The first sign of their appearance are the billowing dust clouds, and then over the horizon the low, ugly shapes are visible. Gears whine as turrets traverse, zeroing in on the lead elements. Seconds seem to turn into minutes as the final adjustments are made, as the platoon whispers a prayer and everyone waits. Then, it happens. The first vehicle crosses the designated point of action and the countryside erupts in flashes of flame and smoke. High velocity shells scream across fields and slam into their targets, turning what were once vehicles into burning hulks of metal and flesh. As quickly as it began it is over, and the hunters quickly move to alternate locations, leaving death and destruction behind.
This is the modern battlefield. This is WinSPMBT in its finest hour.
WinSPMBT is the Windows version of Steel Panthers Main Battle Tank (SPMBT). SPMBT is a classic super-mod for the fan favorite 1996 SSI game, Steel Panthers 2: Modern Battles. Developed by Camo Workshop, and available to the public for no cost, SPMBT followed in the treadmarks of their original super-mod for SP2, Steel Panthers World War II, first released in 1998. More than just a mod, SPMBT is a standalone game that totally reworks the original game. While the gameplay will be familiar to anyone who has spent time with Steel Panthers, the data and gameplay has been tweaked to provide gamers with the ultimate tactical experience.
Originally a DOS program SPMBT has now been upgraded into a full Microsoft Windows application. No longer will players be stuck running the game at 640x480, dealing with sound compatibility issues, or any of the other headaches involved with running DOS games in the 21st century.
WinSPMBT includes everything that everyone loved with SPMBT, and turns it up to eleven. There are three brand new scenarios and one new campaign, bringing the grand total to over one hundred plus scenarios in the game! New terrains have been added, and terrain tile sets redone. Scores of OOB files have been updated, there are new and revised vehicle icons, and the AI can now target smoke signatures with artillery. The much requested barbed wire makes an appearance, and now vehicles can reverse out of troubled areas without having to expose their rear.
WinSPMBT is available as a basic, free download or in a CD Edition that must be ordered. Both provide players with the exact same, free game but the CD Edition includes helpful items like a printed quick start guide and nice goodies like higher possible resolutions, and a cut-n-paste map editor.
If you have not yet experienced why Steel Panthers, a game released an eternity ago in terms of computer gaming, is still considered one of the (if not THE) best tactical turn-based computer wargames ever, download the addiction right away and see how Camo Workshop has kept the game fresh and viable all these years!
Here are some key features of "WinSPMBT":
· Fully Windows compatible, allows for either DirectX or GDI based graphics.
· Full screen or windowed mode.
· Supports resolutions of 640x480 and 800x600.
· Arid and Savannah terrains added to the map generator.
· New zoom-in level added.
· Three new scenarios, one new campaign added for a grand total of 107 scenarios.
· Ten NEW terrains added, such as 'Red Earth', 'Leaves' (Forest Groundcover), and 'Autumn Trees' (October).
· Twelve terrain tile sets redone, including 'Sand', 'Pavement', 'Winter Snowdrifts', and more.
· Ninety-two updated OOB files, three updated leader name files, five updated picklists.
· Two new nations: Paraguay and Uruguay.
· Revised game palette.
· Sixty-six new vehicle icons.
· Barbed wire! When defending the AI will place wire.
· Reversible vehicles! Tanks can back up, keeping their front armor towards the source of fire.
· Five PBEM save slots.
· Exhaustively researched.
· All the features that made SPMBT v.301 such a superb game!
What's New in This Release:
· 1. A bug existed whereby secondary explosions from ammo dump explosions caused crashes . Fixed
· 2. A bug existed that prevented AI defender from staying in place to defend - Fixed
· 3. A bug existed that prevented keyboard scrolling in the game map editor - Fixed
· 4. A bug existed the prevented roads from showing up on some terrains in the mini map- Fixed
· 5. A bug existed that sometimes had the AI's units facing away from enemy units - Fixed
· 6. AI units will now look around their position for enemy units just the same as a human player would.
· 7. The code to move units from hex to hex will now ensure that turrets point in the direction of travel, and not some random last direction. NB - units with a target that have a stabiliser fitted, will track the current target as long as they have LOS to it.
· 8. In arid terrain, vehicles with desert camo will use these instead of the regular temperate scheme.
· 9. AI now buys mines in the long campaign when defending.
As well there are:
· 15 new scenarios by Ulf Lundström and Bill Wilder
· 13 new Vehicle Icons
· 48 new or revised photos
· 54 Revised OOB's
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