How we chose HTML5 to develop Panzer Division

The story is quite simple, we wanted the game to run on the iPad. On the iPad you can either run:

• native apps from the Apps Store - developed with Xcode in Objective-C
• web apps - developed in HTML5

None of us had Macs at the time so a native app was out of the question, we could only choose HTML5. After an initial evaluation of HTML5 we concluded we could give it a try. From that day we move forward with it.

As expected, not everything is peachy, we had to redo the rendering several times because of the performance on the iPad 1 and I'm not sure we won't do it again. And we still have problems with the sounds. But we are still optimistic.

PhoneGap : from web to app store

While we'll use for development just plain text editors and browsers, we do plan to use PhoneGap to build our app to a native app that can be published in a app store. PhoneGap provides some nice APIs that fill the gap between native and web apps.

For desktop version we plan to create wrapper apps around WebKit or Chromium libraries.

Store and marketplace

We cannot afford to have fancy stuff like DRM, licence keys, purchase mechanism, etc. We also cannot afford to test on every browser ever made, so we decided to use existing app stores, that is to publish our app in one or more of the following stores:

1. Apple App Store
2. Chrome Web Store
3. Mac App Store
4. Google Play
5. Amazon Kindle Fire Appstore
6. Microsoft Marketplace
7. Mozilla Marketplace

The good news there are quite a few places to publish Panzer Division. An even better news is that the app must run only in WebKit (stores 1-5), Internet Explorer 10 (store 6) and Firefox (store 7).

So we decided to focus initially only on WebKit and to periodically test in IE10 and Firefox. If the compatibility issues can be solved quickly we solve them, otherwise just move on.

IE 6,7,8,9 must die

The biggest advantage of a web app is that it theoretically can run on any device that has a browser. Theoretically. In practice most of the browsers are just a pain in the ass. Panzer Division will never work on them, we will not even try.

We know, "Requires browser XXX to run" is lame in 2012 but we do what we have to do: be pragmatic and accept the reality that we don't have time or resources to support the others.

Keep the faith

Even that we use HTML5, we hope the players won't be aware of that. Hopefully we'll make Panzer Division feel like a native app. If not for iPad 1 at least for some of the other options.

The most produced panzer tank of world war II

It is indisputable that the allies have built the largest number of tanks during the second world war. The production numbers for their most used models, such as the Soviet's T-34 and Western Allies' M4 Sherman tanks dwarf those of the most produced German Panzerkampfwagen.

Germany's most famous tanks were the Tiger and Panther models. But, unlike their counterparts in the allied armies (T-34 and Sherman), they were not the most used tank in the German army. That honor goes to a model designed before the war broke out.


In his famous book, Achtung Panzer!, Heinz Guderian described his vision of a successful warfare strategy, that goes under the name of Blitzkrieg. Among other things, he outlined the roles of primary battle tanks and support tanks. The primary battle tanks would constitute the mainstay of the armored divisions and fight the enemy's tanks, while the support tanks would attack anti-tank guns and fortifications.

Two models were designed before the start of the war in order to fulfill these roles: Panzer III and Panzer IV. Being designed as the primary battle tank, Panzer III was intended to be build in larger quantities than the slightly heavier Panzer IV. Anyway, in the first year of the war, including the invasion of Low Countries and France, the Germans would wage their armored battles using mostly the Panzer I and Panzer II light tanks. This is because the army wasn't yet properly equipped for war, so they had to win the first campaigns with tank models that were actually designed for training and reconnaissance.

A lot of these small tanks (Panzer I) were used in the successful campaigns of 1939 and 1940

But fortune favours the bold, so the Axis managed to decisively win these first campaigns. They also used the Panzer III and Panzer IV variants, and they found out that beating allied heavy tanks like the French Char B1 and the British  Matilda wasn't an easy feat at all. It seemed that their guns (the 37 mm caliber of the Panzer III) just couldn't penetrate the armor that the allied heavy tanks had.


Naturally, the solution was to upgrade the guns to larger calibers, but the Panzer III  could only carry up to a 50mm gun, because of its smaller turret. In order to cope with increasingly frequent T-34s in the battlefield, they had to use larger guns, like the 75 mm KwK 40 L/43, mounted on the Panzer IV G model. So, gradually, Panzer III was taken out from production, and they started making a lot of Panzer IVs.

New panzer models have appeared starting in 1943: Tiger and Panther. Now the Germans finally had some tanks that were superior to the allied armor. But they kept manufacturing an improved version of the Panzer IV tank until the end of the war, and still fielded a lot of these on both the western and the eastern fronts. There were probably several reasons for this, including the use of the already existing production lines.

Production of tanks gradually increased during the course of the war, except for the last few months of the war. This was in spite of allied aerial bombing campaign that seriously disrupted the existing production. The Germans found ways to make up for the damaged factories and streamlined the manufacturing process. In total, they build around 9000 Pzkw IV tanks, making this model the most produced panzer tank of the second world war.

Version H was the most produced Panzer IV model

Most-produced tank of the WW2 and the 2nd most-produced tank of all time

You know which one is it?

Maybe you'll recognize it in these gorgeous photos from Miroslav Petrasko.

Still not sure?
Of course is the Tridsatchedverka, T-34.