Battlefront.com and Sonalysts, Inc. announce: SONALYSTS COMBAT SIMULATIONS - DANGEROUS WATERS!
Above, below, and on the ocean's surface, S.C.S. - DANGEROUS WATERS will thrust the player into battle and finally allow them to experience all facets of naval combat in one immersive gaming experience.
Battlefront.com, Inc., an independent, internet-based publisher and developer of war and strategy games and home to one of the web's largest war and strategy game communities, and Sonalysts, Inc., an established developer of modern naval simulation games, disclosed today that they have signed an exclusive agreement to bring the inaugural title of the Sonalysts Combat Simulations brand, dubbed Dangerous Waters (S.C.S - Dangerous Waters) to the market.
The game will not be sold in stores, but will only be available via mail order from www.battlefront.com. S.C.S. - Dangerous Waters will be entering beta stage in October and is scheduled for a release in Fall 2004.
STATEMENTS
Kim Castro, Executive Producer of all Sonalysts Combat Simulations products:
"We're excited to be collaborating with Battlefront.com in the release of the first title in our Sonalysts Combat Simulation brand: S.C.S. - Dangerous Waters. As the original independent internet-based war and strategy game publisher, Battlefront.com has earned the well-deserved reputation of delivering highly accurate, yet undeniably playable military titles. We believe that we've found an excellent partner with Battlefront.com that will help us build and support our growing naval gaming community. With the support of Battlefront.com, we're able to not only bring the best modern simulation ever to our community, but also to appeal to the military wargaming and strategy gaming communities that we feel will also enjoy the highly scalable experience of S.C.S. - Dangerous Waters. At Sonalysts we strive to make the most accurate naval simulation/strategy products available in today's market, just as we have been for more than 30 years in both commercial entertainment and military training. With the support of Battlefront.com we can continue to make the games we know how to make and to market them directly to our core group of simulation, war-gaming, and strategy enthusiasts. It's an exciting partnership and we are certainly looking forward to the continued support of Battlefront.com in the future."
Steve Grammont, co-founder of Battlefront.com:
"Sonalysts IS naval warfare, and Dangerous Waters is going to be THE naval simulation; and much more than that! Combining for the first time ever surface and sub-surface vessels with supporting aircraft and helicopters, you have the most complete and most realistic combined naval arms simulation ever. It took us about one nanosecond to accept Sonalysts' offer to publish this unique game, about as much as it will take for modern simulation, wargame and strategy game fans to decide to purchase it! Grab it before the Navy classifies it!"
FEATURES
S.C.S. - Dangerous Waters will be the first title of its kind, allowing the player total control over multiple air, surface, and subsurface platforms in a modern-day naval environment! The game allows the player to focus his attention and to take direct control of individual stations and also to plan and execute combined arms naval strategies from a top-down perspective.
S.C.S. - Dangerous Waters allows the player control over 7 of the world's most potent naval platforms (out of a total of over 270 platforms available in the game):
- Oliver Hazard Perry class [Guided Missile Frigate]
- MH-60R Seahawk [Multi-Mission Helicopter]
- P-3C Orion [Maritime Patrol Aircraft]
- Kilo class 636/877 [Diesel attack submarines]
- Seawolf class SSN [Nuclear attack submarine]
- Akula I/II class SSN [Nuclear attack submarine]
- 688(I) class SSN [Nuclear attack submarine]
Other features include:
ONE NAVAL BATTLEFIELD
Cooperative and head-to-head multiplayer modes allow controllable submarine, surface, and air platforms to battle it out in the definitive naval combat experience.
MULTI-STATION MODE
Players can command a platform on their own in multiplayer, or collaborate with multiple players in "Multi-station Mode" as they each operate individual stations and strive to work together as a team on the SAME platform.
INNOVATIVE 'AutoCrew' ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
By assigning certain crew stations to be manned by the "virtual crewmen" the player can hand off various functions for the simulation to manage. This allows the player to tailor the game's difficulty level to their liking and the precise level of involvement and micro management that they wish. The player can choose to man every single available crew station themselves, just a few select stations or relinquish control to the A.I. and let the 'autocrew' do the rest. Autocrew control is dynamic so the player can enable or disable this feature for every crew station modeled in the game.
"REAL WORLD" PLATFORMS
Detailed depictions of each controllable platform's stations and their respective arsenals provide a realistic game play experience.
CUTTING-EDGE SENSOR MODELLING AND PHYSICS
Authentic simulation of sensor performance both in the air and through the ocean environment challenge the player to detect unknown enemies. Realistic depictions of flight characteristics, buoyancy, air resistance, and gravity provide realistic control and maneuvering.
SCALABLE 3D ENGINE AND EFFECTS
Updated 3D graphics engine provides realistic depictions of ocean swells, water reflections, and environmental conditions using the latest vertex and pixel shader technologies.
WORLDWIDE DATABASE
Extensive worldwide database provided by the U.S. Naval Institute offers detailed descriptions of platforms and weaponry to accommodate all possible global conflicts. Over 270+ platforms comprising 17 of the world's navies can do battle for control of the open ocean.
MISSION CREATION TOOLS USED BY THE GAME'S DESIGNERS
Powerful mission editor used by the developers to create the missions that will be shipped with the game, will also be available to the players to create their own scenarios. Players will be able to create their own single missions, multiplayer missions, or develop their own campaigns. These tools will allow the player extensive control over the mission content and enable him to generate an infinite number of scenario possibilities.
DYNAMIC YET PERSISTENT CAMPAIGNS
Players will compete in campaigns in which their actions have a profound effect on the missions that follow. The use of dynamic elements such as probability of inclusion, dynamic groups of objects, dynamic inclusion of mission goals, and rules of engagement (that can change mid-mission) all ensure that the campaigns will never play the same way twice.
QUICK MISSION MODE
Upon selecting the platform and mission difficulty level, the player will be provided with an entirely random and dynamic scenario. It will be composed of an infinite combination of mission goals, enemy forces, and random locations.
For more information on S.C.S. - Dangerous Waters, please visit:
http://www.Battlefront.com/products/dw/index.html
About Battlefront.com
Battlefront.com is an independent, internet-based publisher and developer of superior war and strategy games, among them the award-winning 3D tactical WWII combat simulation series Combat Mission (three successive Wargame of the Year Awards).
Other titles include Strategic Command - European Theater (PC Gamer - 90%), as well as the famous TacOps4 modern combat simulation, a commercial version of the official tactical training tool used by the U.S. Army. Besides computer games, Battlefront.com offers a selection of books, prints, and other warfare related articles to one of the world's largest and fastest growing wargamer fan communities!
Find out more at www.battlefront.com
About Sonalysts, Inc.
Sonalysts, based in Waterford, CT, is an employee-owned business with approximately 450 employees. Its annual sales are in excess of $50M and it has been serving Government and commercial clients since 1973. Sonalysts began developing computer simulation games for the commercial market in the mid-nineties as part of its diversification plan following the end of the cold war. Sonalysts has developed three PC naval simulation games to date - 688(I) Hunter/KillerTM, Jane's Fleet CommandTM, and Sub CommandTM. Each of these games has won a variety of awards from "Best Combat Sim of the Year" to "Best Maritime Sim" of 2001. Sonalysts' games provide the user with a scalable experience so that the most dedicated simulation and casual players can both equally enjoy them. All of the games (including the S.C.S. - Dangerous Waters engine) have been used by the U.S. military for training and/or as a simulation analysis tool. Jane's Fleet Command has been used by ABC and NBC News to assist in broadcast visualization of military operations in Iran, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.
For more information about Sonalysts, Inc., please visit http://www.sonalysts.com.
For information on all Sonalysts games, please visit http://www.sonalystscombatsims.com.
If you have any questions about this press release, or would like to receive preview materials, exclusive screenshots or conduct an interview with the developers or publisher, please contact martin@battlefront.com