Salvo!

Clear For Action As Salvo! Prepares For Launch!

Age Of Sail Game Available For Pre-Order!

Cary, NC, 08 February, 2005

Hoist the sails and prepare for battle, as Salvo! for the Windows OS, developed by Spruegames and published by Shrapnel Games, is on its final shakedown voyage. Currently in the final testing phase, Salvo! is projected to reach gold status by March, but is currently available for pre-order through the Gamers Front.

Salvo! is a single-player, turn based strategy game set during the height of the fighting sail, between the 17th and 19th centuries. Commanding the forces of England, France, the United States, Spain, Netherlands, or the pirate scum of the Mediterranean or Caribbean, gamers will engage in a variety of actions on the high seas. From raiding to blockade running, from ship on ship duels to massive engagements, players will enjoy the wide variety of scenario choices (featured in twenty-four campaigns!). A massive array of ship types keep each scenario fresh, with would be admirals commanding everything from ships of the line to ketches to schooners.

At the heart of Salvo! is the easy to use control scheme. Designed intuitively so that players can fight the enemy, not the interface, gamers will find that controlling huge fleets is a snap. Because of this Salvo! can accurately model the large fleet actions of the era without bogging the player down in minutiae. Whole squadrons can easily be controlled, and with the emphasis on visual feedback players will be able to tell at a glance the status of the battle without being drowned by endless stats. Grappling, boarding actions, anchoring, and more are easily handled.

"One of my favorite aspects of Salvo! is how simple it is for gamers to get into," Tim Brooks, President and founder of Shrapnel Games commented. "One glance at the screen and virtual Nelsons can tell whether victory is at hand or if the sharks will soon be feasting on your men. Best of all, Salvo! strikes just the right blend of playability and simulation, making it highly accessible to even those gamers who have never even tried an Age of Sail game."

With its emphasis on playability, lots of strategic and tactical options, gorgeous graphics, and massive content, Salvo! is sure to score a direct hit. Available now for pre-order for only $34.95 (that's $5.00 off its normal retail cost), through the Gamers Front at www.gamersfront.com,until March 7, 2005. After that it will be available at its regular price only. For more information on Salvo! please visit http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Sprue/Salvo/1.htm, and stop by www.shrapnelgames.com for information on any of our many quality titles.

For press related information please contact Scott R. Krol at: [email protected]

Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20050403170026/http://www.shrapnelgames.com/News/pr_08.htm

Source:

Pre-release Press release (Feb 2005)

### Overview **Computer Game: Windows, Mac OSX

Genre: Wargame

Type: Turn based

Maximum Players: 1

Availability: Safe Box | Download

Developer: SprueGames

Designer: Andrew Lonon**

In today's world ships are behemoths of steel and electronics. Combat takes place in an almost videogame like environment, with engagements happening not hundreds of yards away but possibly hundreds of miles away. Life and death is decided by a click of the mouse, and in seconds a fleet can be sent to the bottom.

Travel back in time to an era when battles for the supremacy of the sea lanes was decided by brave men commanding massive fortresses of floating wood and cloth. No radar lock- ons, just the Mark I eyeball, and no guided missiles, just heavy orbs of iron. Battle would be joined so close together that you could practically see what your enemy had for lunch by spotting the stains on his uniform. This was an era of steel nerves and sound tactics, of sea knowledge and possessing a little bit of Poseidon's own luck. Spruegames' Salvo! recreates this era.

Set in the 17th through 19th centuries, also known as the Age of Sail, Salvo! is an exciting single-player game of naval warfare for Windows. Take command of the navies of England, France, the fledgling United States, and others, as you wage war in a fully realized three-dimensional environment. Relish in the sight and sound of full-scale battle, as ships are pounded into submission, rendered right there on your screen. Forget having to worry about a bunch of boring stats, as thanks to Salvo's visual feedback you'll always know what's going on with the fleets, from tattered sails to shattered hulls (hopefully only the enemy's!).

Combat can involve a handful of ships all the way up to scores of vessels participating in a single engagement. Thanks to the innovative and highly intuitive 'action marker' system controlling your ships is a snap. Order ships individually, or by squadron, the choice is yours.

With numerous campaigns there are plenty of scenarios that cover the gamut of warfare during the period. Especially interesting is the application of tactics between battles during the campaigns. It won't be enough to simply win a battle, players will have to win the campaign by carefully choosing when and where to fight, based on how the previous combat resulted. Failure to keep the big picture in mind may have drastic consequences, like Napoleon's army marching through London!

With easy to grasp mechanics, beautiful graphics, and an excellent branching campaign structure, this is the fighting sail wargame you've always wanted!

### Praise! What they're saying ...

"Every serious student of the Age of Sail needs this game." --Jim Cobb, Subsim.com

"Salvo! controls reasonably well, especially considering the enormous amount of numbers being crunched behind the scenes. The turn-based format keeps things from becoming too frantic, allowing players to check through several screens for each ship until everything is perfect." --Tyler Sager, Gaming Nexus

"I did like the branching campaign structure that allows the player to chart the course of the campaign and decide where next to fight. Depending on how one battle goes there can be up to a half dozen possibilities for the next scenario. In between scenarios you can even refit and upgrade your ships." --Kevin "BIFF" Giacobbi, GameZone

Overheard

Snooping around...

"If you like the Age of Sail era, you have to get this. The game is solid. A lot of thought went into this. The interface takes a little getting use to, but once you do, well, this game has what is important."

Features

What you can expect

♦ Single player, turn-based game of naval warfare set during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

♦ Eschewing dry tables and charts, combat results are visually represented on the avatars, making combat resolution both beautiful to behold and highly functional to watch.

♦ Everything is rendered in full 3D and directly inspired by the artwork of the time depicting the naval battles.

♦ Command ships from a variety of navies that include the nations of England, Spain, the Netherlands, France, and the United States. Also get your plundering fix with the pirate hordes of Barbary and the Caribbean.

♦ Land and shallow water! Learn to take advantage of the environment while battling along a coastline.

♦ Variable winds for the ultimate combat challenge!

♦ Easy to use 'Action Marker' system provides precise control for individual ships, while Salvo's squadron controls allow you to direct whole groups of ships at the same time. Move, shoot, grapple, board, form a line of battle and more with just a few clicks of the mouse!

♦ Highly intuitive interface makes Salvo! perfect for everyone from landlubbers to old sea dogs.

♦ Boarding actions!

♦ Age of Sail chrome: fire ships and shore batteries!

♦ Branching campaign structure that allows the player to chart the course of the campaign and decide where next to fight. Depending on how one battle goes there can be up to a half dozen possibilities for the next scenario, allowing a huge amount of replayability.

♦ In between scenarios refit and upgrade ships. You can even use captured enemy vessels in your own fleet! Ships in the game include ships of the line, sloops, xebecs, frigates, gun platforms, and bombards.

♦ Once again, pirates!! Arrrrrrr!

More Praise!

They're still talking.. The campaigns are fairly dynamic as well, meaning that you can get plenty of enjoyment out of playing them again. Choosing the site of your next engagement and determining how to integrate captured ships into your own navy adds a bit of variety to each new mission. --Steve Butts, IGN

" The AI will definitely kick your ass for a while until you learn how to coordinate your attacks." --Game Rankings

"...for any given turn in Salvo you'll have to take stock of how your ship (or ships) are doing, optimizing the crew allocation to your ideal balance between maintenance, movement, and offense, position your ship in the most advantageous position vis a vis range, wind direction, and firing angles, choose the ideal load-out of your cannons in accordance with your battle strategy (going for a quick kill vs. disabling the enemy ship, for example). It's not easy, but for the turn-based tacticians out there who love to obsess about this kind of stuff, Salvo is definitely the game for you." --Pat Miller, Applelinks

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Gamer's Front game description (2019)