SPMBT

WinSPMBT is a hex based tank wargame. It is based on SPWW2 aka Steel Panthers World War 2, which in turn was based on SSI's DOS game Steel Panthers II.

The full name of this game is Steel Panthers Main Battle Tank with 'Win' tagged onto the front to show that it is a Windows game. Development started in 2001 on what was intended to be an extension of SPWW2. This turned into something much greater with a complete rewrite of the Order of Battle files, 2000 new icons, lots of coding, new modern weapons and improved AI and that was just for Version 1.0 - the preview version.

The game comes with:

• A very detailed manual which opens in a browser window, not only does this explain the game mechanics, it highlights improvements such as:
  • Vehicles can reverse - this is important as it keeps the main armour facing the enemy
  • The improved AI behaves more like a human player. If it 'sees' its opponent trying to clear barbed wire or mines it will target those areas with artillery, likewise if it sees an Anti-tank guided missile being fired it will direct fire at the source of the smoke trail
  • One Hundred & six scenarios and three campaigns: 5th Marines in 1967, Thunder in the Sinai and Balkan Wars 2008
• A Scenario Editor - custom scenarios can be shared and scenarios from other players can be installed.
• An OB - Order of Battle Editor - for use with Play-By-E-Mail games
• A Campaign Editor

Improvements over SPWW2 include:

• The game caters for ninety-two countries, well ninety-one plus the UN which is a special case, from 1946 to 2020 with flags that change on the appropriate date
• A revised artillery routine which allows tor the shell's travel to target time
• Larger maps - up from 80 x 100 hex to 160-200 hex
• Players can fire through smoke and modern aircraft have night vision
• Optional enhanced secure Play By E-Mail mode, previously players could re load the turn and replay it as much as desired before returning it
• A bigger unit and formation database, 999 of each, plus each side can have five hundred units making for bigger battles
• New terrain types include mud (impassable to vehicles), orchards, hedgerows, fire trenches, volcanic sand, railway and tramway terrain tiles
• Enhanced terrain heights, map generation, battle location generation
• New aircraft classes, parachute drops, troop landing gliders and naturally new weapons and defences