This game, simply titled Vietnam War, recently dropped into Steam early access and it's utterly unhinged and insane. Best to share via these Twitter posts I've seen.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1837480/Vietnam_War/
On the one hand, it looks a bit flippant and meme-y for the usual tastes on this board, but on the other hand -- holy hell, is this thing ambitious.
QuoteThere's a game simply titled "Vietnam War" that just got dropped out of nowhere on Steam and apparently it may well be the sort of grand-scale "downtime and everything" grunt simulation dream game I always rant about. Anyone familiar?
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GppxryqbIAAS9Sv?format=jpg&name=large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GppywZ4bEAAlxqL?format=png&name=900x900)
QuoteUpdate: Game's fucking unhinged. There's roving bands of spider monkeys you can gun down for extra XP. My PATRIOTISM stat increases as I blow a VC officer's head off with my 1911. There's a dedicated "kill civilians" order. My grenadier lights a cig as napalm burns the treeline.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GpqKs1ba8AAh4qH?format=jpg&name=900x900)
QuoteI've been informed that deep, DEEP within this game, there's an entire system for finishing your tour of duty and being discharged stateside to live your life in an entirely different multi-state American open-world.
I don't even know what to say.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GpvXIhhaYAEHI4D?format=jpg&name=large)
Twitter thread: https://x.com/kinpatsukenshi/status/1917364101975793975
I have it. it is janky as hell, but very fun. Hopefully, development will continue.
Yes, war crimes are a thing. You can totally napalm villages.
Gotta say, that looks great. Reminds me, I still need to play the Vietcong games.
Looks like the same crazy vibe as Schedule One, but with 20% more napalm.
I was just dicking around with it some more. Its pretty shockingly deep and epic. The array of equipment, vehicles, aircraft, map locations and things to do (and kill) is pretty ridiculous for a game like this. it's definitely corny, but beneath the thin veneer of comedy is a really cool Vietnam war sandbox with some surprising depth.
I'm really fascinated by the idea of getting discharged and going back stateside to a completely separate open-world sandbox. This really is kind of a dream game for me -- I always liked the idea of an open-world GTA/RDR style game set during the Vietnam War, where you're a criminal stateside and if you get busted, instead of a game over, you can get sent to a tour of duty in Nam. This is probably the closest we'll ever get to that idea in full fruition.
In the Twitter thread I linked, someone asked what there even is to do when you return from Nam, and the best reply was:
"What indeed."
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Gpvp5XPaYAAgZFs?format=png&name=900x900)
The more I play it, the awesomer it gets. It really is a stroke of genius. I'm a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps and I've done got me 74 VC killed. At some point, it became clear that i was a badass when I noticed a cigarette in my mouth. I have a CAC, a pay grade with a salary and I see my tour of duty counting down. The guy who made this pretty much thought of everything.
Okay, I'm buying this at full price, something I RARELY do, because it indeed looks astounding.
Is there any base building aspects to this game similar to the Vietnam War mod for Arma 3?
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 30, 2025, 06:37:45 PMThe more I play it, the awesomer it gets. It really is a stroke of genius. I'm a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps and I've done got me 74 VC killed. At some point, it became clear that i was a badass when I noticed a cigarette in my mouth. I have a CAC, a pay grade with a salary and I see my tour of duty counting down. The guy who made this pretty much thought of everything.
Really sounds awesome as hell, but I hear the tour of duty counter is a bit broken at the moment, resetting every time you fire up the game. Hopefully that's not true, or if it is, they get it fixed pretty quickly, because gosh-darn what a cool frigging idea. :RockOn:
Quote from: al_infierno on April 30, 2025, 09:04:01 PMQuote from: Jarhead0331 on April 30, 2025, 06:37:45 PMThe more I play it, the awesomer it gets. It really is a stroke of genius. I'm a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps and I've done got me 74 VC killed. At some point, it became clear that i was a badass when I noticed a cigarette in my mouth. I have a CAC, a pay grade with a salary and I see my tour of duty counting down. The guy who made this pretty much thought of everything.
Really sounds awesome as hell, but I hear the tour of duty counter is a bit broken at the moment, resetting every time you fire up the game. Hopefully that's not true, or if it is, they get it fixed pretty quickly, because gosh-darn what a cool frigging idea. :RockOn:
Someone said it pretty good in a steam review, "the game is held together by chewing gum and dreams..." It's overall in rough early access shape. A lot of things are janky, don't work as they should or not at all. But, it is totally functional and very fun once you get into it. Don't expect a bug free experience though.
About the pay grade and salary. Its not clear to me whether this mechanic is really implemented yet, but it certainly ties into the imagination of the developer and shows where he wants to take the game. As I mentioned, the map of Vietnam is absolutely HUGE. I haven't even left the highlands yet, but there is so much else to explore.
One time, I was flying a Bronco and I ended up over Saigon. I accidentally bailed from the aircraft and landed in my parachute downtown. There were a shit-ton of street vendors and civilians milling about. A lot of shops with actual merch inside. Some of the civilians screamed and ran from me, some of the ladies made "kissing" noises (think famous prostitute scene from Full Metal Jacket), others ignored me and went about their business as usual. I think the plan is to eventually let the player interact with all these shops vendors and items. If it comes together it will be really cool and immersive.
Here is a pretty bad shot of the current map. As you can see, its not just Vietnam. There are parts of Cambodia and Laos!
(https://i.ibb.co/YBgLqwPD/1837480-9.jpg)
Any idea if you can actually refuel/repair vehicles yet? I've been romping around kicking ass in a V100 Commando that's getting pretty beat up, but I'm not quite ready to let go of it yet.
Also hope they expand squad controls soon, it's pretty neat how you can play Commander with the radio and manage the battle, but it'd also be nice to tell my squad to get into my armored car with me so they're not running along after me getting shot to pieces. :buck2:
Great game so far, but yeah, definitely very janky
EDIT - Welp, my Commando took an RPG hit in a jungle ambush as soon as I left the base. Luckily I managed to survive with minor wounds somehow. RIP my armored car. I gotta say for the low fidelity and all the jank, this game really captures the feeling of FIBSA -- Fudge, I'm Being Shot At!
The dev of this game is a confirmed madman. WTF :TimeOut:
QuoteWell, @Rimmy_Downunder
is streaming this game right now and we can definitively confirm this is all real and all in the current build of the game. You can even buy property in America, cook on the stove, join a gang, join the police, rob banks, shoot up Woodstock...
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Gp6IB3ZboAAAToK?format=jpg&name=medium)
Haha damn you guys!! With today being payday there was no way I could pass on this at $15. I love being able to support stuff like this even if it makes a more capable dev stand up and take notice. Hopefully this guy finishes this out though because it sounds like it is on track to being amazing!
This sounds crazy, I'll have to get it for 15 bucks...why not.
First time "in country", I'm greeted to a black Loading screen. After a few seconds, a message about an NVA attack appears at the top of the screen in red, followed a few seconds later by the sounds of explosions all around me. The message disappears before I have a chance to read it.
The loading screen clears and it looks like I'm climbing up a beach at first then I realize I'm climbing out of a rice paddy but my POV feels stuck about a foot above the ground (like I'm prone maybe). There are villagers walking around and everything looks calm, then all of a sudden a tank comes rolling through and people start scattering all over the place and total chaos erupts. All of the janky animations made it a real comedy. One guy was swimming in-place at hyper speed in a rice paddy. I realized I didn't seem to have a weapon out so I ran for cover and madly hit the number keys that seemed to show I had guns but nothing seemed to work, then I got shot.
I woke up next to a cot with a "You survived" message at the top of the screen and the sound of firefights in every direction. I start heading towards a group of helicopters on the ground while an "Infantry unit in battle" message pops up at the top of the screen. I see a line of soldiers that seem to be going somewhere so I decide to join up with them while still fighting the number keys trying to pull out a weapon.
I finally feel like I've got a shotgun out but it looks like it's down by my hip so I click to try and bring it up then watch in horror as me and the two guys in front of me get blown to pieces when it turns out to be a grenade launcher that I just shot off.
This is the most hilarious fun I've had in awhile, but underneath it all you can see something that is significant and different. There are a lot of systems and because they are in varying states of development, the results are often pretty funny... but this could also turn into one of the greatest games ever. I hope development of this continues, and I can't wait to explore more of it.
I took this screenshot right before quitting to come type this up and I think it sums up the game pretty well. It reminds me of something I read a long time ago about Francis Ford Coppola saying Apocalypse Now "was" the Vietnam war. You could kinda say that about this game too in some ways.
Quote from: DesertFox on May 02, 2025, 07:58:42 PMIt reminds me of something I read a long time ago about Francis Ford Coppola saying Apocalypse Now "was" the Vietnam war. You could kinda say that about this game too in some ways.
(https://64.media.tumblr.com/251fadb43aa56cadd342e9f17c14197f/tumblr_nw4kn704aw1qdhps7o7_r1_250.gif)
Even though I've never been in the military, I have the feeling this game is also (unintentionally or not) an effective FNG simulator. I have no idea what I'm doing, I'm around all this lethal hardware, bumbling around blowing shit up on both sides (most of the time accidentally), jumping at every noise, getting myself killed, etc...
Quote from: DesertFox on May 03, 2025, 08:36:25 AMEven though I've never been in the military, I have the feeling this game is also (unintentionally or not) an effective FNG simulator. I have no idea what I'm doing, I'm around all this lethal hardware, bumbling around blowing shit up on both sides (most of the time accidentally), jumping at every noise, getting myself killed, etc...
It's not really like that in the military. :jarhead0331:
Haha yeah and I also almost followed that up with a disclaimer that I obviously know this is nothing like the actual military, just the sense of confusion and being in a totally different world where you don't know the rules (ie my Hollywood-influenced version of an FNG).
I just jumped in a puddle jumper aircraft (think it's a Pilatus), just managed to make it over the trees on takeoff (the plane started accelerating straight forward as soon as I hit "up" and I never made it onto the runway), then got stabilized and brought up the map.
It looks like you no joke can fly from one end of Vietnam to the other. I'm not sure what the scale is but the map is HUGE.
I hopped in a chopper and flew around awhile until I was sufficiently lost, started taking fire from the jungle, lost control and crashed in a fiery explosion, then woke up next to that same cot with a message saying "You survived, light injuries". :laugh:
I freaking love this game.
Quote from: W8taminute on April 30, 2025, 08:47:03 PMIs there any base building aspects to this game similar to the Vietnam War mod for Arma 3?
There does seem to be some sort of upgrade mechanic that you can do when you are around villages. I've run across areas that have a flag that I guess are points to contest and nearby there was a radio. When I hit the use button near the radio there were options for calling in reinforcements and maybe upgrading defenses or something? Since I am currently just playing an Army grunt, the options are all disabled.
Man this game is janky but damn is it fun!
ETA: I'm not sure how the mechanic works in Arma 3, but it also looks like there's some sort of pacification value associated with a village. I noticed a percent value above a flag at one of the capture points that referred to pacification. There also was a civilian woman walking through that town and once I passed by her she turned around and shot me. I'm assuming that value may be correlated with how often things like that happen...? A manual would be really helpful lol.
Made it to corporal in the Marines today, so I guess I'm doing something right! :grin:
I don't really know how to describe my strange fascination with this game but there's something about it that has me playing it over titles that cost millions of dollars to create (and like $70 of my own money).
Quote from: DesertFox on May 05, 2025, 03:18:48 PMMade it to corporal in the Marines today, so I guess I'm doing something right! :grin:
I don't really know how to describe my strange fascination with this game but there's something about it that has me playing it over titles that cost millions of dollars to create (and like $70 of my own money).
Yep, something about the total completeness of the vision is extremely compelling, and despite all the jank, it is really cool as hell to walk around a simulated jungle while actual combat rages around you. Not just color made up by a game dev to fill out the background of the scene, but actual units romping around, lobbing explosives at each other, and so on.
I do wish the death system was a little more robust, at the moment there doesn't appear to be any way to permanently die, which can be just a tad bit immersion breaking.
Quote from: al_infierno on May 05, 2025, 06:51:40 PMI do wish the death system was a little more robust, at the moment there doesn't appear to be any way to permanently die, which can be just a tad bit immersion breaking.
Yeah that would add a ton to the immersion/intensity if part of the goal was to try and actually survive your full tour!
Caught Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut in theaters tonight, and it filled me with the overwhelming urge to fire up this game, make a brand new MACV-SOG guy, and start him out in Saigon before heading up the river on some special assignment in Cambodia. Maybe establish a cool little base and become my own Kurtz.
"Saigon.... shit. I'm still only in Saigon."
EDIT - Having just been fully immersed in the surreal horror of Apocalypse Now, there's something I love about your AI teammates randomly whispering into your ears. "Look out..." "What was that?" Really adds to the paranoia and insanity
I am kinda jealous you got to see Apocalypse on the big screen... that's one thing I have yet to do. I bet that opening scene with The Doors playing when the treeline goes up is something to see.
That is also a great idea about role-playing the whole Kurtz scenario! I am pretty much looking for any excuse to jump into this game - I am really happy you made this thread because I never would have even heard of this otherwise!
At lunchtime I jumped in as an Army grunt at a random base. I grabbed a Huey and started flying around and hey, look - it's the US Embassy in Saigon! I tried to land on the roof but destroyed the chopper in the process. Got out and looks like Saigon's under attack. I ran around for a few minutes and got a few kills defending the city.
Not bad for a quick lunch. This dev is insane.
Quote from: DesertFox on May 08, 2025, 11:24:20 AMI am kinda jealous you got to see Apocalypse on the big screen... that's one thing I have yet to do. I bet that opening scene with The Doors playing when the treeline goes up is something to see.
That is also a great idea about role-playing the whole Kurtz scenario! I am pretty much looking for any excuse to jump into this game - I am really happy you made this thread because I never would have even heard of this otherwise!
It was actually my second time seeing the Final Cut on the big screen. Not to derail the thread, but I actually prefer the Theatrical Cut over all the others.... I don't really think the extra scenes add much, and they mostly just screw up the pacing of the film. The French plantation scene is particularly stupid because they go right back to seeming high-strung like they've been on the river for days, not like they just had a nice meal and a good bed and (in Willard's case) a hot lay. This is the rare case where the director is wrong, and the theatrical cut was for the best, IMO.
I actually agree with you on this. It's not often that I think that about movies that I enjoy - more is almost always better! - but in this case I totally agree about the pacing, and some things downright just don't seem to fit correctly.
Still better than 99% of the trash out there but I prefer Theatrical also.
I know I'm kind of asking a question a bit in contrast to the "point" of the game, but is there any kind of guide to getting started? I'm finding it just absolute chaos, and in a confusing rather than fun way.
Unfortunately not Koloth, at least as far as I know. I did find what appears to be a manual in the game sitting on a desk in some random building. I picked it up but I can't figure out how to actually read it lol.
The game is pretty chaotic when you first start, then after you get used to it a little you start learning your way around some and at this point I'm honestly not sure what the point is so I just make up my own action/stories.
I know you can request missions and one of the goals is to take over all of the command points, but as far as how you would actually accomplish that, your guess is as good as anyone's I think! :laugh:
You can still have a lot of chaotic fun just running around creating your own stories!
This is a sandbox in every sense of the word. You can play it literally however you want. For some people, this makes for an awesome game, for others, the lack of direction and focus can be a problem. Missions do get assigned to you, but it is sometimes hard to figure out exactly what the objective is. If you look at the map, you will sometimes see designated targets for your operations. These usually involve a VC or NVA base to attack or a friendly asset to defend. You can also use the radio to request new missions.
If I'm not looking to accomplish a particular mission, I usually look at the map to find where we are in contact with the enemy or where there are hot spots. These are really easy to find and then I just make my into the jungle to get into the "shit".
The spawn location can also have a big impact on the immediate chaos level. I've spawned in sometimes and there's shit flying everywhere and mass chaos right off the bat, but if you can either escape that or spawn at a new base, there's usually some time to get your bearings before hell breaks loose.
Also, I totally agree with Jarhead. I think that's one of the things that is appealing to me about this game. Although I love the big AAA titles coming out these days (for the most part), I am also getting tired of carbon copy "open worlds" that dictate you going from Point A to Point B to Point C. The direction is nice but I also like to play how I like to play.
Sorry for the triple post but one of my favorite things to do in Vietnam War (so far) is just make a beeline for the nearest aircraft, try and get off the ground, then do some exploring. Flying gives you a sense of the absolutely bonkers scale of this game and allows you a little bit of extra safety to find some trouble to get into.
Did you guys know he even thought of this?
(https://i.ibb.co/N2tDQCVY/20250510151929-1.jpg)
Holy crap, no I hadn't! There is no telling how much stuff is buried in here that we don't know about!
From today's update log. :shocked:
QuotePlayer can now become a traitor (keep an eye on your reputation).
Quote from: al_infierno on May 11, 2025, 08:25:15 PMFrom today's update log. :shocked:
QuotePlayer can now become a traitor (keep an eye on your reputation).
The cool thing about this is that there is an MP system. So if your reputation gets too low and you're branded a traitor, there will be consequences!
This guy is making every afternoon I finish up work and login like Christmas morning! He's making almost daily updates to the game, and they are almost always something cool!
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on May 01, 2025, 08:26:18 AMOne time, I was flying a Bronco and I ended up over Saigon. I accidentally bailed from the aircraft and landed in my parachute downtown.
How did the debrief with your CO go?
Can I play as Jane Fonda?
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on May 13, 2025, 09:32:25 PMCan I play as Jane Fonda?
Given the game's ridiculous scope, I genuinely would not be surprised if they add that...
... or a role for the NVA side where you play as an American ex-pat or some such.
Ok, bought and installed. I have NO idea when I will find time to play.
Average experience in this game defending a remote frontline base at night:
I don't know if you guys have looked at the patch notes lately, but...
let's just say there's dogs now with a loyalty rating haha. :notworthy:
This guy is slowly creating The Matrix. If he takes it much further I'm getting close to ready to just check-in full-time haha. Can't be any crazier than the actual world around us right now.
ETA - Given the current graphical level of the game, this seems like it would make an awesome candidate for VR. I wonder if he's got that on his to-do list. I could probably mention it in the Steam forums and it'll be working by Monday. :)
New patch...fixed centipedes, syringes and monkeys, added rabid dogs. How can you not love a games that even considers things like that, lol.
I've owned that game for a while and still have not played it. I mean IT'S ON MY COMPUTER and I still haven't played it, what am I doing with my life??
Quote from: JasonPratt on August 16, 2025, 08:38:44 PMI've owned that game for a while and still have not played it. I mean IT'S ON MY COMPUTER and I still haven't played it, what am I doing with my life??
Something else? :buck2:
Vietnam War just got an update focused on the stateside stuff, that adds, among other things:
-A full penitentiary system, you can either serve time or break out.
-Theme Parks
-Nightclubs you can own
-The entire state of Texas. Also Washington. Also Wyoming.
-"Draft Dodger Mode"
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HDykQl9bAAEPOZd?format=jpg&name=4096x4096)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HDykz55boAAlUVn?format=jpg&name=4096x4096)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HDyk4g0b0AAiMPi?format=jpg&name=4096x4096)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HDylm1bbIAAYRYe?format=jpg&name=4096x4096)
Agent Orange spraying added.
That is all...