The Antisocial Gamer

Episode 1: We Wanted Realism The moment simulation felt real and why we didn’t see the end coming. Falcon 3’s HUD, 640 KB of memory somehow convincing you that you were really there. The Spark The first computer game I ever saw was on my mate’s BBC Micro. It was Spitfire , wire-frame lines and imagination and I was hooked straight away. The only problem was, I didn’t have a BBC Micro of my own. From that moment on I was chasing that feeling: that one day a screen could really make you believe you were flying. I was a flight simulation guy back then. It’s kind of sad that I’m not anymore but we will get to that, these days I’m more of a tank guy but then, it was flight everything. They were the cutting edge: graphics, gameplay, sound, the lot. I don’t think there was a sim I didn’t own. The Golden Age Falcon 3 with the MiG-29 add-on, TFX , Hind , Strike Fighter , Su-27 Flanker , I loved them all. Tornado was another big one; Digital Integration knew what they were doin...

  Briefing... Under the long stewardship of BRIT44 and MY , the Panzer Elite code has been safely looked after and steadily evolved. With the original source in safe hands, it has never been frozen, only refined. With that quiet continuity, the simulator has reached a new technical and historical peak with Torch 2025 , a reworked Tunisian campaign built on modern DirectX 12 foundations. A Modern Core The 2025 build runs through a DirectX 12 wrapper with improved fog and accurate lighting. It’s compatible with Windows 8 through 11 and can be tuned in real time through the DDrawCompat interface (Shift + F11). Frame rates are smoother, the visuals cleaner, and the game finally performs on modern hardware as its designers had once hoped it might. Physics Grounded in Fact The armour and gunnery system has been recalibrated against empirical data from the Lorrin & Bird World War II penetration tables. Each ammunition type now has its own slope and velocity curve, and a ...

  Cupola View of MY's PE For a long time, I never quite connected with Michael Y’s version of Panzer Elite. The vehicles still used the classic 2-D wheels and the original optics, and because I usually play through the gunner’s view, that always felt like a bit of a throwback to the original PE release. So, I tended to admire his work from a distance rather than spend time in it. Today I finally gave Full Monty DX12 v58 a proper run, exactly as he intended, from the commander’s seat with the new in-game settings menu, and it completely surprised me! MY's new menu system   The 3D world now has a real sense of depth. Lighting plays beautifully across the terrain and let’s be clear, we’re not talking Battlefield 6 here; this is still a 1998 engine but with Michael’s additions it somehow feels fresher more believable. You can see other units moving about, carrying out their tasks in the distance, and it all feels very cohesive as   Panzer Elite  always does. One ...

Slomo's Sherman added to Ostpak 3 by Daskal. It still amazes me that a game released in 1999 can boot cleanly in 2025, load a mission, and still deliver that same heavy, deliberate feel of steel on soil. That alone feels like a small miracle. Much of that miracle, for me, comes down to Brit44 . While most developers moved on decades ago, he and MichaelY (MY) stayed. MY continues his work on the source code for his own mod, the Afrika campaign. I’ve always admired that kind of devotion. Without it, Panzer Elite might not still be here for any of us to talk about. Over the years I’ve come to see that a sim can survive long after its development slows, but it truly lives through the people who still care enough to shape it. For the outside world, it’s the modders who breathe life into it, who paint on that canvas, who still experiment, and who push the envelope. Every time Daskal releases an update, I can feel the energy return. Screenshots appear, old players reinstall, and su...

  Coming from an old-school tank-sim player, I went in hopeful. The name Panzer Elite still carries weight, a reminder of when tank games were slow, methodical, and full of consequence. I gave ctaPE a test: HUD off, single-tank focus, and an open mind. The good : the front end is well done and the missions are presented nicely. The Panzer IV G handles cleanly. Brake and clutch turns feel crisp and controllable. Building destruction is excellent, walls crumble convincingly, debris feels heavy, and explosions are satisfyingly physical. For a moment it seems like someone remembered what mass and traction should be! Rear of the tank hanging in mid air.   Then the illusion slips . Suspension is animated, not simulated. Ballistics seem to be hit-point based — good visuals, but impacts don’t feel dependent on angle or armour thickness. Optics are for show while HUD markers do all the real work. The turret spins far too fast — tuned for corridor play, not battlefield realism. Bocag...

  The Weight of What’s Next There’s a kind of quiet before an update like this, the feeling of standing in the rain, watching the horizon, knowing something’s coming but not knowing what it will bring. The next patch, with the new Ponyri map, carries more weight than most. It isn’t just another addition; it’s a chance for Tank Squad to show what it’s really capable of. The talk has been about open ground, long sightlines, and a battlefield that finally breathes. Whether that becomes reality or just another promise, we’ll soon find out. What makes openness matter in a tank sim isn’t just distance for distance’s sake, it’s what it does to the rhythm of play. Space changes everything: How you plan, how you scan, how every shell feels earned. When there’s room to breathe, you start to think like a crew, not just a player steering through scripted corridors. That’s what Ponyri represents to me, a test of whether Tank Squad can move beyond its tight boxes and become something that ...