Frozen Synapse.

[Megrim]

Um, here.

A simultaneous-turn tactical game which borrows from xcom and rainbow 6, among other things. With randomly generated maps, destructable terrain, varying squad loadouts and versus mode.

Some videos here (as well as on their site).

I'm not sure yet, but this looks like a lot of fun.

[JWIV]

Three Moves Ahead just did a podcast about it.  It's apparently awesome and insanely hard.

http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2010/05/05/three-moves-ahead-episode-63-frozen-synapse/

[Yoru]

I tried this back in the early closed alpha, around Februaryish. It was a lot of fun to have LAN battles with my friends, and I'm eager to see how it turns out once it's fully released.

The big thing when I tried it was that the UI was pretty opaque, with a lot of the more important commands requiring weird keypress combinations and some menu items doing effectively nothing.

[Ghambit]

This is one game that'd probably do well to have some kind of glove interface ala Minority Report.

[Megrim]

Just finished a whole bunch of games with a mate. This game is the knife-fight of tactical games. Each game takes mere minutes, played out in 5 second intervals yet manages to feel like a lifetime. I think i'm starting to understand how they named it so well. Very very fun.

[Demonix]

Looking forward to seeing it when its completed!  It looks like a lot of fun.

[jakonovski]

If it doesn't have a great story, I will hate it.

[NiX]

If it doesn't have a great story, I will hate it.

Green... right?

[Ghambit]

Is there no free demo/beta for this somewhere?  $26 for a small unknown/untested indie title is kinda steep.

[Megrim]

If you have any friends it's technically $13!

[Azazel]

That's me out, then!

[Ghambit]

So like uhhh... any of you f13 'friends' have free invites?   

[Malakili]

This looks like a game I'd love to love, but hate to actually play.

[jakonovski]

If it doesn't have a great story, I will hate it.

Green... right?

I'm dead serious, it looks that generic. I can't stand games that have a great mechanic but then fail to include anything else. Stuff like XCom is legendary because it was a combination of many things besides tbs, greater than the sum of its parts.

[trias_e]

So you hate all multiplayer games (that aren't co-op going through a story)?  I think you're a bit broken dude.

[jakonovski]

So you hate all multiplayer games (that aren't co-op going through a story)?  I think you're a bit broken dude.

An extremely uncharitable reading of my post.

[trias_e]

Surely you dislike most multiplayer games if you "can't stand games that have a great mechanic but then fail to include anything else".  That's what multiplayer games generally are.  People playing against each other using the mechanics of the game.  I don't see the problem with my reading of your post.

Sure, the best games integrate gameplay with other qualities as you said.  That doesn't mean games without that integration can't be tons of fun as well, even if they don't crack the list of 'BEST GAMES EVER'.

[jakonovski]

Surely you dislike most multiplayer games if you "can't stand games that have a great mechanic but then fail to include anything else".  That's what multiplayer games generally are.  People playing against each other using the mechanics of the game.  I don't see the problem with my reading of your post.

Sure, the best games integrate gameplay with other qualities as you said.  That doesn't mean games without that integration can't be tons of fun as well, even if they don't crack the list of 'BEST GAMES EVER'.

Well, I don't hate multiplayer games so you'll just have to abandon your interpretation.
 

[Amarr HM]

Umm you can see enemies through walls.

[UnSub]

That art in progress indicated that the developers had never heard about colour-blindness.

It looks interesting, but so do the short bursts of other indie games I've seen.

[NiX]

I'm dead serious, it looks that generic. I can't stand games that have a great mechanic but then fail to include anything else. Stuff like XCom is legendary because it was a combination of many things besides tbs, greater than the sum of its parts.

I don't see how it could have a great story. The idea behind the mechanics is that you have to make quick decisions and not choke when things don't pan out. The games aren't meant to last more than 5 minutes from what I see and that makes sense. The situations they're depicting are short and come down to the small decisions.

Umm you can see enemies through walls.

Yeah, I think it would be more interesting if it used line of sight.

[schild]

Umm you can see enemies through walls.

You can only shoot through windows. I fail to see the problem. As long as every side has the same advantages, it shouldn't pose that much of a difference.

[Amarr HM]

Tactically it would make a bit of a difference knowing if enemies are around the next corner or through a wall that you could rocket launch/nade? Depends on how destructible the terrain is.

[schild]

If anyone orders this, I'll take the free key. Will whore for tactics.

[schpain]

Tactically it would make a bit of a difference knowing if enemies are around the next corner or through a wall that you could rocket launch/nade? Depends on how destructible the terrain is.

you can see all characters at the start of the game. In multi Matches if you don't have line of sight you only see last known position. Like schild said you can see past windows and half height walls. The short matches are something I really like, the game is simple enough but very deep.

[Amarr HM]

I see, I wasn't getting any of that from the video in the op and it sounds like I must try this. For years I've been secretly plotting to make a multiplayer x-com variant, I knew someone would get in there before me.

[NiX]

you can see all characters at the start of the game. In multi Matches if you don't have line of sight you only see last known position. Like schild said you can see past windows and half height walls. The short matches are something I really like, the game is simple enough but very deep.

Depends on if you're playing Light or Dark extermination. Sometimes knowing where someone is can cause you to be premature in your assumption of what they will do. Climbjtree and myself are playing a match now, so far we've both made assumptions on where we might go and it didn't pan out for either of us. I'll post the youtube link once we finish.

[climbjtree]

Well, at least half of that is because I've got nothing but grenadiers and didn't realize that you give them a fire command each turn. Silly me, they're like rocketeers I guess.

[NiX]

Yeah, the rocket and grenadiers seem like a good idea,  but once you get to playing with them you realize they serve a very specific purpose and using them otherwise can lead to a quick loss.

[schpain]

To be honest nix I haven't played with different modes, Meg and I are having commitment isses between sc2, synapse and Dota. What other modes can you suggest? Is there a mode where you can choose your team or start placement?

[climbjtree]

Behold my domination of NiX:

[schpain]

Ow that's some hardcore shotgunning. The YouTube embedding is a great feature

[NiX]

Behold my domination of NiX:

To be fair!

[luckton]

Rise from your grave.

The game's now out, and apparently that British guy really, really, really likes it:

http://youtu.be/9jJrUY27O0Y

It's also on sale this weekend on Steam.

[Malakili]

TB's unbridled enthusiasm has me wanting to buy this.  I have a feeling its one of those games i'd play a TON for like 2 days and put down though.