Zulu Response -- An Indie FPS

[jomni]

I might pick this up just to record myself crying and then refund it

What if you liked it?

[Hofstadter]

1:28

This is going to kill me

[Slick Wilhelm]

I picked this game up today. It does need work, a lot of work. But, it has potential.

The bad:

- The graphics are poor for a modern FPS. Highest resolution is 1920x1200. My monitor's native resolution is 2560x1440, so things don't look as crisp.
- No option for anti-aliasing.
- The "U" key does not bring up the in-game menu as it should. This makes giving orders more difficult. Nonetheless, when I tried issuing orders to my troops, I kept getting a message that they weren't ready.
- The AI for my troops was poor, mostly because I could not give orders(see above).
- I couldn't tell direction, so I had no idea which was the north wall, which was the south wall. Not a big deal. I may have missed in in the keystroke menu.

The good:

- The price is right. It's still early access, so there's time to make lots of changes and fixes.
- You can shoot and stab Zulus or British soldiers.
- The Kraal, when set on fire by the Zulus, burns nicely.

To be honest, there's not much game play yet, but I did enjoy the sense of being in the constricted Drift. I would recommend this only to fans of the  Anglo-Zulu Wars. For anyone else, it's going to probably not be worth the money. I hope that the developer can make the much needed improvements with the cash injection. It's got a ways to go before it'll be worth a regular play.

Once the command of your AI soldiers if fixed, I imagine my regard for the game with increase greatly.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Can you remap the keys?

[Slick Wilhelm]

Can you remap the keys?

Yes, and there are a nice set of options that can be changed.

[jomni]

1:28

This is going to kill me

There seems to be a lot of strategy involved.  Or is it just superficial?

[Slick Wilhelm]

1:28

This is going to kill me

There seems to be a lot of strategy involved.  Or is it just superficial?

Well, since I can't control the AI due to the bug mentioned above, it becomes you running around and protecting this sector, then that sector. Without control of the AI, it's a game breaker. That being said, I've been playing it for about an hour each day so far.

[spelk]

I had some issues with the game, the command keys 'U' would only work sometimes, also selecting some of your men and not others, would yield only one of the six responding to your commands to move.

You place a location flag by pressing 'F', which brings up a floating hand cursor in addition to your normal cursor, which you then point to an area, and then have to press the middle mouse button to set the location! Then you have use "T" for move direct, or go to the 'U' command list, and mouse press the command (if the 'U' key works). This seems like a convoluted and key heavy mess just to set a marker and order your men to move there. How about just point your weapon at the location, press 'T' and the men move?

I really appreciate the games idea to command a squad of men, and to give you fine tactical control over them, but having such a complex and clumsy way to perform these tactical options really reduces the fluidity of it all.

It's early access, and hopefully it will get better in that regard.

I also had issues when boosting the resolution up to full, with flashing bands across the screen - was ok at lower resolutions - but perhaps I need to update my graphics drivers or something.

Despite it's clunkiness and graphics behind the current gen of FPS games, I enjoyed the spectacle of being able to move about Rorke's Drift and to fire a shot or two off at the oncoming Zulu hordes..

P.S. don't run about with that bayonet pointing forwards, because you can stick your men with a clumsy run! :)

The historical integration is welcome, being able to command as Chard, or Bromhead, of even Colour Seargent Frank Bourne made me appreciate the efforts being put into this title.

[Hofstadter]

Alright, no videos on youtube. I bought it. Gotta get some juicy views.

If this kills me I'm specifically referencing you guys in my suicide note

[Slick Wilhelm]

Alright, no videos on youtube. I bought it. Gotta get some juicy views.

If this kills me I'm specifically referencing you guys in my suicide note

Well, currently it's underwhelming, but it does have potential.

[Hofstadter]

Unplayable for me, extreme graphic glitching. Getting a refund

[Slick Wilhelm]

I haven't played much since October, so I decided to update the game. There have been two(or was it three?) patches since October, and the game has improved slightly.

Pressing "U" now brings up the menu key as it should. Ordering your men around by setting a "location flag", similar to the "Scourge of War" games, selecting which men you want to go to that location, and then actually ordering them there, is still a bit clunky. The path finding by the men is iffy, with one of my men not being able to move to the flag because his path was blocked by a few crates of ammo. He couldn't find a way around them, apparently. You still have to be VERY careful with where you're pointing your bayonet at(sorry boys that I killed).

I took a look at the credits today and it seems to be pretty much a two horse operation. And, I bet they have day jobs. I still think the title has potential, but they've got a long way to go before it could be considered "polished". At the rate of the current patches, I'd say at least another year or two may be necessary to make it ready for prime time.

I also noticed in the credits that our very own "asid" was given a special thanks.

All-in-all, for hardcore "Anglo-Zulu Wars" fans only at this stage of development.