![]() ![]() According to the road map, a fourth faction in the Undead are planned to be included at launch-proper. Dwarves take their inspiration from the Monitor and Merrimac, featured as armoured paddlesteamers – more bunker than ship. The Orcs are represented with refreshingly lithe craft, all speed and prow. Human ships, otherwise known as the Phoenix fleet, are an embellished mix of dhow, Portuguese cog and British ship of the line. In pursuits, as prey or predator, these little wrinkles can make all the difference in speed and manoeuvring.Īt the time of writing, three factions are available for players, each with three classes of ships therein. Currents can run in a certain direction, signaled by the movement of froth on the surface. Currents and wind also play a very big part, especially when captaining ships with sails. ![]() The crest or trough of a wave can be the difference between overshooting or falling short. Ships rise and fall across the rolling swell, which feeds into timing one’s shot. The aforementioned water makes all the difference in Maelstrom. There’s also a short-range hook attack for triggering boarding actions and ship-specific special attacks, all governed by cool-down. Chain-shot and explosive rounds slow opponents and wither crew complements respectively, in addition to the basic shot. Three types of ammunition make combat more than merely acclimatizing to firing arcs and hang-time. The bays and channels are dotted with little NPC boats that can be sunk for loot and buffs to firepower and speed. You WASD about the rolling waves - and Maelstrom’s water is absolutely marvelous - with a mouse-controlled camera helping to select your firing vector. As the match rolls towards the late phase, a black tide rolls in from the horizon and brims with ship-destroying leviathans, safe harbour found only in the complete destruction of all other players. While I’m still a bottom-bound hors d’oeuvre for salty dogs, the enthusiasm remains for Gunpowder Games‘ brisk, tactical ship-to-ship combat.Īs is de rigueur for the genre, sixteen players battle it out around a dense island archipelago, combatants thinning as the zone of play contracts towards the centre of the map. Finally, a ticket into the winner-takes-all genre, one somewhat more lenient to the cable-deprived. ![]() Semaphore notwithstanding, intrigue got the better of me when Maelstrom hit on Early Access. Give my internet a banjo and it could damn well play. It fluctuates with the phases of the moon, the seasons and its own infernal temperament. Well, here we are, but I hasten to add my inexperience with the Battle Royale concept is throttled not so much by taste, but by a boondocks internet connection. Nobody likes people who graft their preview with a preamble about how the game in question belongs to a genre they can’t abide. It’s an enticing clash of high-fantasy and fighting sail, and is exactly the twist a certain type of popular multiplayer game needs right now. At the intersection of Hornblower-Tolkien cosplay, you find Maelstrom. ![]()
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