Tank Wars: Anniversary Edition

Tank Wars: Anniversary Edition

Do you like classic game concepts? Do you like old school, pixelated, low-resolution 2D computer graphics? Do you like pixels?

We do. We like pixels a lot. We love pixels. And we love classic game concepts, especially this one.

In Tank Wars: Anniversary Edition, a player has to control a (stationary) artillery tank in order to take down opponents with ballistic shots from a selection of different weapons. Tank Wars: Anniversary Edition supports three different game modes:

• Classic (turn-based): In classic mode (or turn-based mode), the players perform their shots successively, one after another, until only one tank (or only one team) is still alive. While one player performs his or her shot, the other players have to wait until it's their individual turn.
  
• Simultaneous: In simultaneous mode, the players make their settings for their next shot simultaneously. After all players have confirmed their individual firing settings, all tanks fire their weapons at the same time. The procedure repeats until only one tank (or only one team) is still alive.
  
• Real-time: In real-time mode, all players may fire at their own will and at any time, provided that they don't already/still have a projectile flying around. This massacre lasts until only one tank (or only one team) is still alive.

However, Tank Wars: Anniversary Edition was originally built as a couch game for Saturday evenings with some friends and remains at its best when enjoyed that way in classic (turn-based) mode.

Tank Wars: Anniversary Edition is a remake of an adaptation of a number of artillery games from the 80's and 90's. We don't know who is or was the actual pioneer of this game concept back then, so we cannot give credit to a single specific person or company. Regarding name and gameplay of Tank Wars: Anniversary Edition we want to mention Kenneth Morse at least. Anyway, many games, clones, adaptations, and remakes following this basic concept have been made through the years. Some newer games have a lot of different game settings, modes, and other features as well as modern graphics and effects. However, Tank Wars: Anniversary Edition, as a remake of an adaptation from the year 1997, deliberately distances itself from fancy newfangled developments. Nevertheless, we don't want to bore you or hurt your eyes and ears more than necessary, so we tried to walk a tightrope between pure old school, pixelated, low-resolution 2D computer graphics and some modern-ish concepts and effects.

So, Tank Wars: Anniversary Edition is not intended to be a one-to-one recreation of any previous Tank Wars title. Instead, it is the modern remake of my own 1997 adaptation, which itself was mainly inspired by Kenneth Morse's original 1986 game. Over several decades of regular play sessions with friends, mechanics were refined, weapons were added, removed, or redesigned, and new ideas found their way into the game. Anniversary Edition represents the latest evolution of that journey.

Interested in the history behind the game, the origins of the project, the story behind the online mode, future development, bug reporting, and feature requests? Check out the pinned Community post: "Welcome to Tank Wars: Anniversary Edition".