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| Shrapnel Games and Spruegames Patch Salvo! to Version 1.5 Batten down the hatches, clear the decks, and roll out the guns, as Spruegames and Shrapnel Games unleashes a new barrage of high seas adventure with the Salvo! 1.5 upgrade. More than just a patch to update the retail version of the game of fighting sail, Salvo!, the 1.5 upgrade adds some much requested features to the game, such as a full featured scenario generator and the ability to play against fellow captains. Before we get to the truly exciting enhancements offered in the 1.5 upgrade, let's talk about the less glamorous bug fixes and minor tweaks. A Macromedia crash bug has been quashed, and there have been minor adjustments to the damage model in an effort to bring digital sea captains more mayhem and destruction. New Hot Keys have been added, allowing players to Undo their movement and in general have better control of the game interface. The Spanish flag found on vessels has new and improved graphics. While all of these changes are definitely welcome by players, obviously they're not enough to constitute calling version 1.5 an upgrade. No, at this point it would be the Salvo! 1.5 patch but there's much more to be seen. The stout oaken heart of the Salvo! 1.5 upgrade lies in two brand new features: a rich scenario generator, and the addition of a multiplayer component. The Salvo! 1. 5 scenario generator provides gamers the chance to chart their own destiny and share their adventures with the world. The Salvo! Battle Generator can be used to either allow the computer to quickly create a battle to play, or the user can get down and dirty and handcraft their own interpretation of Trafalgar, Cape Vincent or the Nile with as much historical accuracy as they desire. Pick the engaged sides, battle size (from duels to large engagements) and click the 'Generate' button to make an infinite number of new Salvo! battles. Quickly select the location, visibility, map type and exact fleet strengths for a more specific result. Or go all out and craft your own battle complete with the victory text, the scenario game title image and exact order of battle. Once a scenario is created designers can then tweak initial starting positions of the vessels with the included Battle Tweaker. Scenarios can of course be saved and played again and again, or shown to the world. Best of all, generated files are interchangeable between PCs and Macs. The Salvo! 1.5 upgrade also includes full ship customization with the ability to modify existing ships in the database or create brand new ones. Found an obscure text that doesn't agree with the number of guns of a particular ship found in the game? Change it. Want to model a battle that's not included and need to create your very own order of battle? Go for it. The customization module allows you to modify all of the following: the ship name, appearance, rigging details, Captain, country, handling, quality, morale, size, number of guns, number of crew, and number of marines. Now you can also sail against human opponents. The multiplayer component of the Salvo! 1.5 upgrade allows for either hotseat play or PBEM, with cross-compatibility between PC and Mac PBEM games. In hotseat mode both players simply sit at the same computer, battling each other. The advantage to hotseat play is the social component and the fact a scenario can be played out in a reasonable period of time. The disadvantage is the need to fill the seat with a warm body in this hectic world. PBEM (Play-by-email) allows gamers to play a scenario with folks around the globe easily through email. Salvo! 1.5's PBEM games automatically save your turn when completed, making for a smooth play experience. Snap up the save and attach it to an email, and then wait for your opponent. The main advantage of PBEM play is being able to play at any time of day or night, with players from around the world. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Game News :: home page |