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Jagged Alliance: Flashback - All News

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Box Art

Wednesday - March 25, 2015

RPGWatch - JA:Flashback Review

by Couchpotato, 04:02

After the announcement from Full Control about their financial troubles Forgottenlor decided to review Jagged Alliance: Flashback, and tell us about the state of the game.

I backed this game. I'm not sure why anyone else would have bought it. The early access reviews were dismal. The release reviews were just as bad. I didn't play either of these builds. I waited till the current version (1.2, which logically is the second post release patch) to play it, and quite honestly came with no expectations.

Thursday - March 12, 2015

JA:Flashback - Full Control Status Update

by Couchpotato, 03:21

Well in-case you missed the last news-bit Full Control was having financial trouble, and on the brink of closing. Here is an E-mail sent out to backers with more information.

"Team Disbanded / Slow Communication

Big part of the slow communication and lack of progress is, that the JAF team is no more. Everyone is gone and there is me left to handle it all. Both taking over tasks from the guys who left as well as running the rest of the company.

And people have not just been moved over to other projects as some people say. They are gone gone, not to return. Very sad, but that's just the financial reality of JAF.

I try to answer all emails sent directly to me, but I simply cannot find time in the day to read+answer posts on the forums. Sorry - but that's just how it is.

Future Development on JAF

Without a team, there is also no further development on the game.

We would have liked nothing more than to continue on for ages, but no salaries lead to no people lead to no development.

We will work on a quick bug fix release in the upcoming weeks in between other work, and then that is the final version from our hands no matter what.

That bugfix will take care of (right now at least) 2 known issues that we want to fix

female mercs in prone after loading
a crash bug in the pathfinder

In my spare time sometime in the future I will send over as much of the requested modding stuff to Shanga. But my priority lies with physical goods first.

From the start of this project we wanted to get the modding part of the community running with as many possibilities as possible. And that is still everyone's goal to see the awesome stuff that can be done in the future by the talent out there.

Best

Thomas Lund

Sole survivor of the JAF team, signing off"

Thank you ChaosTheory for posting the e-mail.

Thursday - February 26, 2015

JA:Flashback - Full Control Possibly Finished?

by Couchpotato, 21:12

Remember the last update from Full Control in January that blamed reviews, and backers for poor sales of Jagged Alliance: Flashback on Steam last year.

If you really think JAF is only worth 40% positive, then so be it. I cannot change your mind then, and we will be forced to stop here. But with only a few changed reviews or a good handful of more positive reviews, the new gamer perception would improve a lot and possibly gamers will give the game another chance. And with improved sales, we can again do more updates and features.

Now thanks to forum member ChaosTheory who posted new information from backers on our forums. It seems the developer might be finished. Here are the details.

"I see that many people are wondering about Full Control and the future of this game. For those who don't know yet, I will now provide the details to remove any speculations. Basically, FC is in financial trouble and mismanaged this entire project (details will follow):

Friday - January 09, 2015

JA:Flashback - Progress & Status Update

by Couchpotato, 01:38

Full Control posted a new Progress & Status Update on the games kickstarter page, and despite what the update says the game turned out to be a disappointment.

Here is a part of the update so decide for yourself, and leave a comment.

Launch and Reception 

As most of you by now have discovered, JAF launched end of October. The reception has been all over the board ranging from “Absolutely love it” to extreme hatred by a small rabid core group. 

While we do love the positive feedback, it is the negative one that has taken up most bandwidth online and internally at our end. 

The entire situation simply makes me sad beyond words. Not only for us and our own future, but also for you and the future of Jagged Alliance. 

Besides some rough edges in the game where most of those have been fixed by now, the major feedback issue really stems from expectations. And I think expectations from “outsiders” that have not been following JAF development as a Kickstarter project on a small budget, but expectations from hardcore JA fans expecting JAF to be the next JA3. 

As you and we know, this project was never meant to be a replacement for JA2. It was a project where we as a fan community could in unity get JA back to its core roots of great TBS combat, modding and create a foundation for keeping the brand alive. It was deliberately set as a prequel, but it is measured as a sequel. 

Stepping back and looking at JAF as a game, I think it’s a great little JA game. Its not a 9/10 – not a 8/10 either. But it has a good solid combat system that screams JA, and an ok story that has good elements. Modding wise it is miles ahead of where JA2 was when it was released. From a full blown level editor to external accessible dialogs, quests, access to LUA scripting etc we really think there is a great basis for lots of content updates in the future through community efforts. 

But – we failed to do expectation management towards people expecting JA3. And there is nothing we can do at this point to please those guys. 

What we can do and what we have done over the last months since release is to do our best to address whatever else has been coming up as negative feedback. 

There is now improved stealth, more weapons, weapon attachments, better initial levels, a nice shop interface, improved AI and lots of smaller bugfixes and improvements. 

Looking down the list of issues brought up and improvement suggestions, we have been able to improve on almost everything in the last months. 

 But at the same time, the gamers or even you as backers have not yet given us credit for this work by revising your reviews on Steam. We still have user reviews that are at this point hurting sales – and thus the possibility of doing future updates. Things hang in a thin thread due to bad sales with bad user review. Heck – I would not buy a game myself that has 40% positive on Steam.

If you really think JAF is only worth 40% positive, then so be it. I cannot change your mind then, and we will be forced to stop here. But with only a few changed reviews or a good handful of more positive reviews, the new gamer perception would improve a lot and possibly gamers will give the game another chance. And with improved sales, we can again do more updates and features.

Monday - December 29, 2014

JA:Flashback - Patch 1.1.2 Avaiable

by Couchpotato, 21:53

Another week and we have a new patch for Jagged Alliance Flashback that was released on Steam. As usual the game still needs a lot of fixing, but here are the changes.

Patch 1.1.2 Now Live on Steam (Win,Mac, Linux)

We've just added a new patch to Steam, which adds Russian Localization and is supported by a new Public Editor. New Kickstarter skins are also in, waiting from keys from steam now.

1.1.2

Bugfixes

  • some localization fixes
  • fixed AI bugs related to stealth
  • fixed bug with some of the AI units not wearing enough armor
  • fixed the mods menu to work on OSX and Linux
  • fixed NRE on NPC lookup that caused game crashes
  • fixed bugs in the Spigadoro quest
  • fixed the ammo duplication exploit
  • fixed the mercenary becoming wounded after level up

Features

  • Public editor updated
  • DLC clothes pack released
  • Russian localization added

Friday - December 19, 2014

JA:Flashback - Version 1.1.0 Avaiable

by Couchpotato, 04:42

Another patch for Jagged Alliance Flashback was released earlier this month. As usual the game still needs a lot of fixing, but here are the changes.

First off we've expanded the island of San Hermanos and add 3 new sectors (2 visble and one underground). With the new sectors we have also added a new quest that has a a "wild" twist and added lighthouses that negate deployment costs in the current and adjecent sector if you control it.

Attachments have also been added to this version, so now you can add up to 10 different attachment and just to name a few: Sniper Scope, Nightvision Scope, Reflector Sight, Supressor and Bipod.

We've also updated the modding menu in the game, so it's now hooked up to Steam Workshop properly and you can easily manage your mods.

Sunday - November 09, 2014

JA:Flashback - Review Roundup

by Couchpotato, 05:22

Here is a new roundup of a few reviews I found for Jagged Alliance: Flashback.

Cheat Masters - 7.5/10

Taking qualms aside, if you enjoyed the gameplay of titles like the Fallout games and Wasteland 2 or maybe XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Xenonauts, then it’s worth getting this game. It can be fiddly for those who are not used to it, but it’s as good as what you can get for several hours of fun turn-based combat.

Hooked Gamers - 6.5/10
Setting out to remake Jagged Alliance 2 is a tall order, and one that comes with high expectations from its fanbase. I feel it is important to put some things into perspective – there was no way that Full Control could ever have reached those expectations.
Softpedia - 6.5/10
Jagged Alliance: Flashback, in its current state, can appeal to hardcore fans of the classic who might be interested to see how it might be re-created using more modern tech, but I believe that most gamers are better served by getting a cheap version of Jagged Alliance 2 and by hunting down the community-made patches for it.

Thursday - October 30, 2014

JA:Flashback - Review @ Pixel Perfect Gaming

by Couchpotato, 15:56

Pixel Perfect Gaming has the first review that I could find for Jagged Alliance Flashback this month. Despite the games issues the site gave the game a score of 4/5.

Flashback received numerous bug fixes and patches during its time on Steam Early Access. And while those fixes rectified many issues, some still remain. For example: the range on some weapons is so short, you are forced to use knives to kill your enemies. Moreover, the Smart AI – which is suppose to challenge the player — will send in mercs to fire their weapons at melee range.  These issues are hardly game breakers, but they do raise some concern. Developer Full Control has been very good at releasing patches (in fact, one was released on October 23), so it should only be a matter of time before a bug fix / patch is released to address the issues mentioned above.

The environments are massive, and provide plenty of buildings, trees, and rocks to provide cover for your unit. And since taking cover is important, it requires some technical planning on the player’s part to be successful. Plus, to be truly successful, you need to level your mercenaries’ skills. The more advanced they become in a certain category, the more efficient they become in that profession.

Jagged Alliance Flashback is a great reboot of the original series despite some of the issues mentioned earlier  (i.e. the Smart AI, etc.). And while the game itself has been modernized for today’s gamers, the core elements that made Jagged Alliance a classic remain intact.

Sunday - October 26, 2014

JA:Flashback - New Patch Released

by Couchpotato, 04:31

Full Control released some bugfixes, and the German localization for Jagged Alliance Flashback on Steam yesterday. If my game version is correct it should be 1.0.4 now.

We have released a new update today including the German localization as well as some bug fixes. We apologize for the delay and wish you all viel Spaß!

Tuesday - October 21, 2014

JA:Flashback - Available Now On Steam

by Couchpotato, 17:07

Full Control announces that Jagged Alliance: Flashback is now ready to be taken off Early Access. So the game is now available for full purchase, and download on Steam.

Get Ready for Tactical Overload - Jagged Alliance: Flashback Explodes onto Steam for PC, Mac and Linux

Classic Turn Based Strategy Series Set on the Caribbean Island of San Hermanos Returns for a new Generation

Copenhagen, Denmark - October 21st, 2014 - Danish independent developer Full Control today announced the release of Jagged Alliance: Flashback, on PC, Mac and Linux. Jagged Alliance: Flashback is a reset for the classic turn-based strategy series, featuring a unique mix of deep turn-based tactics, role-playing and squad management.

“We are excited to bring Jagged Alliance back to its turn based roots with the launch of Flashback”, said Thomas Lund, CEO of Full Control, “It’s been a long journey from the initial Kickstarter funding campaign to full commercial launch. For months we’ve been working very closely with the awesome Jagged Alliance community, whose feedback has helped shape Flashback to the experience it is today.”

Based in the late-1980’s on the fictional Caribbean Island of San Hermanos, the elected president, The Prince”, uses his powerful military force to halt a rebellious group attempting to overthrow his regime. The revolutionaries quickly find, they are powerless against “The Princes” powerful military force. Jagged Alliance: Flashback begins when the insurgent army quickly dissolves after the rebel leader is arrested and imprisoned. Players arrive on San Hermanos to get the rebel leader out of prison as events take a turn for the worse. During the course of the rebellion, three charismatic individuals arise from the turmoil to form the legendary mercenary organisation A.I.M.

In Jagged Alliance: Flashback, the player assembles and coordinates squads of unique and powerful mercenaries to conquer the island sector by sector and turn by turn. The backbone of a deep and complex turn-based combat system is the economy system allowing the player to manage their resources to improve their mercenaries, buy or repair equipment and hire new members. Like the original classic Jagged Alliance series, Flashback tasks players to create their own tactics, whether that be rushing in with heavily armed troops to flank “The Princes” forces or from sniping enemies from a distance.

Jagged Alliance: Flashback comes fully moddable and completely integrated into Steam's workshop system. The player is free to create his own stories, levels or adjust the game to his personal preference and share that with the entire Steam community.

Jagged Alliance: Flashback originally received over $350,000 in funding through crowd-sourcing platform Kickstarter and has been in full development since June 2013.

Now available through digital distribution services Steam, Humble Bundle Store, Greenman Gaming, Gamersgate and Mac Gamestore, Jagged Alliance: Flashback is available at a retail price of $29.99, £24.99, €29.99. Players who purchase Jagged Alliance: Flashback through Steam during the first week of the release will receive a 20% discount.

Saturday - October 18, 2014

JA:Flashback - Developer Diary # 5

by Couchpotato, 03:46

Full Control released the fifth Developer Diary video for Jagged Alliance: Flashback.

Tuesday - October 14, 2014

JA:Flashback - Last Major Update

by Couchpotato, 04:55

Full Control releasd a new press release with information about the last major update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback before the games official releases on Steam.

‘Jagged Alliance: Flashback’ Gets Last Major Update Today!

Ahead of Jagged Alliance: Flashback’s October 21st launch, Full Control has today released the last major content update before launch. In addition to unlocking the Angetta and Secret Sectors, making the game now content complete, Full Control has implemented an Energy System, a Morale System, new weapons and a strategic map overhaul. Players can download the Early Access version of Jagged Alliance: Flashback already at its final retail price of $29.99, £24.99, €29.99: http://store.steampowered.com/app/256010/

New Jagged Alliance: Flashback Update Features:

·         Energy System: The energy system aims to create the feeling of exhaustion or vigoration at appropriate times. A unit will run low on energy after sprinting for several consecutive turns, simulating being out of breath, exhaustion or even unconsciousness.
·         Morale System: Every mercenary has their own morale rating. If a unit is shot the morale is reduced. This can cause both the enemy and the player to panic, run away or make deadly mistakes.
·         Drop & Loot system: has been substantially revised, containers are now accessible throughout the game.
·         New enemy spawn system: provides enemies with more varied equipment according to specific experience level and assigns them to unique squads.
·         Improved enemy AI: enemies will now go into cover, move or change stance and use their equipment to the best of their ability
·         15 new iconic weapons: New handguns, SMGs, assault- and sniper rifles
·         All Sectors unlocked: All Sectors from the final game can now be accessed and explored!
·         Strategic Map UI Overhaul

About Jagged Alliance: Flashback:

Bringing back the true spirit of this legendary series, Jagged Alliance: Flashback features turn-based tactics, crazy mercenary personalities and intense battles. Players must manage a squad of unique mercenaries to secure income and eventually take the island back - sector by sector, turn by turn.

Monday - October 13, 2014

JA:Flashback - Interview Questions

by Couchpotato, 18:10

Alright now that we received a lot of questions for Icewind Dale: EE we have the chance for another interview for a game many of you might be interested in.

So are you ready the game this time is Jagged Alliance: Flashback. The deadline is this Monday on October 20th so make sure you give all the questions you may have.

The clock is ticking so start now.Smiley

Tuesday - September 16, 2014

JA:Flashback - Early Access Impression

by Couchpotato, 04:32

Gabriel Mejia posted a short Early Access impression for Jagged Alliance Flashback on Two Dash Stash. Unlike the other previews  he says Full Control is making progress.

Currently, the game is available through Steam’s Early Access program is still a ways away from an official release. Nonetheless, the Early Access build of the game is playable, without any game breaking bugs or issues, and shows that the team at Full Control is making steady progress on the game. Of course, with some minor bugs, a spartan UI, and missing assets the game is far from perfect, that being said, combat, which was my main focus, was enjoyable and fun.

Thursday - September 11, 2014

JA:Flashback - Early Access Video Preview

by Couchpotato, 03:15

The Real Saving Content Youtube channel has posted a new three minute video preview of the Early Access version of Jagged Alliance Flashback.

Scott heads to the jungles of San Hermanos to hire mercenaries, and employ tactics as he takes turns in this Preview of the Early Access version of Jagged Alliance Flashback.

Friday - September 05, 2014

JA:Flashback - Tactical Overload Update

by Couchpotato, 05:04

Full Control has released the next big update for the early access version of Jagged Alliance: Flashback, and included the next video development diary.

Jagged Alliance: Flashback Tactical Overload Update

Once again Jagged Alliance: Flashback continues to expand and we have added a lot of new features for you to enjoy. Step up to your enemies and hit them right in the kisser, which is now possible through the implementation of melee combat! Not brave enough to face him head on? No problem! Sneak up on him and take him down in silence, thanks to the new stealth system.

We have also updated the inventory system and implemented a complete UI overhaul. Enjoy the game with a more detailed overview and a new way to quickly access your most important items. Switching weapons and tossing grenades has never been easier!

But it doesn’t end there! We have also added view cones and an interrupt system to this update, allowing you to make a lot more tactical decisions on the battlefield.

Join the rush on San Hermanos and enjoy a tropical island Jagged Alliance-style!

The new update includes:

16 New Sectors
13 New Mercenaries
Melee Combat
Stealth System
Updated Inventory System with Quickslots
Interrupts
Viewcones
In-game UI Overhaul

Wednesday - August 06, 2014

JA:Flashback - EA Access Plans & Contest Winners

by Couchpotato, 06:03

Full Control has posted a new update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback with news about the Early Access version on Steam, and announce the Logitech Competition Winners.

Logitech Competition Winners & EA Access Plans

We are back from vacation and hard at work in this surprisingly hot Danish Summer. Since we are not used to that here in Denmark, the office turned into a "sweatshop" - air conditioned offices are not the norm here (insulation is).

Despite the heat we have managed to make good progress with the game and are implementing the next features on the rollout plan.

We recently put out a small hot fix update for JAF, to get rid of some of the worst bugs that were reported following the big update.

We have collected the feedback we got from backers on both Steam, feedback mails directly from the game and the JAF forum and summed it up to give a better overview. Not all of the feedback and suggestions are there, but that doesn’t mean that it is not noted down :)

See the list here: Bugs, Suggestions, Feedback Overview Round 2

Our next immediate goal is to get a build ready for Gamescom, which we can use to show off the game to journalists. The build will include some of the features for the next big update, which is planned for the end of August, so the journalists can get a quick preview of what’s to come.

Tuesday - July 29, 2014

JA:Flashback - New Distributor Announced

by Couchpotato, 17:06

Full Control announced a new deal with SOEDESCO to distribute Jagged Alliance Flashback in various countries overseas. Here is the information from the press release.

SOEDESCO signs Jagged Alliance Flashback for the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Greece and Portugal

Who doesn’t know the cult classic Jagged Alliance 2 from the nineties? This classis military RPG’s now be continued with the turn-based strategy game Jagged Alliance Flashback which SOEDESCO releases in Autumn 2014 on PC. A unique blend of turn-based tactical battles through the most insane mercenaries with epic one-liners and cheesy action!

Story

1988, Caribbean. A corrupt leader holds sway over the Caribbean archipelago of San Hermanos. The Cold War is indeed behind us, but at San Hermanos fighting a rebel group still for democratic values and freedom. Once the head of the rebels has been arrested, the insurgent group, however, completely adrift. As a player, it’s your mission to help the rebels. Hire and train hardened mercenaries, equip them with weapons, advanced techniques and lead them into battle. Fight together for freedom!

As in the original Jagged Alliance, Jagged Alliance Flashback, offers the player a lot of freedom in his favorite tactic and playing style. The player can make his own missions and maps. In the new Jagged Alliance-game one remains faithful to the familiar gameplay, which moreover, has been refreshed.   

Features:

·        The cult classic is still alive after twenty years!
·        The classic gameplay is taken to a new, higher lever
·        Turn-based tactical combat, management of troops, and inventory planning: think ahead!
·        Insane mercenaries and cheesy humor
·        Different tactics and a variety of playing styles
·        Create your own missions, maps and quests

Jagged Alliance Flashback / Platform: PC / Genre: strategy game / Developer: full control / Release: Autumn 2014 / Publisher: SOEDESCO.

ABOUT SOEDESCO

SOEDESCO is a worldwide multiplatform  developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment. SOEDESCO has cooperation, with several developers and publishers in the field of gaming. SOEDESCO has his head office in Rotterdam, Netherlands for more information visit our website: www.SOEDESCO.com

Saturday - July 19, 2014

JA:Flashback - Early Access Review @ Chalgyr

by Couchpotato, 05:25

Chalgyr is back again with a new preview of the Early Access version of Jagged Alliance Flashback on his gaming blog.

Naturally, in the state that Jagged Alliance: Flashback is in as it is an Alpha that is still early on in the development phase (by the way, have you bought it through Steam yet?), the game is a bit rough around the edges. Even being in Early Access, Flashback shows so much promise that I cannot help but be pumped and ready for full release. The core mechanics, the personality, the flair, and the incredibly deep yet simple combat are all there and it is with an eager eye that I wait for more on Jagged Alliance: Flashback. You should too, as it is lining up to be amongst my favorites for the year.

Thursday - July 10, 2014

JA:Flashback - Early Access Review @ Cliqist

by Couchpotato, 04:13

Cliqist posted a new review of the Early Access version of Jagged Alliance Flashback.

Graphically, Jagged Alliance Flashback looks fine. The style is mostly realistic, which follows the same theme as the mandatory reloading and perma-death, and the environments generally look very colorful and finished. There are plenty of flaws to pick out, but overall, this was a fine aesthetic experience, music and all. There’s also a pretty massive island to explore, all sectioned off into a grid that you explore one square mile(ish) at a time. That’s all fine, but unless you are incredibly lucky in combat, you will never survive long enough to explore more than a third of this area.

Overall, I’d say that this was a really good game-in-the-making if it wasn’t for one thing. When I first got this, it cost $45 on Steam. No way. I’m unable to see Steam Early Access as anything but a place to get people to beta test your game for free. If you’re going to charge people $45 for the right to test your game, you’re crazy. It’s unfinished, mildly broken in places, and missing features. It needs to be play tested, and instead of paying people to do that (common practice for most of gaming’s history), most companies charge people to do that. They lose save data, they play a broken game, and they miss out on the inevitable 50% off sale that will render this game a fair trade. Not to mention all the surrounding controversy with this game’s distribution. It’ll be a really good game – when it’s done.

Saturday - July 05, 2014

JA:Flashback - Managing a Dedicated Community

by Couchpotato, 04:37

Gamesauce posted a new article from Full Control on their new game Jagged Alliance: Flashback,and how they handled high expectations of the fans.

First Encounter with the Jagged Alliance Community

After a hectic month of planning and discussions, the Kickstarter for Jagged Alliance: Flashback went live in April 2013. Even though we had been warned that the Jagged Alliance community was a very demanding bunch, we weren’t prepared for the massive amount of questions and demands that were coming our way.

This was our first Kickstarter and since we were in the middle of developing Space Hulk, we only had around three people dedicated to getting this project up and running, as well as supporting it when it was live on Kickstarter. We were only in pre-production of Jagged Alliance: Flashback, so we didn’t have much more to show than concept pictures and a general design of the game.

Kickstarter Challenges

First challenge with that approach was that people did not really understand the concept of pre-production, and they expected an almost finished game design document with all details already in there. The second challenge was connected to the first; if you have a very general design, people will automatically ask questions about the deeper levels of the design, which at this point was sitting in our heads. Lastly, Jagged Alliance is a hardcore strategy game with very advanced systems and a complex design, so naturally, the community wanted answers for something like “Will the weight of bullets influence the movement speed of mercenaries?”. JA1/JA2 have been modded for more than 20 years and turned into completely different games, which is also why it still has a huge following.

We spent the first two weeks of the campaign answering thousands of questions and putting out updates to try and explain the overall ideas we had for this game in smaller and more manageable chunks. The community was doubtful of our ability to pull of this game, having mostly done iOS games in the past. They wanted a lot more info before they were willing to support our project. As it’s over a year ago now, I can’t say exactly where the tides changed, but I’m pretty sure that our high focus on making the game moddable and working together with some of the modders and designers from the old games made all the difference. The questions didn’t stop though, and it was a battle all the way to the end of the project, where it was funded seven hours before closing time. We have 13k+ comments on a project with roughly 7,500 backers. I can honestly say it was one of the most exhausting, but also exciting, months of my life, which is also why we’ve limited ourselves to a maximum of one Kickstarter per year.

However, this article is not about our Kickstarter. It is about what you have to do to manage a community with an existing fan base that have high expectations for the game you are making, but I felt it was necessary to describe how it all started and take it from there.

Friday - July 04, 2014

JA:Flashback - More Features & Content

by Couchpotato, 04:45

Full Control announced today on the following press release a new update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback is now available that adds more features & content.


‘Jagged Alliance: Flashback’ Expands, Bringing More Features and Content to the Island of San Hermanos

Full Control announced today that the next installment in the classic turn-based strategy franchise, Jagged Alliance: Flashback, has received a major content update with lots of new features, items and sectors.

For the first big update the focus has been on improving the combat experience, by adding more weapons and ammo types, allowing more tactical options and making it possible to reload guns. Throwables and a destructible environment have also been some of the first features to go in, while the whole northern part of the island has been opened up, significantly increasing the area for players to explore. 

Jagged Alliance: Flashback update features:

·       Advanced Combat (SMGs and Handguns added, Ammo types & Reloading)

·       Female Mercenaries & Mercenary Variations

·       Grenades & Destructible Environment

·       Day/Night Cycle, Weather System

·       Northern Island unlocked - 22 New Sectors

Currently available on Steam Early Access, Jagged Alliance: Flashback is a unique mix of deep turn-based tactics, role-playing and squad management, The game plays out on the fictional Caribbean Island of San Hermanos in the late 1980’s, when an elected president - “The Prince” - uses his military forces to halt a rebellious group attempting to overthrow his regime. Powerless against his organised military forces, the leader of the rebellion is arrested and the insurgents quickly dissolve. Arriving on San Hermanos, the player’s first mission is to help the rebel leader escape from prison, before things take a turn for the worse.

To show off the new features the team has created a humorous trailer to give users a quick overview of the update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OniyfFUeDc8

To support modding Full Control and Logitech have teamed up for a community contest, where users can win Logitech gear and get to make items and a sector for the actual game. The competition has just been prolonged and is now set to end on July 13th, more info can be found here:

JAF Modding & Community Competition

Jagged Alliance: Flashback is available for $44.99/€39.99 now through Steam Early Access: http://store.steampowered.com/app/256010

For more information on the game, please see: http://www.jaggedallianceflashback.com

Thursday - July 03, 2014

JA:Flashback - Backers Feeling Burned

by Couchpotato, 05:04

A big part of why people back a game on Kickstarter is to get access to the many perks associated with helping a game come full circle. One of the perks people look the most forward too (and often give the most money for) is early access to the games they back.  However, as we all know, a good portion of Early Access is done on Steam; and Steam’s Early Access program can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how it’s used.  Unfortunately for some backers, Jagged Alliance: Flashback is one of those cases of a bad Early Access experience.

Browsing the comments section for JA: F (looking for a way to finish level one), I was shocked to see outrage directed at the developers about something other than the complete lack of a basic tutorial. Backers of all tiers still aren’t playing the game. It’s currently available on Steam Early Access for $45, which is already far too expensive for a beta, but backers who were told they’d be given access (including some backers that pledged over $50) still don’t have it. People who grabbed the game during the recent Steam sales are playing right now, but many backers still aren’t able to play until they drop the extra $45 to buy something they were already told they’d be getting. The developers are trying to do a bit of damage control, saying that the choices backers made were their own, but I’m sure many thought that “early access” meant that they’d be playing the early access. Backers are still getting the game (eventually), in addition to their other backer-exclusive rewards, but is this fair?

Saturday - June 14, 2014

JA:Flashback - Preview @ Pixelrelated

by Couchpotato, 05:31

Pixelrelated played the Steam Early Access version of Jagged Alliance Flashback , and shared a new preview of what they think of the game.

With the promise of more guns, explosions, destructible cover, and some sort of “resource management” involving the overworld map, I’m looking forward to reviewing the finished product. Eventually. If you believe in what they’re trying to accomplish, and are the sort who regularly pre-orders games, then plunking down $45.00 and getting what is essentially an early demo isn’t a bad deal. Just don’t expect anything resembling a finished product.

Sunday - June 08, 2014

JA:Flashback - Preview @ Noobfeed

by Couchpotato, 03:09

Noobfeed takes a look at the Early Access Beta of Jagged Alliance: Flashback, and shares their opinion of the game after playing it. Here is a sample of the preview.

Like every Jagged Alliance in the past, Flashback’s story is still stellar. Although we weren’t able to play a full version, what we were exposed to was interesting and engaging. It’s a compelling story that, although has been told several times from different points of view, never ceases to be attractive.

One of the aspects that needs to be mentioned is the diorama view of the maps. Doing something as simple as removing the fourth wall and the rooftop of every building, the game gifts us a vision that reminds of other games like the original Fallout series. The maps and the insides of buildings are uncannily detailed, and that attention to detail is always welcome and appreciated.

Jagged Alliance: Flashback is worth the wait and makes a beautiful homage to the series itself. The game promises a nice experience, hours of amusing gameplay and a taste of what is already an engaging story. Full Control Games has crafted something really interesting and, without a doubt, it will be worth your time.

Thursday - June 05, 2014

JA:Flashback - Linux Version Released

by Couchpotato, 03:59

Full Control sent news you can now play the Linux Early Access version of Jagged Alliance: Flashback. Here is the press release with more information.

Next Instalment of Classic Turn Based Strategy Franchise Out on Linux through Early Access and New Modding Guide Available Now

Copenhagen, Denmark - June 04, 2014 - Full Control announced today that the next installment in the classic turn-based strategy franchise, Jagged Alliance: Flashback, is now available for Linux users on Steam Early Access. Additionally, Full Control has added a Modding Guide to Jagged Alliance: Flashback on Early Access to help guide players through the editor to make mods and new sectors for the game. The game is fully integrated with Steam Workshop, allowing users to share and discuss their creations. The Guide, which will be expanded with both pictures and small video tutorials, can be accessed by visiting the following links:

Modding Guide: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=260683756
JAF Modding: Level Editor Setup & Getting started - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_v1j7B1IVU
JAF Modding: VFX - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSvl3JjAaXc
JAF Modding: Triggers (pt.1) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QuZQMIZw1A
JAF Modding: Triggers & Quests (pt.2) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plUhlb9RM-E

Jagged Alliance: Flashback is available for $44.99/€39.99 now through Steam Early Access: http://store.steampowered.com/app/256010

“We have strived to make Jagged Alliance: Flashback mod-friendly and even now in Early Access, players can design new missions with the editor running in the free version of Unity, which is the engine we use to power the game”, said Thomas Hentschel Lund, CEO of Full Control. “Linux users usually know a thing or two about programming, so we are excited to announce the game for Linux at the same time that we are working to really beef up the modding system. We can’t wait to see what our players will create”.

Sunday - May 18, 2014

JA:Flashback - Sales Packages Clarification

by Couchpotato, 05:14

Full Control has a short post on the Steam forums with news about the correct Early Access price for Jagged Alliance Flashback.

Jagged Alliance: Flashback Sales Packages Clarification

Friday - May 16, 2014

JA:Flashback - Live on Steam Early Access

by Couchpotato, 06:05

Full Control announced in the latest post-funding update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback the game is now live on Steam Early Access. So here are some details from the update.

Jagged Alliance: Flashback Live on Steam Early Access

Dear Backers,

We would like to announce that we are now officially live on Steam Early Access!!

A big thanks to all of you for helping us get to this point, we are looking forward to your reactions as well as all of the feedback, suggestions and input you may have.

To start off the early access with a blast, we decided to make a kickass trailer in the spirit of the old games, to give both old and upcoming fans of the franchise a taste of the 80’s action themed atmosphere.

Let there be no doubt, we really want to add both cheesy, odd and humorous elements to this game.

Here's the link for the Steam Store Page

Roadmap for Early Access

What is currently in?

  • The combat system (although not completely finished yet)
  • Quite a few sectors and mercenaries which are waiting for you 
  • Some quests are in there as well 
  • Daylight/Night cycle slightly influencing line of sight
  • Full features professional map editor and modable games + Steamworkshop integration
  • Probably lots of bugs we didn’t discover yet 

What will follow? 

That’s a tricky question. A lot would be the quick answer. We plan to have regular updates where we expand the world and the number of mercenaries. But these are “just” content updates. And as every true Jagged fan knows, content isn’t everything. Anyways: Expect such smaller updates more often. But don’t expect them to have lots of new features. Cause features will be added in far less often but much bigger updates. 

Please keep in mind that the following list is not a list of promised features, but a list of what we want to add to the game. If we find that something on the list doesn’t fit like expected it will, it won’t go in. It may be added at a later point, but we have to prioritize our efforts. 

The next big updated is scheduled for the very end of June, and is planned to include more advanced combat with more weapon classes, different ammo types and interrupts. Furthermore, we are itching to finally include grenades, explosions and destructible environments, as well as giving the strategic map more gameplay weight in regards to resource management.

Friday - May 09, 2014

JA:Flashback - Editor & Early Access Info

by Couchpotato, 05:54

Full Control talks about the editor, and shares new information about the Early Access version of their funded kickstarter game Jagged Alliance: Flashback.

Editor Rundown & Early Access Info

We are now halfway through the alpha phase and we have already learned a lot from all the feedback we have been getting through the game as well as on the forums. We recently updated the alpha and are now moving into phase two where we are introducing the editor, so the modders and alpha backers will have a chance to play around with the game a bit before the Early Access version is live.

If you have missed the info from the recent alpha update, you can find the info HERE 

Editor Rundown 

To make it easier for users to use the editor in this early state we have decided to create a video guide to get people started. 

The editor will continue to be developed throughout the Early Access Phase and we plan to integrate it into Steam Workshop. We plan on hosting some competitions where users get a chance to use the editor to make something for the game, but more on that later. 

We also created a written how-to guide for the editor, which will be added to the JAF forum after making this update live

To get the editor simply use THIS LINK. Please note that you can only use the levels you create if you have a version of the game, which means the alpha backers at this point. 

Back-up link for the editor

Steam Early Access Info 

As you all know Jagged Alliance: Flashback will be going on Steam Early Access in mid/late May, but so far we haven’t shared a whole lot of details of what is to come. 

For the Early Access version we want to create a cool experience for the users and give them a taste of what the game has to offer. We are trying to get as many of the core elements in the Early Access version as possible as well as show off some well polished environments and interesting sectors. 

We will be continuing to develop the game throughout the Early Access Phase and we plan on making 2-3 major updates that will add additional features and content to the game, besides steadily increasing the gameworld and content. 

We hope a lot people will be using the editor from Early Access launch and we are really looking forward to what people will do with it. Modding is the reason why the franchise still has a huge following and maybe also the reason why there’s still a genuine interest for this game.

Saturday - April 05, 2014

JA:Flashback - Interview @ Rock, Paper, Shotgun

by Couchpotato, 05:48

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has posted the second party of their interview with Full Control CEO Thomas Hentschel Lund, This time they talk about living up to expectations, and the importance of modding.

RPS: With the alpha going out, can you reinvent the wheel at this point? If people react by asking for changes to certain features, or a certain implementation doesn’t work as well as you’d hoped, can you make changes? Presumably, one of the reasons for the alpha is to get feedback. How flexible can you be at this point?

Lund: Er…42 (laughs). 42 flexible. We definitely think that taking all the mechanics for JA 2 and putting them in is what we wanted to do, so if people say they don’t want a mixture of real-time and turn-based with action points, they’re not going to see that change. But if somebody asks for an indicator for listening distances when sneaking, and they have an idea for how that could be implemented, we’ll definitely take that on board. That’s the kind of feedback we’re looking for.

RPS: Have you had much interactions with the JA 2 mod community?

Lund: Too little. It’s not four hours ago that I poked our guys to get cracking so that we before we reach Early Access we have the chance to discuss things with them and still have time to be flexible when we have their feedback.

RPS: Does it feel good to be this close to alpha?

Lund: It does. (pause) There’s obviously some expectation management. It’s the tricky part. We really want to hype the game and we think that we have a really cool game, but at the same time we didn’t get two or three million dollars in the Kickstarter, so we do have limitations as to the amount of stuff that’s in there. We’ll have to reuse some of the music and the voiceovers, and some of the models as well, even though we’ve created a whole set of things.

It’s that expectation management thing that is going to be hard. People might expect 200 sectors because there were more than a hundred in JA 2 and think that it’s going to be bigger than the previous game – that kind of expectation is something we cannot fulfil. There is a large large list of things that we really wanted to get in there but it simply wasn’t possible but we couldn’t on the smaller budget we have.

But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try and push it as hard as we can and, for us, a lot of the core elements is what we’ve concentrated on. Getting the combat right was the most important thing for us, along with modding. The combat has to be cool, interesting and complex enough that people want to play with it. If we fail on that, it won’t matter what we wrap the game in. It won’t work.

As for the modding, that is so important because it means that all the ambitions we had for the game can still happen, and somebody else can sit down and make it happen with us.

Friday - April 04, 2014

JA:Flashback - Closed Alpha & Early Access

by Couchpotato, 08:21

Full Control has a new press release with information on the Alpha version of Jagged Alliance: Flashback, and shares news about the game on Steam Early Access.

“Jagged Alliance: Flashback” Launches Closed Alpha for Kickstarter Backers and Unveils Q2 Release for Steam Early Access

Selected Kickstarter Backers Can Now Access the Closed Alpha, with Steam Early Access Rolling Out in Q2

Copenhagen, Denmark - April 3, 2014 - Danish developer Full Control announced today that Jagged Alliance: Flashback is now in Closed Alpha and can be accessed by eligible Kickstarter backers. Receiving over $350,000 in funding through crowd-sourcing platform Kickstarter, Jagged Alliance: Flashback has been in development since June 2013 and is due to launch in late 2014.

Additionally, Jagged Alliance: Flashback will launch in Q2 on Steam Early Access for everyone, making the game available to all who like cheesy one-liners and tactical turn-based combat. Developer Full Control seeks to collect early feedback from the community through Steam Early Access to enable all fans of the series to have an active part in the development process. Through the additional funding new features and content can be added to make the game that fans of the franchise have always imagined. In order to get access to the closed alpha, or more information, visit: http://www.jaggedallianceflashback.com/

“We are happy to announce that Jagged Alliance: Flashback is finally in Alpha, with Steam Early Access close on its heels”, said Thomas Lund, CEO of Full Control. "Fans of the franchise will be excited about the return of the beloved turn-based action of the original game, and we can't wait to get feedback from our Kickstarter backers and the rest of the community when Early Access on Steam begins. So go ahead, talk to us! We want to make this game as great possible for the fans of the franchise, which is also why we have chosen to focus heavily on the modability of the game."

Based in the late-1980’s on the fictional Caribbean Island of San Hermanos, The Prince”, the elected president, uses his powerful military forces to stop a rebellious group who are attempting to overthrow him. “The Prince” does not play by the rules and the revolutionaries are powerless against his military forces. The rebel leader gets arrested, and the insurgent army dissolves. Once players arrive on San Hermanos to get the rebel leader out of prison, things take a turn for the worse.

Gameplay features a unique mix of deep turn-based tactics, role-playing and sector management. The Kickstarter campaign, and now the Steam Early Access release, gives fans the opportunity to determine the scope and scale of Jagged Alliance: Flashback by directly influencing the shape of the game and participating during its development.

Thursday - April 03, 2014

JA:Flashback - Interview @ RPS

by Myrthos, 09:26

With the alpha version of Jagged Alliance: Flashback becoming available today to backers, Rock Paper Shotgun took this opportunity to chat with Full Control's Thomas Lund.

RPS: Are there things that you thought would work, or that the Jag or Kickstarter community thought would work, that when you’ve prototyped them you’ve realised that they’re just not very enjoyable? There’s sometimes a danger of overcomplicating and veiling the core mechanics.

Lund: A lot of the things that we ended up not implementing have been on the plan since day one, since our aim was to take JA 2 as a baseline. We have the source code, as others do as well, and we’ve been fishing through to dig out the mechanics. Some things were a given, that we knew had to be the same way, and we haven’t diverted far at all. It was important to modernise without taking it too far from JA 2.

A lot of the modernisation is interface-based, so adding context-sensitive cursors and more information in the HUD. That explains some of the underlying mechanics and in JA 2 there were mechanics that were never explained – we talked to some of the original developers and dug through that source code, and found that there are a lot of things that have no explanation and no real impact.
So we had a discussion. Do we remove those things because they have no real impact? That’s the kind of thing we work out in prototypes.

Experimentation-wise, the changes we have made from our original plan is mostly on the story side. The original plan that we thought up and used on the Kickstarter is a Cold War setting, where we did have remnants of the Soviet Union and the US forces fighting on an island. The logo was the Hammer and Sickle. That has totally changed as we moved through the story planning.

Tuesday - April 01, 2014

JA:Flashback - Facebook Updates

by Couchpotato, 06:06

Full Control posted a few updates this month on Facebook for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. The first post is about kickstarter surveys they sent out.

Sending out Kickstarter surveys at the moment. It's pretty tricky to keep track of everything and we probably have to do follow ups..at least I just remembered that we have 2 t-shirt models 1 with logo and 1 with a hamster..so $100Tier backers and people who have paid for an add-on we'll have to do follow-ups with to get that info. I haven't forgotten about paypal backers, but we need to use a totally different system in order to get that info. 1 thing at a time.

The second post is some information about the DRM-free boxed version

Changes regarding the boxed versions

After having received a few mails about backers being unhappy with only having the Steam version on the disc, we have decided to add the DRM-free version to it as well, as we don't want people to feel mislead or cheated in any way.

Originally we decided to make it a Steam version on the disc and then allow people who have paid for a boxed version to download a DRM-free version as well. This approach was taken to cut down costs as we would need to create the approx 400-500 discs separately.

Thursday - March 06, 2014

JA:Flashback - Post-Funding Update #39

by Couchpotato, 09:20

Full Control released a new update last week for Jagged Alliance: Flashback that I missed in my e-mail. The update talks about the first playable build.

Dev Diary 2, First Playable and Merc Competition Winner

It’s update time again and we are looking forward to sharing news on the progress we have been making on JAF, so let's get to it!

First playable

We have made a first playable version of the game, which means that we have a sector in which we can have mercenaries walk around in, so very basic. However, this means that we’re closing in on opening up for the alpha backers within the next few weeks. We plan on releasing small slices of the for alpha backers once they’re ready, so we can get feedback as soon as possible. You can see glimpses from the first playable and get bit more info on the alpha in the dev diary.

Next Batch of Surveys

As we need to make sure which backers have access to the alpha version of the game we’ll be sending out the next batch of surveys soon, which will go up to the $220 tier as the $250 tier and above automatically get access to the alpha version. Please respond to the surveys as fast as possible so we can get a clear overview :). Thanks!

They also released a new development diary video.

Dev Diary 2

We have created a new dev diary for you! This time around we wanted to give you a small glimpse behind the scenes. Similar to how we do it with the rest of the team internally, we casually share some of things we were working on. Hope you enjoy what you see! Bear in mind that all footage from the game is still pre-alpha, and does not represent the final quality - we are also still working on improving our movie making skills as we go along with the production.

Thursday - January 16, 2014

JA:Flashback - Post-funding Update #38

by Myrthos, 12:31

Next to an update about the flag and mercenary competitions for Jagged Alliance: Flashback this update also shares with us a sneak peek of the editor that will be part of the game.

Since the end of our Kickstarter the editor has been a hot topic and backers wanted to know more about modding, so therefore we have decided to share a first glimpse of our internal level editor in action with the community. Our Level Designer, Filip Pilebo, gave it a quick run through, see below:

Monday - December 16, 2013

JA:Flashback - Post-funding Update #37

by Couchpotato, 22:53

In the latest post-funding update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback Full Control talks about game mechanics, and a new christmas competition.

Cover, Line of Sight and Christmas Competition

Christmas is right around the corner but it has not really hit the office yet. We are pushing hard to give a first view of the first sector with final assets before we close down the office for a short Christmas break. The first view will be either some screenshots, a small 360 video or a small test scene like the Diorama.  

As mentioned in the last update we have been discussing elements such as Cover and Line of Sight (LoS) lately and therefore we would like to show you what we have planned for these points so far.

Core Game Mechanics - Cover & Line of Sight

To start off we would like to outline the considerations and thoughts behind Jagged Alliance: Flashback’s cover and line of sight system. First, we will talk about previous titles in the JA franchise and what other games did, talk about our design philosophy in regards to JAF, and what those things mean for the direction we are headed with Flashback.

First thing we do is of course ask ourselves “What did JA2 do in regards to cover?”. The simplified answer would be: It’s unclear and not communicated well to the player. While there are mechanics in place, just from playing the game, the player will hardly understand to what extent an obstacle between an attacker and a defender provides cover.

As Flashback’s game mechanics are underlying a grid based shape, we can look at what other games of the genre did before us. Silent Storm falls into a similar category as JA2 in that respect - probably even more elaborated in regards to cover, LoS and destructibility mechanics, it fails for the same reasons - player communication & feedback. As an example, when moving a soldier to the edge of a truck, the game does not provide the player with a clear indication whether his unit will be in cover, or be able to see the enemy. For JAF, one of our design pillars is to make the game mechanics visible to the player, and let him take informed decisions.

Monday - November 18, 2013

JA:Flashback - Developer Diary Video

by Couchpotato, 01:14

Full Control has released a new developer diary video for Jagged Alliance: Flashback.

Today we have a real treat for you, it’s our first Developer Diary. We have been focusing a lot on characters in the game as well as body types, so enjoy the detailed video on that below. We have had a few issues with synchronizing the audio in some places, but we decided to go ahead anyway as we know you want news news news :)

Monday - October 21, 2013

JA:Flashback - Post-Funding Update #35

by Couchpotato, 00:52

Full Control has posted a new post-funding update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback with new art concepts, and news about the games website.

New Site is live

The New site is finally live and we apologize for the delays on that account, setting up took a lot longer than we anticipated. It’s a site that’s been built from the ground up and therefore doesn't have all the fancy features and fluff that one may be used to from other forums. We chose this approach because we needed a system that would fit with the Kickstarter setup, which simply wasn't available anywhere else.

Please register with the email you used for Kickstarter (Or PayPal)

If you run into any issues with the site, please send a mail to support@fullcontrol.dk

Click HERE to go to the new site

Art Concepts

Since the artists joined the JAF team the office has been buzzing and we’ve had several meetings, discussions and looked over loads of research material. Together with the design team, we’ve agreed on the overall art style, tile and sector sizes and what sort of environment we plan to have in the game. As you know our first focus will be the vertical slice so the first concepts have been targeted at that, see below: 

The plan so far is to create a sector that contains a worn down gas station with a connecting junkyard out back. 

Gas Station Concepts: 

Click here for image

Prop for the Junkyard: 

Click here for image

A Concept Overview of the full Sector: 

Click here for image

That’s all for this time! We look forward to bringing you even more details on the vertical slice and features in the game.

Wednesday - September 25, 2013

JA:Flashback - Post-Funding Update #34

by Couchpotato, 01:03

Full Control has a new post-funding update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback about shifting gears, and the developers short term roadmap.

Short Term Roadmap

Having launched Space Hulk we’re now in a position where we can start to move some of the team to the Jagged Alliance: Flashback project. Initially we have moved some of the artist onto JAF. They have started deciding on the final style and which art sets/assets we’re going to have in the game. Jesper already started to play around with what the characters should look like, so I grabbed a quick shot of it.

The approach for JAF is very different than Space Hulk as it’s a crowdfunded game, which opens up for many opportunities to get feedback and fine tune the game during the development stages. As stated earlier we want to include contributions from the community, be it sounds, voices or models...but only if we find the quality and content to be good enough. We’re also going to put some decisions up for vote e.g. “what should this sector include?” and then give you options to choose from. 

As you know from the Kickstarter we will have an closed alpha, closed beta and also early access to the game. Below you can see our plans for these. 

Alpha: 

So far we plan to have a playable vertical slice of the game ready for late 2013 early 2014, which will be available to backers who paid for alpha access. A vertical slice is basically a small slice of the tactical game where you see the core functionality and style that is planned to be in the final version. 

The feedback that you as alpha access contributor have will be essential in the rest of the process, as we will tweak the system from this slice and forward. 

Beta & Early Access 

Planning for these is hard to do as they’re both dependent on the feedback we get from the alpha tester and also what’s possible from a technical standpoint. 

As soon as we feel we have a solid alpha version ready, we’ll be able expand the game some more and readying it up for beta. In the beta we will introduce the strategic level and additional content and sectors, which you’ll hear much more about once we get closer. 

For the early access it’s really too...early to say. We want the backers to have access to the game as early as possible, so we can get proper feedback, find bugs and fine tune the game before release, but we need to have a somewhat finished game ready before that’s possible.

 

Monday - September 02, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - GC Interview

by Gorath, 22:06

The German site Games-Panorama used the opportunity to interview Space Hulk developer Full Control about their plans with the upcoming Jagged Alliance: Flashback.

Found via GamersGlobal.

Thursday - July 25, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Production Status

by Myrthos, 12:26

In his own blog, Jagged Alliance Flashback writer Morten Brunbjerg talks about the current production status by answering some questions raised by fans.

Have you guys started working on JAF?

Some Jagged Alliance fans are worried that we haven't started working on JAF yet. Let me assure you that I've been working hard on the JAF story for the last 5 weeks. Filip Pilebo, the level designer, and I are working closely together on creating the game world, story and map at the moment. Right now Filip is sitting behind me drawing yet another version of the map and fitting in the latest ideas.


Are the programmers and artists busy yet?

It wouldn't make sense to get programmers and artists working on JAF right now We're changing plot details and map design every second day at the moment. There's simply nothing for a programmer or artist to do yet.

In short, the game is in a very early stage of development.

Thursday - July 18, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Post-Funding Update #33

by Couchpotato, 02:55

Jagged Alliance: Flashback has a new post-funding update from Full Control. The update announces new team members, and gives a update on the game.

Dear Backers,

It’s been awhile since our last update, but we have been busy getting Space Hulk ready for pre-order, which will start very soon. As many of you probably know the success of Space Hulk will benefit Jagged Alliance: Flashback as we will have additional funds to devote to the game development. Lets get right to the JAF news :)

Kickstarter Ending:

The Kickstarter has officially ended and now we’ll be looking to connect all loose ends, in terms of backers final tier position, which add-ons they chose and so forth. We can’t say exactly when we’ll start doing surveys and such because of Space Hulk, but now we at least have the “final” data. I say “final” because we’ll continue collecting funds for the development of JAF in Slacker Backer Mode, which also counts towards the Stretch Goals.

The Current Total 16/7-2013 = $390,600

As we haven’t had material available to promote the extended JAF kickstarter, we haven’t been getting a whole lot of coverage for the extended Kickstarter, but we plan on doing regular PR pushes when release major elements from the game or have something big to announce. In all our JAF releated PR we’ll mention the slacker backer option - Ultimately attracting more people.

We'll make sure that all the remaining Paypal backers gain access to the classic pack ASAP.

Thursday - June 20, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Post-Funding Update #32

by Couchpotato, 00:34

Jagged Alliance: Flashback has a new post-funding update on the games kickstarter website.

We are back on top of things and we are keeping ourselves busy on several accounts. Most importantly we finally got everything in place with Humble Bundle so you guys can get access to the Classic Pack.

We’re sorry for the delay, but we didn't anticipate that Humble Bundle wanted the full tier system in place from the beginning instead of “just” handing out download keys to a list of emails. It was also further delayed because of our choice to allow backers to upgrade their pledge via PayPal, as that means we can’t put people in a final Tier box until the Kickstarter officially ends and we have sent out surveys 

Humble Bundle have been flexible and great to work with and we’re happy that we were able to come up with a solution together. 

Classic Pack info 

Some of you have already noticed the Classic Pack being made available to you on your Humble Bundle account, which is possible if you've used the same email for Humble Bundle as for Kickstarter. 

For others: 

To get the Classic Pack Simply go to: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/keyresender

You have to type in the email you used for Kickstarter (or Paypal). Once entered you will receive a mail with a link to the download page. If you don't have a Humble Bundle Account, Sign up, in order to claim the tier for your game library. 

You can download the game without making an account, but you're going to need the account at a later point anyways to claim higher Tier pledges. Let us know if you are having any issues. 

The way we’ve organized it is to put everyone in Tier 1 ($5) from the beginning, and then allow people to gain access to their official Tier once all data has been finalized. This way people can still download the Classic Pack and the Kickstarter can keep running. 

The list Humble Bundle have received is updated to June 13. So Paypal Backers who pledged after that point will receive a mail at a later point, to notify them when they have access to the Classic Pack as well. 

Progress report 

Right now Space Hulk is taking up a lot of our time as we are getting a playable demo ready to show fans how the game is developing. As the final budget for JAF is also very dependent on how well Space Hulk performs, we have to make sure we do what we can to promote the game and get it done right. 

However, this doesn't mean that nothing is happening for JAF 

Paypal Tally 

The Paypal Total is currently at: ~ $19,500 

This means that we are $10,500 from the next stretch goal $400,000 that unlocks a map editor. 

The Paypal Kickstarter ends at July 15th, but as mentioned we’ll keep some slacker backer options open. 

Story Writer and Level Designer 

 We finally found our story writer and he’s already been set to work. He’s sitting right next to me and my whip is only a few inches from my hand, ready to strike if he even thinks about taking a break. 

We also have a new level designer on board and he will be working together with the story writer, to make sure that nothing is forgotten, misplaced or downright wrong. They will be responsible for the overall framework, which then needs to be filled with creative, serious, fun, cool and juicy content.

Having the overall framework is in place opens up for moving parts of the Space Hulk team on to JAF, and beginning to produce content, which we know the community always have a thirst for.

Saturday - June 08, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Post-funding Update #31

by Couchpotato, 00:26

Jagged Alliance: Flashback has a new update for it's funded kickstarter.

The PayPal tally is at: ~$17,000 

So we are at ~$385,000, which means that we are only $15k short of the $400,000 Stretch Goal

See the site here: http://www.jaggedallianceflashback.com/pledge/ 

The Paypal Kickstarter will run until July 15th and will then go into slacker backer mode. 

The slacker backer mode will give the option to essentially purchase the digital edition, a physical edition and the collectors edition. All contributions go towards stretch goals.

What’s next? 

Good question, mainly getting an overview and getting a story writer on board so we can get started on the whole story structure and mercenary profiles. We already have some cool candidates and are in the middle of doing job interviews. 

Official Forum 

We’re fully reworking our Kickstarter mini-site, which also covers making a new and more professional forum. We want to get it up as soon as possible, but it won’t be until the PayPal Kickstarter comes to an end, at the earliest. 

We are also taking a closer look at budgets and resource planning at this phase, now that we know the Kickstarter and Paypal budget. 

Community involvement 

We want to engage with the community on various levels and are currently working on setting up structures that will enable us to do so, where the official forum is one of those initiatives. It’s important to keep in mind that this doesn’t happen overnight and that we are not sure what we actually need before we’re further down the line in production. More info on this in later updates once we have everything in place. 

Documentary/progress updates 

As most of you know, we’ll be making a documentary of “The Making of JAF”, which will require a bit of planning along the way, but will make for a fun experience in the end. We’ll be doing progress updates along the way having a certain theme or focus every time. 

Surveys 

We’ll be doing surveys to figure out which add-ons you’ve chosen, but it will take a while before we get to that point as we need to give our other game, Space Hulk, some love. 

Rezzed 

We will be attending Rezzed in Birmingham, UK (22-23 June), allowing participants to try out a playable demo of Space Hulk, feel free to drop by and say hi. Thomas, Javier and Andreas will be there. 

We are looking forward to bringing you much more info, images, videos from Jagged Alliance: Flachback and all your contributions and suggestions :)

Saturday - May 25, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #30, Post Kickstarter Info

by Couchpotato, 00:45

Full Control posted another update for their now funded kickstarter Jagged Alliance: Flashback.

We promised an update. And we keep our promises. Although this won’t be a massive update this time as we are still a bit exhausted. It’s been a “quiet” day, at least compared to the last 30 and we’re happy to announce that with the PayPal money we reached a total of $380,000 and therefore the first stretch goal has been unlocked.

$ 375,000 Mountains, Mines and Pits *Unlocked*

The first stretch goal will be an additional themed zone bringing the mines back into the game. We would like to add 10 sectors with mountainous region and at least 2 mines. Each with their own mining town.

We will create an art set themed for mountainous regions where locals have been digging for materials for decades. Riches lie beneath the earth in form of coal, iron and even precious metals.

Several small mining towns exist in the different mountain regions and can be controlled by the player or the enemy factions. So they serve as an income source as well as give interesting opportunities for fighting in the dark pits. Mountain regions have also been known to have hostile animals like bears and hamsters!

Up next

So what’s next? Well, first of all we will take a short vacation. We hope you understand that. We don’t want to burn out before we even start the hard work :)

As soon as our vacation is over we will start to update the Minisite. We are still trying to fix the whole PayPal-Pledges section, it’s quite a mess, but within the next week it should be ready. After that the real work on Flashback will start and we plan to keep you updated as much as possible. If you’ve got access to the developer forum we’ll certainly make sure you get treated to front row access on how it is to develop Flashback.

Post Kickstarter

First of all we’ve made a small change, we’ve decided to add the skin pack sitting at the $75 Tier to the $65 Tier as their choices are very limited. They couldn’t just add $10 to get it as they weren’t add-ons and if they moved up to the $75 Tier they wouldn't get a boxed copy 

If you’re a latecomer to the party but still want to pledge or want to get a few more add-ons in there, you can still do so by heading over to PayPal pledge section on our site. We'll keep most of the current pledge options available for some time and later move on to slacker backer deals. (it is possible to pay with credit card without having a PayPal account). The PayPal Section is still under construction and needs some extra love and attention before it's ready for add-ons and more, but we'll get it up and running as soon as possible.

All the money pledged after May 23rd will go towards Stretch Goals. you can find more info on those on this page and on the official site. 

Have a nice weekend everybody! 

The Full Control JAF Team

Friday - May 24, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #28, and 29

by Couchpotato, 00:20

Full Control has added even more updates fo Jagged Alliance: Flashback. This time it's good news as the kickstarter campaign ended successfully at $368,614. I said it would take a miracle for this to happen in the last 24hrs, and it did.

WE MADE IT 

Dear Backers

You guys truly are awesome :D WE MADE IT without having to rob a bank or Thomas making a last minute dash for Gold. We're so grateful and we just can't wait to get started on this incredible game. 

We had a lot of fun doing the Reddit and live "countdown" for the initial goal and we hope you enjoyed it too. We'll be doing updates during the development phase...dev videos and possible also live Q&A sessions (we felt really relaxed in that setup)

As mentioned before, we'll setup a Slacker Backer initiative on our minisite, (www.jaggedallianceflashback.com) which will run for at least 2-3 months, so both new and current backer will have a chance to make a push for additional Stretch Goals. And yes, we know, the page definitely needs some more love. But we just couldn't give it over the last weeks. But we will in the very near future. But yes, the most important thing is: Stretch Goals can still be reached.

Flugente joins the Modding-Crew

Sometimes weird things happen. And after the campaign is over, believe us, we have some weird stories to tell about stuff that happened here and there. Quite some funny anecdotes so to speak. However we’d like to reveal one of these little things today. It’s a little story about communication and how it can go wrong, yet end successful. It’s the story of Flugente, one of the modders who work on v1.13 these days. Actually that guy really did some amazing work and put more features into the modification than we could list here.

So our mission was clear: Convince him to join our modding-team. We contacted him, talked about what we plan and how we want to achieve this with his and the others help. And he was like “yeah, sure, I’m interested”. We wrote some private messages over at the Bear’s Pit. And everything looked fine.

Everything fine then? Sure. But not this time. Somehow both parties talked at cross-purposes. While Flugente thought he already joined, we thought he didn’t confirm that. And then silence came around the corner. Yesterday we were told that he wondered why he was never mentioned in the updates. We were like “Huh? Sh*t, we messed something up here!”. So we contacted him right away. And here we are. Proud to announce a last-day-joined Modder for the Modding-Team who already joined before without us recognizing it. Sorry for that Flugente! And welcome on board!

Thursday - May 23, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #26, and 27

by Couchpotato, 00:26

Full Control released two more quick updates for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. The total sofar is $323,852 pledged of $350,000 goal. The project mangaged to get a huge boost, but still needs more money with just 23 hours left

Kickstarter Recap

Backers and fans, let us tell you something. The last ~29 days have been quite an amazing journey. And we’re already looking back, getting a bit sentimental. Thomas even had a tear in his eyes this morning (srsly). It feels as it was just yesterday that we pressed the green “launch the damned thing” button on Kickstarter. Without knowing what would come, what to expect, what to fear.

It’s has been a great learning experience from our side and we’ve been challenged in more ways than we could imagine. And at the same time it has been a fantastic journey that seems to have united us with a large part of the community to dare dream the dream of another great Jagged Alliance game.

We are now approaching 6000 people who share the same dream. So we wanted to take this opportunity to make a recap of what has happened the last ~29 days.

- The most important thing is that people from all over the world have already put more than $307,000 (at the time of writing this) into Jagged Alliance: Flashback already. Again we want to tank you (pun intended, as always) for all your support.

- We recently released a Diorama of the game which everyone can download to get a feel for the art direction we’d like to see in Flashback. Thanks for the massive feedback you gave us on that one. See update #20 for more info

- From the start of the Kickstarter we realised that we needed to be a lot clearer and more specific in certain areas, we were in pre-production (and still are) and wanted feedback from all the fans. But the following two weeks we spent on clarifying major parts of the story, combat and strategic elements of the game, which was overall well received by the backers. See the following updates for more info: Update #1, Update #2, Update #4, Update #5 and Update #9.

During the Kickstarter we’ve been trying to reach out the press for coverage in various areas and also social media like Reddit and YouTube. We even did a Reddit IAMA . We managed to get some coverage here and there, but not at the level we anticipated, which is why we’d like to thank you guys for your help with pushing them to do those interviews and spreading the word among friends, family and on multiple forums! And Thanks to all those journalists who had the time to send us some questions!

Slacker Backer initiative

When we reach our goal (Yeah we’ll get there!!) we want to open up for a slacker backer initiative like they have on Project Eternity. The initiative will run to a certain date and all funds will go towards stretch goals. We plan to make this available to both Paypal and Credit Card backers.

The Paypal tally is almost $ 8,000 which means we’re already ⅓ of the way to the first stretch goal when we reach our initial goal.

We right now have no end date, and we are unsure what it will be. As long as we are in pre-production and even early production we can still add more sectors and story that fits with the sector. So we will announce the end date sometime after summer to give appropriate warning.

This also means that we will continue adding stretch goals as we reach the initial ones.

Bear Pit Interviews

Shanga and his fellow bears have been busy and cooked together questions for Chris Camfield, Ian Currie and our CEO Thomas Lund. All of the interviews were ready yesterday, so we think you should go check them out :D

Chris Camfield
Ian Currie
Thomas Lund

New Tiers

$650 Doctor Y No Q Tier: Phew, we’re glad you’re here, you’re rewarded with:
All previous DIGITAL REWARDS + Become a Doctor (Help co-design the Doctor and the name of the clinic co-write 3 responses) Limited (3)

$850 Bubba Croc Tier: *Snap Snap* it’s a Trap, you get: All previous rewards + Become the croc “farmer” in the game and help decide his name and the name of the croc farm. (Co-write 5 responses of your choice) Limited (1)

Wednesday - May 22, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #24, and 25

by Couchpotato, 00:32

Full control released two updates today for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. The kickstarter is close to the end and still needs at least $70,000 with 47 hours left.

Again we want to thank you for all this support, for your trust and your help. Thank you so much, this already has been an amazing journey. We love you. Honestly.

So this is the first day we’re going for a second update. Why? Just because. And Javier already posted this on the Bear’s Pit. But we want you to know his thoughts as well, as he is one of our leading heads behind the scenes.

Assets and Modding

Hello everybody! People keep asking about budget things and how much money we can spend on this and that. So let me give you a small insight on the Art-Department. One of the challenges we face with whatever budget we have to make Jagged Alliance Flashback is of course what we make with the time and money we get. If you ever worked with 3D graphics you know its a time intensive affair. And sometimes not always a loved affair. To bring in the love again we need to have an art pipeline that is efficient and reduces wasted time. Cause wasted time is money thrown out of the window. And honestly: Who the hell does that?

New Tier Bundles

$2700 Two Please Tier: You sure drive a hard bargain, therefore you get: All previous rewards ($2500 not included) + The $1200 and $1800 bundled up (ONLY THIS TIER) Limited (3)

$3600 Lead and Conquer Tier: You’re quite the multitasker huh, you get: All previous rewards + The $1800 and the $2500 bundled up (ONLY THIS TIER) Limited (1)

 

Radio in JAF

Kaboom! As you may know, there’ll be an in-game radio in Jagged Alliance: Flashback. This means that here and there you’ll find radios to listen to and probably also be able to carry one with you for the road. Crank up the volume and go for it. To make this part a bit more interesting we’d like to add different music from the 1980’s era and include channels, each with their very own music style which people can choose from (in terms of modding we think we’re going the Grand Theft Auto way to allow people adding their own music, however that’s not yet clear).

While we won’t have Elliot, the idiot, in the game (which is for obvious reasons) you may have noticed that one of our backers already pledged to become the voice of the local radio. The radio host will occasionally be able to comment on the current situations happening in San Christobal. These are triggered either by the player succeeding or failing specific missions and can even be used to hint at troop movements across the island. Elliot might be gone and the faces change, but rest assured we’ll try hard to re-produce the same tongue-in-cheek situations and dialogue from JA2 in Flashback.

Diorama Commentary Video

We released a diorama commentary video to go along with the this morning's press release, so you should get a chance to see it in the update as well.

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - " We'll continue to fight until the very last second"

by Couchpotato, 00:01

PCGamesHardware has an interview with Thomas Lund of Full Control about
Jagged Alliance: Flashback.

PCGH: 60 hours days left on the clock and there are still 80.000 US-D missing on Kickstarter - Will Jagged Alliance Flashback happen or not, what's your personal opinion?

Thomas: I have no clue. I hope it happens. That's all I can say. And that we'll continue to fight until the very last second. I mean, Kickstarter is nearly unpredictable. We have seen so many weird things happening on this platform already, it'd be insolent to think someone can say anything for sure.


PCGH: Do you think that the mediocre reception of Jagged Alliance Back in Action affects the success of the JAF kickstarter campaign?

Thomas: Hard to say. It was quite a hard way to convince people that we don't plan to go the route Back in Action has taken. I think we managed that somehow during the campaign. What I think is that it surely didn't help that much. Over all these years the Jagged Alliance community had to deal with several letdowns and troubles in terms of games. So it's quite understandable that those who already suffered from the pain don't want to suffer again and therefore are very skeptical. I can fully understand that but it makes me also sad at the very same time.

 

Tuesday - May 21, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #23, Call to Arms and I.M.P.

by Couchpotato, 00:12

Jagged Alliance: Flashback has a new update for their kickstarter. The update is basically a call to arms since the project only has three days left.

Call to Arms

We have gotten a lot of questions on what happens if we fail to secure the funds, will you restart the Kickstarter with a lower goal, will you do the game anyways, etc.

We have answered some of these in the comments already, but we just wanted to write it here as well.

We will probably NOT be doing another Kickstarter for JA:F! This one is it. Now or never. That has nothing to do that we don’t believe in the game. We do. There are other reasons.

It is a huge expense and stress factor for us. The JAF team has now worked more or less 8 weeks without a single day off - answering thousands of posts, making 23 updates, doing videos and dioramas, performing interviews, writing (mostly ignored) press releases, hitting every social media outlet we could, participated in forums all over the globe, etc.

So we are giving every last drop of energy in ourselves to push on these last days. We want this to happen just as much as you! But going through all that again is quite a thing I can not bring over my team. They don’t have a problem with crunching at all, but it’d be not fair to expect that from them again and again and again.

With the clock ticking and projections putting us just short of the goal, there is a need for help from you as well, if you are willing to lend that help.

There is a large mass of people on the basic game tier. If you want to see that game getting funded, please consider about sizing up the pledge to get into Beta. Or maybe even Alpha which will get you something playable fast!

Also we’d like to ask you again to spread the word. Poke your friends or older brother and tell them about this project. See if they are interested in supporting this. We will do the same. We’ll continue to ask everyone everywhere. We would make the goal if everyone had just 1 friend buying the basic game tier. Which actually is pretty awesome.

Nothing is lost yet, but we need the ball rolling! Please everyone help!

But what if we still fall short of the goal?

Nothing is decided there yet. The last option would be to go back to bitComposer and talk to them about this project. Tell them that there is still a community out there that wants this game to happen - and that are willing to help, push, pull, contribute - who have their heart at the right place. Maybe they will pull out a checkbook and still let us do the game as described. They once offered the funding, maybe they’ll offer again. The problem is that this would bring us far away from being independent. And that’s a thing we actually want to try to avoid. And if influences became too big, we’d stop negotiations. This might lead to us giving back the license and saying “thank you”.

As a last possible outcome, I have already started talking to my bank about taking a personal loan (The thing is: I finally paid the last one off for my house, but hey, if this game becomes successful, then shall it be that way!). But it puts a huge risk on mine and my families shoulders if even possible to persuade the bank. I am awaiting an answer tomorrow at latest. But I will not be able to fund it all myself to close the gap. But every little sacrifice counts - including mine.

And that should answer the “Will you do it on your own” question. We cannot work for free - we are not a “live in basement on crackers and water” company.

Monday - May 20, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #22, Minimum Budget Details

by Couchpotato, 00:11

Jagged Alliance: Flashback has another quick update dealing with funding, and a few other topics. AsI write this the game has four days left with $244,470 of it's $350,000 goal.

The $350,000 minimum budget

During the campaign we have seen a lot of comments which were critical in terms of our minimum budget. Many people thought it might take more than 350.000$ to produce a game worthy of the name Jagged Alliance. That somehow is true, but we want to show you why we are asking for that amount as our minimum.

Why only $350k?

We are not asking for $350k - we are asking for minimum 350k. The more the better. For the $350k we can actually make a good, although smaller, core game using the JA2 mechanics and some modding support to extend the game. We will also be able to make the project larger by adding our own funds as well as engaging with the modding community even further.

So how is this possible?

We can do this because:

  • We will see money from Space Hulk sale later in the year and can top off the budget with our own money. We just don’t know how much yet and exactly when money comes in. 
  • We are using an existing game engine as basis - Unity 
  • We have an existing framework TBS from previous games that can be expanded upon. We already sunk hundreds of thousands of $ into it, and those are given “free” to JA:F 
  • We have different technology pieces that we can reuse saving us a huge amount of time coding. From conversation editors over unit customizers to skill and experience systems 
  • We have access to the entire back catalogue of the series except Wildfire in source form - art, code, design documents - as part of the licensing deal. 
  • We will be engaging with the modding community to help us on content creation 

Overall this means that we do not have to start from scratch on neither code or art. We can re-use and expand on a lot of pieces (although a lot has to be reworked of course), so the job is much more similar to assembling building blocks than starting from a blank piece of paper. 

Not only does this all lead to less risk for us in production, it also has the positive effect of less minimum funds required. 

There is still a huge amount of work needed! Making games is hard, its expensive and time consuming. 

Manpower wise, $350k enables us to establish a 5-7 person team for approx a year. And with additional funds of our own we can possibly double that - making us as large as the JA2 team who had to code their own engine on top of making the game. 

We specifically need to work on the following areas: 

  • Writing story and dialog. We need to write a lot of text, map it onto the sectors, create an interesting island '
  • Lots of art and sectors to be built 
  • NPC conversation systems to be coded. Our previous games have only limited support for story telling, so we need to expand here 
  • Add modding support 

Sunday - May 19, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #21, Mercenaries and Diorama Questions

by Couchpotato, 00:22

Jagged Alliance: Flashback has a new update. The update this time covers the mercenaries, and if your interested has diorama questions.

We have been happy with the general reception of the Diorama scene and the general art style. We know it won’t make _everyone_ happy, but we really want to give Flashback a visual identity and art style. Not too comic, not too photo realistic and still inside what Jagged Alliance is all about.

Diorama Questions

One of the often asked question is, if the diorama is representative of a sector. And its not! It is a small visual slice of what you would be able to expect to see on a little more than a single screen. Technically there is no limitation of how large a sector could be. But there are gameplay related limitations of how fun it is to travel 10 minutes from one end to the other on foot.

Another question is, if this is final art and final models etc. It is not - a LOT can change during initial production and design phases. But Jesper and Javier have tried to hit the mood and visual style that is in their heads as close a possible. Remember this is 2 week effort - and its kick ass. So the game might in the end be a little more gritty, less color saturations etc - or it might stick to this initial take. But we don’t want the game to turn into a comic book - and we don’t want to run a bland photo realistic brown shader boring look either.

Last but not least is a question of camera angles and 3d vs 2.5d. At the moment in our heads we run a 3d environment with a fixed rotation and only little zoom. It is what we have in Space Hulk, and it works surprisingly well to not allow for full freedom. The current thought in our heads is to have a similar angle and distance as in JA2 (maybe just a little closer) - and then allow the camera to rotate 90 degrees with a single key press. But this will all be playtested and tweaked yet.

Mercenaries

Alllllll righty!!!

We have been through the list of mercenaries now and taken a look at who would qualify for a prequel, and who would be too young or not fit.

So without further delay, here is our current 3 lists. If we forgot someone you really want back (most likely we did), maybe misinterpreted backstories and ages or similar - give us a shout and we will take a second look. The lists are NOT complete through all games - we know that. And we cannot use Wildfire characters due to licensing issues.

Friday - May 17, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #19, Stretch Goals, Competition and A Tribute

by Couchpotato, 00:15

Update #19 for Jagged Alliance: Flashback is now avaiable on the games kickstarter page.

Stretch Goals

Although we made an update on Stretch Goals a few days ago and have reached $200,000 + opening up the Stretch Goals Box, we would like to add it to this update for all eyes to see. We know there’s still some ways to go before we reach the initial goal ,but we’re A.I.M.ing for a race to the finish.

New $425,000 Stretch Goal: 

The new stretch goal will be a small tourist island off the coast and have approximately 10 sectors. The player will be able to travel there by boat and there will be two fishing ports located on the island. Additionally, there will be a small resort located on the island, making it popular to tourist. Players can gain an economic advantage by visiting the island as well as being able to discover so called “easter eggs” along with special unlockables. 

Bear's Pit JA:F Events and Contests

As promised we wanted to give the Bear’s pit competition a mention, so here’s their hamster happy meal.

SPREAD THE WORD CAMPAIGN

Anyone can be the next San Cristobal bartender/gas station owner just by helping with spreading the word about JA:F Kickstarter: Rewards $125, $200 and $650

Follow this link for more info 

WRITE A MERC ONELINER AND WIN

Also our generous friend gdalf just spruced up his $220 reward for best merc/enemy one-liner by announcing STRETCH GOALS! Yes, he's going to add even more goodies to the pack, just join the fun and give us your line! 

Follow this link for more info

Tribute Sector 

 As a thanks to our friends at Obsidian, we’ve decided to make a special sector in their honor. The 5000 backer sector will be an Obsidian mine, where a secret cult of scientist resides and are trying to develop a new formula to become immortal, called “Eternity”. We thank the community for coming up with these awesome suggestions :D As Jesper is still hard at work finishing the diorama the visualization of the sector will have to wait, but we’ll get it up as soon as possible and also come up with the 5500 sector.

Thursday - May 16, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #18, Production Plans

by Couchpotato, 00:33

Well it's time for update #18 for the Jagged Alliance: Flashback kickstarter.

Production Plans for JA:F

So a lot of people have been asking what happens when the Kickstarter is successful. Will the game suddenly appear out of nowhere after a month and what does pre-production mean?

I just wanted to take the chance to give you a quick overview of how games are made.

In very! broad terms you have the following phases:

- Idea conception

Where you sit and throw ideas around of what would be cool to do, the overall settings, making some concepts and pulling things apart and reassembling them. You also need some business sense here to spot what you can actually sell and make a living off.

- Pre-production

This is where JA:F is right now.

Here you sit down and produce concept art, write overall story, settle on the major game mechanics as well as produce production plans. Who does what when, how much money is allocated to the story writing, who to hire for level design and so on.

- Production

There is a slide into production then, where more and more people get added to the production team. Artists will start taking the produced concepts and create core art assets (terrains, trees, houses, a few characters), level designers will start blocking out levels with boxes, coders will implement basic core functionality like movement and camera.

So what specifically happens with JA:F after Kickstarter success?

First - the JA:F team will take a week of vacation :-)

Then we will resolve the Humble Bundle pack distribution of the Classic game pack, as well as calculate in detail what the final development budget will be. Kickstarter and Amazon are taking their cuts, we have obligations to especially physical tier pledgers that costs money.

Then we can turn our eyes onto the game itself.

As we’ve said, we are in early pre-production - on purpose! We want to engage with the modders and with the old JA2 crew to make the final designs and talk openly with them (and you) about what we want to do, scope it all into budget constraints and so on.

We plan to run pre-production through summer and into September’ish with a small 2-3 person team. And then gradually move people from Space Hulk production onto Flashback over the fall.

Production will then run until sometime next Summer/Fall 2014, where we can then enter into polish/testing/release to get you the game end of 2014.

Wednesday - May 15, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #17, Modding Team Expands & More

by Couchpotato, 00:31

Update number 17 of the Jagged Alliance: Flashback kickstater is now available. Not to much new info this time except more tier changes, and a new addition to the team.

Today we’d like to announce that additional modders have joined the modding team! Modders Stan “sbobovyc” Bobovych and bugmonster.

Stan “sbobovyc” Bobovych, the creator of the modtools for Jagged Alliance: Back in Action. Stan cracked open the code and created tools enabling users to modify Back in Action.

bugmonster from the Russian community, author of the JA2'005 modification for Jagged Alliance 2 who also did some interesting things with 1.13. He will also be one of the first people from the Russian community who’ll be able to confirm that we indeed are not going to discriminate Russians as the evil ones in Flashback ;-)

New Tiers & Tier Changes

We’ve decided to add a new Top Tier and a special unique Tier as well as making a change to the $1200 Tier.

Tier Changes

$1200 Tier will now be:

$1200 So You’re a Bad Guy Tier: For the right price you may just play along, so you get:
All previous rewards + Help co-design an enemy in the game, who can be recruited to your team if persuaded in the right way. (Appearance, Nationality, Gender, Name) (ONLY THIS TIER) Limited (5)

New Special Tiers

$600 Woody Woodpecker Tier: You just can’t enough of all that wood, so you get:
All previous DIGITAL REWARDS + Become a manic woodcutter (Help co-design the woodcutter + co-write 3 responses) Limited (1)

$10000 Oily Business Tier: It’s messy but you’re swimming in black gold, you get:
All previous rewards + Become the Oil Baron of the island (Story NPC) and have your very own small oasis with a deluxe Bedouin Tent, surrounded by oil fields (ONLY THIS TIER) + Have a in-game statue or monument made in your honor and to your likeness + Become an honorary member of the development team and be credited as such with a framed certificate and thank you picture (PHYSICAL) + A very special Thank you in the game credits + 50 extra digital copies of the game. + Top tier forum Badge for the official JAF forum + Gift bag of unique items + Meet and greet, enjoy a day with developers, before the day of the official launch party (which you’re invited to as well (accommodation paid, transport not included)) Limited (1)

On a final note we’ll be making it possible for the ALL DIGITAL $600-$650 Reward Tiers to add the physical add-ons if they please.

Monday - May 13, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #16, Stretch Goals and Sneak Peak

by Myrthos, 23:52

Update number 16 of the Jagged Alliance: Flashback Kickstarter ($185K out of an asked $350K) brings us news on stretch goals and a preview of the Diorama scene.

$ 375,000 Mountains, Mines and Pits

The first stretch goal will be an additional themed zone bringing the mines back into the game. We would like to add 10 sectors with mountainous region and at least 2 mines. Each with their own mining town.

We will create an art set themed for mountainous regions where locals have been digging for materials for decades. Riches lie beneath the earth in form of coal, iron and even precious metals.

Several small mining towns exist in the different mountain regions and can be controlled by the player or the enemy factions. So they serve as an income source as well as give interesting opportunities for fighting in the dark pits.

Mountain regions have also been known to have hostile animals like bears and hamsters!

$ 400,000 Map Editor

Keeping in line with wishes for additional modding options we’ve decided to go for the map editor as one of the first stretch goals.

We want to build a level editor that scales with the costs needed, therefore we're starting out with a high level editor (for those of you accustomed to halo's forge editor this is something along those lines). You will be able to pick between different preset terrains where you can start placing buildings and props.

Additionally you will have control of spawn points for NPC’s, hooks for dialogue scripts, triggers that can be linked to e.g. alarms or the faction loyalty system.

And here is video showing the tile editor.

Sunday - May 12, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #15, World Economy

by Couchpotato, 00:03

It's time for yet again another update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. This time it's all about the Economy of the game. Sounds interesting.

World Economy

At the core of the economy we will go with a single currency similar to JA2 - moneh!

Discussion in the team about different options with multiple currencies all turned out to make the game way too complicated and not that much fun at all. Why? Easy one: That’d add a lot of unneeded micromanagement and players would spend way too much time with doing math on how to change this amount of that currency to another one to gain maximum profit. And to be honest: We’re making a game, not a geo-financial simulator.

So we will stay close to what Jagged Alliance 2 did, where you gain perpetual income from controlling sectors, solving missions, selling items and so on. And you will need that cash because your mercenaries need to be paid, militia needs to be trained and your base needs to be fortified. And with that system we are also going to balance the cashflow: Costs of fighting a war versus income gained from your sectors. But we’re also thinking about having some sectors which will cost the player money.

On this tropical island of San Christobal income sources are

  • Taxes from controlled villages and towns
  • Controlling sectors with production facilities like factories, banana plantations, opium poppy fields, brothels, ice cream trucks etc. These replace the “mines” from JA2
  • One-time revenue from missions, intercepting drug traffickers, selling weapons, used condoms and so on

We have the idea of letting faction loyalty have an influence on incomes. If you are in bad standing with the drug lords, then running a drug producing facility will give you lower income as workers will be nervous all the time for retribution. Being good friends with local population will give you a little higher tax from towns as people will like you and work a little harder, therefore generating more money.

Control over a sector is exerted by you starting to train militia and/or fortifying it. The heavier controlled, the more control and the higher upkeep. Although training militia and fortifying the sector won’t be cheap.

Money is also spent on your mercenaries. Similar to JA2 you will hire mercenaries for a given period of time and you have to renew their contracts. Bringing in mercenaries loyal to other factions is possible, but might cost you a little extra. And some mercenaries simply will refuse to join you as long as you a rooting for the opposing faction.

An idea up for discussion:

  • We are thinking about making some sectors a money-sink. For example a military base or a hospital. Because these things can become quite expensive in terms of maintenance.
  • You can lose control of some sectors if your faction loyalty shifts.
  • Roads and otherwise “empty” sectors cannot be controlled by anyone and thus cost no upkeep.

So nothing revolutionary here besides the faction loyalty being an influence. Your decisions about who to support will also be a decision about the money in your wallet.

Saturday - May 11, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #14, New Add-ons, New Tiers and a Team Video

by Couchpotato, 00:08

Well we have another update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. At least this time we get more info, and a video.

Overall Changes to Tiers

The dog tag with a special unlock gift is moved from the $1000 Tier to the $250 Tier and the Signed collectible 9 inch tall game character figurine is move from the $5000 Tier to the $1000 Tier.

For the $200 tier we will add the option of having choices to pick from for the appearance (Gender, Hair style, Clothes) + They will all have a special vanity item that sets them apart (e.g. a special hat, colored belt/jacket/item) to set them apart from others.

To even things out a little we've also added the $42 reward to the $65 Tier.

Since it’s impossible to change the tiers someone have pledged to, we ask everyone to use the reward spreadsheet, which will also be updated after the update is out. There’s a link to the spreadsheet on the Kickstarter frontpage. We’ll also improve the add-on section. 

New Add-ons

DIGITAL:

Beta Access $20 (From $25-$65)
Alpha Access $40 (From $25-$220)

PHYSICAL:

Paper map $7 (For $65, $100, $125)
Dog tag with Special Mercenary unlock $30 (From $100-$220)

Simply add the amount for the add-on to your current pledge tier and we’ll sort it out though surveys once the project is funded.

New Tiers

$15 Support your Fellow Man Tier: You’re doing the right thing, so you get: The Jagged Alliance Classics Pack (Also included in the $5 Tier and up) + Official digital sound track (ONLY THIS TIER) + Get half price off the game once released

$42 Ahh You’re That Guy Tier: I thought I recognized you, therefore you get: All previous rewards + Get your name in the NPC name pool and write a simple short response. Every time you start a new game the names will be re-shuffled, so you have a chance to encounter your own NPC in the game.

$62 You’re on my List Tier: That’s why you’re in the game: All previous rewards + Get your name in the Enemy name pool. Every time you start a new game the names will be re-shuffled, so you have a chance to encounter yourself on the battlefield. (If you go for the $85, $220 or $400 Tier, your response will be connected to the enemy name)

$8000: You’re the Boss Tier: And that’s why you’re rewarded with: All previous rewards + Become a base commander, get your own base and help co-design both the base itself and the commander + co-write the dialogue/responses. Limited (1)

NEW All DIGITAL TIERS

$650 It’s Time to Party Tier: So get your guns out and lets go, you get: All previous DIGITAL REWARDS + Become a Bartender (Help co-design the bartender and the name of the bar + co-write 3 responses) Limited (3)

$650 Running low on Fuel Tier: Maybe you should find a gas station then, you get: All previous DIGITAL REWARDS + Become a Gas Station Manager (Help co-design the gas station manager and the name of the gas station + co-write 3 responses) Limited (3)

FRIDAY UNIQUE TIER

$850 ICE CREAM *Ring Ring* Tier: Get your money out and treat the kids to an ice cream, for that we reward you with: All previous rewards + You’ll have your very own Ice Cream shop in the game and have the Shop NPC named after you and you get to choose the name of the shop. (Co-write 5 responses of your choice) Limited (1)

Friday - May 10, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #13, JA Intro Video and Community Efforts

by Couchpotato, 00:25

Full Control is back with the next update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. The game is half funded with 13 days left.

Community Efforts

The community is hard at work and have several competitions and initiatives going to promote our campaign.

The success of the campaign will be determined by getting more backers. So every community driven effort counts. We are very happy about every little push you give.

BIG thanks from here!!!!

Steam

Steam Group

You can join the new steam group created by the community, in order to get a shot at receiving free steam key for the game once the game has been released, the more people in the group the more keys to give away!

Bear’s Pit initiatives

Merc One-liner

"Write a Merc One-Liner and Win a $220 Pledge", sponsored by galf and open to all JA:F backers (and only backers). All you need to participate is a bit of inspiration and a screenshot of your pledge sent to gdalf's inbox. If you already pledged more than $220 you can always gift the goodie bag to a friend. Let's not make gdalf feel like his effort and money went unappreciated, ok?

BIG BAD BEAR meme

The "BIG BAD BEAR meme thread (with an occasional hamster snack)" creativity contest that we're running in order to provide social network memes for those who need to plug the game (or just have a laugh). Even FC tried their hand at this http://imgur.com/yJi4X3e


Wednesday - May 08, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #12, JAF Team Expansion and Modding Details

by Couchpotato, 00:51

Full Control has another update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. This time the update deals with modding, and new team members.

Chris Camfield is joining the Flashback Team

We are super happy to be able to welcome Chris Camfield to the Jagged Alliance: Flashback team.

Chris has worked on the implementation and design of several Jagged Alliance titles and ended up as lead designer on Jagged Alliance 3 that sadly was never released.

He will be joining the team as an advisor while keeping his day job at XMG Studios. Chris’ role will be to help us on essential pieces of implementation knowledge.

WHY were things implemented in a certain way in JA2. Not only HOW. The how could be deducted by most programmers by looking at the open sources.

Understanding the core mechanisms and how they were designed to fit together is essential knowledge to hitting the right balance once we add factions, better AI and other potential improvements/changes to the mechanics.

Establishment of Modding Advisory Team

In addition we are announcing having established a modding advisory and co-design team.

Currently this team includes R@S, creator of the Blue Sun Mod for 7.62 - High Calibre and DepressivesBrot from the 1.13-Crew.

We are also in contact with additional high profile modders to expand the advisory team even more.

Their role will be to work with us to identify essential modding hooks, directory structure definitions, design the templates for modding files and some proof of concept tests.

Having these great modders on board gives us the ability to not fumble the ball on mod support, and will make it easier for everyone to later potentially port their existing mods.

Details on Modding Support

Modding is a wonderful thing and has kept Jagged Alliance 2 alive for many many years. It is also something that takes time to implement right.

If we do not hit some of the higher stretch goals, then we can still support basic modding and hope for adding more options down the road.

Together with the modding advisory team we will prioritize the modding capabilities, that we from initial feedback have grouped into 3 areas.

1) Tweaking of configurations
For example being able to go into xml files to turn on/off line of sight via a boolean, or change the base movement cost per terrain.

2) Adding additional content
Having the ability to add a new mercenary, a new weapon or that “used condom” that you’ve always thought missing as a trash item.

3) Adding additional features
Coding new functionality like wind direction having influence on accuracy while shooting or alternatively altering existing calculations for damage models.

Exactly what is going to be moddable is something that is decided upon during detailed design and ongoing through development with the help of the modding-community.

Monday - May 06, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #11, Competition Winners and More

by Couchpotato, 00:12

It's time for another update for the Jagged Alliance: Flashback. The update this time shows the winners for the hamster meme.

It’s weekend and and we’re slowly but surely closing in on $150,000. We have received quite a few meme submissions and we’re so happy with them that we have found it hard to pick just one winner.Therefore we have chosen to pick 3 winners in total :)

                

The winners will receive the $125 reward and we’ll post the meme on various social sites to promote our campaign and make people laugh.

Congratulations to the winners ifsim, GermanMG and Lachlan, and thanks for all your submissions :) We’ll definitely be hosting 1-2 more competitions before the end of the Kickstarter Campaign.

Additional pledges and changes to Collector’s box

A few people have been mentioning that’s they’d like to both have mercenary quote/ enemy response and a collector’s edition we decided to add a Tier to give them the option to do so.

New pledge Tier:

$220 Aim for the eyes Tier: Yeah, that should do the trick so you get: All previous rewards + You get to choose to either write an enemy response or a mercenary one-liner. (ONLY THIS TIER) Limited (30)

New Collector’s Box content

We’re adding a paper map to the mix as well as upgrading the paper map to a cloth map in the $500 tier.

We’ll also be adding a Jagged Alliance: Flashback credit card holder to the the tier.

We’re looking forward to a new and exciting week with loads of comments, good suggestions and quality feedback. More detailed updates on the way and we are brewing up some big news to share with the press.

Sunday - May 05, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #10, Joining Kicking it Forward

by Couchpotato, 00:48

Full Control released another update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. Nothing new in the update mostly informaton on Kicking it Forward.

Kicking it Forward

The “Friday Special” statue went really fast yesterday! Congratulations to Nicholas for having his beautifully bearded face and body forever and ever immortalized in the game.

Yesterdays update stirred a lot of discussions - great! A quick followup on that is, that we are still operating on concept art and pre-production. Nothing is set in stone and we are listening.

We believe in a strong story coupled with hardcore turn-based combat being the right mix. So that is our vision for this project if that is unclear in any ways.

And - this is important to say - we are making an entertainment product and not a simulator. We are with Flashback concentrating on the story part, the role playing of mercenaries having personalities and the game being fun to play. We are not! going down the ultra-realistic path and trying to make a tactical combat simulator. Flashback is not the Arma of turn-based RPG action.

So if we in the story have a plausible reason to have experimental and ultra limited uranium depleted ammunition as part of the story - then its going to be in there. It is not science fiction - but still fiction.

The inventory and the overall user interface has to be a joy to play as well. While we believe in inventory management being part of the game (who can carry 10 MG’s including ammo?), there is still value in having things like weight that you carry around being an influence on your movement speed, stealth and how fast you become fatigued. But it simply has to be fun to use as well, so for example being able to pick up items on the screen directly without having to move over to them - totally makes sense to do.

This might rub the wrong way for some and be the right direction for others. We simply wanted to make this clear up front, and with the modding possibilities there are other people than us that can work the game into that direction - or stick with some of the JA2 mods.

Kick! Kick! Kick!

We also believe in Kickstarter being a great alternative for working with the fan gamers and to finance otherwise forgotten games and genres.

That is why we are happy to announce us joining the Kicking it Forward initiative set up by Brian Fargo and inXile.

This means that we pledge 5% of the revenue of Jagged Alliance: Flashback sales back into future Kickstarter projects. We have chosen to primarily use the money to pledge towards turn-based tactical/strategic digital games.

Saturday - May 04, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #9, Weapon Customization and Special Pledges

by Couchpotato, 00:18

Well it's time for another update on Jagged Alliance: Flashback. I for one think the Original Sin kickstarter ruined updates for me. Full control should try to make more videos to give better information.

Weapon Customization

To give you the high level rundown here, there are things we definitely want to do and then we also have some ideas in our mind that we want to hear your point of view upon. As a basis, we will run with Jagged Alliance 2 for stats and balance. Then look at 1.13 for balancing fixes and additional features. This approach gives us a good and sound baseline to start with.

We have the following on our must have and to do list:

  • Different classes of weapons similar to Jagged Alliance 2 (e.g. Pistols, Machine Guns, Shotguns etc.) 
  • Skill tree for classes of weapons based on usage
  • Customization via attachment points 
  • Ammunition with different properties 
  • Weight and inventory space has influence on the gameplay (e.g. AP and movement speed) 
  • Dual wield small weapons 

And we have some ideas to discuss:

  • Using a weapon will slowly damage it to the point where it's destroyed. The more you use a given weapon, the more damage it takes. 
  • You will be able to repair damaged weapon at your base at a cost (not only at the base actually, but if a weapon is nearly done, than you'll need to do it in the base). 
  • Selling worn weapons gives you less money than a new weapon would. 
  • As you use the weapon you gain skill in using said weapon to give you more damage, accuracy etc. But at the same time there is an negative effect on unlearning other skills. This counters building ultra powerful characters with 100 in all skills and then destroying the enemy. So balancing out your team suddenly matters more 
  • For the base building we want to have a shooting range, where you can both test out weapon customizations to see the effect before committing to it. And at the same time you can spend time+money on training your mercenaries.

Special Friday Pledges

As mentioned earlier we’re adding a unique pledge every Friday and today we’re actually adding both a unique Tier and a limited bundle.

$400 Tier: It’s all in the bag Tier: So bring it home and enjoy the rewards, you’ll get: The all previous rewards + A mercenary one-liner + An enemy response + You get to make a name for the enemy name pool + You get to write a NPC Quote. (ALL ONLY THIS TIER) (10) Limited

$850 Tier: The magnificent Tier: There can only be one, so you’re rewarded with: All previous rewards + A statue of you or your likeness in the game, with a description (ONLY THIS TIER) (1) Limited

 

Friday - May 03, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update#8, Diorama and Competition

by Couchpotato, 01:13

Well it's time for another update on Full Controls's Jagged Alliance: Flashback kickstarter.

Dear backers,  

We’re slowly moving forward and are still confident that we’ll reach our goal once the campaign concludes. However, we still want to raise the awareness of our campaign through more social sites, as the majority of backer have currently come from press, Kickstarter and people searching for our campaign.

Diorama

Yesterday we asked you what kind of updates you would like to see from us in the future and we can assure you we’re working hard at planning and producing content for upcoming updates and press releases for the duration of the Kickstarter.

For a while people have been asking us to show more of the game in terms of gameplay and therefore we have decided to make a 3D diorama version of the ruins sector we’re planning, which will give you a real feeling of what we want the game to look like. You will be able to rotate the camera 360°, the distance will be fixed.

Team Video

You’ve also been requesting to learn more about our team and we can gladly announce that we will shoot the video tomorrow and release it one of the following days.

In the video you will get a short presentation from some of the core members of the team, get to see a portion of their work and what they are currently working on. Thomas will share his thoughts on the team and we will all give you a warm goodbye. Hopefully you won’t be able to spot the community guy :)

Competition

 

As a follow up to yesterdays update, we would like to shoot of a competition, which everyone should be able to participate in! A Killer Hamster Meme

Thursday - May 02, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #7, Community Coverage and More

by Couchpotato, 00:12

Full Control has a small update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. Not to much informaion this time just a few reminders.

Amazon Payments Issues

Last night we experienced some issues with Amazon payments, resulting in 4 hours where people were unable to support our campaign. Unfortunately we won’t be getting those hours back, but we’re happy it didn't happen within the last 48 hours of our campaign. If you get an error again please just give it an hour or two and try again.  

Reddit IAMA 

We completed the reddit IAMA yesterday evening and we’re very pleased with all of the questions we got on both Space Hulk and Jagged Alliance. 1½ hours just flew by, you can see all of the questions and answers HERE. We’ll be doing more of these sessions during the campaign. 

You can see the Video HERE and read more about the Jagged Bloodcats initiative HERE

 

Tuesday - April 30, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #6, Humble Bundle Partnership

by Couchpotato, 17:08

Well we have another update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. Seems Full control released a humble bundle of all previous Jagged Alliance games.

We'd like to announce that we have entered a partnership with Humble Bundle, to distribute a limited Jagged Alliance Classics Pack, in English and optimized for Windows 7, only available through the Jagged Alliance: Flashback Kickstarter. You can find the full press release HERE

                  

The full classics pack will be available to all who pledged $5 and up, which is why we'll be adding a new $50 Tier.

It's Time to Reload Tier: All previous rewards + Digital high quality map of the game world + Digital copy of the Official Soundtrack + Early Access to the game + A Digital Documentary of the making of JA: Flashback

Additionally the partnership with Humble Bundle extends to also distribute the digital pledge rewards as well as the JA: Flashback game through their system.

We also have a new treat for our backers, the awesome commando hamster backer profile picture.

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #5, Story Details and Backer Bonuses

by Couchpotato, 07:16

Full Control has another update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. This time the update deals with the story

Story Setting 

As you all know by now, the story is set in the late-1980s, on the Caribbean island group of San Christobal and the cold war is coming to an end. 

Following a coup d'état a socialist regime has been established on the island, a change that undermines the U.S. presence in the area. A vigilante Russian General, leading an elite U.S.S.R. military unit, decides to take matters into his own hands and establishes a military base right under the nose of the U.S. Seeing this presence as a potential threat the U.S. sends out order to the CIA to assemble a team of professionals to restore the democratic government on San Christobal and drive out the U.S.S.R. presence, by any means necessary. 

Once you reach the island you discover that something doesn't add up and that there may be more than one reason why the U.S wants to get rid of the crazed General. Suddenly you find yourself faced with some very hard choices - should you continue to fight for the U.S or should YOU decide what the right move should be. No matter what you decide, you’re not interested in a new world war breaking out and you want to make peace on the island. 

The story opens up here where you have to convince old friends and new people to become your trusted allies in the fight for peace on San Christobal. In the classic Jagged Alliance fashion you decide where the story goes from here and where to send your troops. The choice is yours, you can try to convince the Russian forces to join your cause, or if the best approach is to utilize the drug cartels on the island or running a mix of it all - playing every faction against each other.

Story Structure

There will be a Main story - A story filled with twists and turns, where your allies quickly can turn into your worst enemies. The choice of how to solve the conflict with the Russian splinter group is yours, but they are not the only enemy you should fear.

Side and optional missions cover individual background stories for mercenaries - both new and old. How did Ivan leave the Russian army and what made Shadow part ways with the military to become a mercenary? These are all stories we’d like to explore further.

One of the things we really want to do with Flashback is to introduce a varied bunch of enemies. The game is not black and white, east vs. west, there are shades of grey - the russian presence introduces a massive amount of turmoil on San Christobal, and various factions will compete against each other, some more active than others.
Trust will play a central role in the game, because it’s not everybody you can trust, especially the CIA.
It’s entirely up to you how you proceed and portray yourself throughout the game, are you ruthless enough to leave wounded enemies to die or will you be merciful enough to gain the trust of the resistance? 

Factions

Flashbacks story is built around an open world where the player can choose to decide his own path through the game. Many of the missions are entirely voluntary, and follows the same design principles as other open and semi-open world games. 

We want to introduce several other factions that the player can choose to do missions for, this in turn will open up a system based on trust - completing missions for some factions will raise their trust, while in turn it will lower your trust with competing factions.

Some factions in Flashback will not participate directly in the events happening on San Christobal but will support one or more factions - or none all-together. 

The major factions of the conflict are; 

Active Factions

Alpha Group, the U.S.S.R special forces splinter group lead by a ruthless hard-line general.
CIA clandestine group.
Resistance force 

Neutral Factions 

Drug Cartel
Local Population

Sunday - April 28, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #4, Mercenary Personalities & Backer Avatars

by Couchpotato, 01:02

Full Control has a new update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback.

We’re slowing down a bit, but we’re past the critical 20% and there’s still 26 days to go. While we’re constantly tweaking the campaign and gathering feedback, we also need to focus on getting some press coverage to raise the overall awareness of our Kickstarter campaign.

We have some big news just around the corner, which we’re confident will boost the campaign and help us to reach our goal as well as improve the game.

Mercenary Personalities 

One of the main complaints we had about recent attempts to make Jagged Alliance games was the removal of some of the humor and personality for each mercenary. 

“Dont fix it if it ain’t broken” - remember? 

So we are super happy to be able to bring back a lot of what defines the game - mercenary personality. 

We are going to get back to the great 2d icons for each NPC and mercenary. They simply allow for much more personality than a generic 3d head that will never have as much detail as a well drawn 2d image. Together with some cool facial animations a lot of personality and feelings can be displayed. 

Another very important aspect are the inter-team personalities. E.g. don’t put Fox and Buns together unless you want to listen to a cat fight making your ears bleed. While having the i-team working together will boost a teams performance. 

A big amount of personality also comes from the voice over for the mercenaries. While we haven’t decided yet if we are going for English with a national accent - or having Ivan speak Russian only - we definitely want to get a strong personality shining through voice overs. 

If you think you got what it takes to voice your favorite mercenary, or have an opinion on the English or non-English voice overs, head over to the comments section and tell us what you think!

Friday - April 26, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #3, New Pledges and Add-ons

by Couchpotato, 20:20

Full Control has posted Update #3 for Jagged Alliance: Flashback.

Upcoming Kickstarter Updates:

Old-timers We’re currently talking to a few of the people who were involved in developing the original Jagged Alliance Games as well as prominent modders of the 1.13 patch. We’re still not sure of their possible involvement in this campaign, but it’s something we’ll let you know as soon as it’s in place.

The Full Control Team
A lot of people have been asking for more information about the team so we have decided to make a short video from the Full Control Den, showing you where the magic happens, the team and a bit more on what we’re currently working on. We also have a Q & A video planned!

The Story and RPG elements
We’ll also be taking a closer look at some of the story and RPG elements we have in mind for Jagged Alliance: Flashback, which we feel are some of the core pillars of the original titles.

And they added more pledges as listed below.

New Pledges and Add-ons:

We’re gonna be adding new ones and making changes to existing pledges.

$65 Low on Ammo Tier: A boxed version of the game + a printed manual (ONLY THIS TIER) + Digital soundtrack + Digital map (Shipping is covered for the EU and the US but please add $25 if outside those areas )

$200 Who be the fool Tier: All previous rewards + you get to make a name for the enemy name pool (ONLY THIS TIER) Limited (50)

$500 Bobby Trapped Tier: (Will now also include) Name a trash item in the game and co-write the item description (ONLY THIS TIER)

$1200 Sooo Badass Tier: All previous rewards + Co-design a bad guy in the game (ONLY THIS TIER) Limited (10)

$1500 You’re breaking up Tier: All previous rewards + Co-design the implementation of radio coverage on the island og San Christobal (ONLY THIS TIER) + Become the radio npc guy (ONLY THIS TIER) Limited (1) 

$1800 Get out your guns Tier: All previous rewards + Co-design a Mercenary in the game (ONLY THIS TIER) Limited (10)

$2500 Guns r Us Tier: (WILL NOW BE) All previous rewards + Become a faction leader, we will use your name and (if relevant) use a picture of you to add a general likeness, in addition you will be added to the special NPC credits list. (ONLY THIS TIER) + Free access to all expansions + 10 extra digital copies of the game. Limited (3)

$10,000 A.I.M.ing to Win Tier: (Will now also include) Become the Top Pimp (Story NPC) of the island and run your very own brothel (ONLY THIS TIER) Limited (1)

Thursday - April 25, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update #2, Tactical Layer and Core Combat

by Couchpotato, 18:34

Full control has a new update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. The update talks about various topics, and explains their vision for the game.

Core Philosophy of Jagged Alliance: Flashback

There is a great deal of speculation and doubts surrounding what we mean by staying true to the core and what we mean when saying words like “accessibility” or “modern”.

So lets just hammer this one into the ground right away.

“If it ain’t broken - don’t fix it”.

This is where some of the newer games got it wrong we think.

Flashback will be using the same mechanics for the tactical layer as Jagged Alliance 2. We are NOT dumbing anything down or replacing complexity with simplicity.

We will try to take a look at some mechanics and see if it’s possible to tweak and improve them. A prime example of this is stealth and fog of war. So read on.

But You Say You Are Not Making JA2

Yes - We are not making a new Jagged Alliance 2, we are making an all new game, but this does not mean that we’re moving away from the gameplay it pioneered.

We are making a new story - using the JA2 core tactical mechanics, selected pieces of 1.13 community patch as well as additions of our own.

A new story means we can include a new setting, dream up new missions and introduce all new enemies - but at the same time the current budget means we're restricted in the scope of the game in terms of assets and the total amount of mercenaries, which are a scalable factor of the final budget. However, all of these elements do NOT change the core gameplay.

Simply put, more money = more game content.

We don't just want Flashback to be a rehash of JA2, we want to ensure that the improvements made by the community are taken into consideration. We want to show you how AIM came about and we want to expand the backstories of your favourite mercenaries. We think these are ample reasons to make a new game for both new and old fans to enjoy!

Wednesday - April 24, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Update#1, Strategic Level Design and More

by Couchpotato, 14:36

Full Control has their first update for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. The update talks about the strategic side of the game and various other topics.

Strategic Level Design - Base Building, Squads, Map Mechanics

The strategic level in Flashback will in its core work similarly to Jagged Alliance 2 with added base building. 

You have a chessboard like grid on top of the world map, you direct squads of mercenaries freely around on the map and each grid corresponds to an individual level on the tactical side of the game. 

 

Destructible Environment 

We will definitely have a level of a destructible environment in the core game. This is an essential feature and makes carrying explosives important. It also has an effect on stealth, but that is a feature we will talk about in a later update when we go into combat mechanics. 

 

New Pledges

We have been asked by many if we could add more pledges in the lower end. So we have added the following pledges to the Kickstarter site. 

We plan to add more later as we go along. If you have great ideas for pledges you want, then don’t hesitate to send us a message. 

$35 Gunnam style Tier: All previous rewards + Digital high quality map of the game world + Digital copy of the Official Soundtrack 

* Limited 100* $85 Umpa Bazooka Tier: All previous rewards + Get to write an enemy response (ONLY THIS TIER)

This is also true for this deal. On the sales of the game past the Kickstarter we have to pay bitComposer for the Jagged Alliance license. This does not apply to your donated Kickstarter money. This will all go into development directly. The deal goes on royalty payments for non-backers who buy the game later

 

Licensing, Money, bitComposer and what it all means 

There is some confusion about what it means that we have licensed Jagged Alliance from bitComposer. 

A license is a right to use a brand. Its a legal agreement where we (Full Control) get the right to use a brand name (Jagged Alliance) from the license owner (bitComposer).

Licenses could be given to e.g. make a t-shirt, a movie or like in this case - a computer game. 

Getting a license costs us (Full Control) money. It is not free, and there is typically also royalties to be paid. Totally similar to someone making Star Wars themed lunch boxes having to pay a royalty fee for every lunch box sold. 

Tuesday - April 23, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Kickstarter Launched

by Myrthos, 12:44

The Kickstarter for Jagged Alliance: Flashback has just launched. They are asking for $350K.

Jagged Alliance: Flashback is our vision of returning a once critically acclaimed franchise back to its roots, it's not a reboot, it's a reset! 

Our main goal is to bring back the tactical turn-based action that the original Jagged Alliance games are known for - the game was a thinking man's game, a thinking man with lots of guns!

The games were unique in their blend of tactical turn-based action, controlling and maintaining squads of mercenaries, off and on the battlefield. As a player the decisions you made had a direct impact on how you played the game. Additionally, over-the-top personalities, memorable characters and role-playing elements made the games difficult to put away once you were hooked.

The game text will be localized to English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish.

We will give you a choice of distribution, always including a DRM-free option, for both the core game and future expansions.

Our target platform is PC and the game will be available for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux.

Friday - April 19, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Thomas Lund Interview

by Couchpotato, 15:36

Pockettactics has an interview with Thomas Lund. The interview gives a few details of the game, but mostly deals with a few personal questions.

Owen Faraday: I don’t think it’s a secret that the key to a successful Kickstarter is nostalgia factor. JA seems to a very big following — it probably rivals XCOM in terms of people’s fondness for it.

Thomas Hentschel Lund: For me personally, it was one of the three original games that defined my youth. You had Fallout, the original X-Com, and you had Jagged Alliance. The turn-based godfathers.

OF: Did Bit Composer develop that real-time Jagged Alliance from last year, or did they license that out?

Lund: They had somebody make that for them. It was a mixed bag. Looking back on it was like that shooter that 2K was going to make in the X-Com universe. Well, maybe not that bad. But you can’t have real-time combat in a Jagged Alliance game. It was good that it got a lot of new players in, I’m not dissing those guys for doing it. They went with what was the safe route at the time. But after XCOM, they saw that the market was ready for turn-based.

We want to stay independent, not work for hire. And that’s what this Kickstarter is all about. We’re going to license the Jagged Alliance property and make a new Jagged Alliance game the way it should be made.

OF: Is there anything that jumps out at you when you play JA2 that makes you think, ‘I can improve this, I can do this better?’

Lund: Not straight off the bat, no. But we have to go back through it — it’s such a big, complex game. There’s a lot of systems to look through.

Thanks go to Kordanor for bringing the article to my attention.

 

 

Wednesday - April 17, 2013

Jagged Alliance: Flashback - Interview @ RPS

by Myrthos, 17:32

Rock Paper Shotgun interviewed CEO Thomas Hentschel Lund and team-mate Andreas about the new Jagged Alliance game that was recently announced by Full Control who acquired a license from BitComposer.

This is the first part of the interview about things like the Jagged Alliance lincense and their presence on Kickstarter next week to acquire $350K.

RPS: This new Jagged Alliance won’t be a reboot but a sort of restart, set during the Cold War and telling the story of the founding of A.I.M. What drove that decision?

Andreas: This is the area of prequels – we’ve seen lots of movies looking to tell origin stories. We thought this was a unique opportunity for us to look at the beginning of A.I.M. and to bring back some of the cool mercenaries and tell their early stories, looking at how they became who they are.

Lund: We want to look at why they became mercenaries, where they came from, why they joined this organisation. Why was all this founded? At least for me, if we were just going in and doing yet another dictator on an island story, we would instantly be trying to copy Jagged Alliance 2. Being put on the same shelf, even though that’s not what we really want to do. Being just a copy of what has been isn’t what we want to do. We want to bring something unique and a little different into the mix. And that’s the story part, where we can twiddle around and change things. Because on the other side, the mechanics and the turn-based part obviously, we’re going to see how much of JA2 we can bring back.

RPS: Presumably the Cold War setting gives you some interesting angles on some of the mercenaries in the other games. So many of them are clearly culturally and ideologically opposed, at least on paper, at that time.

Andreas: It’s also important to note that everything isn’t set in stone yet. We’re going to build on everything in the original games, but we’re also going to be listening to the fans and the modding community from Jagged Alliance2. We’re going to listen to everything that comes to us.

Lund: At the end of the day, it’s going to be about how successful can we make Kickstarter and how many features can we add, so we’ve tried to come up with stretch goals that will demonstrate that. More mercenaries, destructible environments, that sort of thing. We have to look at what we can do for the amount of money we’re asking for as a minimum – we can make a cool game but we can’t make a replacement for JA2, that has been modded for so many years. It’s impossible. But depending on success, we can add more and more, so hopefully that’s possible.

 

Thursday - April 11, 2013

General News - New Jagged Alliance Game

by Myrthos, 16:20

Full Control has announced they have signed a licence with BitComposer to develop a game in the Jagged Alliance frachise.

FULL CONTROL ANNOUNCES JAGGED ALLIANCE LICENSING AGREEMENT WITH BITCOMPOSER GAMES

Copenhagen, Denmark - April 11th - Danish indie studio Full Control today announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with bitComposer Games to develop and publish a new undisclosed multiplatform title in the Jagged Alliance franchise.

“Jagged Alliance fits perfectly into our company strategy and portfolio as the game to do after we ship Space Hulk. It is one of the 3 games besides X-Com and Fallout that really defined the entire genre and is part of our DNA”, said Thomas Hentschel Lund, CEO of Full Control. “We are honored and excited to have been the confidence given by bitComposer to give the series a fresh new take whilst staying true to the core mechanics.”

“We have been keeping an eye on Full Control for the last couple of years and have been suitably impressed with their take on turn-based tactical gaming and in particular their awesome work in bringing the classic Space Hulk franchise back to life”, said Wolfgang Duhr, Board of Directors of bitComposer Games, “We are excited to learn more about their plans for the franchise”.

History of the Jagged Alliance Franchise:
Jagged Alliance was first released in 1994 and is still counted as one the best turn based strategy games of its time. After the release of Jagged Alliance 2 in 1999 the series slipped back into the cold war and received a reboot in 2010 with Jagged Alliance – Back in Action, which received mixed reactions from the community and press after its departure from turn-based action gameplay.

Thanks Kordanor.

Information about

Jagged Alliance: Flashback

Developer: Full Control

SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Modern
Genre: Strategy-RPG
Combat: Turn-based
Play-time: 20-40 hours
Voice-acting: Partially voiced

Regions & platforms
World
· Homepage
· Platform: PC
· Released: 2014-10-21
· Publisher: Full Control