be able to requisition units at a warehouse, and you'll be able to purchase new units--provided you can afford them. You earn requisition points by completing primary and secondary mission objectives, as well as by uncovering secret objectives and destroying the enemy. During the warehouse phase, you'll also be able to equip existing units with special equipment. You can give an infantry squad an inflatable raft that it can use to cross a river, or you can give it mine-detecting equipment so that it can clear minefields. And as a neat gesture to those gamers who don't know the difference between a T-34 and a German 88, Stormregion plans to have a "testing ground" that will let you take any unit or vehicle on a "test-drive." Without leaving the warehouse screen, you'll be able to maneuver the unit on a small battlefield, and you can shoot at dummy targets to get a feel for its capabilities. This should help familiarize new gamers, who might otherwise get scared by all the detail, with Codename: Panzers' units and vehicles.
Once you've finished requisitioning new units, you'll start a mission. Even at this early stage, it's clear that the game is quite beautiful. Everything is rendered in impressive detail, from the vehicles to the buildings and environment. The illusion is aided by the fact that objects move correctly, thanks to the built-in physics engine. As a result, trees sway in the wind, while tanks and vehicles rock on their suspensions. (The development team actually went so far as to analyze the suspension systems of many tanks and vehicles to determine the relationship between vehicle weight and suspension.)
Everything in the game will be destructible, save for the terrain itself. Tanks can knock down trees and fences, and artillery and bombs can gut towns and buildings. Damage modeling will also be very accurate. In fact, Stormregion is going to such depth that it is using historical data to model the thickness of armor on vehicles. Unlike other real-time strategy games, where machinegun-equipped infantrymen can destroy a tank with massed fire, firing a machine gun at a tank in Codename: Panzers will only scratch its paint. To destroy a tank, you're going to need something that can hurt it, such as another tank, a bazooka, or a panzerschreck team.
The Joy of the Russian Front
You'll be able to use a tank's invulnerability to most infantry weapons to your advantage. In the game, you'll command tanks and vehicles individually, but infantry will always be grouped into squads automatically. This is to cut down on micromanagement and to make it easy to throw infantry into the fray. So when you're on the attack, you can attach a squad of infantry to a tank, and the infantrymen will run behind the tank, effectively using it as rolling cover for approaching enemy lines. This was a tactic that was used to great effect by both sides in the war.
In urban battles, infantry can storm and garrison buildings. Upon entering a building, the roof will fade away, thus giving you a top-down look into the interior. The interiors are well detailed; rooms are nicely furnished and have brightly-colored wallpaper; and stairwells have wooden banisters. If there are defending troops already inside, you'll see your infantry battle it out for control of the building. Once they have control, they can run to the windows to shoot at enemies outside. In fact, if there's an enemy tank rolling by, infantry will run from window to window to keep it in view so that it can be fired upon.
All units can gain experience over time. There are five ranks of experience, and each time a unit reaches a new level, it gains special bonuses and capabilities. For instance, a unit can receive more health points or better weapon accuracy when it is promoted. It is, therefore, to your benefit to preserve your force as best as possible, because a handful of hardened veterans are worth more than a bunch of green units. Stormregion is also being very careful to make the combat experience realistic. As units maneuver on the battlefield, they may hear vehicles they can't see. In these cases, icon will appear on the screen indicating where the sounds are coming from, so you'll be able to tell what kinds of noises they are. For example, an icon will let you know if you hear the sounds of motor engines or the sounds of lots of men on foot. Only when one of your units is in visual-detection range--and can identify the target--will the icon change to an actual unit.
While the game runs in real time, you'll be able to both pause the game to issue orders and accelerate time to speed up lulls in the action. There will be a full day/night cycle as well as weather effects, such as fog, rain, and snow. The conditions will dictate your units' lines of sight and detection ranges and may also hamper close air support. If there's fog on the battlefield, planes may miss their targets. If there's too much fog, air support may be completely unavailable.
Codename: Panzers will include around 30 missions, which will be spread over three campaigns. The German campaign will run from the invasion of Poland to the siege at Stalingrad in 1942. From there, you'll pick up as the Soviets, until the fall of Berlin in 1945. The third and final campaign will let you play as the Americans and British during the liberation of France in 1944. All the campaign missions will be playable in cooperative multiplay. Stormregion is still being a bit quiet about its multiplayer, but it is aiming to support up to 32 players. Additional multiplay modes will include defend and attack, as well as the traditional capture the flag.
The game certainly looks impressive at this point. The graphics and physics engine, along with the fully destructible environment, look very promising, and the game looks like it's trying to meld the realism and tactical challenge of the Close Combat games with the storytelling and action of Warcraft. We'll find out how successful Stormregion is when Codename: Panzers ships later this year.
By Jason Ocampo, GameSpot POSTED: 04/12/04 02:29PM
