Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance

by

Slitherine

  This is a demo of Slitherine's new real time strategy game based in the Terminator universe. I will state this right up front, I am not a big fan of RTS games. They are usually way too frenetic in pace. I have always liked turn based strategy games with their slower pace and with the ability to think about what you are doing each turn. That being said, it is good to get out of your safe space in games every once in a while. 

Screenshot from the first mission

 This is what Slitherine has to say about the demo:

"The Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance Demo will give you an insight into the campaign and skirmish modes in the final game. The demo will be published on October 9th as part of the Steam Next Fest, and will be available to everyone for a limited amount of time.

The Steam Next demo includes the first 3 single player campaign missions, and includes 1 Skirmish Map. This preview demo is identical, except it doesn’t have the skirmish map yet. 

The early campaign missions will teach you the basics of the game but doesn’t include the multi-choice RPG aspects seen in later missions, where players can choose which factions to ally with (or attack), which objectives to follow or ignore, and how to respond to other characters through multi-response conversations. 

These early missions also don’t include the army management screen. Here, you can upgrade skills, weapons and armor for your squads and vehicles. It’s possible to buy and sell manpower, vehicles, equipment, weapons and ammo at bases and trading zones, place troops into vehicles, and edit and rename your unit names. Your army is taken from mission to mission, so if you lose a unit in a mission, then it’s gone! But if you upgrade a squad, they’re ready for the next mission. 

The Skirmish Mode in the demo includes an Assault Mode map. This Mode allows only the Founders or Legion to be selected and includes Assault Mode gameplay, with objectives to either attack or defend points on the map. 

The release will also include Domination Mode maps that allow Founders, Legion or Movement forces to be selected, with different reinforcement rules. 

All skirmish maps will also be available in Multiplayer, which isn’t provided in this initial preview. Multiplayer will allow up to 4 players to play within a map, in 1v1, 2v1, 2v2 modes."

Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance will be available on PC later this Fall.

Screenshot from the second mission

 I can tell you three things about the demo that I really like. The first is that the game is really nice looking you can almost say beautiful to behold. The second is that you are given a few different orders to give to your small soldiers and vehicles. The third is something you do not usually see in a RTS at least when they are first released, and that is a pause button. I have played more than a few RTS games where the pause button was added in an update or is a mod made by a player.

This is a screenshot from the third mission 

 Another thing I like is that you are really given a storyline to follow. In the demo you are a Policeman who has decided to help both civilians and the army units. So, you become immersed in the game. Instead of just sprites, the characters in the game actually mean something to you. Before the second mission begins you find out that it is ten years later, and you are now a Major in the Founders. This would be the remnants of the civilians and army that have coalesced after the rise of the machines. The machine army is called the Legion. 

Another pic from the third mission

 I was quite pleasantly surprised by the demo and the gameplay, especially the pause button. For a demo of a game it was very immersive and really left me wanting more to play.

Another screenshot from the third mission

 The game will come with the ability to play either side, at least in skirmish mode, and that is another point on the plus side. The only thing about the demo I did not like was the inability to zoom out much at all. You can zoom in to see separate soldiers. However, there is an inset map that even if the zoom is not increased can be used to keep an eye on your units and the enemy. Thank you Slitherine for letting me take this demo for a ride.

Robert

Slitherine

Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance

Wargame Design Studio Panzer Battles Demo

 Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. We have here in our hot little hands the wave of the future (try not to say it like Howard Hughes, its a bit creepy). Wargame design Studio, with the backing of John Tiller Games, presents their new demo and shows what directions their 'Panzer Battles' games will be heading. Following on the heels of their 'Panzer Battles Normandy', and 'Panzer Battles Kursk the Southern Flank', they plan to branch out and take the game engine world wide. One of the areas of WWII that is highly under-gamed in the computer world is the land war in the Pacific. Specifically, we have a scenario about the American defense of the Tenaru river from the Japanese on Guadalcanal. Rather than rewrite it I will quote from their website:

"The Panzer Battles Demo will be a free product to introduce the game system to players both new and old.

The initial release of the demo will include battles from both the Eastern and Western Front, as well as the Mediterranean and Pacific theatres.

It is hoped that the there will be four to eight unique scenarios with the initial release of the Demo.

We already have additional actions under construction that are planned to be released as Downloadable Content (DLC) when ready.

Our aim is to turn this into a complete, free title with a range of interesting situations. We will be testing new theatres, nations and game systems before considering them for a full release title.

Here is an example of the French from 1940 who will join the Panzer Battles fray for the first time"

 Here are some American and Japanese  troops.

 Along with the Pacific land war, wargamers are always griping about the lack of games about the Med theater. Of course we as a subset of the population are often seen to be griping or grumbling about something, hence our nickname grognards. With the release of the demo and their future plans for it, we will now have two less things to complain about. There are eighteen scenarios in the demo, including two 'getting started' ones.

The Battle of Hannut zoomed all the way out

This one is zoomed in all the way

 Yes, this is a hex wargame with counters, and yes it is 2017. The internal combustion engine was around before Henry Ford, and last I looked it was still in use. Not because it is the only game in town, but because it works. If you put lipstick on a pig, all you have is a very pretty pig (cue the Deliverance music). 'Panzer Battles' has a great pedigree coming from John Tiller's many games. The scale fits snugly between the 'Campaign series', and the many 'Squad Battles' games. Hopefully the wargaming community will back the demo, and we will get flooded with games about the more obscure areas of WWII combat. There are plenty that  I can think of that computer games have not touched, or not in a long time.

Japanese attacking the Americans at another zoom level

 The four battles is the demo are as follows:

 The getting Started Scenario is Prokhorovka in Russia 1943

 Hannut in Belgium 1940

 Mersa El Brega in Libya 1941

 Tenaru on Guadalcanal 1942

 Bogodukov in the Ukraine 1943


 
 Robert

Note from Editor: This looks more like a full game release than a Demo! I'm praying that WDS get their hands on the Squad Battles source code. That series is about two features away from perfection!