(This article was co-written with Bubba Wolford)

Fleet Command

Brand recognition and loyalty are strong influencing factors as to how well software will sell. When a premier company releases ANY new game, that game probably will receive an incredible amount of attention. Suffice it to say that products that are still in the development phase can also receive a healthy amount of watchfulness and consideration.

Such is the case with a project under development by Jane's Combat Simulations entitled Jane's Fleet Command. Previously known as Battlegroup, Fleet Command is the next offering from Jane's that builds on the legacy of 688i Hunter Killer in that it depicts modern combat at sea. In fact, Jane's Fleet Command is being developed by the naval professionals at Sonalysts - the same people who brought us 688i. Of course it will have the same attentiveness to detail that Jane's Information Group brings to any computer-based simulation.

Fleet Command will be a real-time strategy game with a complete 3D environment that allows users to rotate camera angles and zoom in on 3D vehicles and targets. Players will experience the game's 3D world from an external viewpoint through a fully rotating 3D camera. This particular direction is intriguing since SSIs Harpoon IV is similar in design concept. Quote:

SSI intends to bring us Harpoon 4 with a 3D aspect. Supporting Glide, this "2D game will indeed include a 3D world". Players can view ANY platform on the map regardless of what it is. Also, realizing that many players became bored with small "border" wars, SSI intends to move back to the good ole' days and focus on the NATO versus Warsaw Pact Cold War. (from the preview by Bubba Wolford).

Weather will be modeled and will includes special effects such as day-to-night transitions, 3D clouds, rain and thunder, differing sea conditions, ship's wake, and of course pyrotechnics such as exploding ships, firing rockets and shells.

Players can choose their own task force, country and any of the four campaigns. The campaigns are based on hypothetical conflicts in the Bay of Bengal, the Straits of Malacca, the Taiwan Straits, and the Kuril Islands. At press time, it is still unclear as to how "dynamic" the campaigns will be. A mission editor will be included that allows missions to be developed on any ocean around the world.

Fleet Command will be a stand alone simulation that will be interoperable with 688I on release of an upgrade to 688I. We asked what would be the most likely follow on to expand this digital battlefield and it seems there are many possibilities. The obvious addition is an F18 for carrier based missions, but another US submarine would likely follow. The inter-operable sims to follow would allow both first person control and interaction from the Fleet Command perspective, as will 688I with its upgrade. Obviously Janes concept of the digital battlefield is alive and well, and this is exciting news! Again the integration of the strategic and first person perspectives will enhance the gaming experience, this time with the naval component at the center.

While we have no information to either confirm or deny it, it seems likely that Janes is already at work on the F18 component.

Key Features

• · Accurate modeling of 16 nation's naval fleets including Russia, Taiwan and India
  
• · All campaigns are based on current political situations and the action presented is grounded in reality
  
• · Sonalysts has researched all of the major naval powers and has accurately modeled their military capacity, including ocean depths, land masses, etc.
  
• · Point-and-click action within the 3D world or 2D map provides ease of gameplay by eliminating the need to memorize symbols and complex keyboard commands.
  
• · Complete guide to naval vessels through Jane's references, featuring specifications on all aircraft, ships, missiles and munitions.
  
• · Full multiplayer support, up to eight players through LAN, modem or serial link.

My Impressions

As we were taken into the Jane's conclave at E3, it became apparent as we entered the Fleet Command room that the product is very much under development. Only one screen was presented to us. This screen was subdivided into several smaller sub-windows that depicted the action in 3D tactical views. We watched as several aircraft did battle in the air. (The designers are considering implementing multiple monitor support under WIN98, which would allow a player to have a real time view on one monitor, with the tactical or strategic map on another!)

The graphics looked very nice and no doubt will improve over time. The plan is to use the Jane's Fighter Legends graphics and terrain engine. If the screen shots of JFL are any indication, Fleet Command will be beautifully rendered.

We asked about how dynamic the campaign will be. Obviously subject to change, the campaign structure seems to have some dynamic components such as resupply and damaged assets being removed from the order of battle. We can only hope that in a strategy game such as Fleet Command we are given the opportunity to command a fleet with all of the intricacies of preparation, logistics, maneuver, and moral.

Given our first look at this project and the track record of Jane's and Sonalysts, we are very excited about the product and the experience it will bring us in simulating global naval combat. We will keep a close eye on this sim and keep you informed as the project progresses!

System Requirements

At E3 press-time, the systems requirements for Fleet Command have not been specified. Since Fleet Command uses the same graphics engine as Jane's Fighter Legends, we can assume similar hardware specifications.

Expected release date - Winter 1998

Developer: Sonalysts Inc.
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Brand: Jane's Combat Simulations
Category: Strategy

Write to Snacko with your questions and comments on Fleet Command.

SSI Fighting Steel. Click for larger shot.

Those of you who have followed military simulations for the IBM PC since their beginning know that there has recently been a resurgence of combat sims that focused on World War II scenarios. New graphics APIs, faster hardware, internet gameplay, and the Windows 95 environment have given game designers and publishers the opportunity to breath new life into simulations that focus on that historical period. These new military simulations are taking combat gameplay to a new level with more complex artificial intelligence and more realistic campaign scenarios. Take a look at what's on tap for 1998 and you will see that this is the year of the WW2 simulation!

SSI is poised to jump into the fray with the a new naval combat simulation for the WW2 era. Entitled Fighting Steel, this simulation will recreate naval gunnery battles of WWII for the period of 1939-1942. The player will be allowed to command ships from the British, German, American, and Japanese fleets in real-time action. Players can command everything from a single ship to a Task Force consisting of several divisions of ships. Historical scenarios, campaign games, computer-generated scenarios, and a scenario editor should make for extended enjoyment from this simulation.

Make no mistake, this is a 3D simulation. Fighting Steel takes place in a fully rendered 3-D world. All the ships in the game are fully rendered and textured 3-D models and provide high-level of graphics detail. An auto-camera will be provided to allow the player to view the action from many different camera angles. Similar to F-22 ADF's Smart View, it will keep the player's eyes on the critical events of the fight as they unfold.

SSI Fighting Steel. Click for larger shot.

My Impressions

I'm a big fan of naval sims, WW2 sims in particular. I've played most of the greats sea simulations including Task Force 1942 and the Great Naval Battles series, and I'm glad a software publisher is trying to produce new naval combat simulations. It's been a while since we've received a surface ship sim, and it looks like this one offers some promise - Fighting Steel will be a welcome addition to the WW2 surface ship genre.

My first reaction was that the graphics were very nice, not stunning, but very nice. I guess I've been spoiled with too many awesome 3dfx apps lately. During my conversation with the SSI rep, he mentioned that there is still some tweaking to do to the graphics engine and terrain, most notably to the water's wake as it moves around the ships. Unlike others who do not like to focus on the graphical quality, I find how well a sim presents itself to be very important. "Suspension of Disbelief" is a phase being tossed around the industry these days and one important factor is a sim's ability to immerse you in its graphics quality. At the moment Fighting Steel looks fine, but how well will it be able to hold up when it releases and when other products hit the shelves during the 1998 Christmas season? Time will tell.

I was impressed by the campaign scenarios that are to be included with Fighting Steel. It looks like most major surface gunnery conflicts for the years 1939-1942 will be modeled. Future expansions of this line will include other eras such as 1943-1945, but most big naval gunnery battles took place during the earlier period anyway. I was glad to hear that the order of battle will be presented as accurately as possible for each historical scenario. Fighting Steel includes 4 linked scenario campaigns (one for each navy) derived from Britain vs. Germany in the Atlantic and U.S. vs. Japan around Guadalcanal.

I was a little disappointed to hear that there will be no first-person gun directors position. The designers intent was more strategic (this makes sense, it is SSI after all), but I think I would enjoy this simulation more if I had the option of taking over the gunner's spot and directing/firing the big 16 inch guns myself. There are times that a human gunner (with practice) can do better that the AI gunner. After spending some time in M1 Tank Platoon 2, I've learned that my aim and rate of fire is a bit better than the best AI gunner.

When we had the chance to jump in and play the sim ourselves, the command structure was not very intuitive. Granted we were operating without the benefit of a manual or key reference guide, but the on-screen command structure was not easily identifiable to me or my partner. I hope some improvement goes into this area.

Night combat is also modeled in Fighting Steel, though on the demo I saw the night to me didn't look dark enough. This could have been a monitor setting or gamma correction issue, but at night you could see quite a long distance with some decent detail. When I pointed this out to the SSI rep, he said that the AI will be affected by the night, but the night may only get as dark as a well moonlit night. Search lights and star-shells should make the AI gunners fire more accurately, but they can just as easily give away your position too!

Weather will be modeled as well. This of course if very important for the North Atlantic missions, where wind, weather and waves will be a factor in identification and targeting. No AI seamen got sick, at least none that I noticed.

My bottom line? This is an early look at a very promising naval combat simulation. Quirks and tweaks aside, I look forward to Fighting Steel based on everything I've seen: It's a naval sim (woohoo!), it has a 3D world and 3D objects, it has real-time action, it includes historical and generated scenarios, and it provides internet gameplay. Most definitely a recipe for success - adequate time in the oven and a sprinkling of spice may be all that is needed for this one.

Now if I can just get Cookie to stop serving us that navy hash.

System Requirements

At E3 press-time, the following systems requirements were specified (these are of course subject to change): Windows 95, Pentium 133, 100% Windows 95 compatible sound card, 32 MB RAM, 60MB free space, CD-ROM - 4X or faster , 2MB SVGA video card, Color SVGA monitor, Keyboard or 100% Windows 95 compatible mouse, Uncompressed hard drive recommended

Expected release date: Fall 1998.

Harpoon 4

Ever since I discovered my eternal love for computer games, there have always been certain classics that were head and heels above the rest. For me, one of those games was Harpoon. A game originally designed as a board game by Larry Bond, it became a classic among many naval strategic warfare fans that played games on the PC. I loved being able to plan my airstrike packages, conduct ASW, set my own AWACS patrols, Combat Air Patrols (CAP), launch Tomahawk strikes from long range and maneuver my Battlegroups to protect my assets.

The second coming of Harpoon did not enjoy quite the same success as the first series. With the deficiencies of Harpoon 2 and 3 known, SSI is poised to develop the 4th edition of Harpoon in the spirit of the first release in what SSI calls their "Digital Combat Series". With an emphasis on the "naval" aspect, SSI intends on taking Harpoon to the next level. Ever wanted to watch the actual dogfights of your airstrikes? Ever wondered how that CAP intercept looked at 25,000 feet against those Su27s? Or did you wish you could watch the battleships fire a full side volley with their big 16" guns? SSI intends to bring us Harpoon 4 with a real time 3d world!

Supporting Glide, this "2D game will indeed include a 3D world". Players can view ANY platform on the map regardless of what it is. Also, realizing that many players became bored with small "border" wars, SSI intends to move back to the good ole' days and focus on the NATO versus Warsaw Pact Cold War.

SSI plans to include scenarios from the 1960's through the first 20 years or so of the 21st century. This means that we will see platforms including the now retired Battleships to Arleigh Burke cruisers, to the F/A-18E/F and Joint Strike Fighters (JSF). Perhaps even the vaunted Arsenal ship that is supposedly being re-studied by the USN will be included.

Although SSI plans to revisit the Cold War they plan to place different conditions on victories. Players can set victory conditions such as Marginal, Tactical or Total victory. In addition SSI plans to add a multiplay aspect. Ever wanted to play along side friends or against them? It will be there!

Although the title is still being developed for release in mid 1999, changes are possible. SSI have taken on a huge project. Their tactical advantage comes in having many of the numbers needed for accurate simulation of a huge number of weapon systems and platforms.

Is it possible that Harpoon IV might include inter-operable simulations like Flanker 2, or the Aegis cruiser? Apparently Flanker 2.0 is unlikely, but maybe Flanker 2.5!

It's true that not everyone wanted to see the Cold War end. Sometimes it's nice to know WHO your enemy is, and in Harpoon IV it's the Cold War revisited!

SSI has other naval simulations on the way. Watch for an interview on Silent Hunter II later this week!