WWII
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Live-tweets narrate the D-Day landings exactly as they happened
To mark the anniversary of the Allied invasion of Western Europe on June 6, 1944, one Twitter account is sharing the events exactly as they happened exactly 70 years ago. The UK's National Archives has thrown open official army war diaries, RAF squadron records, government cabinet papers and messages sent to Prime Minister Winston Churchill to describe D-Day events in real time. Tweets laden with photos and snapshots of documents provide additional detail, giving us a valuable insight into the decision-making processes and endeavours of British and Commonwealth forces over the course the Normandy landings. Google is also honoring the event by launching a new collection on its Cultural Institute website, which features 470 documents and images from Operation Overlord. Some messages are hard to read, but others provide a little light in what was otherwise a dark time for Allied servicemen and women.
D-Day Hour by Hour for iPad
With the 70th Anniversary of D-Day approaching on June 6, we are seeing some interesting apps that commemorate Western Europe's liberation from Nazi troops. A case in point is D-Day Hour by Hour, a US$4.99 app that lets you explore maps, articles, audio interviews and newsreel videos. The iPad app features a timeline at the bottom, and as you slide it you will see positions of allied and Nazi troops change, and get featured content that also covers the run-up to the D-Day invasion and historical facts about the aftermath. The app is easy to use, and really doesn't require any instructions. The maps are very attractive, and the overview of the D-Day locale makes the events of that historic day come into sharp focus. I appreciate the fact that the content is balanced, with quite a bit about what was going on behind the German lines as well as on the Allied side. It is hard to fault this well-executed app. There is plenty of in-depth material here, and time spent studying the text and media would be welcome for any history buff. D-Day Hour by Hour is an iPad-only app. It requires iOS 7 or later, and it's a 174 MB download due to the included media files. Related apps include Great Battles ($0.99), which features a D-Day history, and D-Day Complete Broadcasts ($1.99) which features the complete radio broadcasts from Normandy during the invasion. D-Day Hour by Hour is very worthwhile and I recommend it for students of one of the Worlds great battles.
Heroes & Generals vidlog details new guns, tanks
Heroes & Generals is getting fairly frequent updates these days, and even though the free-to-play MMO shooter is technically still in beta, developer Reto-Moto has a polished and playable game on its hands. The latest Videolog, number 12 if you're keeping score, summarizes content additions from the last two "Patton" updates, including an extensive list of new tanks and infantry weapons. You can watch the full seven-minute clip after the cut!
Normandy landings recreated in Oculus Rift D-Day simulation
3D virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift are often lauded as the next big thing in entertainment, but they're also helping to change the way we learn. To mark the anniversary of the Allied invasion of Western Europe on June 6, 1944, French 3D specialists Dassault Systèmes have painstakingly rebuilt D-Day relics in high-definiton VR using the original blueprints of vehicles and devices used in the assault on Normandy 70 years ago. In contrast to million-dollar gaming franchises like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty, which give players a first-person perspective of the fighting, Dassault Systèmes wanted to recognize the engineering prowess and technological advancements that helped soldiers to liberate France. To do so, a team of 30 specialists recreated the Allied forces' Higgins' landing craft, Waco gliders and Mulberry Harbor, the first (floating) deepwater port of its kind. The resulting animations are perfect for viewing on virtual reality headsets like the Oculus, digitally preserving innovations that have since been lost to the sea.
War Thunder to divebomb PS4 launch as free-to-play MMO
Gaijin Entertainment will run a free-to-play blitzkrieg on the PS4's launch with its World War II-oriented aerial and terrain combat MMO, War Thunder, the studio announced today at Sony's Gamescom press conference. A press release from Gaijin revealed that War Thunder will "have more than 300 historically accurate WWII military vehicles available at launch," though fans can expect "hundreds more" in future updates that will be simultaneous with the PC version. Players can enlist in co-op, single and multiplayer battles by downloading War Thunder for free from the PlayStation Store. PlayStation Plus subscribers will also receive "some bonus content." Over three million players have registered to blow each other to bits in War Thunder's open beta for the PC and Mac.
Dieselpunk turn-based March of War storms Steam
Tired of the same-old World War II video games that seem to add little new to the genre? March of War may be the fresh approach that will revitalize your interest in the era. The multiplayer strategy game is set in an alternate 1940s timeline when dieselpunk powers war machines fight on the front lines for five factions. It's also episodic, free, and available right now through Steam's early access program. The game's isometric view puts you in the commander's seat as you fight against other players in a turn-based format. The first episode, World Aflame, is the core game; further episodes will be released on a monthly basis. Steam players who jump in right now will receive a welcome pack with infantry and special command abilities. March of War will eventually be released on multiple platforms this summer, including PC, Mac, iOS, and Android. We've got the release trailer after the break.
Sneak a peek at various vessels in World of Warships
From tanks to planes and now ships, Wargaming is definitely known for the exquisite detail of its WWII-period vehicles. And today the company released new screenshots and renderings showing off that detail in the battleships of the upcoming naval MMO World of Warships. While the screenshots show a variety of vessels, the renderings draw attention to the USS New Mexico, a battleship that served the US Navy for decades and was a force to be reckoned with during World War II. Get a glimpse of some of the giant warships setting sail in WoWS in the gallery below. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]%Gallery-172269%
Rise and Shiny: Heroes and Generals
Heroes and Generals is a new browser-based game set in the wonderfully bright and shiny world of... World War II. OK, so it's really a gritty game, and it's sluggish at best, but I have a feeling that combat during that amazing time was from the "two steps forward, one step back" school of warfare anyway. I tried to keep that in mind as I slogged through round after round of being shot in the head. It's not that the game is boring. It's fun-ish, but when I compare it to many other MMOFPS titles, I find it small and slow. It's an instanced-based lobby sort of design. That's not normally a bad thing, and we certainly cover that style of game here on Massively, but this one just sort of felt a bit too small. There's more coming, I hear, so maybe in the future, the game will feel larger.
Rise and Shiny: War Thunder
War Thunder, a new instanced-based WWII flying battle, uhm, thingy, didn't really seem that appealing at first. It looks nice, and yes, the planes can be controlled in a few different styles ranging from an FPS twitch style to a more "realistic" mode, but I was worried it would be just another slogging grind until I was able to have any fun. There's some truth behind my worry about the grind, but overall I had an incredible time in the game. The only real shame is that I didn't get to put as much time in it as I would have liked. The game had infrequent connection issues, but when they cropped up, they lasted a while. Even so, each match lasted long enough to give me a pretty good taste of combat. I stuck with the "arcade" style of gameplay. It's a simpler way to control the planes that allows players to point the mouse pointer for control. You might need to land for repairs and take off again, but it's as simple as slowing down until you touch down. I started to take the more realistic mode's tutorial, but as soon as it told me I had to manually control much more of the plane's controls, I gave up. Call me a wimp, but I just wanted to shoot planes.
Heroes & Generals' Eisenhower update tweaks features, network code
Heroes & Generals has updated its beta client to the Eisenhower build, and a new dev diary video features all the specifics. Chief among the additions are a new matchmaking system and ignore functionality as well as improvements to the in-game scoreboard and mounted machine gun handling. Reto-Moto also says it has "optimized the network code quite a bit," and the result is that each H&G mission can now handle 32 players. The devs are also "working on increasing that number." Heroes & Generals is a free-to-play browser-based World War II shooter featuring infantry, armored, and air combat as well a tactical mode and state-of-the-art production values. You can view the complete Eisenhower dev diary after the cut.
Reto-Moto partners with Square Enix to publish Heroes & Generals
It's been a while since we last reported on Heroes & Generals. The free-to-play World War II shooter is alive and well, though. As of yesterday, it's even sporting a new publishing arrangement with gaming behemoth Square Enix. Heroes & Generals is being developed by Reto-Moto, a danish firm founded by the creators of the ultra-successful Hitman series. The game mixes squad-based first-person shooter combat with a deep tactical mode, and it does so with state-of-the-art visuals and a browser-based delivery method. H&G is also renowned for the amount of community feedback its developers solicit (and act upon), and Reto-Moto says that partnering with a big publisher won't change that. "We'll continue to run a community-driven development [environment], and the main difference to how we've run things so far is that Square Enix will be handling marketing and PR. Oh, and we'll also be able to deliver a lot more content and expand the game a lot faster," the firm says. [Thanks to Reesracer for the tip!]
Wargaming.net funds expedition to recover WWII aircraft in Burma
Making World of Warplanes is not all Wargaming.net does to pay homage to the World War II-era aircraft. The studio has announced that it will fully fund an expedition to try and recover vintage British Spitfires in Burma. David Cundall, an aircraft enthusiast with experience in aviation archaeology, has already recovered a number of other WWII craft in the UK. Over the last 14 years, Cundall has researched rumors of Spitfires buried in the Southeast Asia. Now, thanks to the funds provided by Wargaming.net, he will be able to work together with the Burmese authorities to continue the project and hopefully recover the aircraft. Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming, emphasized the company's dedication to historic preservation, stating: "Since its founding, Wargaming has been dedicated to bringing military history alive, whether through video games or more recently through historic preservation and educational initiatives with museums. When we learned of David's long quest to track down the Spitfires, we reached out to support him, not only to recover the planes if they are there, but also to help tell the story of the air war in Burma –- which is of great interest to our community." Wargaming.net will also launch a blog chronicling the expedition's progress.
The Firing Line: Heroes & Generals dev talks planes, boats, and massive FPS action
I've become fairly obsessed with Heroes & Generals lately. The browser-based World War II shooter-cum-strategy game is still in beta, but it's wicked fun to play (and to watch). If you missed our previous coverage, you'll need to know that H&G is the brainchild of Reto-Moto, a firm composed of Hitman franchise veterans based in Copenhagen. Reto-Moto game director Jacob Andersen was kind enough to field a few of my questions regarding the title's claim to massive FPS action. He also talked at length about the merits of connecting with the fan community as well as the game's aerial, amphibious, and ground-based aspirations. Join us after the cut.
Heroes & Generals brings persistent WW2 action to your browser
If you haven't checked out Heroes & Generals yet, what are you waiting for? Reto-Moto has just updated the game's beta to something called the Bradley build, and the devs have released an accompanying video diary that details all the changes. The update brings several weapon tweaks, new weapon modifications, and new town map layouts to the World War II shooter. And before you make the mistake of thinking that H&G is yet another FPS, have a look at the feature set as well as some of the other videos on display at the game's official website. The title is basically two games in one. You've got a massively multiplayer online FPS and a strategic asset management game, both of which affect the other via persistent campaigns. All of this happens in your browser, too, though how Reto-Moto manages the game's high-fidelity visuals and sprawling environments is part of the company's proprietary Retox engine secret sauce. Check out the dev blog after the break, and take a gander at our first impressions for further gameplay details. [Source: Reto-Moto press release]
Assassin's Creed 3 creative director doesn't like your ideas, Internet
The creative director for Assassin's Creed 3 thinks your ideas are stupid and you should just shut up already. Really, that's not even very paraphrased."People on the internet suggest the most boring settings," Alex Hutchinson told OXM. "The three most wanted are WWII, feudal Japan and Egypt. They're kind of the three worst settings for an AC game."Assassin's Creed 3 writer Corey May really wants to do India, and Hutchinson agrees, saying "I would too. I'd really love to do the Raj."The moral of the story is: Don't expect an Assassin's Creed title in WWII, feudal Japan or Egypt settings, ever. Also, shut up.
Canned Call of Duty: Devil's Brigade was like Inglourious Basterds on steroids
In 2007, while Infinity Ward was building the first Modern Warfare, Underground Development began working on a top-secret, third-person shooter in the Call of Duty franchise, titled Devil's Brigade, Vox Games reports. Based on a real-life group of ruthless, almost superhuman American and Canadian soldiers in World War II, Devil's Brigade was Activision's fallback if fans didn't get the switch to a contemporary setting with Modern Warfare.Devil's Brigade focused on tactical strategy, stealth missions and super-athletic Special Forces combat. The real Devil's Brigade scaled a mountain carrying more than 50 pounds of supplies and weapons to defeat the camp below in two hours, and they were known for infiltrating German trenches and slitting soldiers' throats, slapping stickers that read "The worst is yet to come," in German, on the dead men's helmets. Underground Development wanted to capture this essence for the game version of Devil's Brigade.But, as history shows, players did understand Modern Warfare. When Devil's Brigade was ready for its final green light, it got lost in the shuffle of Infinity Ward's success and the Blizzard/Vivendi merger. Activision closed Underground Development in 2008 with nary a whisper about Devil's Brigade. For now, we have some screenshots of the game and the memories of throat-slitting action that could have been.
The Firing Line: An early look at World of Planes
Today I'd like to expand on the World War II flight shooter theme introduced in last week's episode of The Firing Line. We've talked a bit about Wargaming.net's World of Warplanes, but there's another MMO in the works that features intense aerial battles, sexy 1940s-era aircraft, and a "World of" title.
Wargaming.net talks World of Warplanes features and functionality
Wargaming.net has published some new World of Warplanes info in part three of its ongoing community question-and-answer series. The free-to-play World War II aviation title is shaping up to be an action-heavy game with a casual playstyle that is similar to World of Tanks. Over the course of 30 questions, Wargaming.net covers a lot ground including joystick controls (available but not required), cockpit views (not available), and airborne vs. ground spawn points. "Aircraft will be spawned in the air at the beginning of the battle. As an option, you will be able to land the aircraft at the end of the battle and a successful landing will give you additional experience. An unsuccessful landing will break the plane and will [incur repair costs]," according to a post on the official WoWP forums.
World of Warplanes reveals American tech tree, new trailer
Today's a big day for World of Warplanes fans, as Wargaming.net is publishing a bit of info about some of the American fighters to be featured in its upcoming free-to-play aerial shooter. The initial tech tree features two branches full of famous aircraft like the P-51 Mustang, the F4U Corsair, and the F-86 Sabre. The American lineup also features a unique branch of carrier-based fighters that won't be available with the German and Soviet tiers that will ship with the finished game. World of Warplanes is currently in closed alpha testing and Wargaming.net tells us that the game is scheduled for a 2012 release. You can check out the American tech tree and a new teaser trailer after the break. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
World of Tanks 7.1 update to feature French armor
Wargaming.net has been trumpeting the 7.0 release for its World of Tanks MMO for a while now. Today the company dropped the first hint about what lies beyond with update 7.1, which it will feature the long-awaited introduction of French tanks. The new tech tree boasts 18 new French fighting vehicles (there's a pacifist joke in there somewhere) divided into light, medium, and heavy flavors. Wargaming.net also says that the French armor will "enrich the combat and bring all-new tactics into the game." We're not sure how the new tactics will work as of yet, but we'll bring you the very latest as the devs make it available. Finally, Wargaming.net says that French SPGs and tank destroyers are planned for a later update. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
