California-based developers Stefan Schmitt and Ben Jelter are hard at work on Sidius Nova, a strategy game that mixes turn-based and real-time strategy elements. An entity known as Sidius Nova has destroyed the homeworlds of both humanity and an alien species, pitting both against each other in a battle for survival. iOS players must gather resources and build space fleets in order to emerge victorious. Sidius Nova is played in two distinctly different modes – an overworld map and a battle view – that complement each other very well and offer a little something for strategy fans of all kinds.
The overworld map mode is multi-purpose. One aspect is resource collection which involves moving the player’s mother ship to new planets which can then be mined. The more conquered planets adjacent to the mother ship, the more resources that get acquired. The mother ship can also send out fleets to explore and set up strategic positioning. Warp gates can be created to allow the mother ship quick access to any planet nearby a gate, but also has the liability of making the ship more vulnerable to enemy attacks. It is while exploring that your own ships may come into contact with those of the enemy and initiate the battle mode. The player must continue to gather resources and build new ships to counter the movements of the enemy.
Battle mode is where the player’s choices and those of the enemy come to a head. This mode functions like an RTS with each side continually selecting a particular ship type and a location on the screen to send that ship into combat. Different ships like fighters, mine layers, and missile launchers all have different strengths and weaknesses against each other. The ships fly horizontally across the screen through a few different lanes, and it’s up to the player to figure out which ship to send where in order to wipe out the enemy fleet, destroy the enemy mother ship, and protect the player’s own mother ship. The mode is frantic, but looks like it’s going to be a lot of intense fun.
Development is expected to wrap up in October of this year, and the duo has released an entertaining video for their Kickstarter campaign to help see it through. Pledges guarantee the usual gamut of rewards including copies of the game, copies of the musical soundtrack, and beta access. The Sidius Nova t-shirt and messenger bag also look pretty nice. Should the campaign goals be exceeded, the team has plans to implement player vs. player and a persistent game world as additional features. Be sure to follow the developers via Twitter for updates on the team’s progress and chances to win copies of the game when it releases.
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