Games

[icycalm]

Something tasty for PS3: an upcoming tactics game from Sega, developed by ex-staff members from Red and Overworks.

http://valkyria.sega.jp/

Basically a teaser page announcing that the game will be shown at TGS.

[icycalm]

[icycalm]

A Famitsu developer interview reveals that the game will also include action elements:

http://www.famitsu.com/interview/articl ... 0,0,0.html

[icycalm]

Clean scans of the first Famitsu preview:






720p trailer from TGS (33 MB):

http://insomnia.ac/archive/games/playst ... railer.wmv

Interview with the producers and more screens:

http://www.famitsu.com/interview/articl ... 2,0,0.html

A Famitsu.com preview:

http://www.famitsu.com/game/coming/1211741_1407.html

And finally a Game Watch preview that contains a video which I've uploaded here, detailing the game's system (59 MB).

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/doc ... 19/val.htm

Also, the official site has been updated with tons of shit I haven't checked out yet.

[Kovacs]

When the recent announcement of Valkyria Chronicles DLC hit, forums, front pages, and twitter feeds were abuzz with people counting down the days. But a few people I spoke with on forums had some questions about what exactly was coming in each pack of content - and specifically, you actually get a lot more in each than you might think from the one or two sentences that went out in the PR blast. That’s where community comes in.

One of the biggest packs that people were curious about was Hard Mode EX, and so I wanted to start first with that pack and explain just what you get for your buck (or five, in this case), as well as help clear up any confusion about how Hard Mode EX works.

So, let’s talk about what Hard Mode EX really is in detail. Hard Mode EX allows you to replay Skirmishes on Expert setting - but it doesn’t just mean things are harder and you don’t get the Edelweiss to fall back on. (Aww…) All in all, it’s much more than just harder opponents, starting with:

New Unlockable Weapons

By making your way through expert mode, you’ll be able to unlock a number of new weapons - seven of them, to be exact. (Which counts, especially when you’re trying snipe an incoming scout.) They include:

• Two new rifles
• One new machinegun
• Two new sniper rifles
• One new anti-tank lance
• One new flamethrower

All of which are pretty sweet - but shiny new weapons aren’t the only thing that will be added in besides the harder difficulty. There are also changes made to the opponents you’ll be facing.

Enemy and AI Updates

• New Enemy Ace
• Slight changes to attributes for core enemies
• AI will now own you eight different ways simultaneously. Maybe nine.

Just like it sounds - not only is the enemy AI harder, but the core enemies have also been tweaked, and they’ve added in a brand new enemy ace. They don’t call it Expert Mode for nothing…

Unless you are a strategist God, initial playthroughs into Hard Mode EX will likely result in pain. A lot of pain. But it’ll be a good kind of pain - knowing that there’s light at the end of the tunnel in the form of new gear, and the fact that it’s finally more new content to play with.

http://blogs.sega.com/usa/2009/04/14/va ... d-mode-ex/

So Sega is offering a DLC package to correct the terrible enemy AI. Unfortunately, it will only apply to skirmishes. It also looks like these battles are designed for highly leveled classes, so anyone who minimized grinding might need to mindlessly complete normal skirmishes before jumping into Hard Mode EX.

If Sega WOW/Overworks makes another Valkyria game, I really hope they fix the serious flaws that everyone has happily forgiven, including the crappy AI, since the battle system is quite good.

[srpgfan]

So Sega is offering a DLC package to correct the terrible enemy AI. Unfortunately, it will only apply to skirmishes. It also looks like these battles are designed for highly leveled classes, so anyone who minimized grinding might need to mindlessly complete normal skirmishes before jumping into Hard Mode EX.

If Sega WOW/Overworks makes another Valkyria game, I really hope they fix the serious flaws that everyone has happily forgiven, including the crappy AI, since the battle system is quite good.

The 1.20 patch didn't do anything to address the AI, as far as anyone that posts on the net could tell.

There is no 'mindless grinding' needed to get to lv 20 for the EX-Hard skirmishes. You'll easily hit lv 20 on all classes just going through the game once and playing some normal and hard skirmishes.

Anyway, if you want a good idea of what the EX-Hard skirmishes are like, check out the videos here:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p ... 7D2&page=2

[Kovacs]

Fighting through skirmishes is the grinding I was referring to. Normal skirmishes are nearly identical to the story missions of the same map--the only variation occurs when certain boss characters are replaced with easier enemies. Playing through skirmishes requires no new strategies, since you've already completed the map. Using skirmishes as a means to max out your level, then, is grinding. The hard skirmishes you mention are not available until the second play through. I completed the story missions playing two or three skirmishes and only maxed out one class.

It's disappointing to hear that the AI wasn't changed despite what Sega's blog said.

[srpgfan]

If you're trying to get an A rank and the best possible score at the same time, you do have to use different strategies on a few of the normal maps. For example Skirmish 7 Normal has less CP available than the campaign mission.

The AI is average as far as turn based tactics/SRPGs go. Unfortunately it's the area that is most often compromised for the sake of speed/lack of processing power.

[Marble]

"Turn-based tactics meet action-packed real-time shooting in this beautifully crafted epic." - The back of the box.

What's funny is that the supposed real-time in this game is almost entirely superficial. As far as strategy is concerned (based on maybe a few hours play) there's nothing that couldn't be done in an overhead or isometric view. Since enemies can't shoot you once you start aiming AND the cross hair locks on, in practice you aren't really doing much besides selecting an enemy and pressing "attack." You can aim manually for a head shot, but you can take as much time as you like with no consequence.

So it's basically a SRPG where enemy units shoot at you if you move into their area of fire - even if it's your turn and you don't engage with them - and the grid is very fine and invisible to the player. Taking this into account and also that all units use projectiles and can hide behind certain objects, the tactics needed for victory are quite different to anything I've played before. It's a lot of fun!

[Hanged Man]

https://twitter.com/SEGA/status/526884918677471232

Gallia, to arms! Return to the original battle on PC. More info coming soon...

[earthboundtrev]

http://www.siliconera.com/2014/10/30/va ... fps-1080p/

Valkyria Chronicles on PC will feature remappable controls and support for a keyboard and mouse, Sega confirmed over Twitter today.

The game will also support 720p, 1080p, and higher resolutions, depending on your maximum monitor resolution. Finally, the game will be capable of running at 60 frames-per-second on PC, Sega confirmed.

http://gematsu.com/2014/10/valkyria-chr ... ovember-11

Valkyria Chronicles due out for PC on November 11
posted on 10.30.14 at 12:17 PM EDT by Sal Romano (@salromano)
PC version includes all the DLC from the PlayStation 3 version.

Valkyria Chronicles

Valkyria Chronicles will launch for PC via digital download on November 11 for £14.99 / €19.99 / $19.99, Sega announced.

The game will come bundled with all the downloadable content that was released post-launch for PlayStation 3, including:

“Hard EX Mode” – Harder versions of skirmish missions in the main game.
“Edy’s Mission” – “Enter the Edy Detachment” side story campaign.
“Selveria’s Mission” – “Behind Her Blue Flame” side story campaign.
“Challenge of the Edy Detachment” – Six challenge missions.