Gunner, HEAT, PC! - Realism and Gameplay, the Ultimate Balancing Act

Gunner, HEAT, PC! has hit the internets with another demo via Steam. 

This demo catches me in the middle of an introspection of what I want in my simulations and what is out there. 

To be honest, my route to this internal debate is tortuous. The trigger was flying the Mosquito in IL-2 Sturmovik as compared to flying it in DCS. How many switch flips and clicks do our simulations need?

Gunner, HEAT, PC! (GHPC) aims for the sweet middle between holding a bottle of halon besides your gaming chair (for when you are hit) and arcade gaming in War Thunder. And it succeeds!

Comparisons with Steel Beasts ProPE are inevitable and probably the wrong thing to do. While playing the demo I have done nothing Steel Beasts ProPE can't do to at least a certain extent. Yet Steel Beasts ProPE can do things GHPC can't (at least in the demo). 

To be fair a complete "can and can't" comparison will take some time to compile and should be done after the release of GHPC. So I will save the debate for later, not without saying that maybe the laundry list is the wrong place to start.

But I wanted to share this parting shot: the missions in GHPC's demo are short, straight and to the point. It brought back the joy of rolling over a virtual battlefield full of armored hazards. This is something that I keep missing in single player Steel Beasts ProPE at this time.

Bonus feature comment: the ballistics/AAR reports in GHPC are a blast. It lets you know the injuries of the crew members.

Last but not least, I would like to share the following footage of one mission in the demo. Make sure to watch it in YouTube for better resolution.

Cheers,