Close Combat is a 1996 real-time computer wargame developed by Atomic Games and published by Microsoft. Set during World War II, it simulates the conflict between the United States' 29th Infantry Division and Germany's 352nd Infantry Division after the Invasion of Normandy. The player controls an artificially intelligent army whose behavior is dictated by psychological models: each soldier makes decisions based on the circumstances of the battlefield and can disobey the player's orders.
Close Combat began production at Atomic Games under publisher Three-Sixty Pacific in 1992. The following year, Atomic migrated with the project to Avalon Hill, as part of Avalon's attempt to bolster its computer game business. It was originally announced as Beyond Squad Leader, a tie-in to Avalon's million-selling Squad Leader board wargame franchise. However, the companies' relationship was troubled, and Atomic broke away after a high-profile departure at its publisher. Renaming the project Close Combat, Atomic continued production with Microsoft and ultimately released the game in July 1996. Military psychologist Dr. Steven Silver worked with the team to increase the accuracy of Close Combats psychological modeling.
With sales of 200,000 copies, the game was a commercial success. Critics offered praise to its visuals, and several commended its innovation. Conversely, its slow scrolling was often criticized , and some labeled its use of psychological models as a fundamental mistake . The game started the Close Combat series, which encompassed 17 titles and sold in excess of 5 million copies by 2018. Atomic developed four sequels to Close Combat by 2000 and later created Close Combat: Marines for the United States Marine Corps. Following the company's sale to Destineer, the franchise has continued at other developers under publisher Matrix Games since 2007.
Gameplay
Close Combat is a real-time computer wargame that takes place from a top-down graphical perspective, in contrast to the isometric visuals used in strategy games such as Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. A simulation of short-distance battles during World War II, Close Combat recreates the conflict between the United States' 29th Infantry Division and Germany's 352nd Infantry Division in the six weeks after the Invasion of Normandy. The player is able to control either side and manages infantry, crew-served weapons and armor via six commands: move, fire, move fast, defend, hide and smoke. Tactics such as cover, suppression and unit positioning are required to win; soldiers are vulnerable in large groups and while charging. The game's battles play out in bocage environments, open plains, and towns such as Saint-Lô.
Each soldier in Close Combat behaves according to a simulated psyche, which influences his actions, combat readiness, and obedience to the player's commands. Mental and physical combat stresses impact a soldier's behavior and morale; an exhausted or scared squad may grow reluctant to shoot or move, or may fire inaccurately. A soldier under severe stress can become shell shocked and entirely unable to fight, or enter a berserk rage. Units will often disobey poor or dangerous orders, such as exiting cover without proper defense measures. The game's artificial intelligence (AI) system allows even an unattended squad to continue fighting and using tactics.
Close Combat allows players to fight 39 small-scale confrontations or engage in a long-form campaign, which extends from the Normandy landings to the Battle of Saint-Lô. The 29th Infantry Division wins the campaign by claiming Saint-Lô in under 43 days, while the German side focuses on delaying the United States. Players are given pre-selected forces at the start of each mission, and are scored based on the number of enemy units destroyed and objectives captured at the end. In addition to single-player battles against a computer opponent, the game contains multiplayer support for up to two players.
Development Origins Close Combat began production at Atomic Games in 1992, while the company was working on the V for Victory series under publisher Three-Sixty Pacific. It was originally called Project X and focused on real-time infantry tactics in a World War II setting. The inspiration for the project, as a real-time wargame, first came when Atomic president Keith Zabalaoui encountered Dune II. Dr. Steven Silver, a specialist in post-traumatic stress disorder among military veterans, approached the team with his research into state-trait anxiety during this period. He subsequently helped to develop a psychological modeling system for Project Xs soldiers. Zabalaoui later said that the company's more traditional wargames "never really excited" him as a designer, and he noted that the veterans Atomic had consulted for those games "repeatedly" brought up the genre's unrealistic portrayal of soldiers' behavior.
Following a split with Three-Sixty that culminated in a lawsuit for unpaid royalties, Atomic was signed to Avalon Hills computer game division in 1993 by producer Jim Rose. Initially, Avalon offered the team a chance to create a one-to-one adaptation of the company's Squad Leader board wargame. A computer version of Squad Leader had been considered at Avalon Hill for several years, as the game and its sequel, Advanced Squad Leader, were commercial successes in board form, with sales over 1 million copies by 1997. However, the complexity of the series had made this idea "too daunting" in the past, according to Computer Gaming Worlds Terry Coleman. After being shown Project X, Avalon Hill chose to adopt and rebrand the game as Beyond Squad Leader, and the Atomic team started developing this project and the World at War series for their new publisher. This partnership was a key piece of Avalon Hill's effort, led by Rose, to revive its computer game branch in the face of flagging board game sales.
Public anticipation for Beyond Squad Leader was high. William R. Trotter of PC Gamer US declared it "perhaps the most eagerly awaited PC wargame ever", thanks in part to the board titles' "fanatical" fanbase. However, Atomic's project was never set to be a literal adaptation of the physical Squad Leader game. Breaking from its source material, the adaptation focused on simulating the psychology of small groups of soldiers via real-time gameplay. The soldiers' AI dictated much of their behavior beyond the player's control. Zabalaoui explained in 1993 that he hoped to capture the experience of real-world military commanders, who "cannot tell what [their] men are going to do in any given situation until it happens". To emphasize this core element, the team automated Advanced Squad Leaders detailed calculations and "focus[ed] on what the game is really all about, which is tactics, and on the play of the game rather than looking up rules", according to Zabalaoui. He later noted that his goal was to recreate the spirit of Squad Leader without adopting its design. Zabalaoui expected Beyond Squad Leaders deviations to prove controversial from the start, and the decision subsequently polarized the wargame community, particularly the biggest fans of the original board series.
With Avalon Hill Beyond Squad Leader underwent a long and troubled development cycle, and Atomic and Avalon Hill experienced creative friction during the creation of both it and the World at War games. Computer Gaming World columnist Alan Emrich wrote in 1995, "To say there was no love lost between [...] Jim Rose and Atomic's Keith Zabalaoui would be a gracious understatement." The game was originally announced for a September 1994 release, but Computer Gaming World reported a rumor in July 1994 that the project had been postponed to early 1995. By April that year, PC Gamer US estimated that Beyond Squad Leader was 65% complete and on track for a summer launch. It was ultimately described as vaporware Stephen Poole of GameSpot, while William R. Trotter noted that it "looked like it would never come out." Rose later complained that Avalon Hill's parent company, Monarch Office Services, was disinterested and "conservative" in allocating funds and distribution to the computer game division. He argued that the lack of support led to an unnecessarily slow development cycle for Beyond Squad Leader.
By April 1995, Beyond Squad Leaders team size had reached four main programmers, led by coder Steve Mariotti. Roughly 10 team members were ultimately involved in the game. Atomic adopted a relatively loose team structure for the project: Zabalaoui provided the general plan and oversight, while others designed many sections in large part by themselves. Zabalaoui found that this type of delegated work deepened the game and made development more enjoyable. An overriding goal across the team was to attract both mainstream strategy game players and hardcore wargamers, the latter of whom were known for being difficult to please. According to Zabalaoui, Atomic tried to combine detailed simulation for hardcore players with accessible audiovisuals and a streamlined interface. Historical research for the project continued through the planning stage and into production.
Collaborating with Dr. Steven Silver, Atomic gave each soldier an individual anxiety index based on tiredness, preparedness, combat experience, past successes, and other factors. According to T. Liam McDonald of boot, these factors were reduced to numbers and incorporated into "probability tables" that determine soldiers' actions and change in response to events during play. Alongside the soldiers' individual psychological models, Atomic designed a model for a squad's overall anxiety; programmer John Anderson explained that "the influence of [the] team and how that team reacts as a unit makes a huge difference as to whether an individual soldier will actually obey [an] order." Two complementary algorithms, tactical (TAI) and strategic (SAI), power the game's AI system. While TAI controls psychological modeling and low-level action, SAI "is constantly analyzing the battlefield for enemy troops and keeping tabs on the big picture", Zabalaoui said. The game ultimately grew to 2,000 source lines of code that relate to psychological modeling, and more CPU time was allocated to its AI simulation than to its visuals.
By June 1995, Rose had left Avalon Hill to found TalonSoft, and Beyond Squad Leader had entered alpha testing. He felt that the game's limited budget and support intensified after Monarch launched the costly magazine Girls' Life, and he left for TalonSoft as a result. Rose said at the time, "If they'd given me the power and money to do what needed doing, Beyond Squad Leader would be out by now." Avalon Hill Director of Software Development Bill Levay replied that, while the company's decisions "certainly are conservative", the board and computer game divisions were profitable and their overall situation was "really pretty good".
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