Author Topic: AI War: The Light of the Spire Expansion Now Available as Game Hits Version 5.0  (Read 98439 times)

Offline x4000

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Original: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2011/01/ai-war-light-of-spire-expansion-now.html

The Light of the Spire
Arcen Games is proud to announce the release of AI War: The Light of the Spire, the game's biggest expansion ever. Available now for $10 through ArcenGames.com and coming soon to digital distributors.

The expansion is packed full of new additions.  The "Fallen Spire" campaign brings in-game linear story elements to the title for the first time, and culminates in a whole new way to win. Players with minutes instead of hours should take to the new Defender Mode, offering bite-sized timed games against crazy AI aggression.

Light of the Spire also brings 180 new ships, including the powerful "Spirecraft" vessel class which stands as the second largest unit class in the game. New music from composer Pablo Vega, new AI types, map types, bonus ship classes, minor factions and quite a bit more packs the expansion to the brim. Prepare for a new war!

More information and a trailer can be found here, along with a comprehensive feature list: http://www.arcengames.com/w/index.php/aiwar-spire



AI War 5.0
Arriving alongside the LotS expansion is AI War 5.0, a massive update free to owners of the base game. Version 5.0 refines the title by taking the best of all past versions and blending them into the definitive AI War experience. While the game will continue to grow and evolve, 5.0 now serves as the foundation for the future.

With this update, nearly every combat ship in the game has been rebalanced in an effort to integrate all the new units added over the past year. Golems have been completely revamped and the AI have received major intelligence upgrades such as more proactive retreats, a network of core shield generators, and the new "stalking" mechanic where it lies in wait until the player is at their most vulnerable.

Players should also be pleased with significant adjustments to overall difficulty and the shortening of the early part of the game -- allowing you to "get to the good part" faster. Not to mention tons of performance improvements, as well as more of a general accessibility regardless of what level of player you are.

Interested parties can read all the additions, improvements and changes in massive detail here: http://arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_5.000_Release

Updated Demos
Demos of both AI War 5.0 and Light of the Spire can be downloaded here: http://www.arcengames.com/w/index.php/aiwar-downloads

The demo can be unlocked into the full version of the game with a purchased license key.

About Arcen Games
Arcen Games entered the PC indie scene in 2009 with their cult classic AI War: Fleet Command, which was named the 40th best-reviewed PC game of the year by MetaCritic.  Their second year was a busy one, seeing the release of The Zenith Remnant, the first full expansion for AI War; Tidalis, an innovative block-based puzzle with casual appeal and hardcore depth; and Children of Neinzul, a micro-expansion for AI War with all profits benefiting the Child's Play charity, of which Arcen is a platinum sponsor.

Light of the Spire is Arcen's first release of 2011, but fans of the company are also excited about the upcoming procedural adventure game known as A Valley Without Wind.  Originally a one-man shop, Arcen Games has grown to have half a dozen part-time or fulltime contributors to its various titles.
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Offline Invelios

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Congratulations on the release of 5.0 and LotS!

So, will installing the LotS install from that link give me the music if I already have the beta of LotS, without messing my install up? Just want to make sure I don't mess up my current install.

Offline x4000

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Thank you!

So, will installing the LotS install from that link give me the music if I already have the beta of LotS, without messing my install up? Just want to make sure I don't mess up my current install.

Yep, that's exactly what to do -- that won't hurt anything, and will give you the music.  If you happen to be missing any image files from the beta period, it will fix those for you, too, but it won't touch the actual executable or anything like that.
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Offline Invelios

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Thanks for the quick reply! I can't wait to hear the new music! I'm downloading the installer as fast as I can, but my college's internet isn't exactly speedy. Hopefully it downloads before I need to go to sleep. I probably shouldn't let an AI War update end up making me sleep deprived for my 8 AM Discrete Structures class.

Offline x4000

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Probably good to get rest, yeah. :)  If you want to hear part of the LotS title track, check out the trailer above -- that's one of my favorites, and it gets stuck in my head for days at a time, heh.
Have ideas or bug reports for one of our games?  Mantis for Suggestions and Bug Reports. Thanks for helping to make our games better!

Offline Kemeno

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This is just awesome.  :D

You guys put a ton of work into this expansion, and you have so much to show for it. Every iteration of AI War that I've played has brought more variety and more fun to the table, and the builds leading up to 5.0 have been no exception. I can't wait to really dive into the final release!

The new music (at least the tracks I've listened to so far - there's quite a bit of new audio in there!) is spectacular. Pablo has done a really fantastic job here. It fits in so seamlessly with the rest of the AI War music, while at the same time it has its own personality, setting it apart from the music of the original game and the first two expansions. And of course, the spire ship art direction and the fallen spire plot are just totally cool. And... well...

Really, theres just too much new stuff in this version to even begin to comment on what I like best, so I'm just going to go off, round up some friends, and play it. ;) Thanks again for all the hard work!

Offline BobTheJanitor

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If I could, I would bake a cake. This being the internet, I grabbed you one off of Google image search instead.


Offline Echo35

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If I could, I would bake a cake. This being the internet, I grabbed you one off of Google image search instead.

Just lay down and assume the party submission position.

Also, YAY ON 5.0 AND LotS!

Offline TechSY730

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If I could, I would bake a cake. This being the internet, I grabbed you one off of Google image search instead.

Just lay down and assume the party submission position.

Also, YAY ON 5.0 AND LotS!

Wow, not even one post before the reference. Well, at least it is not that line.   :D

Offline Spikey00

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Congratulations, Chris, Keith, Pablo, and staff! 
I'd take a sea worm any time over a hundred emotionless spinning carriers.
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Offline KingIsaacLinksr

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Congrats on the release!

Now the long-wait-for-Steam-to-put-in-CD-keys-grrr. 

King
Casual reviewer with a sense of justice.
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Offline unclean

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Congrats guys, can't wait to play again!

also:
Quote
The combined release notes for those 53 betas total over 360 kilobytes of text.

Dear god, you beat 4.0!

Offline lovekawakawaii

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Congrats
More music. More monsters. More to explore. More AI War.

Offline Shardz

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Congratulations on yet another major milestone in the series!

Offline Ozymandiaz

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Congrats!

I'd bake you a cake, if I knew how to bake :)
(Edit, see someone beat me to that line :P so instead  i will eat cake myself when I load up next game ;) )
« Last Edit: January 28, 2011, 05:29:48 am by Ozymandiaz »
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