The future of Armored Task Force...

Dr Zaius

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Originally posted by Sabre 12

CPT P,
had a chance to play around with the new demo last night, but didn't get down in the weeds yet.

Some things came to me on the drive into work today that would really fit nicely into the simulation as it's structured now with the friendly AI, hierarchy, formations, missions, etc. These would be a graphics control measures menu, ie. the ability to draw features such as Axis of Advance, Passage Points, Battle Positions, Support By Fire (SBF) Positions, Target Reference Points (TRP), Phase Lines, ect. If control measures came from a menu perhaps they could have certain attributes (with names) that could be used in giving units orders:
-A Troop moves thru Passage Point X in column to Axis Y.
-A Troop moves along Axis Y in diamond to SBF Position Z
-A Troop occuppies SBF Z on line and is given a suppression mission on TRPs A & B
The friendly AI could then execute the mission, changing the troop orientation according the current graphic control measure.

Don't know how feasible this would be on some future version of ATF or a projected Prosim product-but seemed pretty cool during a 40 minute drive to work, with a large coffee & no radio.

Regards,
LP
and this...

Much like the US Army, ProSIM Company has an 'objective force' we are trying to get to .

Seriously, this, and fire plannning are our next two priorities for a tactical sim. You will probably see one or both of them in our next commercial release, Air Assault Task Force or (if I get enough military interest) Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

--------------------
PATRICK E. PROCTOR
CPT, FA
President, ProSIM Company
http://www.prosimco.com


I would just like to weigh in on this subject. I'm a true believer in creating wargame "systems" rather than stand alone wargames. What I mean by that is a simulation that can be enhanced with future CD-ROM add-on packs and campaign disks. Sort of like what Avalon Hill did with the ASL system. Once the system itself was in place they were free to add more armies, maps, scenarios, etc, in the form of add-on sets. There are a lot of advantages in doing things this way. It helps to ensure that a given system has a large and dedicated fan base. Gamers like to know that when they invest the time (money isn't all that much of an issue) and effort to learn a system that it's going to be around for a while and worth the effort.

Are the releases being discussed above going to be enhancements to ATF, or are they going to be completely new games? Myself, I would like to see ATF grow and be improved over time.
 

Pat Proctor

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ATF is built to last.

We have developed the engine to be extensible. Future releases on this platform will enhance the current interface and add features to the engine, not recreate the wheel (which we basically had to do in order to make a BCT-like game that was extensible).

See another post in this forum, but we are working toward handing players a map generation tool. We ARE handing players a database modification tool very shortly. It is my hope that the ATF dynasty (I know I'm putting the cart before the horse here) will survive and flourish on the power of a fan base.

We, too believe in a system. I am not making any promises yet, but we hope to make future releases on this engine backwards compatible, so that scenarios built for ATF, for example, will continue to run on Air Assault Task Force, or any other ATF-based release.
 

Dr Zaius

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That's very good news indeed. This system has real potential and Warfare HQ stands ready to help make it a success. If ProSim requires any assistance, beta testors, or anything else like that, this is a good place to find them.

It's good to know that ProSim is going to be responsive to the needs of the players. That goes a long way toward helping the system get a solid start.
 
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