Arcen Games has released a mother of an update for its ever growing (both in content and popularity) space strategy title AI War: Fleet Command. Owners of the title can download the patch here. The change log was massive and had tons of crazy words, so we decided instead of applying ourselves we’d just go ahead and lob Arcen founder Chris Park an email and get the word straight from the horse’s mouth.

He promptly responded and was happy to share some of the highlights of the v3.120 update, and explain what the major additions and changes do for the game. First he touched on the newly added “AI Plots” mechanism, a way for the title to produce more varied endgame scenarios. Park notes that this is just the introduction to these plots, and with a full list of different ideas for plots (many coming from the community) we should expect expansion on the feature soon:

“The AI plots are basically a mechanism for us to have varied endgame scenarios. Right now the final planet encounter is always pretty similar compared to the early and middle game, which varies a ton. That is something it took players a really long time to notice, because even really good AI War players tend to finish way fewer games than they start (in terms of winning, anyway — I’ve lost 5 out of my last 6 games on difficulty 7, for instance).

Anyway, the AI plots were conceived as a way to spice that up. Right now the only plot is “avenger,” which has the AI creating a massive floating fortress filled with smaller guns and headed right for your home planet. So that lets you either have the challenge of taking that thing out (really tough but doable), or rushing to kill the second AI before it kills you. This first plot is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Like the minor factions that were introduced in 3.000, this is something we plan to expand greatly with time; we asked for community ideas for plots in particular, and we have a full subforum full of good ones. Basically we hope to make the endgme ultimately be as varied as the other two parts of the game, while at the same time we are always working to make them more varied, too.”

Park summed up the rest of the update, specifically highlighting the major addition of the new “border aggression” mechanic, which gives the AI a completely new attack vector, adding more realism to how the particular border relationships grow:

“Beyond the plots, 3.120 is a release of many small but notable things. The rebalancements are notable, the border aggression gives the AI a really new attack vector that adds more realism to how those border relationships grow, and there are a ton of other subtle things in there that expert AI War players really were salivating over, but which probably would just be minor niceties to the less hardcore fans.”

Moving on to Arcen Games’ upcoming addictive puzzler Tidalis, I was politely berated for labeling the title as match-3, and Park was quick to show his excitement for the upcoming game, throwing A-listers Tetris and Bejeweled around when referring to the game’s essence:

“I would like to clarify that is not a match 3 game. I find that moderately insulting, as those are hugely derivative. Rather, Tidalis is a completely new block-based mechanic, as similar to Bejeweled as Bejeweled is to Tetris, in essence. We’re pretty excited about that game, it’s really fun and already quite feature-packed.”

That line about Tetris, Bejeweled and the game’s essence certainly grabs your attention. Park also confirmed that the title, currently targeted for a July release this year, will be entered in the PAX 10 this coming September. We’ll have more info on the game and all of what Arcen Games’ is currently up to soon in an upcoming interview with the developer.

Vote for Your Favorite Indie Game!

We here at DIYgamer.com have started our very own bracket-styled tournament to find the best indie game, as voted on by you, the gamers. So head on over to our tournament page to vote on your favorite games!

The Tournament
Cave Story vs. Torchlight
Braid vs. Runman: Race Around the World
Spelunky vs. 5 Days a Stranger
Dwarf Fortress vs. Trine

Arcen Games has released a new update for space strategy title AI War: Fleet Command and its expansion The Zenith Remnant.

The update brings the game to v3.060, and is considered by the dev to be the largest monthly update ever released for the game, not due to huge single features but rather tons and tons of small refinements, if you’d like to thumb through the 10,000+ word patch log you can do so here.

The patch is available automatically whether you purchased through a digital distributor like Steam or Impulse, or if you received it from the developer itself. From the highlighted change log:

Simple Formation movement, as well as arc-movement.

New, modular, riot control starships.

Many various performance improvements.

Manufactories now auto-manage themselves by default.

Transports are now extremely more useful.

Astro Trains are now much less fearsome.

Cleanup drones can now remove mines (even perma-mines).

Gate-raiding is now cheaper in terms of AI Progress.

Hit chance logic is slightly simplified to avoid player confusion.

New screenshot key (F12).

Control nodes and rally points now knowledge-free.

Option for historical autosaves.

Dozens and dozens of balance tweaks.

Other various bugfixes and small changes.

Along with the release of The Zenith Remnant expansion earlier this week, Arcen Games has also announced that AI War: Fleet Command has reached another milestone, v3.0.

The new update brings support for the previously mentioned expansion along with a ton (and I mean a ton) of changes to the title including a massive amount of fixes, gameplay tweaks and overall improvements to the expansive RTS.

The download can be acquired a number of ways depending on where you purchased the title from, but in most cases it should either be automatic or start by selecting the check for updates option in-game. Highlight list after the break.

Arcen Games has announced the release of The Zenith Remnant expansion for their large-scale RTS AI War: Fleet Command.

The expansion adds a ton of new content including 122 new ships, 12 new AI types, 4 Zenith alien minor factions, new AI behaviors, map styles, music and more. Remember that you can expect free DLC updates every month for the game as long as it has a community to support it.

Get the expansion from Steam, Impulse or Arcen itself for $10. To celebrate Steam has given the base game a 50% discount through Wednesday, January 20. Full description follows.

Update: Chris Park of Arcen Games has informed DIYgamer that the January 12 release date is currently tentative, but will most likely release on or around that day. Park explained that there’s still much to be done for the expansion and he’s against putting up a target release date and then having to release something that potentially may not be finished. Impulse users won’t have access to the beta right away, but don’t worry, Park states that he plans to have full license keys and beta codes sent out within a week.

Original Story: With the ever-developing beta in full swing, AI War: Fleet Command expansion ‘The Zenith Remnant’ has received a release date, set to arrive for PC January 12 according to Impulse’s pre-order listing for it. The expansion brings quite a lot of new content to the game including 80-100 new ships, at least four new map styles, 12 new AI types, an additional minor faction, new music and more.

Most of the features provided are estimates as the expansion is currently in beta with the developer constantly tweaking and updating based on community feedback. The beta is currently open to those who pre-order through the developer, though its unclear if the same is true for those who go through Impulse.

We’ve sent word to Arcen Games to get some confirmation on the release date listing as well as whether Impulse pre-orders get access to the expansion’s beta, any response shall be posted.

Features list after the break.

Arcen Games has announced an upcoming expansion for their large scale space RTS AI War: Fleet Command. Entitled The Zenith Remnant, the pack will bring nearly 100 new ships, four new map types and much more.

Set for full release either in December, or January of next year, the beta is available now for pre-order the title. The dev explains that the pre-orders not only help fund the game but also let the player community test and give feedback on the expansion prior to full release, as most should know by now it’s a game that is constantly adding new patches for fixes, additions and improvements.

Those who are interested in getting in on the action early can pre-purchase on the dev’s site for the game.