Wargamer Weekly: Via Egnatia By Joe Robinson

Fun fact: The Via Egnatia is a road that was built in Macedon sometime between 140 – 120 BC. It stands as a historically significant event because, for one thing, Roman roads were not cheap or easy to build. After 146 (ish) BC, Rome had been perpetually assigning a governor to Macedonia with a legion in tow, mainly to guard Hellenic states from Thracian incursions so they could run themselves in peace. The road was meant offer a more efficient and direct line of communication and movement for those troops.

After the province of Asia was created around 130 BC, this road was also used as a short-cut to provide supplies and reinforcements further east, as it saved a rather long trip around the Greek peninsular. There had been a travel route there already, according to sources, but Roman Roads were specifically designed to facilitate travel of larges bodies of men and wagons for supplies etc… It marks one of several turning points in Rome’s strategic commitment to the Eastern Mediterranean. Roman roads were often named after their builder, or perhaps chief benefactor.

Meanwhile, in the world of wargaming…

Imperator: Rome

As you will have seen yesterday, Imperator: Rome has finally released. Our sister website Strategy Gamer has the full review if you want a more comprehensive look at the game. In short, it’s a promising start, but I personally am a bit disappointed with the rather bland treatment of history.

Waging war, however, is incredibly satisfying and if you enjoy dominating all those around you, there’ll be plenty to tide you over while the post-release support factory gets up and running. Also, building roads is fun.



Rules the Waves 2 Delayed

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away – no sooner had we reported on the release date for Rules the Waves 2 (which was supposed to be yesterday) we get word from the developers that it’s been pushed back a few weeks till May 17th. This seems to be because NWS is also trying to move their store operations to a better system, which will improve their infrastructure but also make beta testing a lot more efficient as well:

“This gives us plenty of time to test the latest added features and related aspects of the game… … in the end it will allow us to better organize our operations at NWS, and also allow for the Beta testers and Fredrik to make the game more solid and enjoyable for you, the players.”

Oh well, at least it won't clash with Steel Division 2, which has now been pushed back till June. There is Total War: Three Kingdoms at the end of May though...

Fantasy General II

Slitherine/Matrix Games have also been keeping their heads down this week, but they did duck their heads above the parapet long-enough to share the first behind-the-scenes video for the recently announced Fantasy General II.

Lead developer Jan Wagner goes through some of the basics of the game, focusing a lot on the turn-based tactical battles and unit interactions. We’re already impressed with how this looks so looking forward to seeing more.

That’s everything for today – enjoy your weekends and see you all on Monday!