1.    Across the Dnepr Second Edition (ATDSE) is considered an expansion pack for Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets but it seems to include far more content than a regular add-on. Just how much more bang are gamers getting for their buck?

Well, ATDSE is a huge scenario, bigger than the original Kharkov. This is the result of a deliberate decision, when we created the Areas of Operations systems we wanted a reasonably sized battle to deal with for a first attempt. With that experience under our belt, we felt very confident that we could turn the system loose on a huge battle like ATDSE. We are also giving away a free updated version of the Husky scenario from Battles in Italy as well as two user created scenarios, all updated to the Kharkov system.

2.    Are there any particularly brilliant moments in the new scenarios that you’ve enjoyed and would like to share? In what ways do the new scenarios really make the engine shine?

There are many advantages to the Areas of Operations system that is an integral part of the Kharkov engine. One of the most important is that the AI is actually easier to write and control. The map in ATDSE is huge but the AI does a great job. Its now easy to order the defenders of major cities to stay behind and dig in, while other formations fall back. It also much easier to give AI formations orders based on what is happening elsewhere on the battlefield, so that they can make what seem like intelligent reactions to changing battlefield conditions.

Another advantage is that we can use Areas of Operations to reflect the military realities of the situation. In Sicily, Montgomery thought he could win the whole battle by himself and sidelined the Americans to somewhat nebulous ‘flank protection’ duties. The Areas of Operations system allows us to recreate this reality and prevent the US and Commonwealth forces from sharing foxholes, canteens and roads in single combined push to Messina (which could never have happened).  However, the US forces still have a chance to drive north, take Palermo quickly and get to Messina before Monty, as they did historically.

3.    Speaking of the engine, there have been some hefty improvements and additions. Rather than make you drill down the list, can you give us the highlights and more details on what you’re most proud of?

There many changes to the engine that allowed it to better cope with the size and the number of units in the scenario. One change to the AI means that its much easier to make the AI Operations respond to different battlefield events. The change makes one aspect of the AI slightly more complex, but means that writing AI is actually much easier than it used to be. Another change was made to the movement system which won’t be noticed  most of the time, but can mean that a unit surrounded by overwhelming enemy forces will be under such pressure that it can’t even move one hex. The change that I have used the most is the Entrench All function, which now works with the Refit All function. It sounds like a small thing, but when you are dealing with the Russian hordes, it comes in very handy.

4.    Any plans for the future you can share? Where do you see the Kharkov engine going from here on?

Well, we’ll probably be staying on the Eastern Front for a while at least, given the amount of material there is to work with. And we’ll be continuing to upgrade our older games, where possivble, as we did with the Husky scenario, in order to bring them up to the latest standard.

5.    During the design and testing of ATDSE do you have any particularly good anecdotes that you’d like to share?

Most of the more intense discussions/disagreements, which are still an integral part of the SSG design process, (even after all these years), were played out during Kharkov development. The path of ATDSE development ran relatively smoothly, though not as fast as we would have liked. In a scenario as big as ATDSE, it takes a reasonable amount of time to play a turn. We do all the initial testing ourselves, which means that we are all pretty good at playing the first few turns of ATDSE, in which play some data error or balance issue would inevitably be found, and we would start all over again.