The Last Federation

FarAway Sooner · April 16, 2014, 09:35:20 AM

With this game, the trick is going to be making the mechanics in the meta-game work happily with the tactical combat mechanics. If they get that tight and can keep replay value strong, the game should rock.

Arcen does what indie developers should do well: They take established mechanics and bend them in ways that the more traditional, more risk-averse mainstream studios wouldn't dare to try. Whether you liked AI Wars or not, you have to admire the originality of a team that releases a game that was one one part tower defense, one part tower attack, one part RTS, and one part 4x.

A Valley without Wind wasn't much fun to play, but again, you've got to appreciate the efforts to build an RPG around a platforming game.

For myself, I'm waiting for Arcen to release a game that uses octagons instead of hexagons. 8)

Nefaro · April 16, 2014, 09:43:27 AM

I'm in. They got me at turn-based.

Friday, huh?

spelk · April 16, 2014, 05:04:12 PM

Launch Trailer #2

"Realizing that not all trailer styles are going to appeal to all people, I've renamed the prior trailer to be the "Grognard Trailer," as that's the target audience it is aimed squarely at. And then now we have this shorter, more general-purpose trailer to go alongside it."

spelk · April 16, 2014, 05:10:50 PM

First batch of lets plays

http://arcengames.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/first-tlf-lets-play-videos-surface.html

mikeck · April 16, 2014, 06:27:58 PM

Hmmm...a bit too "pew-pew-pew" for me. Never played AI war but heard good things. May pick it up one of those times when I have a gaming slump

eyebiter · April 17, 2014, 10:10:41 AM

.

Nefaro · April 17, 2014, 02:26:19 PM

I originally didn't think I would like AI War since it was 1) an RTS, and 2) contained some "tower defense" facet in the mix. Ended up enjoying it a good deal for it's single-player concepts and the mechanics & strategy required to wage an interstellar guerrilla war against the machines! :D

JudgeDredd · April 17, 2014, 02:35:23 PM

Quote from: Nefaro on April 17, 2014, 02:26:19 PM
I originally didn't think I would like AI War since it was 1) an RTS, and 2) contained some "tower defense" facet in the mix. Ended up enjoying it a good deal for it's single-player concepts and the mechanics & strategy required to wage an interstellar guerrilla war against the machines! :D

Totally +1.

I saw some videos and was like "WTF? There's no way I'm playing a game like that" despite other people telling me it was manageable.

It went on sale and I gave it a punt and I really enjoyed the mechanics.

bbmike · April 17, 2014, 04:56:46 PM

This game seems really interesting to me. I like the idea that you are trying to get all of the races to work together instead of wiping them all out. Who's going to buy this tomorrow and give us nice review? 8)

tgb · April 17, 2014, 05:07:25 PM

I'll probably cave, since the developer is saying there will be a $5 discount the first week, and $15 is pretty much my "why the f not?" threshhold.

Nefaro · April 17, 2014, 08:20:04 PM

Quote from: bbmike on April 17, 2014, 04:56:46 PM
This game seems really interesting to me. I like the idea that you are trying to get all of the races to work together instead of wiping them all out. Who's going to buy this tomorrow and give us nice review? 8)

The concept absolutely reminded me of Drox Operative. Although the game mechanics are probably a bit different, it's still the same setup. I like that it has turn-based stuff though. At the price, it should be an easy decision.

FarAway Sooner · April 17, 2014, 09:25:06 PM

Quote from: Nefaro on April 17, 2014, 02:26:19 PM
I originally didn't think I would like AI War since it was 1) an RTS, and 2) contained some "tower defense" facet in the mix. Ended up enjoying it a good deal for it's single-player concepts and the mechanics & strategy required to wage an interstellar guerrilla war against the machines! :D

Yeah, what really stands out to me about AI War is the way they defined the enemy as an asymmetrical opponent (e.g., so powerful as to be omnipotent if he just sent all his forces at you, but not very nimble or quick to respond to the human threat and limited in what he can do). It made for a great single-player experience (and a great co-op experience as well), while also preserving nice dramatic tension and forcing you to evaluate tough strategic trade-offs. Lastly, it allowed the developers to focus on an AI that would be good at doing the stuff it needed to do, while plausibly explaining why it didn't do (or need to do) everything else like a human player would.

tgb · April 18, 2014, 01:37:43 AM

Designer Chris Park demos the game and gets his butt kicked.

I just became a lot more interested.

Tpek · April 18, 2014, 05:19:19 AM

It's out on GOG.
I'm tempted to buy it from there, or wait until the Steam release.

Jarhead0331 · April 18, 2014, 06:12:25 AM

This one looks like it is going to appeal to me more than AI War....barely.