E is for Exceptionally elastic engine. No-one could accuse Lado B da História of lacking ambition. The Spanish YouTubers behind a library of short WW2 history documentaries are working on a wargame-cum-visualisation tool able to sim warfare of all eras. War Room: Tactical Sandbox’s tantalising trailer raises as many questions as it answers. How will this Juan-of-all-conflicts handle fog-of-war, weather, and line-of-sight? Will the AI be sufficiently lithe and sophisticated to offer realism and challenge in a multitude of time-frames?
F is for Free fowls
Named after a British cartoon duck, not, as I assumed for decades, one of the key figures in The Anarchy, the Matilda I and Matilda II have recently appeared in The Troop alongside five other 1940-era AFV types and a new skirmish map. The unexpected injection of Early War content means it’s now possible to sim some of history’s first proper tank battles in Giant Flame’s heavily-discounted-at-present hex wargame.
G is for Gunless aviation
A low asking price and a fairly frank marketing strategy (“Legendary Pilots is an indie flight simulator that doesn’t aim to be the most “realistic” flying game ever, but rather offers a fun, stylised experience centred on the pilot’s career.”) hasn’t stopped some purchasers from branding BerkBox’s debut shallow and boring. While few Steam reviewers have a bad word to say about the visuals or concept, unless the crude physics, flawed UI, and smattering of bugs are addressed, LP seems unlikely to gain widespread approval.
H is for Have a bash at this week’s Romanesque
Now the glitchy GUI buttons have been replaced with simpler alternatives, the pared-down single puzzle version of full-fat Romanesque should be playable on most browser-equipped devices.
I is for Irritatingly irresistible
As available-since-Thursday Bus Bound is sure to play havoc with my GameMaker productivity, I’ve not installed Stillallive Studios’ latest release yet. Bearing in mind how much I enjoyed the demo, this deliberate deprivation takes considerable willpower. Having a great time in Emberville? Keep it to yourself, please.
I own a copy of Legendary pilots but alas, not the skills of one
In its current form it is both bare-boned and charming. The graphics and aircraft roster are its strong points for me. The flight model could be more fleshed out; the career is adequate for a few hours of pleasant doodling about. Fly routes, cargo or fight fires. All in all, the underlying structure for a nice casual flight simulator is there, with the content in the process of being fleshed out. Don’t expect MS FS 2024 levels of polish — think more along the lines of FS4. I think it’s astounding what a two-man team has produced so far.