Wargamer Weekly: And Updates for All By Joe Robinson

There is actually quite a few things to catch up on today, and probably more I may have missed, so do jump in in the comments section if you want your news heard! Nothing much to report for me personally - I've actually been playing a fair bit of Total War: Three Kingdoms, as it's been on my 'to-do' list. Currently stuck in a war with a much stronger neighbour who I'm able to crush in a tactical sense, but struggling to create decisive victories in the strategic landscape.

Meanwhile, in the world of wargaming...

The Aliens are Here

You may remember us reporting that ArmA 3 was working on a new expansion that dealt with Aliens, titled Contact. Well, Contact is here, and it’s ready to make. The single-player scenario is a tense, suspenseful affair like Close Encounters, and not a gun-ho alien hunting romp through the European countryside.

It’s a pricey expansion at $28, but it comes with new content that can be used outside of the scenario as well, such as new maps, weapons gear etc… We also recommend you check out the latest developer update, which deals with Contact as well as other improvements that have been happing to the game in general. Ian's working on a review on this for us, which we hope to have up around mid-August.

Call to Arms Update

The Call to Arms developers (those what made our Lord and Saviour, Men of War: Assault Squad 2) have been rather quiet recently, but now they’re back with a quick update on what they’ve been up to. Their work has mainly been around performance improvements rather than content, and they’ve also got an official Discord server you can join now if you want to keep in touch with them directly. I will try and schedule some time to check the game out again, as it’s been a while.

Steel Division 2 1.3 Patch

Speaking of updates, Steel Division 2 has also received a patch this week. Patch 1.3 mainly adds UI and information improvements for Army General, but also fixes a wide range of bugs and crashes that were plaguing the game. They’ve also reworked infantry artillery observers so that they don’t affect the Frontline anymore.

Rule the Waves 2 1.6 Update

The update train continues as we move on to Rule the Waves 2 and the 1.6 Patch. This update makes some pretty serious changes to some of the air systems in the game, namely how you can interact with airbases and how air replenishment works in terms of replacing losses.

Add to that another round of bug fixes and gameplay tweaks, and you may want to consider starting a new game if you’re going to download this one.

Terminal Conflict

Oh my days, another one!? Terminal Conflict is an abstract Cold War strategy/war game that we’ve yet to properly dive into but is still shaping up to be an interesting project. Without much game-time it’s hard to evaluate the impact the latest changes will have, but if you’re curious as to how the project is developing the latest patch-notes are worth a look-in.

Unity of Command 2

From updates to dev diaries, Unity of Command 2 has released another lengthy blog post looking at how naval invasions work in the game. There are several key ones that fall within the game’s time-frame and focus, so it makes sense that there be mechanics that are relevant and authentic.

The update also goes into a real deep-dive into the HQ systems and how they function, such as Command Points, Branches, and Movement Range. It makes for a very interesting read, and we’re very much looking forward to never playing this game.

Grand Tactician

There’s a decent sized Grand Tactician dev blog to catch up on as well. The dev diary summarises all the work that’s been done over the summer along three main axis – Fleets and the Naval assets/mechanics that will be available, constructing the ‘Epic’ campaign map, and adding quality of life features for armies. American Civil War is still a rubbish setting, but this is shaping up to be one exciting looking war game.

And last but certainly not least, why not check out Fantasy General II’s campaign map in action. Enjoy your weekends!