Retaliation - Path of War ( turn based wargame ) for Android and OUYA

[xteamsoftware]

Retaliation: Path of War is a new and original hex-and-counter turn based wargame. It has been designed and developed with the main purpose of offering a fun and easy to learn wargame, without the complexity and hyper realism of traditional simulation wargames while at the same time keeping all the interesting and challenging elements of tactical reasoning.

Have you enjoyed playing many matches of Risk™ with your friends but often felt limited by its simplicity and yearned for something more? Have you been engaged in realistic battle simulations lasting several hours (or days!) and wished you could just get to the point and vanquish your enemies?
Then you've come to the right place: whether you are a seasoned strategist or a casual gamer, you will love crushing tanks and conquering bases in Retaliation!

Retaliation: Path of War draws inspiration from a great variety of games (Risk™, Chess, Go, RolePlayingGames, Axis&Allies™, Memoir'44™ just to name a few) to deliver a fun, immediate and addictive challenge. It is simple to learn and fast to play but it offers an infinite variety of tactical situations.

http://www.retaliationgame.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIqSrgO5ugU

Beta testing We invite all interested players to participate in our beta testing program, offering up suggestions and spotting bugs in our product.

 

New update 0.90b

Thanks to users report and feedback we have updated Retaliation Path of War.

Many bugs have been fixed and now the base rules engine is complete.
Now we are working on code optimizations and fix/clean some routines to simplify the porting.

 

We have made some collaborations for create some 3d graphics elements ( 3d isometric ) e for game musics with:
Andrea Giachini

[TinnedEpic]

Looks Interesting, I'm keen on seeing where this goes.

[Nachtfischer]

Actually this looks quite interesting. But then the number one sin of (almost) all war games comes into play: dice. Dice all over the place. They take away so much potential depth and interestingness from the strategy, it's a shame.

 

Also, why do you want 3D graphics? Although they might not hurt too badly if you keep it isometric and make camera-fiddling a non-issue. On top of that, never make your players wait for animations to play out. Either don't have animations or make them asynchronous to the actual gameplay. In any serious strategy gamer's head the game will break down into an abstract affair anyways.

[xteamsoftware]

Actually this looks quite interesting. But then the number one sin of (almost) all war games comes into play: dice. Dice all over the place. They take away so much potential depth and interestingness from the strategy, it's a shame.

 

Also, why do you want 3D graphics? Although they might not hurt too badly if you keep it isometric and make camera-fiddling a non-issue. On top of that, never make your players wait for animations to play out. Either don't have animations or make them asynchronous to the actual gameplay. In any serious strategy gamer's head the game will break down into an abstract affair anyways.

 

Thanks to all for reply.

 

This is the conversion of a board game, obviously with dice.

 

We introduced an "arcade mode" but the game changes from original.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bl90WMa2Ho

 

We are also working on a "experience system"

 

3D graphics is only for troops ( flags, tanks ) not tile. we are trying to make "Retaliation" more similar to a boardgame

[Nachtfischer]

 

This is the conversion of a board game, obviously with dice.

 

I thought so, and in fact, I love board games and think they're on average MUCH more interesting than (by far) most of today's videogames.

 

If it's a conversion then it's obviously not your fault, but it's not "obvious" for board games to have dice. Actually I think dice are the cheapest way of handling action. They also add ambiguity and uncertainty in a very simple and cheap manner. But on the flip side they take away much depth and skill there could be to the game. It's like throwing out the baby with the bath water: You want uncertainty in your decision-contest, to make it not easily solvable, so you add chaos (i.e. randomness). But with that chaos you at the same time hurt the core of your system (the impact of player decisions).

 

It just bothers me that so many people think board games need dice or highly random card draws to be interesting. Whereas actually the opposite is true. The most long-lasting and competitively robust systems rather shy away from randomness. I'm thinking of Chess, Go, Through The Desert, Puerto Rico, even Agricola.

 

Then again, this is coming from somebody (me) for whom learning and individual skill gain are the core values of games themselves. This is where I get the fun from. And these values are obviously damaged by chaotic randomness and dependance on luck. Dice add that gambling aspect, that I myself find at least annoying, mostly just frustrating. Other people obviously like that and war gamers are probably among that group...

[xteamsoftware]

 

 

This is the conversion of a board game, obviously with dice.

 

I thought so, and in fact, I love board games and think they're on average MUCH more interesting than (by far) most of today's videogames.

 

If it's a conversion then it's obviously not your fault, but it's not "obvious" for board games to have dice. Actually I think dice are the cheapest way of handling action. They also add ambiguity and uncertainty in a very simple and cheap manner. But on the flip side they take away much depth and skill there could be to the game. It's like throwing out the baby with the bath water: You want uncertainty in your decision-contest, to make it not easily solvable, so you add chaos (i.e. randomness). But with that chaos you at the same time hurt the core of your system (the impact of player decisions).

 

It just bothers me that so many people think board games need dice or highly random card draws to be interesting. Whereas actually the opposite is true. The most long-lasting and competitively robust systems rather shy away from randomness. I'm thinking of Chess, Go, Through The Desert, Puerto Rico, even Agricola.

 

Then again, this is coming from somebody (me) for whom learning and individual skill gain are the core values of games themselves. This is where I get the fun from. And these values are obviously damaged by chaotic randomness and dependance on luck. Dice add that gambling aspect, that I myself find at least annoying, mostly just frustrating. Other people obviously like that and war gamers are probably among that group...

 

 

Perfect, I have the same opinion

 

I try to explain, my English is not very good.

 

"Retaliation" was born as a board game, the conversion to videogame is very difficult.

1 - The rules. People don't read documents. ( To try to explain the rules we have created missions )

2 - User interface. Many games are "complicated" : too many menus, icons, etc..

3 - Dice. In boardgames are exciting in a videogame are boring.

4 - Graphic. Today the game is no longer interested: only graphics and efx: not fun but film. We seek a compromise: nice graphics but functional.

 

"Path of  War" ( current version ) is developed to find the solutions to these problems.

Is an experimental version,

 

We ask the opinion of users, hoping to make the best choices.

[Nachtfischer]

 

"Retaliation" was born as a board game, the conversion to videogame is very difficult.

1 - The rules. People don't read documents. ( To try to explain the rules we have created missions )

2 - User interface. Many games are "complicated" : too many menus, icons, etc..

3 - Dice. In boardgames are exciting in a videogame are boring.

4 - Graphic. Today the game is no longer interested: only graphics and efx: not fun but film. We seek a compromise: nice graphics but functional.

 

1 - Great! Interactive tutorials are one of the main advantages digital board games have over their physical counter-parts (the other one being efficiency, i.e. "more game per second"). I play board game adaptations for iOS all the time and the ones with tutorial (missions) are surely the easiest to learn. (Although I am one of the rare kind that actually likes to read rules. )

 

2 - Yeah, I see how that's probably the biggest challenge. Especially when adapting board games for mobile devices obviously. I'd suggest looking at the work Playdek (e.g. Agricola) and Campfire Creations (Stone Age) have done on iOS. They are considered top-notch when it comes to neatly arranged interfaces with very high amounts of information.

 

3 - Well, to me they are simply insulting in both cases. It's like the game tells you: "Sorry, this time you don't matter that much! It's not that you've done something wrong, but the dice don't like your face!!!" And by the way, "dice" are essentially used all the time in videogames (they're just not called dice). Almost every RPG uses them to resolve combat (you know, to-hit-ratio etc.).

 

4 - A compromise is probably the way to go. Especially if you want to please non-board-gamers, too.

Although in my experience with serious gaming communities (like BoardGameGeek or Pocket Tactics) I've seen that most peopl that really care about the game, don't care about the presentation that much. A functional interface is much more important than flashy graphics.

[xteamsoftware]

The only way is work and try.

 

I tried to ask for feedback to BoardGameGeek, but I would not have responded.

 

To make a good game we need everyone's help, especially from players.

This version ( "path of war" ) is free and always will be, if the players give us advice/feedback,

the game becomes very enjoyable to play.
 

Everyone is happy.

 

 

Now we adding 3d isometric graphics for the troops, for a better "board game" effect.

 

This week will be available new 0.91 version with a dozen new missions / battles and numerous changes.

 

Thanks!

[xteamsoftware]

I am pleased to announce new update 0.91

new isometric 3d armour units (plastic counters style)  and new particle sfx: explosions, fire, merge, create.

 

Play free at:

http://www.retaliationgame.com/

We invite all interested players to participate in our beta testing program, offering up suggestions and spotting bugs in our product.

 

 

 

[xteamsoftware]

 

The 0.92 update introduces an alternative combat mode (called 'videogamer') which
offers a smoother and more action-like combat phase.
This mode has been designed for those players who would prefer a faster combat,
without the use of dice rolls. Those who instead prefer to play in the classic board
game mode can of course keep doing so.

New graphical effects have been added, for explosions and smoke, which together with the isometric tank counters from 0.91 give a new visual feel to the game.

The new hit/miss effects coupled with the videogamer mode remove the need to look at the results of dice rolls and let instead players concentrate on deploying their
armies and enjoy the combat mayhem.

Furthermore, this release introduces roads and the relevant rules, with 5 newly added maps covering both movement and combat on the road.

You can also try the in-game rulebook, which has now been almost completely activated.

As always, we welcome all feedback and suggestions!

[xteamsoftware]

New update 0.93d.

The latest update marks the unlocking of the first full campaign: aconnected multi-battle scenario, with its own background story (whichwill also continue with future campaigns). Each map begins where theprevious one finished, moving across a huge continent map which hasbeen created for Retaliation.This update also includes a new original music (by composer AndreaGiachini) and addresses three issues, as per requests expressed bymany players:  1) a new SplitUI: unifying the interface of Merge & Split to avoidmisclicks between merging moves and normal movement  2) new keyboard shortcuts, including "space bar" to deselect thecurrently selected unit  3) game phase titles, to clearly mark the changing of phases(movement, combat...) during the turnAs always we praise the development team for its fast response time toplayers' feedback, delivering timely updates, solutions and bugfixes.

[CareBearCorpse]

Hi,

 

Actually this looks quite interesting. But then the number one sin of (almost) all war games comes into play: dice. Dice all over the place. They take away so much potential depth and interestingness from the strategy, it's a shame.

+ -snip- on dice/randomness

 

I find your assertions on randomness and dices a bit too absolute for my taste. Agreed many (popular) games are based essentially on luck (monopoly (once you understand that you have to buy everything), lotto, snakes and ladders, closed war card game). I'm not too fond of them either (to say the least, especially for money-involving games).

imo the question is not "is there randomness in this game ?" but more generally "how much does victory on average depends on my actions and planning skills ?", given rules that may integrate randomness.

This game is a good illustration imo : you may be unlucky and lose a battle that you were sure to win, but you'd have to be really really lucky to win the war without using your brain. Sure it could have been designed with chess or go-like rules : each action would be deterministic, its outcome would be known beforehand. Would it be more fun ? I'm not too sure ; there already are quite a few parameters to take into account (terrain properties, units number), and more are to come (namely different unit types) ; that is already quite a mine of data to process for a human brain (mine at least).

 

And if you think about it, this is the way (virtual) reality is seen from an individual POV : you increase your chances of succeeding by factoring uncertainty, events probabilities and actions expected rewards into your planning ; seldom you are 100% sure to succeed. If you're playing basketball, you're not sure you're gonna score a 3-points throw, but as a coach (decision making agent) you'll be wise to let Larry Bird and not Shaquil O'Neal take the shoot.

 

TL;TR :

Try the game, i'd be glad to know what raw fun you had ; the game is still WIP (AI behaviour, levels balance), but i'd be surprised (and disappointed tbh ) if you said "fucking dices they ruined the game for me"

 

@devs : count me in as a fan[-boy] of the game, keep up the good work !!

[xteamsoftware]

Thank you CareBearCorpse, I couldn't have written it better.

With the game designer, we had several discussions about the use of

randomness in the game, as other people had raised this same issue.

Our point is exactly what you so nicely expounded in your post:

randomness is not a factor we'd like to take out from this kind of game,

although obviously it must not be the only factor.

Much as a real battle, the outcome of Retaliation fights is uncertain.

On the other hand, players need tactical and strategical thinking (not

to mention flexible battle plans exactly for those times when things go

fubar) in order to succeed.

As you said, the player, like in any aspect of life, will try to

maximise the chances of victory (for example attacking from a hill with

two flanking units against enemy on a field, rather than the opposite)

and deal with bad luck or good luck accordingly.

Luck can be a source of fun, unpredictability and even cunning exploit:

Recently some players realised that sometimes the "bad luck" can be a

source of good luck: for example when forced to retire by a "special

roll" (double 1) they were happy to find out that misfortune turns to

opportunity as the enemy would not be able to hit them back in those

situations.

The game designer commented that this was done on purpose (a feature,

not a bug) and quoted a chinese proverb about the guy who lost a horse

and nobody could tell if it was in the end a good or a bad thing (see

http://mandarin.about.com/od/chineseculture/a/proverb_saiweng.htm).

We are happy you like the game and we'll be sure not to let you down

with all the planned future features (which are /a lot/).

[xteamsoftware]

New update 0.94 available for download

http://www.retaliationgame.com/

A major release, RC version 0.94 brings several new features:
  * the possibility to load external maps (created with the just
released map editor)
  * 4 new missions and 4 new battles, introducing railroads and their
use in combat, movement and reinforcements
  * the new map directive STARTING_PRODUCTION, which will allow maps
where an initial amount of production is to be spent to build up the
starting army
  * the first youtube video tutorials
  * and the possibility to run the game in fullscreen

Video tutorials
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7S2H4SoEYRDhV6PPx36PIBpwJyHKbr3u

As always, we welcome feedback from the users and their map creations
(the best ones will be included in future versions of the game)

[xteamsoftware]

Update 0.94bThe latest release completely renovates the graphics of the terrain tiles.From the next version it will also possible for users to select their preferred tileset.We are happy to inform you that Retaliation Path of War is preparing to roll out our next phase of beta testing for Android and we'd like to invite you to join us.

NEW FEATURES:

 * Completely changed the graphics of the terrain tiles

 * (WIP) with the next release it will be possible to select a preferred tileset

UNDER THE HOOD CHANGES:

 * increased campaign memory allocation

 * optimized tile rendering function

 * (developer only) graphical changes in fog of war

 * (developer only) added observer mode for multiplayer games

BUGS STOMPED:

 * starting phase map directive was not applied

 * starting production was not reset after first turn

 * unit visualization during reinforcements under fog of war

 * "no enemy" event (AI) was not recognized

 * fixed max index for missions, battles and campaigns

[xteamsoftware]

We are pleased to announce that "Retaliation Path of War" is available on Desura

 http://www.desura.com/games/retaliation-path-of-war

We are happy to inform you that Retaliation Path of War is preparing to roll out our next phase of beta testing for Android and we'd like to invite you to join us; express your interest contacting us by email (check the website, /Contact/ page).

[xteamsoftware]

A major release, 0.97 marks the introduction of a new gameplay mode to"Retaliation: Path of War", codenamed "no luck". If selected, all combatresults become deterministic, making the game more similar to chess.It is hence now possible to play Retaliation in four very differentmodes: classic boardgame style, videogamer mode (faster and smoother),arcade mode (good aim and reflexes influencing combat outcomes) andno-luck (deterministic).0.97 also brings a host of new features, chief among them thepossibility of hiding the UI buttons and hence play seeing only the game board.This release also comes with a new background music and a redesignedin-game options menu (with four levels of UI, from beginner to hardcore).

http://www.retaliationgame.com/

[xteamsoftware]

Great news for Retaliation Path of War.

Retaliation - Path of War has reached an important milestone: version 1.0, signaling the completion of the RC/Beta development  phase.

This release includes the grand finale for the second campaign and the implementation of the "split without confirmation" hardcode UI option.

 

50 Missions
22 Battles
2 Campaigns ( 15 maps )
2 Missions Mode ( ConquerHQ, NoSurvivors )
90 AI Strategy Actions

 

http://www.retaliationgame.com/

 

 

We are happy to inform you that Retaliation Path of War is preparing to roll out our next phase of beta testing for OUYA and we'd like to invite you to join us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njre5ZS63Gg

 

To allow everybody to get an immediate hands-on experience with Retaliation, we have created a Flash demo version of Path of War.

No download or installation is needed and you can start "right now" practicing your tank manoeuvres and base conquering by navigating to:

 

http://www.xteamsoftware.com/site/game/retaliation_pow/

[xteamsoftware]

Happy news to all players of Retaliation! 

We are happy to inform you that Retaliation Path of War android is available on GooglePlay:

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xteamsoftware.retaliationpathofwar

 

and for OUYA console

https://www.ouya.tv/game/Retaliation-Path-of-War/

[xteamsoftware]

New update 1.01 for OUYA and Android

 

Complete all missions ( 50 ), battles ( 22 ) and campaigns ( 13 maps )

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xteamsoftware.retaliationpathofwar

 

https://www.ouya.tv/game/Retaliation-Path-of-War/

 

To improve the "Retaliation" experience, we are developing board game version.