Panzer general ii

The game is dedicated to the Second World War (except for the Pacific and Southeast Asian theaters of war), and also includes missions based on previous military conflicts: the Civil War in Spain and the Winter War . You can play a campaign (a series of plot-related scenarios) or individual scripts. Both historical and hypothetical scenarios are presented: the invasion of axis countries on the territory of Great Britain (including British Malta ) and the USA , as well as the military conflict between the USSR and the USA after the defeat of the Third Reich .

Campaigns are available for passing for Germany (two campaigns), the USA, Great Britain and the USSR (one campaign each). Even one defeat in the scenario included in the campaign leads to the loss of the entire campaign. In the campaign, before and after the end of each scenario, the speech of a certain representative of the command is displayed in the form of text with scoring, in which, in general terms, the task is set for the current mission and the achievements of the player are noted. Single scenarios can be passed for any of the parties.

The game is played on a map of the area close to the real one (without respecting scale ). The map is divided into hexagons, and the settlements and airfields on it are marked with flags corresponding to the party that currently owns them. Different sections of the map are characterized by different speed of movement and protection capabilities. The highest protection in the mountains and towns, the lowest when crossing rivers and swamps.

The player can see the whole map, but the enemy units placed outside the player’s unit overview are hidden by the “fog of war” . In the event of an attack or movement, they unmask themselves, but when they move to the opposite side, they become invisible again. It is possible to switch to the mode of the so-called strategic map ( English strategic map ) ^[1] , which allows you to immediately view the entire battlefield within a single screen, as well as the display mode of only air units. Before each move, weather conditions are randomly determined that affect the actions of units (for example, during a snowfall, aviation is able to move around the map, but is unable to attack the enemy).

The attacker always makes the first move. In one move, the unit can make one move and attack the enemy once, or spend the move replenishing losses or replenishing ammunition (all types of troops) and fuel (mechanized units and aircraft). The exception is armored cars and the so-called leaders  which in some cases can make more than one move or deal more than one blow. In addition, in case of destruction of an enemy unit from a single shot in a melee battle (on a neighboring cage), tank troops are capable of delivering another blow as part of the same move. When making up for losses, ammunition and fuel reserves are replenished simultaneously. When the ammunition is exhausted, the unit does not respond to enemy attacks, and when the fuel reserves are exhausted, it is no longer able to move. At the end of the turn, the script automatically saves the scenario (campaign), that is, the player always has the opportunity to replay the move.

The only resource in the game is the so-called “prestige” ( English prestige ) ^[2] . Its increase or decrease occurs depending on the capture or loss of settlements and airfields and the results of individual collisions between units. Prestige can be spent both on making up for the losses of existing units, and on creating new ones and improving existing ones (the latter - only before the start of the mission). New units can only be placed at key points belonging to the player at the beginning of the mission (aviation - and at captured airfields).

The goal of each mission is to capture all the key points of the enemy on the map without losing their own key points on the map, or destroy all enemy units. Before the start of a campaign or a single player scenario, the player has the opportunity to set the difficulty level (from 50 to 300 in increments of 50). Victory in each mission, depending on the number of moves spent, has the following gradation: “brilliant victory” ( eng. Brilliant victory ), victory ( eng. Victory), tactical victory ( eng. Tactical victory ). At the beginning of the campaign, a player is randomly assigned a surname selected from a predefined list corresponding to the side for which he is playing, and a photograph, using photographs of real participants in World War II. Following the results of the successful completion of the mission, an award is made, followed by a short video. All player rewards are displayed in the “Field Headquarters” section ^[3] . Based on the results of the entire campaign, depending on the points scored, the player is assigned a military rank (maximum values ​​are Field Marshal and 300 points).

The units are divided into eight arms: air defense , anti-tank artillery (including self-propelled guns ), artillery , infantry , armored vehicles , tank troops , fighter aircraft and bomber (including assault ) aircraft. In some scenarios, the fleet ( battleships , cruisers , destroyers and aircraft carriers ) and fortifications are accessible to the game, but inaccessible to create new units.

Artillery and air defense can strike at several cells, but only before moving on the map, the remaining branches of the army strike at one cell (bomber aircraft - a cell directly under the unit), but can strike even after they make a move. Also, the possibility of hitting more than one cell is possessed by some later tank models. Artillery (except anti-tank), which is within reach of other units attacked by the enemy, automatically opens fire on the attacking enemy unit. Similarly, air defense operates against enemy aircraft. Artillery and air defense are deprived of the ability to capture settlements and airfields. Non-self-propelled air defense and artillery units and infantry can be moved by horse-drawn vehicles (the smallest range of movement and the lowest cost), on trucks and armored vehicles; in the stowed position ( Eng. mounted ) ^[4] they are unable to strike and are most vulnerable when attacking the enemy.

The types of units are characterized by the attack force of infantry, ground equipment and aircraft, the strength of defense against attacks from the ground and from the air, the firing range, the viewing range, ammunition, fuel supply and other characteristics. Specific units are characterized, in addition, by experience and strength (full-time - 10, for experimental units it can increase to 15). For each unit, information about his combat experience is stored, which can be found in the "Field Headquarters" section: participation in specific missions, types and number of destroyed enemy units. When completing the campaign before the start of each next mission, there is the opportunity to improve each unit to a unit with higher characteristics, having spent on this part of the “prestige”. The system informs about the release of new models of military equipment (in some scenarios, one model is given to the player for free), and the time of their appearance during the campaign approximately corresponds to the time of creation during the Second World War.

When you hover over an enemy unit for which striking is currently available, the forecast of losses on both sides is displayed. The forecast is approximate: it does not take into account losses from a possible shelling of the attacking unit with hidden artillery of the enemy and the effect of “desperate resistance” ( English rugged defense ). The effect appears randomly in a small percentage of cases, allowing you to successfully repel an attack of even superior forces with large losses for them. Also, “desperate resistance” is activated by the defending side if the unit suddenly encounters a previously hidden enemy unit during the movement ( English surprised from ground units and English out of the sun from air and sea) ^[5] .

In the event of a successful attack or a successful reflection of an enemy attack, a unit that has accumulated a certain experience in participating in hostilities can be automatically assigned the leader status ( leader ^[6] , it is displayed as a small icon in the lower right corner of the unit’s image: the cross of the countries “axis "And the stars of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition ). Leaders have an attack and defense bonus.

Scenario editor ( Eng. Scenario builder ) ^[7] allows you to independently construct a scenario by setting the following parameters: number of players (up to 4), number of moves, map type (selection from a predefined list), the period of World War II (by default, July 12, 1941 ), seasonal features (presence or absence of snow cover ), atmospheric conditions (clear, cloudy, rain, snow), the number and composition of units of each side, their placement on the map, the level of prestige at the beginning of the script, and some others.

Subsequently, the game was finalized by enthusiasts : dozens of new campaigns, scenarios, maps appeared, the range of military equipment was significantly expanded, and graphics were improved. The most famous modification ^{[8] of} the Panzer General II Adlerkorps Edition includes more than 60 campaigns, 1100 scenarios and 500 maps.

• Knight, Michael. Panzer General II: The Official Strategy Guide . - Prima Games, 1997 .-- 288 p. - (Secrets of the Games Series). - ISBN 0761501053 .

• Panzer General II on the site " Gambling "
• Panzer General II on Absolute Games