Arms Trade Tycoon: Tanks

[Geezer]

It launched this morning on Steam in Early Access.  Price is $26.99.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1662210/Arms_Trade_Tycoon_Tanks/

Looks like one of those games that ".. has a lot of potential but needs work".  It's on my wishlist but I'm not going to get it any time soon.  Already have too many games to be a paying beta tester.

[ArizonaTank]

Looks like one of those games that ".. has a lot of potential but needs work".  It's on my wishlist but I'm not going to get it any time soon.  Already have too many games to be a paying beta tester.

+1, looks interesting, but I'll wait until it cooks in the oven a bit more.

While I am sympathetic to devs trying to do new things...and have generally seen some good "early access" games, I have too many games that just did not seem to go far after initial early access release...some of them even becoming abandon-ware.

I know Microprose is behind this, but so far I think their offerings have been hit and miss; Carrier Command 2 was put into early access in an almost unplayable state and it took many months for it to be fixed.

[W8taminute]

Thanks for the FYI Geezer.  Will keep my eye on this and wait for full release.

[CaptainKoloth]

The early reviews on this are pretty dire. This pretty quickly went from "almost certain day one buy" to "quite possibly never buy" for me.

I feel like I keep reminding people of this elsewhere but the new Microprose has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the Microprose we knew and loved. It's some investors who bought the name. It's still very unclear to me if they are going to turn out to be a label worthy of the time, and this is one more piece of evidence not in their favor.

And by the way, if anyone wants a fantastic hidden gem game that is what I think people want this game to be, check out Sprocket.

[Gusington]

I will probably love this once it has matured a little more.

[Jarhead0331]

The early reviews on this are pretty dire. This pretty quickly went from "almost certain day one buy" to "quite possibly never buy" for me.

I feel like I keep reminding people of this elsewhere but the new Microprose has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the Microprose we knew and loved. It's some investors who bought the name. It's still very unclear to me if they are going to turn out to be a label worthy of the time, and this is one more piece of evidence not in their favor.
 

This is true, and I've been very skeptical and disappointed with the mostly fluff that has come out of MP since its "rebirth", but I would expect good things to come. We know they are working on some great projects with some very talented teams. Also, the CEO, David Lagettie, has a good simulations pedigree. He ran Bohemia Interactive and founded Titan IM. Both these companies produced high quality, professional grade simulations used by several military organizations. I keep holding out for a real winner from MP. I know they can do it.

Admittedly though, Arms Trade Tycoon is probably not going to be it.

[ArizonaTank]

I decided to take the plunge with Arms Trade Tycoon for the Autumn Sale.

I have put about 5 hours in and am really enjoying it.

At its core, it is a business simulation, very much like an automobile tycoon type game. The game loop revolves around the player designing tanks, trying to anticipate military needs. The player then competes for contracts, all the while balancing the needs of production vs. research.

Designing tanks is interesting. The player has an R&D facility, and can also reverse engineer enemy tanks. This allows you to take some of the best ideas in your enemy's vehicles and introduce them into your own. The design feature is pretty in-depth, going down to a small component level. But the game still supports players who don't care about that level of detail; those players who don't really care if your tank's engine is using the latest French "angled flywheel" or not.

The game currently has two "eras," WWI and inter-war period. The devs are adding follow-on eras, but there is enough gameplay already.   

There is a pretty good and deep global military eco-structure in the game, where the player can get "battle" feedback on his creations are doing on the field. Battle reports are pretty detailed. Individual nations develop doctrines that may make one nation more interested in light tanks than other nations for example. Should the player produce "vanguard tanks" or "light tanks?"

There is a "test drive" function that allows you to drive your vehicle on a test track and shoot stationary targets. It is a little arcade-like and the physics don't feel as realistic as "Sprocket." You can't fight in your tank designs either. For that, you need to go to "Sprocket."

The game has a few issues still...it is in EA after all. The interface needs some optimization, as sometimes it is difficult to find what you are looking for...information or function.

For example, the game allows you optimize your tank's components. You can update the drive-train by selecting newer components such as a better radiator. But figuring out how to do this, and then understanding the effect of making a change is not intuitive. The information is there...but just not where you expect to see it.

Overall, I am enjoying the game. If you like business simulations, it is pretty good as it is. The tank development theme is icing on the cake.

If "Arms Trade Tycoon" and "Sprocket" had a baby, that would be something.