Back from HoW-15 – A few thoughts

June 26, 2015 · Posted in Uncategorized · Comment 

HoWWell, we’re back from Home of Wargamers 2015. And what a terrific event it was.

Within less than 3 hectic days we were presented with, and discussed, the full gamut of seismic developments taking place in the strategy/wargaming market and what they mean for our hobby. We were aware of most of them, but seeing them all presented together and most importantly in proper context and with analysis of their repercussions was a real eye-opener. We are already busy in absorbing the implications of what we saw, and in fact a last-minute tweak on Command v1.08 (final version) was the direct result of one of the points hammered home (bonus points to the first one to spot it upon v1.08’s official release).

Even more than that, however, this was a rare opportunity to interact with fellow wargaming developers, journalists and publishers. Marco called the event “The Bilderberg of Wargaming” and that’s a particularly apt description. We stood in awe of veterans of the genre and gleamed golden nuggets from their experience. We shared war stories, tales of woe and moments of triumph with devs just like us – and were elated to find out they like and play our game just like we with theirs. We talked with press, fans, hobbyists and simple gamers – and they gave us the best, most honest feedback we could ask for. We all looked together at the future, and how to flourish in it. Roger, Gregor, Joel, Richard, David, Hubert, Daniel, Johan, Matthew, Mario, Owen, James, Frank and all the others, we salute you and look forward to catching up with you anytime, anywhere.

Our thanks go to Matrix Games for hosting this event, inviting us and most importantly _making it happen_. Every single staff member present from CEO to yeoman went above and beyond, pure and simple. We’d be unpardonable to not offer special recognition to Marco “The Superman” Minoli – quite literally the beating, pulsing heart of the event. Marco, we have no words.

More tidbits after we catch our breath 🙂

 

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MOBs, anti-torps, superfrags, gunships and much more: Command v1.08 Release Candidate now available

June 5, 2015 · Posted in Command · Comment 

MOBRegular forum denizens are aware that for a while now we have provided an unofficial “service release” update to v1.07, available at the MatrixGames forum. This update has now been fleshed out considerably and become worthy of a new official update, designated v1.08.

And the first Release Candidate of this new update is now available on the Matrix forum.

Some of the big new items:

  • New weapon types: Anti-torpedo torpedoes (this used to be science fiction but now they’re entering service), erhanced fragmentation warheads (aka “superfrag”), and contact explosive – sabotage & suicide subtypes (think USS Cole).
  • New ship type: Mobile Offshore Base (aka “Battle Island”, aka how to make a CVN captain feel puny). Contrary to aircraft carriers, a MOB can also operate land-based aircraft (e.g. large transports).
  • Selectable display of weapon engagement arcs.
  • Improvements on sub AI & battery-recharge logic.
  • Side-firing gunships now maneuver properly (and huge fun to watch).
  • Lots of UNREP fixes & tweaks.
  • Numerous tweaks to sensor models (speed-dependent IR signatures, no-scan-while-track limits on older radars etc.), snap-up/down restrictions on anti-air weapons and and ASW torpedo logic.
  • Several UI and simulation speed improvements.

Plus a mile-long list of fixes, tweaks and of course countless database additions as you’ve come to expect from the crazy folks at WarfareSims.

Give it a go and let us know what we can do even better. Your feedback matters!

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