Hello All! This is Alex, lead developer of the Panzer Corps series. Panzer Corps 2 released three weeks ago (time flies), and we can already draw some first conclusions. On the whole, we are really happy with how the game has been received. Metascore reached 84 and all 13 critic reviews were positive, which is very rare for a niche wargame, and an improvement over the prequel. User reactions have also been positive overall, and many war-hardened veterans of this genre told us that Panzer Corps 2 was the best game which they ever played, and better than the predecessor in every way.
Although it is 2020 and we had to update the graphics to modern standards, it’s very satisfying to hear that the new game does not only stand out because of the graphics, but also because of advancements in gameplay. In particular, players feel that the new game is more deep and tactical, without losing its charm and simplicity; that all unit classes are now useful; that the game rewards varied army composition and combined arms approach like never before, and that the number of available options allows to adapt the game to any playing style and provides a lot of replayability.
However, we will readily admit that it’s not all perfect, and there are definitely issues and things to improve. Upon release, the game has some stability issues, performance issues and bugs, especially in Multiplayer. We apologise for these defects, consider them all a top priority, and are working on them right now.
⦁ We are getting all crash reports in real time and collect them all in a big database. In each patch we address at least some of the most common crashes, and then watch how the number of events drops, so stability of the game is quickly improving. If you are playing Panzer Corps 2 and get a crash, please do press “Send & Close” button to send a report to us, and ideally also add a short description of what you were doing when the problem occurred. ⦁ There are no simple methods to improve game performance, so we are already working on a deep refactoring of the engine to provide good performance on a wider spectrum of PCs, even not the most recent or top-of-the-line models. Preliminary results look promising. ⦁ As for Multiplayer, this is where most of the time of the whole team goes right now. We are not only fixing problems, like annoying desyncs in online games. There are also several major features in the pipeline, in particular tournaments, ranked games and more content, both competitive and co-op. Panzer Corps was primarily a single player game, but we want Panzer Corps 2 to shine in Multiplayer as well.
Although many players eagerly embraced Panzer Corps 2, some others remain unconvinced. I read everything posted in player reviews and on the forums, and so I’m aware of all concerns which people voice. For example: the map looks blurry, units are hard to recognize in 3d, some mechanics could use more balancing (e. g. heroes), there is not as much content as Panzer Corps had, random maps need more options, and so on. All these concerns are perfectly understandable and valid. We will always keep them in mind and will likely address most them as we develop the series further. Our goal is to make Panzer Corps 2 a game for everyone, a definitive experience for all fans of this genre.
From experience we know that such games have a long life span and get even better over time. Panzer Corps is a prime example here; it enjoyed a record-breaking 1000+ online players this February. Not bad for a 9 years old game! We are confident that the release of Panzer Corps 2 is also just the beginning of a long and exciting journey, which we will happily share with our vibrant player community.
We are releasing a new update for Panzer Corps 2. The highlight of patch 2 is missing localizations: at last Panzer Corps 2 is localized into French, Polish and Portuguese (Brazil). We apologize for the wait: unfortunately there were delays with localization of those languages, but they are now ready.
There have been also improvements introduced to Chinese and Russian.
On top of that, we have worked on a number of fixes and performance improvements. We hope you will appreciate it! You can find the full changelog below. Let us know what you think of it, your feedback is important for us to keep improving the game.
Last but not least, tomorrow we will post an announcement about our feelings over the game's launch, and on what direction we would like to take from here with development.
Changelog:
Localization: - Added French, Polish and Portuguese localizations - Updated Chinese and Russian localizations - The game will now display localized hex names over the map and in the UI (will not work with old saves)
Bug fixes: - Fixed a few more random crashes - Fixed crashes when working with "Lost Units" list - Fixed crash when repeatedly pressing Esc in briefings - Fixed crash when starting a new random map - Fixed autosaves and ironman saves which could be created with wrong state (inactive "End Turn" button etc.) - Fixed attacks sometimes "unsuppressing" units without dealing damage - Fixed aircraft getting initiative bonus when attacking from close terrain hex - Fixed ambushed units attacking the ambusher even if they normally cannot attack such unit - Fixed bug where attacking unit did not lose attack action if it did not have a chance to shoot in the combat it initiated - Fixed incorrect calculation of negative suppression between combat phases - Fixed aircraft spotting in cloudy weather - Fixed spotting bug when a unit retreated - Fixed weather forecast icon after loading a save - Fixed "Anti-tank Veteran" and "Anti-infantry Veteran" awards for aircraft - Fixed wrong strength when giving overstrength to prototype units - Fixed the problem with "Retrograde" player trait where available units disappeared earlier than they should - Fixed the problem with "Slow Modernization" player trait where transport upgrade and overstrength was impossible after 3 unit upgrades - Fixed replacements of deployed units during Deployment Phase (no longer limited by 50% of unit's max strength) - Fixed scrolling in Event Log (History section of Unit Details) - Fixed "gamma correction" setting - Fixed some maps where embarked transports could not leave the port
Performance: - Improved Landscape Tessellation implementation. Now, even with Tessellation off the game (in particular, rivers) should look decent. - Added new setting to Options->Video: "Landscape Geometry". It can be used to further reduce GPU load on weaker hardware, or (at a higher setting) used as an alternative to tessellation, which might be faster on some machines.
Improvements: - Stats panel now shows actual move points instead of max - River hexes now show "Vulnerable Position" and "Blocks Supply" icons in terrain panel - Combat log viewer (opened with L hotkey) will now include logs for all predictions visible on the screen when it's invoked - In Options->Video "Save" button is only required to change window mode and resolution. All other options are applied instantly.
Multiplayer: - Fixed crashes which occurred when loading existing games (some old games can still have problems, but new games started with 1.0.8 should not have them) - Fixed several issues causing the players to go out of sync in online MP - Fixed password protection not working for random maps - Minsk map now allows simultaneous movement - Small balance fix in Steel vs. Steamroller scenario
We are releasing a hotfix for Patch 1, addressing three issues which affected the cache, the assign hero button and a crash which occured when flags would be captured in certain circumstances. We apologize for the issues, and thank you for the quick reporting of these bugs.
Patch 1 Hotfix Changelog (v1.00.07)
• Outdated cache files are cleared on start-up • Fixed "assign hero" button getting disabled • Fixed crash when capturing a flag and "show names on the map" is turned off
Last week we released Panzer Corps 2 and we couldn't be happier: the reception has been great, and so has the feedback. There are a number of things to improve on, and Flashback Games is on top of it. This patch is the first of a long series in order to keep expanding and refining Panzer Corps 2. Patch 1 brings the game to version 1.0.6 and it focuses on bugfixing and on better MP functionalities.
There will be much more in the future, and you can expect more news about that soon... but until then, let us know what you think about this first patch please.
Changelog:
- Fixed several random crashes - Fixed crash when pressing Esc in hero selection - Fixed the issue with transports and pontoons losing their texture when infantry uses custom skin - Fixed turn count in Aachen MP scenario - Fixed victory conditions in Tobruk scenario - Fixed Fireworks and Operation X puzzles - Fixed "weather" and "fog od war" advanced options - Reduced the number of polygons on the screen, which should reduce the load on the GPU - Changed settings of TXAA to reduce blurriness of map and units - Added options to configure autosaves to Options -> Other - Switched towed guns now keep their type after move and unmount - Toolips on road icons in terrain UI panel now include movement table - Increased scroll speed in unit list and camouflage list - Esc now closes briefing screen - Experience can no longer grow beyond 5 stars - In random maps, enemies do not use the same faction as the player - Multiplayer: Fixed MP connection timing out too fast when joining the game - Multiplayer: It's now possible to specify password for new challenges - Multiplayer: It's now possible to select our side when creating a challenge - Multiplayer: Surrender option has been added to Game Menu - Multiplayer: The game should now display custom MP scenarios from 'Documents/My Games/Panzer Corps 2/Multiplayer' in the list - In Ironman mode "restart scenario" option is no longer available - When terrain does not have initiative cap, the UI will now show Initiative cap: - (instead of 0) - Fixed various typos in the text - Added two more tactical advisor tips to the Tutorial menu
Yesterday we released Panzer Corps 2, and what a joy it was!
It's being so well received, with a lot of reviews on Steam, and most of them are extremely positive. But we're interested in all types of feedback, so don't shy away and please leave a review on Steam, either positive or negative, let us know what you like and what you don't like. Your suggestions are important, as Panzer Corps 2 is here to stay and it will only keep improving.
Today we are publishing two more videos of our Advisor clips series! We will continue this series and we have 5 more videos planned, so stay tuned. Today's videos feature two specific gameplay mechanics: Split & Merge and Encirclements.
Generals, it is time to start your Panzer Division's engines. Take command of the Wehrmacht war machine, from the invasion in Poland in 1939 to the final defence of Berlin in 1945. You’ll fight battle after battle using the classic turn-based hex system all wargamers have loved since Panzer General, the father of a genre to which Panzer Corps 2 is the spiritual successor.
Enjoy the massive amount of content, including more than a thousand unique 3D unit models, over 60 scenarios forming the Wehrmacht grand campaign, an advanced random map generator for playing skirmish games against the AI or other players. Since the modding community was such a great part of the first Panzer Corps, in the sequel you will find a much improved Scenario Editor available to support mods from day one.
"Panzer Corps started ten years ago as a passion project by a single modder. We took it to the market with the idea of bringing back a genre that made the history of gaming as we know it, and we are proud to have achieved that”, said Iain McNeil, Slitherine CEO. “Not only Panzer Corps became a very successful game, it also contributed to inspire others to reinvent turn-based strategy and make it one of the core genre of the 21st century. We see Panzer Corps 2 as the testament of all this journey and we are confident players will celebrate it with us".
EXCLUSIVE EDITIONS
You are able to acquire Panzer Corps 2 in three different editions: the base game, the General Edition or the ultimate Field Marshal Edition, each one with exclusive bonus materials.
Due to delays with localization French, Portuguese (Brazil) and Polish will be added as fully supported languages in a few days. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we promise it will be well worth the wait.
These are short clips meant to illustrate a few key Panzer Corps 2 gameplay mechanics.
Today we will feature Recon Units, essential to scout ahead and learn about enemy machinations, and Engineers, possibly one of the most useful and flexible units in Panzer Corps 2.
Panzer Corps 2 will release on March 19th, and we know many of you just can't wait to start playing.
The feedback we've got from the 48 hours long Beta has been exceptional, and we're sure you will love the game. As they say, good things come to those who wait...
In order to accompany you to March 19th, we have prepared a series of short clips, introducing a few gameplay concepts you will need to familiarize yourselves with in order to master the game.
We are going to post the first three today, featuring Overrun, Organic Transports and External Transports.
If you have pre-ordered the Field Marshal edition of Panzer Corps 2 on Steam you have now 48 hours of time to play Panzer Corps 2 in advance. Are you ready? Just right click on Panzer Corps 2 in your Steam library and click on Install.
We are very interested in hearing what you think. If you have any feedback for us, don’t forget to let us know and post about it on the forum. Panzer Corps 2 is almost there, but there are a few things which are still missing in the game. We have prepared a full list of what still needs to be included, and will be added before release on March 19th.
Content and features missing in 0.9.14, but included in 1.0
- The game is available in English only right now. The Release version will include all localizations (English, German, Russian, French, Spanish, Chinese, Polish, Brazilian).
- Tutorial is still “work in progress” and will be given a lot of additional polish. Texts will be improved, more messages added, improved message triggers and more. The game manual needs to be finished and is missing screenshots.
- Random maps are not playable in Multiplayer in the current version, but they will be playable in the release version.
- Replay feature. Right now, it is impossible to watch finished games in Replay mode, but it will be included in the release version.
- Unit history (kill statistics and list of events) is not included yet but will be included in the release version.
- The Mission result screen will be enhanced with "change difficulty" and "review battlefield" options.
- Steam Achievements will be added
- Steam Cloud saves will be added
- Minor tweaks and improvements in AI and random map generator will continue till the very release. Random maps will get a few more additional options (e. g. what units are available, by year).
Audio:
- Many sounds effects are still temporary / placeholders, and sound effects for things like aircraft movement, bombing, Stuka siren, rocket launchers, UI button sounds still need to be included. In the final release version all these sound effects will be included. - Voiceovers for all briefings in the main campaign will be added (English only). Tutorials and single scenarios will not be voiced. - Not all music tracks are in place yet. Out of 6 in-game tracks only 3 are present. Only German Victory and Defeat themes are included (in the release version we'll have separate themes for Allies and Soviets too)
Animations:
There will be some improvement in unit animations as well, in particular bombing raids, naval guns, torpedo attacks, depth charges from destroyers. Infantry animations will be reviewed and various glitches fixed.
Scenarios:
- Three more single scenarios will be added:
Gothic Line (GB, US forces in Italy, August 1944) Prague Offensive (Soviet forces, May 1945) Lorraine (US forces in France, September 1944)
Known issues
- In strategic mode selection and target markers are not properly aligned with aircraft. Flags in strategic mode are hard to see.
- In Multiplayer certain sections like "advanced options" and "ingame menu" show options which only apply to single player. These options will be removed for MP.