FleetCOMM: Operation Vigrior Preview

Vigrior, according to Wikipedia, is a large field upon which the forces of the Gods and Surtr will do battle at Ragnarok. It’s also the name of the galactic sector you’ll command in FleetCOMM: Operation Vigrior, an upcoming real-time strategy game in which humanity struggles to defend itself against an alien enemy known as the Virals. Unlike conventional RTSes, however, FleetCOMM will forgo unit building or resource gathering in favor of what strategy games are supposed to be all about: epic military engagements.

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FleetCOMM: Operaton Vigrior promises deep, complex real-time strategy action without all the hassles

Vigrior, according to Wikipedia, is a large field upon which the forces of the Gods and Surtr will do battle at Ragnarok. It’s also the name of the galactic sector you’ll command in FleetCOMM: Operation Vigrior, an upcoming real-time strategy game in which humanity struggles to defend itself against an alien enemy known as the Virals. Unlike conventional RTSes, however, FleetCOMM will forgo unit building or resource gathering in favor of what strategy games are supposed to be all about: epic military engagements.

FleetCOMM will focus on maneuver-based combat, meaning that how you handle your ships in battle will be of far greater importance than how quickly you can click on a succession of commands. In order to facilitate that focus on strategy above mechanics, the game will boast an unusual, simplified interface that allows the creation and execution of complex tactics without first requiring the mastery of a cumbersome control system.

Missions in the game will be story-driven, and the open world design means players will be able to take them on as they wish, at any time, in any area of the sector they can reach. FleetCOMM players will often by outnumbered by the swarm-like Virals, but as the developers put it, “in the scope of maneuver warfare, numbers don’t account for victory.” It is nice to have numbers, though, so the game will also offer the option for up to four players to work together via LAN or “the planetary network.” Side quest-style “recon missions,” upgradable fleets and even “boss fleet” battles are all on the menu, and on top of all that it’s multiplatform too, with versions planned for Windows and Linux-based PCs, iOS, Android and the PlayStation 3.

 Operation Vigrior

I get a bit nervous when unknown indie developers promise that their underfunded, barely-in-production project will deliver the world with a side of fries, but if FleetCOMM: Operation Vigrior can pull it off – and there are already several preliminary gameplay videos floating around on YouTube to suggest that it might – then this could be a very impressive effort indeed. No release date has been set and while the game’s Kickstarter page points at the end of the year, it also states that four to five months of full-time development will be needed just to come up with a playable PC beta. In other words, don’t hold your breath for anything before 2013.

Long-time PC gamer and shorter-time freelance writer, with work at Gamezebo, The Escapist, PC Gamer, Joystiq and parts unknown. Owner of many cats, drinker of fine beers, eater of too much. A steadfast javelin in a flaccid world.