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Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles
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Asid:
Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles
Mon, 11 November 2024
We?re back!
A taste of things to come in Task Force Admiral (KS Update 1) Where we?ve been at, and where we?re headed for. It?s been five long years since we began this journey publicly with our reveal on YouTube. No one feels that passage of time more than we do, believe us ? our lives have been completely consumed by this project since then, especially for Jean-Baptiste, our sole developer.
Make no mistake, if we could have released sooner, created a smaller game, or worked on a simpler endeavor, we would have. Perhaps it was hubris?but that same hubris kept us going despite the time invested, the setbacks faced, and the frustration of not yet having something playable to share with you.
Where we've been at
Although the pace of our Steam updates might have suggested otherwise, we have never let up on our development efforts?quite the opposite. Those who know us and follow us on social media are well aware of our steady progress, and there hasn't been a single week since our last Steam update that we haven't shared our efforts and achievements with our community. We chose to focus on the work itself, saving our energy on Steam (an interface not particularly suited to regular updates) for a more impactful announcement that would mark a significant milestone in the development of our video game. Today, that day has come.
Building a world one stone at a time
As for "the meat" of the game itself, we have made significant strides in further integrating our graphics and sounds into the larger game world to make it more vivid and immersive. Hope we're getting there - you'll be judge of our progress soon enough hopefully, but until then here are a few nuggets of contents released over the previous months that will give you a clear indication of what we're aiming for.
We are of the opinion that the sound atmosphere is crucial for creating a deep sense of involvement, as it immerses you in the experience and makes you feel like a true part of what's happening. Sounds are often your primary sensory input for what?s happening around you. The hum of engines, the crackle of radio transmissions, the distant roar of enemy planes, or the ack-ack of anti-aircraft fire ? they all contribute to making the game world feel alive and reactive to your presence.
Our goal is to make you feel right in the thick of the action, involved in the consequences of your decisions in the field, rather than feeling distant & safe. We want sweat, virtual eardrums bursting, and virtual smoke filling your screen. We?re just getting started, but it?s off to a rather OK start, if we can pat ourselves in the back.
Building an interface, switch by switch
The biggest remaining task alongside developing the virtual world was creating the entire interface that enables players to interact with their own forces and those of the enemy. This includes nearly all the tools needed for a so-called ?diegetic? representation, aiming to enhance immersion by using graphics reminiscent of the actual tools of that era, in addition to more modern-looking indicators available in the menus on both sides of the screen.
A diegetic graphical user interface is a type of game interface that is designed to blend seamlessly with the game?s world, as if it?s a natural part of the environment rather than an overlay. This approach uses elements that characters in the game could realistically see, hear, or interact with, rather than purely visual aids meant solely for the player.
In Task Force Admiral, most of the planning tools are designed to be diegetic, fitting naturally into the game world. However, we don?t see the non-diegetic approach as incompatible?quite the opposite. Non-diegetic elements offer practical alternatives, and we strive to keep these elements visually aligned with our aesthetic choices while still providing you with quick and efficient information.
So, that was a small report about what we did during that time. But what about we're about to do in a couple months from now? Well, if you're into some extra intel, here's the dope...
The World of Tomorrow
The Kickstarter
First thing first, let's be clear, it is not about funding. We do have other avenues of financing ourselves, so it is not really the focus on this campaign. There are many ways to raise funds in this day and age, and a Kickstarter campaign is just one way among many others. We could very well launch Task Force Admiral in early access, or make people pay for a beta. But this is not what this is about. It's more about what we can do, using the tools of today, so as to recreate the full experience of what we had back in the 1990s, at the time of the prime of the original MicroProse: big boxes.
Disclaimer: goodies & all still very much work in progress, the KS landing page should come in very soon!
I know, it's 2024, why still do things the old way? Nostalgia is hard to explain, but easy to diagnose. These behemoths are relics from a time some of us in our 40s something probably remember with much kindness. Preparing for this kickstarter was the opportunity for us to embrace that dream of ours - actually owning a game box, of our own game, while satisfying a urge that has been progressively denied to gamers since the turn of the century.
For the younger ones among you who might wonder what's a big box (courtesy of the excellent channel Ahoy)
As MicroProse has made experiments already with a prototype game box for Highfleet (a gem, this one, don't forget to go check it out too if you haven't heard about it), we felt it was time to try our luck with our community. As Task Force Admiral's fanbase has grown over time and has often mentioned its willingness to give us a hand, this Kickstarter allows us to provide you with such an opportunity - by either supporting us with a digital pre-order, or indulging in the guilty pleasure of owning a big, heavy box full of old-fashioned treasures. The choice is yours, starting Q1 2025!
The Demo
Since it wouldn?t be fair to ask for your support without showing you what we?re working on, we?ll be releasing a demo on the same day we launch the Kickstarter campaign. This will give you a taste of what we?re building, though, of course, some smaller features will still be disabled as they?re not fully finished. That said, the game is already in a playable state, and we?ll do our best to make this demo as enjoyable as possible.
We?re also hoping to include a few prototype game modes for you to try out during the Kickstarter campaign. These modes could steer the game?s future direction once we wrap up the core experience, and they?ll make ideal stretch goals. More on this and much else in our next update, as soon as our new website and Kickstarter landing pages are live!
The Sea Power
Of course, we couldn?t post today without giving a shoutout to our friends over at Triassic. We?ve been long-time companions, joining the label at the same time and supporting each other however we could along the way. Words can hardly capture the pride and happiness we feel knowing they?re nearing their big moment. If you haven?t heard yet (though, honestly, they probably introduced you to us), Sea Power is hands-down the most significant and promising game recreating naval warfare in the Cold War era?a true successor to Fleet Command that you didn?t even know you needed. Launching in Early Access, it?s a solid offering?give it a try! We?re confident it?s worth the investment, and that's hardly a dangerous bet! We don't believe many of you, if any, will be disappointed by this masterpiece. Fair winds to them.
As for you, go get 'em vampires & hurt them bad! Launching November 12 everywhere in the world!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286220/Sea_Power__Naval_Combat_in_the_Missile_Age/
I guess that'll do for us being back in action.
Believe us, we?d love to speed things up. But patience brings the best results, or so they say. For those feeling the wait, we apologize for the delays. And to everyone sticking with us on this journey, our deepest thanks!
To those who might be reading us on November 11, please have a quiet Remembrance Day, wherever you might be from, and stay safe. See you soon, and take care.
The Task Force Admiral Team
Asid:
Demo & Kickstarter : it's alive!
Tue, 18 February 2025
Ok, here we are! After a few hurdles, everything is a go!
Greeting to you all, Task Force Admiral followers !
It is going to be a very short update (the shortest ever, but it's been quite a day!). Let's be efficient, because some of you will be impatient to go out there have fun.
First item: our Demo is ready!
Just head to our store page, and it's there, in a glorious green button.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281220/Task_Force_Admiral__Vol1_American_Carrier_Battles/
Second item: our Kickstarter campaign is live!
Click below to go have a look and tell us if something inspires you! It will be up for 30 days or so, so take your time to see if there's anything you like in there, and don't hesitate to ask around if you need more information!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/microprose/task-force-admiral-limited-first-team-physical-edition?ref=88qb7r
And last but not least, a nice KS launch trailer from JP Ferr?!
Take care, everyone, and tell us what you think!
Cheers,
The TFA Team
The Task Force Admiral Team
Asid:
The State of the Demo & Kickstarter - Statistics, Changelog & Stretch Goals
Wed, 5 March 2025
Click for more details about the Task Force Admiral demo!
Dear players, supporters, and friends of Task Force Admiral,
We are thrilled to announce that the player base for the Task Force Admiral demo has surged past 40,000 downloads and activations. Yes, more than 40,000 people have tried our game. According to Steam's data, out of 30,000 users with measured playtime, the average duration was 2 hours and 23 minutes. Impressively, 18% have played for more than 5 hours, which is remarkable considering the limited content available!
We will not let you down. We are currently developing several improvements and surprises for the demo. To start, we will continue to support it by squashing as many crashes and debilitating bugs as possible. The latest changelog can be found at the end of this post.
Current state of the demo & kickstarter
The demo is being patched almost daily and will soon enter a phase where we start adding small, incremental content all the way until the end of the trial period. Yes, Next Fest was a fantastic time for us as we celebrated the Steam festival with you. Just as the demo was available before the festival proper, we are keeping it online until March 22nd, coinciding with the end of the Kickstarter campaign.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/microprose/task-force-admiral-limited-first-team-physical-edition?ref=88qb7r
Regarding the Kickstarter campaign, it is going exceptionally well! We are nearing 1000% completion of our original goal and are well on our way to reaching the next stretch goal, which includes native support for Tacview. We explain Here and Here why this is not just a minor, inconsequential addition. It serves a greater purpose, and we're excited to achieve this milestone within the next few days. Once we reach that point, brace yourselves for the next step - it will be quite cool, believe me!
Need some cues on how to play? Worry not! Besides Wolfpack's excellent early video now featured on our steam store page, have a look at these vids - his part 2, of course, but also the fantastic contributions of RAMJB, Ryu1940 and The Warsimmer who will walk you through every single function in the demo - some you might not even know existed in the first place!
As for the limitations of the demo, it's important to clarify a couple of things. Two features are currently unsupported (even if, under the right circumstances, they might seem viable): maneuvers near land masses (due to the absence of actual pathfinding for our AI) and surface combat (which is currently only implemented as a token defense system for your ships). There's no need to report issues with these; they are intentionally not fully implemented yet. To the question, "Will they be supported?" I can assure you, "They certainly will!" Just not in this demo, not yet. And for those who might be tempted to venture too far north, be aware that you might get a "bloody nose" when our content update hits Steam sometime next week...
Bring out the big guns and damn the torpedoes!
About that, if you really want to use guns, allow us to show you an alternative that happens to be already available in the line-up of our publisher: Boat Crew!
Boat Crew
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1633370/Boat_Crew/
Back in the day we were pretty happy to introduce the team to our publisher, and so far it seems it was a great match indeed. Ever since then, Boat Crew has improved, found its public, and grown a fond community receptive to its easy-going - yet comprehensive approach to the topic.
Boat Crew now has it all, including big friendly guns and aircraft carriers, for more and more extreme violence in the Slot. We'll get to revisit the era & the area soon enough in our own way in Task Force Admiral, but until then don't hesitate to give the game a chance, the team sure deserves some love, and is on its way to accomplish even greater things, as one can easily see in their choices of gameplay modes & units.
Demo Changelog
Last but not least, here are the latest changes made to the demo over the past days.
LATEST UPDATES & BETAS CONSOLIDATED CHANGE LOGS : 05-03-2025
Note: changes made to both build (stable & beta).
STABILITY
- Another array of 10 different crashes has been identified and solved
- Fixed a bug that divided a task force into smaller chucks when speed was set too high
USER INTERFACE
- Added a small widget on the left of the air ops timeline to improve feedback about the air ops status aboard the selected carrier. A fly-over info tooltip will provide you with context on demand
GAMEPLAY
- Greatly improved timing of scout missions landings. Aircraft from these missions will land back on carrier at least three times faster
- Improved ship-to-ship avoidance logic
- Clamped waypoint max speed to the fleet's slowest ship, outside of damage. Note that a damaged ship will fall behind the formation until it is detached by the player, as designed
- Improved fighter AI behavior
- Improved large strike package formation keeping and behavior
IMPORTANT NOTE
- Some of the changes brought to the aircraft AI mean that older saves are unfortunately no longer compatible with the current build. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Big thanks again to all the players who provide us with the vital intel allowing us to catch 'em bugs & hunt down 'em crashes. Everybody have a great time!
For a complete changelog updated regularly, please refer to this topic in the relevant Steam discussion forum.
Thank you all for your time and friendship, and see you up there in the skies over the Coral Sea!
The DDG Team
Asid:
Demo Changelog & Upgrade, Contest, New Stretch Goal & New ways to have fun!
Wed, 12 March 2025
News galore for this 3rd Demo update. A lot of digest, take a coffee & take your time, you're going to need both!
Dear all!
A rather beefy update today. Stay with us, it will be worth the read!
State of the Demo: Upgrade incoming + Changelog
Win a Copy of Task Force Admiral! Screenshot Contest with the Tally Ho Corner
New Stretch Goal : Introducing the TFA Battle Stations!
Good Friends & Good Dope!
Read on...
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