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Tactical Vehicular Combat - Or My Vain Hope of Re-creating The Road Warrior in Glorius Isometric

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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As far as I'm concerned end battle of The Road Warrior is one of the greatest sequences ever made (or will be made, shit is dangerous and insane) on cinema.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40NSMXaIIKk
Props, practical effects, stunts, soundtrack and how whole battle seems to make sense from moment to moment is nearly pitch perfect.

Usually games about vehicular combat are action games like Interstate 76, 2015 Mad Max of which I've heard good things about or some top down shooter, but I'm looking for something with more tactical approach.
Something where you control more than a single vehicle.
These kinds of games exists on tabletop (Gorkamorka and Gaslands are ones I have passing familiarity with), but logistics of arranging a game night are a drag and besides we usually play Terraforming Mars or Eclipse on those.
There are some attempts of these type of games on computer format, none of which don't reach the impossible standards set by Mad Max 2.

Roadwar 2000 (1986) / Roadwar Europa (1987)
Society has collapsed into anarchy, player controls a gang which takes over cities while searching some VIPs who can save the world from killer virus or something.
While doing this you come across hostile gangs which you fight against (occasionally on turn-based tactics mode, oftentimes just plain number crunching. SSI after all was a strategy game developer first).
Roadwar Europa is pretty much same with slight improvements.
PC version uses CGA graphics and looks horrible.

(video timestamped to tactical combat part)

Darkwind: War on Wheels (2014)
Easily the most promising looking vehicle tactics I've come across.

Phase based combat, relatively complex damage modelling which models injuries or death of vehicle crew members and physics modelling mean that I should be all over this title, but focus on online play has thus far scared me away.

Convoy (2015)
Sci-fi setting, RTwP combat where you control a truck and escorts.

Game is basically FTL knockoff with cars (and unfortunate flaw that unlike FTL you can't run away from combat you're losing.)

Blasted Road Terror (2017)
Top down real-time combat where you control truck and escorts.

Title that I've been playing recently. Very short missions and I'm not certain if there even is ultimate goal that player is supposed to reach.
Kinda janky controls, but game is fun enough for short play sessions.

Dark Future: Blood Red States (2019)
Based on old GW tabletop game Dark Future. Uses camera which follows vehicle from the back and time dilation system.
Most of the time player controls 1 vehicle, but hired mercenaries and vehicles you escort are controllable too.


Upcoming or early access titles that I know of.
Apocalypse Run
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2363000/Apocalypse_Run/
Early access title with turn-based combat which I haven't tried yet.

Auto Fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urBHbwrEJhM
Upcoming roguelike where player controls single vehicle on turn-based system.
Free build available at Itch.io.
 
Last edited:

udm

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Re: Darkwind, you'd probably be happy to know there's a single-player game in development from the same dev. Of course when it'll actually be out is a different matter ;)
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Re: Darkwind, you'd probably be happy to know there's a single-player game in development from the same dev. Of course when it'll actually be out is a different matter ;)
I thought those guys were doing The Necromancer's Tale which is narrative focused RPG.
 

udm

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Re: Darkwind, you'd probably be happy to know there's a single-player game in development from the same dev. Of course when it'll actually be out is a different matter ;)
I thought those guys were doing The Necromancer's Tale which is narrative focused RPG.
They only published it I think. But Sam, the lead (and only) dev behind Darkwind, is definitely working on the single-player car combat game.
 

Galdred

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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
This is card based, but it also features positionning:



I haven't tried it, but one of my friend who usually has great recommendations when it comes to tactical games played it for 35h.
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
Re: Darkwind, you'd probably be happy to know there's a single-player game in development from the same dev. Of course when it'll actually be out is a different matter ;)
I thought those guys were doing The Necromancer's Tale which is narrative focused RPG.
They only published it I think. But Sam, the lead (and only) dev behind Darkwind, is definitely working on the single-player car combat game.
I think he's working on Necromancer's Tale.
If Twitter can be believed.
 

udm

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Whoops! I stand corrected on that note!
 
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I used to play Car Wars (the RPG/board tactical game) as a kid, surprised there has not been a faithful remake or something that copies it since the commodore 64 days basically. Autofire looks the most promising, but it has been stuck in limbo and seems to have not really been updated or advanced in 2-3 years maybe.
 

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