armageddon-empires posts

So you are looking for a new experience in gaming. But the mainstream market is getting you down with its high price tags and extensive DRM. But there's a lot of great games out there that you can get cheap. The indie market is strong, and some of the best games around can be found for half the price of the price of more mainstream games like Dead Rising or Fallout 3. They've also got far less rigorous specs than their mainstream counterparts, which is also a welcome change of pace. We've got a list of some of the best indie games money can buy, ranging from the puzzle extravaganza World of Goo to the clever and addicting Armageddon Empires. So indulge in the little guy this holiday season. You won't be disappointed with the results you get.

Click on the image above to continue reading Big Download's 2008 PC Game Holiday Gift Guide

Download Armageddon Empires v1.08b Patch [Windows] (5 Mb)
Download Armageddon Empires v1.08b Patch [Mac] (5 Mb)

Armageddon Empires v1.08b Patch Notes:

UI Improvement
Special bonus damage including the combined arms bonus is now displayed in the battle results dialogue box for ground to ground combat. Damage modifications for armor special abilities are also displayed.

Bug Fixes
Fixed bug where the Triage special ability was not being used efficiently by the AI's when deciding on army builds.

Fixed rare AI vs AI battle bug where one AI had not had its intel object updated to show the opposing AI as attacking him in the hex.

Fixed bug where Great Kabaagh would retaliate when any nuke exploded not just those target for him.

Fixed bug where Plague did not continue to spread between units and continue to weaken units once Plague Mother was terminated.

Fixed bug where espionage success could cause false indie resource collectors (which are really outposts) to be displayed.

Fixed bug where Attack card could use munition in Air to Air Challenge.

Fixed bug where munition card was not being cleared when choose next attack card for air to air intercept was occurring.

Fixed bug where Plague Mother could move her Plague Hut onto a independent minefield and take it over until she moved away.

Fixed bug where AI goal to try and capture out of supply hex could cause script error if army assigned to goal was destroyed.

Fixed bug where Tactical Genius special ability was not being applied for Retreat Challenges.

Fixed bug where presence of an enemy hero could cause the AI to reject a deployment hex for an outpost even though it could control the hex and hunt the hero.

Fixed bug where capturing an enemy hero in an enemy minefield caused an error because of a fault in the hex control algorithm.

Fixed bug where siege status might not be correctly determined if undetected enemy stealthed army was still present after another army exited hex.

Fixed bug where destruction of ground based SAM by HARM could cause crash if it was last card in Army.

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming in the last 24 hours.

	Guide to TF2 Pyro Achievements, Part 1 We want to help you. We love your work. The pile of screaming, burning scouts? Exquisite. That's why we have crafted for you this very guide to ease your attempts to fulfill the strange objectives given to you. Soon you'll be back on the road, setting fire to all the wildlife as you pass by.
	MacMonday: Does Spore force your Mac to evolve? Welcome to MacMonday, a weekly column where we'll talk about issues related to gaming on Apple's platform beyond "Why isn't PC Game X coming out on the Mac?" In this inaugural edition, let's discuss Spore, Will Wright's latest masterpiece.
	Shipping this week: Alone with the glow of a monitor Hitting store shelves this week is the return of Edward Carnby in Alone in the Dark from Atari (aka Infogrames) and the Alaskan fishing simulator we've all been dreaming about, Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm. Arguably the one-two shot gamers need this summer to stave off the hot days until E3 rolls around, this week also features the addictive puzzler Roogoo and Ikea branded furnishings for your Sim characters.
	In-Depth: The Political Machine 2008 You'd think with all the mania surrounding the race to the White House that a game like The Political Machine 2008 would fit right in. Yet, when everything is said and done, putting a lighthearted and simplified spin on the political race only makes for a mildly entertaining strategy game.
	In-Depth: Armageddon Empires If you've kept up with the indie scene at all within the past few months, chances are you know about Armageddon Empires. It's a nice mix of board game, trading card game, and turn-based strategy game that the developer, Vic Davis, keeps adding on to with patches and mini-expansions. It's a game with a lot of addictiveness. It's also very frustrating at times. So in that sense, it is exactly like a trading card game. But let's take a deeper look at the game, shall we?

If you've kept up with the indie scene at all within the past few months, chances are you know about Armageddon Empires. It's a nice mix of board game, trading card game, and turn-based strategy game that the developer, Vic Davis, keeps adding on to with patches and mini-expansions. It's a game with a lot of addictiveness. It's also very frustrating at times. So in that sense, it is exactly like a trading card game. But let's take a deeper look at the game, shall we?

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming in the last 24 hours.

	Spore system requirements revealed EA has published the system requirements for both Spore (due out September 7) and the Spore Creature Creator, which will be released on Tuesday, June 17. A precursor to the release of Spore, the Creature Creator aims to let players release their creativity with "228 drag-and-drop, flexible parts."
	Belief & Betrayal demo released Big Download is nothing if not diverse. Within the last few hours, we've give you racing, and we've given you shooting -- now we offer adventure, mystery, and intrigue all wrapped up in the Belief & Betrayal demo.
	Interview: Vic Davis of Armageddon Empires There's a new strategy game taking the internet by storm, and it's called Armageddon Empires. Fusing turn-based strategy, traditional board game methodology, and collectible card games, it's an extremely deep and amazingly fun game. Vic Davis recently sat down with Big Download to discuss his game and what it is like being an indie developer making a living off his work.

There's a new strategy game taking the internet by storm, and it's called Armageddon Empires. Fusing turn-based strategy, traditional board game methodology, and collectible card games, it's an extremely deep and amazingly fun game. Vic Davis recently sat down with Big Download to discuss his game and what it is like being an indie developer making a living off his work.

BD: Just for the record, who are you and what is your current job?

Vic D: My name is Vic Davis and I'm currently a full time indie game developer. Up until just recently I was also doing occasional contract work but since the launch and success of my first game Armageddon Empires, I've been focusing full time on indie work.

We here at Big Download love indie games. From telling you about them, playing them, or offering downloads for them, we are all about helping lesser-known developers get their name out into the world. Each week on Saturday, we'll give you the Indie Wrap-up, a collection of all the indie news stories and features during the previous week.

There were no major independent releases this week, with most of the week's news concerning more freeware than independent. There have been an explosion of new releases, however, thanks to the Procedural Generation Competition being held over on TIGSource. Stay tuned for more news concerning the excellent output from the competition!

Features and Downloads

	Freeware Friday: Torus Trooper Our resident indie fan James Murff takes a look at one of freeware's best shoot-'em-ups, even if he gets disoriented by all the twisting.
	Armageddon Empires demo available for download The incomparable Armageddon Empires now has a demo available for download through the Big Download service!
	MODvelous Monday: 6/2/2008 David Craddock takes his weekly look at mods to the excellent single-player Half-life mod They Hunger.

While last week saw the team spending time in Mass Effect, this week finds the team split between the standby favorite of Team Fortress 2 and the new hotness that is GRID. With awesome action like GRID has, nobody can really blame them, though. Coming up hot on their heels was Armageddon Empires.

Our resident indie fiend, James Murff said he'll be spending this weekend playing Armageddon Empires, Team Fortress 2, and checking out Zombie Panic! Source. Kyle Horner is taking a chunk of his weekend off from PC gaming to dive into Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition -- but he assures us that he'll be planning everything on his laptop. When not rolling the bones, Kyle said he'll be relaxing in TF2 as well. Both David Craddock and Stephen Wong plan to spend most of their time tearing it up in GRID. Stephen noted that he'll probably also spend some time in Armageddon Empires, EverQuest II and will probably give Devil May Cry 4 another whirl if time allows. I'm on the road this weekend, so I'm limited to gaming on my laptop. Thus, I'll be spending time in EVE Online when I do actually manage some gaming. For this weekend, given all the great games out recently, What aRe yoU Playing?

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming in the last 24 hours.

	Codemasters' GRID launch event Last night saw the official launch of GRID, Codemasters' new muscle-car racer. Held at the swank and historic Hotel Vitale in San Francisco, the launch event featured beautiful women, a full spread of delicious food, martinis -- and five racers competing to win a Ford Mustang GT-R worth approximately $90,000.00.
	Bioshock 3!? What? When? A few months ago, it was announced that BioShock 2 was in developed at the new 2K Marin studio (Levine will have some input, though) for release sometime in Take Two's 2009 fiscal year (which ends Oct. 31, 2009). A deal to make a BioShock film was also announced earlier this year.
	Number Six to appear at NVISION 08 GeForce LAN event Oh baby. There isn't a red blooded male (and we suspect some females as well) who don't like looking at former model and current terrific actress Tricia Helfer. She gained fame for playing the Cylon Number Six (in all sorts of various incarnations) on the Battlestar Galactica remake and she has made an impact on PC gamers with her role as Nod General Kilian Qatar in last year's RTS title Command and Conquer 3.
	Devil May Cry 4 demo now available Devil May Cry 4 for the PC will be available in stores this July. Containing features and options not available in its console brethren, the PC version of DMC4 will contain DirectX 9 and 10 modes, a Turbo mode to increase on-screen action, and Legendary Dark Knight Mode, which adds a significant number of on-screen enemies to increase the game's already considerable difficulty.
	The Sims 2 Apartment Life announced Wow. It was just a month ago when Electronic Arts announced the last Sims 2 expansion but now the publisher has gone ahead and revealed plans for yet another product in their hugely popular people sim family. This time its for The Sims 2 Apartment Life, something which we think a lot of the fans of the game can relate to.

The future doesn't look so hot, what with the many settings emphasizing the futility of life and how the world is going to end. But if the future is as fun as Armageddon Empires, bring on the apocalypse. A turn-based strategy game with card game elements, Armageddon Empires has finally started to pick up steam in sales and recognition thanks to its incredibly deep gameplay and rich game world.

It is with pride that we here at Big Download offer you the Armageddon Empires demo through our download service. Featuring 2 factions, standard-sized maps, and a 30 turn limit, it'll let you get a feel for the game if you have considered buying it but don't know how the game plays. There is no in-game tutorial, so make sure to consult the manual either through us or through the official site.

Download the Armageddon Empires Windows demo on Big Download today!
Download the Armageddon Empires Mac demo on Big Download today!