"New Game Decided On"

[Jeffrey H.]

ORIGINAL: Webizen

Here is Vic's latest update about his new game. It will be a release day purchase for me!

http://www.vrdesigns.nl/?p=645

Thanks Vic, you make some very enjoyable war games!

ORIGINAL: Vic

Hi Webizen,

I visited the Slitherine offices yesterday and had a big talk with them. They are still enthusiastic about the mystery project and where it is heading. I think we are about at the halfway point in development.

Going to write a new developer log this weekend and actually announce the type of setting.

Best,
Vic

Sounds interesting, although the word "panzer" started to appear again.

Post apocalyptic...hrrmmm. Zombies gotta have zombies.

Really sounds kind of cool, starting off with WWII junk and then moving on to post modern era stuff. Hopefully the tech tree allows for different paths of development.

[Tac2i]

Errant edit to my earlier post... deleted. See this post instead.

[SSFSX17]

As long as the core engine keeps getting improved, it really doesn't matter what the setting is. I'm looking forward to Workname Empire more and more!

[Tac2i]

This is from the Slitherine forum. It seems to describe Vic's upcoming 'workname' Empire game:

In addition we are specifically looking for a talented Art Director/Artist to lead on the look and feel of an upcoming strategy game.

The game is a 2D hex based post apocalyptic strategy/4X game. We are looking for someone to provide concept art, art direction, plus generating all in game art assets.

The game universe is situated on a distant planet in the far future. After a huge interstellar war and a nuclear apocalypse this planet has dropped back in to the dark ages. The player is leading one of the resurgent forces trying to re-establish order, technology and civilization. Tech level starts at savage mid 20th century level and ramp all the way up into early sci-fi stages.

It’s a turn based game with influences from classic games like Civilization, Empire and Advance Wars. Game features include among others: random planetary maps, shroud & fog of war, research, morph able map and construction, multiplayer support, leaders with stats and skills, story driven campaign, logistics and a supply system.

This will be a substantial multi-month project. It is possible that the role may be split into a number of roles with a concept artist guiding the style and other artist/s creating the actual in game content but the ideal candidate would be able to fulfill all roles.

Interested applicants should send an email to career@slitherine.co.uk with a link to their portfolio.

[Fintilgin]

Do we have any clue how units will work? I hope they're a little more like Empire/Civilization. The system in Advanced Tactics where you have tons of little 'elements' piled into a unit 'container' is cool, but much too fiddly/micromanagement intensive for me to really enjoy.

[Tac2i]

For those not following Vic's Twitter feed or VRdesigns website (http://www.vrdesigns.nl/) the title of his new game is decided: Shadow Empire. The latest post on the website talks about his decision to drop unit stacking.

[Josh]

http://www.vrdesigns.nl/

Hmmm no stacking...?
Well it did work in Battlefront's games, heck even tiles worked there despite the fact that I despise tiles [:D]

Well it's worth a try I say.
I remember from Strategic Command that if you placed too many units next to each other and one unit got hit too many times it would evaporate if there was no place to retreat to... With unit stacking that unit would be pushed back into either an empty hex or an hex filled with counters. So hmm we'll see.

I sure would like to see a screenshot though of his new game [:D]

[ironduke1955]

"Compared to previous games I did this game will be more innovative" Quote from Vic

Innovative that's just a fancy name for change right. I am a Grognard crumble complain. Swapping my brand of toothpaste is more change than I can handle. I like my hexes hex shaped my units like counters I used to spend hours punching out of sheet setting up on a game board. Just to have our pet cat stroll across the board and mess them all up. Say innovative again and I may need to put my hands over my ears and whistle the theme music to the Great Escape.

[Jeffrey H.]

ORIGINAL: Josh

http://www.vrdesigns.nl/

Hmmm no stacking...?
Well it did work in Battlefront's games, heck even tiles worked there despite the fact that I despise tiles [:D]

Well it's worth a try I say.
I remember from Strategic Command that if you placed too many units next to each other and one unit got hit too many times it would evaporate if there was no place to retreat to... With unit stacking that unit would be pushed back into either an empty hex or an hex filled with counters. So hmm we'll see.

I sure would like to see a screenshot though of his new game [:D]

Ya, Strategic Command didn't have stacking and it's sounding exactly like that. Not sure how he's going to integrate the other elements to make the game something better and different than SC.

Have to wait and see I suppose. I was a bit suprised to see the AI poll a while back and to hear is comments on the results of it. That tells me he is going to struggle with it.

[Jeffrey H.]

ORIGINAL: ironduke1955

"Compared to previous games I did this game will be more innovative" Quote from Vic

Innovative that's just a fancy name for change right. I am a Grognard crumble complain. Swapping my brand of toothpaste is more change than I can handle. I like my hexes hex shaped my units like counters I used to spend hours punching out of sheet setting up on a game board. Just to have our pet cat stroll across the board and mess them all up. Say innovative again and I may need to put my hands over my ears and whistle the theme music to the Great Escape.

Ya funny but I'm the same way. If I see "toy town" graphics on a tilted square tile my mind closes shut. The original Stragic Command was fun though.

[GrumpyMel]

So I understand from the blog post how he can achieve a continous line without stacking. That seems the easy part. How does he intended to achieve concentration of force on the offense? That's one of the biggest problems non-stacking games have that I've experienced. Unless he is doing units similar to AT and having them be containers which you can bring formations into and out of easly and fluidly with highly variable sizes. In which case it's pretty much pseudo-stacking anyway....and then I really don't much understand the advantage over stacking, other then perhaps graphical presentation.

[Josh]

ORIGINAL: GrumpyMel

So I understand from the blog post how he can achieve a continous line without stacking. That seems the easy part. How does he intended to achieve concentration of force on the offense? That's one of the biggest problems non-stacking games have that I've experienced. Unless he is doing units similar to AT and having them be containers which you can bring formations into and out of easly and fluidly with highly variable sizes. In which case it's pretty much pseudo-stacking anyway....and then I really don't much understand the advantage over stacking, other then perhaps graphical presentation.

If I recall correctly, and it's been awhile since I last played Strategic Command, first suppress with Artillery and possibly Bombers, then hit with 1-3 cheap units and then finally hit it with your biggest strongest unit hoping for a breakthrough. Uberstrong units played a bigger role in the SC series than in ATG, same with the Panzer Corps game. You definitely need 15 strong elite units at times. Whereas ATG is much more flexible, and more about manoever. You can outmanoever a stronger unit in ATG and defeat it, that was hardly the case in Panzer Corps, and it didn't happen much in SC too. Non-stacking Uber-strong units tend to play pretty static, head to head butting the way bisons do. Hit hard, destroy unit then move on and repeat.

Still, Victor being the mastermind that he is...wonder what he will come up with. [:D]

[Tac2i]

New article on Shadow Empire: Fog of War.

[Jeffrey H.]

Well, still no news about how the AI will be integrated, not happy about that.