Terra Invicta: Games I'm Backing on Kickstarter
I tend not to back Early Access or Kickstarter games... I got burnt a couple of times with some Kickstarter games in the past. However, I have also had some pretty good picks as well... These days, I'm a bit more hesitant to back a developer too quickly. I do need to think about the idea pitch and the developer reputation before jumping in... it can be a critical time in the development cycle... getting from the kernel of an idea and over that initial big hurdle. Of course, it really helps if they have some sort of working demo or concept and it isn't just a pie in the sky idea!
One of my favourite games of all time are the XCOM reboots by Firaxis.... and both games were already pretty great as vanilla games... but the modders came up with the Long War mods, which just blew the entire game way out of the park and changed the vanilla game into something that was just breathtakingly sublime!
Well, the developers behind the Long War mods have launched their idea for their own game, Terra Invicta which is quite loosely based around a similar idea. Aliens arrive in the Solar System... and what happens next?
The game is currently at a workable Alpha stage of development... so, you aren't just dumping money into an idea. However, that said... there is still quite a long road ahead! Especially given the scale of what they are trying to acheive!
There does appear to be much more intrigue within the nations on Earth, as the alien threat is only a small scouting party at first. A small mining party to mine a Kuyper belt object... which then turns into an infiltration as the aliens realise that humans are around. The game engine does seem to simulate well the Newtonian physics model that would dominate the travel within the Solar System.
At least in the beginning... much of the game seems to be about co-ordinating a response to the alien incursion. Trying to get a unified response and gathering together factions and nations to form a coherent front. It seems to also take a different approach to combat, with less focus on singular "heroes" and small scale squad tactics in favour of a larger strategic command.
Eventually it appears that space combat will be on the cards.. as well as an attempt to push the aliens back. How far that goes (do you attack the homeworlds?) isn't really clear.
The game is already fully funded and is already hitting out at stretch goals. An interesting one is a Cold War scenario... so, the aliens arriving at a particularly tense time in human history, where trust between nations was at their thinnest!
It is a singularly ambitious game idea... however, the minds behind Long War managed to make a really awesome mod and turn a great game into something even better. So, I'm hopeful that the game will turn out to be a impressive labour of love and dedication, something that will please fans of the Long War mod.
I'm definitely intrigued enough to have backed their Kickstarter!
Account banner by jimramones
