Petersburg

by

Wargame Design Studio and John Tiller Software

 
Petersburg; the name calls to mind the beginning of trench warfare. Although in actual fact, the troops on both sides had been using anything to dig themselves in for most of the war. It seems strange that no generals in WWI studied this campaign. The Battle of the Crater is usually, and sometimes the only part of the long siege like campaign that is written about. Taking a page out of the history books, some Union generals decided to dig a mine and blow up some of the Confederate works. The mine itself actually worked perfectly. The problem was the African-American U.S. troops that were trained and ready for the attack were exchanged for other troops right before the attack (this was for political reasons). The attack ended in a debacle for the Union troops. Once again I have babbled on. So, let us now talk about the game. Let's look at the game's contents:

Scenarios

• 195 scenarios are included, and all can be played as either side, against the A/I or other human challengers. And 31 of these scenarios have been specifically designed to be played against the A/I, for a greater challenge for those players that are more experienced.
• Most scenarios can be played against the A/I in a single day, yet others may take several days to complete, or even weeks. Just save, and continue later at your own pace.
• For more fun, challenge another human, and play either face to face, or PBEM (Play by email)
• Battles include: the assaults on Petersburg in June, Ream’s Station, the Crater, Globe Tavern, Peebles Farm, Burgess Mill, Hatcher’s Run, Fort Stedman, White Oak Road, Dinwiddie Court House, Five Forks, and the final battles leading to and including Appomattox Court House.
• Fight in normal conditions, or face you enemy using the added weather feature.
• 3 campaigns are included. The early Petersburg battles, the later Petersburg battles, and the Appomattox Campaign battles.

A Shot Of The Battle Of The Crater

Features and Enhancements

• All NEW graphics:
  • 3D hand drawn maps, and new 3D units, with individualized regimental flags.
  • Colorized leaders and unit files.
  • Traditional and refreshed B/W files are also an option.
  • New and improved 2D graphics, for both maps and units.
• Scenario and Campaign editor: Build new, or improve existing battles and campaigns.
• Many “What If” battles and maps, both large and small. Including the massive Petersburg Master map.
• Added the Extreme Fog of War optional rule.
• Greatly expanded and redesigned the Standard game engine Toolbar.
• A true, large (4X) 2D map view.
• Implemented dozens of new hot keys.

 This game finishes the series of John Tillers Civil Wars Battles. This game was the first game that was built from the ground up with all of the enhancements that Wargame Design Studio is bringing to the other battles (they are also updating some of the other John Tiller game series). The most striking feature of the enhanced games is their graphics. Many people have complained about the graphics bring dated in Tillers games, not really taking into account that some of them are almost twenty years old. Well, there should be no more complaints. You will even be able to see regimental flags when zoomed in. The next largest change is a toolbar that is twice the size and is color coded. For us old timers we can change it to the old toolbar if we choose. 

See The New Toolbar

 The scenarios are almost two hundred in number. There are many variations of the same scenarios. This is because the scenarios are all made with different play in mind. There are some meant to be played as one side or the other against the AI (this was another part of the games that had gamers wailing). Other scenarios are slightly historically changed or different in some way. The scenarios that were built to be played against the AI are very well done and more than a test for the solitaire player. There are also three different campaigns that the player can avail himself of. These are the same branching kind that we Tiller groupies are used to. There are new rules that include spiking guns, etc.

One Of The Closer Zoom Levels

 While it almost makes one sad that the series is finally complete, in other ways it gives me a glad feeling, especially for the fact that I was able to see it come to fruition and be on the right side of the grass. Unfortunately there is no PC demo of the Civil War Battles. There is, however, a free app for them that can be played on Android and other platforms. This will give a newbie a chance to see the system. 

 Thank you very much John Tiller Software and Wargame Design Studio for allowing me to review this excellent end to an excellent series. Especially now that they have all been worked on, and are new and shiny, by Wargame Design Studio.

 This is a list of the enhancements to the older series games, followed by a link to the updates:

For all that are wondering, here is what is included in these updates;

    Implemented Settings > Alternative Unit Symbols.
    Introduced the new Variable, Asymmetric, Turn-Based Victory Points System. [Available, but not really used yet.]
    Standardized weapon and movement values. Soon to be rolled out across prior and future titles
    Auto Defensive Fire has been adjusted so that artillery is set at "Min." This change will enhance play against the A/I, and will help conserve overall artillery ammunition supply levels. This setting can be changed by using the following hot key: Alt + F, or look under the A/I window during gameplay.
    Added to the Manuals Folder: Standard Toolbar Reference Guide
    Made the on-map elevation/coordinates/terrainmod font sizes a step smaller.
    Tweaked the in-game weapon descriptions.
    Fixed a damaged bridge crossing bug.
    Fixed a word-wrap bug in cp_start.exe.
    Implemented a true, large (4X) 2D map view, the new 2D Normal View, aka Zoom2D100. (Unlike before, where the largest 2D map view was achieved via software auto-magnification.)
    Greatly expanded and redesigned the Standard game engine Toolbar, now with 70 buttons. (The Classic Toolbar is retained.)
    Implemented: Settings > Toolbar > None/Classic Small/Classic Large/Standard Small/Standard Medium/Standard Large.
    Implemented dozens of new hot keys. Just about every menu option and game feature has been assigned a hot key. (This necessitated a number of hot key reassignments.)
    Hot keys are now documented in-game, in the menus, in the Status Bar and in Toolbar button tooltips.
    Reorganized the files and folders, such that everything is not stored in one big heap in the top-level game folder, rather is stored by file type and purpose in an expanded file folder hierarchy.
    Implemented a full-featured logging system, to aid in code development, debugging, and user support, among other purposes.
    Added the Extreme Fog of War optional rule. When Extreme Fog of War is in effect, the Visibility highlight only displays from friendly occupied hexes.  Also, for enemy units in obscuring terrain (e.g., Forest), enemy force counts will only display as XXX instead of, for example, 3XX.
    For artillery (and with the Manual Defensive Fire option toggled OFF), changed the Auto Defensive Fire default value from Max to Min.
    Implemented: Settings > Hex Highlights > Hex Outlines/Hex Shading.
    Implemented: Settings > Map Contours > Colors.../Widths...
    Implemented: Settings > Hand-Drawn 3D Map.
    Implemented: Settings > Unit/Leader Boxes > Color/No Color.
    Implemented: View > Map Elevation/Map Coordinates/Map Combat Modifiers.
    Implemented: View > 2D Map Slopes.
    New 3D hand-painted maps including settings toggle
    New 3D units (with customized regimental flags, etc.)
    New 2D terrain graphics
    Changed the brigade combat colors to display on counter edge (not on counter face).
    2D counter redesign including all counter symbology
    New unit card colorization for all formations including leaders (includes refreshed B&W images)
    Standardized naming in OOB's to be rolled out across prior and future titles

http://www.johntillersoftware.com/CivilWarBattles.html

Robert

 

Panzer Battles of North Africa 1941

by

Wargame Design Studio

John Tiller Software 

 Wargame Design Studios must be one of if not the busiest wargame coders at the moment. They have not only put out their three games based off the larger Tiller 'Panzer Campaigns', but are also upgrading what seems to be the entire older stable of the John Tiller Software stable of games. I have reviewed both of their other two efforts 'Panzer Battles Normandy' and 'Panzer Battles Kursk - Southern Front'. I was impressed by both games. The game play was great, but also the breadth of the games was impressive. These games come with a ton of scenarios, with many of these developed with the solo player in mind. 

  

 So now I am stuck in a quandary. How does one review only half a game? PBNA 1941 comes with everything you would expect, and tons more. It comes with scenarios from 1940 and the Italian invasion of Egypt. The other scenarios from North Africa are based in 1941 with the arrival of the Afrika Korps and that Rommel guy. This is probably the main attraction that will pull most gamers in. I, on the other hand, am on the opposite pole. Rommel schlommel; who cares about him? PBNA 1941 also has an ace in the hole for me, Crete and one battle in Greece. I do like gaming the 1940 Italian versus British campaign. It pits a 1940 military (British) against a 1936 equipped Italian army. What the Italians did not have in equipment or leadership they tried to make up for in bravery (contrary to some history books). Unfortunately, this did not equal out the playing field. So for you wargamers' sakes I have had to bite the bullet and play a lot of British versus the Afrika Korps scenarios. 

 So, first off what comes in the package? These are the scenarios:

• Operation Compass, Dec 1940; The Battle of the Camps - 5 scenarios
• Operation Compass, Jan 1941; The Battle of Bardia - 3 scenarios
• Operation Compass, Jan 1941; The Battle of Tobruk - 5 scenarios
• Operation Compass, Feb 1941; Beda Fomm - 5 scenarios
• Unternehmen Sonnenblume Mar 1941; Cyrenaica - 9 scenarios
• Siege of Tobruk Apr 1941; Tobruk - 8 scenarios
• Greece Apr 1941; Corinth Canal - 1 scenario
• Operation Brevity May 1941; Egypt/Libya Border - 8 scenarios
• Unternehmen Merkur May 1941; Crete - 25 scenarios
• Operation Battleaxe Jun 1941; Egypt/Libya Border - 10 scenarios
• Operation Crusader Nov 1941; Egypt/Libya Border - 26 scenarios

• Beda Fomm; variable scenario - 3 scenarios
• Operation Brevity; variable scenario - 3 scenarios
• Unternehmen Merkur; variable scenario - 4 scenarios

These are the features:

• 115 Scenarios – covering all sizes and situations, including specialized versions for both head to head play and vs. the computer AI.
• 8 Master Maps covering Greece, Crete and Libya and Egypt. The North Africa map contains over 1.23 million hexes. 55 sub maps are included. The North Africa map area is over three times bigger than the map included with Battles of Normandy.
• 8 Order of Battles covering the evolving 1941 force mix for each side. The represented Allied forces include the British, Greek, Indian, Australian, New Zealand, South African, Free French, Polish and Czech. The included Axis forces are the Italians, Libyans, Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe.
• Unit component, Order-of-Battle and Scenario Editors which allow players to customize the game.
• Sub-map feature allowing any of the included maps to be "chopped" up into smaller segments for custom scenario creation.
• Various map graphics with a new visual style to improve height perception. Fortifications and other icons are integrated into the game map.
• Three different counter sets switchable in game including side on, top down and NATO symbols.
• All new images for unit art for both sides, including infantry, guns and vehicles.
• Exceptional Documentation including an 85 page 'Visual Order of Battle Guide' and 159 page 'Designer Notes & FAQ'. Both are included with the game. In addition, for optional download, 340mb digital version of thirteen planning maps.

Battles of North Africa 1941 provides multiple play options including play against the computer AI, Play by E-mail (PBEM), LAN & Internet "live" play, and two player hot seat.

 In reality, I could just copy and paste one of the other 'Panzer Battles' game's reviews and change the name. They are all take offs from a long line of tried and true wargames. This is in some ways true and other ways not. Wargame Design Studio really makes an effort to put you, the player, in the seat that the generals had in World War II. They also have continually tweaked the original engine to make it that much better. To be honest, for me the one thing missing is some scenarios about the planned invasion of Malta. I am not much for what-ifs, but campaigns and battles that came really close to happening I am okay with. 

  Corps, Brigade, Regiment, or Battalion, whatever you want to play for moment of gaming is here. You can also play three campaigns: Operation Compass, Operation Brevity, and Unternehmen Merkur. The last one is Operation Mercury and the Battles for Crete.

Lucky For Me

  We have not even scratched the surface of the game yet. I have checked out all of the editors to make sure they work, but have not had the chance to delve too deeply (time is the enemy of all men). The amount that you can customize in the game is very impressive, both in troops, maps etc. The game comes with Unit Component, Order-of-Battle, and Scenario editors.

  

                                      Order Of Battle Editor

 So what exactly is new and earth shaking about this release? Absolutely nothing at all, but isn't every new game supposed to have a 'catch' or some gimmick? No, no, it is not. For those of us, and some newcomers, who grew up on hexes and these type maps and units, these games are the end all and be all. They give us the ability to play on a map that would take up the dining room table and more. We can also get in a move or a full game anytime day or night against a competent opponent. These games are why we bought our first computers, and most of the other ones (except for when we want to kill orcs etc.). We Grognards have had countless hours of enjoyment from John Tiller games. Now, with Wargamers Design Studio we can count on many more. Did I mention this game has a campaign and scenarios from the Battle of Crete!!!

 So, if you absolutely have to see if you could do better than Rommel or his British counterparts in the early Desert War, then this game is for you. If you want to try your luck at commanding the 'Hunters From the Sky' it's in here also. If 3D and maps with trees blowing in the wind is your gaming taste, either look away or try a sample of Grognard Pie. I will be heading to the American Civil War next to try out WDS's Petersburg. Happy Holidays.

Robert

Panzer Battles North Africa 1941

by

 Wargame Design Studio 

 Now that I have caught your attention, "Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus". Or at least a few elves working hard on the above game. This would be Wargame Design Studio's third 'Panzer Battles' game. The first was 'Battles in Normandy' followed by 'Battles of Kursk Southern Flank'. These are both excellent games in their own right. Now they are going to be joined by their younger brother, North Africa. I have said this before in reviews, and I will probably say it again. I am not a big North African campaign fan, at least once the Germans show up. I do like wargaming the early battles with the Italians and British. There is however, one campaign that sets me to drooling like Pavlov's dogs and that is the airborne invasion of Crete. So this misnamed game has not only the early North Africa battles, but it also has the battles for Crete. Oh, and by the way, did I mention that it has battles from Crete!!!

Game screen showing terrain

 This is a list of some of the battles and operations included:

North Africa:

Compass

Sonnenblume

Tobruk

Brevity

Battleaxe

Crusader

Beda Fomm

Bardia

Sidi Barrani 

Greece:

Corinth Canal

Crete:

Maleme

Retimo

Heraklion

Galatas

Italian Division break down

The Panzer Battles games are meant to be the midway games between John Tiller's 'Panzer Campaigns' and their 'Squad Battles' games. Much like Goldilocks, many of us wargamers have found a sweet spot in this third helping from WGS and JTS. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the other games. It is just the 'Panzer Battles' games are small enough at times to wet that whistle, and large enough at others for those cravings. 

Different Nationalities in the game

 Now, we can get into the long running argument. The AI in John Tiller Software is no good. If you are still spouting off that mantra please crawl out from under your rock and take a look again at all of the games mentioned circa 2018 and not 2001. Just like every other game designed recently, or retrofitted, North Africa has been developed with a ton of players against AI scenarios that will fit anyone's bill. There are also a large number of games for people who only want to play by PBEM or Hotseat etc. There are plenty of demos for a wargamer to try now of the different JTS products, so do yourself a favor and come back to the light.

First Turn In One of The Heraklion Scenarios

 From the newer graphics to the battle sounds that will blow you away, (literally if you turn the sound up too loud in Panzer Battles Kursk), you would be amazed how these 'old' type of wargames play today. Yes, this based on a two dimensional map with hexes. No, this does not have cute tanks running through the desert wastes. Yes, this game is great and deserves all the praise it gets. The one thing about WDS is that they are constantly working on and upgrading many of the various JTS products. The only thing I would have liked them to add was more battles from Greece, both from the Italian and then subsequent German invasions. 

First Turn In One of The Maleme Scenarios

First Turn Corinth Canal Scenario

 Look for a review of this game once it has been released. So as a wrap up, it has tons of scenarios, many that are meant to be played against the AI. The sound and visuals are up to today's standards, and you can make your own or fiddle to your heart's content with the scenarios it comes with. It also has campaigns or separate battles both large and small. To top it all off, it has scenarios from Crete!

This is a link to an article about terrain in NA 1941:
 https://www.wargamedesignstudio.com/2018/11/01/north-africa-getting-started-terrain/

This is a link to an article about the Compass scenarios:
https://www.wargamedesignstudio.com/2018/10/18/north-africa-player-notes-operation-compass-scenarios/

This is a link to an article about the Italian forces in the game:
https://www.wargamedesignstudio.com/2018/09/28/north-africa-player-notes-the-italians/

Robert

Panzer Battles Kursk Southern Flank

By

Wargame Design Studio 

  As I am typing, I am playing the Prokhorovka Finale July 12th scenario. The only thing that is missing is the smell of cordite. The artillery, rocket, and other battleground noise is slightly deafening, and this is with the sound turned low. Visually and audibly stunning, let's see how the rest of the game has turned out.

 This is a review of 'Panzer Battles Kursk Southern Flank' with the new 1.02 patch installed. I will post the 1.02 update changes at the bottom of the review. A game about Kursk has some big shoes to fill. Arguably one of the most important battles of WWII, even if not really the largest tank battle, its place in the history of WWII is gigantic, just like the eastern front it was fought on. It had all of the makings of an epic clash: the immovable object pitted against the irresistible force. In the beginning, it was the Russians that were the immovable object. On July 12th at Prokhorovka, the tide had turned and the Soviet Fifth Guards Tank Army army was trying to blast the three SS panzer grenadier divisions off the map. 

 The scale of the new 'Panzer Battles' series is 1 hex equals 250 meters. The master map covers 102,000 hexes covering all of the action  on the southern front of the battle of Kursk. The order of battle includes over 15,800  units from this list:
Wehrmacht
SS
Luftwaffe
Red Army
Red Guards

 Just like 'Panzer Battles Normandy', Kursk comes with unit component, order of battle, and scenario editors. To let you tinker to your hearts content. The maps can be "chopped" into smaller segments for making custom scenarios.

 There are 60 scenarios to choose from. They range from 5 to 38 turns in length.

• July 4th; XXXXVIII Panzer Korp's preliminary attacks – 2 scenarios
• July 5th; II SS Panzer Korp's – 4 scenarios
• July 5th; III Panzer Korp – 4 scenarios
• July 5th; XXXXVIII Panzer Korp – 6 scenarios
• July 6th; II SS Panzer Korp – 7 scenarios
• July 7th; III Panzer Korp – 6 scenarios
• July 7th; XXXXVIII Panzer Korp – 1 scenarios
• July 8th; Voronezh Front – 9 scenarios
• July 9th; XXXXVIII Panzer Korp – 7 scenarios
• July 10th; II SS Panzer Korp – 6 scenarios
• July 11th; II SS Panzer Korp – 4 scenarios
• July 12th; Voronezh & Steppe Fronts – 4 scenarios 

 Almost half of the scenarios are 15 turns or less, and are meant to be playable in roughly one hour. There are some scenarios that are especially made for head-to-head gaming, but we solo players have not been forgotten. Other scenarios are meant for playing against the AI. The modes of play available are:

Against the AI
Play by email (PBEM)
Lan and internet live
Two player hotseat

The game comes  with copious amounts of documentation. Here are a few examples:

• Designer Notes (PDF file)
• Planning Maps (PDF file)
• Getting Started (PDF file)
• User Manual (PDF file)
• Summer Map (JPG file)
• Summer Map with Units (JPG file)
• Visual Order of Battle Guide (PDF File)  

 The laundry list of updates and improvements just keep getting longer. As of now, 'Panzer Battles Kursk' is at version 1.02. There is no reason to assume that Wargame Design Studio won't continue with the practice of John Tiller Software, and keep releasing updates, etc. John Tiller games are still updating some of their games from fifteen years ago. I know for a fact that play testing is a long and nit picking process, and that no matter how many scenarios one of their games comes with, all of the scenarios are tested before the game ends up on your computer.

 The game play, like all Tiller based games, is meant to provide the player with the most realistic battle situations, and command options available. This does make their games more mentally labor intensive than most. Like most cerebral games, the more you put into it the more you will get out of it. The scenarios with their smaller size, compared to 'Panzer Campaigns', are meant to be nail biters, and they succeed in this admirably. You cannot afford to leisurely play 'Panzer Battles', and decide to just go through the motions for this turn. The AI or your opponent will pounce on your mistakes and teach you a lesson very quickly. Playing as the Russian, you will need all of your powers and the strength of your units to stop the German juggernaut. A little good luck is also helpful. Playing as the Germans, you cannot afford to make any mistakes if you are to see the onion spires of Kursk.

 The 'Panzer Battles' games fill a void in the wargaming world. The scenarios included in both the games are either small enough to get in a game before dinner, or large enough to keep you occupied for much longer. Rarely do you find so many scenarios in a game now, and probably never of such diversity. These games, especially with their modding options, should be a big hit with the wargaming crowd. That would be excellent, because then they could afford to branch out into less known and more arcane battles of the period. Some battles have never had games about them, or very rarely. I see on the Wargame Design Studio website there is already a 'Panzer Battles 3' listed. There is also a write up about the creation of a Maleme scenario.

  I am going to button my hatch now and get back to the maelstrom that was the battle of Kursk. Happy holidays to all and I hope you have a great new year ahead of you. Please also look at my 'Panzer Battles Normandy' review.

 http://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2016/07/john-tillers-panzer-battles-of-normandy.html



 Robert

Game: Panzer Battle's Kursk Southern Flank
Developer: Wargame Design Studio
Distributor: John Tiller Software
Date of Review: 12/5/16




These features include improved user interface, new terrain graphics and simplified folder structures. The full list of changes is below;

Kursk Patch 1.02 Changelog

Bug Fixes

• Adjusted reporting for air attacks
• Corrected hex stack reporting when a wreck is in the hex   
• Corrected a crash bug when the last man/gun/vehicle is destroyed by defensive fire
• Corrected a fog of war bug when right clicking
• Included a check that all off board artillery is not placed on the map.
• Any fixed unit that is fired on will now instantly un-fix
• Units could use a bridge while in travel mode to enter an obstacle and then exit the hex, rather than lose their whole movement allowance. This has been corrected and units will now lose all their movement points if they move into an obstacle hex
• Engineer units were in some cases isolated when in a minefield - this should no longer occur
• Engineer units will not clear a minefield in a turn that they recover from disruption
• Adjacent engineers no longer remove isolation for units in minefields
• Off map artillery was not firing during the defensive fire phase - this will now occur at the same frequency as on map artillery
• Engineers that attempt to damage a bridge or AT ditch will reveal themselves if currently concealed
• Units can no longer combine if in mismatched travel modes
• File mismatch due to different encryption setting during PBEM - fixed
• Campaign auto-advance on wrong password entry – fixed

 

Enhancements

• Newly implemented:  View > Map Elevations, View > Map Coordinates, View > Map Combat Modifiers.
• Optional Zoom to hotspot – Settings > Center Zoom on Hot Spot
• New parameter file entry - Fatigue factor. Used for scaling fatigue accumulation. Set at 2.0 for Normandy & Kursk. Will be 3.0 for future titles to match the fatigue calculations in Panzer Campaigns. 3.0 is the more appropriate value to use, but none of the Kursk & Normandy scenarios were tested with the higher value
• New on counter broken and disrupted markings - visible when stacked and unstacked.
• New Getting Started documentation, including Campaign Primer and Terrain & Combat tables
• Updated General Help guide with a revised layout and additional information.
• Updated User guide with a revised layout and additional information. All manuals are a work in progress and will continue to be rationalised over time.

 

Order of Battle

• Corrected Soviet 27 76mm Gun btty (hs) causing scenario crash

 

Graphics Changes

• New -small- terrain features. All files are under \Maps\ Terrain Small. Copy all the 8 files into the map directory and overwrite the existing. To revert to the graphics released in Patch 1.01, copy the files out of \Maps\ Terrain - Default directory back into the Map directory. To revert to the graphics released in the original game, copy the files out of \Maps\ Terrain - Original directory back into the Map directory
• New Cover art. Various versions available in the \Screen directory

 

Map Changes

• Alternate small map graphics included

 

User Interface Changes

• New Shortcut keys
• New Toolbar Icons in traditional and standard configuration. Small, Medium and Large versions also available for each.
• File/folder reorganization, with creation of the following new folders:  Data (.oob & .pdt files), Logs (.log files), Manuals (.pdf files), Saves (.bt? files), Scenarios (.scn, .map files etc.), Screens (various game .bmp files).
• New logging system (with various .log files in the new Logs folder), to assist in game testing, and identifying and fixing bugs.

John Tiller's Panzer Battles of Normandy Review

 

 The name John Tiller is well known to any wargamer during the last quarter century. His litany of games include the series 'Squad Battles', 'Panzer Campaigns', 'Napoleonic Battles', 'Civil War Battles', ' The Campaign Series', and even more. The game companies he has worked with are 'Talonsoft' and 'HPS Simulations'. For a few years now he has been on his own with 'John Tiller Software'. One of the more amazing things about this litany of games is that is is continually being updated all through the years. I just started playing a WWI mod for the Campaign series that was just released. This shows the longevity his games have. So we should expect the highest quality and gaming from a release of his. Let's see how his newest release 'Panzer Battles Normandy' stacks up. See, we are wargamers and I used the word stacks, I know, I know, sorry.


  Panzer, the word invokes a picture now, probably of a Tiger tank. Once it used to invoke fear. The word is short for 'Panzerkampfwagen'. All compound German words have to have an acronym. If they didn't you'd have a stroke trying to pronounce them; just look up the actual German word for FLAK,which stands for fliegerabwehrkanone, gesundheit. Mark Twain in his essay 'The Awful German Language' poked fun at their words with "some German words are so long that they have perspective".


 Panzer Battles Normandy is the younger brother of Panzer Battles Kursk. This new series is meant to allow the player to indulge in scenarios as counter heavy as the Panzer Campaign series or much less with it's smaller scale. The scale is 250 meters per hex and thirty minutes time per turn, where the Panzer Campaign scale was 1 Km per hex and two hour turns. Squad battles scale is 40 meters per hex and ten minute turn times. It has mouse wheel zooming for ease of use and eyesight.


  The master map has almost 400,000 hexes. The full Normandy map that comes with the game is so large I cannot do it justice with this image. Scrolling the entire map is only recommended for people who are looking forward to carpal tunnel syndrome. The stacking limit for a hex can be found when right clicking on the hex info area of the screen, by default it is on the upper left of the screen. There is a maximum stacking limit along with a road movement stacking limit.

 It comes with two campaigns and a total of ninety-three scenarios. The scenarios range from small battalion size to large where you are in charge of an entire corps.

•June 6th; D-Day Landings 14 scenarios
•June 7th; Hitlerjugend's counterattack 2 scenarios
•June 11th; Operation Perch 3 scenarios
•June 13th; Villers Bocage 2 scenarios
•June 13th to June 14th; Carentan 2 scenario
•June 22nd; Cherbourg 3 scenarios
•June 25th; Operation Martlet 2 scenarios
•June 26th to June 29th; Operation Epsom 4 scenarios
•July 4th; Operation Windsor 1 scenario
•July 11th; St Lo 4 scenarios
•July 18th to July 19th; Operation Goodwood 6 scenarios
•July 25th; Operation Spring 2 scenarios
•July 26th to July 29th; Operation Cobra 3 scenarios
•July 30th to August 5th; Operation Bluecoat 7 scenarios
•August 7th to August 8th; Operation Lüttich 3 scenarios
•August 8th to August 9th; Operation Totalize 4 scenarios
•August 11th to August 12th; US 3rd Army breakout 2 scenarios
•August 19th; Falaise gap 1 scenario
•4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards Campaign 5 scenarios
•2nd Armored Division (US) Campaign 18 scenarios

 For those of you who like to mod, you can use the unit components, order-of-battle, and scenario editors.

 There is even a campaign editor added to the game. I will post from the campaign editor 'Help File'.
 "A Campaign consists of a series of Situations. Each Situation offers each side in the Campaign a list of Choices. Each side picks one of these Choices not knowing what the other side has decided. After each side has selected their Choice, then the selections are cross referenced to arrive at an Outcome. An Outcome consists of a Scenario in a Module and 5 other Situations associated with the 5 possible victory conditions that can result from a battle: Major Defeat, Minor Defeat, Draw, Minor Victory, and Major Victory. In addition, an Expected Value is associated with each Outcome for use by the A/I (Artificial Intelligence). The Scenario is fought by the two sides and the Allied victory condition resulting from this battle is used to determine the next Situation according to the 5 Situations associated with the Outcome. This process is repeated and continues until a Terminal Situation is reached which represents the resolution of the Campaign."

 It sounds rather over the top, but the help file walks you through it step by step, and the way that the editor has been setup with its drop down menus is much more intuitive in reality.

  With the amount of editing that can be done, and the fact that you can chop up the huge master map into any size bits you want, we should be inundated with used made scenarios. I wouldn't be surprised to see a William the Conqueror or Viking raid scenario (just kidding). In reality you can edit pretty much anything you want. In this day and age of computer wargaming, it's like a breath of fresh air. To be more precise it's like a breath of older air. The modding capabilities remind me of games from twenty years ago.


  You can play against the AI, PBEM, and LAN and internet live play, along with two player hot seat. PBEM is not my cup of tea, but I have read all about the process and the comments from users and it seems pretty seamless.

  Besides the user manual download, there are five other excellent downloads for your use. This is the list.

•Designer Notes (149 page 15MB PDF file)
•Planning Maps (88 page 203MB PDF file)
•Getting Started Guide (42 page 9MB PDF file)
•User Manual (102 page 2MB PDF file)
•Summer Map (190MB PNG file)
•Visual Order of Battle (136 page 68MB PDF file)


  The game itself is pretty much what you would expect from a John Tiller wargame. You can see that their pedigree stretches back to board wargames. The Tiller system for most of his games revolves around a unit quality system that grades a unit from 'A' to 'E', with 'A' being the best. Movement, casualties, and combat lower the unit on the scale. Just as in real warfare, resting your units at times is essential for your cyber troops.


  Engineering units can do the following: Bridge operations, clear mines or rubble, lay mines, and damage bridges or anti-tank ditches.


  Air units are either combat or recon. You can call in airstrikes against a particular enemy unit, and you can also use heavy bombers to carpet bomb an entire hex, as was used by the Allies at several times during the campaign.


  Playing as the Germans, be prepared to keep your head down and learn to deal with the overwhelming power of the Allied air forces, land, and naval gunfire. When playing as the Allies use the same, and use your preponderance of material compared to wasting your troops.


  The smaller scenarios are perfect for the John Tiller neophyte to sink his teeth into. All of the John Tiller wargames are higher on the complexity scale. The Panzer Battles games with their smaller scenarios and counter count are tailor made for the tyro who wants to get further into our hobby than 'Axis and Allies', etc. To help newbies and to also speed up your turns, you can turn on the 'firing AI' for your forces and leave the shooting to them.

 
 Do not expect to have your way against the AI as the Allies or Germans. I have tried numerous times to replicate Michael Wittmannn's achievement in the battle of Villars-Bocage. For those who have forgotten, it was Wittmann and six other Tiger tanks and a handful of other forces against an entire British Armored division. The British had found the German left flank hanging in the wind and might nave been able to end the Normandy campaign much sooner. The British had stopped on the road for a 'spot of tea'. Wittman's gunner Bobby Woll made the comment,"they are acting as if they've won the war already." Followed by Wittmann's retort "we're going to prove them wrong." The Germans attacked and stopped the 7th armored (the desert rats) cold.   


 Whilst I admit I am not a lady of the evening concerning graphics, I am getting on in years and the prescription for my glasses is not getting any better. The newer map graphics that have been touted by JTS, and the graphics overall are much improved from the earlier games. It is much easier to distinguish elevation just as advertised.There have been some great visual mods done for the older Tiller games, and no doubt some more will be made for this one. It would depend on your personal likes and dislikes. For me, the graphics are their best yet, and I really don't see any need for improvement, but this is of course just my personal take on the matter.


 The only addition I would like to see is a campaign for some of the German forces. A campaign based on the book 'Grenadiers' would be a great way to understand the amount of material and forces that the Allies needed to use to pry the Germans out of Caen would be excellent. Thankfully, with all the editing ability that JTS put into the game, I think we will see that sooner rather than later.


  If this game is to your liking, and it will be if you are a wargamer, then head back online and buy Normandy's older brother 'Panzer Battles Kursk'. While there, take a gander at the rest of the excellent wargames for sale.  


 For anyone who has not looked at the John Tiller games for a while, the original DRM is long gone and it is a much simpler system of just adding your serial.

  Now for my pet peeve. Who else gets annoyed at an announcer when they read off 'Panzer tank'. Congratulations, you just made yourself sound like a three year old by saying 'tank tank'.

Robert

Game: Panzer Battles Normandy
Developer: John TillerSoftware
Software Publisher: John Tiller Software
Review Date: 7/24/16