Warlords (game series)
| Warlords | |
|---|---|
| developer |
Strategic Studies Group Infinite Interactive |
| Publisher |
Strategic Studies Group Red Orb Entertainment Ubisoft |
| Designer | Steve Fawkner |
| First title | Warlords (1990) |
| Last title | Warlords 4: Heroes of Etheria (2003) |
| Platform (s) | Amiga , DOS , Mac OS , Windows , Windows Mobile |
| Genre (s) | Turn-based strategy game |
Warlords is a series of turn-based computer strategy games from Australian game developer Steve Fawkner . Fawkner designed the series while working for the Australian development studio Strategic Studies Group (SSG) and continued it with his development studio Infinite Interactive after he left .
description
The Warlords games are set in the medieval fantasy world Etheria, in which various factions fight for military supremacy. In addition to the possibility of free play on randomly generated cards, the games also include single-player campaigns whose mission is linked to one another by a loosely told storyline. All parts use a turn-based game principle.
There are usually several castles spread across the mission map, which are the starting point for unit production and which must be conquered. Each castle can train one unit at the same time, the duration of training in rounds usually depends on the type and strength of the unit to be trained. However, the choice of unit types available is limited and varies from fortress to fortress. The organization of unit production is therefore also part of the game. The player can modify the production portfolio or have units from castles located far in the hinterland automatically moved to the front line. The player needs gold to maintain units or to change the unit range of a castle. This is usually taken by the conquered castles, which earn a certain amount of gold per round.
In addition to the standard unit types, there are so-called heroes, which represent a second central aspect of the game and offer alternative options for action. In addition to castles, there are also special locations such as old ruins or dungeons that can only be entered by heroes. There gold or particularly powerful creatures can be found that join the player. As in role-playing games, heroes can also accept quests, for which they receive experience points and special items as rewards. In this way, the hero's attributes can be improved via the items or by leveling up, making them particularly powerful units. In addition, they play roles relevant to action and play in the campaigns.
Published games
| title | Initial release | developer | Publisher | platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warlords | 1990 | Strategic Studies Group | Strategic Studies Group | Amiga , DOS , Mac OS |
| Warlords II | 1993 | Strategic Studies Group | Strategic Studies Group | DOS, Mac OS, Windows Mobile |
| Warlords II Scenario Builder | 1994 | Strategic Studies Group | Strategic Studies Group | DOS |
| Warlords II Deluxe | 1995 | Strategic Studies Group | Strategic Studies Group | DOS, Mac OS |
| Warlords III: Reign of Heroes | Oct 8, 1997 | Strategic Studies Group | Red Orb Entertainment | Windows |
| Warlords III: Darklords Rising | 1998 | Strategic Studies Group | Red Orb Entertainment | Windows |
| Warlords IV: Heroes of Etheria | Nov 27, 2003 | Infinite Interactive | Ubisoft | Windows |
In addition, there was an offshoot series from the genre of real-time strategy , which was published under the title Warlords Battlecry , and another offshoot called Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords , a combination of computer role-playing game , strategy and puzzle elements.