Introducing Battle Group Commander: Episode One!

[Tim Brooks]

Introducing Battle Group Commander: Episode One!
Brand New Game Series From ProSIM Company!


Hampstead, NC, 16 February 2009

In a gaming world obsessed with the big Dubya Dubya Two one developer, ProSIM Company, has represented the spearhead in providing gamers with exciting alternatives in the form of the ultimate in modern land combat simulations. From the early days of BCT Commander to their latest title, Air Assault Task Force, ProSIM has given PC gamers the very best in real time simulations, allowing players to fight in North Korea, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Somalia, and more using today's tools of conflict. Their titles have changed the way gamers view real time gaming and what a wargame actually can deliver, and in 2009 ProSIM is once again ready to set the wargaming world on fire.

Publisher Shrapnel Games and developer ProSIM Company are extremely proud to announce the launch of a brand new episodic series of modern warfare simulations for the PC entitled Battle Group Commander. A Battle Group is a British Army term for a battalion-sized formation that brings together armor, infantry, artillery and other assets into a combined arms team.

Battle Group Commander: Episode One is designed by Gary Bezant, former member of the British Army and designer of the controversial ProSIM title, The Falklands War: 1982 (also published by Shrapnel Games). Episode One allows players to step into the boots of a Battle Group Commander (imagine that!) and fight a Soviet-style enemy in the Salisbury Plain Training Area of England (analogous to the NTC in the US). No word yet on whether steaks will also be involved.

Powered by the Air Assault Task Force engine, Battle Group Commander: Episode One gives players everything they've come to expect from a ProSIM title. Players can command units individually or by company in pausable real time. Detailed weapons modeling allowing for individual weapon destruction. Terrain that is derived from real world digital elevation mapping. Intuitive GUI. Aggressive AI that uses a variety of operational plans for great replayability. Realism and playability, the dream of every wargamer, all found in Battle Group Commander: Episode One.

What's most exciting though about Battle Group Commander: Episode One is the episodic nature of the series. Priced at a very affordable $14.95 and available as a direct download, it is a perfect way in these challenging economic times to enjoy quality wargaming without breaking the bank.

Episode One contains four scenarios and supports both single and multi-player gaming. As a standalone product new players can enjoy the simulation, with a detailed web-based tutorial, streamlined yet comprehensive electronic manual, and pre-set scenario planning. Veterans of ProSIM games will find that although made more noob-friendly, Battle Group Commander: Episode One boasts all the detail you're used to. Nothing has been "dumbed down", and in fact owners of Air Assault Task Force (or the older Armored Task Force) can install Battle Group Commander: Episode One and gain access to all the units and the map found in the new title!

So, not only is Battle Group Commander: Episode One an exciting standalone digital wargame that hearkens back to days of the cardboard microgame (big gaming for very little money), it's also the equivalent of an expansion for owners of Air Assault Task Force or Armored Task Force! A win-win for both new and old fans alike!

Future episodes in the Battle Group Commander series will feature British operations in other settings and situations. Later this year another series will launch, March To Baghdad, whose episodes will cover Operation Iraqi Freedom.

For more information on Battle Group Commander: Episode One please visit its official product page here:

http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ProSIM/BGC/BGC_page.html.

Please note that since this is an episodic release there will not be an official demo for the title. To experience the engine it is based upon please download the demo for Air Assault Task Force, found here:

http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ProSIM/BGC/BGC_page.html.

Battle Group Commander: Episode One is available for Windows and only as a direct download. It is priced at just $14.95.

For the entire line of ProSIM titles please visit www.shrapnelgames.com. While there fans of modern warfare gaming should also check out winSPMBT, available in both a free edition and a retail Enhanced edition. We also carry an impressive mix of award winning independent strategy titles and other niche gaming in a variety of formats.

About ProSIM Company

ProSIM Company has been developing highly realistic simulation wargames since 1996. All their titles use their hallmark command real time method of gameplay, along with an exhaustive list of gameplay details that elevate their titles from simple games to true simulations. They are also one of the few developers who make modern warfare titles for the PC, a neglected market in a world oversaturated with WW2 gaming. Besides publishing in the commercial world ProSIM titles are also used for real world military training at Lockheed Martin, the Department of Defense, and more.

About Shrapnel Games

Celebrating a decade in business this year, Shrapnel Games was formed in 1999 by industry veteran Timothy Brooks as the mainstream world began to turn its back on consims and strategy gaming unless your name happened to be Sid. As one of the earliest independent publishers, predating online portals and other networks, Shrapnel Games has been home to many award winning and critically acclaimed niche titles over the years with favorites like Dominions 3: The Awakening, Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space, and War Plan Pacific.

For press related information please contact Scott R. Krol by using the following form: http://www.shrapnelgames.com/forms/c...nel_games.html

To visit our company blog go to: forum.shrapnelgames.com/blog.php

For all other information, please contact:

Timothy W. Brooks
Shrapnel Games, Inc.
8254-109 Market Street
Box 190
Wilmington, NC 28411

[jimrad2383]

Ive your entire series, can you install them in order as always up to this new release to take advantage of the new features? Also will the editors work okay? I noticed BGC has no editor like your previous versions, will the editor of Air Assault Task Force work okay with this if its all combined? What would be the current order of installation from ATF onward?

Thanks in advance.


Jim

[S.R. Krol]

While BGC does not ship with an editor if you have ATF or AATF then you will be able to use one of those editors to access the map and units from BGC.

Regarding the order from ATF onwards I believe that the order would be:

ATF --> RT --> TFW82 --> TSAC --> AATF --> BCG1

[jimrad2383]

Thank you for the quick answer. I keep forgetting the order of release when I reinstall on a new system. Not sure what to make of Commander Episode One yet, in one hand I think theirs not enough substance but then hence the lower price point. I will have to see the database in the editor, normally the value is there, in fact more than your monies worth at times. Finding 4 scenarios was a bit of a surprise and the same 4 used as a campaign again was a surprise.

[S.R. Krol]

Well, it is an episodic game (and the fact that it only has four scenarios is on the product page). For $15 that works out to be $3.75 per scenario, which if someone buys it as a standalone is a good deal, and if someone uses it as an expansion is also pretty fair.

While episodic gaming has been tried with adventure gaming (Sam and Max) and first person shooters (Half Life 2), I think this is the first time a wargame has ever tried it so it's really an pretty exciting venture that will hopefully turn a lot of new folks onto ProSIM.