AI War: Fleet Command - FREE sequel-sized update v4 released!

[Dan_Theman]

looks like a new expansion is out for this.

kind of a funny blurb -

... those who have never experienced AI War's greatness can acquire the epic space RTS for 50% the normal asking price until January 12th

I've held off on this one due to my usual massive backlog and the feeling it's not quite perfect for what I want.  However, I'll be sure to snag it when a combo pack goes on a good sale.

[CeeKay]

looks like a new expansion is out for this.

kind of a funny blurb -

... those who have never experienced AI War's greatness can acquire the epic space RTS for 50% the normal asking price until January 12th

I've held off on this one due to my usual massive backlog and the feeling it's not quite perfect for what I want.  However, I'll be sure to snag it when a combo pack goes on a good sale.

I finally got around to grabbing the demo last night and will give it a spin, probably this weekend.

[dbt1949]

It is one massive patch, over 100 megs. Haven't tired it out with the new patch tho.

[St_Dysan]

Hi all

I've read through the entire thread and still can't get an idea of the single player aspect of the game.  I'm going to try the demo this weekend but wanted if someone could give me a SP rundown.  I never have time to invest in a long MP game but can spend a fair amount off and on throughout the day on SP.

Any help?

thanks

[Huw the Poo]

Single player is just the same as the co-op mode; aside from the fact that you have nobody helping you out, the game is the same.  Although in my opinion AI War is better when playing with friends, it's still a great game in single player mode.

The game scales with the number of players too.  By all means try the demo but I strongly urge you to play through all of the tutorials.  AI War is sufficiently different that you need to do so in order to get it.

[Zero]

I am so tempted to buy this game, especially at $10 from Steam.  I just can't justify spending more $$ with all the games I'm struggling to play through right now.  Its a great price and looks just awesome.  I played the demo and loved it, but its competing against all of these games I picked up over the holiday sale.  What do you guys think?  Pick it up for $10 and shelf it for a several months??  And yes the expansion looks awesome too!!!

[baelthazar]

Pick it up - It's tons of fun! It will be tons of fun in a few months when your backlog is lower too! 

[Huw the Poo]

Bael's right.  Pick it up now while it's cheap and it'll become a mainstay of your collection.  Any time you get bored of other games, AI War will be waiting faithfully for you.

You'll be hard-pressed to find another game that beats it in terms of value per dollar.  The game's huge, and it'll take a good number of play-throughs before you even see all the available ships.  And being so packed with options to configure each game, the replayability potential is off the charts!

[Elmo]

Well worth $10.

[JohnathanStrange]

I would say AI War is virtually a "must have" for space war gamers and for gamers looking for an AI with personality. Other games may be better looking, but AI War has personality, and as they say personality goes a long way.

[Razgon]

On the other hand - I've played nearly every Space game there is, from Moo to Ascendancy to Galciv and tons of other games...and I just cant do this - I've tried starting the game 4 times now, and I've only come to the second tutorial for some reason... It just seems very very hard to understand..at least for me.

I'd love to love it, but I guess someday I'll have to spend what seems like MANY hours to get into the game

[Huw the Poo]

Raz, you should play a multiplayer game on easy with someone who can show you the ropes.

[raydude]

Arise old thread!

So, been playing through the beginner and intermediate tutorials. I am currently in the intermediate tutorial (which is really a min-campaign game with some hand-holding in the form of tips that tell you what to do next).

Did my first raid on a warp gate, which was fun. Its pretty neat seeing the line of ships make their way around the AI force field, hit the warp gate, and then try to escape back through a friendly worm hole. A few of them didn't make it because their engines got fried (0% engines). What weapon is causing that anyway? The rest of the ship is okay but the engines are down.

So on to my big question: I raided the warp gate and was building up to assault the next planet. I hear some pew pew sounds but don't see any enemy ships in the system I'm in. Then the next thing I know the game tells me my home HQ is destroyed and the AI taunts me for it. Did I miss some big honking warning sign that said "Hey, the thing that will cause you to lose the game is being attacked!" ??

If I didn't miss it because it wasn't there, doesn't anyone else playing this think I should have a big warning sign saying that?

[raydude]

Okay, so there was a warning sign, but in the form of flashing red text at the upper left of the screen. I guess I just wish there would be a sound cue for it. Like maybe a loud klaxon or "Danger, Danger!"

[Huw the Poo]

Sad update.  Arcen Games is going out of business.  If things don't turn around they'll be bust by November.  It would be terrible if that happened; Arcen Games are Good Guys.  AI War: Fleet Command is one of the richest, deepest strategy games in recent years and the level of post-release support and general listening to the community has been nothing less than heroic.

Fence-sitters, if you've been even vaguely curious about AI War, now's the time to take a proper look.  Play the demo.  If you like it, please buy it.  And tell your friends.  We need developers like these guys to stay in business.  Thanks for reading.

[Chaz]

That's too bad.  I already owned AI War and Zenith, so I picked up Tidalis.  I kind of question the decision to go with what on the surface appears to be yet another match 3 game as their second title.  The market is pretty well flooded with those currently, and it doesn't really do anything to set itself apart marketing-wise.

[Hotfreak]

Sad update.  Arcen Games is going out of business.  If things don't turn around they'll be bust by November.  It would be terrible if that happened; Arcen Games are Good Guys.  AI War: Fleet Command is one of the richest, deepest strategy games in recent years and the level of post-release support and general listening to the community has been nothing less than heroic.

Fence-sitters, if you've been even vaguely curious about AI War, now's the time to take a proper look.  Play the demo.  If you like it, please buy it.  And tell your friends.  We need developers like these guys to stay in business.  Thanks for reading.

DL-ing the demo now.  If I like it, I will certainly pony up the $20 asap.

Good luck to them; I hope they find a way to pull through.

[baelthazar]

Tidalis is not regular "match 3 game" and it far more fun and interesting than run-of-the-mill bejeweled clone. In fact it shares very little with bejeweled and is both addictive and much more thought-provoking. It is also rather cheap, so I suggest picking it up to support Arcen Games, if you like AI War. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

[Huw the Poo]

Yeah, I didn't care for Tidalis at first but bought it for my girlfriend anyway.  From the little I've seen and played, it's definitely distinct from other games that look similar.  My girlfriend, who's supernaturally good at puzzle games, can often be heard shouting and swearing and muttering "this is impossible!" under her breath, is loving it.  And this being an Arcen game, it will be regularly updated with free DLC and the game itself has loads to it already.

Thanks Chaz and Hotfreak!

[Tals]

I love Archen games, however he has probably proved how very hard it is in the Indie market. I think he sold between 50-100K of copies of AI War so if he still didn't sell enough I can't see how he can keep afloat tbh

[Huw the Poo]

I think he said in his post that it was about 30K copies sold.

[Razgon]

AI War went on sale in May 2009, and it's grown enormously since then -- as has the customer base.  We've sold somewhere around 30,000 copies of some flavor of AI War and The Zenith Remnant.  All in all, that's probably around 18,000 customers, since those who buy the expansion also have the base game.

I must admit, as others have said, I didnt understand the move from AI to Tidalis - in terms of keeping your costumerbase, it makes no sense. Basically, all the goodwill he gained on AI war is useless as translated into sales, since the audiences are radically different, as can be attested around here.

Its very sad though, especially since they seem like pretty good developers, and good people as well. I don't think I've ever seen that many updates on a game over such a short period of time, as when AI war came out, all with upgrades to the game, not that much gamefixing actually.

Best of luck to them!

[Chaz]

Tidalis is not regular "match 3 game" and it far more fun and interesting than run-of-the-mill bejeweled clone. In fact it shares very little with bejeweled and is both addictive and much more thought-provoking. It is also rather cheap, so I suggest picking it up to support Arcen Games, if you like AI War. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

I know that and you know that, but you'd never know that by just looking at the title and screenshots, which is what I suspect most of the intended audience is going to do.  Even telling them that it's by the AI Wars guys won't mean much. 

[Tscott]

This is too bad about the company.  They certainly were ambitious in making AI War.  Unfortunately, AI War is not a game for me, as I tend to get overwhelmed with anything more complicated than a tower defense game.  I tried the demo for it a while ago, but got lost trying to follow the tutorial instructions.  Therefore, I didn't buy it, even though I'm impressed with the scope and grandeur of the game.

I did just try the Tidalis demo for a bit and it's an interesting take on the match games.  I had seen the trailer for it before when it appeared on Steam, but the aspects that make this game unique weren't apparent to me from that.  All I saw was a cursor moving around and blocks disappearing, and didn't get a sense of things like directing the 'flow' and trying to make chains on the fly.  I'll play with the demo a bit more to see if I want to get the full version.

[CeeKay]

new expansion:

Children of Neinzul

it's for a good cause too:

When you purchase AI War: Children Of Neinzul, you're not only getting an exciting new expansion, you're also supporting an important cause. Arcen Games has partnered with the Child's Play charity, pledging 100% of the profits from sale of Children of Neinzul (excepting any taxes and distributor fees) to helping sick kids in need.

[Tals]

I thought he was in financial need! I'd prefer to choose how and when I donate to a charity rather than in this way good cause though

[Huw the Poo]

I thought he was in financial need! I'd prefer to choose how and when I donate to a charity rather than in this way good cause though

Chris had promised to do it before he got into financial trouble; he's just sticking to his word and showing remarkable integrity in my opinion.

In other news, v4 has finally been released - another massive and completely free update - check out the insane changelog!

[Zekester]

 

[CeeKay]

update on their situation plus new expansion!

[ROTC1983]

Just noticed that their games run on OSX via Steam.  Guess I will picking up the game on Steam too

[CeeKay]

Light of the Spire is out now through their main website.

[ROTC1983]

Can't wait till the expansion hits Steam

[Clanwolfer]

Can't wait till the expansion hits Steam

Looks like all 3 expansions are on Steam now, and are the Deal of the Day (66% off the game or the pack with the game and all DLC). I'm strongly considering picking it up based on this thread.

[Soulchilde]

5.77 can't beat that.  brought it