Messageboards member "Wizz" has created an amazing reference sheet for SU! It is very useful for the active players of the game. To view the reference sheet, click here. (to save a local copy, right click the link and save the file)

16th January 2006

News is still (unfortunately) very slow, but here is Poptop's latest update from their site:

We hope that some of you will have enough time on your hands to give our new game, Shattered Union, a try.  We don't have a demo for it yet, but if you keep your eyes open you should be seeing one in the not-so-distant future.  While we don't have much game related news (that's been going onto our Shattered Union mini-site, that we're sure you've all been checking) we would like to point out that there is finally a company message board!  There's no link to it on the side menu just yet, but you can access it by clicking here.  The new board is for all of our games, including RRT2, RT3, Tropico, and Shattered Union.  So stop on by, sign up and say hi - you never know who might respond back!  Well that's all the news for now, so stay tuned and we hope to have some more tidbits for everyone soon!

More news soon hopefully!

5th January 2006

22nd November 2005

There haven't been many updates regarding Shattered Union here for you, unfortunately that's because I've not found a great deal of content to report to you. The apparent lack of a map editor hasn't helped. Anyways, if you have any Shattered Union content to contribute, please send it to expressworld@hotmail.com.

- Until we are able to bring you news on Shattered Union, or any developments in Poptop related news, we will focus on bringing content for the other games we cover. To begin this, we have a repost of a very important file (see next article).

I find it very interesting that Firaxis has now been bought by Take 2 Interactive (who also own all the rights to the Railroad Tycoon series). Wouldn't it be interesting if Firaxis & Sid Meier were to be involved in developing the next Railroad Tycoon game? 

27th November 2005

Poptop launches Developer SU Site

Poptop has launched it's own developer's Shattered Union site! It will soon feature a Messageboard too. Access the site here

Shattered Union: First PC Review

The first PC review of Shattered Union is up at Gamespy, you can catch it here. Gamespy awarded the game a 3.5 Star (Good) rating!

Here is an extract:

The real meat and potatoes of the game are the tactical battles that take place on hex-based maps that represent regions of America. It's here that the game really shines. Play begins with each player placing up to 42 military units down on "deployment hexes." Once that's done, they can move their units a certain number of hexes each turn, occupying cities or attacking enemy units. When battles occur, the combat is resolved using attack and defense ratings in various categories. When the player has finished his or her moves, their opponent (human or AI) gets to go. The winner is the player who has destroys all enemy units or manages to occupy a certain number of "victory points" -- hexes representing valuable cities. The Campaign adds an extra layer of strategy on top by stringing together these battles, with the winner conquering one of 24 regions of the country which will provide money, bonuses, or new units. The Campaign winner must take over all 24 zones. That's really all there is to it.

Except, of course, that that's not all there is to it. Underneath this simple surface is a very enjoyable strategic challenge. Player units are divided into 10 different categories, including heavy, medium and light armor, artillery, air and anti-air, and infantry. Within each category, players have two or three choices of units, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Each faction also has a "special" unit. The Great Plains Federation, for example, has a killer piece of artillery that's incredibly powerful but slow and fragile. Figuring out how to best use your assets, which ones work well together, and which carry the most bang for the buck in a particular situation is the kind of enjoyable problem solving strategy game junkies live for and there's a lot to chew on in Shattered Union.

Shattered Union: French Review

Continuing with the review theme of this update, I've found a French review of the game for PC! Click here to access (a score of 6/20)

- If you want to read the review in English (or indeed another language), there is always the helpful (and free!) text translation tool from Altavista - access it here

22nd November 2005

Shattered Union: First Review!

A quick update to inform you, I've found the first review of Shattered Union! Its over at team xbox, where the game scores 8.2/10 (review for xbox version). No PC reviews so far. Read it here. Here is an extract:

- I have now received my copy of the game, and I've had a quick play - so far, so good! I will post an article with some impressions on it after I've played a bit further. I don't know if I will write a full review, but I will post some comments.

Any review sites out there, just let me know you've reviewed the game and I'll post the info! See the Contact Us page for details.

18th November 2005

Shattered Union: Section Revised

I have revised our Shattered Union section, ready for the new content that will come as a result of the games release. Although there are some pages with no content so far, our new "story" & downloads archive pages are active! The new SH Download Archive also contains new movies of the game. Head to the SH section here

Shattered Union: New Screenshots

Some links to new screenshots:

Team Xbox: single player info, more screenshots

IGN: Image archive

Poptop Updates

As described earlier, Poptop has finally updated their site after a long absence. Here is the latest update:

As a great man once said, reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated.  Yes, we are still alive and kicking here at Poptop, we've just been so busy the thought of one of us sitting down to type up an update had been little more than a pipe dream for quite some time.  Things are finally coming together now, and we'd like to let everyone know that our latest game, Shattered Union, has shipped out to stores!  You can read the full press release here.  For those of you that are sitting there wondering what Shattered Union is, there's an official 2K Games Shattered Union site that will hopefully shed some light on our latest project.  We're currently hard at work putting together a little site of our own here that we hope to have up for everyone later today.  Starting today you'll see more regular updates here again, and we will try to make this place the place to be for any and all news related to Shattered Union!  As a little thank you for your patience and support, we'll be putting up some brand new wallpapers here shortly that showcase the 7 different factions from our new game.  Thanks for sticking with us, and we hope everyone enjoys our new title!

I'd like to congratulate everyone at Poptop on the release of their latest game! I sure am looking forward to the arrival of the copy I pre-ordered!

Shattered Union Released...

After a little confusion over the release date of Shattered Union (and the lack of any gold announcements), 2K Games has finally confirmed that the game has shipped for both PC & Xbox today, in North America. The game should appear in European stores from Friday! (Press release to follow shortly)

In another news, Poptop has updated their site for the first time since early April, with a new design to coincide with the launch of Shattered Union. Though, at the time of writing, it seems not all content has yet been implemented. 

As soon as we have reviews, we will put them up! AS you know, the press / marketing for this game has been a little thin, so it will be interesting to see how the game is received! I'll post some thoughts when I get my copy.

Here is the press release:

In Shattered Union, following an increase in terrorism, internal strife and ultimately, the nuclear destruction of Washington, D.C, the United States shatters into a half-dozen nation-states that become embroiled in a civil war. Gamers take the helm of one of these newfound sovereignties or control European peacekeepers as they struggle to reunify America by force, in either a dynamic and non-linear single player campaign or in one-on-one multiplayer skirmishes with friends.

"Shattered Union has a unique and exciting storyline," said Christoph Hartmann, Managing Director of 2K Games. "With its non-linear missions, fully destructible environments and addictive gameplay, Shattered Union is a highly anticipated strategy game."

Battles can be fought on a hex-grid -- popular among tried-and-true turn-based strategy gamers and military strategy gamers -- allowing for full six-way movement across the detailed landscapes of the United States.

Key Features:

• Modern 3D, "hex-grid", turn-based, war strategy game.
• Non-linear mission progression with changes based on player-made decisions.
• Real-time resolution of turned-based moves. Take your time while you decide your move, but once you have selected your action, see the results all play out in full animation models, exploding vehicles, and burning cities and forests!
• Fully destructible terrain/environment. As the battle proceeds, everything from explosions and destroyed buildings permanently mark the terrain. At the end, very little will look the same.
• Fight your way across the United States! Had enough of the windy city? Then go ahead and bomb Chicago! Invade across the Rockies into California, capture the tank factories in Ohio, and lay siege to New York City! You decide - the fate of the nation is in your hands!
• Choose to play as one of seven different factions: California Commonwealth, Pacifica, Republic of Texas, Great Plains Federation, The Confederacy, New England Alliance and the European Expeditionary Force.
• Call up National Guard forces equipped with M1 Abrams battle tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, Apache helicopters and stealth bombers. Or utilize the unique Future Combat Systems (FCS) of each nation-state and mow your enemies down with futuristic weaponry.
• Online and offline multiplayer support.

28th September 2005

Site Upgrade News

The Shattered Union & Railroad Tycoon 4 sections of the site have now been converted to the new look! The Tropico sections are the next phases of this operation. Thanks for your patience.

Shattered Union: Trailer

We now have a copy of the trailer for SH hosted on Express World. Its around 15mb, and you'll need windows media player to view it! Click here to download

Shattered Union: Official Site Goes Live

The official site for Shattered Union has now gone live. To access it click here

Shattered Union: New Features List

The launch of the official site has brought an updated features list from 2K Games.

Following a great increase in terrorism, internal strife, and ultimately, the nuclear destruction of Washington, D.C., the United States shatters into a half-dozen nation-states that descend into war. Take the helm of one of these newfound sovereignties (or the "peacekeeping" European Expeditionary Force) and struggle to reunify America...by any means necessary!

Features:

• Modern 3D tactical war game viewed from a "bird's-eye" overhead camera.
• Non-linear mission progression with changes based on player-made decisions.
• Real-time resolution of turned-based moves. Take your time while you decide your move, but once you have selected your action, see the results all play out in full animation models, exploding vehicles, and burning cities and forests!
• Fully destructible terrain/environment. As the battle proceeds, everything from explosions and destroyed buildings permanently mark the terrain. Moving tanks will leave tread marks that stay for the duration of the mission. At the end, very little will look the same.
• Fight your way across the United States! Had enough of the windy city? Then go ahead and bomb Chicago! Invade across the Rockies into California, capture the tank factories in Ohio, and lay siege to New York City! You decide - the fate of the nation is in your hands!
• Choose to play as one of seven different factions: California Commonwealth, Pacifica, Republic of Texas, Great Plains Federation, The Confederacy, New England Alliance and the European Union.
• Call up National Guard forces equipped with M1 Abrams battle tanks, Apache helicopters and stealth bombers. Or make a deal with the Russians and equip your boys with MiG fighters and T-95 Heavy Tanks.
• Online and offline multiplayer on all platforms.

25th September 2005

Welcome To Express World Seven

We are proud to finally unveil the new look of Express World to you, named Express World Seven. The site is still under re-construction, and the new look is being introduced in phases of the next week or so. So far the new look has been applied to the main site pages section. Please note the new "Contact Us" page, and the altered methods for contacting the site. Also, the old links page where you could upload your own links to the site has been discontinued. We have a new links page here.

The Express World Shop has also been revamped, and a North American version is in the works! The Shattered Union and Tropico sections are the next phase of the implementation of Express World Seven. Please bare with us through these changes.

Shattered Union Release Date Nears?

Though not officially confirmed, many British retailers, including Amazon UK, are listing the release date as October 7th 2005 - not long now. Hopefully we can get this confirmed soon.

03 September 2005

Progression

The work on the new look for Express World is progressing well, and I hope to have it up in the near future. And hopefully the new PHP message boards will be an interesting step forward for the site! More on this as it develops.

A fair amount of Shattered Union news for you today!

Tomorrow is my birthday, I'm 22 (I'm getting old now!), so a well deserved break for partying is in order :P

Shattered Union: Gamespy Hands on

Another preview for you, this time the Xbox version from Gamespy. Grab this one here

Shattered Union: Team Xbox Interview

Team Xbox has conducted an interview with Poptop's art director, Franz Felsl. Take a peek here. An extract for you:

In this era of real-time strategy games why did you decide to do a turn-based strategy game?

Franz Felsl: Because, it’s the era of real-time strategy games. Really, it’s because we felt it was a niche we could scratch. PopTop’s been a strategy game maker since its inception so it was a natural move for us. The fact that we believe there is an actual market for such games gave us the impetus and the fact that there are so few turn-based strategy games make us feel like were blazing a new trail…so to speak.


PopTop has developed two popular, top-selling franchises: the Railroad Tycoon and Tropico series. What have those series contributed to the development of Shattered Union?

Franz Felsl: It’s made us even more comfortable doing strategy games. Shattered Union doesn’t really take anything from them from a game point of view since they were real-time and the rules for such games are significantly different. RT3 did give us experience using 3D though and that was a big step for us. Also, the idea of making a game system that is expandable was carried over from those games. The idea is that a different theme or story might be useable within the context of the game system.


Now let’s talk about the game. What is the backdrop for Shattered Union and what incidents lead up to the circumstances in which the player finds himself as the game starts?

Franz Felsl: The premise is that in the U.S. there have been a series of unpopular elections. Not just the official elected president, but the process itself has become overtly corrupt. No party is without blame and people are becoming fed-up with politicians and government. Therefore, more homegrown militia start popping up and causing problems which then leads to more and more strict government restrictions and continued civil rights abuse and erosion. Finally, the previous president “wins” a second term in office after legal abuse of the system essentially installs the president against the will of the people. During the inauguration celebration a nuclear weapon is detonated in the D.C. area and kills off most of the elected officials. The loss of the obvious presidential successors sets off a series of legal barrages that essentially drives another wedge between different groups in the US. This quickly escalates into a run to establish a government that the “people” will recognize and hopefully find the “heir to the throne” so to speak. After numerous small conflicts occur, large portions of the country decide to secede from the union to protect what they each feel is the “rightful” government. During this whole process, the European Union sees the loss of stability in the US as a threat to the world at large and that the chaos from the loss of the US market causes in the world is creating even greater negative ramifications. Therefore, the EU sends in Peacekeepers into the decimated D.C. area to help protect both EU interests and world interests. As the dissolution of the US comes to a fevered pitch, the EU decides it can’t wait any longer and decides to take an active reunification role to speed up the process.

And, there you are. A faction leader in the violent reunification process.

Shattered Union: Gamespot New Content!

Gamespot's recent PC newsletter brought new content related to Poptop's new game Shattered Union! A hands on preview - including new game footage & over 50 screenshots - can be found here. An interesting point I've noticed is all reference to the PS2 version of the game have vanished - maybe that version has been canned?

- The video is here. Here is an extract from the article:

...There's a lot in Shattered Union to remind you of older PC games, notably the classic Panzer General games from SSI. We've had the opportunity to play a number of battles in Shattered Union thus far. The action is fast-paced, and the gameplay mechanics are simple to understand; this is crucial, since Shattered Union will also appear on the Xbox. It doesn't take too long to start picking up on the rocks-scissors-paper balance between the units, either. Artillery can smash infantry; tanks can crush darn near everything, but are vulnerable to air power; antiaircraft units can shred helicopters and incoming bombers; and so on. As we mentioned earlier, terrain plays a role in the game, so you have to worry about maneuvering to keep your units in defensible terrain for their bonuses--a unit caught in the open is at a serious disadvantage against one entrenched in a city's streets...

...The visuals of the game are also fairly strong for the genre. They're not cutting-edge, but the graphical style is simple and appealing in its own way. Factor in the multiplayer gameplay on the PC or the one-on-one multiplayer battles over Xbox Live (which we didn't get a chance to test), and there could be a considerable amount of replay value as well. All in all, we came away from Shattered Union impressed; it's shaping up to be a lightweight, beer-and-pretzels-style wargame that is user-friendly and simple enough to be played by anyone. And the game's premise of a second American civil war fought with modern-day weapons is certainly appealing. With luck, Shattered Union may bring about a revival in the turn-based PC wargame genre. We can expect Shattered Union to ship on the PC and Xbox this fall.

27th July 2005

All Quiet Still!

Everything is still really quiet on the Poptop games news front, there seemes to be little new info on Shattered Union at this time. I guess once Poptop gets the go ahead to launch an official site there will be more news! Anyways, we are still here and as always we will being you what we have.

Also, please keep your maps, articles or anything you'd like to submit for inclusion on the site to expressworld@hotmail.com. I'm particularly interested in anyone who has Poptop game related content they may wish to contribute. 

Shattered Union: Video Interview & Game Footage

Veteran Poptop software member Franz Felsl has given an exclusive video interview to Gamespot about shattered union. You'll need to be a member of Gamespot basic to view it, but its a free sign up! To view click here

(the site notes to say the game footage is from the pc version)

- The video page also includes the official game trailer, an official video of the game and three short videos produced by Gamespot. There all worth a look!

Shattered Union: IGN New Content!

The IGN site has added additional screenshots of Shattered Union! Included in the collection is some concept art pictures of units in the game. To view click here

Also at IGN are further video files! To view them click here. Unfortunately you need to be a IGN Insider member to view them, and I am not a member at this time. So if anyone has the videos, could you email them to me? I'd like to take a look!

24th June 2005

Shattered Union Gets Release Date

According to Gamespot the Playstation 2 version of Shattered Union has a release date of 14th November 2005. This is the first time an actual date has been suggested for release. However, we must take this with a grain of salt as the game is still quite far off. Also, the gamespot site lists the other versions as having no release date so far. But at least we have a general idea of when to expect the game. 

More shattered union news as we get it...

17th June 2005

Catchup With Phil Steinmeyer

As you may, or may not know, the founder of Poptop, Phil Steinmeyer left Poptop last year to pursue new interests. Well, for anyone interested, he now has a website so you can keep up with him! Click here to access

Shattered Union: News Updates

Some quick news items on Poptop's new project:

- Xbox version preview here

- E3 Impressions here

- Gamers Info mini preview here

2nd June 2005

Mirror, Mirror

There is now a second domain that can be used to access the site. If you goto www.express-world.org.uk you can now access Express World. For now this simply redirects you here, but we may put up a full mirror of the site there in the near future. Remember, its www.express-world.org.uk!

As a side note, Express World will soon be launching the spin-off site ExpressWorldForums.com which will give a new home to the Express World Messageboards, and will allow the upload of map files!

Shattered Union: News Updates!

Some quick news items on Poptop's new project:

- 12 New Screenshots can be found here

- An interview with Poptop's Franz Felsl is here

- A gameplay video is up here

- A sneak peak is now up at Gaming Nexus

Thanks to Pjay for those! More Soon...

7th May 2005

Next Poptop Project Announced: Shattered Union

Poptop's new projected has been announced. The game is a turn based strategy war game called Shattered Union. Its due out towards the end of 2005 for PC and consoles (a first for a Poptop developed project - they normally outsource any console version). So far the project has been confirmed for Xbox. The game runs on an enhanced version of the 3D engine that powered RT3.

The game is to be published by Take 2's newly formed publishing label 2K Games. The announcement of this game has led to a new section of the site being added here. Also, a few cosmetic changes to the site layout on this page to accommodate the new section. They will be incorporated site wide ASAP.

Here is an excerpt from the press release (from VE3D)

Set atop the smoldering ruins of a fictional United States torn apart by civil war, Shattered Union is an action-packed turn-based strategy game for console and PC. Gamers will play through an exciting single player campaign to reunite the country by force or online in one-on-one matches.

Read the whole thing here.

So far only three screenshots have been released. See them below or here

From www.ign.com

(click to enlarge)

We will bring you more news as and when we get it. The Poptop site has yet to post anything about this game. We will be archiving all know information on the game on our Shattered Union first information page. 

- The Messageboard can be found here

Shattered Union: Gamespot Article

GameSpot has released an article about the newly announced Shattered Union game. To read it click here

Here is an extract:

Shattered Union focuses on a fictitious future where the United States has descended into civil war. Players must managed their army of tanks, helicopters, and modern-style war machinery to take back the American landscape and reform the union.

The game appears to be entirely three dimensional, and the three released screenshots show detailed representational units the size of large buildings. According to the press release issued earlier this week, the game will offer an engrossing single player campaign and head-to-head online play for two players.

3rd May 2005

Poptop News: Next Game Info

Poptop's new project has yet to be announced,  we do know however that it is a war game, and it may get a console release for Xbox and PS2 alongside a pc release. We have a few more details from Poptop's job page, its not much but it gives us an idea what to expect:

Following the success of Railroad Tycoon 2 & 3 and Tropico, we are now developing on a console & PC strategy title (turn-based war game).  PopTop offers you the chance to make a major impact on a new, original I.P. game in a great environment.  We are looking forward to making a truly next-generation war game – one that innovates and invigorates the genre, like Panzer General, Command & Conquer and Advance Wars did in their day.  Come be a part of an outstanding team, and help us make an outstanding product.

With that in mind, we are launching a new section today that will contain any and all information available in relation to the game. Once the game is formally announced, we will launch a full section (similar to our existing coverage of Poptop projects). Click here to enter Poptop's War Game - First Info 

Poptop Updates

Poptop has updated their site after a long absence too. Here goes:

Things continue to be quiet about the goings-on here at Poptop, but we can assure you that it doesn't mean we aren't busy behind the doors.  In fact, the biggest bit of news we can relate to you for now is that we have more positions to fill, this time in the artist catagory!  We are currently seeking both an Experienced Industry Artist and an entry-level Junior Artist.  Please feel free to browse our job page for any additional information.  Thanks for hanging in there, and we hope to have some big news for you all in the near future!

We're updating again this month with more news of open positions in the company!  This time we're on the look out for some on-site game testers (local applicants only please!).  So if you live in the St. Louis area, and you'd like to aid us test our latest yet unannounced game, just download a copy of this Tester Application, fill it out in its entirety, and send it back to us (mail, fax, and e-mail are fine).  If you'd like more information about what we're looking for in a tester, please look at our job page for additional information.  Happy St. Pat's to everyone out there, and good luck!