Frozen Synapse - Indie turn-based combat game

[Lions]

I submitted another turn Frank, but as predicted, I'm dead meat. After this turn is 'assimilated' you'll be up 4 dudes to my one. Told you I suck at this. Still, I also don't want to take anything away from you -- you played very astutely for a newcomer. But honestly, you'll get a bigger challenge from the AI.

Fire away, you're up.

Thanks a bunch, Mike for showing me the ropes. I learned quite a bit from this game despite what looks like a lopsided outcome and had a lot of fun with it.

[John]

I should have a little free time to play this weekend. My username is "Corsairs", so Frank, feel free to hit me up for a game if you like.

[Lions]

I should have a little free time to play this weekend. My username is "Corsairs", so Frank, feel free to hit me up for a game if you like.

Challenge sent. :)

[John]

Good game, Frank! I was worried when you took down my machine gunner, but a lucky rocket shot in Turn 4 clipped your last two men. I'm up for more games whenever you feel like playing.

[Lions]

Good game, Frank! I was worried when you took down my machine gunner, but a lucky rocket shot in Turn 4 clipped your last two men. I'm up for more games whenever you feel like playing.

Nooo!!! I assured my men that they were far enough away. I moved them just to avoid exactly what happened. I will not go down so easily again!

[John]

Postmortem: Mode 7 Games' Frozen Synapse

A great look into the making of this awesome indie game. Ian Hardingham of Mode 7 Games lists the five things that went right and wrong during the development of Frozen Synapse. You get a sense of how precarious this whole indie game development process is. Seemingly simple choices caused major roadblocks that threatened to derail the entire endeavor. On the other hand, the "paid beta" was a huge lift to the team, and I'm happy to say that I contributed my $25 to the $125,000 raised during this portion of development. The end result is a damn fine game, and I have hope that it may lead the team to develop a game with similar mechanics yet higher production values later on. A Mode 7 version of X-COM? We can only dream...

[Mike Dunn]

Thanks for posting that. I think he nails some of the reasons the game has not become one I keep coming back to.

[John]

Frozen Synpase: Red expansion released
Hotseat mode and timed turns added to main game

New features have been introduced to the original Frozen Synapse game, and a whole new expansion pack, Frozen Synapse: Red, has just been released. Here is the scoop on the global new features:

• Hotseat Mode - Local multiplayer comes to Frozen Synapse! Play against another human (or semi-human) using one computer.
• Timed Turns - This forces a time-limit on turn submission, a bit like Speed Chess.
• Preset Multiplayer Maps - Non-randomised maps for competitive play. The first one (“Calliope”) is live now and we hope to launch another soon. We hope you like these maps: do drop us a line and let us know what you think of them, as well as the sort of map you’d like to see in future.

As for the expansion pack, Frozen Synapse: Red is normally $10 buy is currently on sale for $8.49. That price includes a copy of the game's soundtrack from composer _ensnare_.

You can view a video showing off the game's new features here. The one new feature that's probably most exciting of all is that Frozen Synapse: Red will contains full co-op (2 vs. AI) for the single player campaign! If you wanted to play Frozen Synapse with a friend instead of against him, you're finally going to get your chance.

[Mike Dunn]

Coming to the iPad.

[John]

Coming to the iPad.

As if I needed another reason to lust after owning a tablet.

[Mike Dunn]

Coming to the iPad.

As if I needed another reason to lust after owning a tablet.

The iOS gaming scene is beyond belief. So much good stuff for strategy gamers, particularly turn-based, and including board game ports. So much asynchronous multiplayer. So much that's dirt cheap yet good.

So much that there's a magazine for iOS gamers. A virtual one, of course.