John Tiller's Latest; Panzer Battles 2 - Normandy released

Started by Strela, December 17, 2015, 02:26:22 PM

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Strela

Hi All,

We are releasing Battles of Normandy (aka Panzer Battles 2) today on John Tillers site.






The official product page is here; http://johntillersoftware.com/PanzerBattles/BattlesOfNormandy.html






The blurb and screen shots is as follows;

Battles of Normandy

"Men, I am not a religious man and I don't know your feelings in this matter, but I am going to ask you to pray with me for the success of the mission before us. And while we pray, let us get on our knees and not look down but up with faces raised to the sky so that we can see God and ask his blessing in what we are about to do."
"God almighty, in a few short hours we will be in battle with the enemy. We do not join battle afraid. We do not ask favors or indulgence but ask that, if You will, use us as Your instrument for the right and an aid in returning peace to the world."
"We do not know or seek what our fate will be. We ask only this, that if die we must, that we die as men would die, without complaining, without pleading and safe in the feeling that we have done our best for what we believed was right."
"Oh Lord, protect our loved ones and be near us in the fire ahead and with us now as we pray to you."
Lt Col Robert Wolverton, Commanding Officer, 3rd battalion, 506th PIR.            KIA June 6th, 1944

Overview
The Battle of Normandy evokes so many emotions. It was the beginning of the 'Great Crusade' in Northern Europe by the Western Allies, yet was viewed as long overdue by the bloodied Soviets. Few realise that the casualties suffered in the three months of the summer of 1944 in Normandy rivalled the worst of the Eastern Front. The air and seaborne landings in Northern France were the largest the world has ever seen, with meticulous planning for D-Day, yet marked by a surfeit of clear goals once ashore. Both the bocage terrain and the dogged defence by the Germans resulted in the need for unexpected improvisation. Both sides had significant constraints; the British were nearing manpower exhaustion and would have to rely excessively on their armour arm, the United States had boundless resources but many of their divisions had never been in combat, while the Germans were short of everything and it was only through their ability to organise disparate troops into flexible kampfgruppen that they held the Allies for as long as they did. Ultimately, the Battle of Normandy resulted in the utter defeat of the Germans at Falaise with France and Belgium quickly liberated thereafter. The Allied advance would last till late September 1944, ending in the streets of Arnhem with Operation Market Garden. This second release in the Panzer Battles franchise is focused on many of the battles that occurred across the Calvados & Cotentin regions of Northern France. Fought across nearly three months from June 6th 1944 to August 20th 1944, actions from the D-Day landings, through the bocage fighting to the pursuit and destruction of the German forces at Falaise are included.

Campaigns and Scenarios
Battles of Normandy includes 2 Campaigns with 23 scenarios, 5 variable scenarios and a further 65 standalone scenarios ranging from 6 turns to 144 turns in length – a total of 93 different situations. Representative days of battle from June, July and August 1944 are included with a good mix of small (battalion/regiment), medium (division) and large (corps) engagements.

·        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


Features
·        93 Scenarios – covering all sizes and situations, including specialized versions for both head to head play and vs. the computer AI
·        The Master Map covers 398,000 hexes covering the area of Calvados and the Cotentin Peninsula. 70 sub maps are included. The map area is four times bigger than the map included with Battles of Kursk – Southern Flank.
·        An Order of Battle with over 21,200 units from two Allied Army Groups and a German Army Group including units from Wehrmacht, SS, and Luftwaffe formations as well as United States, British, Canadian, French, Polish, Belgian and Dutch units.
·        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.
·        All new 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 a 136 page 'Visual Order of Battle Guide' and 149 page 'Designer Notes & FAQ'. Both are included with the game. In addition, for optional download an 88 page 'Daily Situation/ Scenario Maps' and a 190mb digital version of the complete game map.


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


Credits
Project Co-ordinator
David Freer, Glenn Saunders
Scenario Design
Rick Bancroft, Dave 'Blackie' Blackburn, Jeff Conner, David Freer, Kevin Hankins, Glenn Saunders
Order of Battle
Mike Avanzini, David Freer, Glenn Saunders
Planning Maps
Mike Avanzini
Game Maps
Dave 'Blackie' Blackburn, David Freer, David Michas
Unit Graphics/Game Art
Joe Amoral, David Freer
Game Documentation
Mike Avanzini, David Freer
Play Testing
Eric Baker, Rick 'Ricky B' Bancroft, Brian 'Dogsoldier' Bedford,
Julio 'JC' Cabrera, Jeff Conner, Stephen Duncan, David Freer,
Kevin 'Kuriltai' Hankins, César 'Indragnir' Librán Moreno, Phil Niven, Ed 'Richie61' Pacitto, Dennis 'Landser34' Suttman, Martin Svendsen, Ed 'Volcano Man' Williams






































































I hope you all enjoy the game as much as we do,

David

bbmike

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of existence."
-Sherlock Holmes

"You know, just once I'd like to meet an alien menace that wasn't immune to bullets."
-Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

"There's a horror movie called Alien? That's really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you!"
-The Doctor

"Before Man goes to the stars he should learn how to live on Earth."
-Clifford D. Simak

Jarhead0331

Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Crossroads

Looks really nice! Congrats to the team for the hard work you've put in it, you must (and should!) be really proud of this  :)
Campaign Series Legion | CS: Vietnam 1948-1967 | CS: Middle East 1948-1985

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Zulu1966

"you are the rule maker, the dictator, the mini- Stalin, Mao, Hitler, the emperor, generalissimo, the MAN. You may talk the talk and appear to be quite easy going to foster popularity, but to the MAN I say F*CK YOU." And Steve G is F******g rude ? Just another day on the BF forum ... one demented idiots reaction to BF disagreeing about the thickness of the armour on a Tiger II turret mantlet.

Strela

For those on the fence, John has provided all the documentation including some that were not bundled with the game for free.

You can get them from the below links;


File Preview

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 Designer Notes and Visual Order of Battle in particular are worth having a look at;






David


Thomasew

Hi,

Can't wait to get started .. purchased and downloading ..  :)

Great supporting documentation .. luv it ..  8)

Congrats to the Development team, .. and all those that contributed.  O0

Cheers
Tom
He Who Will Not Risk Cannot Win

Jarhead0331

Damn it. I think those planning maps just pushed me over the edge.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


-budd-

Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must.  ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Be Yourself; Everyone Else is Taken ~Oscar Wilde

*I'm in the Wargamer middle ground*
I don't buy all the wargames I want, I just buy more than I need.

Strela

Quote from: -budd- on December 17, 2015, 04:14:07 PM
link to the product page doesn't work for me


Try now - never cut and paste direct from a word document...!!!!!

David

berto

My first PzB purchase, likely my one and only Christmas present selfie.  ;)

Congrats to the PzB team!
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Rayfer

How does the new Panzer Battles compare to the old Panzer Campaign games still being sold on the HPS site regarding scale, turn time, UI, etc?

panzerde

Been waiting on this. This combined with Chris Maiorana's new Crimean scenarios for the Kursk game have me distracted from other stuff in the limited game time I have this week.


Nicely done Strela and team!

"This damned Bonaparte is going to get us all killed" - Jean Lannes, 1809

Castellan -  La Fraternite des Boutons Carres

Strela

Quote from: Rayfer on December 17, 2015, 05:25:44 PM
How does the new Panzer Battles compare to the old Panzer Campaign games still being sold on the HPS site regarding scale, turn time, UI, etc?

We wrote a comparison of changes/similarities in the Kursk designer notes. Most of these are applicable still though we have included a campaign engine with the Normandy release. Hopefully the details you need are below;


Is Panzer Battles an update of John Tillers Campaign Series?

o Panzer Battles is a new simulation series that is designed to fit between Squad Battles and Panzer Campaigns and uses many features of both. It is built on the Panzer Campaigns engine with Squad Battles features as well as new routines to reflect this scale. Many of Panzer Battles' individual features are laid out in the answers below.
o John Tiller's Campaign Series covered multiple engagements in a campaign format. Panzer Battles covers a specific battle in depth.

What is the scale of Panzer Battles?

o Panzer Battles is a grand tactical, platoon/company simulation. Hexes are 250 metres across, height levels are 20 metres and turns are 30 minutes during daylight and 60 minutes during night.

Why is Panzer Battles called a 'Battle Simulation'?

o Panzer Battles is intended to cover engagements no longer than a day. The focus is on the manoeuvring of mid-sized formations such as Regiments, Brigades and Divisions.
o To represent this shorter period, loss recovery and night fatigue are not in play.

What features have come from Squad Battles?

o Persistent Concealment. Dependent on the terrain, units will not be revealed until they either fire, are recon spotted or are assaulted. It is possible to assault a hidden unit in a hex.
o Unlimited opportunity fire. Units during the Defensive Fire phase may fire an unlimited number of times. A previous tactic from Panzer Campaigns of soaking up Defensive Fire with a 'cheap' unit no longer applies.

What features have originated or been adjusted from Panzer Campaigns?

o Recon spotting is a standard rule and can result in spotting concealed units.
o There is no phased play, i.e. all Defensive Fire is controlled by the AI in the opponents turn.
o Indirect Fire always uses the alternate rule, i.e. all units in a hex are subject to losses.
o The alternate rules for Direct Fire and Assaults are not used or available.
o There are no penetrated hexes for obstacles or minefields. With the lower scale, field fortifications need to be cleared by engineers.
o There is no Operational Auto Move, but the Immediate AI Orders, Move in Column function is included.
o Artillery will not stockpile during a scenario, but can start a scenario stockpiled. Mortars and direct fire only artillery (Infantry Guns) cannot start stockpiled.
o Vehicles will only get ½ the defensive benefit of the terrain in a hex and ½ the Improved Position and Trench fortifications benefit.
o Units with an Assault Value of 0 are automatically overrun if assaulted for the cost of moving into the terrain.
o Units other than Artillery do not go Low Ammo when isolated. This is to represent the ammo combat load that units carried with them. Units can be set as starting with Low Ammo in a scenario if required.
o Delayed disruption is not included. With the closer ranges it is evident when a unit is in disarray.
o Bunker building is not included as the time frame is not sufficient for creating these fortifications.
o Encrypted PBEM game files use a new checksum to indicate if a modified game file (OB, PDT etc) has been used.
o The included optional rules are; Artillery setup, Optional Surrender, Low Visibility Air Effects, Programmed Weather, Limited Air Recon, Optional Fire Results, Optional Assault Results, Higher Fatigue Recovery, Indirect Fire & Air Strikes by the Map, Counterbattery Fire & No Low Fuel Effects.

What new features have been included for Panzer Battles?

o A spotting unit cannot have moved if it wants to call in artillery or airstrikes. The onus is on the player to execute all his strikes before moving too many units.
o Artillery can fire either HE or smoke. The munitions type can be selected from the Artillery Dialog. Smoke will persist till the start of the firing players next turn. Units can fire out of or into a smoke hex with no loss of effectiveness but not through it. There are a finite number of smoke rounds per side in a scenario.
o There is a limit of how much artillery can fire into a hex. The number of guns that can fire into a hex is limited to 1.5 X the hex stacking limit divided by 10. With a maximum stacking limit of 250 in Kursk, this gives a value of 375 (250 X 1.5) divided by 10 for each gun. Therefore, 37 guns (rounded down) can fire on any particular hex assuming it can be spotted by appropriate units.
o A Stack Fire modifier is calculated for both Direct and Indirect fire if a hex has 50% or more stacking points in it. In Kursk losses will increase once a hex has 125 men or equivalents (250 stacking limit / 2). Over stacking modifiers can be checked by right clicking on the Terrain box.
o Units will only block line of sight (LOS) if they have stacking points 50% or higher than the stacking limit. In Kursk any hex with 125 points or higher of men or equivalents will satisfy the LOS check.
o Vehicle wrecks have been included. Wrecks impact road movement and visibility. Each wreck counts as 10 against the road movement limit in a hex. In Kursk the road movement limit is 75. If there were 3 wrecks in a hex only 4 vehicles could move through the hex at a time and still use road movement. Once 8 wrecks are in a hex, no road movement is possible and in forbidden terrain such as swamp & marsh, vehicles would not be able to enter a hex under any circumstances. Once a hex contains wrecks over the road movement limit (In Kursk this is 8 wrecks or more) it is considered to be a permanent smoke hex and will block all LOS through the hex.
o Vehicles can carry foot infantry even if they are not transport units. These
external riders are limited to 5 men per vehicle. Riding a tank into battle is extremely risky and this has been taken into account. Riders are considered to be in travel mode while aboard and this significantly increases their exposure. External riders can be fired on by soft attack values even when the transporting vehicle is hard. External riders will be eliminated when the vehicle they are on is in an assault, no matter whether they are attacking or defending in the assault. Finally, External riders are 4 times more vulnerable to minefield attacks.
o There is an Assign Opportunity Fire (AOF) dialog that allows engagement ranges to be set for different unit types. This allows units to be setup to utilise persistent concealment and only fire at either the appropriate range or target.
o Fortifications (Improved Positions, Trenches, Bunkers and Pill-Boxes) are owned by either side. This allows 'friendly' minefields, obstacles and fortifications to be seen.
o Intel markers have been included for known or suspected enemy positions that are out of LOS or in persistent concealment. These Intel markers are set within the scenario.
o Raised rail and roads have been included to allow embanked transport routes. This is important for Kursk where many of the railroads were raised to avoid the effects of the spring thaw (Rasputitsa). At Prokhorovka the raised railway significantly divided the battle in two.
o Off board units are available. This is particularly pertinent for headquarters and artillery. In a smaller battle these units are available to provide command or fire, but are their historical distance from the battlefield. The inclusion of off board units allows smaller maps to be employed yet available assets to be used.
o Air units have to be plotted a turn earlier than the actual airstrike resolution. If the target hex is empty, there is a chance that an adjacent hex is attacked. Some air units are one time use while other may be available from turn to turn.



David

smittyohio

How do the campaigns work?  Do units carry over?   Does it branch or is it a linear progression?