no need to have this discussion, Steel beasts is the perfect tanksim.

Close to perfect, though perfect would have a dynamic campaign...though really like where Steel Beast has come since inception. I'll keep dreaming and hoping.

Ill jump into this fray...

Steel Armor blaze of war is shockingly close to my ideal tank sim. Not far off in fact. Landscapes are too damned flat...... and needs larger battle areas per battle are my biggest beefs. However........most folks now a days can not seem to handle learning a sim. If it takes more than 20 minutes they go oooo shiney to something else.

I know one thing, I have stopped any work to perfect the armoured sim. The dev community ( with maybe the exception of SB ) are leaches. I regret every minute I have spent coding since 2002

Gonna have to spell it out a bit more than that, mate.

SB is the best I know and I love playing it. But perfect ? ;-) There is allways room for improvement...least you want to upset *THE LIST*

The #%&*$# with a tank sim is that the tank is never a "standalone" system. If you want perfect tank-sim you have to have
perfect arty, infantry, air-support, air-defence etc etc... simulation as well. So far all software fails on all but one or 2 of these points.

If I want perfect tank simulation, I go to the army GÜZ :-P

Which is why I mentioned SABOW...........

As to the last bit...already did that.

Well,its a matter of personel taste, but for me SABOW is to "gamey" in many aspects (f.e. the map and control surface).

Hmmmmmm ya.....which is why you turn them off.

I can't seem to load up the Pzkpw IV in it...

I'd be looking for a engine that has games in both the modern and WWII era tanks. High fidelty on the weapons systems, attention to historical detail (please no balancing tanks for MP, or WoT's awful mutants!), with good AI, and preferrably enough campaigns that teach you how to work the tactics, and even more, why they work!. I'd prefer all important systems working from interior models, but obviously, make each station automated enough to where you don't have to pour sand in the transmission to make a slipping clutch work, or spend 45 minutes outside fixing a track, lol.

Don't make me a platoon leader off the bat, let me earn it!