GHPC Developers are currently working on a 3D tank simulator for PC called Gunner Heat. The game is a throwback to old-school tank sims that used to be prevalent back when war sims were all the rage, and it’s currently being funded by the community.

You can download a free vertical slice build of Gunner Heat from over on the itch.io page.

However, if you want more frequent updates you can become a backer on the GHPC Patreon.

The game attempts to give fans of war sims something dynamic and fun to play that relies on realistic tank mechanisms, where your commander, gunner, and engineer have to work seamlessly to maneuver a tank around various environments, taking on enemy tanks in the desert. The action is fairly fast-paced, intense, and usually short-lived if you’re not careful. It’s easy to get blown up just as well to blow up suspecting and unsuspecting enemies alike.

You can check out some gameplay footage below, courtesy of YouTuber NastryDude Gaming.

Now the project is being developed by a small group of dedicated fans of the genre, and it still has a long ways to go before it’s complete. For instance, the links on the tracks don’t move, nor do the road wheels that the treads are attacked to.

Some of the explosions and damage aren’t visually representative of what’s actually happening on-screen, and the voiceovers for the operators is repetitive and stilted.

Again, though, it’s an indie venture. This kind of things are expected in alpha development.

They do plan on having a robust campaign mode, and there’s also a firing range so you can test out different tanks with different weapon ordinance.

At the moment there are various stages and tank types spread across grassland maps, deserts, and wastelands. You also have survival, assault, and defense missions to engage in.

Again, you can grab a free version of the pre-alpha from the itch.io page, or follow the development via the Patreon page. Hopefully the developers are able to fully flesh out the gameplay even more than what it has and brush up some of the missing features because this will definitely find a pleasant home in the libraries of war sim fans.