2011 Q4 News Archive
All former front page news posts are retired to this News Archive. Preserved mostly for posterity, the posts herein - particularly the new feature announcements - vividly illustrate how far we've come since emerging onto the wargaming scene in June 2010.
Comments are still active on each and every post no matter how old. Should you choose to continue an old discussion the subscription system remains active and previous posters will be notified as usual.
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| Bounties are back, silently | 2011-12-29 05:43 |
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I hope everyone is winding down an enjoyable end to 2011... The bounty system, aka PG-HQ's Most Wanted, has been revived from stasis. All bounties owed have been paid in full, and at the same rates of gradual adjustment they would have received had it been running continuously since late August. Sadly, those of you who were owed bounties did not receive interest on the late payments ;-) Until the new plays and AARs system goes live, bounties will run silently: you will not be immediately awarded a bounty when you record a new play or write a new AAR. Instead, your bounty goes in a queue that pays out every 48 hours when the value recalculation occurs. This is a temporary fix to bridge the gap between the old and new systems. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line anytime! Enjoy your holidays, folks, and play as much as you can! |
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| (news archives) | ~ Shad |
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| Honoring Our Best, Vol. 12 | 2011-12-23 19:38 |
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Some said it would never be done, some said it would be done but would also take years, no one imagined there would be a soldier so determined, so efficient, as the man they call "beast013". Without complaint, battle after battle, marching ever forwards, he has slain the granddaddy of all tours - Eastern Front Deluxe Edition. To put his incredible achievement in the proper perspective, PG-HQ has prepared a short statistical breakdown of the path of destruction beast013 has wrought across the Soviet Union:
 Outstanding! |
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| (news archives) | ~ Shad |
| 10 Comments | |
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Oops! >_<
Was in a hurry. Fixed now! Thanks for catching that so quickly buddy! :-)
Andrew/Shad:
First, thank you for the kind words and great write-up. The campaign ribbon looks fantastic as well. I thought I would take a moment to reflect on the Panzer Grenadier System.
In the ‘70’s I played the crap out of PanzerBlitz and Panzer Leader from Avalon Hill. While both systems had their issues, both served a need for a playable tactical level game. I also played Squad Leader and Advanced Squad Leader. While they offered a finer detail for tactical combat, I felt that one needed a degree in ASL to play/remember all the rules. Too much detail/overkill for me.
When Panzer Grenadier came out in 1998, I was very excited as it offered a more detailed system than PanzerBlitz/Panzer Leader offered (with more scenarios) and still kept I easy and playable (versus ASL). I bought the games as they were released, but were forced to sell them due to a divorce.
A few years ago, I re-discovered the PG system, saw the multitude of new modules and decided to get back into the system. Thanks to some great timing in my life (kids older, furloughs/shutdown days from my job, my girlfriend working at night), I had time to pull out the games and start playing. Airborne was great and simple (low counter count) and got me going strong.
I decided on Eastern Front Deluxe simply because I love World War II east front (I have a Master Degree in World War II Military History), so I was up for the challenge. I had also read comments and feedback that a number of the scenarios in the game were un-balanced or unplayable. To that end, I decided to see for myself. Are some scenarios unbalanced? Yes they are. Does that seem unfair? To me, no it doesn’t. Again, as a historian, in war things are not always equal. Sometime people get a bad command in a hopeless situation and have to make the most of it. In my mind, if a scenario seems unbalanced, I would tell you to play it twice, once for each side. In the end, see who does worse/better as the inferior side and judge from there. Sometime it’s easier for people to piss and moan versus thinking outside the box and finding a better solution.
Overall, I love the PG system and will continue to play it. Moreover, thank you Andrew for you dedication in setting up the PGHQ site and doing all the work you do. I know finding it helped me get back into the system. I’m sure others will agree.
Kevin Combs “beast013”
Kevin. nice to see some words from you. After such an almighty effort I was wanting to know more about the 'guy'. Congratulations on a fine effort. Everything will seem like a walk in the park to complete from herein !
Hi everyone: if I have understood Kevin has played the whole Eastern Front 111 scenarios within seven months... In this case I can only say that I am extremely jealous. Greetings to all the increasing family of PG, and wishes for a fantastic 2012 full of the fun, but also learnings and deep respect for war, that we find in this exceptional game. David, Spain.
Kevin Congratulations, I am glad you rediscovered PG! It will be interesting to see what you play next? I like to mix up my play a lot more then you do. I play a little from each game/supplement so I don't get tired one theater and it nice to have variety but everybody does it differently!
Kevin, Congratulations to adding to our enjoyment of both the hobby and hisotry. A great feat! As a military historian and avid player, I loved hearing your viewpoints on things and felt the same as you did about the evolution of PzG vs. older systems as well as the take on ASL and playability. PzG to me offers the best mix of playability and demonstrating the principles of combat and men under fire while showing the historically diverse nature of each combatant's army's, equipment, and terrain. Thanks again and good luck on future campaign's - what are you tackling now?
Congrats Kevin, wish I had that much time. Not quite retired yet, preparing my house to move in my sister-in-law, and have a stay at home wife who craves my attention in the evenings.
Looking forward to following your footsteps after retirement.
Like you I began gaming with PB, I played every successor and competitor game published, and came to the conclusion with Beyond Normandy that the perfect PB replacement had been published.
| If not Hamid Karzai, then who? | 2011-12-06 16:22 |
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As of this morning, 294 members have indicated a country of residence in their profile. Among them, 11 are listed as residing in Afghanistan. While many members of the armed forces enjoy wargaming, having nearly 4% of our entire muster stationed in Afghanistan seemed a bit high... And my suspicions were confirmed when I saw one of our guys list himself as Afghanistan, Texas, Kerrville. Just a friendly reminder folks: the country select on your My PG-HQ Profile page defaults to the first country on the list - Afghanistan. Take an extra 2 seconds when you enlist to make sure that's really where you are! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with the Politburo... ;-) |
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| (news archives) | ~ Shad |
| 1 Comment | |
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| December Promotions... | 2011-12-01 01:00 |
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For exemplary service in combat, and dedication to Panzer Grenadier Headquarters, the following promotions are conferred: splat99 is promoted 1 rank from Recruit maverik is promoted 1 rank from Private KirkH is promoted 6 ranks from Private First Class tanzerleader is promoted 1 rank from Private First Class Michael Murphy is promoted 1 rank from Sergeant beast013 is promoted 1 rank from First Sergeant campsawyer is promoted 1 rank from Sergeant Major A lot of veterans reached new milestones today, and KirkH finally got around to inputting his 120+ plays. We also set a new record for site traffic this month. Thanks for everything, folks! |
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| (news archives) | ~ Shad |
| 2 Comments | |
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to Private 
to Staff Sergeant 
| 200! | 2011-11-28 02:14 |
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Panzer Grenadier Headquarters congratulates the inestimable mike perryman for recording his 200th play, which happened to be Edelweiss: Expanded #9 - The Litsa Line. During his run to 200, Mike has logged:
Amazing! |
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| (news archives) | ~ Shad |
| 4 Comments | |
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Pretty good Mike, but you never post any AAR's! If I skipped those, I could catch you! LOL :)
But Jay, isn't Mike mixing up his plays whilst writing and researching downloads (I know you have done 2 but he has written many of them), scenario books and box-sets ?
And as well as those already done I believe he is still compiling many more scenarios.
I'll give him a pass on the AAR's BUT he has to catch up when he jacks in the scenario writing :-)
| Honoring Our Best, Vol. 11 | 2011-11-25 02:16 |
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In early 1944 the Soviets were flying high, winning battle after battle and pushing the Axis back towards the wasteland they crawled out of. But the Germans had a secret weapon, a tactical mastermind by the name of Matt W. Over ten grinding, bloody battles in Romanian Soil: Battles for Targu Frumos, 1944 he led the combined German-Romanian forces to 8 victories, stopping the Soviet advance dead in its tracks. When asked to sum up his performance in the campaign, Matt deadpanned: not a bad body of work, I'd give myself a 4.1 out of 5... Matt W, in recognition and commemoration of your accomplishment, you are hereby awarded this ribbon:  |
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| (news archives) | ~ Shad |
| 5 Comments | |
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Allow me to preempt any sniggering about the ribbon colors by pointing out that they come directly from the Targu Frumos Coat of Arms!
The colors lose something without the rabid wolf and castle...
Thanks, though, it's a great supplement with a huge variety in only 10 scenarios.
Hi Matt, well done (again ! phew!). Funnily enough one of my PBEM mates offered scenario 3, Slowing the Juggernaut from this supplement last night as our next game. Having glanced at it, that looks a scenario to look forward to.
Well done again.
And Shad, good idea Re: The town colours.
| Visiting PG-HQ on your mobile phone / tablet ...? | 2011-11-12 03:50 |
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Over the last 30 days, 6% of our site traffic has come from people using mobile devices. For the curious, the device breakdown is as follows:
In 2010 we had nearly zero mobile traffic, but ever since January of this year it has steadily crept upwards. If you're occasionally browsing PG-HQ on a mobile device, I'm interested in hearing from you:
We have comments now, so let's use them! Please share your thoughts below! |
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| (news archives) | ~ Shad |
| 2 Comments | |
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Andrew, the amdroid is me. I am on the road alot so a quick peek at the site and possible read of the AARs
| Articles return! (and other news...) | 2011-11-10 20:46 |
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After a five month hiatus, the Articles section has been revived with an enlightened examination of our Tour of Duty Medals by Matt W. I must confess my friend submitted this article in early August, and the blame for delay in publishing rests solely on my head. In other news, site development continues steadily behind the scenes. Between being a new dad at home, and a slave at the office, I get 30~40 solid minutes of site coding done each morning on the way to work. Obviously not optimal, but small steps are better than no steps! As for when Plays & AARs 2.0 will finally go live? I think I'll stick with a fairly attainable milestone: probably before Kursk is released! ;-) |
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| (news archives) | ~ Shad |
| 2 Comments | |
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Andrew, no apology necessary, some articles need to age a little, like wine. Besides, we know that your time has been somewhat otherwise occupied these days! I remember months of working through sleep deprivation!!
Thanks for all the great effort you put into this site Andrew!!! Now where is the War of The Worlds scenario? :)
I have two small AARs I could post for it!
| November Promotions... | 2011-11-01 01:00 |
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For exemplary service in combat, and dedication to Panzer Grenadier Headquarters, the following promotions are conferred: Buquis is promoted 1 rank from Recruit KirkH is promoted 1 rank from Private Michael Murphy is promoted 1 rank from Corporal beast013 is promoted 1 rank from Master Sergeant driddle01 is promoted 1 rank from Sergeant Major We're nearing the 18 months of operation mark, and it's really quite amazing how quickly some people are getting promoted! Keep on playing, everyone! |
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| (news archives) | ~ Shad |
| 0 Comments | |
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to First Sergeant | Honoring Our Best, Vol. 10 | 2011-10-29 21:18 |
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Italians? Scorpions? Blinding sandstorms? Tusken Raiders? None could prevent mike perryman from trudging onwards, dune after dune. Setting a new record for length of completed tour, Afrika Korps: The Desert War has fallen to our most distinguished member. mike perryman, in recognition and commemoration of your accomplishment, you are hereby awarded this ribbon:  |
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| (news archives) | ~ Shad |
| 10 Comments | |
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Good point Alan. The PG-HQ article with him was great. I know Mike likes to be a private man and he probably has not the inclination (taking time out of the equation) to do so ........ If he NOW started catch-up, well .... thats a horrible lot of writing ahead of him !! :-)
Mike writes a lot... he writes all those scenarios you love to play, and he wrote us a Kursk design article last year which I've been holding onto in case Kursk ever arrives...
that tab makes me want to break out Afrika Korps again... or maybe Desert Rats and see what that tab might look like...
| [FIXED] AARs are broken (not viewable), I'm working on it... | 2011-10-08 06:50 |
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Not sure how, not sure when, but AARs have disappeared from the site. They're in the database, but the code that retrieves them has a bug in it and is coming up empty-handed every time. I should have this fixed in 24 hours or less, and will update this post at that time... Special thanks to Enrique for bringing this to my attention! UPDATE: all is back to as it should be. Sorry for the error. Some behind the scenes work related to Plays & AARs 2.0 confused our AAR bot... |
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| (news archives) | ~ Shad |
| 6 Comments | |
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Good news Shad,
There's a few to catch up on that people have written here since its been 'down'. Well done, and amongst your busy schedule keep up the good PG work when able.
I had planned to wrap up the P&A 2.0 upgrade during China's National Holiday (first week of October) when I had 9 days off... but my wife vetoed that and implemented Case Infant -> Daddy takes care of 5 month old baby while Mommy sleeps, does yoga, and goes shopping.
I made the rookie father mistake of complaining once. It didn't go well! ;-)
So yeah, not quite there yet, but making progress! Just gotta take it a piece at a time during my daily commute and spare moments on the weekends...
Shad, Looks like you got a case of advanced infantitis. But fear not a cure has been found. Simply powder the exposed area and wait 18 years. Works every time!
PatC
"I made the rookie father mistake of complaining once. It didn't go well! ;-)"
Believe me, you'll never make that mistake again!
| October Promotions... | 2011-10-01 01:00 |
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For exemplary service in combat, and dedication to Panzer Grenadier Headquarters, the following promotions are conferred: McKinley is promoted 3 ranks from Recruit Ifig is promoted 3 ranks from Recruit Daedalus is promoted 1 rank from Recruit caryn is promoted 1 rank from Private plloyd1010 is promoted 1 rank from Private tanzerleader is promoted 1 rank from Private beast013 is promoted 1 rank from Sergeant First Class enrique is promoted 1 rank from First Sergeant Looks like September was a good month for gaming - Three recruits breaking out, and a half dozen veterans moving up the ranks! Great job everyone! |
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| (news archives) | ~ Shad |
| 0 Comments | |
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to Master Sergeant 
| << View 2012 Q1 Archives | View 2011 Q3 Archives >> |