Act of Aggression - A Return to the '90s RTS Game

Couchpotato

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I missed the announcement of another real-time strategy game called Act of Aggression last year. It's be developed by a studio called Eugen Systems.

Link - http://www.actofaggression-game.com/

You may remember them from the Act of War, Ruse, and Wargames series.

  1. Act of War: Direct Action
  2. Act of War: High Treason
  3. R.U.S.E.
  4. Wargame: European Escalation
  5. Wargame: AirLand Battle
  6. Wargame: Red Dragon
Here is the official video announcement from last year.


Eugen Systems, the studio behind the million-unit selling Wargame series of RTS games and the critically acclaimed Act of War (2005) or R.U.S.E (2010), is back! Set in a modern, techno-thriller setting, their new game promises to be a perfect cocktail of political intrigue, high fidelity visuals and solid mechanics with old-school RTS values.

Act of Aggression vows to bring about a return to the 90’s Golden Era of real time strategy games, delivering all of the core mechanics sorely missed by many RTS fans: base building, resource management, unit production and dynamic, immersive battles will meet high fidelity production values and intelligent modernization. Today's images and teaser trailer provide a first look at the game, to be showcased at the Gamescom next week.

In what is shaping up to be their most ambitious project since Act of War, Eugen Systems will deliver a real-time strategy experience set in the 2020’s in a darkly realistic future where 3 major factions fight for their interests. In a world where international crisis and financial order is set in a seemingly unending loop, the shadowy organization known as “The Cartel” attempt to complete a secret agenda with high-tech technology, stolen prototypes and stealthy operatives. Against this looming threat stands the Chimere, a UNO funded, classified military organization specialized in fast strikes, which attempts to maintain global peace and order. Finally, somewhere between the two stands the US Army, worn out by two decades of being kept on a war footing with too few replacements, but still fielding a great deal of battle-hardened veterans.

Act of Aggression will include two separate single player campaigns, featuring traditional RTS storytelling and game mechanics: gathering resources, building a base, producing units … but also supplies to keep the war machine rolling. In true Eugen style, expect vast, skill-based multiplayer modes where technological upgrades, resource storage and base defenses will play an integral role in the battle. Extend your base, defend your structures, and create new bases to control key strategic areas on the map. Unleash infantry, mechanized vehicles, tanks, artillery, helicopters, planes, and super weapons, earning experience as you destroy the enemy’s forces and preserve yours (as they get more experienced), unlock skills and abilities to turn the tide of war by specializing them in roles, such as anti-air, anti-tank, etc… With steady development of new technologies, your production capacities will grow always more powerful, unlocking new buildings, units, and ultimate weapons far beyond technologies of today!
I also have a preview from Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

Link - http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/01/28/command-conquer-calculate-act-of-aggression/
What I’ve seen so far brings back my fondest memories of the original Command & Conquer. My main concern is that the AI will behave too predictably, or that despite the attempts to complicate the traditional RTS flow, players will quickly find the best method of playing for each faction. Alexis responds to my doubts about the AI by acknowledging the difficulties involved but says he’s confident it’ll use the same tricks and fall into the same traps as a human player. If that’s even remotely true, Act of Aggression could turn out to be the game that helps me to fall back in love with a genre.
After reading that my eye is now on the game. I can't believe I missed this game.
 
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i want to return to 90's RTS games, yes!

crappy pathfinding and ai as your army marches single file to their doom, and chasing down those lone units out stirring up shit w/ an entire enemy army halfway across the map.

Those were the days…..
 
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Oh be quiet and stop messing up my good mood you downer.:p

I was big fan of the Command & Conquer games, and I'm ecstatic to see the return of the formula that was abandoned for the oversaturated MOBA genre.

This is now the fifth RTS game this year I'm excited to play.
 
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I'll refer you to the hundreds of MOBA games if that is what you're interested in. Still they might have a main commander unit like some RTS games I played in the past.

One example was the Supreme Commander games. I still play all three of those games when I want huge army battles with a lot of destruction , and mayhem.
 
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Act of War and C&C Generals were both favorites at my biyearly LAN parties for a long time - and we've been dying for another game in the same genre.

I heard about Act of Aggression last year, and I'm really hoping it will be a modern version of said games.

There's a beauty in their simplicity - because we tend to get drunk at those parties, and sometimes we just need to blow stuff up.

It doesn't hurt that I tend to win these games, because I always go for some kind of "chopper army" - which is very hard to defend against when you're drunk and stupid - but quite easy to build and manage under those same circumstances.

Muhahaha!
 
Act of War and C&C Generals were both favorites at my biyearly LAN parties for a long time - and we've been dying for another game in the same genre.

I heard about Act of Aggression last year, and I'm really hoping it will be a modern version of said games.

There's a beauty in their simplicity - because we tend to get drunk at those parties, and sometimes we just need to blow stuff up.
I remember doing LAN parties back in the day when Starcraft was released. Now you can't as blizzard makes you use Battle.net for every game they release now.

I always lost as I was to cautious, and didn't act fast enough.:pout:
Wargame and R.U.S.E. where really good so I have high hopes for this game.
I never had the chance to play R.U.S.E yet is it any good? I heard the AI was challenging.
 
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I never had the chance to play R.U.S.E yet is it any good? I heard the AI was challenging.

It's really good, as long as you are able to get past the first few levels. Those levels are terrible, and give the impression of the game having a strict rock/paper/scissor system, but once you get past this part, the tactical options opens up and it actually becomes really interesting. The AI though, it's not very good, at least not in the campaign. It gives the impression of "playing smart", but it actually cheats (gets more resources than it should have), and it's not so much the AI playing smart as it is the level designers realizing which points on the map that "should" be important, and it tells the AI to focus on them, which can be exploited.
Here is a screenshot from very late game to illustrate my point (when you zoom out, units gets represented by those circles instead, blue are my troops, yellow & red are enemy troops, infantry can hide in forests, so that's why they are still alive). Those places with the massive stacks are where you either start with a base or can easily build one, and the level designers probably expects you to try and hold on to those positions.
 
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I never had the chance to play R.U.S.E yet is it any good? I heard the AI was challenging.

As Fnord said AI cheats, but I would say that it's ok overall but this is one of those games you should play vs human opponent especially if it's someone you know.I know that you are singleplayer only but R.U.S.E. has strong board game feel and like any board game it's better vs friend/family.
 
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I remember doing LAN parties back in the day when Starcraft was released. Now you can't as blizzard makes you use Battle.net for every game they release now.

I always lost as I was to cautious, and didn't act fast enough.:pout:

Hehe :)

Well, we always go to a summerhouse to play - and we made sure it got internet access a couple of years ago, precisely for the reason you mention.

It's just not feasible to play multiplayer games without being online anymore.
 
This sounds very interesting. I hope for an experience similar to C&C Generals.
 
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The developer released more images in a newsletter from December.

Link - http://focus-files.com/newsletters/2014_12_04_actofaggression/2014_12_04_actofaggression_int.html

It also contains information about the various Factions.
The Cartel - stealthy operatives born out of private military contracts, with the latest prototypes. Fragile and expensive, but stealthy and powerful this secretive faction is difficult to master.

The US Army - exhausted by endless fighting across the world, are a brute-force of veterans; they can skill up in specific roles and improve their veterancy, but use current generation technology.

The Chimera -
a UNO funded task-force designed to have a plan in mind for every situation. You can mould their units through upgrades into specific roles, or leave them as a jack-of-all-trades.
 
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Found a new new preview on a site called Game Watchers.

Link - http://www.gamewatcher.com/previews/act-of-aggression-preview/12125
Act of Aggression is clearly positioned as the old-school alternative to the large-scale strategic decision-making of Eugen Systems’ recent work on the Wargame franchise, a fast-paced and bombastic ode to the classic age of the RTS. Anyone familiar with the base-building and explosive combat of the Command & Conquer series will feel right at home here, though Eugen has a few tricks up their sleeve to keep things fresh.
 
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Since Grey Goo kind of failed this is the next RTS I am looking forward to :)
 
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Release date: May?

Awww, that means it won't make our LAN gathering in April.

Thankfully, we'll have Homeworld Remastered to play with. I can't wait to recreate my sneaky hyperjumping carrier move again :)
 
Eugen Systems released a new video with some Alpha gamepaly footage.

Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vefhZp-d_uw

Act of Aggression – from Eugen Systems, developers of the million selling Wargame series – aims to mark itself as the return to the Golden Era of RTS with its smart mix of classical values and modernization; base building, resource management, and mass unit production are just some of the gameplay features you’ll see in the first, bombastic pre-alpha gameplay trailer.

See how the foundations of one of the three factions’ bases are developed, and notice the differences in resource management. The Cartel make use of high-speed helicopters for resource transportation, whilst the US rely on trucks which can be upgraded to feature weaponry to protect themselves.

You’ll also get a taste of how each of the three factions differ in combat, and an extended look at the techno-thriller inspired GUI and digital effects unique to Act of Aggression. For a break-down of each faction, see the bullet-points below:

• The Cartel, stealthy operatives born out of private military contracts, with the latest prototypes. Fragile and expensive, but stealthy and powerful this secretive faction is difficult to master.
• The US Army, exhausted by endless fighting across the world, are a brute-force of veterans; they can skill up in specific roles and improve their veterancy, but use current generation technology.
• The Chimera, a UNO funded task-force designed to have a plan in mind for every situation. You can mould their units through upgrades into specific roles, or leave them as a jack-of-all-trades.

Across large, authentic maps, players will harvest resources, build bases strategically, defend them, and produce all kinds of units to match the wit of their opponent. Extend your base network with off-base refineries for harvesting resources, and protect supply networks ensuring a stable income of cash and minerals. You'll even fight other players for occupied banks as a supplementary income, and capture soldiers ejected from tanks and planes or wounded on the battlefield to take as prisoners of war.

There will be a VIP multiplayer beta for Act of Aggression in the coming months – otherwise, Act of Aggression launches Spring of 2015.
 
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I fond a new preview this week from a site called GamerBolt.

Link - http://www.gamerbolt.com/act-of-aggression-preview/
Within the wide maps of Act of Aggression, players can use the harvested resources to build their bases strategically and defend them, while levelling up their units to crush the buildings and cities of their enemies. It will thus be important for players to manage their resources, bases and units effectively in order to succeed. In the game world of Act of Aggression, there will even be cycles of day and night, just to add even more authenticity.

The full release of Act of Aggression is scheduled to come out this year in Spring 2015, likely in May. Although for super fans, there will be an earlier VIP multiplayer beta released very soon. Act of Aggression will be available for PCs with the Microsoft Windows operating system, and there are plans for the game to possibly be available for Linux machines.
 
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Act of Aggression will also allow for multiplayer matches that may include up to 40 players in total.
WTF? How can he give such a statement and not give more details. This must be a typo, maybe they meant 4 players.
And
In the game world of Act of Aggression, there will even be cycles of day and night, just to add even more authenticity.
Best game ever!
 
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