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[Card Boy]

Developer: InterWave Studios
Platform: PC / Mac (Steamplay)
Price: $19.99
Genre: FPS / Strategy
Release Date: Sep 25 2011
Where: Available online at

Also at:

About Nuclear Dawn:

Nuclear Dawn is the first game to offer a full FPS and RTS experience, within a single gameplay model, without crippling or diluting either side of the game.

As a soldier, explore war-torn post-apocalyptic landscapes, modelled on modern cities, and take the fight to your enemies as armoured, assault or stealth infantry, using various weapons across ten distinct load-outs to accomplish your objectives. The first person shooter action in Nuclear Dawn is hard, fast and unforgiving, with weapons that rely on skill and tactics more than on twitch reflexes and map memorization.

Then, take Nuclear Dawn above the action, and play as the commander. Organize your fellow players in squads, and assign them to tactical objectives. Plan the resource routes for your army, and production of your structures for forward deployment. Exploit the terrain and resource point locations to block your enemies’ advance, and crush their plans in an iron fist. Research and implement new technologies to give your soldiers the edge on the battlefield, and set up forward bases to lead the assault on your enemies, with a full complement of defensive and offensive structures to choose from, to build your perfect fortress.

Features:

Two factions: The Empire and the Consortium have completely separate base-building paradigms.
RTS commander: Produce structures, research advanced technologies, unleash devastating strikes on the enemy, and lead your team to victory as a RTS commander.
Four classes: Each faction has four classes with various kit load outs, totalling over three dozen weapons.
Squad up: Squad-based 32 player full warfare battle mode.
Six maps: Travel across the largest, most detailed maps built in Source multiplayer to date.
Advanced Weaponry: As a commander, judiciously dispense healing to your troops, and death to their enemies, by managing your advanced abilities.
Stats and Unlocks: 60 ranks, 12 unlocks for each weapon, achievements, gizmos and more.
SDK: Nuclear Dawn Software Development Kit will be available for the community to be able to create custom maps, etc.
Source Powered: Based on the L4D2 engine and modified to bring you the ultimate online battle experience.
Steam Powered: Available for both Mac and PC through Steamplay with Steam Cloud support.

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsVT47OwTxw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdS5PysJY3c

Screenshots:

 

[Confidence Man]

Is it me or did the art direction get a hell of a lot lamer since it was a mod?

 

[Max]

Is it me or did the art direction change for the worse since it was a mod?

Was thinking the same thing

 

[Card Boy]

Is it me or did the art direction get a hell of a lot lamer since it was a mod?

Maybe, but i can't complain. I got it for free from Greenman Gaming as i had credit.

Also i couldn't think of a good thread title.

 

[SapientWolf]

The idea is neat but a $25 indie PC multiplayer only title is pretty risky. Best of luck to them.

 

[Alex Connolly]

Great stuff, Gez. Played a great round last night, had a nice vibe and the community with this one is fairly thoughtful and nice. I still stand by the weapons lacking a lot of punch...but it's a clean and efficient game.

Definitely requires more teamwork than your average game.

The idea is neat but a $25 indie PC multiplayer only title is pretty risky. Best of luck to them.

It is a little risky, not just for the price point, but wading into the arena dominated by the upcoming giants might run the risk of the servers decomposing faster than Iron Grip Warlords, player-wise.

 

[Derrick01]

The idea is neat but a $25 indie PC multiplayer only title is pretty risky. Best of luck to them.

It's multiplayer only? Dammit

My dream of an amazingly in depth strategy game that lets you take part in the battles continues to remain just that

 

[Sinatar]

My dream of an amazingly in depth strategy game that lets you take part in the battles continues to remain just that

 

[Derrick01]

Anything within the last year or two? lol. I pretty much want a Total War/EU3 type game on the world map and something like dynasty warriors or maybe a less clunky mount and blade game when the combat starts.

 

[Sinatar]

Anything within the last year or two? lol. I pretty much want a Total War/EU3 type game on the world map and something like dynasty warriors or maybe a less clunky mount and blade game when the combat starts.

Well Bohemia Interactive is redoing Carrier Command, that should fit the bill.

 

[Card Boy]

The hell does this come out? Thought it was meant to be on the 25th. Anyway there is a TF2 item promotion planned for Nov/Dec.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25320963&postcount=13

 

[The M.O.B]

I'm hesitant to get this, the online communities for these games don't always stick around. If a month from now there is still a good sized people who are dedicated to playing then I might jump in.

 

[Teknopathetic]

"Anything within the last year or two? lol. I pretty much want a Total War/EU3 type game on the world map and something like dynasty warriors or maybe a less clunky mount and blade game when the combat starts."


Wouldn't this basically be the Dynasty Warriors Empires games?

 

[Card Boy]

Game is out!

I've had about 3 hours with this game so far and so far i'm liking it alot. It's probably one of the most tactical shooters I've played and requires alot of communication and co-ordination between the commander and people on the ground.

Shooting mechanics seem very solid, UI is nice and clean. Besides looking like a Source game (and being one) it just doesn't feel like one, its hard to explain. Love the atmosphere when working apart of a team.

I felt a good commander was always feeding the team information and giving out orders and divulging any upcoming plans he has. A mic seemed like a must. If you have a shit commander you can always call a mutiny and stage a coup to take the role. The commander himself is another player that can fight in the front lines or sit in his command station and build turrets/make waypoints/and other structures.

A match ends when either the timer runs out or if the Commander is overwhelmed and calls a surrender, or when base is completely destroyed. Matches can last up to 1 hour.

You can level up and all that there is no K/D ratio stats, just a global leveling up system.

If anyone has questions ask away. Yes the game is worth it.

 

[Alex Connolly]

Yeah, it's definitely growing on me. Reminds me of Blacklight mixed with Counterstrike in regards to the shooting "feel".

 

[Facism]

This isn't the first FPS/RTS hybrid. Natural Selection did that 8 years ago, and it's sequel is doing it too

Looks interesting. If i can free up some dollar i'll give it a raz. I like fps games with a bit of thought required to play.

 

[Alex Connolly]

This isn't the first FPS/RTS hybrid. Natural Selection didt hat 8 years ago, and it's sequel is doing it too

Looks interesting. If i can free up some dollar i'll give it a raz. I like fps games with a bit of thought required to play.

As Gez said, this is a really tactical experience that requires a lot of teamwork and a commander who knows what they're doing. It'll live or die on the proviso of players willing to talk to each other, so I can see a small and dedicated community forming, but like many smaller shooter projects on PC, it might be a little too nuanced for the average 'Dew chugging backslapper.

 

[[Nintex]]

Make sure to check out all the awesome maps, my brother(lead level designer on the project) and his mapping crew worked really hard to push the Source Engine to its limits in multiple ways.

 

[bistromathics]

This isn't the first FPS/RTS hybrid. Natural Selection did that 8 years ago, and it's sequel is doing it too

Looks interesting. If i can free up some dollar i'll give it a raz. I like fps games with a bit of thought required to play.

Yea NS was the first thing I thought of when reading the description for this on steam. The biggest thing for me was how the different sides were asymmetrical...huge departure from all the other HL mods. Everybody would just yell at me whenever I tried to be the commander in 'ns mode', so I mainly just stuck to deathmatch. That RTS hybrid always stuck with me as a cool mechanic though.

I wanted to see what people thought about Nuclear Dawn, so searched "nuclear dawn neogaf" but found this tiny OT

I guess there's no such thing as day one purchases for games with no PR budget, especially with an inevitable steam sale around the corner.

 

[bistromathics]

If anyone has questions ask away. Yes the game is worth it.

What is the difference between the two factions?

What is the leveling up system like? Do you progress through a skill tree?

How is the commander determined?

 

[Twinduct]

Battlezone 2 was godtier. Fuck I want a new one like now :<

 

[Card Boy]

What is the difference between the two factions?

1) Theres the obvious visual difference (both the classes themselves and building structures). All the structures have a different model depending on what faction you are

2) There are minor differences on each side for the classes both in weapons model and the stats of them. Eg. Stealth class will have a Knife or Claws, Assault will have a rifle with less bullets that is stronger or one with more bullets that is slightly weaker, EXO class will fire Rockets or Lasers from the Siege weapon depending on what side your on.

What is the leveling up system like? Do you progress through a skill tree?

There is no skill tree or anything. Leveling is global throughout all servers like other game with a Level up system. There are no other stats of any kind (like K/D, W/L). Leveling unlocks new Gizmos (perks for weapons, you can only have 1 at a time)

The only 'skill tree' esque system is in the commander role where you research upgrades for you're team (like Advanced medkits, Airstrikes etc)

How is the commander determined?

You have to tick the 'apply for commander' box on spawn menu. The game picks a commander for your team from those that applied. If you have a really bad commander on your team you can stage coup and call a mutiny to demote the commander and take the role.

 

[sam27368]

I worked on the original mod, and I can say with confidence the guys have done a great job.
The screenshots you see in the original (although fairly obvious with the two posted) were all staged and very little was actually running in the mod. It was only a month or two before we shut the doors that we had a basic CTF gameplay setting running (without a commander mode) and that was about as far as the mod went.

The problem with the mod was that the art was of such hi quality (for mod standards) that within a few months of announcing the mod most the team got picked up by the industry and couldn't put in as much time as they could in the beginning which led to the mods demise.

So when we finally shut the doors a couple years back we gave the rights to InterWave to see what they could do and they've A) Actually released the unreleasable! and B) It's pretty damn good! So a big congrats must go to them for pulling it off.

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

The game is pretty awesome and it seems very polish so far.

I doubt the game will ever get a huge following, but I think it'll have several servers that are either full or nearly full. InterWeave should do a free weekend before Christmas though and garner some sales.

 

[Salsa]

game's only as strong as its community, and this one seems pretty dead

 

[markot]

The game is pretty awesome and it seems very polish so far.

I doubt the game will ever get a huge following, but I think it'll have several servers that are either full or nearly full. InterWeave should do a free weekend before Christmas though and garner some sales.

Polish? So its kinda like The Witcher?

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

Interview about console development and the future of Nuclear Dawn and InterWave:

Have you found it difficult to adapt the title, which was originally intended for a PC audience, to a console such as the Xbox 360?

The title's not been adapted to the Xbox yet – we have two major updates planned to Nuclear Dawn that will implement more game modes and AI units to specific situations. Once the game is patched up to the level of content that we always intended it to have, we will start the conversion process to Xbox.

And yes, we do anticipate difficulties with porting Nuclear Dawn to consoles in general, as we have a very ambitious memory footprint.

What can we expect in the form of future updates to the game? Will single-player be an option at some point?

A full single player campaign is out of the question for the current incarnation of Nuclear Dawn.

We have two major updates planned: one will introduce AI bots and drones, and a few game modes made possible by them, and the other will introduce new maps and other gameplay additions. Once those two updates are out, a series of simple single-player training scenarios will become a real possibility.

What does the future hold for InterWave studios now that Nuclear Dawn has been released?

More Nuclear Dawn, in the shape of the two updates we outlined above. After Nuclear Dawn? Something more focused and less ambitious, perhaps, just to catch our breath, before delving into either a Nuclear Dawn single player game, or multiplayer sequel. We do not yet possess the resources to engage in both at the same time.

Finally, we're involved in the development of more casual titles for the iPhone, and PC. We're working with the original indie programmers behind rComplex to deliver a more polished, commercial version of their hit title, and then there's always Radians around the corner.

http://www.gamingnexus.com/Article/Nuclear-Dawn-Interview/Item3237.aspx

rComplex looks pretty cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx9JV9Q0Jgw

 

[Bomber Bob]

had lots of fun online with this masterpiece

 

[Rygar 8 Bit]

just dropped the 25 on this i love savage 1&2, natural selection so hope this lives up to those games

 

[Card Boy]

Massive patch

35Nuclear Dawn Update Released
Product Update - Valve
Additions
• Added some extra hints
• Added “_promote_to_commander” console command for plugin authors to promote commanders properly. Please update your plugins to use this as the current method of modifying the send table is causing problems. This command expects 1 argument that is the player index of the player to promote.
• Added team balance system. By default the teams will be balanced at the end of each round. You can modify mp_autoteambalance to change this behavior. 0 = No balancing, 1 = Only balance on end of round (default), 2 = Only balance during the game if there are [mp_unbalance_limit] more players on one team than the other, 3 = Balance throughout the round and at the end of the round. You can also modify mp_autoteambalance_delay to specify the amount of seconds into a round that balancing will occur.
• Added German localization

General Issues
• Fixed the killcam effect when viewed from spectator perspective.
• Fixed the chaingun spin and other blended animation glitches in spectate mode.
• Fixed the flamethrower, blowtorch and other muzzle particle positions in spectate mode.
• Fixed the camera bobbing effect on the weapon and interface from spectate perspective.
• Fixed the spectator camera getting stuck on round end cam at the start of a new round.
• Fixed the sniper scope overlay from spectate perspective.
• Further optimised the poison and radiation cloud particle effects.
• Fixed the iron sight hint showing up, and registering the lesson with the game instructor.
• Fixed the class special ability showing up and being registered with the game instructor.
• Fixed the MP7 sight to be in the proper lowered position (now with illuminated markers!)
• Fixed sprinting after reloading the Avenger causing the reload to fail.
• Fixed Empire power lasers showing to the Consortium when an Empire structure is shrouded.
• Fixed a few issues with the spawn selection after changing teams.
• Added more space between the spawn gates in all the maps to avoid both taken out by one EMP grenade
• Fixed grenades not colliding with some structures
• Grenades now emit a bounce sound
• Ringing sound removed from being near explosions.
• Improved grenade physics
• Fixed grenade launcher grenades disappearing when fired at certain angles.


User Interface
• Added a list of developer and contributor credits to the game, visible when you click the InterWave logo at the bottom center of the main menu.
• Fixed missing soldier icon for control groups 6 through 0.


Weapons/Balance
• Balanced the Avenger against the F2000’s ROF.
• Siege weapon gizmos should now be functional again.
• Stabilizer gizmos should now behave as intended across all weapons.
• Made a pass of balance tweaks to each pair of automatic bullet weapons.
• Reduced the E.M.P effect radius from 400 units to 325, to reduce the number of affected buildings and units per grenade and to encourage better aiming with each throw.
• Reduced the general EMP effect time from 25/10 to 18/3 (max/min)
• Command Bunkers are now EMP-proof, and cannot be shut down


Levels
• Clocktower
• Fixed framedrop in the underground area

Hydro
• Added a hole in the Empire spawn building so you need less relays at the start
• Replaced some cover pieces with much taller versions so you can hide Empire power relays better
• Created a more Empire favoured entrance to the Primary building and sealed off one of the Consortium ones
• Blocked the Consortium being able to build inside the warehouse outside their spawn to make things more balanced (The empire are unable to build inside their equivalent building)
• Switched the team victory cameras round to show the correct ones
• Blocked some visual errors relating to the water
• Made it so you can no longer swim in the dam water (its now too shallow so you should just walk)
• Fixed commanders able to build in the primary resource pit

Metro
• Added additional no-build areas in the primary area
• Adjusted no-build areas in the metro station, to fix commanders building in the underground area
• Fixed players getting stuck on the primary console in the bunker
• Fixed a few small issues throughout the map

Oasis
• Added roof for the glass shield on the Empire side to make the base less exposed for EMP grenades
• Moved a few props around to smooth out player movement
• Fixed a few small issues throughout the map

Some pretty good balance tweeks.

 

[[Nintex]]

They patched it again recently adding a tutorial mode

In preparation of next weeks Free weekend on Steam (Dec 15-18), we have just submitted the latest update 5 to the Steam servers, for Nuclear Dawn. This latest update adds a brand new Training mode to learn the basics of the game from both the FPS and RTS side. It also adds a new Squad Assist system where players will receive bonuses for healing, capturing resources, and kill assists.

Commander Graduate achievement

This is a special achievement earned by completing all of the interactive RTS training. In live games, players who have this achievement will have priority over candidates who did not complete training.

Career Page

Added a “Career” page to the main menu for viewing your player stats, including upcoming general and class-specific unlocks.

Santa Hats

Added Santa hats which will run though the holidays - starting 19th December. Server admins can control the behavior with the following CVar:

nd_xmas - 0 = Hats disabled - 1 = Hats only for commanders - 2 = Hats for EVERYONE!

That's just the highlights! Now on-to the full changelog:

Additions

Players will be awarded double XP throughout the free weekend (15th - 19th December).
P-900 sidearm unlock added (automatically awarded to all players who purchase during the free weekend, as well as those who have already purchased Nuclear Dawn prior.)
Added Santa hats which will run though the holidays - starting 19th December. Server admins can control the behavior with the following CVar: nd_xmas - 0 = Hats disabled - 1 = Hats only for commanders - 2 = Hats for EVERYONE!
Added squad bonuses for healing, capturing resources, and kill assists.
Saboteur Stealth class introduced. Use Remote Explosive Devices and machine pistols, in conjunction with your Stealth Cloak teach your enemies fear of the dark.
Four interactive FPS training courses that cover aspects of class warfare and basic gameplay mechanics
Three interactive RTS training courses that cover the basic Commander functions (minus tactical excellence - you add that yourselves)
Commander Graduate achievement - a special achievement earned by completing all of the interactive RTS training. In live games, players who have this achievement will have priority over candidates who did not complete training.
Added a “Career” page to the main menu for viewing your player stats, including upcoming general and class-specific unlocks.
Added an “Extras” tab (found via the new “Career” page) that allows players to enable/disable bonuses, such as the pre-order Veteran Medal and free-weekend P-900 sidearm unlock.
Added bots. These should be considered BETA as most functionality is still in development. For this version, the bots will behave similarly to regular players, rather than purchased units as in other RTS titles (they will do their own thing, other than when a commander order is given to them). Below are some console variables you can use to add bots to your server:
bot_quota = Number of bots
bot_quota_mode [ normal | fill | match ] = If 'fill', the server will adjust bots to keep N players in the game, where N is bot_quota. If 'match', the server will maintain a 1:N ratio of humans to bots. If ‘normal’ there will be N bots in the game. Where N is bot_quota.
bot_add_ct = Add a bot to the Consortium team
bot_add_emp = Add a bot to the Empire team
General Issues

Secondary Resource Point resource production has been increased to balance the dominance of the Primary. While Secondary points still remain vastly inferior to the Primary, now a commander that manages to hold both at the same time will actually be able to remain competitive against the one holding the primary.
Fixed an issue where turrets would sometimes continue to target Stealth players even after they have activated cloak.
Fixed an issue where Transport Gates were sometimes visible on the spawn location map, even when out of power, or EMP’d.
Fixed not being able to perform any commander actions when running a listen server on MacOS.
Fixed RTS camera rotation issues on MacOS
Fixed issue where empty commander orders were being left around the map
Fixed fog of war problem that would cause some players and structures to be invisible in commander mode, even when they are in line of sight of your units.
Improved and re-added idle fidget animations with leg movement.
Improved knife/blade hit detection in both regular stab and backstab modes.
Fixed multiple instances of first person animation glitches when returning to idle from sprint.
A number of various stability fixes.
User Interface

The Steam server browser will now correctly display Nuclear Dawn servers.
Improved some UI mouse-over effects.
Improved class selection images.
Added icons for each class on the squad menu.
Fixed some cases where text would have incorrect spacing on MacOS.
Added a chat message when a player is awarded an achievement.
Added new kit selection icons for Stealth Assassin, Support Engineer and Support Medic.
Weapons/Balance

Increased Repair Tool’s effectiveness against enemy structures by 20%
Levels

Clocktower

Added a extra route to deploy relay towers by scaling up the tunnel at EMP base
Fixed a few small issues throughout the level
Downtown

Relocated EMP command bunker to make it less exposed
Removed floating displacement
Fixed bushes not solid in multiple locations
Fixed wireless repeater floating in the alley at the primary area
Fixed CT wincam pointing at wrong location
Removed ropes from the City State building
Added multiple no-build areas throughout the level
Hydro

No longer possible to build behind the Empire Bunker
Metro

Fixed getting stuck in the primary bunker in some situations.
Fixed a few floating bushes
Oasis

Fixed able to capture Primary from outside the building in a certain spot
Extended capture area
Added extra cover around the EMP base and throughout the level for relay towers

But not all is well in Nuclear Dawn-land...

http://blog.interwavestudios.com/content/59

Sounds like the future of the game seems to depend on the Free Weekend perfomance.

 

[Sinatar]

Do multiplayer indie games ever do well? Seems like suicide to even attempt it.

 

[Red]

Do multiplayer indie games ever do well? Seems like suicide to even attempt it.

Killing Floor, and I guess CS originally if that counts.

 

[[Nintex]]

Another blog piece this time written by my brother

http://blog.interwavestudios.com/content/140

He talks about some of the problems during development and scrapping the vehicles becasue Valve was less than impressed when they showed them the prototype.

 

[The_Player]

Do multiplayer indie games ever do well? Seems like suicide to even attempt it.

It's a good game of very high quality for an indie product. Followed their development from the day one and it would be a lie if I say that they disappointed me. They'll do free weekend in a 2 days, so I really recommend you to try it out. If you like smart FPS ofc.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Downloading this now. I'll probably buy it too. I think everyone should check it out.

They've got a lot of competition this month, though. They need to do some more free weekends in January and February. I could definitely see them building up momentum, ala Killing Floor, if this is really good, well supported, and becomes more proficient with patches.

Edit: Can someone change the thread title to reflect that it's only $12 right now?

 

[famousmortimer]

I bought it. So far I love it. Natural Selection but a bit more user-friendly. Good stuff.

 

[Sinatar]

You'd think the community would be anxious for new players to come in and as such would actually update their servers so people trying the free weekend can actually play the game.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

You'd think the community would be anxious for new players to come in and as such would actually update their servers so people trying the free weekend can actually play the game.

THIS.

Every server that I get a good ping to and that HAS PEOPLE PLAYING... is running an old client. Meanwhile, Euro servers where I get 190 ms ping but are fully populated and using the newest client are abundant.

Total fail. Devs need to force everyone to update. If I can't even play this, why should I buy it?

 

[The_Player]

Chill dudes, it's only begining of the new day. They'll update it eventually.

 

[shintoki]

Chill dudes, it's only begining of the new day. They'll update it eventually.

You know, you have 3 days time limit and in most cases, maybe an hour or two to sell someone on the game. Having 10 servers out of 50 with updated listings is not a good start.

Finally got into a game. Don't really know what to think. Runs well and seems fun... but this game really seems to suffer from COD with the shooting. Everything seems to shoot ridiculously fast, ridiculously power, and ridiculously accurate. Making the game feel very spammy.

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Chill dudes, it's only begining of the new day. They'll update it eventually.

So instead of 3 days to play, I might get one, or one and a half?

That's not how you make Free Weekend sales.

 

[Deadbeat]

Game doesnt feel all that well made (really clunky in menu navigation trying to be all fancy but its annoying as hell). Also the stats are broken for me.

 

[Sinatar]

Finally got a chance to play it.

I like the ideas but I don't really like the way it plays, feels a bit too spastic.

 

[Card Boy]

For those that arn't aware, the game is in the Indie Royale bundle.

Price ranges from $3.90 to $5 and includes 3 other games.

http://www.indieroyale.com/

 

[Syph Medwes]

Can someone who actually has this game please tell me if there is a search and destroy type gamemode? Specifically a game-mode where you only have one life per round?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Tess3ract]

Anyone want a guest pass to this? Just to try it out?

 

[Taco_Human]

Anyone want a guest pass to this? Just to try it out?

I'd be honored.

 

[Tess3ract]

I'd be honored.

Need a steamid

 

[Card Boy]

I got 3 guest passes.

I just need the email associated with your Steam ID so i can sent it.