What’s New In Strategy and Wargames?
It seems like every week there’s something major going on, and this time it’s not different. Battlefield 6 just came out, and after two major misses (Battlefield 5 and Battlefield 2042), it looks like the series is finally back on track. I wasn’t impressed with it, but I think that has more to do with me and how my tastes in FPS have changed, and not with the game itself. With that out of the way, let’s dive straight into what’s been going on with Strategy and Wargames, shall we? Starting with Steam Next Fest!
Steam Next Fest Arrives Tomorrow!
The Steam Next Fest, a celebration of the traditional practice of trying out video game demos, takes place tomorrow, October 13th, and will run until October 20th. Hundreds of new demos will be shown to the public, and players will be able to get a taste of some of strategy gaming’s most exciting future releases, including Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, and MENACE, two games I have already played and previewed for Strategy and Wargaming that managed to impress me tremendously.
Wargame Design Studio Partners with Burden of Command
This is absolutely wild news for every Wargame Design Studio and Burden of Command fans. Wargame Design Studio bought the 3D terrain graphics of Burden of Command as a basis for them to start upgrading and standardizing their graphics across the series. Not only that, but they have also purchased 1.100 3D models to use as a basis for their unit graphics. This means we can expect a massive graphical overhaul for Wargame Design Studio titles.
I’m extremely happy with this news, and I’m so glad to see the largest wargaming-focused company putting some love into the graphical fidelity of their games with the specific goal to “make our titles more attractive to a broader demographic of players”. I’ve been saying for years that no matter how realistic or authentic a wargame is, if you want to reach a massive audience, you’ll need to have the presentation required. This is a massive step in the right direction, and I’m happy that WDS is business-savvy enough to recognize that. Squad Battles: Falklands was used as a proof of concept, and the results speak for themselves. A new level of 3D zoom was added. Take a look:
Now, when are we going to have WDS: Burden of Command with the amazing storytelling and RPG mechanics of Burden of Command alongside the deep combat mechanics of Wargame Design Studio titles?
Master of Command Comes Out This Month
The Armchair Historian’s next title, Master of Command, is coming out on October 27th, and I have been given a key for the game and no NDA, so my opinion on it should be coming out sometime soon. So far, I have enjoyed my time with the game. It’s far from being the most realistic or authentic strategy game around, but the mix of roguelike mechanics, progression, and somewhat fast-paced real-time tactical battles makes for a very entertaining product that’s great to exercise your military brain without burning out a fuse. There’s a demo available, go and try it.
Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era Delayed
While I was impressed when I, I guess my preview of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era was right on the money, when I said that there were missing elements of the UI, tooltips, and animations. Turns out that the team wants to improve the UI, do some more playtesting, and redesign some units. I’m not upset at all with this news, and while I think the game was already in a very solid state, it’s amazing to see Ubisoft and Hooded Horse be willing to let it cook for a couple of months more. To make sure none of you are saddened by the announcement, there’s a demo you can play right now.
Paradox Pulls The Plug On Millenia
Paradox’s unsuccessful attempt at getting a piece of the 4X and Civilization pie with Millennia has come to an unceremonious end, via a Steam post, which reads, “With this patch, we are sadly coming to the end of an age. This will be the final patch for Millennia, thanks to C Prompt for their work and support of this game. We at Paradox will no longer be active on community platforms for Millennia, but you can continue counting on us for support needs, and the game will remain available to play indefinitely”. The community reacted with a mix of sadness and anger, with players claiming it was a typical Paradox move: releasing a half-baked project and then abandoning it soon after. I guess the skull on the logo makes more sense than ever.
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