Ex Eidos, Digital Reality, Most Wanted Entertainment, 3D Brigade, Glass Fish Games employees decided the reunite and for a new game company called 4Flash.
Their first title which is in development for 2 years now is the C&C and Sudden Strike inspired, real time strategy game “Sword Of Justice“.
Sadly it currently looks that they would need a lot of luck (and funds) to reach their goal of $195,000 , and while it sounds like much – the game looks so much better …
Screenshots
Video (more videos available from here)
“It is to those who loved C&C and Sudden Strike; to those who like when AI not to react in a pre-ordained manner; when the gamer with good tactics is able to win even against overwhelming odds; To those who like to upgrade the given units and use them in a manner that takes best advantage of them.”
The Project
The game presents a post WWII fictive story. The campaign consists of 12 principal fields. Each field is made up of one principal mission and two subsidiary missions. At the end of each field the player receives experience-points and upgrade tokens. There is no pre-determined difficulty level in the game. Each field starts with parameters suitable for normal level. If during the game, based on losses and other data the regime determines that we can not cope with the machine, then the game changes to an easier level. If the gamer plays better than the AI, the program advances to a higher level of difficulty and the field continues with those settings. According to plans, two gamers may play a single campaign in cooperative mode. Naturally the level of difficulty also is considerably greater.
The multi-player mode consists of two parts: In one, during the usual choice of field we can play free battles ranging from 1 against 1 to 4 against 4. Each player has own profile in which he/she sets initially the colors of the nation he/she starts in. It is here possible to inspect how many battles have been won and lost by the gamer and the number of points credited. If e. g., from a battle between a more and a less experienced gamer the weaker comes out on top that gamer receives a higher number of points than would be the case were a more experienced gamer to win. The pother type of multi-player mode is part of a game of global territorial occupation. In this each player starts in the colors of his/her nation On the map each state (gamer) initially lords over a given territory. He may then attack states with common boundaries to these.
We receive a player from among the ones of the attacked state who will play with us on the given field. The territory joins the state that has more battles won on the given field. In this manner a state can expand on the greater map.
The game primarily presents the military might of the Eastern European States. (Slovakia, Hungary, Russia, Rumania – in the case of multi-player mode only –in conjunction with the units of Japan (initially). With this these games no longer conform to the market of earlier WWII strategic games, in which mostly we can only meet with British, American and German forces.
Units
On account of the complex system of upgrading we planned fewer but more transparent and easier to use units in the game each of which is unique in its field but due to this we can build up strategies that are more easily combined.
On each side we can meet up with 2 heavy Armour, 1 self-propelled gun, 3 light armored vehicles of the wheeled armored sub-type (commander, heavy machine-gun and flame-thrower), repair- and transport-trucks as well as 3 varieties of guns.
Infantry consists of the usual rifle, machine-gun, marksmen, anti-tank, first aid and commander units. Thus 20 different units are at our disposal. Each unit is characterised by what it is best suited for. The player can easily oversight his sources of strength and thus build his strategy.
The Field Of The Game
At the beginning the buildings of the basis should be built on the playing field. The player can produce those units the building of it is already ready. There are long distance radio transmitters on the plating fields. The commandant communicates with the troops of other field with the aids of these towers. The player receives money for the ownership of them from that he may build, produce or purchase tokens necessary for upgrading. We may meet municipal, provincial or industrial environment on the playing fields but there are also bridges and rivers. An important property of the fields that we can not play on a plain filed at all as is used to do in other games. Huge level differences precipitous embankments make the game field manifold in which the relationships to the terrain can well be utilised. In this case the nits of the enemy turn already to be visible from a higher point however he/she does not see to the top. The lovers of the series of the Sudden Strike know it well. Thus with the units positioned in a good strategic point it is easy possible to overcome a many time stronger unit.
Upgrades
The upgrading of units takes place in three categories for which we pay with tokens. There is scope for training of the selected type in the area of defense, attack strength and manpower. Each of them in six steps. In the course of these we can obtain such extra options as intelligent choice of aim or cooperation with other units or the possibility of calling for reinforcements or retreat in the case of critical injury…
AI
In the course of playing against the machine following the possibly fleeing unit the player can easily run into a trap or run onto a minefields having been settled. The aim is that the AI (artificial intelligence) should try to bring logical decisions adjusting itself to the style of the player, rather than follow pre-generated road maps and plans.
From among our units, it is the commander whose role also diverges from the usual ones. E. g., he can not see further but his role is to coordinate the units within his radius of action. Thanks to this –if allowed –he can call reinforcements for a tank engaged in battle or even send a damaged tank to a more protected area or he can tell the unit which enemy to attack and order priorities. Thus e. g. our tanks do not attack the nearer infantry that are less dangerous to them, but attack the farther situated tanks even if they came within the area of sight later. It is possible with the commander unit to provide aiming points for artillery or bombing aircraft.
A further characteristic of the game is the delay of orders. Here the player can switch in this situation temporarily for the given unit . Here if he gives the order where to go, or what to attack it continues to wait until we give a global order to carry out the action. In this case all units move together and one need not be a wizard with the mouse in order to move more units and to different points at the same time.