Thu 24Jul 2003 | All Quiet on the Front

Its been a while between posts - as we eagerly await for Korsun Pocket to ship. But behind the scenes the wheels of industry are churning. SSG reports that they are busy working on the follow up to Korsun Pocket as we speak.

In other news, the Wargamer posted the following in relation to Korsun Pocket:

"Matrix Games and SSG are close to releasing Korsun Pocket. A full-blown review of this latest evolution of the Decisive Battles of World War II series will be in the pages of The Wargamer before too long but there's a little something I can talk about here in the meantime. Like a box of Cracker Jacks, there's a surprise in every box of this game: a re-worked The Ardennes Offensive. This venerable game, long a free download, has been given a graphic facelift and now has an AI that is to wargames what Schwarzenegger is to body builders. Due to space limitations, only the campaign game is on the Korsun Pocket disk but free scenarios will be available for download. Somebody show me another product where the player gets a second unhyped quality game.

In response to a question, Matrix explained that company's approach to the great print/on-disk manual controversy. They believe in detailed instructions and documentation but are also aware of the cost. (One publisher told me awhile back that documentation amounted to 60% of his out-of-pocket costs.) Matrix has hit upon a compromise. Their games will have a printed player's guide covering the basics of the game, interface and key concepts in a tutorial like fashion. More in-depth information will be on a PDF file on the disk. If players want a printed version of the PDF but don't want to use that year's allowance of ink cartridges, Matrix has an arrangement with Kinko's where players can order a print version at a very reasonable price. As someone who champions good on-screen docs but understands players who want to feel paper, this approach seems good."

Posted by Robjess at July 24, 2003 09:38 PM