positech-games posts

Gratuitous Space Battles has had a number of expansion packs already but the indie-made space strategy game from Positech Games is doing something a bit different for its next expansion. In fact you can go ahead and not only pre-order the expansion, Galactic Conquest, you can go ahead and play the beta version right now.

Galactic Conquest basically adds a multi-planet campaign to the game where players can move from planet to planet and conquer star systems rather than just the isolated battles that the game currently has. You can use any of the playable races in the game and the AI enemies come from player-made fleets (which means the game requires an internet connection) There's lots of other new features that will be added in the expansion which costs $6.99. You can check out a trailer for the game after the jump:

One man indie game developer Postiech Games has now released yet another mini-expansion for its cult hit strategy game Gratuitous Space Battles. This new expansion adds the Nomads race to the game with 10 new ships, five new ship modules and new ship bonuses.

However the more interesting thing about the Nomads DLC is the pricing. As described by Positech's Cliff Harris in his blog he is offering the DLC for a regular price of $5.99 and for a "discount" price of $2.99. There is no difference in terms of content. Harris admits this is a bit of an experiment, saying, "I would obviously prefer you bought the standard one." However he adds, "If you genuinely have very very little money and would have waited months hoping for a bundle or a sale, then you could make an argument you could get the discount one." You can get more info on this little sales experience on this web page which also has real time stats on which version is selling more or less. You can check out a trailer showing off the Nomads DLC after the jump:

The one man team at Postiech Games, Cliff Harris, has already released three expansion packs for his latest strategy game Gratuitous Space Battles. But neither the original game nor the expansions have had a proper single player campaign mode. This week, the game's official web site announced plans to provide exactly that.

The upcoming add-on, which doesn't have a release date or price yet, the campaign won't be of the typicial 4X style of game design but a "contextual 'wrapper' for GSB". It will add new feature such as crew and cash shortages, repairing ships between battles, the need for construction and repair facilities, and the ability to issue a retreat order mid-battle." The campaign will use fleets made by other owners of the game for lots more variety and will use the available races that you currently own. In other words, "The game will not care if you have any earlier DLC or not."

[Via Blue's News]

This weekend we wrote about how indie game developer Cliff Harris, the one man team behind Positech Games went on a rant on his blog site after Epic Games VP Mark Rein interrupted a panel at last week's Develop conference on indie games that Harris was a part of. Now the Develop web site has posted up an apology from Rein which he has sent to Harris via email.

In short, Rein states, "It was completely rude of me to interrupt your panel with my opinion no matter how well intentioned." He added, "But there's no excuse for bad manners. You called me on it and it made me realize that it is a behavior I need to try and change for these types of events in the future."

So apparently the Develop conference in the UK this week turned into a lot of name calling. We had Double Fine's founder Tim Schafer call Activision CEO Bobby Kotick a "total prick" and a "dick". Now Cliff Harris, the one man developer and head of Positech Games (maker of among other titles Gratuitous Space Battles) is calling Epic Games' VP Mark Rein a "jerk" on his blog site.

Why the hostility? Harris said that in a Develop panel on indie games this week he mentioned how "someone can email you as an indie dev, and you can reply personally back to that potential customer, and hopefully, that way you have converted that guy to buying the game." Harris then claims Rein started talking from the front row of the audience. Harris said Rein "said something to the effect of 'one guy? who cares, that's a waste of time'." Harris then goes on a lengthy rant against both Rein and Epic Games as whole, ending with, " ... Triple-A studio bosses trying to lecture me on how to communicate better with gamers? F*** off."

We've emailed Rein to get his side of the story. In the meantime his team mate, Epic Games designer Cliff Bleszinski has posted up a couple of statements on his Twitter page. In one he states, "I've personally seen Mark Rein reply to tons of random people who email him. He blind copies me *constantly*." Another statement says, "I haven't spoken with Mark today, but I'd wager he thought the comment was silly that only indy devs reply or interact to customers." Harris himself "tweeted" that, "I got a reply from (Epic Games programmer) Tim Sweeny (sic), which is kind of cool, and I hope just draws a line under it so everyone can just make games now :D" So maybe this is all under the bridge now.

[Via Blue's News]

The space strategy game with the cool title Gratuitous Space Battles has already had two expansion packs released, so naturally the one man team at Positech Games decides its time for a third one to come forth. The expansion is titled The Swarm and its available to purchase and download right now from the game's official web site for $5.99.

For that price you get introduced to a new race in the game, The Swarm. They are described thusly: "The swarm will destroy you, but it's nothing personal." Ah we know the feeling. You will get 10 new ships, new weapons and items, two new maps and more. You can check out a gameplay trailer for the expansion after the jump:

Gratuitous Space Battles is still receiving support from its developer. When we initially reviewed the game, we also covered an expansion released shortly afterward titled The Tribe. It focused on a group of environmentalist aliens, in the same way that each of the other factions focused on a different trope or joining element. The newly released expansion pack The Order adds yet another group of aliens to the fray, but like The Tribe, it also throws in a few things besides just some fancy new ships graphics.

The one man team of Cliff Harris in charge of Positech Games has been busy with supporting its latest title, the space strategy game Gratuitous Space Battles. There's already been one expansion pack released for the game, The Tribe, and now comes the second expansion pack, The Order.

For $5.99, the new expansion gives players of the game 11 new ships, all a part of the game's new species The Order. There are also four new weapon types, new bonuses and two new scenarios (a normal map and one in a survival gameplay mode). You can check out a YouTube video showing off the new ships and features after the jump:

There's a saying that is best used in a situation like this. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Gratuitous Space Battles might, in fact, be mistaken for a high-definition imitation of the classic freeware game Battleships Forever, which we have featured on Freeware Friday before. Gratuitous Space Battles sets itself apart from its look-alike in many ways, despite this easy comparison. Some players, most notably those entrenched in the norms of regular strategy gameplay, may find its own particular deviations on strategy incomprehensible or difficult beyond the first few encounters, which is entirely to be expected. However, as a whole, Gratuitous Space Battles moves the genre forward in general, and provides a good point for casual players to experience strategy firsthand.

It has one of the most awesome titles for a game and the actual game itself is pretty good, too. of course we are talking about Gratuitous Space Battles. Today the word is out that the the space strategy game from indie developer Positech Games has a new micro-expansion pack available to purchase called The Tribe.

For the price of $5.99 the expansion pack adds quite a bit more content to the original game including 11 new ships, a new kenetic weapon type, enhanced repair modules, new bonuses and two new maps. If you still need more convincing you can check out a YouTube trailer for the expansion after the jump.