"We definitely hoped to release console versions of Tannenberg from the very start."

Was it always the plan to eventually bring Tannenberg over to consoles, or did the reception to the game compel you to do so?

We definitely hoped to release console versions of Tannenberg from the very start, but we were hesitant to get people’s hopes up until we could be certain that it would be feasible. Following the release of the game and the great reception, we were able to say with confidence that the console versions are on the way.

Will Tannenberg support cross-platform play?

Unfortunately we don’t have any plans to support cross-platform play. In this kind of game, gamers using different devices and control methods could find themselves mismatched in response time or accuracy. Perhaps more important is that we will continue to support and update Tannenberg after launch, and it’s much quicker to push updates to the PC version. This makes it difficult to keep the PC and console versions in sync all the time, which would also make cross-platform very difficult.

Did you have to make any changes to the game’s balance of any sort to make sure it was better suited to consoles?

We try to keep all versions of the game in sync as much as possible in terms of balance. This is actually another reason why we don’t support cross-platform – it means we can balance the game to be as fun as possible without needing to worry about whether particular mechanics give an unfair advantage to players on a particular platform.

Will Tannenberg on the consoles have any additional features or content not seen in the PC release, or are you aiming for parity across all versions?

We always aim for parity across all versions of our games. In fact, we have a big update coming soon for the console versions of our first game Verdun, which will add all the latest new content we’ve brought to the PC version of the game.

"We wanted to portray the fighting of the First World War as accurately as possible while making necessary concessions to gameplay, and it’s something our fans expect from us!"

Do you have plans to add any new modes to Tannenberg down the line?

While we don’t have plans for new core game modes, we do like to offer players unique events within the game. For instance, we recently ran a special ‘Wolf Truce’ event in the PC version of the game, where players could find their battlefields swarmed by hordes of hungry wolves. They could call a ceasefire to deal with the new threat… or try to take advantage of the chaos. That wasn’t exactly a new mode per se, but it was definitely a lot of fun!

Authenticity is something that Tannenberg puts a lot of emphasis on- was that something that you knew from the get go was going to be very important to the game’s experience?

Definitely! Authenticity is one of our core values, and it was also central in our previous game Verdun and the whole WW1 Game Series in general. We wanted to portray the fighting of the First World War as accurately as possible while making necessary concessions to gameplay, and it’s something our fans expect from us! We put a lot of effort into ensuring that uniforms, weapons, and other details are correct. The maps in the game are made up of elements inspired by real photographs and records of actual battles to ensure that they are plausible locations that someone from the time would not have been surprised to encounter.

Has adding a single player campaign ever been something you’ve considered, or do you see this as a purely multiplayer experience?

While it would be awesome to create a single player campaign if we had unlimited time and money, we’re an indie company and we have to carefully focus our efforts and resources. Keeping the game focused on multiplayer battles makes it possible for us to create a more immersive experience. It’s worth noting that we do have AI bots in the game, so you can play on your own if you so wish!

Do you have any plans to launch on the Switch?

We don’t currently have any plans for a Switch release… but never say never.

Will the game will feature Xbox One X specific enhancements? What can players expect if they are playing the game on Xbox One X? Is 4K/60fps on the cards?

We’ll definitely be using a higher resolution on the Xbox One X, however we will also be upgrading all our other graphical effects settings instead of going just for 4K. We will use 4K if possible (and otherwise a middle ground like 3K), but we want to make all the other parts of the game look better as well, we have yet to see what we can pull off with the power of the X. We’re not just upgrading to 4K and be done with it, we want to get more out of the Xbox One X!

"Performance is something we will be working hard on in the next 2 months."

And how will the PS4 Pro version turn out in terms of resolution and frame rate?

Very similar to Xbox One X. We’ll be doing the same graphical tweaks, and if there’s room left we’d also like to upgrade the resolution towards 4K. For instance, 3K could be a nice middle ground combined with other graphical upgrades.

How is the game running on the original Xbox One and PS4, frame rate and resolution wise?

Performance is something we will be working hard on in the next 2 months, so this is not final. However we’re currently aiming for 1920×1080 at 30 FPS. We will explore if it makes sense for us to use adaptive resolution if that helps guarantee a stable frame rate.

The PS5 specs were recently revealed in an interview with Wired. What are your thoughts on that?

We’re always happy with more powerful hardware as that can make our job easier… although, since consumer expectations rise along with the hardware quality that’s not always the case in the end, haha.

We’re most excited about the SSD drives as that will make one of the biggest differences: finally, speedy console loading times!

The PS5 will have a Zen 2 CPU processor, which is a major leap over the Jaguar found in the PS4. How will this help in games development?

We use the Unity game engine for all our games, and we are always CPU bottlenecked. So with such an improvement to our weakest link (CPU), it will help greatly for getting better performance and producing better looking games.

"We don’t currently have any plans for a Switch release… but never say never."

What is your take on Sony’s reluctant policy on cross-play with Xbox and Nintendo?

While we don’t think cross-platform between PC and consoles would necessarily work for our game, it would be great to support cross-platform between different consoles if it were possible.

Do you think cross platform will be one of the defining features of next-gen consoles?

Predicting the future is a risky business! To be honest, it doesn’t feel like there are the right conditions or the right mood among the big studios for cross-platform to be a major feature of next-gen consoles right now, but things can always change! If it does happen, it’ll probably be one of those things where it feels so natural that you wonder how people ever lived without it.

Much has been said about cross-platform play among the current generation of consoles. The success of Epic Games’ Fortnite: Battle Royale or Phoenix Labs’ Dauntless, the latter having 60 percent of its parties formed through cross-play, does mean there’s room for it. With the current generation winding down and next gen consoles to be revealed in the coming year, could cross-play become a major feature for the PS5 or next Xbox?

GamingBolt spoke to Jos Hoebe of Blackmill Games, the studio behind realistic World War 1 shooter Tannenberg, about the same. We first asked about Sony’s reluctance for cross-play with the Xbox brand. Hoebe’s take is as follows: “While we don’t think cross-platform between PC and consoles would necessarily work for our game, it would be great to support cross-platform between different consoles if it were possible.”

As for whether cross-play will become a defining features of next gen consoles, he answered, “Predicting the future is a risky business! To be honest, it doesn’t feel like there are the right conditions or the right mood among the big studios for cross-platform to be a major feature of next-gen consoles right now, but things can always change! If it does happen, it’ll probably be one of those things where it feels so natural that you wonder how people ever lived without it.”

With services like Google Stadia coming up and offering cross-play across phones, tablets, PCs, and whatnot, the boundaries between Microsoft and Sony could lower sooner rather than later. After all, Sony is collaborating with Microsoft on cloud-based gaming and AI for the future. Who knows where that partnership could lead?

When the PlayStation 5 had its specs revealed in an exclusive story with Wired, there was quite the hype around what it could do. Subsequent presentations showcasing the speed of the solid state drive, especially when it comes to recent PS4 games like Spider-Man, are only that much more exciting. The question is: What do other developers, like Blackmill Games of Verdun and Tannenberg fame, think about it?

We had a chance to speak to Blackmill Games’ Jos Hoebe about the PS5’s specs and what he thought about them. He said, “We’re always happy with more powerful hardware as that can make our job easier… although, since consumer expectations rise along with the hardware quality that’s not always the case in the end, haha.

“We’re most excited about the SSD drives as that will make one of the biggest differences: finally, speedy console loading times!”

The PS5 will sport, among other things, an AMD Zen 2 CPU, which is a big jump over the PS4’s Jaguar. What impact will this have on development? Hoebe said, “We use the Unity game engine for all our games, and we are always CPU bottlenecked. So with such an improvement to our weakest link (CPU), it will help greatly for getting better performance and producing better looking games.”

Over the past day, we’ve learned that the PlayStation 5 will also use the AMD Radeon Navi with its new RDNA design. It boasts 1.5 times the performance-per-watt and 1.25 times the performance-per-clock of GCN, along with including a new compute unit design. It will be a while until we see PS5 games in action though, so stay tuned in the coming months for more details.

Blackmill’s Verdun, a highly realistic World War I first person shooter developed with Unity, will be receiving a standalone expansion later this year with Tannneberg. Set in the Eastern Front from 1914 to 1918, the expansion will see the Russian Army, Austro Hungarian Empire and German Empire involved.

Tannenberg will have more open maps, thus necessitating a quicker pace as compared to the trench warfare and defense of the base game. It should be noted that Tannenberg will exist separately from Verdun and have its own modes to go with the new maps. Given Verdun’s current player base, it should be interesting to see how the response to Tannenberg is.

Verdun’s expansion will be out later this year on PC. There’s no word yet on a PS4 or Xbox One release so stay tuned for more details on that. What are your thoughts on Verdun offering a standalone experience with Tannenberg? Let us know in the comments below.