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Steel Beast II

by Jim "Bismarck" Cobb

Article Type: Interview
Article Date: October 07, 2002

Product Info

Product Name: Steel Beasts II
Category: Armor Simulation
Developer: eSimGames
Publisher: Strategy First
Release Date: 2003
Sys. Spec: TBA
Files & Links: Click Here

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For those who are either new to tank sims or are coming out of long comas, Steel Beasts, published in 2000 by eSim Games, has been acknowledged as the premier modern tank sim. [see past reviews]. This game allowed players to handle either the Abrahms M1A1 or the Leopard IIA4 main battle tanks. The detail and accuracy received rave reviews everywhere and many scenarios and mods added to its mystique.

A sequel is being planned. Given expectations, sequels to hit games are dicey propositions. The design team of Steel Beasts II kindly gave us information on where they are heading.


Jim Cobb (J.C.) The original Steel Beasts has been universally acclaimed as the best modern tank sim ever and the world’s AFV armory hasn’t changed radically since its release. Why are you motivated to do a sequel?

Steel Beasts Staff (S.B.) That’s easy. When we started working on the original version – in the beginning it was rather fun work – PC technology was advanced enough to give us the necessary computing power for a software based rendering engine. We then had to face the challenge of developing a 3D accelerator hardware. During the initial development phase, it was out of the question to develop a new polygon based rendering engine, so we decided to finish with what we had and to balance out the dated graphics with superior gameplay.

The original Steel Beasts turned out far more successful than we ever expected. Thanks to Strategy First’s efforts for a widespread retail solution, SB sold well, earning the necessary funds for the ongoing development. Therefore, we can now afford to invest more in a hardware accelerated rendering engine and better looks.

A formation of Abrahms comes under fire.



An Abrahms takes a hit.

J.C. Who of the original team is working on the sequel?

S.B. Everybody. Al Delaney is still the boss and only programmer. Curtis Ratica is busy developing the special effects, building and plant models as well as most of the textures. Geoff “Mekhazzio” Coovert is doing a fantastic job with the new vehicle models – he joined the team shortly before the initial release of Steel Beasts and contributed to the well-received models of the BTR, the Jaguar and all other vehicles that were added with the 1.10 update. Ed “Volcano” Williams once more is our source for the unique sound of Steel Beasts. Most of the beta testers are still with us. We increased the head count of the scenario design team – with many people who were voted as the best fan authors of additional missions. It’s like a big family business.

J.C. One of the few gripes about the original was the 2D graphics. Will this change?

S.B. Steel Beasts has always had 3D graphics – just not polygon based, and therefore without the benefit of 3D accelerator hardware. But this will change now. You can do interesting stuff with modern graphics cards, especially the ability to model (bad) weather conditions and night combat. We feel that there is a lot of potential in these elements.

J.C. Will the role and player control of support elements such as infantry, air and artillery change?

S.B. With Steel Beasts being a simulation, the pursuit of the highest possible degree of realism has always been our prime development goal. Therefore, there cannot be dramatic changes in the role of the other elements. Of course, the complexity of the combat model as a whole increases; the ultimate goal would be a combined arms simulation that integrates all military forces, at least of the Air-Land Battle. However, there’s still a long way to go, and whoever tells you that he has found The Solution is either a wizard or a liar.

How would you like to see this coming at you?

J.C. What changes will be made to the interface?

S.B. We are trying to smooth out the rough edges, and to ensure consistency of the user interface. For example, the addition of a customizable keyboard layout and similar elements of convenience. Then there will be the creative application of 3D accelerator hardware options. One of our biggest concerns was the tunnel vision that our old rendering method imposed on the player. From the external or the unbuttoned commander view the player only had a 45° field of view. But the human eye offers a 140° Field of View. We can’t make the surround gaming setup of the Matrox Parhelia mandatory for our customers, so we decided to give the user an adjustable zoom function. When the player needs a wide field of view, he can zoom out to 140° (factor .3), some fish-eye lens effect. If the player wants to examine a suspicious spot, he can zoom in to maybe 35° with a zoom factor of 1.2 or so before he needs to explicitly enable the binocular view. This is a better representation of the amazing capabilities of the human eye.

J.C. What changes, if any, will be made to the primary vehicles, the Abrams and the Leopard II?

S.B. I don’t want to comment in depth on this issue. There are some elements on The List, but so far our policy was to announce facts, and not join the speculation of what could be done in theory. There will be improvements, and some pleasant surprises.

An Abrahms sees a target.

J.C. Will there be more player-drivable vehicles?

S.B. Yes.

J.C. In the original, the player’s score on the test range determined his effectiveness in battle. Will this remain the same?

S.B. We want to keep some element of training incentive. After all, training plays a dominating role in the life of a soldier. There may be some changes, and, for those who like to focus on the wargaming aspect of Steel Beasts, we will give a gunnery profile with decent values with the installation – good old Lt. DeFault.

J.C. Which “hotspots” will be included?

S.B. It has always been eSim Games’ policy to avoid real names of countries out of respect for other people. That doesn’t mean that our scenarios are pure fantasy. We orient ourselves with equipment and military doctrines of real armies, and we may even add some semi-historic battle scenarios as well. But adding explicit hot spots often lead to less convincing results if the designers do not research their topic well; the development of world policy may take abrupt and unexpected changes and, by the release date, you end up with a game with missions that are outdated before the game was finished. Or a hot spot has gone real hot, and the topic is perceived stale or tasteless. People who really are interested in this topic will know what our scenarios represent.

J.C. Will there be linked or dynamic campaigns?

S.B. The way Steel Beasts’ missions are created – they are very complex scripts – it is impossible to generate random scenarios that play out with the same degree of realism and surprise. But we do plan to create one or more linked campaigns with more than two branches per mission.

J.C. Will there be an editor and how powerful will it be?

S.B. Just like in the original Steel Beasts, the sequel will come with the editor that our scenario designers use as well. We would be stupid not to add it to the package – after all we found additional scenario designers with the help of it. It will be even more powerful than the first one, and hopefully we can make it even easier to use it.

J.C. Will multi-play support LAN and TCP/IP play or will it be limited to a dedicated server such as GameSpy?

S.B. It has always been eSim Games’ policy to offer our customers the ultimate flexibility in the use of our software. Where it improves convenience to finding online battles, we will add new options, but there will always be the possibility to just dial up your friend’s phone number to start a two-people session with an analog modem, or to set up a LAN session.

J.C. On a point that is becoming a major purchase decision point, with the documentation be printed or electronic?

S.B. eSim Games will never agree to purely electronic documentations. A good manual will survive the game – just like the original 1989 M1 Tank Platoon documentation in my bookshelf.

Hot on the trail, an American tank goes after an enemy.

J.C. What is the estimated release date?

S.B. 2003. Yeah, I know, you would like to get a more precise date – but I don’t think that precise dates that undergo quarterly revisions are helpful either. The release date will be made public once we can be sure to meet that deadline.

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Enthusiasm literally bubbles from these answers. Given an enthusiastic and veteran team, the inclination to improve on a wining formula rather to innovate just for innovation’s sake and the apparent lack of corporate hurdles, tread-heads and general gamers alike can expect a treat in 2003.



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