With the news of Iron Harvest hitting off its Kickstarter campaign, it's time to refresh our collective memories on what exactly we can expect from this highly anticipated diesel punk themed real time strategy from King Art Games.
Back when we Iron Harvest, the game had a teaser trailer out but not much else to show. Now however, we've got plenty of goodies to talk about, so let's begin.
Iron Harvest is set in an alternate post-WWI world crafted by Polish artist Jakub Różalski. As you can see, this is a world where European kingdoms command large walkers in support of somewhat more traditional infantry.
King Art Games
The game includes three factions - the Polania Republic, the Rusviet and the Saxony Empire. The developers say it has "been too long since the last really great RTS campaign", and we're inclined to agree. Iron Harvest will feature three campaigns with 21 missions "with an over-arching story" from different perspectives, "much like in the original Starcraft."
The campaigns will follow nine main character heroes, who are more like juiced up units than "unstoppable super units". King Art Games already revealed three of these as Anna - a Polanian sniper and resistance symbol, Gunter - a veteran Saxony legend "hunted by his past" and Olga - a Rusviet spy girl who sees a huge conspiracy behind all of the factions.
King Art Games
The devs played around with a motion capture system by Xsens, which allowed them to record all sorts of natural movement inside the offices. Pretty impressive to be honest, and the guys said they'll probably end up using it for cutscenes.
We saw the first Tech and Controls Demo, where King Art Games showed off its destructible battlefield, which the company modelled after Company of Heroes' implementation thereof.
The demo also added squads, pathfinding, weapons and armour, damage types, user interface, controls and "dozen other systems". It also said 1v1 multiplayer mode is coming in Spring 2019, so expect to hear more soon.
King Art Games have said that Iron Harvest base building will also resemble that of Company of Heroes, with players sometimes building them from scratch and other times conquering existing ones. Below you see a "simple Polania rebel base", with a workshop on the left, headquarters in the middle and barracks on the right.
King Art Games
The devs already teased some in game units, such as Saxony heavy infantry, which is a long-range mortar unit that can use its battering ram to stun enemies in close combat.
King Art Games
The company say that even though many units will be specific to certain factions, there will be universal types of weaponry as well, such as the anti-walker cannon. We doubt this weapon needs an explanation - the hint is in the name.
King Art Games
King Art Games say that the heavy MG will require three men to operate.
King Art Games
In their quest for a perfect UI, the company has tried to tackle the two popular choices - the moar-info guys and the less-clutter squadron. Therefore, the UI should be highly customizable to cater to everyone's choices.
King Art Games
The team behind the audio is Music Imaginary, whose portfolio includes the likes of the Witcher, Dead Island and Painkiller games.
So far, the developer is sticking with the suggested 2019 release for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, although we're yet to find out whether the Kickstarter campaign changes that.
Iron Harvest units, concept art and more
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