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Found 25 results

  1. Axioms Of Dominion is a project I got about 40% through and then had to let go for life stuff. Now I have roughly a year where I shouldn't have anything else to do so I'm hoping to release in late 2022 or very early 2023 if I run into serious issues. This is a fantasy geopolitics simulator that is broadly comparable to CK2+Vicky2+Dominions4+more. As a fantasy game it has tons of magic stuff but the focus is on DIP mechanics. Diplomacy(foreign affairs) Intrigue(shadowy affairs) Politics(domestic affairs) I have a Substack which can be located by searching the game name in Google. I have a goal of enabling 40000 provinces on very new PCs but the game is perfectly functional around 14000. I have a major goal of playing an almost purely combat free couple millenia taking down a major empire in the world from the inside. I'd expect an average top tier empire to have roughly 7000 provinces on larger maps if you run history for 4000-8000 years. Anywhere from 15% to 40% of a larger map. What constitutes an empire or even a kingdom is much more fluid and dynamic than in existing games. A 7000 province empire would have something like 10 ~100 province substates at the core, 40 ~50 province "major vassals", and then 200 ~20 province periphery/border vassals. Of course you can fiddle those numbers a bit but that is a good illustration of my goal. Several of the substack posts relate the very detailed political sim I am designing to make this goal plausible. I still have a few major and a few minor things to talk about on the blog. There is a Fandom wiki that has a few dozen pages on various major and minor systems. It hasn't been changed much since mid 2015 when I had to pause working on the game until now. Most of the backend stuff is done and I'm primarily figuring out the equations for mechanics, doing all the UI stuff, and getting the AI to function. I expect I'll do a UI theme, smooth out map generation, and maybe polish up the art assets at the end. The game is turn based with attention points. So you have like 1000 attention points per turn, still testing the proper amount and the costs for actions. I wanted to do a time based system but it is hard to code and people will just get mad anyways. It is a province map style like Sovereignty or Paradox games. There is a very detailed population simulation which interacts with the character mechanics. Ideology covers almost a dozen areas, Propaganda impacts ideology and religion and the military, there's a Quality Of Life system regarding food variety/quality and material goods plus shelter, Religion ties into both magic and diplomacy/politics, population is where your troops come from and there is a logistics system. https://imgur.com/a/AlPew Those are some early maps. The top one almost looks like Europe/Africa/Near East. Maps are generated procedurally as will the world be if you don't start on world creation but run history for a few centuries or millenia. The magic aspect is highly integrated and very expansive. It impacts every game system in various ways. I have a substack post about just magic. My substack is free for anyone to read. Magic can build roads, discover secrets, troop movements, and other knowledge from distant provinces, change the weather and climate, be used in various enchantments, etc. There is even a cool The Runelords(think that is the right series) inspired magical transference/pacts thing where you can empower your soldiers or other people with the powers of captured, or tamed, magical creatures. Or sentient captives. Strength, mana pool, speed, physical features like scales or claws, etc. And you can do evil mad science shit. Speaking of evil Axioms allows you to play a truly ruthless tyrant rather than just a good boy. Fear, blackmail, military threats, second class citizens, slaves, etc. The culture system allows a something like a society that reveres dragons, character secretly captures a dragon, transfers dragon traits to himself, become leader of confederation of tribes. Someone finds out, and can blackmail him, reveal him, kill him and become dragon king themselves, etc. You can destabilize a society by cutting off their access to a prestigious food resource that is a traditional staple of cultural diet, say cinnamon, assuming the leader has depleted his political capital and put himself in a risky position. Much more detailed example on the blog. The trade off is graphical sugar, no voice acting or 3d models, random world gen vs handcrafted map, although players/modders can make scenarios if they want, I just don't plan to release official ones but there is mod support. A stretch goal, well not really since there isn't a kickstarter, if I finish the main stuff early before release date is to integrate a "History" system that records important actions and can be loaded/interpreted by a wiki type program to allow you to read "history books" about the game world. The "simulated" history mentioned earlier is just starting a game with no player or observer and letting the AI play a few centuries or millenia and then picking a point jump in. Player could look at data files in theory but the idea is that you only know what your AI guy knew when you swapped in.
  2. Hello everyone, I have released a challenging strategy game on google playstore. Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.myComp.sudo The game is played on a 9 by 9 grid like Sudoku. Presently there are two modes to the game. Though the game is difficult, it is possible to come up with a winning strategy in all the levels of the game. If you can spare your time, and give it a try it would be very nice. The rules are explained in detail inside the game in the rules section on Main Menu.. Thanks for your time.
  3. Greetings, I've recently released Knights of Grumthorr on Steam as a 2d medieval fantasy rts. It includes custom scripted campaigns, a map editor, skirmish modes and is easily moddable with graphics, audio and trigger data all easily accessible. I hope you find it enjoyable if you give it a shot. from Matt https://store.steampowered.com/app/1443190/Knights_of_Grumthorr/
  4. G'day everyone, If you aren't already aware, two awesome strategy games have just released and a third is coming out. Kube Games - Imperiums: Greek Wars Resistance Games - Company of Crime Grand Tactician - Civil War You can also find a collaborative interview with all three developers here: https://www.cshpicone.com/gaming/interviews/strategy-mega-interview Cheers, Chris Picone
  5. Greetings, a game I have been developing for the past year had reached a point in which feedback is necessary. Why necessary? Mostly because this is a very niche and unique game, little reference exists in other games for what is fun and not fun, only it's niche audience knows what's good for it. After working on it for some time now I found myself unsure of what is fun and no longer fun in this game. If you have experience & passion for Strategy / Management / Simulation games and interested in trying out this game in development, please contact me at [email protected] and I will send you a build along with a feedback form. (OR VIA THIS POST) Your suggestions would most likely be implemented in the game along with fixes to the things you disliked, so this may be also an opportunity to participate in it's development. And finally most of all, this would be supremely helpful! The Game: A Strategy / Simulation / Management game in which the player takes control over an organization which deals in espionage in medieval times. (Medieval fantasy) Media: VIDEO: https://video.wixstatic.com/video/24f9cd_04117039a0f348fb84369cbb4ad4d681/1080p/mp4/file.mp4
  6. Hi everyone! First post here :). I'd love to know your thoughts on games that have customizable units. Preferably games that did unit customization incredibly well. I played pretty much anything to do with Battletech and fondly remember Starfleet Command 2 and 3. I've dabble with HoI4 and Stellaris, but they only touch on unit designing. Have I missed any great indie games that feature unit customization? Am I the only one obsessed with this? Thanks for your replies!
  7. Void Eclipse

    We (my brother and I) are a small indie studio (< 4 people) working on a new strategy game. We put our project, Void Eclipse, up on Kickstarter last week and I wanted to share it with this community. Void Eclipse is a blend of genres for fans of turn-based 4X empire building, story-driven single-player campaign, and card battling strategy. Players explore a universe of unique planets and star systems to discover the origin of the android protagonist, interacting with NPCs and saving an alien empire faced with a mysterious threat. Characters in Void Eclipse are represented in battle as 3D animated cards in tactical, turn-based combat. We take full advantage of the Unreal Engine to provide our impressive visuals and special effects. I'd be happy to answer questions folks might have about the game, so speak up! We recently did a short Q&A with eXplorminate too. Check out our Kickstarter and give us your feedback, we're planning to do a beta run next year and would love to have some strategy fans on board helping us.
  8. Hello to the community, I would like to mention a game I recently started playing on the web. It includes more than 70+ Real Life countries and there is a promotion around to earn 10$ pack as a gift if you register. There are multiple things to go for as economy and war between countries. I see there are many players from all over the world and the game has very active Administration. I will leave a video I found on the landing page, register at eDominations.com to learn more or send me a private message to give you my referral link so I can help you more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiLzuEmijac Help me rise my country and I will help you back as much as possible!
  9. Gods of Havoc heralds a return to the classic God-Game. It is a three-part series offering difficult, turn-based strategy. Each game places the player as a god in different eras of a planet’s history. Fall to Earth: takes place in an early medieval setting; After the Fall: takes place in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic one; Into the Void: takes place on a galactic scale. ‘Fall to Earth’ and ‘Into the Void’, are set to be released in August 2019 with ‘After the Fall’ to be released in December 2019. You can wishlist us on Steam for more information @ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1117340/Gods_of_Havoc_Into_the_Void/ and check out the gods of Havoc website @ https://www.gods-of-havoc.com/ The first game to release is 'Into The Void' Gods of Havoc: Into the Void You take the roll of a god, to a sentient, and self-governing populace. With no interference from you, your people will spread out to the stars, colonise new worlds, build fantastic structures, wage wars, and reshape the universe… that is, they would, if there weren’t other gods, and other races, waiting to stop them.As a god, you have the power to aid your people with powerful magics, and to guide their progress with suggestions and dreams. Even with your help, it may not be enough to defeat the brutal and magical forces building against them. The Game A turn-based strategy game. Battle up to ten other gods and their peoples. An intelligent simulation of space colonisation, exploration, and exploitation. Use a ‘Pass-Time’ option to move the game forward, And customise a log to alert you when certain events happen. A fiendishly difficult AI with various difficulties. Crafted from a love of Populous, Megalomania, and other ancient god-game classics! Your People At the core of the game, is the civilisation you are nurturing. They will begin by colonising the different planets in the solar-system, building various ships, establishing defence fleets, sending out prophets to convert their neighbours, and eventually begin work on a Dyson Sphere and Mega-Ships. So long as no other race stops them. Your Role As your people’s protector you can help them on their expansion into space. The more followers you have, the more powerful you become. Create swamps to slow enemy ships, mines to damage them, or swarms of space insects and dragons to attack them. Empower your people’s defence fleet to become a crusader and let it seek out enemies, or guide it on a crusade. Terraform and manufacture your people’s planets to increase their population and produce more mana for you. Cast winds, floods, fire, and plagues on enemy planets to kill off their population. Convert or destroy enemy fleets using the Hand of God. Turn ancient asteroids into powerful vessels or magical space-stations to fortify your people’s position in space. The Enemies Unfortunately for your people, you are not the only god. Play against a difficult AI which has all of your powers and perhaps, even less scruples!
  10. Hello all! I'm developing a turn-based old-looking strategy game and want to introduce it. It is a fantasy strategy with sci-fi elements made in 2D pixel graphics adapted from different RPGmaker RTPs, to release for Windows. It is fantasy strategy with sci-fi elements made in 2D pixel graphics adapted from different RPGmaker RTPs, to release for Windows. Features: - Multiple kingdoms/nations with differences in playstyle, abilities, leaders. - Heroes with different skills, which have a different influence on controlled squads. - Squads level up and learn new abilities. They cannot be completely destroyed, so they can be deployed in more risky maneuvers in battle. - Armies have different active and passive skills, battle maneuvers, and unique skills triggered by their combat experience. - Dynamic terrain and weather systems will influence battle tactics and results. - Different goals, ways to win and game styles for different nations. - Events. - Unique techs and upgrades for each nation. - AI factions, cults, and tribes will also develop and may mature into fully independent nations that try to conquer and pillage. I develop this game in my free time, which is hard to come by, but I will work on it as much as possible. Take a look at my new video of gameplay, which i made along with the first playable demo released: Here is my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFMNWzFpDBA1XuUN4HGBS0Q And here is the site: https://lainurgames.wordpress.com
  11. Hello gamers, Here are some screenshots for my game, "MiniState," a persistent, open-world, massively multiplayer wargame. I aspire to build a game where players can employ clever military tactics, operations, and diplomacy to conquer other players and build a vast empire in an open sandbox world. I would be very grateful if the idle thumbs gaming community could give me some insight for refining the controls/balance of my game. If you are interested, please join the MiniState discord community to participate: https://discord.gg/XpQrQWp
  12. Land of Sand -- Dune inspired real-time strategy game Allow me to introduce you an RTS game, which is currently in development. Land of Sand is a mixture of global and real-time strategy inspired by classic RTS games, such as Dune II, Dune 2000 and Emperor: Battle for Dune. As a representative of a powerful House you are appointed planetary governor of Foedia -- a desert world known for its harsh conditions and valuable resource. However two rival factions, unsatisfied with this decision, declare war on you. You have to defeat them and establish your factions rule over Foedia once and forever. Build, develop and defend your base. Harvest resources. Train soldiers and produce vehicles. Manage optimally your limited fuel and water resources. Struggle with extreme conditions and hostile fauna. Defeat your enemies. Conquer the planet region by region. Land of Sand will be RTS with global strategic layer: global map devided into regions, which player defends or conquers during RTS missions. In between missions player chooses what region to attack, invests resources in capital base development and researching technologies, gathers intelligence on enemy regions, sends agents to sabotage enemy efforts, negotiates with secondary factions. Capital base progress and global situation influence player capabilities during missions: how much supplies and reinforcements can be obtained, what units and buildings are available, secondary factions acting as allies, neutrals or enemies. Game release is planned in 2020-2021. Official site: Land of Sand
  13. Heya, Spinner, an indie game dev here! My Online 4X SciFi MMO AD2460 is ready with its ninth cycle, named The Art Of War. The updated game started this Saturday, and it promises a whole lot of improvements, upgrades and changes. A new Battleship is being introduced in the form of the Sun Tzu, featuring a dreaded primary weapon capable of delivering extra chain lightning damage to up to 6 hostile vessels. Also, the entire TechTree has been remade to open up for new combinations of ships and tactics, with new types of buffs, new buff targets and some rather interesting Tier 6 effects... More control has been given to Alliance Leaders and Governors as well, with customizable Bank- and Station-commanders. Not counting the balance-changes, this cycle offers more than 100 improvements compared to its predecessor. And with a fair share of emphasis on improvements that help new players get into the game, this is the perfect time to join. Join for free, no pay-to-win, and a refreshingly friendly, if a bit small, community! I hope to see you in the game!
  14. Settlements PC Game

    SETTLEMENTS! Mankind as we know it has been destroyed. We are little more than a few scattered people living in caves and under bushes, banging rocks together to keep warm and eat berries. Your challenge is to bring humanity together. Lift us up out of the stone age and forge ahead, all the while worrying about what destroyed mankind last time and if it will return to finish the job. Settlements is a game of managing resources and crafting output over a limited space. You control the pace of the game, relax for many days of playing as you customize each character and train their skills in the items of the era, or rush ahead researching technology as fast as you can. The choice is yours. Hi all, I am an indie developer who has just released my first game into Early Access on Steam. As a long time strategy gamer I wanted to create a deep strategy management game that would give hours of play. I am very open to suggestions and ideas from the community as you will see from the games forums. Please drop by and ask questions and see if you like what I am doing: http://store.steampowered.com/app/704640/Settlements/ I am also on Twitter:Settlements@TreonGames Thank you for your time to read this. I will come here to answer any questions you have! Tony
  15. Greetings, we are an indie developer who’s currently working on a turn-based tactics game called Broken Lines. We are looking for anyone interested in participating in our closed prototype testing for PC. The testing will take place at the beginning of 2018. The game is a story-driven, squad-based tactics game. It’s set in a WWII like setting and it focuses on the soldiers in the squad and their stories, development, and relationships. You can read our description below: If you are interested in participating in the closed prototype testing, please sign up via this link https://goo.gl/forms/5vHgadjqLdnyeWfy1 The game is inspired by FTL, XCOM, Banner Saga, and Frozen Synapse. The only requirement is that you’re willing to fill out a short survey after playing the prototype. You can also read more about the game here: http://www.indiedb.com/games/broken-lines Here’s a link to some screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/bjFjP
  16. Total War: Warhammer II

    Let's start the thread, because it might take a while until the 3MA Podcast will be up. I hope Zacny, Frasier & Co. will take their time. If you are a 3MA listener and not playing Total War: Warhammer II right now, what are you even doing?! (Aside from going to work, raising children, changing dipers, studying for med-school, etc - you are excused, obviously) I learned to hate Elves, over my decades of D&D and Fantasy RPGs. They are just too much for my working-class, Marxist uprising. But I am now six hours and 50 turns into my first campaign as "High Elves" and enjoying every moment of it. The game 'flows' very well. It feels like the most polished, most accessible (for new players), most focused main Total War campaign, they made. Read the reviews. From game design, game flow, storytelling, to gameplay mechanics, UI elements all the way to the technical parts (amazing animations, 3D models and art, voice acting, performance, et cetera). For some weird reason, the campaign map - with all the Elven rainbows and unicorns remind me of the old "Heroes of Might and Magic" - only, now in 3D, fully voiced and animated. What do you guys think so far, fellow @3MA'ers? Please, share ...
  17. Tanks of Caveman

    So if it were up to you, which would you prefer, both are heavily tactical simultaneous movement board games that allow for team play but one is based on IDF tank commander experiences and the other themed on Caveman
  18. Hiya folks! I'm Juhani from Sleepy Sentry, a young indie studio from Finland. We're a three-man team, and we've previously published a couple of simple mobile games that we created while studying. In 2016 we took the step to working on the company full time, and started development on a PC game; in many ways the game we wanted to make: Check out our story trailer and/or gameplay trailer! Indiegogo campaign page. Stirring Abyss combines deep ocean exploration, squad strategy and Lovecraft-inspired storytelling. You take charge of the surviving crew of the USS Salem, U.S. Navy submarine that sinks while on a top secret research mission during the early years of the Cold War. They find themselves surrounded by the ruins of a forgotten civilization, their vessel too badly damaged to escape the depths. Some things we're especially proud of include: Our beautiful underwater environments, in a classic 2d isometric perspective. Varied strategic combat. Diverse character traits and skills, as well as gruesome mutations unlocked during the game. Unsettling and fully original soundtrack. Interactive and chilling story with truly meaningful choices. Some pre-alpha screenshots: I'll be posting updates here as we go, although since it's manual work it may take a moment after stuff gets posted on our blog and social media. If you have any questions I'd love to answer them, and at this point any feedback is welcome but I imagine there will be more opportunity for that as we can actually show more of the game. Feature Spotlights: Spineskulker "Darkness and silence hang upon the abyss like a funeral cloth, but what truly terrifies me is that this place is not lifeless. It is asleep, and something stirs in the gloom..."
  19. We just released a free turn-based strategy game for Android called War Puzzle:Navy. It's a fast, easy to play "beer and pretzels" style single player game. It has 25 levels and the max time to play a level is about 15 minutes, It's ad free and there are no in game purchases. Please give it a try, we welcome feedback. Thanks. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hotmail.gmplayer.War_Puzzle
  20. I wonder if anyone here has played warlords, the old classic turn based strategy game for PC. Very tactical and with a lot of freedom for the player. A bit like chess, but on a huge board and with loads of pieces. Not pretty graphically though. Anyone know of it and want to have a duel? http://www.warbarons.com
  21. Would you use an army-simulator (editor) tool? Where you could place many armies (unlimited), with unlimited units number (even billion) and (just) watch how they fight? You could simulate your favorite browser-based game (travian/tribal wars or similar) armies battle results and watch how these armies should fight in reality. You can see every single unit on field fighting real-time. You could create any possible historical battle and show to your friends or teacher/class. Or do whatewer you imagine. Fights will be saved and belong to your account. You could watch everything, it works as website, you could share to frends via facebook, watch these armies fighting via any HTML5 supported phone. I am creating an armies simulator tool. And it works for websites who use HTML5. There you can create an army (or many), for example, 200x200 = 40000 units. This army can have many stats like health, defence, speed and others.. And also units type - like swordsman, archer, horseman. You make 1 million of attakers and 1 million of defenders. And then watch how they fight. Everything is made for website. And works on any HTML5 supported devise with same rendering speed, even on phones. You can zoom the fight, edit fight speed, change quality, press on any warrior on field during fight and see its stats, how many enemies he has killed and more. Units will be very good quality and look awesome. You could even create any unit from given items - you can place random helmets, armors, weapons. You could also create any possible map, build cities, trees, rivers and see how these armies are fighting in these situations. Everything is 2D, but looks like 3D. There are 10 zoom levels, you can rotate the view, it looks close to 3D view. There are much more to say, but I dont wanna write too much here. I just wanna ask, or you would use this tool? What do you think about this project? I plan to launch beta version on 2018 january soonest. I just need some feedback.
  22. Hi All, We have opened a new turn-based strategy game "Codex of Victory" in Steam Early Access and now looking for an active community to shape final months of game development. We have several features that we want to discuss with players before implementing. The game is in an active development, currently it has first Act ready (several playable starting missions plus the underground base between missions) and we are looking to release it in November this year, so a lot of work to do and you may be a part of the process. Sorry for this post on this forum, this game we are making without a publisher and we are not that good in marketing, in the same time, I think it could be interesting for this community. All feedback is welcomed and I'm ready to answer your questions if you have them. Here is the link to the game page on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/464100
  23. I don't know if anyone here plays AD2460, but we just launched a huge Add-on for the game, called "Stations". Stations in AD2460 are huge structures within a sector that alliances can take over to increase their dominance in a region. These stations also provide the entire alliance with different types of benefits. The stations will need to be well-defended, as there is no doubt many who will want to lay claim to these mysterious structures. In addition, the user interface has been given an update, and the combat viewer is now full of new and cool information updating live as the battle unfolds. If anyone is curious to how this looks, here is a sample combat from the live game: http://live.ad2460.com/combat.pl?id=318037 As I am one of the developers in our 3-man-company, feel free to ask any questions you might have, and I will do my best to answer them! Kind regards Christian "Spinner" Lassem
  24. I never heard before of the "Nobunaga Series" of Japanese Strategy games. They are made/published by Koei/Tecmo for the last 30 years. Steam Version: http://store.steampowered.com/app/392470/ Playstation Version available too. I found some user reviews on Steam, which peaked my interest: "Here's the deal. Koei has been making these two grand strategy game series called Romance of the Three Kingdom and Nobunaga's ambition. You're placed on a large map of China and/or Japan respectively and you take control of one of the historical warlords in the period. You're given control of the finances, diplomacy, and the military features of the realm and you're given the huge task of reuniting a tortured land and placing it under your control." (Source: http://steamcommunity.com/id/TheDarkWriter/recommended/392470/) "I have never played a Koei strategy game before to this was all new to me, but I followed the fun (if long) tutorial through to the end and started an easy campaign as the Oda on the "Birth of Nobunaga" scenario, I then proceeded to play faaaaaaar longer than intended this afternoon. I had a blast. Coming from a Shogun 2 total war fanatic standpoint, this provides a very different experience, that somehow sits between a Paradox game like CK2 (or Sengoku) and something a bit lighter like the total war series. Battles are automatically fought out as the month progresses and you can dip in and try to turn them in your favour if you want to. There are some great positioning based mechanics at work here that make positioning your forces or paramount importance to victory, attacking from different directions and defending or bypassing choke points, are both important things to understand, and provide a lot of enjoyment. Management of your "Officers" is a huge part of the game and I'd say this makes it more like the aforementioned Paradox titles, land management is also important, and takes up much of your time. There is a fun internal and external political system to maneuver and this allows you to do some very fun things like forming coalitions against powerful enemies and calling friends to fight for you, you can even mediate peace between two antagonists!" (Source: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197987848369/recommended/392470/) I played the tutorial scenario myself. Disclaimer: I don't play JRPGs, I don't know what happens in Final Fantasy VII, nor do I play 'Japanese games', in general. I am not one of 'those' people. Your father died. The leader of the Oda Clan. You play a young Daimyo/Lord who engages in a dialog with his Sensei. This older man was a loyal servant to your father, and he wants to commit ritual suicide, because he thinks, he failed his former master, teaching YOU (the character you play/you, the player). In a series of back and forth Plato like dialogs, presented like a Gameboy/Nintendo game (portraits left and right, click button for more dialog), you - the player - are introduced to the game mechanics and systems (dialog about politics and the importance of diplomacy and what wise men should do, did really remind me of Plato's Dialogues!). In the end of each novella length (but strangely enjoyable) conversation section, you get to play what you just learned (or rather execute it), before the next tutorial section. Meanwhile, in the background, you hear a chirpy grand orchestral score, like David Lean decided to make a last Cinemascope attempt, in the 1960s, making an adventure movie, based in Japan. I wish, Paradox would play this game. Everyone can learn a lesson or two, from this kind of character driven tutorial. As far as I can see, the games emphasis is on grand strategy. There are numerous advisers, you get to send all over Japan. Diplomacy plays a far bigger role than I can make out in Crusader Kings 2 or Europa Universalis IV (or any Total War game, goes without saying). The real-time battles play out like Total War Arena. Fast and without a lot of depth. But overall, this game is really intriguing, if you like Japan and Strategy games. Needless to say, I am of the School of thought who thinks tutorials are not a waste of developer resources and an afterthought, but are the true masterclass in game design. Being able to teach new players to understand your game, never having played one, in interesting and engaging ways should be your highest goal, after having nailed and balanced your game systems. But that is a topic for another discussion. While it has the typical 'Japanese' style elements, it is NOT an 'anime' game, like Valkyrie Chronicles. Like Troy, I could not make myself play that one, no matter how good people said it was. It has also the strengths of Japanese games, as I see them: strong storytelling through characters, strong emphasis on game mechanics, thoughtful design and gorgeous art. It is pretty expensive, which I cannot scratch my head around, why this is the case. A lower price point would make curious people more willing to check it out. Apparently the Japanese/Chinese versions are expensive too. I am not expecting to hear a Three Moves Ahead Podcast about this, but I still wanted to point some of you towards this title.
  25. Machines at War 3

    Please allow me to introduce my real time strategy game Machines at War 3. I have been working on this game for the past 2 years full time, I did 100% of the programming myself, it is an old school looking top down RTS with 2d graphics. Machines at War 3 boasts 130 different types of units and technologies to build. In addition a full single-player campaign is included along with Game Center multiplayer and random map skirmishes. Using intense strategy and heart-pounding action, Machines at War 3 lets you battle and outsmart enemy forces as a military commander. You're joined by a fiery officer named Samantha Vice, who helps you maneuver through 21 intriguing campaign missions. Your objective: Uncover why your country's secret research team - the Omicron Initiative - has disappeared. Machines at War 3 is already available for Windows and Mac and received positive reviews noting its numerous types of units, variety of winning strategies, and ease of play. "The number of units that can be created is staggering" - Armchair General "An ultra-solid strategy game full of interesting features, large maps, and a wide array of game play situations." - Gamers Critic Features: Build over 130 types of units and technologies Rescue the Omicron Initiative in 21 missions Play unlimited random map skirmishes Conquer friends in online multiplayer combat Price: $6.99 USD Platforms: iPhone 3GS or later, iPad 1 or later, iPod Touch Languages: English, German, Chinese, Japanese, French, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Italian