Been playing a lot of UBOAT recently and while tinkering about the idea of a 2D pacific theatre sub game I stumbled on this gem. I love the concept, look, and the dev log. Can't wait to see more the log as an aspiring game dev and to try the game out.
Thank you. It’s true that the Pacific theater could get more love. After Atlantic ‘41, I‘m considering making a sequel putting the player in command of a B-29 bomber in the Pacific.
Thank you. Interestingly I began making games on the Atari ST a long time ago. I can’t imagine how you would have it fit in memory and run at a decent frame rate though, but maybe a ST genius could.
Johnatan has recently re-done Lotus Turbo Challenge with blitter - with great results - assuming that you would take on Atari STE's blitter and 4MB RAM which is common: https://github.com/jonathanopalise/lotus-ste - that could be worth looking at. Of course base system with 1MB RAM an no blitter would be a thing too. Atari ST has now cheap SCSI (ACSI) emulator, so you can have 512MB assets on SD card stored and read quite quickly. And we all remember Silent Service II!
Thank you. There’s multiple reasons for this choice. I wanted the WW2 setting because I like the hands on feel of vintage technology, which gives more room to the human component in decisions and tactics. Of course the conflict itself is unmatched in terms of scope, stakes, and historical significance. Now regarding Germany, it can be broken down into two main aspects: technology and history.
First, through the influence of the admiral Donitz, it was the only nation that saw the potential of submarines in a combat capacity. Even the British regarded submarines as no more than mere coastal reconnaissance vessels. And so early on the Germans put a lot of effort in improving the technology, which turned their U-boats into the most effective combat submarines. I also think they look the coolest, which matters for the game’s visuals.
Now from a historical standpoint, they played an immense role in the battle of the Atlantic, which many WW2 experts consider one of the pivotal moments of the conflict. Had the unrestricted U-boat campaign been a success, Germany could have blocked all supply routes from the United States. In that scenario, war would have taken a very different turn, possibly giving the victory to the Germans. But Hitler didn’t fully commit to Donitz strategy, and didn’t allow to build nearly enough boats to destroy ships faster than the Americans could build them.
It’s a great opportunity from a gameplay standpoint, because U-boats started with the upper hand, being a real threat to the allies. It offers a gentle introduction to the novice player. But around 1942 U-boats began to lose ground, and by the end of the war they had become the hunted, and their crews ended up with the highest casualty rate of all armed forces, losing 75% of their men.
So I guess you can see how that choice makes sense. I’m not sure what you mean by narrative, but if I understand “story”, then one thing I’m not a big fan of is dialogue and pre scripted events. They tend to give a predictable, rigid structure to the campaigns. My ideal is a game that has enough interlocking mechanics and gameplay depth to create a loose organically generated backbone that lets the player fill in the blanks and live their own story, if you can call it that.
I go over these concepts in various devlogs if you’re interested in going deeper. But this one is a good introduction to the game:
Seems like an amazing project! Will this be available through the catalog, or side-loading only? Either is fine, just curious were to look for it first in the future!
Thank you. Frankly I don’t know yet. I can imagine either, if the catalog will have me. Not sure about both co existing though. I’ll communicate about it when the time comes and see what the community wants.
I'd be flabbergasted if the Catalog wouldn't welcome this with open arms! It's completely unique in genre and gameplay for the Playdate, and you're putting insane amounts of polish and care into it.
Thank you! So far Panic has been very supportive of the project, so I’m hopeful to be able to bring it to the catalog, but I must keep pushing for making the best game possible. The hard part is to keep the distance.
This game looks amazing, the atmosphere, details, history, etc. Also if its not too much to ask I would like to know if this game has any plans in the future to come out in any other platforms say for example steam?
Thank you. It’s unknown at the moment. I’ve had numerous requests for a port on Steam. It’s something I’ll study after the Playdate release if the interest from the community is there. If I port it to computers however, it won’t be just a straight port. I would adapt it to take advantage of the more powerful platform but keeping the art direction in line.
Yes! I apologize for the delay. Travel to France and other things delayed the update but it’s coming this week. I will go over the tactical chart almost fully implemented.
Just want to say, I am enjoy reading your development log. Your log gives interesting insights into your creative process. I can’t help but reflect on my board and PC gaming experiences after reading these. Thanks.
Thank you! You’re right. In spite of being a Playdate game, Atlantic ‘41 will play like an early 90’s computer game, with strong influences from board games and tabletop wargames.
I just cant believe. This is exactly the game i was looking for so long for my play.date. For a big fan of submarines its just like a christmas! Please try to release it before end of the year! I will pay any money for this game!
Thank you! I have to be honest though. The game won’t release this year. That much is certain. It’s of a larger scope than say, Silent Service, which took around 18 months to develop by a team of several people working full time, and I make Atlantic ‘41 all by myself on my spare time. I don’t want to delay the game more than necessary but I also want to make every effort so that it doesn’t disappoint in the end.
Of course, you are absolutely right - take as much time as you need. If you will need any help with beta testing, just shout :) ps. Silent Service was made in 8 months :-P
I stand corrected. I many have read this about Silent Service 2, which was quite more complex. But still I think that you can measure the workload. When the game reaches beta I’ll most likely post a call for testers here so you’ll be welcome to try the game.
Thank you very much! And congratulations on getting the Playdate. I remember when I got mine. It was en event! I’ll do my best to make the game live up to your expectations :)
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Been playing a lot of UBOAT recently and while tinkering about the idea of a 2D pacific theatre sub game I stumbled on this gem. I love the concept, look, and the dev log. Can't wait to see more the log as an aspiring game dev and to try the game out.
Thank you. It’s true that the Pacific theater could get more love. After Atlantic ‘41, I‘m considering making a sequel putting the player in command of a B-29 bomber in the Pacific.
Man, we need this ported to Atari ST (CPU MC68k@8MHz, 1MB RAM, 32kB screen memory, 640x400 1-bit)
Thank you. Interestingly I began making games on the Atari ST a long time ago. I can’t imagine how you would have it fit in memory and run at a decent frame rate though, but maybe a ST genius could.
Johnatan has recently re-done Lotus Turbo Challenge with blitter - with great results - assuming that you would take on Atari STE's blitter and 4MB RAM which is common: https://github.com/jonathanopalise/lotus-ste - that could be worth looking at. Of course base system with 1MB RAM an no blitter would be a thing too. Atari ST has now cheap SCSI (ACSI) emulator, so you can have 512MB assets on SD card stored and read quite quickly. And we all remember Silent Service II!
Just found out about this, looking forward to it
Thank you. New devlog coming up this week.
This looks rad. I'm having weird flashbacks to Gato
Thank you. Different sub but similar idea :)
This looks gorgeous. Curious about the choice of playing as Germany in WW2 and how the narrative will be handled.
Thank you. There’s multiple reasons for this choice. I wanted the WW2 setting because I like the hands on feel of vintage technology, which gives more room to the human component in decisions and tactics. Of course the conflict itself is unmatched in terms of scope, stakes, and historical significance.
Now regarding Germany, it can be broken down into two main aspects: technology and history.
First, through the influence of the admiral Donitz, it was the only nation that saw the potential of submarines in a combat capacity. Even the British regarded submarines as no more than mere coastal reconnaissance vessels. And so early on the Germans put a lot of effort in improving the technology, which turned their U-boats into the most effective combat submarines. I also think they look the coolest, which matters for the game’s visuals.
Now from a historical standpoint, they played an immense role in the battle of the Atlantic, which many WW2 experts consider one of the pivotal moments of the conflict. Had the unrestricted U-boat campaign been a success, Germany could have blocked all supply routes from the United States. In that scenario, war would have taken a very different turn, possibly giving the victory to the Germans. But Hitler didn’t fully commit to Donitz strategy, and didn’t allow to build nearly enough boats to destroy ships faster than the Americans could build them.
It’s a great opportunity from a gameplay standpoint, because U-boats started with the upper hand, being a real threat to the allies. It offers a gentle introduction to the novice player. But around 1942 U-boats began to lose ground, and by the end of the war they had become the hunted, and their crews ended up with the highest casualty rate of all armed forces, losing 75% of their men.
So I guess you can see how that choice makes sense. I’m not sure what you mean by narrative, but if I understand “story”, then one thing I’m not a big fan of is dialogue and pre scripted events. They tend to give a predictable, rigid structure to the campaigns. My ideal is a game that has enough interlocking mechanics and gameplay depth to create a loose organically generated backbone that lets the player fill in the blanks and live their own story, if you can call it that.
I go over these concepts in various devlogs if you’re interested in going deeper. But this one is a good introduction to the game:
Atlantic ‘41 in a Nutshell
I am SO stoked for this!!!
Thank you :)
Not everyone has a Playdate. Will this be ported to something like Pico-8/Löve/Liko-12?
I haven’t had any request for it so far so it’s unlikely.
You could download the Playdate SDK for free from their website and play it that way
Waiting🙌🏻
Seems like an amazing project! Will this be available through the catalog, or side-loading only? Either is fine, just curious were to look for it first in the future!
Thank you. Frankly I don’t know yet. I can imagine either, if the catalog will have me. Not sure about both co existing though. I’ll communicate about it when the time comes and see what the community wants.
Great, thanks!
I'd be flabbergasted if the Catalog wouldn't welcome this with open arms! It's completely unique in genre and gameplay for the Playdate, and you're putting insane amounts of polish and care into it.
Thank you! So far Panic has been very supportive of the project, so I’m hopeful to be able to bring it to the catalog, but I must keep pushing for making the best game possible. The hard part is to keep the distance.
This game looks amazing, the atmosphere, details, history, etc. Also if its not too much to ask I would like to know if this game has any plans in the future to come out in any other platforms say for example steam?
Thank you. It’s unknown at the moment. I’ve had numerous requests for a port on Steam. It’s something I’ll study after the Playdate release if the interest from the community is there. If I port it to computers however, it won’t be just a straight port. I would adapt it to take advantage of the more powerful platform but keeping the art direction in line.
ALARM!!!
FLUTEN!
Cant'wait for it. Great project.!
Great job, my man!
Super amazing 👏
Is this the final version?
When is it coming to the Catalog?
Thank you very much! The game is still early in development. I don’t know when it will be released yet.
Looks absolutely beautiful and very intriguing!
Thank you!
Any updates?
It’s coming in a few days. Christmas break didn’t help.
Stephan! We are waiting for xmas gift! Maybe small update on the site with article or something ? :-) <3
Yes! I apologize for the delay. Travel to France and other things delayed the update but it’s coming this week. I will go over the tactical chart almost fully implemented.
just wow! Love your design and writing. Keep going :)
Thank you!
Just want to say, I am enjoy reading your development log. Your log gives interesting insights into your creative process. I can’t help but reflect on my board and PC gaming experiences after reading these. Thanks.
Thank you! You’re right. In spite of being a Playdate game, Atlantic ‘41 will play like an early 90’s computer game, with strong influences from board games and tabletop wargames.
I just cant believe. This is exactly the game i was looking for so long for my play.date. For a big fan of submarines its just like a christmas! Please try to release it before end of the year! I will pay any money for this game!
Thank you! I have to be honest though. The game won’t release this year. That much is certain. It’s of a larger scope than say, Silent Service, which took around 18 months to develop by a team of several people working full time, and I make Atlantic ‘41 all by myself on my spare time. I don’t want to delay the game more than necessary but I also want to make every effort so that it doesn’t disappoint in the end.
Of course, you are absolutely right - take as much time as you need. If you will need any help with beta testing, just shout :) ps. Silent Service was made in 8 months :-P
I stand corrected. I many have read this about Silent Service 2, which was quite more complex. But still I think that you can measure the workload. When the game reaches beta I’ll most likely post a call for testers here so you’ll be welcome to try the game.
This is so cool.
Thank you.
Just got my playdate and this is what I the most excited about. Keep it up!!! I love the look and feels it gives me.
Thank you very much! And congratulations on getting the Playdate. I remember when I got mine. It was en event! I’ll do my best to make the game live up to your expectations :)
Can’t wait! Like no rush but any ETA?
Too early to give one I’m afraid. It would most likely be wrong.
Just wanted to say I've been enjoying reading all these devblog posts! I don't even have a Playdate but it's fun to read about.
Thank you for the kind support :)