The List

Also known as: The_List, The_Lust, The Blessed Index, The Holy Decree of Implementation.

Summary

In the nearly 10 year history of Steel Beasts, there have been plenty of items which developers, beta team members, and users have wanted to see added, fixed or modified. Items which are worthwhile are added to an enormous "to do" list at eSim Games. This has colloquially become known as "The List". The problem is that there is a finite amount of time available to eSim Games for all these nice to have items and there are always higher priority or contractual obligations which must be met that preclude many items from The List from ever getting resolved.

Often a member asks about a certain idea they would like to see in Steel Beasts and is told that the item is "on The List". This is often perceived as a somewhat dismissive reply. Cryptic references to rodents and monopatchism by members in association with the list is humorous to more senior members and confusing to newer ones. The regards in which The_List are held, ranges from indifference by most individuals, to religious fervour by its guardians and worshippers. In general it is an acknowledgment that few if any of the thousands of good ideas will ever come to fruition.

The List

While there is no known publicly released version of The List, this entry is an attempt to recreate The List and provide a database for users to search when curious about items that can (could, should, may, might, will, wont) be fixed, modified or added to Steel Beasts Pro PE in the future. Since there is no available version of The List, it is as much a wish list as it is a to do list when discussed by members

Rumours and Unsubstantiated Notes

The location of The_List is classified to those individuals who have knowledge of its contents. However, Tales of The_List suggest its resides in a self destructing box 3 metres under the "Altar of Monopatchism" which is rumoured to be located under the suburbs of the city of Hannover in Germany. Others say that The_List is located in a secure facility under the Fjords of Norway. However such unsubstantiated claims have never been confirmed, as all who have actively sought out The_List, have never returned.

The following items are confirmed to be or are thought to be on The list:

1 A crewable T-72

• Its been discussed by everyone for years. Various theories exist about why it hasnt been done yet. They are all wrong, including that "eSim is scared of the T-72 because it is the Devil!". Software development is driven primarily by army customers with budgets to finance development work. As long as none of eSim's army customers intends to use Steel Beasts Pro to train their T-72 crews the only time when it possibly could be done is during times of slow business when no army contract is in the development queue.

2 Vehicle Suspension

• A physical representation of the effects a vehicles suspension. Again this has been brought up for years. (See Oscar19681,s Lets mention suspension thread on steelbeasts.com)

3 3D Infantry (and vehicle crewmembers)

4 Dynamic Lighting

5 Dynamic Scenery

6 Expanded library of map objects

7 New Vehicle X.

• Take your pick which vehicle it is and whether it is crewable or not. Whatever it is, its on the list somewhere.

8 On map artillery

• Everything from mortars to self propelled guns, someone wants it.

9 map objects that can be damaged

10 Load saved plan

• I've seen this one! It exists in some dim and fading memory.

11 No battle position marked on map when map updates are off and "E" is pressed.

12 3D interiors for all crewable vehicles.

• Doesn't seem important but some people seem to like it.

13 Counterbattery fire that affects offboard strength of opposing artillery.

14 Usable loaders machine guns

15 Chemical weapon strikes

16 Multiple forces (Blue, Red, Yellow, neutral etc

17 Civilian vehicle traffic

18 Corrected two tier fighting positions.

19 individually numbered vehicles in external view

20 Multiplayer join in progress (JIP)

21 Higher res and multicolored tracers by caliber/side

22 Engineer units can reduce obstacles with explosives.

23 Engineer units may deploy pontoon or other mobile bridging system.

24 FCS cant limits verified and checked

25 Rotary winged aircraft may pick up a slingload, much the same way a vehicle loads troops, if slingload weight is within acft limits

26 River bed and lake bed at are not 45degree slopes.

27 Weather effects (rain, snow)

28 ability to destroy/damage bridges

29 A terrain type that is absolutely impassable to anything but infantry. Tanks crawling up steep mountainsides seem a little flawed.

30 Mission editor: in the events/conditions make scroll down screens available to select e.g. the various units that can appear in them. Would be much less time-consuming and tiring way then having to click on each & every unit, as needs to be done now.

31 Mission editor: make it possible to copy regions that indicate artillery-targets = a much quicker way for scenario-designers to create preplanned arty.

32 Planningphase: What about making Red's obstacles, bunkers and especially emplacements, invisible during the planningphase (unless the sce.designer decides otherwise), when examining the terrain in 3D.

It's such a giveaway, to see immediately all or many of Red positions : That's the job of the UAV (if the sce.designer added one), not the function of the planningphase where 3D is a way to compensate for the limitations of a computergame versus being in the field ?

33 In game: make it possible to cycle backward through units, and not just forward (ALT + F10).

34 In game: make it possible to cycle forward/backward just through vehicles, so while excluding infantry-units = win time.

35 In game: Make veh. emplacments, obstacles, bunkers, ... spawnable. So you could simulate engineers creating them somewhere in the rear. Which may mean that you have to delay OPFOR long enough, in order for the ENG to build those defensive positions ... This could increase immersion & add a new tactical dimension to SB.

36 IFV's unload troops, whereafter those troops can be separated from those IFV's and whereby those troops have the ability to start moving along a route to another waypoint anywhere.

Arriving at this waypoint, they can be picked up again by an IFV, which does not necessarily need to be the IFV that unloaded them.

All this should be possible also for computercontrolled troops, so that no human intervention is necessary to move the troops away from the IFV etc ..., but that it can be fully scripted for AI-units (e.g on the Red side ...)

37 Trucks can load/unload troops, in an identical way as is mentioned under point 36

38 Troops not just get killed in battle - but also can be wounded => need for medevacing Ambulances can of course also load/unload troops. Important: wounded soldiers that do not get medevaced, do not survive in the end ...

39 PLA Equipment for the OPFOR, Tanks and others Vechs of Peoples Liberation Army of China.

XX thru 100,000 still to come...