Didn't see this news coming...
Despite the fact that infantry dropped like flies in these games, there was something very charming about them...and well, Korea. 'Nuff said.
QuoteThe new Theatre of War is here!
We are proud to announce Theatre of War: Rearmed - a passion project years in the making that brings the entire Theatre of War series together into one complete, cohesive package.
Developed over many years by a single developer, Theatre of War: Rearmed now includes
Theatre of War with LEHR and Liberation Belarus,
Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943 with Centauro,
Theatre of War 2: Kursk 1943 with Battle for Caen,
Theatre of War 3: Korea,
All unified in one release.
What began as a community modding effort by a deeply dedicated Theatre of War fan has grown into a full-scale rebuild of the series.
The result is a unified build that brings campaigns from every part of the series onto the latest version of the original engine, creating a shared technical foundation across gameplay systems, controls, and interface. Over 100 missions, all in one game.
Almost every core mechanic has been revised and improved, with better performance and stability, refreshed visuals and effects, redesigned high-resolution UI support, and refined controls and camera behaviour tailored for modern systems. All while staying true to what made Theatre of War special in the first place.
Multiplayer is also included, supporting up to 8 players in a single match, enabling large-scale battles on the biggest maps the series has ever seen.
But that's not all!
AI behaviour for infantry, vehicles, artillery, and aircraft has been significantly improved to ensure a smoother and more reliable battlefield experience, and brand-new music has been added as well.
And, of course, modding remains at the heart of the project. With an in-built level editor and unprecedented access to game resources, Theatre of War: Rearmed continues its roots as a community-driven experience, and we're excited to see what players and modders will create next.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2097940/Theatre_of_War_Rearmed/ (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2097940/Theatre_of_War_Rearmed/)
Pretty excited to see this. I have the series already, but they can be pretty fiddly to get to work on current hardware, especially optimus laptops. No pricing yet, but there was confirmation in the Steam forums that there will be at least some discount for current owners.
Korea is one of those conflicts that I just can't muster any enthusiasm for. I see a series I like announce a new DLC or game in a series and I get excited, then the reveal shows it's going to be about Korea and suddenly excitement gives way to....meh. I'm pretty sure it's Alan Alda's fault.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 30, 2026, 12:01:58 PMKorea is one of those conflicts that I just can't muster any enthusiasm for. I see a series I like announce a new DLC or game in a series and I get excited, then the reveal shows it's going to be about Korea and suddenly excitement gives way to....meh. I'm pretty sure it's Alan Alda's fault.
Inchon, the Frozen Chosen, Ted Williams...you're missing out, bro.
I've lived and worked in half a dozen countries. South Korea is the only one I struggle to recall any positives. That might colour things. Who knows?
You should read mig alley, it would definitely get you fired up to sim the air war if it was done right, like if BMS did 1953 Korea. il2 Korea, not holding my breath with the current devs and no jason.
Zero interest. I really just can't get into jets. I stop at 1945 prop planes. I had Mig Alley back in the day as well as DCS and I've unlocked dozens of Cold War and current gen jets in War Thunder. I never play them. Just doesn't give me the same thrill as having to manage pitch, RPMS and energy to get my guns on target.
Weird because I love playing Cold War naval sims.
The play test started yesterday. I messed around with some of the tutorials and so far I'm impressed. It runs well, looks and sounds good, and is bringing back great memories without any let down from the nostalgia. Either the game has held up well over time, or they really did a great job of updating it where they could.
Does not look like the graphics have changed much. I really loved this game back in the day though, clunky as it was. Performance used to be horrible. However it had early war french and such iirc.
Never played this one, how realistic is it? Rather RTS-ish or closer to real time Armored Brigade/Combat Mission experience?
Quote from: PAK on May 20, 2026, 09:16:46 AMNever played this one, how realistic is it? Rather RTS-ish or closer to real time Armored Brigade/Combat Mission experience?
I think on the spectrum of realism, it sits somewhere between Call to Arms and Graviteam Tactics. All the essentials are there...ballistics, cover, concealment, LOS, armor thickness and penetration, terrain, etc. The OOBs are pretty robust and diverse too. I did always feel like it was a little too unforgiving. It was always very difficult to avoid heavy casualties in combat, seemingly no matter how cautious or tactical I might be. Infantry survivability just seemed a little "off" to me, even when protected in prepared defensive positions, like trenches, bunkers and sandbagged structures, or while slowly advancing in prone positions.
Still, it looks and sounds great, covers some interesting theaters (ie. Korea, Kursk and North Africa) and was always a good time. I'm very happy this is being remastered and so far I've enjoyed, mostly, the play test.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on May 20, 2026, 10:21:36 AMIt was always very difficult to avoid heavy casualties in combat, seemingly no matter how cautious or tactical I might be. Infantry survivability just seemed a little "off" to me, even when protected in prepared defensive positions, like trenches, bunkers and sandbagged structures, or while slowly advancing in prone positions.
That is also how I remember it.
Thanks guys. Seems a title worthy checking out.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2097940/Theatre_of_War_Rearmed/
Demo is now available.
Release date : December 9.
Hello, commanders!
We are proud to announce that Theatre of War: Rearmed is part of Steam Next Fest!
It means that until the 26th of October, you can play the free demo of the game, with no sign-up for a playtest needed!
Take this beauty for a ride and play through 11 single-player missions, as well as 3 multiplayer maps available now!
And if you are a veteran of our previous playtests, there is something for you too, as this version builds on what was done earlier with new exciting additions and changes to how the game works.
The full list of changes includes:
The mechanics for calculating effective armor thickness, ricochets, and damage have been reworked. Armor-piercing, sub-caliber, and other types of shells are now simulated according to real historical firing test records.
Unit pathfinding has been improved. Wheeled vehicles can now perform multi-point turns.
The characteristics and equipment of many infantry squads have been reworked.
Infantry weapon pickup mechanics have been improved. Items can now be dropped and picked up with a double-click.
Tutorial missions have been revised, and the tutorial texts have been completely rewritten.
Hotkey hints have been added to many parts of the interface.
A function to send a bug reports directly to the developer from within the game has been added.
Numerous bugs identified during playtests and internal testing have been fixed.https://steamcommunity.com/app/2097940/allnews/
Saw this. Am tempted to try it. Enjoyed it way back in the day. Especially for ww2 early war gameplay that was so rare back then.
I never played it in the past. But since Combat Mission doesn't seem to be in the mood to release anything meaningful I think I'm gonna go for this one.
Just my opinion. If the launch of Rearmed is to be successful, it needs to be modernized and improved. Rearmed launches with a batch file which runs Java. I have to manually add java to advanced windows display options to make it use the GPU rather than integrated graphics. I'm more than willing do do stuff like this to get old game running. It's nice to have the complete Theatre of War running from one install. Expecting novice gamers and PC users to tweak the game to get it running though...YMMV.
Quote from: Redwolf on October 21, 2026, 11:14:31 AMI never played it in the past. But since Combat Mission doesn't seem to be in the mood to release anything meaningful I think I'm gonna go for this one.
There is a demo for next fest right now actually.
Quote from: mbar on October 21, 2026, 05:24:46 PMRearmed launches with a batch file which runs Java. I have to manually add java to advanced windows display options to make it use the GPU rather than integrated graphics.
This is precisely the kind of thing I was talking about when I said the originals were fiddly to get to work on modern hardware. Very disappointing to hear that it is still the case with Rearmed, and it dampens my enthusiasm considerably.
I must have already had that installed on my system because I didn't have to download anything to get the demo or play test running, but I do see it running that batch file.
The install program should make the download of anything additional as easy as possible, but overall, I don't see this as that big of a deal. There is a lot of gaming in this package and the foundation of the game is worth revisiting.
Still excited fro this one.
You're likely running on a desktop, JH. The problem comes up when running it on a laptop with dual graphics. There is no straightforward way to get the executable to use the discrete chip, and it defaults to integrated, which is obviously not ideal. It can be worked around, but that shouldn't be necessary on a re-release touting upgrades.
Quote from: Sigwolf on Yesterday at 07:34:37 PMYou're likely running on a desktop, JH. The problem comes up when running it on a laptop with dual graphics. There is no straightforward way to get the executable to use the discrete chip, and it defaults to integrated, which is obviously not ideal. It can be worked around, but that shouldn't be necessary on a re-release touting upgrades.
Got it. Yes. Definitely running on a desktop.
These dual graphics computers have always been trouble. With Combat Mission, too.
Quote from: Redwolf on Today at 07:40:05 AMThese dual graphics computers have always been trouble. With Combat Mission, too.
For older games, absolutely, but not with most games released within the last 15 years, or so. I would say 80%+ of those I have installed recognize and default to the dedicated gpu automatically, and the majority of those that don't just need a quick trip to the built-in Windows "Graphics settings", add the game and select the gpu there.
Older titles like Theatre of War required quite a bit more investigation, because doing the above results in the game still using integrated graphics, even if you specify the gpu in Graphics settings. That kind of behavior is not at all common in most games released today, and really shouldn't be the case in a new re-release.
Quote from: Sigwolf on Today at 10:16:10 AMOlder titles like Theatre of War required quite a bit more investigation, because doing the above results in the game still using integrated graphics, even if you specify the gpu in Graphics settings. That kind of behavior is not at all common in most games released today, and really shouldn't be the case in a new re-release.
Oh. I didn't know it's that bad.