Sentinel Command - upcoming strategy game for iPad

Hello all,

I'm the developer for Sentinel Command, the newest iOS strategy game from GamerNationX studio. It's a mix of real time strategic simulation and tactical turn-based JRPG style combat. The game will be available in the app store on August 13th, 2015, for the price of $6.99 USD.

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Details:
Sentinel Command is a sci-fi themed strategy game that blends tactical, turn-based RPG style combat with a real time strategic simulation.

House Daraay has invaded the sovereign domain of House Sedaris. Their goal is simple: take control of the valuable Neoplatinum-rich asteroid fields to fuel their galactic war. As heir to House Sedaris, you are tasked with the defense of the Neoplatinum mining operation.

From your base of operations at the Sentinel space station, you will take command of a small but powerful starship fleet. Protect the mining installations from Daraay raids. Distribute harvested Neoplatinum to your allies in exchange for powerful new ships and upgrades. Develop your ship’s bridge officers from novice crews to seasoned veterans. Customize your fleet to suit your tactics. Seek out and destroy the Daraay bases where they are staging their attacks, and drive them from your domain.

Your House’s survival and the fate of the Galaxy hang in the balance!

** Features a challenging, lengthy campaign with multiple difficulty options to suit your skill level
** 12 Ship Classes, 26 Unique Weapons, and 6 tiers each of Med Bays, Shield Generators, Armories, and Damage Control Systems gives you tremendous flexibility in fleet customization
** The game is a simulation, no two games will play out the same way, adding to replayability and value
** Tactical battles follow the tradition of turn-based JRPGs, with your crew earning experience to unlock 48 different combat abilities
** Deep combat system has component level damage to ship systems such as weapons, engines, bridge, and deflector, as well as injuries to individual bridge officers
** Balance sending Neoplatinum to aid the galactic war effort with meeting your own immediate needs of keeping your fleet well-armed and equipped
** Designed specifically for iPad with touch controls in mind
** No IAP - you are purchasing the full game

 

Thanks! Curious, which UI in particular do you find interesting?

 

No multiplayer, it's a single player campaign.

On normal mode, a complete game (victory) takes about 4-5 hours. It is a simulation with RPG elements, so there is replay value in doing multiple playthroughs...no two games play exactly alike.

 

The board and initial starting conditions are the same each time. As the simulation runs, little decisions and outcomes shift the direction of events, so that as the game progresses the options you have as the player are different.

Just as an example, at regular intervals there is a war council where three of the five allied provinces will ask for your aid. Which three are random each war council. The different provinces each have different specializations. One produces weapons, while another produces capital starships. If you aid a province, they push back the enemy a little bit and secure more of their industry. This is how you 'unlock' new technology. So on different playthroughs, you may find yourself at the same point in the game with different capabilities - in one you have weaker ships with more powerful weapons, in another you have larger ships that can take a lot of hits but with weaker weapons. This will change the tactics you use in the battles.

 

Thanks for the compliment, and for playing Heroes! We learned a lot from that experience.
I think you'll find Sentinel Command to be more balanced in terms of difficulty and gameplay, and also a lot more polished.

 

Yes - the AI has randomized aspects.

At a strategic level, there are six enemy bases in each of the six sectors that make up the Kernwall Province, which you are responsible for defending. Your objective is to locate and destroy these six bases. Each base has a copy of the same AI, and operates autonomously from the others. So they will choose targets and build and manage their own fleets independently from each other. The strategic AI is fairly straightforward, raid your installations and steadily build more powerful ships (and a more powerful base), so the variation comes in which targets each base chooses and the timing of their attacks.

At the tactical battle level, however, there is a lot of variation. Each class of enemy ships has a several sets of possible roles suited for that specific class. The AI for each ship will choose a role from that set, based on the number of ships in the enemy fleet. If the number of enemy ships changes, then the AI will reevaluate what role it should use.

For example, the Intruder class is a light enemy interceptor. It has low shields, hull strength, and marine contingent, but has a high dodge rating. If there are only one or two ships in the fleet, the Intruder possible roles (chosen at random at the start of the battle) are Engineer, Skirmisher, and Vampire. If there are three or four ships in the fleet, the Intruder roles are Disabler, Sniper, and Vampire. If the Intruder is part of a large fleet, five or six ships, then it chooses from Support, Kamikaze, or Vampire. These roles determine which bridge officer abilities the AI ship will choose from when it takes it's turn. It's all hidden from the player, of course, but you'll start to get a feel for what types of things an enemy ship may do, but you won't be able to predict exactly what it will do. Within the roles, there is additional AI to determine when to use which ability to use based on the actual situation each turn.

We really wanted to make the battles challenging, with a wide range of possible strategies that could work in any given situation. The AI was designed with this in mind, they'll use a variety of tactics from battle to battle and react as their numbers dwindle in the battle. The nice thing about the system is that it's very easy for us to make small or big changes to enemy ship behavior in broad or specific situations in subsequent game updates, based on player feedback.

 

Thanks for the interest. We'd need to sell enough mobile copies to fund that. If the game is a hit on mobile, we'll give it a shot.