Jagged Alliance: Flashback Kickstarter Update #2, $80,070 and Counting

The core philosophy behind Jagged Alliance: Flashback’s combat is the subject of the second update for the title’s Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, which has currently raised $80,070. Here’s a sampling:

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!

Movement, Line of Sight and Fog of War

This wouldn’t be a true Jagged Alliance game without the hybrid system, therefore we are bringing back the hybrid system, enabling real time positioning your troops while roaming in a given sector outside of combat.

When the enemy comes into line of sight of any squad member, the game turns into the classic turn-based combat system from JA2. Read more about that part further down.

During all phases, enemies are only visible while inside line of sight and a few turns after leaving it again.

To make things a little more interesting while roaming, we are adding fog of war to the game. This adds exploration as part of the game. When entering an undiscovered sector most of it will be black, and is only revealed as you explore it.

This opens up a whole new dimension to the game, and we think it’s something that could really add to the tactical depth of the game.

Turn-Based Combat System

Going into turn-based combat will be very much like JA2.

You will have the standard action point system to perform movement, shooting, reloads, detonating C4 etc. The amount of action points for each turn is still depending on the state of the unit in terms of health, fatigue, stress, current stance and even possibly a more complex suppression system like in the 1.13 mod.

We will not touch a lot of this and change it. It’s more about using modern computer power to visually aid the player with movement path display, information about cover, effective ranges of weapons and more. Making it more accessible for players to play the game without having to have the manual open.