Saturday 10 January 2015

Naval Action - PC Gaming in the Age of Sail + Mordheim PC reboot?

Two games in development* which I am quite excited about.
*Yes, you can pay for "early access" i.e. pay for the privilege of play testing an incomplete and buggy product, but please don't encourage this business practice!

Mordheim seems the farthest along - it seems to have captured the feel of the tabletop version with a few positive changes - alternate moving units Chess style rather than the old IGOUGO, and a fluid style of turn-based movement.  This is awesome news, and has potential to be the fantasy version of X-COM. So far it is looking great.

My main concern: I really hope we don't only get 3-4 factions and have to pay extra for the others as DLC.  Games Workshop has certainly got history of milking customers with supplements/codexes in the digital realm as well as in the tabletop game.

Ah, Mordheim, how we missed you! I just hope we don't get nickel-and-dimed and have to pay extra for every warband...

The second is Naval Action. Since Sea Dogs, Pirates! and Age of Sail II (both back in the dark ages of 2000-2004) the only 'naval action' you could get* (*no not that sort!) was the pretty but bland gameplay from Empire: Total War. 

A proper age of sail game set in an open world? A giant sandbox where you can build a military or trading empire?  Yes please!

It seems to be a labour of love - every cannonball is tracked - one shot can hit the stern, damage the rudder, then hit the cannon carriage, injure crew, ricochet from the floor and hit the opposite side.  Cargo and ship condition affects sailing rates, and you can employ correct sailing techniques. 

There are already quite a few YouTube videos about. Trafalgar has been refought quite a few times!  I really hope this one lives up to its promise.


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