Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

I believe it is going to be on august 31 2005 (SS1)

Perhaps it is a perfect oportunity to relase the already announced (suited for the occassion) "fixed for good" win v. patch.

Actually it was for the cd v relase, but as Don said (wisely) on a previus post: "plans usually end up in disarray". For me that's a very fair statement.

However, how about this: "The 10th anniversary patch"(maybe, why not?)

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

I was on the beta team for the first Steel Panthers and I remember my awe when I received it.

Wow!

10 Years. Man, how the game and its derivatives have affected my life. She's a grand old lady, still alive and well and has produced some magnificent offspring!

WB

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

I still remember when i first heard of Steel Panthers, it was about 8 or 9 years ago, i tried it and i found it unplayable and boring.

Luckily i give it another try almost 7 years later http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

I played it from begining, hard to believe it is 10 years!

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

Yes, I was in from the beginning with SP1 the day it came out...the graphics were (then) impressive....Hard to believe now!!

I was so dissappointed when I upgraded ny computer and couldnt get any versions to run except SP3..I was distraught when a second upgrade stopped even that working.

and now at last SP2 for windows......bliss!!

[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/MusicalNote.gif[/img]Happy Birthday Steel Panthers....happy birthday to you[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/MusicalNote.gif[/img]

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

wow 10 years

I have been playing it the whole time. I downloaded the demo or maybe it was on another CD...I played the Russia vs Ukraine scenario for weeks then bought the game and have played it ever since.... My friend says I'm an addict.

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

Yep, I've been playing it forever too under various guises.

I kind of miss the scale of SP3 from time to time though. Norm Koger's TANKS! had the same platoon scale and that one no longer works on any of my computers either. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Does anyone know if there ever any plans to revisit the SP3 scale with the SP series?

Thanks!

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

I have a feeling that I have read somewhere that the quick answer is "No". I think Matrix have the rights to sp3 (which, I believe is what SPWAW is based on, someone will correct me if I am wrong)

I would love to be wrong because that was one of my faves from the series.

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

I would be very happy if the SP3 scale would be implemented in WinSPMBT.

Artur.

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

Matrix does not own the rights to sp3 as far as I know..
Matrix used the SP3 engine to create SPWAW, where as the camo group used the SP2 engine...
Since SSI is no more.. I have no clue who owns the rights to these 2 engines..
I beieve both entities have some rights to the engines but cannot sell them or some such thing.

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

Nope, because the scale never appealed, and SP3 was a flawed product. (I got bored of killing M1 tanks with 81mm mortar strikes, as any track hit was a "kill" ). And the black dialogue box that insisted on popping up smack in the middle of the screen was another annoyance.

I have the SP3 code here on my machine. TGN/Matrix used the SP3 code as the base for thier product. We used the Sp2 code base. There is no "exclusive".

Cheers
Andy

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

Well the flawed code is one thing, BUT what do you say about implementing the briagde level on YOUR codebase?

Artur.

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

We're not interested.

I have, as well as Andy, **Zero** interest in the scale of that game. I bought SP3 when it came out and it lasted 2 weeks on my HD. I dislike the scale and the interface.

Don

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

Well said...

I used to miss SP3, until SPMBT came out...although I do sometimes miss the online battles. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif
And Andy's KOBS...LOL http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

WoW! This game has brought fun to easily hundreds if not thousands of us. This game has to be considered as a classic in military gaming circles! I still have the original game as well as the scenario disks (and their boxes). Happy Anniversary to all those who have brought us this tremendous game and who keep it going! And with the constant research and timeless effort, special praise must be given to Wild Bill who has been a constant force in this game and its many variations. Thanks all!

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

It would need more than a code change - the main change in SP3 is the graphics to make 250 yard hexes. So all the tiles would need re-doing (a decidedly non-trivial task).

Another major change in SP3 is the vehicle graphics, where you can choose full size unit icons (which look too large for the scale0, or to use micro-dots of say 4 tigers in the platoon, and these micro-dot miniaturised icons will likely lose all the graphical detail of the full-sized ones.

Then you would need to figure out some major combat detail alterations, as in SP3 at the moment, it kills any vehicle which gets a track or mobility hit. That was a MAJOR annoyance with the game that I had - you only needed to blast even an M1 platoon with light mortars, eventually getting a track hit, which then deleted 1 micro-dot vehicle from that platoon. You would need to figure out some system which detached individual tanks from the platoon when they had track hits - and then figure out some system to re-combine these "orphans" at battle end back into the correct platoon that owned them (and some system to "carry" orphans through future battles if the user had not the repair points to fix them).

All in all - a nightmare. And SP3 did not sell well - very few people were interested in the scale.

So, it is not really going to happen.

If you are interested - then ProSim here at shrapnel have a modern brigade level game which you may well want to check out (BCT) - I have been meaning to have a look at the demo whenever I get some time to do so http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif!

Cheers
Andy

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

Well guys it is sad to hear this however You know the best what your future plans are.
I am a software engineer so I can imagine the problems listed, however they do not seem unsolvable but they surely mean a lot of work.

Regarding the selling success of SP3, IMHO the over-all enviroment was very different in 98 than in 95. In 95 SP1 was a top of the calss program regarding graphichs and sound effects besides it's tactical depth. In 98 a lot of Windows based programs came out like CivilizationII and one of my favorites, the People's General.
Nowdays the SP cammo group aims for a very special group of players. a poll wuld reflect better whether it would sell well or not.

At last but surely not least let me express my acknowledgements for your hard and successful work creating this wonderful game.

Artur.

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

I played SP3. I liked it well enough, save that the units were so weak that I gave it up and went back to SP1 and 2. I still have it, and a lot of the mods made for it.

Last year i reinstalled SP1 and played it. I realised through the first scenario, how much the SP series has evolved in ten years. We have surpassed SP1, but we must remember that SP1 was the seed from which the might oak grew.

troopie

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

I was viewing a live chat with Gary Grisby at Matrix when discussion of a possible Steel Panthers IV appeared on topic. Apparently they are in the early stages. I don't know what scale or changes would appear though. Anyone else in the know?

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

I was there from the begining too. I used to play on my dad's computer and I even made a few scenarios with his help (I was about 8-9 in those days). The graphics were really good and i remember that as I got older I still played SP in its different guises as SPWAW and briefly as the old version of SPWW2. SPMBT and SPWAW are by far my favourite incarnations of the game and even now compared to all the other war games out there this top down HUGO game still beats all in terms of detail and playability. Mods like Blitzkrieg I and II and the various mods for Battlefield 42 and Vietnam always left something to be desired and even when I made personal tweaks to games like RON T&P to make the game more playable and realistic SP and its offspring still were better.

I therefore salute SP and all the other SP related games! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/Flag_Germany.gif[/img] http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

I would like to see a combination game which would combine the brigade level of combat (including multi brigade) using the common military unit icons with Steel Panther level of combat! The player would conduct brigade level of combat on one screen, and then when the brigades became engaged you could switch to a Steel Panthers level game, using individual units.

Re: Steel Panthers\' 10th Anniversary
 

I played SP also almost from the beginning.... My first reaction to SP1 was "gee, 'tis somewhat complicated to me" (I was about 13-14 back then?) but then I've watched my brother playing it and I got hooked...

On SP3 I disliked many things, like that weapon ranges were reduced four times but the movement wasn't, so almost any unit was able to outrun shots... I have made my own mod with speeds halved (originally also reduced by four but then it was too slow) and I have made many other goodies like on-board DD's for WW2 or on-board planes as A-10, Sturmovik or so (I have used internal rules such as that the planes must move at least xx hexes in one turn , but onboard usage allowed to better simulate the deployment of low-level attack planes hiding behind the ridges etc.)...

Overall... SP got a long live and now I am enjoying fully WinMBT and I am waiting for WinSPWW2:o)