HistwarT: Les Grognards, the truly epic wargame by Jean-Michel Mathé, is nearing completion after nearly 10 years of research and development! HistwarT: Les Grognards brings to life the pageantry, savagery and brilliance of the Napoleonic era like no other wargame before, putting you in charge of a Napoleonic army on the battlefields of the early 19th century (1805-1814). From its innovative three tiered AI system, the overwhelming level of editing and customization, its unflinching depiction of period combat in gloriously detailed 3D brilliance, and it's wealth of historical knowledge and accuracy HistwarT: Les Grognards is going to be in every way the bleeding edge of Napoleonic combat simulation.

The game is entering the final beta stage this month and Battlefront.com is looking for skilled beta testers to help with putting the finishing touches on what is going to be without a doubt the new reference wargame for Napoleonic buffs. Only a handful of people will be selected for this closed beta.

Applicants should at least:

• have participated in one beta test before
• have knowledge about the Napoleonic military era and wargaming
• be available for the next 3 months
• have a good internet connection and be willing and able to download large files regularly

Interested? Send an application email to support@battlefront.com including your detailed PC specifications. If you have more than one PC, even better! Beta testing is voluntary and there is no payment.

Les Grognards Features :

• Authentic Napoleonic style combat from the years 1805-1814.
• Thrilling 3D battles with over 50,000 Infantry soldiers, Cavalry and Artillery crews - all fully animated!
• Single player action against the computer and multiplayer with up to 6 players
• Internet, LAN and PBEM multiplayer modes.
• Variable speed play from real time 1 minute = 1 minute to accelerated 10x time where 6 seconds of game time = 1 minute of real time. PBEM mode played in 15 minute turns.
• Environmental effects such as, rain, fog, snow and smoke.
• Units organized into historically accurate and individually controllable Regiments, Brigades, Divisions, Corps and Armies.
• Huge variety of troops types including; Sappers, Skirmishers, Grenadiers, Fusiliers, Chasseurs, Imperial, Middle and Young Guards, Hussars, Cuirassiers, Dragoons, Gendarmes, Carbiniers, Lancers and Mameluks among others.
• Variety of individually modeled and animated "personalities" such as Captains, Majors, Colonels, Flag and Standard Bearers and more.
• Play as any of 15 different major, minor and city state military powers including France, Russia, Austria, Wurtenmberg, Saxony, Poland, Italy and Naples.
• Exhaustively researched Table of Organization and Equipment for all the major combatants included.
• Over 1150 historical Regiments, 4000 unique commanders and 550 accurate military uniforms included.
• Comes with 10 historical battles including Austerlitz, Eylau, Friedland, Wagram, Borodino with the ability to modify or create all new battles with included editors.
• Innovative 3 tiered Artificial Intelligence system models the difficulty and challenges of command in the early 19th century battlefield.
• 3 different game editors (Map, Order of Battle and Doctrine) allow you to build your own battles or modify the included ones, create your own armies and customize specific characteristics and abilities of any unit or commander.
• Create maps in size from 6 x 4.5 Km to 30 x 22.5 Km (over 660 square kilometers)
• Ability to create and design your own custom uniforms.
• Variety of camera views supported including exciting 3D Real World and Bird's Eye views plus a 3D Symbolic map and 2D Strategic Overview mode.
• Realistic combat resolution and modeling which takes into account such factors as orientation and density of unit formations, their training, combat effectiveness, fatigue and moral.
• Advanced morale engine accounts for a variety of elements including proximity to friendly commanders and units, weather effects, level of sustained losses, overall fatigue and more.