Annual updates released.....
Wilmington, NC, 01 May 2023
Another year and another set of Upgrades, Fixes and Additions have arrived. Our Developer, Camo Workshop, has been working on these games for over 25 years. Outstanding!
First, DO NOT apply the upgrade patches while in the midst of a secure PBEM game as the game will fail.
Available for immediate download, these two patches ready to go. So, let's take a look at what the great guys at Camo Workshop have given us...
The 2023 patch updates any version of winSPMBT version 10 and up to version 17. winSPMBT version 17.0 includes:
2 New Scenarios (there are now 534 scenarios included with winSPMBTv17)
35 Revised/Updated Scenarios
295 New or Revised OOB Photos
192 New or Revised Vehicle/Aircraft Icons
93 Updated OOB Files
40 New or Revised Icon Files
101 New or Revised Text Files
Observers with GPS are only charged 2-time units to shift out of LOS fires, not 3-time units.
All Nations can now lay mines again but Nations that signed the Ottawa Treaty will only generate Anti-vehicle mines.
Unit class 125 is now "Drone" and is a separate clone of light helicopters to separate RPAS-type drones from helicopter formations.
Size 0 Drones cannot be targeted by SAMS with warhead > 8.
The 2023 patch updates any version of winSPWW2 version 9 and up to version 16. winSPWW2 version 16.0 has:
2 New Scenarios (there are now 875 scenarios included with winSPWW2v16)
265 Updated Scenario Files
2 Updated Campaigns
42 Revised/Updated Scenarios
66 New or Revised OOB Photos
36 Updated OOB Files
11 New or Updated Graphic SHP Files
23 New or Revised Vehicle/Aircraft Icons
116 New or Revised Encyclopaedia/Help Text File
2 New or Revised sound Files
And BOTH Games have the following updates:
There are new special hotkeys that allow adjustments while the AI turn is active making it possible to interrupt the AI when it is playing a turn to make adjustments to what the player sees happening.
The plus '+' and minus '-' keys will zoom the map in and out
The '[' key turns Fast arty ON
The ']' key turns Fast arty OFF
The 'U' key toggles smoke on and off
The 'I' key toggles ID tags on and off
The 'S' key toggles game sounds on and off
The 'P' key brings up the preference screen
It sometimes takes a second or 2 to register while the AI finishes whatever action it is currently engaged in. So, you now can, for example, turn on or off fast arty to either speed up a bombardment or slow it down for closer observation while the AI turn is running
There was a bug that popped up when a map was made that used both a city grid and lakes that allowed troops to be place in what seemed to be buildings on solid ground but were not and this drowned the units on the next turn. This appears to be corrected now.
It is now possible to once again let the AI play the AI and the game will not pause at the end of both turns every time allowing continuous AI vs AI play.
You can now use a two word search string in Scenhack search. The only restriction is there must only be a single space between the two words.
There are Alternate mine symbols added to BOTH Games. Players wishing to switch from one to the other will find a folder named Mine alternate which is located in the Graphics folder that containes a "Mine warning sign icons" sub folder and a "Original Mine Icons" subfolder. There are simple instructions on how to COPY (do not MOVE) one or the other file into your game.
ORIGINAL: https://www.shrapnelgames.com/email/images/1.gif
ALTERNATE: https://www.shrapnelgames.com/email/images/2.gif
You can download the upgrades here:
winSPMBT Version 16.0 Upgrade Download Link: http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Camo_Wo.../MBT_page.html
winSPWW2 Version 15.0 Upgrade Download Link: http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Camo_Wo.../WW2_page.html
Both winSPWW2 and winSPMBT are available as fully featured FREE downloads. But the Enhanced Editions (Download only) are not different in the core gameplay, but provide a lot of extra bells and whistles for the Steel Panthers enthusiast. Both games work with even the latest version of Windows. Please Note: If you purchase the Enhanced Versions today (or going forward), you will get the latest versions and there is no need to patch these versions.
Be sure to visit www.shrapnelgames.com for more great games!
Thanks for posting. Always good to have new patches for these two games.
Also good to see a grand old gaming publisher still going!
Sadly, the sequel Steel Tigers is vaporware so I've been thinking about buying the Shrapnel version with the better graphics, but every time I see screen shots, I convulse. I hate that I'm a product of eye candy :tickedoff:
The graphics aren't so much better as they are better scaled.
But yes, sadly I've given up on Steel Tigers and these are still really solid with the updates.
Second Front is a good alternative and I don't find the "cartoony" graphics a turn off in that case.
Second Front....also on my wishlist but the learning curve had scared me away so far
Quote from: acctingman on May 03, 2023, 10:10:23 AMSecond Front....also on my wishlist but the learning curve had scared me away so far
I think the learning curve is highly overhyped. It's more advanced than Steel Panthers/Battle Academy but not as harsh as actually running ASL on a tabletop as some claim.
Hmmm, good to know. Thanks for that. I'll probably grab it during the next price drop.
I would second the second front suggestion. Despite the learning curve, it's worth it and it's one of those games every wargamer should have in their library.
I found Second Front to be easily enough to play that you can just fire it up and try whatever you want. Whatever doesn't work, reload and try again. The Tutorial is not too daunting and holds your hand nicely. The game can be tough to beat, the AI handles itself quite well. The game mechanics are very similar to Steel Panthers.
I know above it was stated the graphics are not to bad. I have Matrix General edition spwaw but graphics are lousy on my 34" screen, I knew it would be like this but a little more sharpness would have been great. Is spww2 graphics better than the General edition from Matrix?
It would be the only reason to but. I just loved those games in the day
Thanks for help