ICBM: Escalation : gGobal warfare and nuclear mass destruction

[Asid]

ICBM: Escalation




Slitherine and SoftWarWare join forces once again, we are proud to announce ICBM: Escalation.




Following the great success of the first game, prepare yourself to engage in nuclear warfare with friends and foes once more.

ICBM: Escalation introduces a whole new series of improvements and features, including a renewed focus on conventional warfare, dozens of new weapons, an enhanced map, an upgraded diplomacy system, alternative victory conditions, a new research tree, and more.

Last but not least, the game offers a diverse and immersive single-player campaign, skirmish mode, co-op, alternative game modes, and a multiplayer mode up to 10 players, with ELO ratings and a ranking system.

We can't wait to reveal more in the coming months. Wishlist the game on our Store or Steam and stay tuned for further updates.

ICBM: Escalation is a real time strategy game of global warfare and nuclear mass destruction. Issue orders to entire armies and wield the most powerful weapons to ever exist to eradicate your enemies and secure global supremacy. Crush your foes by invading and conquering their territories or annihilating their cities with weapons of mass destruction. Use a vast array of vehicles and weapons to control and eliminate other factions and save your own citizens from certain doom.

CONVENTIONAL & NUCLEAR WARFARE
Take charge of a faction spanning a whole continent, build up a nuclear stockpile, research new technology and command a combination of nuclear-capable submarines, planes and ballistic missiles to strike at enemies’ key assets and cities. But nuclear warfare isn’t the only option, ICBM: Escalation has new alternative win conditions that let players seek different, less destructive ways to achieve victory. An increased focus on conventional warfare allows players to annex enemy territory, providing both points and additional strategic benefits, as well as a means to cripple the enemy and force them to surrender.

RESEARCH & DIPLOMACY
Research a vast range of technologies spanning multiple generations with a revamped progression system. Start from the very beginning of the cold war, with first-generation jets and WWII-era weapons, and build up your technological capabilities until you have state-of-the-art equipment, ranging from stealth warships to weaponized satellites. Plenty of new features have been added: a new player profile system, updated diplomacy with new research agreements, ceasefires, the ability to trade and negotiate captured territories and the introduction of world-spanning diplomatic measures like weapon-banning at the Geneva Convention.

PLENTY OF WAYS TO PLAY
A host of new game modes will launch with ICBM: Escalation. These include the standard ‘Standoff’ mode, which offers a balanced and well-paced escalation from small-scale conventional warfare all the way to full-blown global thermonuclear annihilation; the lightning-fast Blitz Mode, for players looking for an aggressive confrontation and a purely nuclear conflict; Conquest mode, which offers a drawn-out battle of discretion, brinkmanship and ever-increasing hostility; and Co-Op Versus, a new team-based mode where players will have to coordinate and work together as a single faction to survive and defeat their common enemies. You’ll have the option to fight alongside and against players from all over the world in multiplayer battles with up to 10 players, or face off against the AI in one-off skirmish matches, or the all-new single-player campaign mode.


FEATURES:

-    A deadly combination of Conventional and Nuclear Warfare
-    A huge array of strategies and units for high replayability
-    Dozens of weapons of mass destruction, from chemical bombs to heavy MIRVs
-    A massive, high-definition 3D map with hundreds of major cities to destroy
-    Diplomatic options to control the dynamics of the world
-    Up to 10 players multiplayer mode with ELO ratings and a rank-up system
-    Single-player mode, featuring a full campaign and support for quick skirmishes
-    Multiple generations of technology, from the early Cold War to the near future
-    Team-based co-op and other alternative game modes
-    Full modding support

[Asid]

ICBM: Escalation - Dev Diary 1
Thu, November 2, 2023



Hi everyone!

As you’ve probably seen, we’re happy to announce that the ICBM series is coming back for a second strike with ICBM: Escalation! Earlier on, we threw out a few one-off sneak peaks at what the game will have to offer, but we’ll be doing regular dev diariesfrom here on out to give you an idea of what’s in store for the sequel. So, what’s the big idea?


For those of you that aren’t familiar, the first ICBM game was a real-time strategy game where you launched nuclear missiles and dropped nuclear bombs on your enemies to try and kill off as much of their population as possible, while also doing your best to keep your own people alive.


Europe probably not winning at ICBM: Escalation

ICBM: Escalation has the same concept, but rather than being a pure nuclear war game, it’s more oriented around waging WWIII. You’ll get to raise a conventional fighting force to raid and invade enemy territory, as well as build up a world-ending nuclear arsenal to dissuade the enemy from doing anything drastic, which you can also freely unleash when you feel the time is right. So, what ICBM: Escalation offers, is exactly that. Escalation.


A minor territorial dispute.


Okay maybe it’s not that minor after all

Of course, If you just want to sit down and nuke everybody, we’ve got new game modes on offer to fit everyone’s needs. We’ve got Blitz Mode, which is made to be simpler, faster-paced and focused squarely on nuclear exchanges, Standoff Mode, for people who want a mix of conventional and nuclear action, and Conquest Mode, for players who want the long, drawn-out strategic cold-war experience. Plus, there’s also the new Co-op Versus Mode for anyone who wants to turn nuclear war into a team effort, as well as a new single-player campaign mode, but we’ll talk more about that later.

ICBM: Escalation is going to have dozens of unit types, hundreds of cities to attack, and support for hundreds, if not thousands, of active units all at once. There’s also a huge variety of nuclear weapons to pick from, a massive tech tree that spans generations, and more. All in all, it’s going to be a huge step up in scope and complexity from the original. There’s also been lots of changes to make the game more visually stunning, so you can really bask in the radioactive glow of each mushroom cloud. For the record, there’s only two people on the development team, so we’ve definitely got our work cut out for us!

Now, the big question that everyone’s wondering is, when is the game going to come out? We can’t say for sure just yet, but we’ll have more dev diaries in the future so you can keep an eye on how things are going. We’re aiming for a release date sometime next year in 2024, so keep your eyes peeled! Don’t forget to check out the store page on Steam and wishlist us!

[Asid]

ICBM: Escalation - Dev Diary #2
10 Nov 2023



Hi everyone!

In today’s dev diary, we’re going to talk about one of the staples of the nuclear triad, and the way we’ve implemented it in ICBM: Escalation. It’s not just a means to deploy nuclear weapons either, it’s also a defining feature of the modern battlefield, one that has the ability to turn the tide of an entire war, even without nuclear weapons. That’s right, we’re going to be talking about AIR POWER.

As every nuclear war aficionado knows, even though there’s plenty of systems that have been able to deploy nuclear weapons over the years, the only one that’s been used in anger against an actual opponent is the B-29, two of which were used to drop the bombs when the United States attacked Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Bombers were the first leg of the nuclear triad, and (thankfully) the only one to have ever actually been put to use. So, it makes sense to start there.



As mentioned before, ICBM: Escalation starts all the way back in the early 1950s, and progresses through time all the way up to the near future. The first bombers you’ll have access to will be early-model, jet-powered bombers with limited range and an arsenal restricted to primitive gravity bombs. Don’t be fooled, just because the B-47 itself isn’t particularly potent, that doesn’t mean you can’t get a lot of use out of your bombers. Their performance and capabilities can be upgraded considerably, and they can host a wide variety of weapons as soon as you upgrade them to their successor: The B-52.



As we all know, many strategic bombers developed in the mid-1950’s are condemned to roam the Earth forever and must bear the curse of endless upgrade packages for all eternity. This means that you can easily upgrade your strategic bombers to carry a variety of new weapons. For lighter duties like destroying radar sites, airports and army bases, you have your choice between primitive iron bombs, guided air-to-ground missiles, or long-range air-launched cruise missiles, which also come with a nuclear-armed counterpart. Air-launched ballistic missiles, which offer more range and a bigger punch than cruise missiles, are also at your disposal if you need to deliver a heavy blow without getting too close. And of course, if the enemy’s been worn down or if you’re feeling especially brazen, you can always just load up the biggest, baddest gravity bomb you can find and dump it on a major city during rush hour.



As for the actual bombers themselves, your standard strategic bombers have a few incarnations they can go through as you upgrade them. Starting with the B-47, then moving on to the ubiquitous B-52 lineage, and then to the supersonic B-1 Lancers, and finally the stealthy B-2s and B-21s. For players who are highly focused on their bomber fleet and don’t mind investing a little more into their nuclear strike capabilities, there’s also specially built high-speed bombers, which don’t have the same reach and offer fewer weapon options, but are very fast and can pack a serious punch over short distances. This particular pedigree is kept separate from the regular bombers, is expensive to build and requires specialized airbases, but can fill a valuable niche if you can employ it effectively, and it also has some serious potential if it’s upgraded further…



Now, there’s more to running an air campaign than dumping bombs on people. To keep enemy aircraft at bay and take on more tactical targets, the fighter/attacker combo from ICBM 1 is making a comeback. Like before, fighters are designed to effectively punch out enemy aircraft, while multirole attackers can deploy bombs, rockets, AGMs and even nuclear-armed cruise missiles to take out enemy assets. Starting with basic, gun-slinging first generation fighters that don’t even have radars, you’ll be able to upgrade your tactical wings to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and even 6th generation designs that are faster, better armed and deadlier than the last.



Adding to the mix are more strategically-focused aircraft, like AWACS, which are now less effective at reconnaissance but are vital for monitoring the airspace, as well as spy planes, which conduct long-range patrols to uncover assets deep in enemy territory. Also making an appearance are interceptor aircraft, which are specially armed and equipped to chase down high-value targets, and lastly, electronic warfare aircraft, which can lessen the effectiveness of enemy radar, pick apart air defence networks and pave the way for devastating air raids.



There’s plenty more we could talk about or delve into, but there’s a lot to take in so we’ll let your imagination roam for a bit. Hopefully this piqued your interest, and we can’t wait to hear what you think so far. Don’t worry, If you’re hungry for more, we’ll be back with another dev diary soon enough, and we’ll see you then!