Afghanistan '11
A look at features - Recon & Combat
The enemy will be hiding in caves and attack from the shadows. Locating them will be hard, and then you will have to attack with rapidity and precision. Will you manage to defeat them?
https://youtu.be/w2hugOTN4EY
Afghanistan '11 is being released this week on Thursday March 23rd! Afghanistan '11 brings counter-insurgency to your screens with an innovative gameplay formula. Will you manage to stabilize Afghanistan?
A look at the Skirmish mode and Achievements
But there’s more outside of the campaign: Afghanistan ’11 offers a very detailed Skirmish mode.
You can play on randomly generated maps and set several parameters, completely customizing your game to your liking. You can set geographical parameters, starting conditions, victory conditions, as well as disable or enable additional modules such as Political events and Elections.
You can even disable any kind of turn limit, making your game unlimited and you’ll be able to play as long as you want!
You also have the option to start a new game on the same map, if you wish: everytime you start a new game with the Skirmish mode, you’ll be given a specific Mission Key code. By entering that code when starting a new Skirmish game, you’ll be able to play on the same map as before!
Other than the campaign, when playing Afghanistan ’11 you’ll have many different objectives in the form of Achievements. There are 59 different achievements in Afghanistan ’11, fiftynine! Completing them all will be quite the task.
As you unlock them, you’ll see that the uniform in the main screen will gain new medals and you’ll also rise in rank! You can click on it and have a closer look at your medals, as well as the achievements you have unlocked.
Afghanistan '11 - Innovations since Vietnam '65
The upcoming Afghanistan ’11 aims at bringing that formula back, but not without plenty innovations and novelties of its own!
Today we’ll give some details on what has been improved from Vietnam ’65.
Campaign. Unlike Vietnam ’65, Afghanistan ’11 will have a brand new campaign with 18 scenarios covering the entirety of the war and making you face very different situations. This will be of course accompanied by a Skirmish mode, giving the game extreme replaybility.
New unit types and abilities. Afghanistan ’11 has an expanded roster of units with more functionalities, focusing on particular on the role of Special forces. Special Forces in Afghanistan ’11 have a number of tactical options at their disposal. They can set a Lookout which will function as a stationary observation post, from where they’ll be able to scout and observe enemy movements. They can also call a special Airstrike to destroy enemy units as well as use a Sniper attack to disperse enemy units or force them to retreat.
New FOB system. Forward Operating Bases can now be expanded with additional Modules and be employed to run a supply network. They now function as proper forward bases from which you can launch missions deep into potentially hostile territory.
Elections. Face ever changing political conditions and directly influence the outcome of elections, by spending Political Points to support a specific candidate. War developments will also have a direct influence on elections, and you’ll find that the turns during the electoral campaign will be critical. The situation is made richer by many new Political events which will happen randomly and make your games more varied, as well as new ways to win Hearts & Minds, such as Delivering UN aid or building Waterworks.
Opium Production. Another aspect that is depicted in Afghanistan ’11. Taliban and the militias will depend on the local production of Opium, but of course you have a say on the matter. By locating and destroying opium crops you’ll weaken your enemy by crippling its resources, but as part of the tradeoff you will enrage the locals as you’ll deprive them of their susteinance. What choice will you make?
The UI. A lot of work has been put into improving the interface. Icons have been minimized in favor of contextual feedback. This is most evident in respect of cargo carrying vehicles and helicopters. Instead of cluttering the visuals with icons, the cargo is visually represented which adds to the overall look and feel of the game. In addition, important contextual, visual cues are used to inform the player of a number of important facts i.e. Supply level at FOBs, Artillery supply, medical evacuations and so on.
The Intel Map. In-game information has been put on steroids, with the player now having Staff Officers (SO) displaying vital information to aid the player as he progresses through the scenario. The INTEL map has been upgraded in general and now forms a vital part of the gameplay.
Graphics. Afghanistan ’11 sports greatly improved graphics, being now fully 3D. This not only adds immensely to the visual aspect of the game but also add real context to geographical decisions.
The maps in Afghanistan ‘11 are also scalable to much larger sizes than seen in Vietnam ‘65. All maps used in Afghanistan ‘11 are around 33% larger than those used in Vietnam ’65.
There are many more innovations. We had to be concise, and we couldn’t list them all. Fans of Vietnam ’65 won’t be disappointed, and will find out that the formula they loved has been greatly improved in Afghanistan ’11!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/580710/
Another look at features - Logistics
Managing your logistics and building infrastructure will be vital. Keep your forces supplied and assist in stabilizing Afghanistan!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-MqwpkzV_Y
Afghanistan '11 is currently on beta and it'll be released on march 23rd! Stay tuned for more news.
Afghanistan '11 - Interview with the developer!
He'll talk in detail of Afghanistan '11 - building and innovating on its predecessor Vietnam '65 and set in Afghanistan.
It’s quite clear Afghanistan ’11 isn’t your standard wargame or strategy game. Do you consider it to be unique and different from the other wargames out there? Why?
What makes v65 and A11 unique is that at the core of the game is the Hearts & Minds mechanic coupled and interlinked with the political support system. You can't model modern day COIN wars using conventional wargaming methodology, it simply doesn't fit.
In Afghanistan '11 everything you do has a direct bearing on the local populations view of your efforts and the support your are receiving from the folks back home , which is the ultimate measure as the end game for COIN wars is political after all.
What were the challenges you had to face when you started designing Afghanistan ’11?
As with Vietnam '65, by far the biggest challenges was deciding what to leave out. The COIN model is evolving and there are so many more facets and nuances that we would like to include, for example deeper dialougue with local population, desertions, heat mapping for insurgent AI and more.
Another challenge was to ensure it does the conflict justice and make it relevant and at the same time have cognisance that this is a current and ongoing conflict and needs to be respectful to all those involved in the fight against terror.
The previous title, Vietnam ’65, was highly successful. How have you built upon it? What new features does Afghanistan ’11 introduce?
We leant so much from Vietnam '65 and have not only put all that good learning into Afghanistan '11 but also expanded the game to include elements that are essential to have in order to properly model COIN wars.
Apart from visually enhancing A'11 with full 3D terrain and the addition of a campign mode, we have added multiple new layers into the model. The most important of these are the eventual handover of security operations to the local army, the introduction of game changing elections and the underlying opium trade with its direct effects on the conflict.
Afghanistan offers an entirely different geography compared to Vietnam. How is that reflected in game? What challenges does it offer?
Afghanistan is a country of mountains and deserts, with a little bit green, so contrasted to Vietnam it really is entirely different. We had to introduce 3D modelling into Afghanistan '11 due to the mountains being such an iconic part of the region.
In Afghanistan '11 the mountains play a central role in the decision making especially as the focus from airmobile in Vietnam '65 has shifted to ground vehicles in Afghanistan '11. The player has to now navigate around these giant obstacles which not only limit their tactical deployment but also funnel them into narrow channels perfect for ambushes and IED placement.
One of the new features is the Elections system. How does it work? Could you give us more details?
In Afghanistan '11, elections are periodically announced (usually two to three times in a standard 60 turn game) and the player chooses a candidate to back, then clock starts to tick. Following the announcement, a base case is set with the current Hearts & Minds score of the local population and every event for the following five turns is logged and fed into an algorythm that weighs the events and tallies them until the election point is reached. On the fifth turn following the announcement the result is calculated by adding the base case to the net output from the weighted calculations in the tally, thus determining the result. So, in essence, when an election is announced the player needs to ramp up infrastructure build whilst minimizing any losses and at the same time face a Taliban offensive which is aimed at negatively influencing the election result.
The results of the election have far reching effects so the five turn run up to elections is particularly (and by design) tense.
The war in Afghanistan is still ongoing and is, under many aspects, a controversial topic. What moved you to choose it as subject for a strategy game?
All war is controversial by nature, Afghanistan even more so as its a very current and ongoing conflict. I have always had a very deep interest in COIN wars, having served in the South African Bush war in the 80's, and after publishing Vietnam '65 the move to Afghanistan was almost natural. I have followed the Afghanistan war closely and the model employed in Vietnam '65 was a natural fit for the conflict and a perfect opportunity to evolve the COIN model.
I fully understand the sensitivity of the subject and am seriously respectful in my interpretation, but I believe there is a story to be told here and that is what I am trying to capture and do justice to.
What are they saying about Afghanistan '11?
Today we'll collect some of those videos and first impressions, to give you an idea of what the game consists of.
Several YouTubers made truly excellent videos.
Tortuga Power
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZFxkcQqHYE
Agrippa Maxentius
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNxYR6h_E5E
thehistoricalgamer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXSLoJK8Rqw
Paradogs Gamer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIhFvvSPsW8
DasTactic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRQRp2xC8Js
We hope you'll enjoy them, but if you'd rather read an old fashioned online (p)review, then check mr. Stone's excellent preview on Rock, Paper, Shotgun or the one published on Wargamer.
We are really glad there is so much interest around Afghanistan '11 among the press, players and beta testers alike. We are looking forward to hearing more of your opinions especially as the release date draws closer. One month away from March 23rd!
Preview stream live on Twitch this Thursday!
We have the pleasure to announce that we'll be running a very special preview stream of Afghanistan '11!
Our Agrippa Maxentius will tackle the game, show you its many innovative features and attempt to win a war based on counter-insurgency and winning the Hearts & Minds of people! Will he manage to stabilize Afghanistan?
Keith Boschoff, lead programmer of Afghanistan '11 and member of Retro Epic will also be there, ready to answer to any question you might have! The stream will commence at 5 pm CET / 4 pm GMT / 11 am EST on Thursday February 23rd, only on https://www.twitch.tv/slitherinegroup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5SbAoedFfk
http://store.steampowered.com/app/580710/
A first look at features - Hearts & Minds
Winning Hearts & Minds is vital to your strategy. Will you manage to stabilize the region?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbrRp-dw65o
Afghanistan '11 is currently on beta and it'll be released on march 23rd! Stay tuned for more news.
Afghanistan '11 is coming to Steam!
We’re really pleased to announce that Afghanistan ’11 will hit your screens on March 23rd!
https://youtu.be/i5SbAoedFfk
Afghanistan ’11 builds upon the very successful Vietnam ’65 and brings its original formula to the desolate mountains of Afghanistan, where the US armed forces, assisted by the local Afghan National Army, fought for years against an invisible enemy.
Afghanistan ’11 isn’t your standard wargame: if you want to win it won’t just be about eliminating the enemy on the battlefield, but you will need to conquer the Hearts & Minds of the locals by ensuring safety to villages, isolating and eliminating Taliban units, training the Afghan army and building and protecting infrastructure.
Logistics and organization will be extremely important as the Taliban and tribal militias will attempt to thwart your efforts with sneaky ambushes and sudden strikes – the enemy plays hide and seek and could be everywhere and only the most skilled strategist will manage to win the war in Afghanistan and help build a modern nation.
Afghanistan ’11 brings back the extremely succesful formula of Vietnam ’65 and expands on it. The gameplay is now richer than ever! Extend your supply lines with a whole new modular FOB system. It will be the player’s duty to fight the war on drug production – destroy opium crops and deprive the Taliban of their economic sustenance. Oversee dynamic national elections which could affect your whole strategy! React to many unique political events which will add further unpredictability to your game! And much more.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/580710