U is for Ukrainian acquisitions. This Ukrainian games festival still has a couple of days left to run, and is the reason my Steam library now includes Field Hospital (£2.60), Dark Grim Mariupolis (£1), and Titan Chaser (£1).

V is for Valley of the Shadow of Death coming to Strategic Command: American Civil War

SC:ACW’s second expansion pack, the ‘coming soon’ Concert of Europe, will be an exclusively European affair. Having explored various Central and South American 19th Century conflicts in adjunct #1, Fury Software has chosen to tackle the Crimean War, the Russo-Turkish War, the Austro-Prussian War, the Second Italian War of Independence, and the Expedition of the Thousand this time.

W is for Wargame Design Studio’s latest

Age of Longbow Volume 1, a new Hundred Years War hex-em-up from WDS, contains getting-on-for one hundred scenarios. Naturally, the battle line-up includes recreations of pivotal scraps such as Crécy, Agincourt, and Orléans. If modders haven’t produced at least one Robin Hood campaign by this time next year I’ll be disappointed.

X is for Xcessive gore

Sharpshooter’s last update added an extra notch to the game’s gore slider. In addition to potting foes through thin walls and doors (projectile penetration arrived mid-July) those who wish to, can now amputate and decapitate with well-aimed shotgun blasts.

Y is for Yellow machines

Diesel Railcar Sim’s belly bump isn’t the result of trapped wind or a surfeit of ale or eclairs. One of my favourite rail sims is a couple of weeks away from spawning a novel spin-off. That spin-off, Constracktion, is…

“…a train sim and track building game where players drive a track laying train across six desert and mountain maps to connect industries. The goal is to grow the industries by helping their AI trains run on time. Players can optimize signals, grades and speed limits to achieve this, or drive the AI trains themselves. The catch is that as the industries level up, the trains become longer and heavier, and the deadlines shorter.

Constracktion is one of the very few games (if not the only one) where tracks are built by driving a track laying train over open terrain instead of using the mouse to draw splines or place track pieces. This poses a novel challenge by requiring players to read the terrain and plan the necessary earthworks in order to reach all the industries and to ensure that the AI trains are capable of navigating the resulting rail network. These details are often overlooked in other similar games.”

DMU lovers concerned about the future of Oskari’s debut title should read this reassuring statement. Constracktion is intended to be a fund-raiser for Early Access Diesel Railcar Simulator not a distraction from it.

Z is for Zaccaria beater?

It’s too early to tell whether Visual Pinball X will eventually become my pinball sim of choice, but the ball physics, the range of tables available and their attractive price tags (zero GBP!) make a good first impression.

Recommended to me by a thoughtful Cornerite (Thanks, Aergistal) VPX is, it has to be said, not quite as friendly as rival sims. For example I still haven’t worked out how to glance up at the horse race representation in Nags, the delightfully dated 1960 table that was one of my first downloads.