Frinik,
it'S okay,what you said I already knew in 2009, when I originally wrote that essay. Back then somebody had made "Viller's Bocage", a map trying to catch the typical looks of those WWII French rolling landscapes. He also released a mission following the examples I had described. At eSim forums, some people at least found it interesting, and very very different from SBP standard. Let's face it -
it is very difficult to fight, win and survive in a battle fought like I described, even more if you add a weather scheme with mist and limited visibility - then it becomes real scary. And that difficulty was for the main what I wanted to demonstrate. Personally, I do not do like that in SBP anymore. How different and more difficult it is you now expereince with the new playable T-72 in SBP, and it's almost WWII-looking interior. A rolling coffin designed in a cheap way to survive just the first few minutes of a battle - not to give the crew a real chnane to live by the end of the war.
When the essay originally was posted, TvT and SF also had just arrived, and it was an answer to some people complaining or saying that these games were oh so "realistic" in presenting a "simulation" of real WWII type tank combat, or they said they would kill for getting the opportunity to play a tanksim like that, but there were none. The latter I wanted to show that they can get closer to it by "absuing" SBP the way I outlined.
On SF and TvT, I would prefer to not comment here and tpoday, becasue my references to that stuff only came due to the destruicvie handling of the debate by Gorshkov - my references are triggered in direct reply to his almost trolling comments here and especially in the SBP resources thread. I took heavy Flak back then for the SF review, since it listed several points why I did not like that game and gave up on it, it all became quite hostile on a level I experienced as quite personal, but I stick to the points of criticism i listed there. I just will not revive that ugly old debate. Neal decided to not post/publish it formally (the text is a pre-released draft), as it originally was planned - the air was too hot, at least I assume that was the motivation, and I can understand it.
You are right on the atmosphere thing, for people willing to kill for a WWII sim
due to its looks, my considerations cannot be satisfying even when using one of those very few WWII-skins that are available for mostly the Leopards . But for me, immersion has also a lot to do with functionality, handling, tactics and sounds. I see SBP as superior in these regards, and so I wrote down how far one can move towards old-fashioned tanking battles with SBP withgout any computerised hightech gadgets
On rare occasions I still received feedback on the old posting of that essay, asking why the text was so much corrupted and split into several parts/posts. Well, I just wanted to repair it today. And without Gorshkov provocating me in three different threads and having posted several even false things about SBP, nothing about the difference of patches and upgrades and about Steel Fury and the old review would have been added into this thread, at least not by me.
I'm glad if the essay motivates you to try something new in SBP, and if it doesn'T or you prefer any of the now several WWII tank games released over the past three years, then I am fine with that too and wish you a good time with the title of your choice!
My enthusiasm for SBP you please forgive me, I am known for it, and after five years and that long review I did on it back then, people even expect it from me now.
I know about it's weaknesses, too, and there are several ones for sure. It's just not as much fun to post about them - that makes more sense in the eSim forums. I doubt they read in this silent graveyard of a forum.
