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Although Steel
Beasts 1 is mainly being sold as a commercial simulator for
entertainment, the underlying design principle was to create a simulator that
could be used as an inexpensive training tool for the military. This means
not only paying careful attention to proper gunnery techniques, but also making
sure that real-world armor tactics actually work during the simulation.
For example, in modern tank warfare the tank that is spotted first is usually the one that
is destroyed first, so it pays to stay concealed. In Steel Beasts, factors such
as the speed of the tank, the terrain behind and in front of the tank, the
degree to which the tank is hidden behind a hill, etc, all determine whether
that tank is detected by a computer-controlled enemy tank. Skyline your
tank and you'll find that the enemies will detect you much easier than if you
had trees behind you.
We've also tried hard to make units behave intelligently, so that players
don't have to waste time micromanaging them. For example, units are smart enough to automatically avoid
minefields, move away from artillery strikes (when allowed to do so), go hull
down, and even change hull-down positions when under attack.
Of course, we have spent a lot of time
researching and modeling proper tank gunnery and ballistics, as well. In Steel Beasts we model the M1A1 and Leopard 2A4 in enough detail and accuracy that you really can compare the differences between these two tanks. |
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