Inspired in part by the great naval paintings of that era, Salvo has been designed from the keel up to provide an engrossing gameplay experience that allows armchair master and commanders to effortlessly face off against mighty armadas using a very intuitive interface. Players will be able to command fleets of close to sixty ships per side in a single battle with just a few clicks of the mouse, thanks to the unique 'Action Marker' system found in the game. With this system orders can be given to each individual ship in a scenario, or ships can be moved by squadron, allowing large scale engagements to be easily managed.
Combat is a wonderfully aesthetic aspect of the game, with vessels lovingly rendered in full 3D and battles playing out in a full broadside of sight and sound. Salvo keeps the number crunching behind the scenes, allowing gamers to concentrate not on combat result tables, but fighting the battle. For example, while gamers will see a text report of "Constitution receives light damage" the player will also witness their ship shudder under a blaze of fire, with sails ripped to tatters and gaping holes peppering the hull. With such visual feedback reinforcing what's occurring behind the scenes it becomes second nature for gamers to appraise how the battle is faring, and makes plotting strategy a snap without the need to catch every single text message like in some wargames.
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The battles themselves are spread out over twenty-four campaigns (!), covering naval warfare from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. All the major naval forces of the era can be found in Salvo, along with the nefarious pirates of the Caribbean and Barbary coast. Whenever possible the vessels are historically named and rated. And yes, land will be found in Salvo, increasing the strategic possibilities for wily commanders.
Features :
- Command battle fleets in the 17th, 18th and early 19th century naval warfare and make vital decisions between battles.
- Control large numbers of ships and diverse objectives easily with Salvo's Squadron system.
- Individual ship 'Action Markers' include: Move, Faster (more sail), Slower(less sail), Shoot, Grapple, Board, Anchor, and more.
- Fast paced action with both turn based control and automatic action support.
- Impressive hybrid 3D environment, and responsive - engaging game elements.
- Ships, land, game elements, game environment - all rendered in 3D.
- Play the navies of: England, France, Spain, Netherlands and the US, as well as hypothetical swarms of Barbary and Caribbean pirates.
- 24 (tentative) Scenarios, each one a full campaign of up to 14 battles.
- Diverse ship types: Ships of the Line, Frigates, Sloops, Xebec, Bombards, Gun Platforms.
- Land and shallow water conditions for realistic coastline scenarios.
Salvo is slated for a late Summer 2004 release. It is for the Windows OS. More information on what will surely be the naval hit of 2004, including a full features list, will be available in April.