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''Eastern Front (1941)'' is a computer wargame for the Atari 8-bit series created by Chris Crawford in 1981 and released by the Atari Program Exchange (APX). Recreating the German invasion of Russia during World War II, ''Eastern Front'' covers the historical area of operations during the 1941–1942 period. The player commands German units at the corps level and must contend with the computer-controlled Russians, as well as terrain, weather, supplies, unit morale, and fatigue. ''Eastern Front'' was widely lauded in the press, won the Game Manufacturers Association "Best Game" award in 1981, and one of a very few titles that would later be licensed by Atari for distribution on game cartridge. It was among APX's best selling games of all time, ultimately selling over 60,000 copies, a number only approached by ''Caverns of Mars''. ==Gameplay== :''Unless otherwise noted, this section refers to the original game manual, available (here ).'' ''Eastern Front'' puts the user in control of the Germans, in white, while the computer plays the Russians, in red. Units are represented as boxes for armored corps or cavalry, and crosses for infantry, an attempt to replicate conventional military symbols given the low resolution. The screen shows only of the entire map at one time, smooth-scrolling around it when the joystick-controlled cursor reaches the edges of the screen.〔White, pg. 22〕 According to creator Chris Crawford, it is the first wargame to feature a smooth-scrolling map.〔Crawford, pg. 131〕〔Chris Crawford, "Ga-Ga over Graphics", ''Works and Days'', Volume 22 Issue 43/44 (2004), pg. 113〕 The map covers the area from just north of Leningrad at the top to Sevastopol at the bottom, and from Warsaw on the left to just east of Stalingrad on the right. The terrain is varied, including flatland, forests, mountains, rivers and swamps, each with their own effects on movement. Cities are displayed in white, and are a major source of "victory points", the player's score. The game is modal, switching between an order entry mode and a combat mode. During order entry the joystick is used to select units and enter movement in the four cardinal directions. Up to eight orders can be entered for any unit. Orders are remembered from turn to turn, and new orders can be added in future turns after watching an animation of any remaining ones. The orders for any given unit can be cancelled by pressing the . After entering orders, the combat phase is started by pressing the function key. Units will attempt to follow their orders to the greatest extent possible, delayed by terrain, blocking friendly units, or combat with enemy units. The screen shows combat by flashing the "attacked" unit, which might be forced to retreat, or be destroyed outright. When all possible movement and combat is exhausted, the game returns to the order-entry phase. Each turn represents one week in-game time, and the game ends on March 29, 1942, after 41 turns.〔McMahon, pg. 94〕 The highest possible score is 255, and the documentation suggests that any score above 100 is good. ''Computer Gaming World'' estimated that the actual German army in 1941 scored 110 to 120. The game engine includes a number of features that increases the depth of the simulation compared to other wargames of the era, such as zones of control, which allows front lines to be constructed without requiring contiguous lines of units. This includes muster and combat strengths, which simulates losses due to combat, and reinforcements that slowly returns a unit to muster strength over time. Supply lines are also simulated, and surrounding the enemy to cut off their supplies is an important strategy for the human player, who faces an overwhelming enemy numerical superiority. The most obvious effect in terms of gameplay is the changing of the seasons, with the rivers and land freezing from north to south. Winter and spring weather dramatically reduces mobility and supply levels, at which point the German side is forced into a purely defensive role. If the player can survive the winter, the arrival of spring offers a renewed offensive capability, but only for a short period before the game ends. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Eastern Front (1941)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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