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AI War: Fleet Command

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AI War: Fleet Command box art
Developer(s)Arcen Games
Publisher(s)Arcen Games
Designer(s)Christopher M. Park
Composer(s)Pablo Vega
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows(Windows XP/Windows Vista/Windows 7)
ReleaseJune 2, 2009
Genre(s)Real Time Strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer, Co-op

AI War: Fleet Command is a real time strategy computer game developed by indie developer Arcen Games. The game was first released on Arcen Games website and Impulse on 2nd June 2009[1] before getting a Steam release on 16th October 2009 that coincided with the release of version 2.0. AI War: Fleet Command blends the 4X, tower defense, and traditional RTS genre to create something new and unique[2]. Players go up against two AI opponents that are superior to the player. The objective is to destroy the home planets of both AI opponents. AI War: Fleet Command was lauded by reviewers for being a fresh take on the RTS genre and bringing something new to the table. It was also noted that the AI represented a significant challenge and reacted to the actions of the player. An expansion titled Zenith Remnant was released on 12th January 2010[3] that adds new factions, AI types, ships and new gameplay mechanics.

Gameplay

AI War pits human players against advanced AI opponents that control vastly superior fleets at the start of the game. The main goal of gameplay is to destroy the two opposing AI's home command stations without losing yours (in multiplayer the humans will not lose until ALL human home command stations have been lost). Maps vary in size from 10-120 systems and map size has a significant impact on the play style of the game as well as time required. The game starts out with the human player(s) each controlling one system (though they may choose to start with more) and the AI controlling the rest of the map. Unlike conventional RTSes where the AI will basically emulate playing as a human opponent, the AI in AI War operates off something called AI Progress. This mechanic works as an indicator of how aware the AI is of the left over human remnants in the galaxy (as well as to balance the fact that if the AI simply attacked you with everything it had at the start of the game it would win every time). As players complete objectives and capture systems this value goes up, increasing the volume of reinforcements and attack forces the AI gets to use. There are a few mechanics such as Data Centers and the newly introduced AI Superterminals that lower the AI Progress.[4] One of the primary factors when considering whether to take a planet is the AI progress; taking planets raises it and taking too many will cause you to be overrun.

AI War supports dynamic cooperation where up to 8 players can play together and drop in and out of the game at any time. One effect of this is a group game between friends doesn't require everybody to be around for each game session, nor does the lobby have to be remade to continue playing if another shows up. As of 3.0, players who join mid-game are given a special colony ship that allows them to start playing without leaning on the other players to gift them systems/units as much.

AI War also uses strong disincentives to micromanage your units in order to help players manage such a large empire without getting bogged down in details, being more important to choose planets wisely and balance your forces than to control said forces exact behavior.

Expansions & Downloadable Content

Zenith Remnant

The Zenith Remnant is AI War: Fleet Command's first expansion, and focuses both on adding capturable units and a new minor faction called the Zenith to the game. Notable features are as follows:

  1. Golems, which have many similar properties to Supreme Commander's "Experimentals".
  2. Several new base ship types, further expanding on the available choices for the player as well as making the AI a more devious opponent.
  3. New AI types that took advantage of many of the capturables introduced, as well as some that use Zenith ships.
  4. Over 40 minutes of new music tracks composed by Arcen Games' composer, Pablo Vega.
  5. a new class of "Experimental" ships that offer abilities one would not ordinarily find in AI war ships.

Reception

AI War received generally favorable reviews and achieved an overall score of 80 on metacritic[5]. Some reviewers have criticized AI War for being too complex with too steep a learning curve, which contributed to it not being nominated for a 2009 Independent Games Festival award[6]. User reviews and opinions of AI War have been very favorable resulting in an overall 9.0 user score on metacritic[5]. Arcen Games also maintains a page which provides quotes from many press sources and player reactions to the game[7].

References

  1. ^ Park, Chris. "AI War 0.940 Released (With First Free DLC)". Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  2. ^ Chick, Tom (2009-08-13). "Rock, Boom, Turtle". Crispy Gamer. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  3. ^ Park, Chris. "AI War: The Zenith Remnant Now Available!". Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  4. ^ http://www.arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_AI_Progress#What_Causes_AI_Progress_Changes.3F
  5. ^ a b Metacritic. "AI War: Fleet Command metacritic page". Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  6. ^ Park, Chris. "IGF Finalists are in (no AI War)". Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  7. ^ Park, Chris. "AI War: Fleet Command Press and Player Reactions". Retrieved 2010-03-14.

Arcen Games Website
AI War: Fleet Command Official Site
AI War: Fleet Command Community Wiki

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