TKC Games update

Well – it has been a difficult time, both down to IT and personal issues recently, however much has been achieved despite it all.

Barbarossa has moved to the very last stages of a protracted development process, with art almost 100% complete, and the in game files in final proof. This process has stretched us all to the limit but, done from October 2017 to the current date in research terms and October 2018 to the current date I suppose is fairly rapid for a title with 20 maps and 28 countersheets.

We hope to go to press in late September with an October release date. for Barbarossa….

I Shall Return is about to enter basic art work – this is a result of Dennis letting me know he is very close to completion, however that may take some time to come to full fruition as he is mid move across the pond – a year long effort that will be the end of his real world working life and the start of a long holiday in the sun of the South of France. We wish him well!

At the same time as all this hassle has been taking place, TKC Games is proud to finally announce that it is close to signing a deal to create a partner company, TKC Digital which will provide IT based TSWW and other games over the coming years. This has taken a long time to come to fruition but will be vital to ensure the longevity not just of the games and the base company, but in our view the longevity of quality historical based conflict simulations. More on this will follow once the deal is finalised, with funding packages developing.

Many people have asked what will come after Barbarossa. Operation Watchtower is the next title, and draft OBs for the Axis and Commonwealth forces are now in hand. Map art will commence as soon as possible, whilst USN, USMC and USAAF research is either underway, or scheduled for the next 4 weeks as a start date. This will drive not just this title, but Liberation, Kamikaze, I Shall Return and of course the albatross we have been struggling with – The China Incident.

This last has been a bit of a pain… So it is with great relief that I can announce tentative deals in place with additional researchers to develop the KMT, CCP and Warlord OBs for the title, as well as utilising our extensive library on the Japanese to ensure the 1937-45 element of this monster game dealing with the Sino-Japanese war is as good as it can be. Box Art is usually a sign of us getting ready for development – and that is no less the case here. I will be working up the box art in the next 2 weeks. Formal announcement of basic design parameters and what not will occur before Christmas 2019. This of course is subject to final assistance being agreed but it looks really good right now

So, with Watchtower underway I will also spend a bit of time sorting La Guerra out. This is a major step for BTW as a game series and we will be tell you more over time. The game will co-release with Watchtower. Again this is not news but at least you know we are working on the title!

With major fanfare, after much soul searching, and intense consideration, following Operation Watchtower and La Guerra will be Blitzkrieg II. This is a commercial imperative and is intended to get the best selling Blitzkrieg title back on shelves as soon as possible. That probably is third or fourth quarter 2020-21. In the box will be a whole new German OB, massive extensions to the mapping (Iceland on map for example, Strategic mapping into the Caribbean and a lot more besides) as well as timeline extensions to the June II 1943 game turn in line with Mare Nostrum and Barbarossa. This is the next major TSWW release.

To support this title, we are also going to accelerate Vengeance and Liberation – both are close to complete from a Western Allied perspective, and from an Axis perspective, but are in a mess as it were from a Soviet perspective. David Hughes has asked for time off from the Soviets – so he has that with Watchtower but his input to Blitzkrieg II is minimal… Guess what he will be working on! Vengeance will of course end the war in the Eastern Front in 1945, picking up from Barbarossa… immense and much to look out for!

So – these are the key things we have been working on… except for a couple more! As part of my dealing with the new people we will be introducing to you all, it has come to light that they can assist with a little bit more than just TSWW in China or Italy… to that end we are pleased to provisionally announce The First World War game series. Based on TSWW it will be divisional in scale, 15 miles to the hex, half month turns. It will have air, land, sea warfare and should include production rules at some point. Currently slated for 6 to 8 titles it will deal with WW1 from 1914-18, and will like TSWW have a unified combined OB for the entire war for all powers involved as its goal. Covering the war in North Africa, the Near East, The Western Front, The Eastern Front and of course the Balkans it aims to do for the First World War what TSWW has done for the second….

Additionally, one of my clients, John, has been working with my blessing and input on a strategic level game system. This is intended to compliment our main ranges commencing around 1900 and ending in the mid to late 80s with divisions and brigades, ships and wing or group sized air units, map scale will probably be around 75 miles to the hex. Turns are almost certainly half monthly. The idea will be to enable you to run your country through 2 real world wars and one that fortunately never happened… watch this space for more on this massive and exciting series of games!

Thanks for all your support….

Regards

John Bannerman