Questions & Answers – April 2022

Hi all, our blog posts on the 2022 Quarter One Review and announcement of Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon! generated sixty-eight (to-date) comments with a range of questions.

In the same vein as our prior Question and Answer posted in January (read it again here ) we have collated all the comments and answered questions where applicable. Please note we have corrected a few spelling errors in the comments, otherwise they are all as received.

The questions regarding the Napoleonic counter set were mentioned in many comments. The current state of the Facebook poll is as follows (as of April 22nd)

Officially A is leading with 66 votes, C is second with 54 and B is a distant third with 18. Taking all the following comments into account:

Christophe      2022 Quarter One Review

Very impressive work. Concerning Napoleonic definitively I choose C.

Bill Peters           2022 Quarter One Review

I vote for the "A" type graphics as default with one of the other two being the second choice and the other being the "replacement" set for either.

Dion Ritter          2022 Quarter One Review

Vote for A as new Napoleonic 2D counter graphics.

Mark Higson Orkney UK               2022 Quarter One Review

Napoleonic Updates C and B then A. Austria Rules O.K

Harry Miktarian                2022 Quarter One Review

By the way 'A' is my choice for units.

Isaac Lassing      2022 Quarter One Review

Like Option C for the graphics best.

Antony Flack                      2022 Quarter One Review

Looking forward to Napoleonic update, my preference (from an old timer in England) is for sets A and C.

Clayton Martin                 2022 Quarter One Review

A & C for the nappy 2D.

Toby      2022 Quarter One Review

I vote for C, very clear and easy to understand.

Chris Merchant                 2022 Quarter One Review

oh and ps.. my vote for B&C

Tony. G                 2022 Quarter One Review

When I was on your facebook page I voted for "C" for my choice of Napoleonic counters but having said that more options is always wonderful.

Jim         2022 Quarter One Review

I say no to B and C graphics.

Answer: So, it’s A then!?? 😊

Mike     2022 Quarter One Review

Really like the "C" Napoleonic counters,

Dave      2022 Quarter One Review

Really like the looks of those C Napoleonic counter graphics.

Robert Ruppert                 2022 Quarter One Review

Good Grief, you seem to be exceedingly productive, thanks! In the vote on the 2D Napoleonic icons, is the only difference the size of the facing triangle (between 2nd and 3rd choice)? Never been good at spot the differences. Still, I have to say I like the larger bolder facing triangle of the 3rd!

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Based upon the additional comments here (and only picking the number one choice), there are a further 6 votes for A, 1 for B and 8 votes for C. That leaves A (72 votes) and C (62 votes) the two versions in game with B provided for those (few!) who prefer it.

Anthony D.         2022 Quarter One Review

Great improvements. I especially look forward to those for Napoleonic Series. One pet peeve I'm surprised no one has mentioned it - Unit boxes for British units - the majority of British soldiers (for their images) did not have moustaches, per regulations.

Answer: We have passed your comment regarding British facial hair onto Joe Amoral the artist responsible. 😊

Isaac Lassing      2022 Quarter One Review

Hey, just wondering, any chance we can extend the Musket and Pike Series with Campaigns of the Sun King late 1600s to early 1700s. Trying to help the French win battles in the 7 years’ war, it's like herding sheep and command control is so important. I can see how the oblique attack works well with system, everyone in command rather than spreading yourself around. Also found massing artillery really does help set you up for breaking the enemy’s line, counterbattery followed by disordering the opposition infantry (watch out for the cavalry charges though. Any chance someone is working on this or maybe some scenario packs if it can fit within current game systems, appears to be quite a gap between Renaissance and the Seven Years War.

Answer: We couldn’t agree more. There are a range of wars and battles that had not been covered by the company previously and you can be assured that we are looking at additional titles in the Musket & Pike series covering some very interesting conflicts.

Chris      2022 Quarter One Review

Wow! I am very excited about the graphics overhaul the WDS team I feel it is a very necessary move to draw a younger customer base who enjoy the game concept but recoil at the graphics when compared to most computer. Hats off to Nick, Joe and the many unnamed toiling behind the scenes who are making WDS an attractive option for military strategy games. Bravo! Gentlemen you have my thanks as well continued purchases.

Answer: We have some great artists working with us. In addition to Joe and Nick we have Paul Hill who created the new pre 20^th century graphics and Frank ‘Old Banshee’ Mullins who has single handed revamped the Civil War Battles series including all the hand-painted maps you see across multiple series. Frank is currently working on a very exciting, ‘secret’ project!

Gabriel Rodriguez           2022 Quarter One Review

Very good job! I hope watch Nappy´s Art soon. Nice work! Congrats!

Mike     2022 Quarter One Review

Anything going on for new ww1 titles? Thanks for the update.

Al Woods            2022 Quarter One Review

Great stuff as always. In your next blog, could you provide an update on what's happening with the First World War series. Thanks!

Allan D Foote    2022 Quarter One Review

Interested also on future development of WWI campaigns. Wishing for Middle East including Lawrence of Arabia.

Answer: Ed Williams and team are working on the next title in the First World War Campaigns series. With the depth of research required and the time it takes for a game to be completed, there is a preference to only share once we get closer to release date. Be assured though, there is a lot of work underway.

Clayton Martin                 2022 Quarter One Review

I see that Paul Bruffell is on board. Which means hex based ancients. Great stuff.

Arthur Florman                 2022 Quarter One Review

Very happy with the direction of WDS. Looking forward to updated SB and the new naval game. Very curious to find out if the new series Paul Bruffell is involved with is an update to the Ancient series originally published by HPS. I sure hope so. I find that series more accurate than Slitherines FoG2.

Answer: We are very excited to be working with Paul. You are correct that he was prolific with his ancient’s series for HPS. Paul has broader experience than ancients though, with his Napoleonic’s ‘Marching Eagles’ series published through HPS. We are taking full advantage of Paul’s varied experience and hope to have something to share soon.

Carl1566               2022 Quarter One Review

I am so pleased with the new "faces" being developed for Squad Battles games. The new ones shown for Advance of the Reich generally resemble the ones for Winter War on Task Force Echo 4 website. For me, those were an inspiration. I had not played WW for several years prior to seeing the new graphics. But they regenerated my interest in the classic game. I've been glued to my Winter War for the past six months.

Answer: Updating the Squad Battles series as mentioned will be a large task, but the feedback to date is that we are on the right path. Here are some more example 'faces'.

Philippe Bourge                               2022 Quarter One Review

Very good work and very interesting project. Really impatient to test the 3D maps on Sq Battle too. Thanks you very much.

Answer: There is a lot of work needed to get 3D right in Squad Battles. This maybe one of the areas where we will progressively improve it over time. 3D Vehicle alone need a lot of resources to implement, so it will definitely take us time to upgrade 3D where it is currently available.

Luigi      2022 Quarter One Review

Great all idea for updates fantastic the print of order of battle

Answer: The printed order of battles as shown for Squad Battles is great. I have just seen a new version that is even better (see the two examples below). The intention is to provide the Squad Battles order of battles in this format as part of the game documentation. Whether the program is released publicly is yet to be discussed. The concept of ‘Visual Order of Battles’ started with Panzer Battles, but having an automated version just simplifies the whole process.

(All images can be clicked for full size)

Harry Miktarian                                2022 Quarter One Review

...when I saw the update in the blog about Squad Battles...I got this strange tingly feeling...oddly familiar to the one I used to get as a teenager when daydreaming about girls in class... You guys are doing a great job with comms and the work you are putting into all of our favorite titles.

Answer: A pleasure Harry, so to speak! 😊

Mike     2022 Quarter One Review

~Harry Miktarian, spoke it perfectly! Thank you all for your continued work and love you put in these games.

Dave      2022 Quarter One Review

Will Squad Battles also be getting an updated toolbar? The old one is quite ancient...

Answer: That is planned. Timing is fluid as we have a lot of competing demands currently, but ideally we would move that series across to the same toolbars and shortcut keys used in the other World War II series (Panzer Battles & Panzer Campaigns)

Dan Moyer         2022 Quarter One Review

The vid for Squad Battles was great! AOTR is the only title I have in that series, and I have not really spent any time on it, but the updated graphics will go a long way to making me want to play it. Looking forward to all the updates. Keep it up!

Answer: The video was another test of various capabilities we have here. Keeping you all up to date and giving you ‘glimpses’ of what we are doing is becoming a full-time job and a video can show a lot more than words.  With the range of improvements going into Squad Battles it is easiest to showcase the new look and hence the use of a simple gameplay video.

Brett Kolcun       2022 Quarter One Review

Really looking forward to the SB updates! But awesome all the way around.

Christian Radice               2022 Quarter One Review

I just read the news on the site and followed the link for this video that I just watched on youtube, wow what to say I was very pleasantly impressed by the game and now I can say that I fell in love with the Squad Battles series, I have always snubbed this series and I have found out that I was blatantly wrong, you just gained a new fan for this series. I have decided that little by little I will buy all the titles of this series. Well done WDS

Answer: Thank you! As mentioned previously we will try and share more gameplay and insights via video where applicable.

Tony. G                 2022 Quarter One Review

At this point I would have to admit that I only have 1 of your Squad Battles games but I'm sure that will change in the future, maybe has each gets a grand update? It's great to see the work you guys are putting in old and new titles alike, I look forward to what happens next.

Toby      2022 Quarter One Review

I always look forward to updates from WDS. You put out a great deal of information about all aspects of your work. Keep it coming! Will the War of 1812 game be receiving similar upgrades as the Napoleonic’s? Specifically, the UI enhancements and new counter graphics.

Answer: Nick Ferry is also coordinating on the graphics for the Early American Wars series, so you can expect enhance counter art and graphics generally. As far as UI enhancements, ideally, we want all series to have a version of our new toolbars. Its just a matter of finding time for the programmers to implement it.

Chris Merchant                 2022 Quarter One Review

Any news on AI upgrades for the future David? Cheers

Answer: Nothing that we can share publicly beyond we are very keen to get the initial iterations up and tested.

Nicholas W Kunz              2022 Quarter One Review

Love the updates, makes us all feel appreciated and it is like getting new games all the time. Reminds me of the feedback section of the old S&T magazines! And a shoutout to Rich Hamilton, you da man when it comes to solving problems and taking care of us all!

Answer: The improvements mentioned in consolidating customer purchases makes everyone’s life better. Rich and the support team are here to help and we really appreciate all feedback.

Keith Robinson                 2022 Quarter One Review

Whoever designed this new toolbar deserves a raise and a week paid vacation in Bali.

Answer: Berto, (one of our programmers) thanks you!

Karl McEntegart               2022 Quarter One Review

Exciting times ahead, well done WDS. As a CWB, Nap Battles & Pz Cmpgns fan I look forward to the future from you.

Bob Beaton        2022 Quarter One Review

Really like the new toolbar with my Antietam purchase! The music in that one is outstanding! I often just open the game folder and click on the music!

Answer: Glad you like the toolbar – hopefully it will be available in other series soon. As far as the music for the Civil War Battles series, we have Thomas Hook to thank for that.

Chad      2022 Quarter One Review

Great update!

Keith Robinson 2022 Quarter One Review

The new toolbars look awesome and much appreciated. Thanks for the update! Looking forward to what is coming.

Donald Vandergriff         2022 Quarter One Review

Thank you for the great war-games, the best, as well as the range of titles. I have a question (could have asked Rich as well), but I have gone to an iMac from windows, can I play the Tiller games on the iMAC?

Answer: You need Windows emulation software such as Crossover or Parallels. We do not natively support Mac’s out of the box unfortunately.

Scott      2022 Quarter One Review

Holy smokes, fantastic news. The future of WDS seems extremely promising and that makes me happy. Cheers.

Russ Jenkins      2022 Quarter One Review

Thanks for the update and all the work you do. Suggestion: The ability to print OOB’s for the Civil War Series would be great also.

Answer: Please keep in mind that doing the sheets for a large OOB would mean a massive image/file. That said we plan to do some experiments to see what is possible. Xerxes77 one of our testers created the OOB tool and we need to discuss with him what we can/cannot do with it commercially.

Jon         2022 Quarter One Review

Keep up the great work! Patiently awaiting Panzer Battles stuff (my favorite, by far) while grognarding endlessly on several Panzer Campaigns scenarios simultaneously. This is why I retired! Thanks, again, for your efforts.

Answer: Panzer Battles are very popular titles. The scale seems to work well with the Tiller game system. That said, they are some of the hardest games to create. They need accurate terrain, orders of battle and detailed scenario design. It is much harder to get combat reports at a company/battalion level than say the scale needed for Panzer Campaigns. These are some of the reasons they take us much longer to publish. We do want you all playing the new titles as soon as possible!

Giuseppe            2022 Quarter One Review

I am very happy for the "new mega update" for France '40, just can't wait!

Answer: Hopefully not too long now for the latest update – it is well worth the wait and is another very significant expansion over the original Panzer Campaigns France ’40.

Swisswargaming.com    2022 Quarter One Review

Wonderful update, I can't wait for all these updates (and a new PC title, of course).

Answer: Panzer Campaigns as a series is in a very good place. There is a lot happening in this series.

David Dumas     2022 Quarter One Review

Love the new Napoleonic units cards/drawings. Can't wait to see them all. I think some infantry units in panzer campaign games could use some love as well. Lots of interesting things coming. Thank you for posting an update.

Answer: All the PC versions of Panzer Campaigns have updated infantry and vehicle/gun images. Are you looking at that or the mobile (Android/iOS) games? We don’t currently have plans to update the mobile titles.

Thomas Jeffery McEvilly                               2022 Quarter One Review

Wow! So much going on!

Ricky B                  2022 Quarter One Review

Wow, that is a huge amount of excitement David. Thanks for the update.

Larry Sjelin         2022 Quarter One Review

For us "older" gamers...3D is often very hard to see (sucks getting old) so I play in 2D, which is fine...but miss out on the 3D environment. Something to consider. New graphic in cw and nap games is great. Always was disappointed in those games for that reason...I loved the old talonsoft battleground games map qualities and the look of the 3D figures on the map...very clean and size appropriate, something I think was missed at HPS and JTS. But I think you guys are finally getting it right. That said your games make up the bulk of my game library.

Answer: We really appreciate your loyalty. We continue to try new things with 3D particularly in the pre-20^th century game series. These eras begat a lot of table-top gaming and hence the linkage with 3D presentation. Frank Mullins and Paul Hill are doing sterling work in this area.

Clinton N Matthews       2022 Quarter One Review

thank you for the update.........so much exciting stuff

William Mitchell              Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Thanks for taking over after John’s passing. I would like to thank you all for your hard work and dedication to/on these great games. As a former United States Navy 'AO’ I love any and all naval games you guys make. Once again thanks again and keep up the hard work.

Kirk     Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

These ship overheads on the map look fantastic!

Answer: Glad you like them! We hope to have more variety by the time the game is released. Below you can see examples for each ship class, Allied on top, Axis below.

Toby      Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

I have not played any of your naval games but I am deeply interested in the subject. Glad to see they are getting attention! Looking forward to future updates as this title progresses. Do you have any plans for the Mediterranean and Pacific theatres of WW2? Also, I would like to encourage you to look to WW1 as inspiration for further campaigns: the Battles of Coronel, Falklands, Dogger Bank, Jutland as well as the first U-Boat campaigns around the British Isles and the North Atlantic. Thank you!

Answer: Thank you for your interest. If you check our Naval Campaigns series web page here I think you will find many of the battles you mention are already covered. We do plan to update the currently available titles to the standard that will be released with the upcoming Naval Campaigns - Kriegsmarine.

Yeray    Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Will these graphics be implemented in the rest of the naval games that already exist?

Answer: Yes, that is the intention. Timing will be dependent on our overall schedule though.

Jim Waltz            Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

I would like to be a beta tester on this game. This would be my first commerce game to play test but I would for a Defense Contracting company that support the Navy in playing wargames via play by mail and board games with card injections. I have played board/map focused games since 1975 including many John Tiller developed or distribute games.

Answer: If you haven’t enquired already, all the details were in the blog post on how to apply.

Michael Ahola                   Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Can you pre-order it?

Answer: No. We would prefer to only take orders once a title is released. We believe that gives us time to get a title right rather than rush it out. Please watch our blog posts here as to when release is pending.

Albert R Mendoza           Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Keep up the great work, the games are getting better and better. You know from the number of games I've purchased I can be a good judge of the quality of your games. Love the historical background for each scenario.

Cory R.                  Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

If you are going to censor the Nazi flag, then why choose to use the flag? You don't have to use the flag. Is there no other art to depict?

Answer: For reference, we have assumed you were referring to the Nazi symbol that was on the bow of the German cruiser. Though very appropriate historically, we have adjusted that graphic to remove the swastika. If you are commenting on the flag on the cover image, we are not quite certain the issue you are referring too as the flag has no offensive symbology and was used historically by the Kriegsmarine.

Simon Lambert Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Great news looking forward to it. Please people be tolerant about the flag issue 1) In many countries it is illegal to use symbology associated with the 3rd Reich - Americans remember your country wasn't overrun and had hundreds of thousands of civilians killed under that flag. 2) It really has ZERO effect on the quality of the gameplay!

Answer: We appreciate the sensitivity. As mentioned above, we have removed the swastika from the German cruiser’s bow.

Tony G                  Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Wow, yes, I love the new look graphics. This title will be a much for all naval gamers like myself. Wonder if there will be a follow up game set in the Mediterranean, guess we will have to wait and see?

Answer: There is such a diverse range of battles and campaigns that navies have taken part in that have not been covered yet by one of our games. I am certain the Mediterranean is on the team’s radar.

Mike Hemer      Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Supporting the earlier comment on adding naval surface battles in the Mediterranean, the operations involving the British evacuation of Greece and the German invasion of Crete by sea, and British efforts to keep Malta supplied (e.g. Operation Pedestal, etc.) might be another area to consider.

Answer: We agree, there is a great range of battles in the ‘Med’. Consider the whips are out on the team…!

Greg Langbein   Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Will this Game have any Mediterranean Scenarios with Italian Ships?

Answer: No, not in the Kriegsmarine title.

Philippe               Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Excellent title (historical ref) and logical complement to the Wolfpack title.

Harry Miktarian                                Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Very excited for this one...not much out there for this theater of naval ops, mostly the Pacific. First day buy for me. Also excited because if I were a betting man...Midway will be getting an update in the not too distant future.

Answer: As mentioned above, yes, we would like to update all the previously released games to the same standard.

Mark Hale          Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Love the concept, hate the name. Why is WDS going away from neutral titles in this series and headlining the losers, in German no less, who fought for a morally bankrupt cause? As it seems the opponent is consistently British why not call it Royal Navy? Better still, Battles in the Atlantic and lose the faux German flag as the bow wake on the cover art.

Answer: To be honest, there had not been a conscious effort to have neutral titles in the original releases. The focus had been to name titles based upon individual battles or campaigns. That changed with Wolfpack where engagements across multiple years were included, and the primary ‘service’ was the title basis. It is the same with Kriegsmarine as it is a multi-year title, but we understand the point you are making.

Ahmet Demirci Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

2 games announced to be released in the same year? Wow. I don't think I could be a tester for this game. Not because I don't play real-time games, but I couldn't utilise Direct-Play without problems.

Answer: Yes, it's a bit of a shock seeing two titles announced for a single year. Maybe we can surprise you further later in the year!

Wayne Burnham              Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Hi, looking forward to this release. Is this going to use the same engine as previous Naval titles?

Answer: Yes, it’s the same engine, but with a range of updates. Some will be obvious (graphics) and some less so. Consider this series under active development.

Arthur Florman                 Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Enjoy Wolfpack, Guadalcanal, & Midway along with the Modern Air Power games. Automatic purchase for me. Would like to see a merge of the two systems - sort of a more approachable version of Command Modern Operations.

Answer: So, would we! There have been discussions around what is possible across both series. Please note, they are only discussions at this stage.

Philippe               Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

Excellent idea, even if they are not my favorite titles. Especially looking forward to the subject matter. Can't wait for the Upgrades of the other titles of the series and also of the airwars, but don't spread yourself too thin ;-) (I'd be interested in info about the role of tester and your more precise request in that matter). Thank you.

Stan       Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

I've been enjoying the real time games, and the improved graphics look awesome!

Clinton N Matthews       Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

very disappointed with a new "real time" game from WDS. I find it hard to believe there is a demand for this game.

Answer: We are sorry you're disappointed. Based upon prior sales, there is definitely deep interest in the Naval Campaigns series, and this was borne out by the performance of Wolfpack when released a few years ago. The engine is real-time and there is no intention to change that currently.

Gary Bezant       Naval Campaigns – Kriegsmarine Coming Soon!

I would like to be considered for play testing this title.

Answer: As mentioned, the steps for applying are within the blog post.

We hope the comments made by all are of interest and that where answered provides you all with a little more insight. Thank you for your enthusiasm and support. We will keep working hard here!