I don't think anybody has tried.If anybody would be the logical choice to contact them it would be Graviteam.I wonder if Panzerfaust could talk Vlad Zelevnyi CEO of Graviteam into approaching Discus?
Well here's the problem, as I understood from Vlad over several conversations, Discus and Graviteam are not on very good professional speaking terms. There is much I could tell you about this but I'm not sure if Vlad wants this public knowledge since that information was contained in private conversations. But one thing I can tell you is that while Fall Blau was an improvement on the original SFK42 thats not the case now, much of what Fall Blau would have brought to the table has already been achived with SFK42 mods. There was no MP planned for Fall Blau that I know of. Some at Graviteam are not totally convinced MP is a viable path because of budget constraints and Graviteams staff size. They feel that MP and the continued support that must be expended to keep it running takes away from supporting/updating other aspects of the SP'er game. If Graviteam was the size of EA or even 1c/Maddox Games I don't think this would even be a serious issue, but for a company Graviteams size it's a major decision. Depending on how it eventually works out one camp or the other is not going to be totally happy.
Here's a little excerpt from a SimHq interview I had the pleasure of doing with Vlad back in June 2009 concerning features of SFK42 vs Fall Blau:
Steel Fury: Fall Blau
Robert: Recently it was announced that the follow on to Steel Fury: Kharkov 1942, Steel Fury: Fall Blau was put on hold even though the simulation is completed. Could you elaborate why this decision was? When can we expect Steel Fury: Fall Blau?
Vladimir: Sorry, but I should defer this question to the producer, Discus Games.
Robert: What would be some of the differences we would notice between Steel Fury: Fall Blau and Steel Fury: Kharkov 1942?
Vladimir: Basic differences include:
• location of the battle action
•new polygons and missions
• new user-controlled techniques for the PanzerJager1, PzIV ausf. F1, T-34 (the production STZ)
• new and improved cockpits to all user-controlled tanks
• caterpillar repair, during game, by order of user or AI
The full interview here:
http://www.simhq.com/_land3/land_135a.htmlCheers