Graviteam projects

[Skybird]

Russian company Graviteam'S CEO interviewed by simHQ, fetauring two nice videos and info.

http://www.simhq.com/_land3/land_119a.html

The least thing I have to admit is that their games look pretty.

WWII buffs should be happy with apparantly a constant stream of titles flowing at their direction.

[frinik]

Well Skybird you should rejoice or at least celebrate as they are going to release by March 2011 a post World War II tanksim called Blaze of War based on the M60 against the T62/64 and possibly other tanks; the Centurion or Chieftain, the T55, leopard 1, may be the AMX13 and a handful of APCs.The scenarios will be played out during the Iran-Iraq war or 1988-1990, Afghanistan (1980s),and Angola in the 70s.

I don't think it will pose a serious threat to Steel Beast but it might give tank sim fans a cheaper alternative or may be a different view point.

Or it might give people the right incentive to move on the SB..

Anyway variety is always nice( although try explaining that to your wife or girlfriend....)

Cheers

[O_Smiladon]

Yeah I have seen it , But it wont be cockpit or MP will be 3rd person stuff I think..and single play ..

Hoo Hummm Not for me..

O_Smiladon

[frinik]

I am not sure about the cockpit issue yet(they are still discussing/debating it on the Sukhoi.ru Avia forum ) but they are definitely moving towards incorporating MP.They realise that while SP is good MP increases the appeal and sales of a game.In the end it will be funding which will determine the outcome

[Fercyful]

Originally Posted by frinik

I am not sure about the cockpit issue yet(they are still discussing/debating it on the Sukhoi.ru Avia forum )

ohh! hope they will add the cockpits the game will loose a LOT without them. Please don´t follow the ARMA/2 path...

now I have Steel Beasts Pro and is great have the cockpits of many of the units. It adds a lot to realism, and I like use the periscopes. Better have two playable tanks with cockpits and full detail that a lot of units and turn the thing in a "World of Tanks" style

[frinik]

Skybird I honestly don't thin that Graviteam has any intention of competing head -on with SB.SB is too well established and has 10 years of experience and success.I think their aim is more modest; to close the gap between WWII sims and the iconic SB which focusses mostly on tank warfare from the 80s onward.There's a gaping hole with no post war sim covering the 50s and 60s ( I am excluding old games like M1 Platoon or T72 which were neither satisfying nor well done ) which produced interesting and innovative tanks; one can only think of the Chieftain, the T54/55,the Centurion, the M48, the M60, the Leopard 1, the T62/64, the AMX 13 & 30. THis is the period when the legends of the classical age (WWII) of tank warfare ; the Tiger I and II, the Panther and the T34/85 - to mention the best known - were transformed through technological progess and innovation (IR, modern telemetry, firing stabilisation systems, new protective armour, more powerful guns and shells and later on computer assisted firing systems) into the icons of modern tank warfare: the Leopard 2, the Abrams, the Challenger II, the Merkava, the T80 and T90 and others lesser known from France, Korea, Japan or the PRC.

Anyway the 50s and 60s still offer a taste of the old classic tank warfare and a foretaste of what modern would eventually become.

Graviteam is not into the arcade style of game so I have no worried about that.Their previous tank sims(SF and T72 Balkans on Fire) both incorporated cockpits and in their discussions they referred specifically to the interior of the M60 and the T62 so I think they are conscious of the appeal and importance of having them.As for the AI and the tactics it remains to be seen what they can achieve.But their Blaze of War is going to be based on their RTS Kharkov Front Roads/Achtung Panzer ! game engine which has received praise for all sides and excellent ratings for a very reactive and cunning AI. I see that game as a preparation or a side dish for SB not a replacement nor real competition.But I could be wrong! Anyway it will be interesting to compare the 2.... Hopefully the Mission Editor will be as easy to use as the one in SF and with the active community of Eastern European modders to back it up there should be plenty of support.BTW their aim are both the Western market and the Eastern .European one.

Cheers

[Skybird]

Well, they better invest the funding for a good cockpit environment (that includes sophisticated optics and functional sights allowing realistic targetting), it would be the only feature that gives their versions of those two tanks an argument why they should be preferred to the same tanks in SBP where they are playable,. but not crewable. If they aim into the realism genre with that one title on T-64s and M60s, they are up against tough competition. And then it depends on mission play and mission size, AI, and physics realism - compared to SBP, which due to the same matter and same time-frame of these vehicles is their direct competitor. People will compare their way of modelling the T-64 and M60 versus the way they are run in SBP - it's only a natural thing this time that you cannot avoid. It'S not modern versus WWII.

And if they aim not at realism but arcade, then you can only get distracted from SBP if that is what you want, for a change: arcade action. (Which would not be my cup of tea).

For modern tanks, eSim probably has the most competent developement team any developer could wish for - lots and lots of real world tank experience in there, the same for many of their beta testers. Trying to challenge them on their very own field of excellence, does not sound too clever. Maybe that title gets developed by them primarily with the Russian market on mind, because as the CEO said the Afghanistan war has become "popular" in Russia lately (a bit unfortunate a formulation, isn't it?).

This reply not to slam Graviteam, but to reply to Frinik on why I remain sceptic.

Regarding sims for the modern fighter era, Falcon still rules. And this although there some contenders appeared that were much closer to it in simulation regards, like Janes F/A-18, Flanker 2.5, with that A-10 simulation about to be released and offering apparently spectacular graphics. But all the older games, while doing some stuff remarkably well, had some weaknesses in other areas, mainly the lack of Falcon's spectacular campaign and mission play, and the sheer complexity of the conflict environment it simulates in-flight. As a complete package, F4 is still pretty much unbeaten, performing solid in some areas, but even excelling and outclassing the opposition in some others. Once such a behcnmark title is being installed, it seems it tends to sit on top of the list for long time, being hard to be beaten.

Price is no argument against SBP. It has costed 100 dollars in the past 2 months, and now is 125 dollars again. Calculated in Euros, that is the price of not even two ordinary random game titles that are new released (currently 125 dollars are 90 Euros, but game rele3ases costing 49.90 euros for PC, even in excess of 50 and 60 Euros for consoles). Just that you get delivered much more than most games would deliver in long-term-engagement. If you are a agmer, buying games frequently, it is very easy to waste that money on just any two games that you skip from your list of hobbies soon. Having done so myself for 20 years, I know it!