T-72 BALKANS ON FIRE announced

 Battlefront.com and IDDK
announce: T-72: BALKANS ON FIRE!

T-72: BALKANS ON FIRE! is a
groundbreaking new TANK SIMULATION by Russian game developers IDDK/Crazy House.
Set in the violent period of civil wars in Yugoslavia from 1991 to 1995, it puts
the player as a Russian volunteer tank commander right into the turret of some
of the best tanks the Russians built – the T-72B, the T-55A and the T-34-85.

Battlefront.com, Inc., an
independent, internet-based publisher and developer of war and strategy games
and home to one of the web’s largest war and strategy game communities, and IDDK,
one of the leading Russian development and publishing houses, disclosed today
that they have signed an exclusive agreement to bring the groundbreaking new
tank simulation T-72: BALKANS ON FIRE! to the market.

The game will not be sold in stores,
but will only be available via mail order from
www.battlefront.com
T-72: BALKANS ON FIRE! is already in beta stage, and is scheduled for a release
in the second quarter of 2005.

STATEMENTS

Dmitri Demenchoock, Chief of Game
Department for IDDK Group, producer:

"When we presented the alpha version
of "T-72: Balkans on fire!" to the public for the first time in February 2004,
one of the Russian journalists said: "It’s generally believed that tank-sims are
dying out. The niche for sims is too small and publishers are not interested in
publishing them. What do you think?” I promptly replied then that this belief
would be no reason for us not to continue making tank sims. The reason is
simple: we don’t do it just for money, we do it because we like what we do.
Well, obviously it looked like mere bravado back then. Later, after meeting
Battlefront.com, I understood that I wasn’t just brave, I really was right! It
seems that Battlefront.com has indeed found a way to turn "small niche" or
"publisher’s scepticism" into actual advantages. Advantages which developers of
"dying" titles can use to continue doing what they love to do most! Without the
skepticism of mass market publishers. How? Well, you better ask them. We did
ask, understood and are already now exploring new possibilities in what is a
very smooth, fun and productive collaboration right from the start. "T-72
Balkans on Fire!" has been conceived as not only a combat game, but also as a
game to combat traditional publishers! We put great efforts into making a
credible combat simulation with attractive graphics and fun gameplay. We
collected invaluable experience and are going to use it to dive even deeper into
the niche of realistic war games and simulations with the help and support from
Battlefront.com. To all those who love tanks and tank simulators we now can say:
the tankless times are over, meet T-72, and stay tuned – this theme is to be
continued."

Charles Moylan, co-founder of
Battlefront.com:

“The time for a realistic, fun,
detailed, and last but not least beautiful to look at tank combat simulation is
way overdue. So when IDDK approached us with their proposal to publish T-72:
Balkans on Fire!, and we got to see the first samples of the game, we were
thrilled! Thrilled about the depth of the simulation, the absolutely stunning
graphics and physics engine, and the realistic yet playable simulation of modern
tank warfare. The time for a realistic, fun, and detailed tank combat simulation
is right now!”

GAME FEATURES

T-72 Balkans on Fire! uses a
powerful and stunning 3D and physics engine to produce state of the art effects
and realism. Below is a lost of some of what awaits you inside!

• Three types of playable tanks
modelled: T-34-85, T-55A and T-72B • Control individual crew stations
(Commander, gunner or driver) • Wide variety of armored vehicles included as
well as infantry, artillery, engineering vehicles, helicopters and trucks •
Command attached units (infantry and armor) up to a full tank platoon •
Mechanized infantry can be transported inside trucks and APCs and on tank hulls
• Detailed modelling of each vehicles fire control systems, main and secondary
weapons, ammunition types, engine management and transmissions, starting and
driving procedures • Realistic night vision combat capabilities – realistically
modelled low light level and infrared sights • More than 70 types of buildings
and installations that can be damaged or destroyed • Over 40 types of plants,
trees and grass sway in the breeze • High-quality modelling of water surfaces
and amphibious vehicle capabilities • 5000+ polygons per vehicle including
detailed bump mapping • Scalable realism settings • Powerful mission and
structure editor available • LAN Network and Online multiplayer

Advanced Physics and Environmental
Game Engine o Vast open spaces with draw distances of more than 2 km o
Topographic height differences on maps of up to 800 m o Realistic passage of
time transitions (day changes to night) o Dynamic weather and environmental
effects: smoke, fog, rain, rainbows, dust, wind effects o Deformable terrain –
shell holes and trenches dug out in real time o Destroyable structures, vehicles
and vegetation o Clouds cast shadows o Optical lens flares and sun glare effects
o Realistic ballistics – wind effects, shell aerodynamics and flight
characteristics, barrel wear and droop o Shell impact angle calculations o
Detailed armor penetration results o Post-penetration shell path and damage
assessments o High Explosive fragmentation dispersal calculations o Realistic
vehicle and structure collision detection and damage o Individual internal and
external vehicle system damage modelling including track damage, engine
overheats, fuel leaks, turret jams, crew casualties, bailouts and more DirectX –
9.0b

For more information on T-72:
Balkans on Fire!, please visit:

http://www.battlefront.com/products/t72/
 

About Battlefront.com

Battlefront.com is an independent,
internet-based publisher and developer of superior war and strategy games, among
them the award-winning 3D tactical WWII combat simulation series Combat Mission
(three successive Wargame of the Year Awards). Other titles include the
innovative Dangerous Waters combined arms naval warfare simulation by SONALYSTS
COMBAT SIMULATIONS, the grand strategy classic Strategic Command – European
Theater (PC Gamer – 90%), as well as the famous TacOps4 modern combat
simulation, a commercial version of the official tactical training tool used by
the U.S. Army. Besides computer games, Battlefront.com offers a selection of
books, prints, and other warfare related articles to one of the world’s largest
and fastest growing war and strategy gaming fan communities!

Find out more at
www.battlefront.com 

About IDDK IDDK Group is an
independent Russian publishing house, incorporating multimedia and games
publishing, manufacturing, distribution and retail networks. The Games
Department of IDDK had been created two years ago and "T-72: Balkans on Fire!",
developed by CrazyHouse, is its first international release. IDDK works in
collaboration with dozens of Russian and Ukrainian game development studios,
focussing on realistic battle sims, innovative action games and kid’s games
based on original story and characters.

For more information about IDDK,
please visit:
http://www.iddk.ru/en
  and
http://games.iddk.ru 
For more information about CrazyHouse, please visit:
http://www.crazyhouse.ru