Our previous dev diary on gameplay has sparked some very interesting discussions, so we have decided to follow up on the same topic and tell about a few more gameplay mechanics which are being changed in the sequel.


Major and minor victories

Although major and minor victories have been a signature feature of the series, we felt that this mechanic had a number of problems. In many cases the abrupt transition from major to minor felt extremely artificial. Players wondered why finishing on turn 10 is a major victory with all its inherent bonuses, but finishing on turn 11 is already a minor victory, and finishing on turn 9 did not give any additional bonus. The latter also motivated the players to linger in the scenario and “harvest” more prestige and experience before the major victory limit.

On the other hand, we found that many players refused to settle for a minor victory and had to replay a scenario several times in order to achieve a major. And this detracted a lot from the fun of the game.
To fix all this, we introduce a new approach in Panzer Corps 2. The faster you achieve successes on the battlefield (be it capturing flags, killing enemy units or forcing them to surrender), the more prestige you will earn for these achievements. And the final reward when finishing the mission will be based on the number of remaining turns. This will give you enough incentive to finish the mission as fast and as decisively as possible, but at the same time, you will not be punished too severely when you miss that major victory by a single turn because of the stupid random generator.


Heroes

We felt that in Panzer Corps heroes were too numerous, to a point where getting a new hero was not so exciting any more. We are going to take a step back on this. The number of heroes which you are going to get in Panzer Corps 2 in the course of a campaign will be several times smaller. On the other hand, heroes will be more powerful and important in the new game.

Each unit can still have up to three heroes assigned to it, but we are adding controls to dismiss unwanted heroes and move them freely between units (within certain constraints, i.e. some hero abilities can be class-specific). This will allow you to concentrate heroes with synergistic abilities in a single unit without relying on pure luck.
Depending on the difficulty level, heroes can be wounded or even die when their unit is destroyed. But there is always a good chance that a hero will survive and can be assigned to a different unit before the next mission.
As for hero abilities themselves, we already have around 50 unique abilities in our list, and most of these are not simple stats changes, but more fundamental abilities affecting the unit and other units (friendly or enemy) around it.





Awards

Awards are also getting a significant overhaul. In Panzer Corps awards were purely decorative and represented elite veteran units, even if they lost their experience in a series of green replacements. But we felt that as a gameplay mechanic, awards were wasted to a large extent.

In Panzer Corps 2 awards will not be given for a certain number of kills (which all units in the core achieve eventually, and often at about the same time), but for doing something outstanding on the battlefield. For example, for killing a certain number of units in a single scenario, or for surviving several attacks in a single turn.
Each award earned like this will not only be a memorable text note in unit’s dossier but will also give a small bonus to various stats. Unlike heroes, awards cannot be transferred between units.


Bonus units
Bonus (SE) units as such are eliminated from the game. We felt that they were redundant since we are introducing a number of new mechanics.

First, some heroes can have a special ability to reduce the number of slots occupied by the unit to zero, which would mimic the most important trait of bonus units, but will also allow you to apply this trait to any unit in the core.
Second, we introduce the concept of prototypes. Prototypes are more advanced and cool units which can be made available to you before their “official” availability date in limited numbers. Prototypes can appear randomly, or based on various conditions, meeting secondary objectives etc. They are available directly in Purchase interface and can be used to raise new units or replace and upgrade existing ones until you run out of available points. Just as in real life, prototypes can have reliability problems, which are shown in the game by occasional loss of move points and attack action at the beginning of a turn.

Finally, in Panzer Corps 2 it is possible to assign any custom camouflage and insignia to any unit in the core, including the characteristic “SE” camouflage from Panzer Corps, in order to give them some visual distinction.


Naval, air and rail transports

Naval, air and rail transports remain essentially the same. You have a pool of available transports, and you can embark on them in the right hexes (ports for naval transports, airfields for air transports etc.). But there is one small change which will fundamentally change how all these transports are used.

In Panzer Corps, a unit must have unused move action in order to embark. If you have 10 units and a single embarkation point, you would need 10 turns (!) to embark this whole group.
In Panzer Corps 2 embark command only spends attack action. You can move into a port or airfield, embark and move out, all in a single turn. The same group of 10 units could be embarked in a single turn. We expect that this change will make transports a much more useful strategic and tactical asset, especially on fictional random maps with a lot of sea, lakes and islands. You still cannot disembark on the same turn you embarked on, so your opponent has a chance to react and catch your units in defenceless transports on the move.

In the previous dev diaries, we have talked a lot about new features and mechanics we are implementing in Panzer Corps 2. But what about the core game mechanics which have always been a fundamental part of the game? Will they remain the same, or will they change in the sequel? In this issue of the dev diary, we’ll discuss how some of the core mechanics are going to be transformed.

Turn limit

In a real war, late victory is often no victory at all, and the game represents this. The player must not just achieve the victory, but achieve it in a limited number of turns. This requires proper planning and strategy, instead of just rolling slowly over the map and eliminating scattered groups of enemy units with the concentrated power of the core force.

All this remains true in Panzer Corps 2. But we were surprised how many players feel that turn limit is an artificial limitation which detracts from the fun of the game. For such players, we are also adding an option to disable turn limit completely. Adding such a checkbox is the easy part. The tricky part is to make sure the game remains balanced, and fun with this option turned on. We are making sure that it is not possible to “harvest” more useful resources (prestige, experience) by staying in a scenario indefinitely, and that enemy units provide an adequate challenge.


Prestige

Prestige is this game’s currency, and, as its name implies, it is awarded for your successes on the battlefield. In Panzer Corps, there were certain exceptions from this rule, like Minor victory giving more prestige than Major, and this created a lot of confusion. In Panzer Corps 2 we will avoid any such things. Better performance will be rewarded with more prestige.


Unit slots

Unit slots determine how many units the player can have in the core force, which travel from scenario to scenario in a campaign. In Panzer Corps, every unit occupied a single core slot. In Panzer Corps 2 this will change so that a unit can occupy one or several slots. More powerful units will take more slots.

Such an approach is not a novelty, it was used in a lot of similar games before, and many people thought that we had to implement it in Panzer Corps already. But of course, this change is significant and fundamental. The way it worked before, optimal core structure was obvious – you wanted to use all the best units available. Maybe you were not able to afford these units right away, but this was a clear goal to go for in the long run. It is no longer as clear-cut. What is better: 3 Tigers IIs, 5 Panthers, or some combination of them? Maybe add some Panzer IVs, and Tiger Is to the mix as well? With changed unit slots mechanic, we expect to see much more varied core forces in Panzer Corps 2, and they will probably become more realistic too.

Same is true for transports. Better transports cost more slots, so using them for every single unit in the core might not be a good idea.

At the same time, we are not going to introduce specialised slots, for example, ground-only or air-only ones. We want the core composition to remain flexible, and the players are still free to go with ground-heavy or air-heavy cores if they prefer.





Overstrength

Overstrength units (i. e. units with more strength points than their type has typically) have always been very popular with our players, and in some cases, they become outright necessary, especially when your opponent has more powerful units in his roster. We felt that it was imperative to keep this mechanic in the sequel.

At the same time, overstrength was a big problem with game balance, while its connection to experience felt very artificial, and because of this, overstrength became significant only in the later part of a campaign. We wanted to solve these problems. In Panzer Corps 2, any unit can get overstrength directly in the Purchase screen, from the very beginning of the game. But such units cost more prestige and slots than usual, so you can have fewer of these. A balanced core will include both overstrength and regular units, but the player will need to figure out perfect ratio for himself.


Entrenchment

Entrenchment mechanic will remain fundamentally the same. Stationary units will accumulate entrenchment over time (infantry and towed guns faster, other classes slower), and it will give various defensive bonuses in combat. But in Panzer Corps 2 we want to make this mechanic even more critical. There will be more entrenchment levels, and specialised units (heavy artillery, strategic bombers, engineers) intended to destroy them quickly.

Another significant change is that, unlike Panzer Corps, base entrenchment provided by terrain will not be destroyed. Base entrenchment is a defensive bonus created by the terrain itself (forest, hills, mountains), and no bombardment can significantly reduce this bonus.


Support fire

Support fire is another signature mechanic from Panzer Corps. It is a prime example of interaction between units, and it allowed the defender to create “clusters ofdefence”, which were not so easy to “crack” by the attacker. All this remains true in Panzer Corps 2 too. However, we felt that in the prequel artillery was not very useful in support fire role against tanks, while the class of AT guns was underused. So, in the sequel artillery will provide support fire against soft targets, while AT units will provide support fire against hard targets.

This is it for today. Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions about how core game mechanics will work in Panzer Corps 2, post them in the comments. See you in the next dev diary!

Welcome to the third Dev Diary of Panzer Corps 2! This time we'll focus on aspects which were left out in the previous two diaries. As previously, though, we'll treat them in a rather generalistic way, but from the next dev diary onwards you can expect more indepth information about specific areas of the game.


Graphics

Despite a significant change in underlying technology (3D and Unreal Engine), we have tried to preserve the same general approach to graphics which always worked so well in past games. Terrain is clean and unobtrusive, and units are big, crystal-clear and stand out well from the map. This is important when the game has hundreds of different units, and the player must be able to distinguish them all at a glance. That’s why we never considered showing several smaller models for a single unit, which might look more “real”, but ultimately is not usable in this kind of a game.

As for terrain, we have drawn a lot of inspiration from Panzer General 2, which was widely considered the most beautiful in the old Panzer General series. At the same time, our maps are not hand drawn or otherwise constructed from small atomic elements, and so they are much quicker to create.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gntXzviba0


UI
The UI in Panzer Corps 2 is a huge step forward in terms of functionality and usability when compared to its predecessor. It can scale to any monitor size (all assets are done in 4K and scale to the required size), adapt to any screen ratio, and allows scaling of certain elements (like the unit list and the minimap) to make the best use of screen space on any monitor, from square to super-wide or multiple monitor configuration.

We are making sure that all information about unit stats, traits, game rules etc. is available directly on screen or in the tooltips and is easy to find. All commands will also be available on the screen and easily discoverable, without relying on hot keys and other obscure means to invoke a function. We can’t wait to show the new UI in action.





Panzer Corps did not require the player to do a lot of routine micromanagement, but in the sequel we have tried to reduce it even further. For example, the player no longer needs to use “Supply” button manually. All units will receive their supply (fuel and ammo) automatically, as long as supply is possible.


AI

The AI in Panzer Corps 2 is a complete rewrite, it does not reuse any code from Panzer Corps, and it uses some more advanced approaches. This means that the sequel will feature a new, completely different AI opponent.

The new AI is designed and implemented with random maps and random campaigns in mind. This means that it cannot rely on AI scripting at all. It must be able to figure out the structure of any map on its own, achieve any kind of scenario objective and try to prevent the opponent from doing the same. It can also purchase and deploy its whole army in case there are no preconfigured units in a given scenario.

On the other hand, AI scripting options in Panzer Corps 2 are also richer than in its predecessor. This means that it is possible to fine-tune the AI to exact desired behavior, which can be useful in a historical setting.


Editor and modding

Modding community of Panzer Corps was always strong and vibrant, and we are fully committed to making Panzer Corps 2 a modder-friendly game as well. Panzer Corps 2 will include the editor from day one, and this editor will be even easier to use than the editor in Panzer Corps. Although the new map engine is 3D, scenario designer still only needs to specify terrain type for each hex, and the rest of the map will be generated by the engine automatically. Other useful features not found in its predecessor are full support of Undo/Redo, group operations on hexes and units and much more streamlined interface for scripting and AI. At the same time, the designer can bypass all UI and write scripts directly in Lua language which requires a certain skill but gives immense flexibility and power in return.

Just like in Panzer Corps, gameplay data tables will remain in open text format and can be easily edited. People familiar with Unreal Engine can download Unreal Editor and create much deeper mods, which includes adding new units, new terrain types, changing map generation rules etc.

Also, we are working on a proper mod manager which was sorely missing in Panzer Corps.


The main point we were trying to make in these three introductionary dev diaries is that Panzer Corps 2 is far from a mere facelift. While staying true to traditions of the series, our goal is to improve playing experience across the board, and every single aspect of the new game receives a lot of thought and attention. It’s a huge and very ambitious project for our small team, and we really want to make it right, so it is taking a lot of time. In fact, much more time than originally expected. In hindsight, we were a bit too optimistic with our estimations and should have probably delayed the announcement. So, please bear with us, and we sure hope that once the game is released, it will be worth the wait.

See you in the next dev diary!

Content and play modes
Big branching campaigns with lots of interconnected scenarios and unit carry over have always been a signature feature of this genre, and they will remain the key feature of Panzer Corps 2. The initial release will feature a brand new Wehrmacht campaign that will be a middle ground between Panzer Corps vanilla and the Grand Campaigns in terms of size, and will feature both the European and African theatres in a single interconnected tree of scenarios. Our design goal is to make various historical and fictional branches well balanced in terms of length and interest, in order to improve campaign replayability. We hope that the new campaign will offer a sufficiently fresh and different gameplay experience.

Besides this classic mode, we also want to give our players new experiences to try, and they will be based on our new random map generator. The generator is able to generate maps of different size and type (continent, island, archipelago etc.) with up to 8 players struggling for control, various mission objectives, starting conditions and play options. So, the number of combinations to try is virtually endless.

With such a random generator in place, the next logical step will be to generate full-blown random campaigns, based on date range, number of scenarios and opposing factions selected by the player. Another possibility is to integrate a few random scenarios into a classic, human-designed campaign.






Factions and units

The list of factions in Panzer Corps 2 is, of course, very similar to its predecessor and includes most of the nations which fought in WW2. But the list of units will be more extensive. The initial list of units is based directly on Panzer Corps with all its patches, DLCs and expansions. So we start where the prequel finished, and we are adding a few things on top. Firstly, we are adding a lot of historical ships instead of generic “battleships”, “destroyers” and “submarines”. Together with new naval rules mentioned above, we felt this was important for more interesting and authentic naval experience.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCC8kIvI4LE


Secondly, we are trying to give smaller factions some more substance, so that they are better represented in the game. It does not mean that these factions will be able to fight the “big four” (Germany, USA, Great Britain and USSR) on equal terms, but we hope that they will become interesting enough to get their own content (scenarios and campaigns) as the series progresses.



Multiplayer

The classic PBEM++ multiplayer in Panzer Corps was very popular, and we will of course keep this option in the sequel. At the same time, some players felt that PBEM++ was not interactive enough and in fact “too old school”, compared to a “true” online multiplayer experience offered in many modern games. For these players we are adding a new Multiplayer mode which allows the players to be online at the same time, connect directly, and see each other’s moves in real time.

Most importantly, PBEM++ and online modes are not separated. All games are still kept on the server, and you don’t need to commit to a single play mode when creating a new MP game. You can play a few turns of a game in online mode, then revert to PBEM++ for several more turns, then play online again etc. We hope that this new system will make multiplayer even more popular in Panzer Corps 2.

Other changes in Multiplayer result directly from supporting up to 8 players on the same map. This gives us a lot of options to create competitive and cooperative games between several human and/or AI opponents.

Welcome to the first issue of Panzer Corps 2 Developer Diary. The initial announcement of Panzer Corps 2 was a little while ago now, and we understand that it left many people waiting for more information. In this issue we will try to provide a general overview of where we are going with this project and what to expect from it. We will provide much more information on each individual aspect of the game in future diaries.






Gameplay changes

Panzer Corps was intended as a spiritual sequel to the classic Panzer General series, and we were very careful to preserve the traditions of that series that made it so great for its day. We are taking the same very careful approach to game design in Panzer Corps 2. We are not trying to fix things which are not broken in the first place. Many aspects of the game, including the list of unit classes and unit stats, remain unchanged, and Panzer Corps veterans will feel themselves instantly at home with the new game. At the same time, we are giving the player a number of new tactical options, which will make the playing experience even more interesting and engaging. Here are some examples of these options:

Overrun. This was probably the most requested feature in Panzer Corps, and we had no other option other than to include it. Overrun is a unique ability of tanks to run over crippled enemy units and destroy them in the process, without spending their move or attack action. This feature not only helps to better represent the role of tanks in WW2, but also gives many interesting tactical implications from a pure gameplay point of view.

Encirclements. Panzer Corps is a “wargame” in the first place, and for most players its “war” aspect is the most interesting of all. On the other hand, moving around non-combat supply units, counting supply points etc. is much less fun. For this reason, we decided early on that the new game would not include a full-blown realistic model of supply. However, we felt that cutting enemy units from supply was a very interesting and useful tactical option, so we have included it in the game. It works like this: when a group of units is encircled by the enemy (only “passable” terrain needs to be blocked), it no longer receives any supply, and on top of this, encircled units will get a progressive combat penalty every turn. So now, the player has a choice: tackle the next objective head on, or try to encircle it and weaken the defenders before dealing with them.




Infantry unit is isolated on a small peninsula by the sea and the enemy. It does not get any supply here.


Splitting units. In Panzer Corps 2 any unit can be split into two equal halves (of course, at a cost of additional unit slots) which will act on the battlefield as two independent units. Splitting has countless tactical uses, especially in combination with encirclements as described above. Certain unit classes can especially benefit from it, like recon.

Captured units. Captured units in Panzer Corps campaigns were so popular, we’ve decided to make them a part of core game mechanics. When you force enemy unit to surrender, its equipment is captured and added to a pool. Later you can use this pool to create new units or replenish existing ones for free. This adds yet another tactical consideration: shall I destroy this unit, or try to make it surrender instead?

Unique hero abilities. Unlike Panzer Corps, where heroes only gave stat boosts to units, in Panzer Corps 2 they will have many unique tactical abilities, and some of these abilities will be synergistic. So, using your heroes in the best way possible will be a different task in every playthrough.

Air and Naval Warfare. Other major changes will happen in air and naval warfare. Ground combat was the most sophisticated and interesting part of Panzer Corps. With so many different rules, unit classes and terrain types, ground war was a varied and rich gameplay experience. We felt that air and naval warfare was somewhat lacking in comparison. Our ultimate goal in the sequel is to make them interesting enough to allow dedicated “naval only” and “air only” scenarios, and to achieve this goal, we are looking at various “naval only” and “air only” hex-based wargames for inspiration.

The most important change in the air war is that all aircraft act from airfields now, and return to their base automatically at the beginning of their turn. Also, just as in real life, the effectiveness of aircraft drops as the distance to their base increases. This means that all air rules and mechanics from Panzer Corps (like mass attack, interceptors etc.) remain in place, but at the same time the airfields, their location on the map, timely capture and proper defense become key elements in air warfare.

As for naval war, naval terrain is “by definition” less interesting than ground terrain, with endless sea hexes going in all directions. To compensate for this, ships themselves will be more complex entities, with various factors (like orientation and position of turrets) affecting combat effectiveness, and a damage model (inspired by Pacific General) going beyond the simple “strength number” under the ship. Carrier and submarine classes will be much better fleshed out to represent their unique roles in naval war. A more advanced naval model will allow this series to branch out into any theatre of war in the future, including the “naval-heavy” Pacific, something which Panzer Corps never did.

Several months ago the biggest tournament ever for Panzer Corps started.

It's a massive event, both in terms of number of players and length. More than 100 wargamers all around the world are taking part, and it is in fact the biggest Slitherine tournament ever.

It's going to take all of 2018 before a champion emerges... and we'll know that he'll be the real, true Panzer Corps master!

But let's take a look at how the tournament is going, shall we?





71 players have already been eliminated, and the 48 players who are still in mean serious business! Glory and honour to those who have fallen, but our eyes are all on the survivors. Who will be the last man standing?

Want to find out? You can follow the tournament on its official thread!

We're finally there: it's time for the first round of the Panzer Corps 2018 Multiplayer Championship.

It is a huge league which will take place throughout the whole year. The rules are simple: lose three games, and you're out. We will continue until there's only one player left, our 2018 Panzer Corps champion.

Follow the first round on the forum and have a look at the table below to keep an eye on the results.

Good luck to everyone, may your strategy be sound and bring you victory on the battlefield.

We're finally there: it's time for the first round of the Panzer Corps 2018 Multiplayer Championship.

It is a huge league which will take place throughout the whole year. The rules are simple: lose three games, and you're out. We will continue until there's only one player left, our 2018 Panzer Corps champion.

Follow the first round on the forum and have a look at the table below to keep an eye on the results.

Good luck to everyone, may your strategy be sound and bring you victory on the battlefield.

A new year, a new Panzer Corps Multiplayer Championship!

We want to start early this time since we want to top the success of last year's edition. It will be a long league, hard and challenging, but it's worth it: the winners will receive exclusive prizes and rewards, just like in 2017.

We need you to make it the biggest tournament for Panzer Corps ever and break another record. Sign up now and don't miss this chance to be part of this huge wargaming event!

Read this thread to make sure you're aware of what you need to do take part in the tournament. Signing up and playing is very simple, and it's incredibly fun for everyone involved.

As usual, many thanks to Goose_2 who every year spends a lot of time and energies to organize and manage the tournament; it goes without saying that the yearly Panzer Corps league wouldn't be possible without his efforts!