Age of Longbow Volume I - Released!
Today we bring you the next installment in our new Sword & Siege series - Age of Longbow Volume I: Hundred Years War. This title continues this new chapter for us after the successful release of Crusades: Book I.
When we launched the series we mentioned that it is intended to cover topics up to the time of the Renaissance, with most weaponry being pre-gunpowder. In this specific title we have a variety of early gunpowder units mixed in with the earlier weapons still widely in use at the time.
This game is scaled at 100-meter hexes with 15-minute turns, though there are a few 40-meter hex scenarios with 10-minute turns. Units are companies or combined-companies with individual Leaders and Artillery.
Like in Crusades, all of the graphics have been addressed. Not only do we have completely new Unit images and 3D graphics, but two of the three available 2D views are completely new as well ("Block" view is also used in the new War of the Austrian Succession title). We now have:
- Graphical Unit Icons
- "NATO" style (adapted for the time period)
- Block style
(All images can be clicked for full-sized viewing.)
And like Crusades, we completely addressed the audio on this title. We have updated and new:
- Background sounds.
- Unit movement sounds.
- Weapon sounds.
- Music (23 tracks included).
As with our other game series, there is a variety of modules included:
- Main program (single battles)
- Campaign system (linked series of battles)
- Scenario Editor
- Campaign Editor
- Submap Editor
Additionally, 2 campaigns are included, yielding another 49 scenarios.
The following is a Visual Order of Battle which shows all the different Nations involved and unit types. Note, these are not fully fleshed out forces, but rather a sampling of what is included.
Cadzand
St. Omer
Morlaix
Auray
Blanchetaque
Crécy
Neville's Cross
Poitiers
Brignais
Najera
Pontvallain
Aljubarrota
Agincourt
Cravant
Orleans
Patay
Castillon
In this initial release we do not have Fortresses as were introduced in Crusades; Book I. This is due to the new weapon types involved in this time period and the impact they had on siege warfare. Additionally, at the 100-meter scale, most European fortresses would be tiny on the map. We are exploring including some 40-meter scale siege actions in a future expansion package however.
To get a fuller picture of what the project covers, including historical background, unit specifics and a list of all the battles, check out the Design Notes.
The above image is included with the game (in the \Manuals\Maps folder) and is focused on the year 1444... will give you an idea of how the continent was divided up at this time. The above linked image is large - ~30 MB - so may take time to load if you click on it.
Now we'll share some resources to get you going on the topic, in case you aren't familiar with it.
Youtube channel Kings and Generals has a 7-video series on the subject:
HistoryMarche has an 11-video series as well:
And while there are obviously no game play videos available at this point, play will be similar to the battles in Crusades and also the Renaissance title. The Mack has videos on both of those games on his channel.
Additionally, we have recently released a Demo for the Sword & Siege series, which you can try out here.
Here's some suggested reading to get you acquainted with this time period:
And then we'll wrap up this post with a variety of screen shots from the game.
We invite you to visit the Sword & Siege forum to talk about this game.
And that brings this post to a close. We hope you have enjoyed this overview of the game and are eager to dive in!
Age of Longbow Volume I: Hundred Years War is available now through our Store. We hope you enjoy it!
Brilliant news!
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead!
This looks like a very interesting game, looking forward to playing it.
Awesome! I’ll be picking this up later this morning.
This will be the first of the series I buy. The introduction of the longbow means I can no longer resist.
Leave a comment