By Quintin Smith on April 6th, 2011 at 3:46 pm.
Swedish indie studio Zeal has announced Team Assault: Baptism of Fire, a project we’ll be paying attention to in future for three reasons. First of all, the developers have cited the turn-based tactics of Jagged Alliance and X-Com as influences. Second, it looks like a turn-based Men of War. Third, the way it’s structured, with players building custom armies using a set number of points, is designed to scratch the exact same itch as tabletop miniatures games. More details and a trailer after the jump.
By customisation, Zeal don’t just mean you’ll be able to decide on hats and guns (although you will be able to pick out hats and guns). You’ll also get to pick how many men are in a squad, their rank (with different levels of commanders giving various morale boosts to men around them), and any “Disciplines” you like, such as marksmen or physical conditioning, with the end result being that you’ll be able to come up with flavourful combinations and then share them with your friends.
Sounds good to me. Frozen Synapse was always (fittingly) a bit too frigid and detached for my liking, so this might make a nice fit.
06/04/2011 at 15:51 Bodminzer says:
Weird that they’ve chosen the period of prolonged conflict between 1939 to 1945 as the setting, but it’s always nice to see devs probing fresh territory.
06/04/2011 at 18:29 Megadyptes says:
Makes a change from all those games based on the Malayan Emergency or the Second Congo War! I only wish that more devs would follow in their example and push the boundaries of the genre. A game based upon a fictional war between the US or UK against a Russia that has been taken over by Ultranationalist elements!
06/04/2011 at 23:31 Malawi Frontier Guard says:
Name a single game set in the thirty year’s war. That’s the big one.
I need a game that truly captures the spirit of peasant slaughter.
08/04/2011 at 05:31 son_of_montfort says:
^ Uh… Europa Universalis 1-3? I slaughters me some peasants all the time in those!
This does look like a fairly interesting TBS and I love the customization. No campaign in this one though, FYI, but the set piece skirmishes look to be really really detailed.
28/04/2011 at 16:10 rivalin says:
All I have to say on this matter is; where’s the Charlemagne game?
Arguably the most important figure in post-Roman European history, and unlike the thirty years war, I am pretty sure there’s not even a single reference to him in any game ever made.
I would like to see a real time tactics game where you play as Charlemagne and his paladins (yes indeed modern education system fantasy fans, that’s where the word paladin actually comes from). It would be done in the style of Warhammer: Dark Omen with unit persistence and optional missions etc.
At least fighting the battle of Roncevaux Pass would be a little more original than storming the beaches at Normandy for the thousandth time.
06/04/2011 at 15:52 Vinraith says:
And suddenly I have a new game for my “most anticipated” list. Thanks for making me aware of this RPS, and please do keep us informed about it.
06/04/2011 at 15:53 Koozer says:
Yay! Shame about the setting.
06/04/2011 at 16:02 Stag says:
That looks really interesting, though it’s set in the WW2-era.
We need more turn-based games and since the combat system of Jagged Alliance 3 (IIRC) will not be the traditional turn-based action, I pretty much lost my interest in that.
06/04/2011 at 16:03 McDan says:
If it’s just a turn based MOW, I can see how that might be good. Especially with the levels of customisation that they say there is. But then again, if it is like MOW, how will it compete with it? MOW is already out and the people who like that kind of game will have bought that already. Will be interesting to see what happens with this though.
06/04/2011 at 16:10 Ignorant Texan says:
Some of us find turn-based rather than real time more suited for either our thought patterns or (slowing) reflexes. Include me in the more than intrigued list for this one.
06/04/2011 at 16:17 Shinan says:
Yeah I have Men of War but even with the pause button it’s a bit too hectic for me.
06/04/2011 at 17:14 McDan says:
Yeah I was trying to get that across, but probably forgot to say about it.
06/04/2011 at 19:11 Oak says:
No need to compete. The game styles are significantly different.
06/04/2011 at 16:06 sneetch says:
Yay indeed, I like the sound of this, would prefer another setting than WW2 but hey, it won’t put me off it.
06/04/2011 at 16:07 Shinan says:
Turn based Men of War? This is what I’ve been looking for since Silent Storm!
06/04/2011 at 16:27 Teddy Leach says:
Silent Storm was bloody marvellous.
06/04/2011 at 17:36 Faldrath says:
I often get the urge to play a nice squad-based TBS and reinstall Silent Storm. Then I have a lot of fun until the stupid Panzerkleins arrive. Then I sigh and uninstall the game.
07/04/2011 at 08:00 Saiko Kila says:
Weak mind. Also, there is a mod for S3 which removes PKs. I don’t remember if there was such mod for S2, since they didn’t bothered me then.
06/04/2011 at 16:25 Teddy Leach says:
It has hats! Also, I actually like WW2 as a setting, especially for strategy games.
06/04/2011 at 16:27 zergrush says:
Looking forward to it, despite the tired WW2 setting. A better looking Jagged Alliance is something I’ve wanted for quite some time.
And the point-based deployment is something that should be used more often on strategy games.
06/04/2011 at 16:29 LordCraigus says:
I myself have only just started playing my GOG copy of Jagged Alliance 2 in the past hour and despite the daunting depth of the game I’m already seeing why anything likened to it should be exciting.
I can’t deny the setting for this game is overused in general but as a World War II enthusiast also, I don’t think you can have too many GOOD games set in the era.
06/04/2011 at 16:49 Fumarole says:
Turn-based Men of War is exactly up my alley. I am definitely looking forward to this.
06/04/2011 at 17:13 saabas says:
Looks a bit like Silent Storm but with multiple teams. Cant wait to play it. Especially since JA3 seems to model itself after Duke Nukem, getting dropped and postponed constantly. I think we really deserve one proper turn based wargame, since good ones are so rare.
06/04/2011 at 17:13 RyuRanX says:
Unfortunatelly it’s not a grid and turn-based strategy like X-COM and Jagged Alliance, but it looks very interesting. I’ll certainly check it out.
06/04/2011 at 18:54 wengart says:
Unfortunately it appears to be turned-based rather than simultaneous turns.
06/04/2011 at 19:02 JFS says:
“1st Aufspurengruppe”? Really? Why do WW2 games need this? German designations = of course, edgy!, checking them = hell no, why do you even ask isn’t a good design philosophy, yet it’s really creeping around these days. I hope they straighten that out before the final release.
Anyway, seems like a great idea. The setting… oh well.
06/04/2011 at 20:32 Keith Nemitz says:
I’ll have to check out Silent Storm, while I’m waiting for this goody.
06/04/2011 at 22:20 kulik says:
Looking good, but better than standard turnbased would be if it was WEGO turnbased.
06/04/2011 at 23:17 Ziv says:
THIS is the reason I want to develop games.
07/04/2011 at 07:29 Olero says:
Very interesting! And if they add personality to the squadmembers and a good, preferrable non-linear campaign, then it’s an instant buy for me.
Though the big question needs te be answered first: Is it moddable? ;)
07/04/2011 at 09:17 Vexing Vision says:
Yeah, now make it simultaneous like Frozen Synapse and I’m sold despite the setting.
Though from the trailer, it seems there’s interrupts at least. Overwatch!
I’d buy this instantly if the setting was different.
07/04/2011 at 13:28 sonson says:
Reminds me abit of Chaos Gate, which was a fun 40k time
Sounds interesting. Always good to have morale modeled in as well. Men of War is sufficiently brilliant for it not to matter but on the whole it’s such an integral part of battle (where humans are involved, at least) that it adds a whole other level for tactical consideration.