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PC Line War

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PC Line War

Unread postby icycalm » 13 May 2022 22:58

Just bought this. It just came out on the 5th, and it may well be Game of the Month. I'll be streaming it as soon as I've finished this post and eaten something, so keep an eye on the Twitch channel to catch a glimpse of it.

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What is Line War, and how did I find out about it?

I found out about it by searching for icycalm on /v/. There wasn't much info, but a tantalizing screenshot: https://arch.b4k.co/v/thread/598615859/#598618590

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Anonymous wrote:I'm playing that new Line War game now and having a great time. It feels somewhat new.

>>598615859
Because nobody has made a game more interesting than what we had 20 or so years ago. The genre hasn't grown conceptually since then. Every rts since is some kind of reskin with fewer features and a smaller playerbase. Icycalm figured this out. Why can't you?


I then googled it, and arrived at Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1309610/Line_War

Interestingly, a bunch of you have it wishlisted. I wonder where you found out about it. No one has bought it though except Adjudicator, and he hasn't even launched it. You guys must have added it without even reading about it, because if you'd scrolled down the page you'd have been blown away; or at any rate those of you who are into real-time strategy. This game sounds like PA2 in a LOT of ways.

First off, it's a super-macro game, just like PA, but even MOAR so. It accomplishes this by NOT giving you control of individual units. Instead, you draw lines to indicate commands that your units follow, hence "Line War"—which is a very uninspired and uninspiring name, that matches the blocky aesthetic and "eSports-only" design, but it's not like we've many options in the genre, so I'll take it. The unit designs are not actually all that different from PA's, and their low poly counts means you can have a lot of them on the screen, exactly as with PA.

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Not bad at all, right? They aren't as cool as PA's, especially the robots, but they're very serviceable.

But the line-drawning command interface is brand-new and sounds GENIUS. That means that the stupid microing that top PA players employ to dominate in tactical engagements is OUT THE WINDOW, and strategy should dominate the wars. No doubt tactics will still matter, but nowhere near as much as in PA, where they pretty much dominate small matches.

Moarover, on their roadmap there are many features including "SEAMLESS WEST/EAST CYLINDRICAL WORLDS" which basically means planets! Just one planet, granted, but at least it's no longer a square bounded by invisible wars that your opponent can hide next to so as to have his "back" "against the wall".

And it doesn't even stop there. You build roads and bridges! You conduct trade and grow cities! You conduct espionage! These are basically 4X mechanics simplified to work in real-time! Kind of like Paradox's games, but with full tactical zoom-in. It's really all I'd like to see in PA2 in addition to full space battles of course. However, this game has even a little bit of that with an upcoming ORBITAL LAYER!

Many of these features aren't in the game yet, however, but I intend to find out exactly what is within the next hour or two. Check the Steam page carefully (making sure to click to expand the roadmap section) to see all the planned features. It is VERY exciting, and just as exciting is their focus on competitive play, both online and in irl arenas in places such as SPACE in Stockholm. They certainly sound more driven, committed and competent than the dickweeds from the PA scene that tried to host events before I took over.

I'll wrap this up with a cool explosion:

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Check me out on Twitch soon, and grab the game if you want to play against me. There's only 1v1 right now (no campaign, but it is planned), but 2v2, 3v3 and FFA are coming, plus cool shit like this carrier:

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icycalm
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Joined: 28 Mar 2006 00:08
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands

Unread postby icycalm » 13 May 2022 23:01

Actually, there's no AI. It's 1v1 only, so I'll need someone to play against. Let me know if you want to play!
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icycalm
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Joined: 28 Mar 2006 00:08
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands

Unread postby icycalm » 14 May 2022 00:52

Studio Centurion wrote:Replay Again & Again. Randomly generate asymmetrical worlds to ensure no match or strategy is ever the same.

Select Your Starting Location. Choose where to begin in each world in an innovative and fair "picking phase" to gain your initial territory.


This sounds to me like no symmetry and spawn anywhere! Precisely what I use for all Cosmic War events, and what the entire PA scene has vehemently rejected since the beginning!
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icycalm
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Joined: 28 Mar 2006 00:08
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands



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