Indie review site Bytten was among the first three sites to review AI War last year. Today the 2010 iteration of their annual Ernie awards has come out, and (spoiler alert) AI War: Fleet Command received the Best Overall Game award from them. We're couldn't be more pleased, as they were one of Arcen's earliest supporters, and from the general spread of scores they've historically given out, it actually means something for AI War to have done so well.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
AI War takes Best Overall Game in the 2010 Bytten Ernie Awards
Indie review site Bytten was among the first three sites to review AI War last year. Today the 2010 iteration of their annual Ernie awards has come out, and (spoiler alert) AI War: Fleet Command received the Best Overall Game award from them. We're couldn't be more pleased, as they were one of Arcen's earliest supporters, and from the general spread of scores they've historically given out, it actually means something for AI War to have done so well.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Week-Long Steam Sale: AI War and Zenith Remnant 50% Off!
If you or someone you know hasn't yet taken the plunge into AI War or
its first expansion, now's a great time to pick it up! Today is the
start of a week-long sale at Steam on both AI War: Fleet Command
and AI War: The
Zenith Remnant.
If you're already an AI War player, and have been away for a while, be sure to check out the latest official version, 3.060 (currently on Steam and all other partner platforms). The amount of updates in that if you haven't played since 3.0 (the first version to support The Zenith Remnant) is pretty tremendous. And if you haven't played since 2.0 (the first version released on Steam and Direct2Drive)... well, you're in for a real treat.
Remember: all of the patches are always free for all customers of AI War (whether you buy any current or future expansions or not), and between our various updates there is a ton of player-requested free DLC content in them. Now's the perfect time to grab up some friends and launch into a new campaign -- or go it solo, if that's your style. AI War is an ever-evolving game, and you'll need all your wits to best this AI!
If you're already an AI War player, and have been away for a while, be sure to check out the latest official version, 3.060 (currently on Steam and all other partner platforms). The amount of updates in that if you haven't played since 3.0 (the first version to support The Zenith Remnant) is pretty tremendous. And if you haven't played since 2.0 (the first version released on Steam and Direct2Drive)... well, you're in for a real treat.
Remember: all of the patches are always free for all customers of AI War (whether you buy any current or future expansions or not), and between our various updates there is a ton of player-requested free DLC content in them. Now's the perfect time to grab up some friends and launch into a new campaign -- or go it solo, if that's your style. AI War is an ever-evolving game, and you'll need all your wits to best this AI!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Indie Game News: Exclusive Screenshots: Tidalis now on Unity3D
Over at Indie Game News,
where Arcen's Chris Park is a contributing writer, we've revealed a new
screenshot of our upcoming puzzle game Tidalis, along with major news:
Arcen is going cross-platform with a move to Unity 3D. It is not yet
certain whether or not that will affect AI War down the road, but for
the moment AI War is staying with its existing platform. More details in
the article.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Announcing... The Indie Strategy Bundle!
Indie developers Arcen
Games, Cryptic
Comet, and Positech
Games have joined forces to bring strategy fans the ultimate
bundle: Gratuitous Space Battles + The Tribe Expansion, Solium Infernum,
and AI War + The Zenith Remnant Expansion. This weekend only, the
three companies are offering this special package for a mere $49.99
(for the math impaired, it would normally be $90).
"It’s a jungle out there for a lone indie dev: tired, hungry, low on ammunition and surrounded on all sides by AAA monsters and flesh eating zombies, and that’s why I want Cliff and Chris on my side," says Vic Davis, founder of Cryptic Comet. "I think all three of us share the desire to prove that the little guys can really create some unique games. It’s our business... and business is good."
"If we were larger companies, and profit-focused, I think we’d view each other as the enemy," says Chris Park, founder of Arcen Games. "But as tiny indies, that’s just not productive -- time has already shown that there are plenty of fans to go around. We're here to make innovative games, not corner markets. There’s a lot more for us to gain by working together instead of by being antagonistic."
"I can't think of three games that go together better, or which appeal to a more distinct group of gamers, than these three,” says Cliff Harris, founder of Positech Games. “The reason for this bundle is clear. We are like the Judean People’s Front from Monty Python. We need to unite against the common enemy, and that enemy is obscurity, not each other."
Each game in the bundle is a fan favorite, having carved out a unique niche in the strategy genre. Inspired by Milton’s Paradise Lost, Solium Infernum is a turn-based strategy game that pits you against other players as you use diplomacy, deceit and force to claim the Infernal Thrones of Hell. Gratuitous Space Battles turns real time strategy on its head, making the deployment phase of battle into the game itself. AI War is built around a completely unique AI concept, with gameplay best described as grand strategic 4X tower defense RTS (say that five times fast).
Suffice it to say that none of these concepts would have seen the light of day at larger companies, but each expands the genre in novel ways that will likely influence more mainstream strategy titles to come. But most of all, if you’re into strategy these games are fun (and they scratch that special itch in the brains of grognards). The Indie Strategy Bundle is designed to help strategy fans support the originals, while giving themselves a treat if they haven’t yet played these genre-bending gems!
This bundle will be available from March 4th until March 9th, 2010 at IndieStrategyGames.com
"It’s a jungle out there for a lone indie dev: tired, hungry, low on ammunition and surrounded on all sides by AAA monsters and flesh eating zombies, and that’s why I want Cliff and Chris on my side," says Vic Davis, founder of Cryptic Comet. "I think all three of us share the desire to prove that the little guys can really create some unique games. It’s our business... and business is good."
"If we were larger companies, and profit-focused, I think we’d view each other as the enemy," says Chris Park, founder of Arcen Games. "But as tiny indies, that’s just not productive -- time has already shown that there are plenty of fans to go around. We're here to make innovative games, not corner markets. There’s a lot more for us to gain by working together instead of by being antagonistic."
"I can't think of three games that go together better, or which appeal to a more distinct group of gamers, than these three,” says Cliff Harris, founder of Positech Games. “The reason for this bundle is clear. We are like the Judean People’s Front from Monty Python. We need to unite against the common enemy, and that enemy is obscurity, not each other."
Each game in the bundle is a fan favorite, having carved out a unique niche in the strategy genre. Inspired by Milton’s Paradise Lost, Solium Infernum is a turn-based strategy game that pits you against other players as you use diplomacy, deceit and force to claim the Infernal Thrones of Hell. Gratuitous Space Battles turns real time strategy on its head, making the deployment phase of battle into the game itself. AI War is built around a completely unique AI concept, with gameplay best described as grand strategic 4X tower defense RTS (say that five times fast).
Suffice it to say that none of these concepts would have seen the light of day at larger companies, but each expands the genre in novel ways that will likely influence more mainstream strategy titles to come. But most of all, if you’re into strategy these games are fun (and they scratch that special itch in the brains of grognards). The Indie Strategy Bundle is designed to help strategy fans support the originals, while giving themselves a treat if they haven’t yet played these genre-bending gems!
This bundle will be available from March 4th until March 9th, 2010 at IndieStrategyGames.com
Monday, March 1, 2010
AI War 3.060 Released!
Since January, Arcen’s focus has shifted from large-scale development
of AI War to our other upcoming titles -- with AI War, our intent had
been to simply maintain and refine the existing game, while adding a
handful of exciting new features every month as free DLC. As you may
imagine, therefore, we were quite surprised to realize that this new
version, 3.060, is the largest monthly update we’ve ever done.
There aren’t many huge single features here aside from the new Riot Control Starships (which introduce modular ship design to the game). However, the number of small refinements are just staggering (the release notes are over 10,000 words), and we’ve made a number of significant performance improvements, too.
Here’s the list of particularly notable features out of the hundreds of changes:
- 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.
A big part of the reason for the impressiveness of this update is Keith
LaMothe, Arcen’s new part-time programmer, who joined the team in
January. Keith is tasked with keeping AI War growing and improving
while Chris Park, AI War’s lead designer and (previously sole)
programmer is working on Arcen’s other upcoming titles. Of course,
Chris still plays AI War several hours per week and so can’t help but
make some weekly changes to the game himself, and is still very much
involved in Arcen’s ever-growing forum community, and overall design of
AI War.
Arcen is quite pleased to see that AI War’s playerbase continues to grow so steadily ten months after the base game’s initial release -- we’ve seen a 300% increase in total customers since AI War 2.0 -- and in turn we’re making the continual refinement and feature-growth of the game an ongoing priority beyond the smaller monthly DLC releases that had been planned. A second paid expansion for the game is also still planned for late this year.
Next month’s free DLC will include more player-requested changes, as well as our first work on new endgame scenarios and auto-created epilogues, both of which should really take the late stages of the game to new heights.
New to the game? You can download a trial version of the game, or purchase a license key to unlock the full version. If you already have the game or demo installed, just use the “Updates” button inside the game to get the latest patch. For complete release notes, please see the “Updates” button inside the game, or visit the Arcen forums.
Files:
- The official installer can be found via one of our mirrors.
- The raw full files of 3.060 in a zip can be found here: http://www.arcengames.com/share/AIWar3060Full.zip
- The manual patch of 3.0 to 3.060 can be downloaded from here: http://www.arcengames.com/share/AIWar3060Patch.zip
There aren’t many huge single features here aside from the new Riot Control Starships (which introduce modular ship design to the game). However, the number of small refinements are just staggering (the release notes are over 10,000 words), and we’ve made a number of significant performance improvements, too.
Here’s the list of particularly notable features out of the hundreds of changes:
- 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.
A big part of the reason for the impressiveness of this update is Keith
LaMothe, Arcen’s new part-time programmer, who joined the team in
January. Keith is tasked with keeping AI War growing and improving
while Chris Park, AI War’s lead designer and (previously sole)
programmer is working on Arcen’s other upcoming titles. Of course,
Chris still plays AI War several hours per week and so can’t help but
make some weekly changes to the game himself, and is still very much
involved in Arcen’s ever-growing forum community, and overall design of
AI War.Arcen is quite pleased to see that AI War’s playerbase continues to grow so steadily ten months after the base game’s initial release -- we’ve seen a 300% increase in total customers since AI War 2.0 -- and in turn we’re making the continual refinement and feature-growth of the game an ongoing priority beyond the smaller monthly DLC releases that had been planned. A second paid expansion for the game is also still planned for late this year.
Next month’s free DLC will include more player-requested changes, as well as our first work on new endgame scenarios and auto-created epilogues, both of which should really take the late stages of the game to new heights.
New to the game? You can download a trial version of the game, or purchase a license key to unlock the full version. If you already have the game or demo installed, just use the “Updates” button inside the game to get the latest patch. For complete release notes, please see the “Updates” button inside the game, or visit the Arcen forums.
Files:
- The official installer can be found via one of our mirrors.
- The raw full files of 3.060 in a zip can be found here: http://www.arcengames.com/share/AIWar3060Full.zip
- The manual patch of 3.0 to 3.060 can be downloaded from here: http://www.arcengames.com/share/AIWar3060Patch.zip
Fanboyism And The Cycle Of Perceived Inferiority
ABSTRACT
Chris Park takes a look at "fanboyism" and the ways in which people tend to incorrectly view "fame." His contention is that people, as a whole, tend to think that others are more famous than they really are, and that this sort of belief can cause a variety of problems all around.
Fanboyism And The Cycle Of Perceived Inferiority
Chris Park takes a look at "fanboyism" and the ways in which people tend to incorrectly view "fame." His contention is that people, as a whole, tend to think that others are more famous than they really are, and that this sort of belief can cause a variety of problems all around.
Fanboyism And The Cycle Of Perceived Inferiority
Choosing A Network Library in C#
ABSTRACT
Chris Park recounts his experiences with setting up networking in AI War, and how and why a solution like the Lidgren Network Library became the obvious choice past a certain point.
Choosing A Network Library in C#
Chris Park recounts his experiences with setting up networking in AI War, and how and why a solution like the Lidgren Network Library became the obvious choice past a certain point.
Choosing A Network Library in C#
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Arcen's Upcoming Puzzle Game Gets Official Name, New Alpha-Version Screenshots
Arcen's currently-inwork puzzle game now has an official name: Tidalis.
The teaser
preview for the game has been updated to show the game's new logo,
as well as a lot of the game's current art. Please bear in mind that
most of the middle-ground sprites are currently missing from the shown
backgrounds, and that the look of the HUD is quite temporary. The new
screenshots are from the actual game -- not concept art -- and so
should give a better glimpse of what is coming.
In other Arcen news, the tower defense game A Valley Without Wind (AVWW) has been pushed back to 2011. In place of that title, the completion of Arcen's zombie puzzle-based adventure game, Alden Ridge, will be the next priority for the company after Tidalis. Alden Ridge is already about 70% complete (though filled with temporary art and music), and now that the last design roadblocks have been resolved with this game, it should fit better with Arcen's 2010 lineup. Most specifically, completion of this game in place of AVWW will allow adequate time for the second expansion to AI War to also be completed in the fourth quarter. Currently, development of AVWW is expected to be Arcen's primary focus for the first 6-8 months of 2011, or more if needed. It's a big game (as is Alden Ridge, but Alden Ridge already has 80 completed levels, a finished engine, a complete level editor, and so on).
We at Arcen are quite excited to share all of our upcoming work with you -- much more information to come about Tidalis in particular in another 2-3 weeks, along with public pre-release versions for demo or for full access to via preorder. Stay tuned!
In other Arcen news, the tower defense game A Valley Without Wind (AVWW) has been pushed back to 2011. In place of that title, the completion of Arcen's zombie puzzle-based adventure game, Alden Ridge, will be the next priority for the company after Tidalis. Alden Ridge is already about 70% complete (though filled with temporary art and music), and now that the last design roadblocks have been resolved with this game, it should fit better with Arcen's 2010 lineup. Most specifically, completion of this game in place of AVWW will allow adequate time for the second expansion to AI War to also be completed in the fourth quarter. Currently, development of AVWW is expected to be Arcen's primary focus for the first 6-8 months of 2011, or more if needed. It's a big game (as is Alden Ridge, but Alden Ridge already has 80 completed levels, a finished engine, a complete level editor, and so on).
We at Arcen are quite excited to share all of our upcoming work with you -- much more information to come about Tidalis in particular in another 2-3 weeks, along with public pre-release versions for demo or for full access to via preorder. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
HellBored: Chris Park Interviewed About AI War and The Zenith Remnant
HellBored recently conducted an
interview with Chris Park about AI War, the reception of The Zenith
Remnant, developing games as an individual versus as part of a team, and
why developing capable RTS AI is such a challenge for the industry.
Read The Interview
Read The Interview
Metacritic: AI War 40th Best PC Game of 2009
All the way back in December, Metacritic
released their annual list of the year's best-reviewed games on each
platform. Things have been so busy here at Arcen that somehow we missed
posting a news item about this, but we thought it was pretty cool to
say the least. For a game that started out as a one-man project with no
budget, it's pretty amazing to see that wind up at the #40 slot out of
all the great indie and AAA titles that were released during the year.
Read The Article At Metacritic
Read The Article At Metacritic
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Fire Sales In Digital Distribution
ABSTRACT
Chris Park discusses his thoughts on the benefits of the current culture of frequent sales for digital distribution games, and why players shouldn't feel guilty for taking advantage of any offers that a developer or publisher decides to put forth.
Fire Sales In Digital Distribution
Chris Park discusses his thoughts on the benefits of the current culture of frequent sales for digital distribution games, and why players shouldn't feel guilty for taking advantage of any offers that a developer or publisher decides to put forth.
Fire Sales In Digital Distribution
What Makes For An Expert Indie Developer?
ABSTRACT
Chris Park believes that "expert indie developers" are a real thing, and common to spot among successful indies. But, even among those that are less successful, there are certain hallmarks that identify those that would be investment-worthy for anyone looking to start up angle or venture funding aimed at indie developers.
What Makes For An Expert Indie Developer?
Chris Park believes that "expert indie developers" are a real thing, and common to spot among successful indies. But, even among those that are less successful, there are certain hallmarks that identify those that would be investment-worthy for anyone looking to start up angle or venture funding aimed at indie developers.
What Makes For An Expert Indie Developer?
Complexity for the sake of complexity.
ABSTRACT
Chris Park is a huge proponent of simplicity in game design in general -- so why has he created such an incredibly complex game as AI War? This lengthy article examines the market forces that lead to various kinds of complex games, and why a game like AI War or Dwarf Fortress is able to gain more popularity than certain game designers or reviewers might expect. The short answer is that there is an underserved niche for certain kinds of complex games, which meet certain needs for genre experts. The long answer is more robust and explores this from a cross-genre, history-of-gaming perspective.
Complexity for the sake of complexity.
Chris Park is a huge proponent of simplicity in game design in general -- so why has he created such an incredibly complex game as AI War? This lengthy article examines the market forces that lead to various kinds of complex games, and why a game like AI War or Dwarf Fortress is able to gain more popularity than certain game designers or reviewers might expect. The short answer is that there is an underserved niche for certain kinds of complex games, which meet certain needs for genre experts. The long answer is more robust and explores this from a cross-genre, history-of-gaming perspective.
Complexity for the sake of complexity.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
AI War 3.0 Released!
Arcen Games is pleased to announce the release of AI War: Fleet
Command version 3.000. You can download a trial version
of the game, as well as purchase
a license key to unlock the full version. If you already have the
game or demo installed, just hit "Check For Updates" inside the game to
get the latest patch.
- Updated art for many ships, including larger and more
impressive command stations, space docks, fortresses, colony ships, and
more!
-New starships: The Raid Starship line has been split, so that now there is a Raid Starship line (Mark I-III), and a separate Leech Starship line (Mark I-III).
-New capturables: Fabricators, which let you manufacture (the previously AI-only) Mark V ships, Bomber Starships, and more!
-Co-op improvements: Players who have lost their home station, or who join the game late, now get a “Home Command Station Core,” which provides them with the resources and build capacity they need to keep playing in a fun way without slowing the other players down. Other minor changes also abound, such as messages to allied players when technologies are unlocked, and improvements to engineer assistance from allies.
-AI Improvements: The AI is smarter and more devious than ever, while some of the more game-flow-interrupting tactics such as Cross-Planet Attacks have also been made less frequent. Ship autotargeting is now notably better for both the players and AI.
-Performance Improvements: The game now performs 400% to 1000% better in supermassive games of (those with 100,000 to 200,000 units on the map), and on average 20% to 80% better on regular sized games (usually 80,000 units or fewer).
-Interface Improvements: A wide variety of player-suggested minor tweaks have been made to the interface, leading to ever-improved usability. The planetary summary now has category-colorization on mouseover, planet names are colorized by owner status in the galaxy map, “control nodes” have been added to allow new automation options for players, amongst many others.
-Other New Ships: Rally Posts allow for directing incoming allied forces to a specific place on a planet, Cleanup Drones remove exploded enemy mines and turrets, and Mine Layers have turned into more generalized Remains Rebuilders which can auto-rebuild turrets as well as mines for players (both AI and human, so be sure to use Cleanup Drones on enemy planets).
-New Minor Factions: Minor Factions aren’t just for customers of the expansion! Three new minor factions have also been added to version 3.0 for all AI War players (optionally enable any combination of them through the lobby).
-Human Marauders are a hostile minor faction that will sometimes attack you or the AI from deep space, using their powerful new Buzz Bombs and Dagger Frigates.
-Human Resistance Fighters are an allied minor faction that will sometimes decloak from deep space and join you in assaulting AI worlds with their powerful new Fighter/Bombers and Frigates.
-Rebelling Human Colonies are formerly-captive human cities that need your help in order to survive -- fail and you’ll see an increase in AI Progress, but succeed and your entire team will be able to build the powerful new ships used by the Resistance Fighters.
-Ship Balance Updates: Many minor and major ship balance adjustments have been made – the most notable of these is that the core fighter/cruiser/bomber triangle has been redefined into an easier-to-follow fighter/bomber/frigate triangle.
-Game Flow Improvements: Not only are the disruptive cross-planet attacks less frequent, but all human ships now move 40% faster (making it easier to stage defenses or coordinate assaults – especially so since AI ships are still the same speed as before), many new automations have been built into the interface (the most notable of which is that metal/crystal harvesters are now automatically rebuilt on human planets after hostile AI forces are gone), and a few key structures (space docks, factories, etc) have been made more robust. Players will spend less time than ever on repetitive tasks, letting especially new players take to the stars faster.
-And Much More: The full release notes for version 3.0 (not including expansion notes) are over 10,000 words long. This is by the largest single release AI War has ever seen, and no small wonder – it was three months in the making! Future free DLC updates will resume their monthly schedule.
- Updated art for many ships, including larger and more
impressive command stations, space docks, fortresses, colony ships, and
more!
-New starships: The Raid Starship line has been split, so that now there is a Raid Starship line (Mark I-III), and a separate Leech Starship line (Mark I-III).
-New capturables: Fabricators, which let you manufacture (the previously AI-only) Mark V ships, Bomber Starships, and more!
-Co-op improvements: Players who have lost their home station, or who join the game late, now get a “Home Command Station Core,” which provides them with the resources and build capacity they need to keep playing in a fun way without slowing the other players down. Other minor changes also abound, such as messages to allied players when technologies are unlocked, and improvements to engineer assistance from allies.
-AI Improvements: The AI is smarter and more devious than ever, while some of the more game-flow-interrupting tactics such as Cross-Planet Attacks have also been made less frequent. Ship autotargeting is now notably better for both the players and AI.
-Performance Improvements: The game now performs 400% to 1000% better in supermassive games of (those with 100,000 to 200,000 units on the map), and on average 20% to 80% better on regular sized games (usually 80,000 units or fewer).
-Interface Improvements: A wide variety of player-suggested minor tweaks have been made to the interface, leading to ever-improved usability. The planetary summary now has category-colorization on mouseover, planet names are colorized by owner status in the galaxy map, “control nodes” have been added to allow new automation options for players, amongst many others.
-Other New Ships: Rally Posts allow for directing incoming allied forces to a specific place on a planet, Cleanup Drones remove exploded enemy mines and turrets, and Mine Layers have turned into more generalized Remains Rebuilders which can auto-rebuild turrets as well as mines for players (both AI and human, so be sure to use Cleanup Drones on enemy planets).
-New Minor Factions: Minor Factions aren’t just for customers of the expansion! Three new minor factions have also been added to version 3.0 for all AI War players (optionally enable any combination of them through the lobby).
-Human Marauders are a hostile minor faction that will sometimes attack you or the AI from deep space, using their powerful new Buzz Bombs and Dagger Frigates.
-Human Resistance Fighters are an allied minor faction that will sometimes decloak from deep space and join you in assaulting AI worlds with their powerful new Fighter/Bombers and Frigates.
-Rebelling Human Colonies are formerly-captive human cities that need your help in order to survive -- fail and you’ll see an increase in AI Progress, but succeed and your entire team will be able to build the powerful new ships used by the Resistance Fighters.
-Ship Balance Updates: Many minor and major ship balance adjustments have been made – the most notable of these is that the core fighter/cruiser/bomber triangle has been redefined into an easier-to-follow fighter/bomber/frigate triangle.
-Game Flow Improvements: Not only are the disruptive cross-planet attacks less frequent, but all human ships now move 40% faster (making it easier to stage defenses or coordinate assaults – especially so since AI ships are still the same speed as before), many new automations have been built into the interface (the most notable of which is that metal/crystal harvesters are now automatically rebuilt on human planets after hostile AI forces are gone), and a few key structures (space docks, factories, etc) have been made more robust. Players will spend less time than ever on repetitive tasks, letting especially new players take to the stars faster.
-And Much More: The full release notes for version 3.0 (not including expansion notes) are over 10,000 words long. This is by the largest single release AI War has ever seen, and no small wonder – it was three months in the making! Future free DLC updates will resume their monthly schedule.
AI War: The Zenith Remnant Now Available!
Arcen Games is pleased to announce the release of The Zenith Remnant, the first expansion to their hit RTS/4X hybrid, AI War! You can download a trial version or purchase a license key on the details page for the expansion. Thanks to all of our fans who have helped to make this game possible with their feedback, suggestions, and preorders over the last months!
The Zenith Remnant includes a massive amount of new content that brings the galaxy to life in exciting ways. Capturables, special AI ships, and ancient alien artifacts litter the cosmos, making your choices as a player more varied than ever. Do you risk total war with the AI by capturing and rebuilding a massive golem? Do you procure defensive superweapons from Zenith traders?
Maybe you’d like to finally be able to build the powerful Core ships that the AI has long used -- or the all-new experimental ships with strange and powerful abilities. Befriend the dangerous alien Dyson Sphere by helping it against the AI forces, or sneak around it to avoid incurring its wrath (that thing is moody). If you see a Devourer Golem, don’t forget to run -- preferably as it pummels your enemies. Any path you take, there are consequences; AI War is known for being heavily strategic even amongst strategy games, and The Zenith Remnant takes it to new heights.
Key Features
* 122 new ships, including:
* 14 new ship classes with a variety of abilities.
* 7 massive capturable "Golem" ships.
* Dozens of other new capturables, including “experimental” ships.
* 12 new AI Types.
* 4 Zenith alien minor factions (NPCs).
* Over 40 minutes of new in-game music tracks.
* Several new map styles.
* Several new AI behaviors and many related special AI weapons.
Availability And Pricing
The Zenith Remnant has a retail price of $9.99 USD (or equivalent currency), and is digitally available in English in all territories. The expansion will, starting today, be available through all of our online partners including Impulse, Steam, Direct2Drive, and GamersGate.
50% Off Sale On AI War
In celebration of the release of the expansion, we and most all of our partners are selling the base game of AI War: Fleet Command at a 50% discount until the 18th or 19th (the end date varies depending on the vendor). If you already have the game, now's the perfect time to get a friend into it so that you can enjoy some co-op together!
The Zenith Remnant includes a massive amount of new content that brings the galaxy to life in exciting ways. Capturables, special AI ships, and ancient alien artifacts litter the cosmos, making your choices as a player more varied than ever. Do you risk total war with the AI by capturing and rebuilding a massive golem? Do you procure defensive superweapons from Zenith traders?
Maybe you’d like to finally be able to build the powerful Core ships that the AI has long used -- or the all-new experimental ships with strange and powerful abilities. Befriend the dangerous alien Dyson Sphere by helping it against the AI forces, or sneak around it to avoid incurring its wrath (that thing is moody). If you see a Devourer Golem, don’t forget to run -- preferably as it pummels your enemies. Any path you take, there are consequences; AI War is known for being heavily strategic even amongst strategy games, and The Zenith Remnant takes it to new heights.
Key Features
* 122 new ships, including:
* 14 new ship classes with a variety of abilities.
* 7 massive capturable "Golem" ships.
* Dozens of other new capturables, including “experimental” ships.
* 12 new AI Types.
* 4 Zenith alien minor factions (NPCs).
* Over 40 minutes of new in-game music tracks.
* Several new map styles.
* Several new AI behaviors and many related special AI weapons.
Availability And Pricing
The Zenith Remnant has a retail price of $9.99 USD (or equivalent currency), and is digitally available in English in all territories. The expansion will, starting today, be available through all of our online partners including Impulse, Steam, Direct2Drive, and GamersGate.
50% Off Sale On AI War
In celebration of the release of the expansion, we and most all of our partners are selling the base game of AI War: Fleet Command at a 50% discount until the 18th or 19th (the end date varies depending on the vendor). If you already have the game, now's the perfect time to get a friend into it so that you can enjoy some co-op together!
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