Wargames of 1939 is back and remastered!

After quite a few years, Wargames of 1939 is back — this time as a fully remastered version. It is available as soon as the game has passed the Google Play review process. Those players who purchased the original game back in the day, should get it simply as an updated version of the current game.

UPDATE: It seems the review was fast! Game is now available for download: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ww2strategy.wg1939

The original game was released back in 2013, inspired by the classic turn-based hex strategy games and board wargames many of us grew up with. Over time, I had the feeling that there was still more potential in that idea, and that it deserved to be recreated for modern devices.

This remastered version is not just a small update. The game has been rebuilt with modern technology, new visuals, modifications to the original scenarios, and a completely rewritten AI opponent. One of the biggest goals has been to make the gameplay feel more dynamic and consistent, while still keeping the original spirit intact.

Another major addition is the tooling around the game. The remaster includes a built-in scenario editor, as well as AI vs AI simulation tools that can be used to analyse and balance scenarios. These are the same tools I’ve been using during development, and it’s been really interesting to see how they open up new ways to approach both playing and designing scenarios.

Under the hood, the game now runs on a completely rewritten engine. This not only improves the current game, but also makes it much easier to build and release future titles and expansions compared to the original version.

At launch, the game is available as an early access version. The core gameplay is fully playable, but there are still things to improve and expand — for example, sound effects and additional polish will be added in upcoming updates.

Looking ahead, the plan is to bring the same remaster treatment to Populus Romanus and Populus Romanus 2: Britannia. Both are already running on the new engine, but their scenarios still need some fine-tuning before release.

If you try the game and have feedback, ideas, or find anything interesting (especially when experimenting with scenarios), I’d be very happy to hear about it.

Scenario list for Wargames of Normandy

Hello! Here's the scenario list for the upcoming game (changes might still happen depending on how playtesting goes, if some scenario just doesn't make a good playing experience):

Scenario 1: D-Day (Operation Neptune, 6.6.1944)

Scenario 2: Battle of Cherbourg (22.6-30.6.1944)

Scenario 3: Battle for Caen (18-21.6.1944)

Scenario 4: Operation Cobra 25-31.7.1944

Scenario 5: Operation Lüttich 7-13.8.1944

Scenario 6: Operation Totalize 8.8-13.8.1944

Scenario 7: Operation Tractable (a.k.a. Falaise pocket) 12-21.8.1944

Scenario 8: Battle for Brest 7.8-19.9.1944

Just google for the names of operations to get a feel of where the action takes place in each of them :) 

What comes to the new features (when compared to Wargames of 1939) ... there are things like:

- Air missions (paradrop, bombard, reconnaissance flight)

- New units (air defense, mobile infantry, stationary artillery nests)

- Landing crafts in first mission

Of release date, it's "I will release when it's ready and good enough".

Oh and one more thing: If you want to support the development of Wargames of Normandy, best way to do so is to buy any of the previous games listed at www.androidwargames.com ! The little income from those games is what enables me to spend time working on new games.

Game updated, about the next game, and stuff

Hi all, just wanted to let you know that I just published a new update for Wargames of 1939. Not much of content, except some scenario finetuning to make the second campaign more playable, but the game engine itself is updated internally and should be quite more stable. The updated engine is a byproduct of the development of the next game in series - Wargames of Normandy - which I already hoped to have released last year, but didn't exactly get done yet. Life got in the way, in the form of moving and changing my place of work ... Now continuing with the development with hopefully more rapid pace than in autumn!

Wargames of 1939 is now released!

I've uploaded the final version of "Wargames of 1939" to Google Play at last. By the time I publish this post, the game should already be downloadable from there. Amazon Appstore will follow in nearby days as soon as the Amazon review process has approved the app.

To open Google Play to download the full version, click here.

To open Google Play to download the free trial version, click here.

If you like these kind of games, please rate "Wargames of 1939" on Google Play and/or share the app on Facebook and Twitter! Those things will help to get the game noticed and enable me to keep on creating more strategy games.

UPDATE 27.08.2013: Amazon Appstore has also approved the app now. Here are the [full version] and [free version] links to Amazon.

Here are a few screenshots of "Wargames of 1939" as promised a while earlier. The game is nearing its completion, but I estimate there is still at least a few weeks to go (I'm working on the game on my free time, which is quite a limited resource currently). Have a look at the images, you can click on the thumbnails to enlarge them to actual size!

Intro screen

Current list of scenarios. There will be 3 more still  (Battle of Lodz, Battle of Kobryn and Battle of Kock, of which the last one will be released some time after the initial release)

Starting a scenario

A typical map view from the game. Icons from top to bottom: 1) Help pages, 2) Zoom in , 3) Zoom out (zooming can be also done with pinch/expand gesture), 4) Go to next unit with movement points left, 5) Go to game menu, 6) End turn.

Moving a unit. The text at top describes current unit's statistics: attack strength against non-armoured units (soft attack), attack strength against armoured units (hard attack), defense value, and movement speed.

You can freely name your units or change existing names, 

making them like Panzer III "Guderian".

On AI turn, you get info about AI's attacks at the bottom of the screen.

Hooray! Own artillery just defended a nearby infantry unit by firing at the AI's tank which was on the offensive. (Each artillery has one chance to fire on an attacker within range, during other player's turn.)

Showcasing some new features: railways (used by armoured train units), trenches (large defense bonus to infantry units), and built-up area (town/city, smaller defense bonus to infantry units)

You get "prestige points" per turn for possessing supply points or victory points...

... and if you possess a supply point, you can use prestige points for getting reinforcement units.

A unit that has been damaged can also be healed with those prestige points (see the "heart" icon at the right side), but ONLY if it has a safe route (area controlled by the player) between it and a supply point.

Map, zoomed out.

The help pages explain basic info about the units and how to play the game.

Introducing "Wargames of 1939"

Hello, and welcome to my blog about the forthcoming turn-based strategy game for Android, called by the working title of "Wargames of 1939".

The game is based on the same game engine as in my two previously released games, Populus Romanus and Populus Romanus II: Britannia, but has some new tweaks to accommodate for the modern warfare (trenches, railroads, prestige points with which the player can request more troops from HQ, unit naming, etc). 

I've been slowly but steadily developing the game since last year, and estimate to get it released on Google Play and Amazon Appstore likely somewhere during the summer vacations. 

A few screenshots about the game will be posted some nearby weekend when I have the time to touch up the graphics to a more finished state. :-)

Meanwhile, have fun with the previous games:

Populus Romanus full version on Google play (Click here for demo version)

Links to Amazon Appstore: full, free

Populus Romanus II: Britannia full version on Google play (Click here for demo version)

Links to Amazon Appstore: full, free

(I have also a blog dedicated to the above games at: www.populusromanus.com)