Panzer Mobile

[Kayleen Dauteuil]

SinceI never finished the original Shining Force, the portable/always on nature of mobile devices might make this a good opportunity to finally do so, along with replay Shining Force II for a nostalgia kick. I decided to start with Shining Force II, having fond memories of the game.

Solo, the Whitehead ports of Sonic 1, 2, and CD are phenomenal and stand out as an example of how to do a Genesis port right. I just personally really dislike touch controls for games like those due to having larger hands and the inaccuracies I experience in control. I own an 8bitdo SN30 Bluetooth controller that I have used when playing those and emulators on my phone. Shining Force being turn based is much more forgiving of touch controls and seems the ideal kind of game to port. The games run well after some updates, but I wish Sega would do the same treatment on these ports as they did with the Sonic games.

Sonic Mania on Android/iOS would be great. Maybe they will. I would love Sonic 3 and Knuckles to be ported also, but I keep hearing there is some kind of music license issue. Supposedly Michael Jackson composed the music for Sonic 3 and his estate retains the rights. Sega would have to replace all the music and they seem to be unable to invest money into something that will make their fans happy and them money. Thankful that emulators exist in the meantime!

Based on their Bluetooth controller support, I would guess no. My 8bitdo M30 works fantastic for most games and apps on Android and PC except for the Sega Classics games. Even the new official Retrobit USB controllers required some effort to get working properly with Sega Classics. The Xbox controllers under Windows do work with everything though, so maybe they will not have the same issues?

The Panzer Elite, also known as Kampfgruppe Lehr in the single-player campaign, is one of two factions featured in Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts. One of the members of the Axis, it is essentially a counterpart to the Wehrmacht, and fights alongside it in defending Nazi-Occupied Europe from the Allied invasion. The Panzer Elite is a highly mobile force that relies on constant offensive force with very little emphasis on static defense. They can field powerful anti-tank units, and are good at denying battlefield assets to the enemy. The Panzer Elite is based mainly on the Panzer Lehr Division.

Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts introduced a new Axis faction known as the Panzer Elite. Together with the Wehrmacht, they strive to repel the Allied invasion of France to protect Nazi-Occupied Europe from being overrun.

The Panzer Elite faction is a representation of a generic Panzergrenadier (mechanized Infantry) division, such as were fielded by both the German army (the Wehrmacht) and the notorious Waffen SS. It is primarily inspired by the mish-mash of German units that opposed the Allied forces during Operation Market Garden, including the 2nd SS Panzer Corps and the Luftwaffe's Fallschirmjger divisions.

The Panzer Elite force consists primarily of fast-moving light and medium vehicles, which provide it with flexible defensive and offensive capabilities. With virtually no defensive measures, the Panzer Elite are expected to constantly be on the offensive, keeping their enemies off-balance and manipulating battlefield assets to their advantage (or to the enemy's detriment). Their limited infantry is initially very poor, but can be upgraded to become one of the best infantry forces in the game - and is expected to work closely with the Panzer Elite vehicle fleet.

Panzer Elite units gain Veterancy through combat action, and have the option to invest this in either Defensive bonuses (to increase speed and survivability) or Offensive bonuses (to increase firing rate and accuracy). This allows each unit to specialize in the tasks it is most needed to perform, giving additional flexibility to an already flexible fighting force.

With their varied Command Tree abilities, the Panzer Elite can rely on support from the Luftwaffe (the German air-arm), concentrate on improving their own spectacular anti-vehicle capabilities, or improve their subversion of battlefield assets. They can potentially field some of the most powerful units in the entire game, or boost their defensive capabilities to match those of other factions.

In the Panzer Elite single-player campaign, the "Kampfgruppe Lehr" unit (thus named after its inspiration, the Kampfgruppe and Panzer Lehr divisions of the Wehrmacht) struggles to prevent British and American forces from attaining control of a series of bridges in Holland during Operation Market Garden. A few Panzer Elite units appear as part of the various SS Panzer Divisions featured as the opponents in the British Liberation of Caen campaign.

The Panzer Elite army consists primarily of light, fast vehicles. The majority of these vehicles punch well above their weight, capable of doing grievous harm to enemy units. However, most of these units are lightly-armored as well, and are usually very vulnerable to enemy fire. As a result, the Panzer Elite rely on fast attacks meant to rapidly cripple the enemy, and are expected to keep going despite the heavy losses incurred in the process. Mobility and cunning are their most important assets.

In addition, the Panzer Elite rely on small infantry teams known as Panzer Grenadiers, which are highly versatile and well-trained though small in numbers, to perform virtually all infantry-related duties on the battlefield. They are often supported by unarmed vehicles specializing in logistics, and together these groups can carry out all sorts of unconventional warfare. The Panzer Elite force is almost entirely devoid of defensive capabilities, instead relying on mobile patrol units to react to enemy offensives.

The Panzer Elite infantry is entirely made up of a single type of unit: the Panzer Grenadiers. These are small 3-man mechanized infantry teams, which are initially rather weak and vulnerable. With time and investment however, Panzer Grenadiers can become highly effective and very dangerous, gaining a wide variety of combat abilities as well as an increase to squad sizes.

The difference between these units is minimal. The two "Heavy Infantry" variants are simply a different way to get an upgraded Panzer Grenadier squad without paying Munitions for the appropriate upgrade or waiting for it to be installed. These three units are otherwise identical in terms of combat properties, they all benefit from the same Global Upgrades and can all use the same combat abilities. The only tangible difference among the three units is that only the basic Panzer Grenadiers can be upgraded with Gewehr 43 semi-auto battle rifles.

Panzer Grenadiers are expected to operate closely with the tanks and vehicles fielded by this faction. They can also be formed into large infantry groups, called "Panzer Grenadier Platoons", to enable them to take on larger enemy infantry units. A large group of these is more flexible and more dangerous than an enemy unit of the same size.

The Panzer Elite field the largest variety of Light Vehicles available to any faction. Many of these vehicles are unarmed, expected to support other units by bestowing various bonuses to them. Others are meant to operate inside enemy territory, subverting enemy resources. Still, many of these light vehicles can punch well above their weight, and are cheap enough to cover the high attrition rate they usually incur due to their light armor.

Speed is always of the essence, as many of these units are used as response forces to fend off enemy attacks. On the offensive, these vehicles can take the battle to the enemy in the early stages of the game, or provide support for heavier vehicles later on. Infantry rely on Infantry Halftracks and Munitions Halftracks as part of their most basic tactics.

The Marder III is often used to provide firepower from beyond engagement range, though it can also flank and attack enemy tanks from the rear. The vehicle can trade its mobility for increased firing rate and range, allowing it to essentially become an Active Defense Emplacement - though a vulnerable one.

Panzer Elite tanks are not particularly well-rounded, lacking a medium-armored tank destroyer component (though one Command Tree later adds this option with the Hetzer). They must be supported by the lighter vehicles and infantry, and are meant primarily to draw enemy fire away from their support units.

The limited variety of defenses means that the Panzer Elite must rely on mobile units to patrol friendly territory and fend off light enemy infiltration attempts. When the enemy makes a larger assault, the entire Panzer Elite force is expected to converge upon it and destroy it.

When a Panzer Elite unit kills an enemy unit, it gains 100% of that unit's experience value. Additionally, it will pass 50% of that same value to all Panzer Elite units within 35 meters of its position.

This "Shared Veterancy" model allows Panzer Elite forces to rapidly increase their Veterancy level when attacking in large groups. It also provides a way for the (many) unarmed vehicles to gain veterancy, simply by being close to the combat zone.

With each Veterancy level a unit attains, it is capable of acquiring one of two different sets of bonuses: a Defensive Bonus or an Offensive Bonus. The choice is normally up to the player, though some (unarmed) units will pick the Defensive Bonus set by default.

The benefits from each set depend primarily on the unit's type - whether Infantry or Vehicle. For example, the "Infantry Defensive Bonus" gives resistance to Suppression, while the "Vehicle Defensive Bonus" gives an increase to maximum speed.

Additionally, the level at which a bonus was selected is also important. In other words, selecting a bonus set at Veterancy Level 1 does not necessarily give the same benefits as selecting the same bonus at Veterancy level 2. For example, the "Level 1 Vehicle Defensive Bonus" is significantly more beneficial than the "Level 2 Vehicle Defensive Bonus", affecting the unit's stats more dramatically.

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