Battle for Wesnoth - Hits v1.6

A bit offtopic but the excellent and free turn-based strategy game Battle for Wesnoth has hit v1.6, with this major update adding a new main campaign, MP improvements, graphics improvements, new portraits, new coastal terrain and more.
More information.

Awesome game Just thought I'd mention.

yeah its great fun.

I have spent hours and hours playing this.

Sometimes when I had a brand new game waiting as well. Wesnoth just sucks you in.

Agreed. Though it can get quite difficult and frustrating sometimes.

I downloaded it yesterday and from what I've seen already, they've made a lot of progress since the last time I played (1.4) including revised graphics and a new longish intermediate campaign. Hope to get around to playing it this weekend.

Just wrapped up King's Bounty last night. I'll be checking this one out for sure.

Is this more similar to Fantasy General or King's Bounty? or neither?

It's very similar to the battles in King's Bounty only there's no real-time component, it's totally a turn-based fantasy strategy game like HoMM. Gameplay is challenging. Haven't played Fantasy Generals so can't speak for that one.

Originally Posted by NFLed
Is this more similar to Fantasy General or King's Bounty? or neither?

I suppose it's closer to Fantasy General. Still, it's different enough to be considered, well, a different game. In fact, Wesnoth is often mentioned as one of the few cases of completely original open source development. It's quite tactical, in any case: there's terrain - different units have different defenses on different terrain, then you've got damage types - different units have different resistances to different attacks, and the occasional special ability. Combine with around 5-15 troops (typical for the campaign, and even more on the larger scenarios) per side, branching development paths and subtle unit attributes (ie. "Intelligent" - levels faster; "Resilient" - more HP, "Strong" - more damage with melee etc.), and that's quite a mix.

Wesnoth is also a shining example of an open source project which gives graphics and even music the attention they deserve (which is often a problem otherwise, as programmers are forced to double up as artists). As Magerette pointed out, graphics have improved a lot, and in fact each minor release tends to carry something new graphics-wise. And, if you get into the game, it's quite "meaty" - the various official campaigns will surely take you a while, and even then there's still quite a bit of (quality) usermade content to go for, and, of course, multiplayer.

Ah, I ramble. In short, try it out if the "turn-based strategy" monicker doesn't immediately turn you off.