I've been reading the boards here and at the official site, I have a few questions regarding the sim

Is there a more recent download of the manual than the 2007 version available on the wiki? If not, is that version a reasonable approximation of the current state of the software?

What level of familiarity with modern Armor equipment and tactics etc. is needed to make the game enjoyable? Are the resources needed to learn readily available? For example, in the first series of WWII Combat Mission games, a fairly broad knowledge of history, equipment and tactics was needed, but there a volumes of information readily available at introductory and expert level. Modern seems much more niche than WWII.

SB is designed for multiplayer, but is it still interesting single player?

What size engagment is playable singleplayer before it becomes overwhelming? Platoon? Company? If I command a
platoon in a company engagement, can the friendly AI act as a reasonable company CO? Will the other friendly platoons act reasonably?

What is the time commitment for playing a good scenario, single Player and multiplayer?

Each dongle can serve 7 additional licenses. Is there a legal or implied limit to how these additional licenses are used? If I were to continuosly share my licenses with 2 friends via internet, would that be considered a breach?

The current state of the manual gets installed with the software as a PDF.
While we expanded the manual by a few chapters, most of what you read in the old manual still applies.

#3 is tough to answer. Much would depend on your general interest in the subject matter. I think you don't need to be an expert as long as you are willing to learn (that's why we made this simulation in the first place). Learning the ins and outs of the various vehicles isn't a terrible deal. For most vehicles there is a large set of tutorials each; not yet for the latest additions like Centauro, Challenger 2, CV90/30, and T-72. But there's the SB Wiki, in the case of the Centauro there's a looong entry in the Release Notes, and once that you are familiar with a few other vehicles you should be able to figure out these new vehicles with the help of these resources ... and the guidance of other players, both in the forums as well as in multiplayer itself. Some players offer regular training hours. Private tuition, and for free - does it get any better than that?

SB is designed for BOTH, single player and multiplayer. There's well over 100 scenarios and scenario variants for single player mode that get installed out of the box, and probably just as many available for download at Steel Beasts.com. Many can be played with enjoyment a couple of times as there is often some randomization involved - if you are interested in the subject matter at all, this will keep you busy for a while, believe me.

I'd say, a skilled player can handle about a reinforced company if he invests some time into developing a battle plan in the planning phase (you can store and exchange PLN files with other players, and have multiple plans per scenario). For a novice player I recommend platoon sized scenarios, then platoon sized scenarios with additional maneuver elements, finally the company level. The "reasonable behavior" that you're asking about is mostly a matter of the scenario design (and your planning skills). SB is limited to the micro behavior level (e.g. adjusting a position to minimize one's own exposure while engaging a certain enemy). If you give an order to attack in broad formation across a river, expect your tanks to drown, or to get slaughtered by the enemy defenders as they try to avoid the water at the last second. This is somewhat intentional as a lesson is to be learned there, that formation orders, movement tactics, unit spacing, and the coordination of fire and movement are all parts of the tactical decision-making process, and that you need to invest some brains before jumping into the action. That even seemingly tiny creeks can be substantial obstacles. That, maybe, you should have called for a smoke screen by artillery, and sent that bridge layer forward first, then crossed the river platoon wise and secured a bridgehead before resuming the assault.

Time ... for our stock scenario we try to get the duration somewhere between 40 and 90 minutes. Add to that your own planning time, and the time that you spend in the after action review (which you should, because that's your best opportunity to understand what actually happened, and to learn from it).
Toying with the mission and the map editors naturally is an open-ended venture.

The secondary licenses were originally made for father-son type of situations where people wanted to play together in a LAN without having to buy a full copy. So you can read an "implied" limitation of use from that. But there is no enforced policy (nor will there be). You pay for the license, you get to decide how to use it - plain and simple.

I also been following this sim for some time and I do have one question regarding this sim:
- Does it have a career/campaign? If yes, how does it work.
- Or does it have single missions/scenarios only?

Thanks in advance for replies...

No.
We may eventually add something like it, but so far we've been drowned in other work and had to push it back.


Technically it's single missions only. However, some mission designers went out of their way to create a series of scenarios that are to be played in succession, and there have been several multiplayer campaigns where the outcomes of a mission set the basis for the game the following week.
On the Steel Beasts Channel I created two playlists ("Vigilant Guardian" and "Brave Rifles") of past multiplayer events and some videos that were captured during these sessions.

Thanks for the reply Ssnake! I'm eager and looking foward to see a campaign implemented in the future in Steel Beasts.

One more question: Does those online sessions/campaign trend to be "Co-op" or more towards "Team versus Team" gameplay?

to add my 2 cents.... The great thing about SB Pro PE, it is what you make of it...

You can play SP, co-op, FvF... you can play 1 tank vs 1 tank, a platoon of tanks vs a platoon of tanks, company vs company, battalion vs battation... tanks only, Bradley's only, infantry... whatever.
You can be playing with friends, each in their own tank/IFV or whatever... or you can all be in the same tank as a gunner, driver, and commander... the AI can control anything the humans aren't... the humans can leave for coffee with the game running (in f8 view or map view, out of a position) and the AI will run the battle without you. You can play the entire mission via the map...

It comes with great tutorials both walk through mission wise and documents, it comes with extra documents, it comes with a great map maker and mission maker... it comes with SP missions, MP missions, co-op missions, and demo missions.

It comes with a replay/AAR tool... There are at least a 1000 user made missions, 800 of them being good, lol... from www.steelbeasts.com
It comes with excellent support, a great PR manager, and always being improved for free and upgrades at cost.

Yep.. .Steel Beasts Pro PE... is exactly what you want it too be... so many options, so many choices.

best gaming/sim money I've ever spent.

IMO
(and no I don't work for eSim Games, lol.)

IMHO most online play I've been involved with through the years has been more cooperative in nature. Every Friday night here in the US, those who like H2H play get together and duke it out...usually about 2-3 hours maybe less depending on scenario and its size. The Europeans have their gaming groups which get together on regular basis and I think (don't quote me) is more cooperative than H2H. Look up Zipuli on Youtube. His gaming group has some super video AARs of their sessions. Now, with the wonderful upgrade which among many new things includes three crewable Red Force vehicles...including a superb T-72, I think it is safe to say there will be an uptake in H2H play.

It is a deep, immersive simulation of modern armor warfare. Well worth the money IMHO.

Thanks for the replies, guys!

Honestly I prefer much more Co-op games than a TvT/H2H games (again to be honest, I don't like TvT/H2H multiplayer games at all) and it's really great news to know that several players can play in the same tank (diferent positions -> Driver, Gunner and Commmander) in a Cooperative enviorment/game in Steel Beasts.

Thanks for the detailed replies, very informative. Just a few more questions:

I notice the .sce files are in a binary format. Do you have an ASCII format for the scenarios as well? If not, is there a mechanism in the Mission Editor to easily import OOBs and from a text file (.csv) or excel? Or possibly import the results of a game as the starting point for a new scenario? I find this fun for mini-campaigns where an umpire can go in and resupply, repair, and reinforce to simulate the passage of time.

Likewise, given your client base I assume there is a way to export the results of a session to text or other common format. Is this correct?

No.



You can import TXT files for the briefings. That's about it.
It would however be possible to create a scenario that contains nothing but the forces, and then save it as some "ersatz OOB template"; you could later save a copy of it with a different map, and then start the scenario design process if you plan on making more than one scenario with this specific force composition. We haven't yet had lots of people who were screaming that this lack of force templates created an insufferable burden on mission design.
I take your question as a hint that such a feature might be a good idea for a future improvement.



Not yet.



There are the proprietary AAR files that allow you to replay the mission at a later point, and tabulated results in HTML format (which you can load into a spreadsheet calculation for further analysis).

Again, thanks for the detailed response. I may have an opportunity to give the sim a try soon, so I'm off to start reading the manual.

Another question from someone on the sideline.

Regarding single player mode and the learing curve to tactics....Is there a series of missions to play that will help you learn progressively the different tactics to use and how to set them up on the map?

I agree having a few tanks in your platoon would be easier than having to learn a whole company. But I don't have much knowlege of tank tactics and how to interface with the maps.. a series of missions that teaches you how to use and when to use, such tactics would be something I would be looking for to learn.

Going online wise, I am not sure my schedule and time requirements to meet would fit with others. I would rather learn the lessons myself, play a few single player missions, then later join online.

Regarding a set of scenarios on basic tactics, see:

http://www.steelbeasts.com/sbforums/showthread.php?t=13886

And with respect to using the map, SB Pro PE can even be used to teach land navigation:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2904901/SBPro_PE_Training_Mission_01.html#Post2904901

Ssnake, I downloaded the software and am reading the new manuals now. The sim looks quite comprehensive and the manuals are well written. In fact, the manuals sell the game better than any back-of-the-box copy could. It might be worth offering some or all of the docs as a prominent download from the eSim site. They would be an enticement to prospective customers as they show both the scope of the game and the quality of support.

Thanks for the kind words. It's good to know that our efforts in this area paid off. I think that especially for a combat simulation there should be high standards for comprehensive (and comprehensible) documentation not only about user interface issues, but also about the foundation of its modeling and simulation.
The user must know to which extent the simulation results exceed the fidelity level of mere plausibility.

Don't trust what you see, just because the computer says so. They may not lie as a result of a conscious effort to hide the truth, but in the end we're still talking about models: Simplifications in the model itself and, above all, uncertainty in the base parameters can only lead to results that can rarely claim to deliver more than "plausible" results. Plus, modeling and simulation of highly complex and dynamic processes like combat can only "predict the past", as past battle results are the only yardstick against which simulated combat can be compared to assess the fidelity.

Just bought 2.6 license upgrade since there's finally the anticipated OPFOR tank in the form of T-72M1 and I'm in the process of "luring" more mates to buy the sim. The the price has dropped somewhat ($100) which is also step to the right direction. On the side note, i noticed steelbeasts.com still rates the price as $125 while esim Games says $100 so that should be corrected ASAP.

Well, the price will be up again at $125.- once that the new manuals and DVDs are available for a full copy (February, probably). However, both items have been optional until we ran out of stock in November, and this will again be the case once that they are back in stock. So you can have a "no frills" version cheaper, or a version with installation DVD and printed manual if you like these items.

Hello!

I can buy this game today but eSim Games (BTW - change your name because you constantly advertise SBPro as real tank simulator!) has copy-protection system requiring this stupid dongle which must be physically shipped to me. You know, I am from Europe and shipping from US can last 2-3 weeks. I considered to buy SBPro in this German e-shop to get it more quickly but now these losers sell only 2.640 upgrade alone. I don't want to wait till February. Well, I am accustomed to "instant buy - instant play" scheme purchasing games on-line.

However I have heard there is possibility to borrow license temporarily as an indirect replacement of lacking SBPro PE demo. So would it be possible that someone will lend one license to me until my dongle arrives?

If so, inform me in this thread and I'll buy SBPro PE instantly and later show proof of purchase where necessary to borrow license.

Cheers!

OK, I don't think this really matter where you and I live. Do you lend license trough Hamachi VLAN or directly via Internet? As I understand I must download and install SBPro PE 2.640 from eSim game website and connect to you. So let me know via PM when you are ready so I'll purchase it and send you via PM some proof of purchase (invoice number or whatever you want) so you can contact Ssnaker or other eSim guy to check if my purchase is valid and voile.

Yes, turned-off rig on license lender side is some disadvantage because US and Europe timezones are quite different...I sleep, you work for instance! unfortunately I don't know SBPro PE players from Europe and I don't have Teamspeak installed.

I don't want to wait for Okaysoft till February because mail from Nevada or Virgina will ship earlier if I purchase SBPro PE now at eSim store.

We're not ashamed of our origins, and we're using gaming technology and techniques to bring the simulation to the PC platform. So - no, we won't change the company name.

OK, I am waiting.

I think "eSim Soft" would sound much better.

License sharing works! It's time for me to purchase SBPro PE at eSim store! Let's hope this joy-dongle arrives pretty fast!

SOLD!

Well, we don't.

For the record and future search results, I'd like to mention that I had an opportunity to borrow a license and found the sim meet my expectations. In fact, it's quite fun and can be played on many levels, from a gunner taking targets from a Tank Commandeer (Human or AI) to a commandeer of a company or more playing only from the view from his vehicle and the map. There are even UAVs. Artillery FO roles are available as well. Infantry can also be commanded, though not in any detail beyond basic commands to the squad.

There are many tutorials to play and learn. Some of of the tutorial texts are a bit out of date, though the main doc and the wiki fill in the blank spots (specifically the M2A2 TOW launcher and the artillery tut)

I found the graphics to be adequate for conveying information and atmosphere and the draw distances can go up to at least a dozen kilometers on a newer machine. The sound is very good, and a nice touch is the delay between sight and sound for distant explosions and gunfire.

I am able to play the game with good performance on my circa 2007 dual-core, nVidia M8600 laptop as well as my desktop. I even got acceptable frame rates on my backup pentium4.

I was surprised that this sim does not support TrackIR, as I feel this would be an obvious addition. However the mouse-look works well and is sufficient.

Also, I found the keyboard command layout to be a bit non-intuitive and to vary oddly between vehicles and roles. The differences are not overwhelming however and half an hour and a quick review of the manual for each is sufficient to get going.

Hi all,

I have some licenses available if someone wants to try pro pe for a while. They are on a server running 24/7. Drop me a pm if interested.

Sean

Also your own website is probably going to be helpful as regards the learning curve.
Another help is playing online and talking about or listening to discussions on military art and science with other players on TS. I know that I myself have benefited from such things. Both of these will expose one to different ideas and methods than what oneself uses and relies on.

Hi!

My CM stick has just arrived today after eight days long waiting! Now my SBPro PE is running independently. Thanks to all for license sharing in the meantime.

Cheers!

Darn that SeanSB!!

I got the chance to test this game out after passing it for years..
Just hearing the sounds and seeing the open fields has made me finally purchase it..

Thanks for the loan Sean.. hope to use it till the dongle makes it here..
Oh..btw, friend ALSO ordered it.. I think more people that actually try this game would buy it..

thanks again..

Edit: Dongle took 3 days.. west coast to east coast.. Sweet!

I'm glad you like it. We'll make sure to make it even better in the coming years.