Armored Brigade News

We are excited to announce an opportunity for talented and aspiring map makers to contribute to the development of Armored Brigade II. This is an opportunity to showcase your skills in map design and play a part in creating an engaging gaming experience.

Submission Guidelines:

• Participants will be tasked with drawing a 15x15km section of a map, completing it as thoroughly as possible within the trial period. This initial task is designed to evaluate your style, capability, and the quality of your work.
  
• A uniform 15x15km sample height map will be provided to all participants. a level playing field, focusing the challenge on design skills and creativity rather than QGIS proficiency.
  
  • Map files available here
• Participants will have three weeks from the receipt of the height map sample to submit their map section. This period is intended to allow sufficient time for showcasing your map-making abilities.
  
• We encourage all participants to document the man-hours invested in creating their map section. This will enable us to compare the effort required for your work against our current standards.
  

Selection Criteria:

• Accuracy and completeness of the submitted map section
  
• Creativity and artistic talent
  
• Ability to convey tactical importance of the terrain features
  
• Overall aesthetic quality and attention to detail
  

For inspiration and a sense of direction, we encourage reviewing existing maps within the Armored Brigade. If you aim to set your sights high: the maps of Chechnya serve as the gold standard in our community. Dare to match or exceed this benchmark.

Successful candidates will be commissioned to create two full-scale 30x30km maps for inclusion in Armored Brigade II. We are looking into continued collaboration, offering an opportunity to contribute further to the game and potentially other projects, depending on mutual satisfaction with the work delivered.

We are excited to see your creative contributions to the world of Armored Brigade II. For any inquiries or further information, please contact us directly on Discord or on forums.

Deadline:

The timeline officially starts TODAY, and submissions will be accepted until April 19th 2024. Don't miss your chance to leave a lasting impact on the Armored Brigade 2 experience!

Hi everybody,

The store page of Armored Brigade II is finally live.

All the upcoming news and activities for the game on Steam, will be posted there.

Wishlist now, great news is coming soon.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1934300/Armored_Brigade_II/

Slitherine is thrilled to announce that it is sponsoring this weekend's event at the Parola Armour Museum in Finland.

For those of you joining the event in person on the 20th of January from 10am to 3pm EET, you can be among the first to try Armored Brigade II.

Additionally, attendees will receive a coupon with a discount to spend in our store.

Unable to join the event? No worries, there will be great news soon.

Greetings, Commanders! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season!

In modern warfare, the tank is often hailed as the 'king of the battlefield,' symbolising the ultimate instrument for achieving and maintaining land dominance. However, it often meets its match in the form of a humble infantryman, patiently waiting in his foxhole. Infantry play an enduring and versatile role, often outsmarting more mechanised units in complex terrain. This tactical finesse and adaptability earn them the title of 'queen of the battlefield', effectively complementing the sheer power of armoured fighting vehicles. In recognition of this pivotal role, we have decided to significantly enhance the representation and features of infantry in Armored Brigade II, a well-deserved upgrade that acknowledges their crucial impact on the battlefield.

Finnish Jäger infantry squad fighting the Soviets in the woods

The first, and aesthetically most noticeable change, is the dynamic visual portrayal of infantry units. The previously used tightly packed 2D infantry sheets have been replaced by groups of individual soldiers. The decision to use sleek, stylised models was deliberate and serves a twofold purpose: firstly, to align with the overall style of the graphics, and secondly, to facilitate modding and enhance performance, as there can be hundreds of pixeltruppen on the screen at any given time. While this change is primarily cosmetic, as the underlying abstract squad logic remains intact, it significantly enhances player immersion. Soldiers will now appear more lifelike and distinct on the battlefield, moving and interacting in a manner that more accurately reflects real-world infantry tactics and behaviours. Most notably, they respond adaptively to their surroundings and given commands: leisurely walking, running or adopting an alert combat pace, firing and manoeuvring, and even crawling or dashing when under fire. These updates offer a subtler, yet more authentic, depiction of battlefield scenarios.

GDR Grenztruppen patrolling

However, the changes extend beyond the superficial. Given that infantry excels in close-quarters combat, riflemen are more effectively employed for manoeuvring rather than engaging targets at long range. This combat dynamic is not one-dimensional: for instance, static infantry, in particular, are not easily spotted and eliminated from great distances. To improve this aspect, we have introduced a few new mechanisms, with 'neutralisation' being the foremost. Unlike the existing pinned down and seeking cover state, this means that an infantry unit under fire must be re-spotted under specific conditions, especially when subjected to concentrated fire at range. However, this does not negate the proximity spotting rules; if an enemy unit is close enough, these rules still enable the detection of the neutralised unit. This interaction with layered engagement distances fundamentally transforms how infantry is approached in the game. It makes engagements more nuanced and reflective of actual combat situations, ensuring that each engagement is not just a contest of firepower but a thoughtful exercise.

When advancing, however, the challenge for the infantry lies in getting close to the enemy. The primary mission of infantrymen is to close in on the enemy, aiming to either destroy or capture them. However, accomplishing this is easier said than done, as the assault is possibly the most challenging task an infantryman will face. In this phase, he must leave any protective cover behind, expose himself to hostile fire, and advance directly against the (often stoutly) defended position. By using covering fire and movement, the attackers may be able to get close enough to engage in hand-to-hand combat. At this stage, they could fix bayonets, throw grenades, and use small arms at close range to eliminate any remaining active defenders. And we tried to emulate that through close combat mechanics, where, under determined criteria such as suppression, morale, and visibility, an infantry squad may attempt to resolve the engagement by going face to face with the enemy.

A pillbox view of firing at advancing infantry

Long-standing players of Armored Brigade will likely recognize the cumulative benefits that these changes bring, particularly when combined with information sharing and some other improvements we have not yet disclosed. This might not come as a surprise, considering your past insights have been vital in shaping these improvements, and we are grateful for your continued support and enthusiasm. While we believe these adjustments massively improve the tactical experience, we continue to rely on your feedback to guide further refinements. Undoubtedly, both leg and the newly introduced motorised infantry will greatly benefit from the extra care given to their tactical capabilities and interactions within the game. However, this is just the beginning, as there is still much work to be done.

US mech infantry section firing an M47 Dragon ATGM to destroy a T-80BV equipped with a mine plow

Stay tuned for more insights and updates in the next development diary. Until then, commanders, roll out the tanks!

Greetings Commanders!

In this installment of our development diary, we commence with a succinct reference to a significant event from the past, predating the Cold War period. In the annals of military history, few incidents cast as stark a light on the importance of communication as the British Light Brigade's suicidal charge during the Crimean War in October 1854. This bloody episode, marked by Captain Lewis Nolan’s ambiguous transmission of Lord Raglan’s ill-conceived orders and observed in disbelief by stunned allies and foes alike, serves as a poignant reminder of how the essence of warfare hinges on seamless information exchange. As we have always upheld the importance of this concept, reflected in our simulation of command order delay, we now push the envelope further with advanced spotting information sharing mechanism. This diary will explore the intricacies of this enhanced information exchange and spotting between units, as well as introduce redefined company structures, internally known as 'parent formations,' offering unprecedented flexibility in tactical planning.



In the original game, once a hostile contact was identified, it became globally known; however, a friendly unit still needed to scan in that direction to engage it. Nevertheless, this often led to fairly rapid target engagement times by distant units, an aspect we believed could be further improved. In addressing this, we looked into integrating a system that mimics real-world military communication procedures. The chain of command represents the path that orders and reports take between HQs and their subordinate units. Normally, orders travel "down the chain", that is, from higher HQ’s to a lower subordinate unit (depicted as the order delay), while reports (such as CONTACT or SPOTREPs) travel both up and down the chain (sharing spotting information).



A key challenge was ensuring the spotting mechanism itself remained undisrupted. This intricate setup necessitated meticulous implementation to ensure that the enhancements implemented did not inadvertently undermine the existing effectiveness or lead to gameplay issues for players. The system operates like a tree structure hierarchy, where communication across different branches is funneled through the nearest common node, except in cases where the units are in close physical proximity.



To illustrate this with a practical example: suppose an individual tank has spotted a hostile contact. Tank commander will report this at the platoon level, which will then be relayed by the platoon commander up the chain to the company headquarters. Here, the information spreads on two levels: upwards to other headquarters within the communication network, and downwards to other platoons or sections. This feature allows units to share critical battlefield intelligence more realistically, elevating the strategic depth of gameplay.



Similar to how a wildfire ignites and spreads rapidly, so does information in our simulation. While initial contact reports are swiftly shared at the local level, wider dissemination to units in different positions, like those on another flank or support units in the rear, takes more time, unless these units independently detect the enemy. With radio communication offering instant connectivity, the importance of physical distance between units is lessened, except in cases where direct voice or hand gestures are used. Additionally, the level of training is crucial; well-trained personnel are more likely to communicate clearly and precisely, and handle stress and panic more effectively.



Which brings us to the second revolutionary novelty: redefined company structures. Companies are no longer single, bulky entities comprising a certain number of individual vehicles or units. Instead, they now possess a proper structure consisting of sub-formations; for example, a company might include an organic HQ section and a certain number of platoons. The benefit is twofold: players can issue a command to the whole company to ease the management of larger battles, or they can micromanage individual sub-formations. By integrating this concept, Armored Brigade facilitates a more dynamic and responsive tactical experience for the player. This enhancement additionally enables a more precise recreation of historical military structures, such as reconnaissance or weapons support companies.



This new parent company structure is closely intertwined with information sharing, as sub-formations maintain a fixed connection with their default HQ. This HQ can be eliminated and, where possible, replaced by an acting leader, albeit with certain penalties. This development marks a significant leap in our commitment to providing a realistic and strategically rich warfare simulation. Designed with modularity in mind, the new system lays the groundwork for easily incorporating future features, including expanded communication methods and electronic warfare capabilities.

We will share more details about these exciting developments in our future updates.
Until then, commanders, roll out the tanks!