May 16, 2007

Galactic Command -Talon Elite announced

We've taken quite a bit of flak for signing our first non-niche title, Echo Squad, to an exclusive subscription service.

But what most people didn't know, is that like our previous Battlecruiser and Universal Combat series', GALCOM was planned as a series. Unlike our previous games which lumped all gameplay aspects into one really - really - huge and complex (according to some) game, the design of GALCOM was from the ground up to be split. In that we took all elements (space combat, planetary flight/vehicular/first person combat etc) of our technologies and split them into bite sized chunk.

So, what you have are several games in the series and all targeted at a specific genre and audience.

While Echo Squad (exclusive to Turner's GameTap gaming service and which will debut this July) focuses on a team of gung-go space combat pilots based within Terran territories and mostly a defense force assigned to a specific fleet, Talon Elite focuses on yet another group of gung-ho combat pilots; albeit the best of the best.

The Talon Elite guys fly different fighters, engage in different and more dangerous missions and all deep - deep - behind enemy lines. Relying only on their fleet for support, there are no friendly stations anywhere near where these guys operate.

The Talon Elite missions are on the high end of the dangerous scale.

The game is on target for a Q4/07 to Q1/08 release and a public demo will be released this Christmas season.

For more info, please visit the products info page.

Universal Combat - Collectors' Edition

As previously announced earlier this year, we decided to retire the Battlecruiser/Universal Combat in style and with a retail send off of this long running and sometimes controversial (not unlike its creator) series of games.

Well, after negotiations with several parties, our quest led us right back to where the series began its retail life as Battlecruiser 3000AD aka BC3K, back in 1996. Only this time, we are self-publishing it, while the excellent 'new guard' at Take 2 games, notable for doing a really good distribution job for various retail worthy indie titles including the distribution of Stardock's excellent Galactic Civilizations II, are our exclusive North American retail distributors.

Unlike most game compilations which just take a bunch of games and stick them in a box, UCCE has a plethora of engine and game enhancements, including Vista support, which will allow it to stand the test of time for the forseeable future as the industy races away from the niche titles of yesteryear.

Quite a bit of work went into UCCE and we are proud of the end result as we wave a fond farewell to our roots while plotting a new path for our - still - 100% independent and self-funded studio.

We will miss the ol' gal, but if nothing else, the controversy of its shaky beginnings, trials and tribulations, will live on. As Derek Smart put it,

"...I wouldn't have it any other way. For good, bad or ugly, its part of history, my history in particular. I set out to do something unique and amidst the failures, controversies, frustrations and not to mention the publishing shenanigans by rather unscrupulous publishers, I stuck with my dream and remained completely undeterred. Not many of us in the industry can say that."

Universal Combat Collector's Edition will hit retail shelves this July/August with an MSRP of $29.95.

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