On track?

[Sean Murphy]

I was wondering how 'All American' is going? Is it still on track for gold in late June?

I've been watching 'Band of Brothers' on DVD & it's making me jones for this new game.

I'm going to go ahead & pre-order this title. I loved 101st and believe that small outfits deserve support to continue to give us interesting games.

Thanks for any info! Maybe some new screen shots?

Yours, Sean

[Joe 98]

If you do a search you will find web sites announcing that this game will go gold in June 2000 – some 3 years ago.

But I feel that if it is ever released it will be obsolete. It may not even run under the more recent graphics cards.

I played 101st Airborne. At least I tried to. I had great trouble getting my men out of their schutes.

This game has great potential.

Combat at the tactical level is a combination of continous time action and turn based action. I feel this game models it very well.

And we wargamers really need a game where individual soldiers are modelled rather than squads.

Yet I could never get into the game. Mostly because its so slow. When I read of the improvements I thought I would give it a go. But the graphics are so out of date and development has taken so long, I am doubtful that the game will be enjoyable.

I am all for supporting small wargame companies but it’s not a good idea to pre-order this game as it may never see the light of day.

[Tim Brooks]

Wow Joe 98! That's very interesting that you know so much about what we have been doing with this game! Are you on the development team?

Sean:

We are moving forward. We have almost all the art work - just some tweaks, the missions are being created, maps are 80% complete. We need to add the new voices, soldier data, complete the missions and maps and test the scenarios. We are close, but as always has happened with 82nd, we put it on hold from time to time to make sure our games from other developers are where they need to be. Right now, it looks like Gold in July sometime with an August release. Based on testing, this could slide either way, but I feel confident with these timeframes.

OH, 82nd was developed on XP, so it will handle the new systems - and graphics cards... screenshots in a few weeks!

[reimero]

Tim,

Thanks for the update!!!

[Sean Murphy]

Tim - thanks for the update. I look forward to seeing new screenshots! If I still lived in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area, I'd be able to come to your offices & press my nose against the window to check on progress. And then apologize for the smudges by buying you a beer...

In response to Joe 98, there is a lot more to games than the graphics. A lot of the most whiz-bang games are a downright bore after 10 hours of pretty pictures.

[Paul Roberts]

I also remember the old "June 2000" release date, but I'm still optimistic about the game's potential. Those of us who remember X-COM know that the combination of individual soldiers, skill points, action points, and turn-based play is a potent mix no matter what "state of the art" may be in other genres. I don't expect beautiful 3-D models in 82nd Airborne. I just want a system that captures squad tactics with playability and authenticity.

They could have rushed this one out long ago. I'm glad that they're taking the time to get the balance right. Good luck to Tim and the rest of the design team.