Fyndir
18th July 2009, 12:25
In East India Company, players will enjoy building the World's most powerful trading empire and engaging in fierce battles in both single player and multiplayer modes, all within a breathtaking cinematic environment.
So, just the basics.
Two types of gameplay going on, strategic and tactical.
Strategic has you managing ports owned by your company, and directing fleets as to where they should be going, this covers upgrading key buildings in various towns, diplomacy, trade, accepting missions from the crown, keeping an eye on your rivals.
Most of the game, basically.
http://www.eic-game.com/screenshots/06-9th.December.2008/december_2nd_2008_1024x640_strategic03.jpg
Tactical could, perhaps, be better termed battle, as you can (and probably will) choose to apply your own skill and mind to any naval engagements that take place involving your fleets. This involves managing the skills of your fleet commanders, giving orders, choosing whether or not to attempt a boarding, what type of shot to load the cannons with, and also presents you with the option of taking direct control of any of your vessels, instead of just giving the order and watching the captain of the ship decide how best to carry it out.
For example, say I order Ship A to attack Enemy B, in RTS mode it moves off at an angle determined by the AI, and fires when it feels it will do the most damage, whereas in direct control mode I determine the angle, and I determine when to fire. I also determine how the cannons will fire (narrow, wide, wider) to offer the greatest chance of hitting, or the greatest damage to a single target.
http://www.eic-game.com/screenshots/06-9th.December.2008/december_2nd_2008_1024x640_tactical04.jpg
It is, of course, important to remember that the aim of the game is to run your company successfully, and if that means killing some savage natives to get better prices on their local goods, well that's just business.
The game is really quite something, and I recommend that any of you who are at all interested jump over to Fileplanet (http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/east-india-company/), as that seems to be where they're running the beta from.
So far the multiplayer isn't available for testing, so I really can't comment on that, but I can tell you that the single player is more than worth the download (less than 1GB) and signing up to get it.
Are you man enough to brave the pirates, natives and fellow businessmen of the 1600's?
So, just the basics.
Two types of gameplay going on, strategic and tactical.
Strategic has you managing ports owned by your company, and directing fleets as to where they should be going, this covers upgrading key buildings in various towns, diplomacy, trade, accepting missions from the crown, keeping an eye on your rivals.
Most of the game, basically.
http://www.eic-game.com/screenshots/06-9th.December.2008/december_2nd_2008_1024x640_strategic03.jpg
Tactical could, perhaps, be better termed battle, as you can (and probably will) choose to apply your own skill and mind to any naval engagements that take place involving your fleets. This involves managing the skills of your fleet commanders, giving orders, choosing whether or not to attempt a boarding, what type of shot to load the cannons with, and also presents you with the option of taking direct control of any of your vessels, instead of just giving the order and watching the captain of the ship decide how best to carry it out.
For example, say I order Ship A to attack Enemy B, in RTS mode it moves off at an angle determined by the AI, and fires when it feels it will do the most damage, whereas in direct control mode I determine the angle, and I determine when to fire. I also determine how the cannons will fire (narrow, wide, wider) to offer the greatest chance of hitting, or the greatest damage to a single target.
http://www.eic-game.com/screenshots/06-9th.December.2008/december_2nd_2008_1024x640_tactical04.jpg
It is, of course, important to remember that the aim of the game is to run your company successfully, and if that means killing some savage natives to get better prices on their local goods, well that's just business.
The game is really quite something, and I recommend that any of you who are at all interested jump over to Fileplanet (http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/east-india-company/), as that seems to be where they're running the beta from.
So far the multiplayer isn't available for testing, so I really can't comment on that, but I can tell you that the single player is more than worth the download (less than 1GB) and signing up to get it.
Are you man enough to brave the pirates, natives and fellow businessmen of the 1600's?