Steel Beasts
Encyclopedia
Steel Beasts is the name for a family of tank simulators
created by eSim Games
for Microsoft Windows
.
Its subject is contemporary combined arms
tactics
(with emphasis on modern armoured fighting vehicle
s) at a company
scale.
As a consumer game, it is a genre mix of strategy game, action game, simulation game, and wargame of fairly complex gameplay
.
Steel Beasts (More colloquially known as SB to its fans) is distinguished from other simulators by a faithful reproduction of tactical manoeuvres and Fire Control Systems as well as various other military facets than when compared to other simulatiors.
The sound samples are mostly authentic having been recorded from some of the actual Armoured Fighting Vehicles depicted in the sim.
The two main crewable vehicles depicted in the original Steel Beasts are the German Leopard 2
A4 and the American M1A1 Abrams,known as M1A1(HA), However there are numerous NATO vehicles including M2 Bradley
s and the Marder
Infantry Fighting Vehicles, NATO Support vehicles include the HMMWV and the M113
APC.
Warsaw Pact Vehicles include the T-72
and T-80
MBTs, BMP1
& BMP2
IFVs, BTR-80
APCs and BRDM
scout cars.
Steel Beasts Pro has added to this family of crewable vehicles these being the Bradley and M113 (in most of its more widely known guises), with more military training contracts has led to the creation of more vehicles being modelled in the sim, these include the newer Leopard 2
A5 model and the CV9040 IFV, both of which are playable vehicles.
In addition Steel Beasts also models Helicopters, the CH-146 Griffon
, CH-47 Chinook
Utility and the Hind
, Tigre
Attack Helicopters.
As a tactical simulation artillery is modelled in the sim and player can call in various types of artillery
, from conventional smoke and high-explosive rounds, to DPICM
and the FASCAM minefield system.
SB also includes a scenario editor which allows for programming of random or condition-based behavior in the computer-controlled units. Well-designed SB scenarios therefore have a high degree of replayability. In addition to the scenario editor SB also contains a map editor for creating custom maps depicting different terrain types.
Customized versions of Steel Beasts have been adopted by the armies of Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Chile, Canada, Australia, Spain and USA for training purposes.
Steel Beasts Professional - Full version, only available to military clients.
Steel Beasts Pro Personal - Limited functionality version available to the public, also known as Steel Beasts Pro PE.
A mass-market game version based on the Pro PE engine, called Steel Beasts 2 is planned, though according to the eSim Games website, work has been suspended indefinitely to focus on Steel Beasts Professional and due to much development time spent on military contracts, no release date has been announced.
, the game had an average score of 87% based on 21 reviews. On Metacritic
, the game had an average score of 86 out of 100, based on 13 reviews.
Critical response to the original Steel Beasts was quite consistent. Reviewers were initially put off by the substandard 640x480 graphics, then highly impressed by the gameplay, immersion and the intelligent-seeming behaviors exhibited by the computerized units.
Bruce Geryk of GameSpot
gave the game a rating of 8.8 out 10.
Vehicle simulation game
Vehicle simulation games are a genre of video games which attempt to provide the player with a realistic interpretation of operating various kinds of vehicles. This includes automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, military vehicles, and a variety of other vehicles...
created by eSim Games
ESim Games
eSim Games, LLC is a small U.S. software developer located in Sunnyvale, California. eSim Games has specialized in the creation of computer games of contemporary combined arms tactics at company level. Their primary products are the various versions of the combat simulation Steel Beasts....
for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
Its subject is contemporary combined arms
Combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different branches of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects...
tactics
Military tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
(with emphasis on modern armoured fighting vehicle
Armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and armed with weapons. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked....
s) at a company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
scale.
As a consumer game, it is a genre mix of strategy game, action game, simulation game, and wargame of fairly complex gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
.
Steel Beasts (More colloquially known as SB to its fans) is distinguished from other simulators by a faithful reproduction of tactical manoeuvres and Fire Control Systems as well as various other military facets than when compared to other simulatiors.
The sound samples are mostly authentic having been recorded from some of the actual Armoured Fighting Vehicles depicted in the sim.
The two main crewable vehicles depicted in the original Steel Beasts are the German Leopard 2
Leopard 2
The Leopard 2 is a main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the early 1970s for the West German Army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the German Army. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and twelve...
A4 and the American M1A1 Abrams,known as M1A1(HA), However there are numerous NATO vehicles including M2 Bradley
M2 Bradley
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle is an American fighting vehicle platform manufactured by BAE Systems Land and Armaments, formerly United Defense.As with other infantry fighting vehicles, the Bradley is designed to transport infantry with armor protection while providing covering fire to suppress enemy...
s and the Marder
Marder (IFV)
The Marder is a German infantry fighting vehicle operated by the German Army as the main weapon of the Panzergrenadiere from the 1970s through the present day. Developed as part of the rebuilding of Germany's armoured fighting vehicle industry, the Marder has proven to be a successful and solid...
Infantry Fighting Vehicles, NATO Support vehicles include the HMMWV and the M113
M113 armored personnel carrier
The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier that has formed the backbone of the United States Army's mechanized infantry units from the time of its first fielding in Vietnam in April 1962. The M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S...
APC.
Warsaw Pact Vehicles include the T-72
T-72
The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1970. It is developed directly from Obyekt-172, and shares parallel features with the T-64A...
and T-80
T-80
The T-80 is a main battle tank designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union. A development of the T-64, it entered service in 1976 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine for main propulsion.the Swedish Stridsvagn 103 of 1971 used a gas turbine alongside...
MBTs, BMP1
BMP-1
The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty 1 , meaning "infantry fighting vehicle". The BMP-1 was the world's first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle...
& BMP2
BMP-2
The BMP-2 is a second-generation, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following the BMP-1 of the 1960s....
IFVs, BTR-80
BTR-80
BTR-80 is an 8x8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed in the Soviet Union. Production started in 1986 and replaced the previous versions, BTR-60 and BTR-70 in the Soviet army. -Description:The Soviets based the BTR-80 on the BTR-70 APC...
APCs and BRDM
BRDM
BRDM is an initialism for Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina, , literally "Combat Reconnaissance Patrol Vehicle". The BRDM is a four wheeled amphibious vehicle which is very lightly armoured by today's standards. Both versions were produced in the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc...
scout cars.
Steel Beasts Pro has added to this family of crewable vehicles these being the Bradley and M113 (in most of its more widely known guises), with more military training contracts has led to the creation of more vehicles being modelled in the sim, these include the newer Leopard 2
Leopard 2
The Leopard 2 is a main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the early 1970s for the West German Army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the German Army. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and twelve...
A5 model and the CV9040 IFV, both of which are playable vehicles.
In addition Steel Beasts also models Helicopters, the CH-146 Griffon
CH-146 Griffon
The Bell CH-146 Griffon is the Canadian military variant of the Bell 412EP, a multi-use utility helicopter. The CH-146 is used in a wide variety of roles, including aerial firepower, reconnaissance, search and rescue and aero-mobility tasks....
, CH-47 Chinook
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
Utility and the Hind
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for 8 passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and by over thirty other nations.In NATO circles the export...
, Tigre
Eurocopter Tiger
The Eurocopter Tiger is an attack helicopter manufactured by Eurocopter. In Germany it is known as the Tiger; in France and Spain it is called the Tigre.-Origins:...
Attack Helicopters.
As a tactical simulation artillery is modelled in the sim and player can call in various types of artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, from conventional smoke and high-explosive rounds, to DPICM
Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition
A Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions is an artillery or surface-to-surface missile warhead designed to burst into sub-munitions at an optimum altitude and distance from the desired target for dense area coverage. The sub-munitions are designed for both antiarmor and antipersonnel attack...
and the FASCAM minefield system.
SB also includes a scenario editor which allows for programming of random or condition-based behavior in the computer-controlled units. Well-designed SB scenarios therefore have a high degree of replayability. In addition to the scenario editor SB also contains a map editor for creating custom maps depicting different terrain types.
Customized versions of Steel Beasts have been adopted by the armies of Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Chile, Canada, Australia, Spain and USA for training purposes.
Version History
The original Steel Beasts, also known as Steel Beasts Legacy, is no longer in production.Steel Beasts Professional - Full version, only available to military clients.
Steel Beasts Pro Personal - Limited functionality version available to the public, also known as Steel Beasts Pro PE.
A mass-market game version based on the Pro PE engine, called Steel Beasts 2 is planned, though according to the eSim Games website, work has been suspended indefinitely to focus on Steel Beasts Professional and due to much development time spent on military contracts, no release date has been announced.
Critical reception
On the review aggregator Game RankingsGame Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
, the game had an average score of 87% based on 21 reviews. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the game had an average score of 86 out of 100, based on 13 reviews.
Critical response to the original Steel Beasts was quite consistent. Reviewers were initially put off by the substandard 640x480 graphics, then highly impressed by the gameplay, immersion and the intelligent-seeming behaviors exhibited by the computerized units.
Bruce Geryk of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave the game a rating of 8.8 out 10.
Awards
Steel Beasts collected the following accolades:- SimHQ - Sim of the Year, 2000
- GamePen - Best PC Simulation of 2000
- IGNPC - Editor's Choice Award
- Wargamer - Best of the Year Award
- PC GamerPC GamerPC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
- Best Simulation of 2000 - Computer Games MagazineComputer Games MagazineComputer Games Magazine was a computer gaming print magazine. It was formerly Computer Games Strategy Plus, and before that, Strategy Plus, which had been founded as Games International in the UK in 1988. While its initial focus was on strategy games, it covered a wide range of game genres...
- Best Simulation of 2000
External links
- eSim Games - Company site
- SteelBeasts.com - Official fan site
- Steel Beasts wiki - Official SBwiki for all things related to Steel Beasts
- SteelBeasts.eu - unofficial German fan site
- SteelBeasts.org - unofficial German fan site