Fleet Command
I really, REALLY want this game. Or what this game should be. I have been trying to find a pseudo-simulator for grand scale battles in naval warfare, and this is it. Sadly, I can’t recommend it for anyone. Too many things don’t work well. It’s hard to get working. It’s no longer supported by the developer. And even once you get it working, little things break in gameplay that make it hard to enjoy. At some point, subs broke completely; now they go on autopilot and refuse to engage or come to the surface (yes, I’m aware of the setting that supposedly fixes this; it doesn’t work for me). Missiles disappear on launch from destroyers or cruisers. Airplanes disappear on launch from carriers. It makes play kinda worthless.
– Real player with 147.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best RTS Wargame Games.
Alarm chimes inside USS Nimiz CIC, the Admiral puts down his drink in the dimly lit room and looks at the enlistedmen seated at their stations and locks eyes with one, sitting before the radar as he speaks
“Incoming airborne contacts from the north-west, speed matching Backfire Bombers.”
“Lets get those F-14s off picket duties and have them vector an incept course with the Backfires, lets show em these Tomcats have claws and they don’t mess around.”
Another sailor, this one wearing a headset calls
– Real player with 140.2 hrs in game
Victory At Sea Pacific
Dev activity
They’re quite active. They reply promptly to direct contact on the Discord and are equally ready to implement suggestions into the game. Most notably when it comes to expanding modding support. Some reviews claim the game is dead or the devs have run off so the patch history follows.
9-14-2018 Public release, 9-19-2018 Patch 1.0.4, 9-20-2018 Patch 1.0.5, 9-25-2018 Patch 1.0.6, 9-28-2018 Patch 1.0.7, 10-5-2018 Patch 1.1, 10-11-2018 Patch 1.1.1, 10-18-2018 Patch 1.1.2, 10-26-2018 Patch 1.1.3, 10-30-2018 Patch 1.1.4, 11-8-2018 Patch 1.1.5, 11-23-2018 Patch 1.2 (introduced modding), 11-26-2018 Patch 1.2.0p2, 11-27-2018 Patch 1.2.0p3, 12-17-2018 Patch 1.2.1, 12-20-2018 Patch 1.2.1p3, 12-21-2018 Patch 1.2.1p4, 1-9-2019 Patch 1.2.2, 1-11-2019 Patch 1.2.2p1, 1-23-2019 Patch 1.2.3, 3-4-2019 Patch 1.3.1 Royal Navy added, 4-2-2019 Patch 1.4 Custom battles, 6-19-2019 Patch 1.5 Minor factions, 10-30-2019 Patch 1.6, 11-4-2019 Patch 1.6.1, 11-13-2019 Patch 1.6.2, 2-6-2020 Patch 1.7, 2-7-2020 Patch 1.7.0p1, 2-26-2020 Patch 1.7.1
– Real player with 181.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best RTS World War II Games.
As someone who really want’s to like this game, and I truly do want to like it, I’m sorry to say that I can’t really recommend this game in it’s current state. The gameplay is fine and can be fun, specifically when your right up in the action having the ship maneuver to avoid torpedoes and air attacks, and launching submarine attacks on convoys and task forces.
But while the core gameplay is really solid, the fact that it is so filled with bugs and glitches makes it really difficult to enjoy what’s there. Ships can just disappear from a taskforce, even though it is possible to find their models and still click and control them manually. I’ve had a case where I lost an entire taskforce of submarines to limbo because of a glitch despite the fact I was able to use said submarines to sink a flotilla’s worth of destroyers. I’ve had a similar case where I lost three battleships to limbo when I tried to control them manually.
– Real player with 133.5 hrs in game
Airships: Conquer the Skies
-All statements are relevant as of 1/31/21. No guarantees are made for future versions of Airships!-
Let me start off by saying that I am utterly and hopelessly addicted to this game.
Ever since I bought Airships (Or ACTS, as I’ll be using) back in late 2018, I fell in love with it. The game’s kept giving, the developer has remained true to his word and an amazing gentleman, and the community (Especially on the Discord) continues to grow and develop in wondrous ways. As I don’t expect you to go through my various paragraphs of gushing, I’ll put the TL;DR statement here:
– Real player with 424.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best RTS Tanks Games.
Pretty cool game for those who like relatively free-form building, designing units to deal damage and mitigate it for themselves. Especially if you’re into diesel- and/or steampunk.
The things you have to account for and balance out in a unit’s design are quite numerous and varied; Everything costs something and everything weighs something. A ship’s maximum altitude - which is very important -is determined by its weight vs. lift, for example. This is probably the strongest part of the game.
So in combat, you’ll be witnessing how those designs fare against the NPC (or enemy player) units; Did you actually give your ship enough coal to stay aloft through the average battle? Oh, it turns out this one has a massive structural weakness and will be cut in half by one or two rockets. Great job!
– Real player with 82.3 hrs in game
Carrier Command: Gaea Mission
The Good
Carrier Command Gaea Mission is a mix of RTS and first/3rd person action, which is a great combination that not many games have achieved, and something I would like to see more in games of both genres. The gameplay itself is very deep and rewarding, The 3D model of the carrier and its subsystems make sense - it is also not a micromanagement nightmare. There are a lot of optional weapons and tech systems for you to use to outfit your Mantas and your Walruses (the two vehicles you use to conquer islands).
– Real player with 156.4 hrs in game
I gave this game a chance but it’s hard to pass over the low quality of its gaming experience.
PROS:
-
GRAPHICS; for being a 2012 title the graphics are smooth and polished with nice water and light effects.
-
CONCEPT; if well developed, the idea of a reload of the 1988 game would have been a winning one. Conquering an archipelago of island relying on a carrier sending remotely controlled units is nice.
Even the limit of two types of units (air and land) is not perceived as a real limit thanks to the wide customizing options for weapons, armors and special abilities of each of the 8 units available.
– Real player with 75.2 hrs in game
Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter
Check out also this games!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1605420/Nazi_Busters/
Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter is an interactive war thriller which seamlessly blends tactical WW2 anti-submarine warfare simulation with a gripping storyline, presented through Hollywoodesque, interactive cutscenes. Take command of a meticulously reconstructed Fletcher-class destroyer and lead your crew against nazi U-Boats in the Battle of the Atlantic!
The story unfolds through a choice and consequence mechanic, allowing the player to shape the fate of the crew plunged into a deadly struggle against a devious and stealth enemy. They will have to overcome both the underwater threat and their own shortcomings in order to make sure that the convoy they are protecting makes it safely across the pond.
Lead a whole destroyer squadron and make tactical decisions to protect your sheep from the steel wolves. Track contacts and plot anti-submarine attacks using authentic equipment. Experience war at sea from the perspective of a tin can sailor, and shape the story as it develops, making key decisions both in and outside the heat of battle.
It is all in your hands, captain! Will you lead your men to victory by making sure that your convoy reaches its destination, or will it fall prey to enemy torpedoes, depriving the allied war effort of the precious supplies you were trusted to protect? Only you can answer the question!
From the Depths
coffee tastes like purple
– Real player with 4364.8 hrs in game
There is a lot of thing that I would like to say, so I’ll try to keep it brief.
Here are some question from new players who I’ve heard a lot:
Is the Learning Curve steep?
Yes. It not just a learning curve, but a learning cliff, on fire and covered in bears. It would take quite some time to get used to the mechanics of the game.
The tutorials only teach the absolute basics (e.g. its (proprietary) build mode controls and AI programming). For new players, Only finish the first section of it and go experiments with the designer yourself. Expect some ragey moments at this stage as it will bombard you with an insane amount of content (even with over 1000+ hours, I’m still considered quite new by FtD’s community standards). Fortunately, the FtD community have very experienced people who are ready to help you if any problem arises (as long as you don’t say the game as a whole sucks), so I advise you join the Official FtD Discord server as most activities happen there.
– Real player with 1167.7 hrs in game
Submarine Titans
Submarine Titans was among the Age of Empires RTS era, but capitalized on an elaborate, nearly never ending Tech/Research Tree for each race. This encourages you to either focus heavily on research and tech development, or choose a priority in research. In the Research and Tech areas, this is most equivilent to Warzone 2100. Although ST only has 3 races, each race is very unique to each other in style of gameplay, reflecting the Offense,Defense, and Economic player styles. The responsiveness is sluggish sometimes, and some commands take some patience sometimes, but its worth it! Submarine Titans is really just a great game, and worth spending some time into it.
– Real player with 262.7 hrs in game
fantastic game from back in the day. still hangs well, doesnt feel dated. still solid solid graphics and sound.
.
once you get the hang of it, winning through the solo battles is a fairly easy mostly mellow resource aquisition and military conquest romp. if you gain proper control early, you can fool around for an hour or two and completely overwhelm the entire board, capturing enemy stuff instead of blowing it up, mining all the resources and overbuilding bases just for fun.
.
or you can try to build up fast, plow through the enemy quickly, and set a speed record for yourself.
– Real player with 158.3 hrs in game
Pacific Storm
⢸⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⡷⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⡇⠢⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠈⠑⢦⡀⠀⠀⠀Are Ya Winning, Son?
⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠖⠒⠒⠒⢤⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⢸⠀⠀⣀⢤⣼⣀⡠⠤⠤⠼⠤⡄⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢄⠀⠀⠀⠀
⢸⠀⠀⠑⡤⠤⡒⠒⠒⡊⠙⡏⠀⢀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠑⠢⠀
⢸⠀⠀⠀⠇⠀⣀⣀⣀⣀⢀⠧⠟⠁⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀
⢸⠀⠀⠀⠸⣀⠀⠀⠈⢉⠟⠓⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸
⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢱⡖⠋⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸
⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⢺⠧⢄⣀⠀⠀⣀⣀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸
⢸⠀⠀⠀⣠⠃⢸⠀⠀⠈⠉⡽⠿⠯⡆⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸
⢸⠀⠀⣰⠁⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠉⠉⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸
⢸⠀⠀⠣⠀⠀⢸⢄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸
⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⢇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸
⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡌⠀⠈⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸
⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⠃⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸
– Real player with 4.3 hrs in game
The nay-sayers for this game/sim are probably not old enough to remember the glory days of naval and aircraft simulator/games of the early nineties, but I’m not. “Great Naval Battles”, a series that was loved by players, and undermined by critics, has finally reared its' head above the dust and waters in this game. Specifically, “GNB 2” which centered on the naval battles and activities centred on Guadalcanal.
“GNB 3” expanded to include operations in and around Guadalcanal including carriers. Sure, the ships were 2D digitized representations and you could only observe carrier operations (black sprites buzzing around the 2D ship) but they were so involving that hours would pass without notice. You became so involved in re-supplying the Marines and engaging Japanese supply columns and fleets that the poor graphics went by unnoticed. Then came Microprose’s “1942” and its' sequel “1942:PAW” which both immersed you in the same campaign(s) but with beautiful graphics (the Battle of Savo Island at night with searchlights, tracer and firery explosions was a sight to behold) that held the player hooked.
– Real player with 4.0 hrs in game
Uboat Commander
“U-boat Commander” is an upcoming strategy game in which players take a Wolfpack commander role in the Second World War. Their task is to plan, synchronize, and execute u-boat attacks on Allied convoys in the Atlantic Ocean.
Use the tactical map to give orders to your u-boats. Find enemy convoys and plan your ambush.
Use existing Wolfpack tactics and synchronize attacks for maximum effect.
If you wish, you can take direct control over any of your u-boats and execute the attack yourself. Load and flood torpedos, manage the crew, aim with observation or attack periscope, fire, and watch enemies sink.
Recruit crewmembers, assign and manage crew roles to optimize the performance of your u-boats.
Use the Enigma machine to send encoded messages to your Wolfpacks.
Evade being discovered, try to escape or obey “Standing War Order 483” and fight off enemy aircraft.
Assure the safe return of your ships and become a real u-boat commander!
Victory At Sea
Sea warfare has always been pretty difficult to put into a game format; a bit like flight simulators, they can either be too arcadey (and therefore not really do justice to their subject) or too realistic (hanging around for hours in a sub with nothing but little wheels to turn). Given the vast distances involved in WW2 sea combat, where opposing fleets in the age of air power sometimes never saw each other directly during battle, Victory at Sea makes some quite good compromises. So, for example, the ocean scale is reduced so that even when you have an overwhelming carrier force it’s still useful (and fun) to have a few battleships to take out some of the nearby enemy in between air strikes. Lobbing your shots over thousands of yards, anticipating where your target will be when they fall, is a skill you’ll enjoy developing. It’s more arcade than sim, but fun.
– Real player with 447.0 hrs in game
Very nice game.
Good naval strategy on sea. If you liked games like 688 Attack Sub, or SSN-21 Seawolf, or Wolfpack, this is game for you. There is a lot of hide & escape, or seek & destroy in this game.
Game have two modes. In global view, you cruise with you fleet (single symbol of ship from top view), wandering around, choosing what to attack or evade. Other fleets are also iconized by single ship. There is visibility range which changes with day/night time.
In combat mode, you fight with enemy fleet, with possibility of reinforcements arrival if any firend/enemy fleet was close to. It’s point and click with RTS style battle, with possibility to stop any time, and with free cam to go around battlefield. There is fog of war however, so you will not see enemy ships which you shouldn’t. Multiple types of weapons, including topedos, deck guns, anti-aircraft weapons, and anti-sub charges, there are also close-combat guns (but they are automated and only in close range to fight with open-deck boats). Each kind of weapon have got different reload time, different angle of firing, and range.
– Real player with 83.5 hrs in game