You must conquer city while keeping low profile. You start in an ominous evil tower of evil in the middle of the city.

@doltBmB

2 күн бұрын

lol. isn't that for the megacorp that created you though?

@z-beeblebrox

Күн бұрын

to be fair, the very first notification he clicks on says "There's no way people haven't noticed the tower"

I have bought all of Chris McElligott Parks video games. I don't like all of them, but I'm sure as heck not stopping buying them, because that man not only sells his games for cheap, they are always so god damn creative.

@HappyWulf

26 күн бұрын

Same. Wish they could all be bangers, but he's willing to take risks and try something different.

@CatFish107

26 күн бұрын

Neat. First time I've heard of him. Thanks for the heads up!

@chaosordeal294

26 күн бұрын

I thought I didn't know the guy, but when I saw which games he made -- oof, pretty rough. This one looks like a pass, too.

@boulderingbadger6179

14 күн бұрын

I need this read with Jordan Peterdon AI voice.

Is it just me; or does Hooded Horse have their name on a striking number of cool things right now? I'm not sure I'd ever even heard of them until comparatively recently; and now they seem to be all over the place.

@kdog3908

26 күн бұрын

They're a 'must check out' publisher for me these days. Which is a rarity for me, given how stale the games industry is at the moment. If Hooded Horse are involved in a project i'm automatically interested.

@FrostRare

26 күн бұрын

They’ve always been holding down the strategy fort. Them and Slitherine.

@TheLazyFinn

26 күн бұрын

Publishing Manor Lords probably helps lmao

@UberQQ

26 күн бұрын

They're basically trying to reproduce MicroProse's business strategy from the good years.

@UnarmedBastard

26 күн бұрын

I literally joined their discord for that reason a few weeks ago. Looking forward to Mars Tactics specifically but they have their fingers in a ton of game-pies.

"My grandpa's mech has no pathetic parts" "You just have activated my trap bot"

The original AI War preceded A Valley without Wind by quite some time as their first game.

@Noobatheart

25 күн бұрын

Ummmmm awktually

@JamesMowery

23 күн бұрын

I remember playing AVWW. The awkward graphics but deep gameplay was captivating.

Even if Splat hadn't told us that this game was by the AI War crew, the first time he scrolled over the robot unit portrait and the pop-up listed like 20 different stats, it became obvious.

"They'll send out hunters to find the rogue androids, Blade Runner style" How is this the first I'm hearing of this game? It sounds awesome. I love how no one seems suspicious of cyberpunk Barad-dûr just popping up in the middle of downtown.

@strategicsage7694

25 күн бұрын

FYI they actually are suspicious, they just tolerate it.. One of the reasons they do so is that the people in charge of the city (Vorsiber Atomic) want off Earth really badly to join the generally much-better-off humans out colonizing the galaxy. They believe advanced technology is their ticket to this, so they see you as something new, interesting, and potentially useful/profitable. Their plan basically is to steal whatever you come up with that's valuable.

you cant convince me this game was not made by an AI as a "haha funny... but no really..." way of gathering data on how they could go on about conquering humanity XD

@chicaoterror

26 күн бұрын

Have any of you goes by the name John Connor? Just asking...

@ryanb7186

26 күн бұрын

Given the current state of world politics, I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords.

@Apple_Apporu

25 күн бұрын

Noone better at killing humans than other humans, AI is just taking notes

@isimiel3405

25 күн бұрын

and he was never seen again

@666stonewall

25 күн бұрын

LOL

Every time i hear nicklebot I think this time I'm mistaken for handing you a heart worth breaking, I've been wrong, I've been down. Been to the bottom of every bottle.

@singledad1313

26 күн бұрын

Comments like this... sigh... How You Remind Me, Someday, everyone is a Rockstar in the comments.

@silentbob8635

21 күн бұрын

Look at this pixelgraph

AI war 1-2 has been worked on for like 20 years now I would say this game has definite similarities to AI war though. Similar themes of staying low profile and being able to choose how you want to play the game.

If this game has the same quality as The Last Federation, it will be awesome. That game has so much going on, it's criminal how underrated it is. Definitely one of my favorites from Arcen Games.

As a deep fan of The Last Federation I'm really looking forward for Heart of the Machine. Arcen have shown that they have a particular flair for 4x games where the challenge is learning how to effectively manipulate the sandbox to achieve certain goals.

So great to see you covering this. Arcen Games deserves all the love.

25:58 Daddy, why does the robot have a codpiece?

The idea that you can be a "nice" Skynet is really interesting. I can definitely see how some humans could form emotional attachments to their AI overlords. I wonder how else you'll be able to exploit human vulnerabilities like with the homeless population. Sneaky!

@strategicsage7694

26 күн бұрын

Much of that is not announced yet, but the mindset is basically that of 'taming the urban wilderness'. Much like a farmer would keep livestock or grow grain, the humans are useful long-term as your 'livestock'.

i've had this on my wishlist for ages. nice to see some footage of it

I really like the way the basic premise flips the script on the dystopian AI drama. It's like you get to BE Skynet.

You know what this remind of? This is kind of the sci fi version of shadow of forbidden gods! Which is a great game so i might check this one out

Arcen Games has something new coming out? Hot dog! I could never get into AI War but I loved The Last Federation so much (my Steam profile description still includes a reference to a glitch that happened in the early days). I was sad when they canceled Stars Beyond Reach but I'm so glad to see something new!

I recognized AI War the second I read a tooltip. This game is one I always wanted to see performed, but always fell very short of The Syndicate. By all accounts this version pulled it off amazingly, and it's perfect for my current content needs.

@matthewyip8695

15 күн бұрын

I love syndicate

Props to splattercat for making me have to rotate my phone to landscape to read the titles

@AclypseOfReason

26 күн бұрын

Only have your phone on landscape view when watching YT, child. This ain’t Tik Tok…

I see the tower and I immediately think “oh no where is the evil guys headquarters ? They can be anywhere in the city” meme

Damage type indicator should not be only color-coded. There should be iconography to convey the same info. Some of us can't differentiate colors very well

@georgetibbitts6025

25 күн бұрын

That’s a good point, ill share that feedback with the dev

Glad to see you covering this! After being in the recent tests and seeing the progress on the game, it really deserves getting eyes on it. Great game in the making!

Interesting timing. I just wishlisted this this morning. I like and support Arcen.

The game seems great, I just wish the graphics style would lean a bit more toward cyberpunk and a little less toward toy city.

3:55... The Diplomat LOL.

@ham_the_spam4423

26 күн бұрын

who says you need a boat for Gunboat Diplomacy?

The developer of this game is so wholesome, I would purchase his games even if they were worse than that stupid banana clicker game that 100,000+ people are wasting their time on.

Arcen games are always a bit on the Big Brain side. I did really enjoy Bionic Dues, but got a little stuck on the huge amount of unit variety and strategy level decisions of AI war.

How can we get the demo, Splat? When I go to the Steam page it says the game is going to release sometime in 2024, but I don't see any demo or early access mention. EDIT: Ok, you mention it at the start of the vid. Demo will be available during Steam Next Fest, which starts on the 10th. Thanks!

This really feels like a similar style of game to "Terra Invicta" - a daunting prospect to get into, with a very steep learning curve; but once you get the hang of it, a rich and detailed sandbox experience! Plus, there aren't many titles out there that manage to really capture the feeling of playing as an AI, but it looks like this game handles that pretty well! Definitely going to check this one out for myself! 😁👍

Ive had this on my wishlist!

Thanks, Splatt. This looks rad!

So surprised to see HoTC on this channel! But its definitely a welcome surprise.

Oh hell yeah, I was hoping you'd get to review this one - I've been in the playtest and really enjoying it so far!

I like how the dystopian human megacity has tent cities due to extreme societal inequality

This looks like a pretty cool concept

you use spiders to collect galvanized steal for expanding your apartments, truly the Chinese dream

Reminds me of xcom apocalypse, which is a bit of a hidden gem imho!

damn splat, another game I really dont need but definitely want

@vforwombat9915

26 күн бұрын

how many games do you need?

A Valley Without Wind 2 is my most underrated game ever. Arcen makes really meaty, unique, satisfying games, as long as you give them space to click with you.

Arcen Games are the best. Super friendly Dev with crazy game ideas and very fast to fix things.

34:59 - Hmm... More density should mean either it fires larger projectiles, or they switch from lead to a denser metal. As you said though, in the game it's just a damage modifier.

I imagine this is what it will be like when the AI take over night City in cyberpunk

I love it. Something very new in strategy gaming (which is typical Arcen Games)

this will be a good game dude

The interface looks busy and confusing, but the concept and storyline of the game looks good enough to want to learn the interface and play the game. Thanks for covering this one, keeping my eye on this.

Holy "outside the box" Batman!

Been looking forward to info on this one. Arcen certainly has my attention after AI War 2

the music in a valley without wind is so damn good. some of my favorite ever. I don't think avww2 i don't think i liked much but it was so long ago i couldn't tell you why. kinda wanna go back and try them again. very interesting games

Hooded Horse again !! Holy bananas these guys are RELENTLESS

Looks good. I saw it on Steam and couldn't tell if it is controlling a giant robot or AI. I see now that it is more than that and tactical.

I love, love the AI War games so very much. This one looks interesting.

People always tell me I’m unlike anything else, so this resonates with me

when I hear Heart of the Machine, the first thing i think of is the machine spirit and the omnissiah lol

Very interesting one.

Aw love the satalite reign mention, if you haven't heard of it check it out that game is still great ive had it for what feels like 8 years, only got a pc that can play it at more than 0.5 frames an hour a couple years ago so my recommendation is nore recent than its release.

I am 100% into this, it looks awesome. I wish it was MORE stealthy, no dirty great tower comes to mind, but it still looks awesome.

@strategicsage7694

25 күн бұрын

FYI the game was originally more stealthy, and the tower was a 'mistake' by your character; they were trying to build a smaller bunker in a human building but overestimated their ability to control nanotech. There are ways of playing that minimize how much combat is required, but it's largely more of a 'hide in plain sight' thing. Some of the gameplay options revolve around doing one thing on the surface, but actually doing something different secretly. When the game was initially made in close to a totally-secret mode, it was basically not as good in practice as it seems in theory - it just ended not really being nearly as interesting to actually play.

@Cuthawolf

25 күн бұрын

@@strategicsage7694 Okay that's actually pretty rad. Thanks very much for the clarification :)

😅 "..we need to find someone who will sell us a transponder, OR find someone who will donate a transponder to us via violence" LOL 😂

Kinda reminds me of the movie "I Robot".

I am reminded of the NOD Obelisk of Light for some weird reason.

Yay new Arcen game! They always make something unique

Arcen Games is one guy, Chris McElligott Park, and he showcases some of the best of indie gaming. I hope he gets his big breakout someday.

ILY SPLAT❤

Looks cool. Can't bear to watch a tutorial i'm probably going to have to play through myself though.

You know you are really, really, really, in a cyberpunk dystopia when it's the malignant unshackled AI that's most interested in providing social services. Apropos of that; does the game have any sort of mechanic where class and faction affiliation change how your actions affect your visibility? I saw some 'clearance' stuff that appears to outright gate access; but does building a bot fab inside some tent city where the people nobody cares about live draw less heat than building one next to some corpo HQ? Or having your deathbots shoot it out with criminals is just tuesday as far as the cops are concerned; but property crimes vs. people who matter will get the enforcers on you? It's entirely possible(indeed likely) that I'm just really bad at reading the game since I"ve never played it; but I don't have a strong sense of what does or doesn't count as poking the bear, and how hard, and whether there are strategies you can use to play subtle or play loud; or if discovery is 100% inevitable and it's just about keeping up with the power curve.

@strategicsage7694

26 күн бұрын

There are some things like that; also everything even in Chapter One is somewhat guardrailed, Chapter Two (not available as part of this demo) is where it really opens up more. But partway through Chapter One you get the ability to build vehicles via an Aero Hangar, and if you build that next to a military base everything that comes out of your hangar gets shot at. Building next to corporate HQs really doesn't matter, but some of what you build is hidden inside other buildings and less 'visible to others', the stuff you build on your own from the ground up is vulnerable to attack, etc.

@strategicsage7694

26 күн бұрын

In terms of strategies, there's basically three types of play; subterfuge, hard power, and soft power. You can do a lot of things 'secretly' in the long term, or just try to blow things up, or try to get the humans to work with you. Generally the idea is to combine the approaches.

I have fond memories of AI wars. I have high hopes for this.

I've had this game on my wishlist for a year, lmao

Evil tentacle tower

this looks like the most interesting arcen game and that's saying a lot

Definitely cool. I'll probably get.

So the premice is you're trying to be unnoticed... and the gameplay is neverending fighting with grenade launches fired across whole city blocks.

look like i have to try ai war2 before playing this game. nice one.

@igorthelight

26 күн бұрын

AI War is like "Sins of a Solar Empire" in a way ;-)

I thought I scoured the summer games events on steam thoroughly, somehow I missed this.

I've been looking forward to this. Hmm. Not quite what I hoped for but.. I'll give it a go.

When Stargate Replicators and Skynet have a baby...

27:44 - I feel like you shouldn't be able to stack two Optical Processing Priority augments. Once you set something as a priority, setting it as a priority again doesn't do anything. :)

Finally Nickelbot gets to be the leader of men

excellent!

If you’re looking for cool new-ish indie games I’d suggest Biogun! It’s a really cook Metroidvania where you’re an antibody trying to save a dog from a virus, it’s got a ton of character to it.

If I could choose any video game company to make immune to bankruptcy it would be Arcen and it's not even close. And I haven't really even liked any of their games, but people need their imagination.

''The machine was perfect of line and elegant of form. And the machine said, 'This is my gift to my people, that they may throw off the bonds of flesh.’” -- Lyman Taggart, also known as Lord Dread, dictating scriptures about his Cult of the Machine, in "Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future" (1987).

HOLY SHIT ITS FINALLY HERE YEAHAHHHHH

This sounds cool. Arcen is one of the devs I trust. They make good not dumbed down stuff.

Nice Shadowrun references.

looks intresting

SKYNET approves this video.

Welcome, my son.

Sounds like a better origin story for Ultron.

I have absolutely no doubt this evil AI was made by Google.

If I had a choice of a long stream I'd prefer Airborne Empires but this is def unique.

Been looking forward to this since I heard of it, although back then it was suggested that the game would be a bit more sandboxy and less combat oriented. I wonder if that's still the case and it's just not implemented yet or you didn't notice it.

@strategicsage7694

25 күн бұрын

It is very sandboxy eventually, but what's in the demo is not as much that way (though it does start branching out in that direction) due to the game needing to teach you a sizable amount of things first. As a point of reference, at launch there are expected to be approximately 10 victory conditions (and many more than that later), you can go for multiple victory conditions in a single run, it is planned as an extremely open-ended game. Combat is a significant part, but only one part. It's described as having three gameplay 'axes': hard power (combat ofc), soft power (co-opting the humans or convincing them to help you in various ways), and subterfuge. It's basically a combination of splattercat not getting as far as branching out into some of those elements, and also quite a bit of it not existing in this demo as it doesn't go that far into the game yet.

@YumLemmingKebabs

25 күн бұрын

@@strategicsage7694 I don't know how you have all this information, but thanks!

huh... been wondering if I'd ever find something like this. Not quite a 4X, but it just might do...

That DC Universe Online UI! Dafuq?

Looks interesting, when you called it a 4x i was put off. Iv played enough 4x for the rest of my life. Glad this isnt your typical 4x game.

So....when the human authorities are interrogating people to find rogue Nickelbots, do they say "Look at this photograph!"? Also, I'm definitely buying this unless the reviews tank.

Really weird indeed.

I love and hate these videos. Love em for inteoducing me to new games but i hate em because the games arent out yet when i wanna play immediately lol

trucks just driving by as massive warfare erupts on the streets.

@strategicsage7694

26 күн бұрын

Violence is an expected part of life in this city.

@Sorain1

25 күн бұрын

I mean, that's a part of cyberpunk in general.

@vforwombat9915

25 күн бұрын

@@Sorain1 i just thought they'd like, swerve, or take a different street.

@robertnomok9750

25 күн бұрын

Itst that an everyday life in murica?

I love the idea of androids writing haiku. Or perhaps it would be better to call it..... hAIku? Jokes aside, this looks utterly fascinating.