Any word on the development/release of this game? Favorite game series ...
Supposedly it has been waiting for WitE2 to be completed, but that news was from years ago. Would not expect this year at least...
Posted around 2 years ago : (confirms Karri's post )
Hi everyone,
2019 has been a very busy year for 2by3, with two major projects (War in the East 2 and Steel Tigers) in the works and we wanted to give you all a brief update on how things are going and our current expectations for 2020.
Finishing War in the East 2 has top priority for 2by3 and it is expected to be feature complete within the next quarter, which means that a final release date will depend on final testing and polish time, but we expect it will be a 2020 release. Recruitment for testers will ramp up once we reach a feature complete state.
Steel Tigers is the next priority after WITE2 and is already roughly 70% feature complete for our initial feature goals, but it is a complex title and a great deal of work still remains. Steel Tigers is a cooperative project that has included development and engine support from Matrix and Slitherine as well.
Steel Tigers will release after WITE2. As it is based on a new engine and not yet feature complete, it's too early to predict a timeframe but we want to allow enough time to finish it properly and also to support WITE2 properly after its release. We do plan to involve the Steel Panthers community in the alpha test once the basic feature set and testing are complete and their feedback will help us greatly in determining the final shape of the game and additional development and the final release timeline.
Best Regards and Happy Thanksgiving,
- Matrix Games and 2by3
Been waiting for this game for the last 5 years
Hopefully Steel Tigers will retain Steel Panther's functions to allow players to build maps, scenarios, campaigns and tweak equipment. It will be diminished in my book if they try to lock it up.
Yeah Steel Panthers was a classic, would be a shame if they changed it too much
From the head dude at Matrix
In other words, at least another 5 years? :crazy2:
:-[
Ah Schnickschnack.
How complicated can WitE2 be? Piece of cake to polish up.
Quote from: Redwolf on October 21, 2021, 06:26:03 PM
Ah Schnickschnack.
How complicated can WitE2 be? Piece of cake to polish up.
Heh. Just change a couple 1s to 0s and it's all good right? :buck2:
But yeah, kinda saddening cause I'm much more interested in Steel Panthers than WitE
I am surprised that a small indie dev team hasn't jumped on this opening and taken on a Steel Panthers remake. They would just need to change enough to stay out of IP jail.
Look at what The Lordz did with SSI's old Panzer General. Panzer Corps has been quite a hit for them.
In that regard, I am a bit skeptical in regard of how the two audiences compare. I mean, of course Steel Panthers can be redone, but I suspect it just doesn't have the same sort of traction a General series remake has. In its time, Steel Panthers had graphics that made it a special kind of wargame in its own right, but it was still more of a wargame than an entry product meant for a larger crowd. In this it differs from the General line, which has always been about pretty graphics serving a rather simple where combat mechanics are - in contrast to these of steel panthers) rather accessible.
To some extent, I'd say the number of remakes of Panzer General had (which never stopped pretty much, a phenomenon made all the more obvious over the last decade) compared to the activity we had on SP (with SPWW2 & WAW & all, that is modding the original base game rather than remaking it) speaks for himself in regard of the reach of the former compared to that of the latter. General games are mainstream, and as such have influenced a much larger gamer group (which in turn influenced them into making games like it) than Steel Panthers (unfortunately!) could ever hope to achieve.
And knowing the SP series probably is the top of the crop in regard of popularity of the genre, it says much about the kind of struggle it might be to achieve comparable numbers. Deeper Wargames & Simulations have fallen from favor since the 1990s while other genres were rising and learned to make use of the power a computer had to offer - while the smart essence of Panzer General actually remains very compatible with the gameplay expected from a modern middle-range product, and still speaks to the greater number.
All of that just to say that IMHO they are only so comparable in terms of potential, which would explain why SP clones ain't just popping all around. :)