Introducing Desert Ashes on PS Vita

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Introducing Desert Ashes on PS Vita

Desert Ashes

Hey, fellow PS Vita and future PlayStation TV owners. Luc Bernard here again, you may remember me close to E3 when I announced Reaper.

Now I’m here to announce a new title, which will be coming out this fall. The game is called Desert Ashes. It’s a free-to-play, turn-based strategy with local and online multiplayer for PlayStation TV and PS Vita.

Let’s first go through what will be available at launch:

  • 3 single player campaigns
  • Online PvPmultiplayer
  • Local PvP multiplayer on PS TV

Now, a bit of information on the online multiplayer (the local is pretty straightforward — sit on the couch with your friend and play on your PlayStation TV). Now for the online multiplayer, once you’ve taken your turn you don’t have to wait for your opponent to make his move if you’re too busy doing other things. For example, there are different timers you can set before you can declare victory on your opponent if they take too long. There will be 5 minutes, 20 minutes, 8 hours, and 24 hours. Also with the online multiplayer you can play on your Vita while you’re out, and then continue your match exactly where you left off at home.

Desert AshesDesert Ashes

Another exciting aspect are the perks available to customize your army. For example, the Fort Toughness perk will add 20% DEF to all allied units at a structure, the Vampire perk will convert 20% attack damage to HP between 10 PM and 5AM. And the list goes on.

Now that I just mentioned times: in Desert Ashes, each time you take a turn an hour will pass in the game. For example, at night because of the low temperature all the water will start to freeze and that will entirely change the battlefield.

I really want the community to be vocal about what they want in this game. There aren’t that many turn-based strategies out on Vita, and we want you guys to tell us what you want. That means level designs, ideas, and even skins for your army.

Be vocal, and we’ll be listening — that’s what we want to do with this title, is give you guys lots of updates once it’s out based on what you want!

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35 Comments

5 Author Replies

  • A new Vita game?! SAWEEET!!!! This looks really interesting. I love to try out new genres, and this looks like it could be a lot of fun, especially if I can play with my roommates/ fellow vita owners. Do you have any idea of a release date? Thanks

  • Seeing the PlayStation TV mentioned in a post got me really excited. I cannot wait to play games like this on my TV. IT SHALL BE GLORIOUS!

  • this seems potentially very interesting.

  • Not to discredit the hard work you guys are putting in, but this looks a lot like Advance Wars.

    I LOVE Advance Wars.

    Interesting idea on the customisable armies and passing time, however. Definitely going to be getting this one!

  • What do I want?

    I WANT A RELEASE DATE. =)

    This looks great. Bring it.

  • Ugh, F2P.

    Just means two things: Micro-transactions and Timed content… Skipping sadly.

  • This looks cool! Has an old-school Civ appeal.

    Requests:

    – Do not make it F2P
    – include a volcano level
    – enable custom background music
    – enable Near functionality
    – swimsuit skins!

    • haha well i am thinking about inserting in custom skins down the line, Near we will look into it as a update.

      And the F2P is not P2W. Basically the multiplayer is free and the first campaign and if you want more campaigns you just have to buy them :)

  • Wow, is that what i think it is?

    It’s awesome! Yet, why those graphics?

    This i am correctly the 2nd “nintendo Advance wars” clone, first was Mecho Wars and now Desert Ashes, both awesome in gameplay in content but awful in graphics and aesthetics, who cares about flying aliens or bird like monsters?

    Can’t you guys for once make a proper turn based strategy military game?

  • Sounds pretty sweet and love the aesthetic. F2P is cool, just please avoid P2W for online multiplayer. Real-money microtransactions should only be for cosmetic items, like the army skins.

    PS. I love the asynchronous multiplayer! It makes it so much easier!

  • I just noticed this “Desert Aches” is actually “Mecho Wars: Desert Ashes”

    Why you guys had to hide Mecho Wars in the name?

  • Oh, one thing I meant to ask about the multiplayer…will you be able to have more than one game going on at a time?

    In other words, say I start a 24hr-limit game, but it’s taking a couple hours for my opponent to respond…can I start a new game and have both accessible to me, allowing me to switch back and forth as my turns become available? I really hope so!

    • you will be able to have several single player and multiplayer games going on at once, you will soon see in the next blog update before release

  • Wish i had a Vita, definitely need to put it on my buy list along with this game and a couple of others.

  • Hi Luc,

    I wanted to know a couple of things:

    – What kind of paid elements will the game have?

    – Will there be a paid option for the game that let’s you have all of it without any compromise?

    I really like what I’m seeing about it, but I’d rather pay a full amount up front than be forced to play endless amounts of money to stay competitive.

    Thanks! Looking forward to the release date.

    • – pay for campaigns (new levels etc… well campaigns)
      – cosmetic items to come in the future

      and that’s it :)

  • Looks awesome.

    Any shot of pass-and-play multiplayer since its a turn based game? Would be a great way to expose non Vita owners to the game and the handheld.

  • Awesome! Day one for sure!

  • I really enjoyed Mecho Wars in PSP. I will enjoy this one too. Please don’t make it “free-to-play-pay-to-win”

  • Stop reading at free to play. A good free to play is so rare, it might as well be Bigfoot.

  • free to play = no play from me

    freemium is an instant turn-off – if you release it as a full game, I might buy it as a full game with all the content up front

  • I can’t believe f2p still has such a bad stigma in this day and age. There are so many excellent examples of f2p games done right (aka. not p2w). Don’t judge a game simply based on the fact that it’s f2p before you’ve actually seen the monetization schemes and/or played it yourself.

  • You know a lot of people complain about free to play but I like it because it gives me a chance to play a game I would have never played a chance. And besides I do earn trophies from the game how cool is that!!!!!!!!

  • Will a Vita TV imported from Japan work when an NA account once Playstation TV is out in America?
    I want my device to say Vita not Playstation and MORE SO. I want it in White to match my Vita.

  • Hey Luc! It’s been ages since I saw that name. Looking forward to this and what you brought to Mecho Wars.

  • @21

    Expect to be able to use a PSVTV with a US account when they roll out that PSTV in the US. They locked the PSVTV to Japan only because those territories actually had games that were patched to support PSVTV so expect to it have US accounts when the PSTV comes out.

  • I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t want this to be free to play. I loved the first one, and was just the thing for my Advance Wars itch. The artstyle is cool, and I really don’t mind it.

    I hope it isn’t pay to win, as free to play models tend to gear themselves towards because I did enjoy Mecho Wars and I’d like a balanced online mode. I’ll be getting a PS TV and I’d love to play this on it and at some point record footage or stream some matches.

  • @17 Lol!

  • That’s a cool theme on turn based tile combat. My fondest memories are of Chess, Fire Embem, and Advanced Wars. What I’d want to see differently is the units and abilities. Just for references, a high movement xenomorph, or an invisible predator, or if units could upgrade/evolve under conditions like when a checker is crowned.

  • Free-to-play games will always raise eyebrows, although there’s always that rare case where the game is legitimately good or has a great way of allowing you to play without some kind of limits. No Heroes Allowed: No Puzzles Either is one such case. Absolutely addicting gameplay and allows you to unlock the ability to play the game without any form of microtransactions for a single payment of $10. Now THAT’S how all free-to-plays should be. Give us the option to have the game in its entirety for a flat price instead of nickle and dime-ing.

  • Multiple multiplayer games going on at once?! SOLD!

    Thanks for the reply :)

  • Ratchet and Clank skins

  • any kind of PS character skins

  • Agree with #19. The best example for this is DotA2 game from Valve. Its free to play model enabled it to set the record for the highest prize pool ever for an ESport tournament. The final total prize pool was $10,930,698.

  • WANT! *Please* some PS3 love? If a TV’s embedded processor can handle this, certainly the PS3 can. So please allow me to reinterate my primary assertion:

    WANT!

  • Sounds great. Will definitely pick this up.

    I like the F2P model where you get the game, and then buy additional *CONTENT*. Those are the best in my book. (Frobisher Says! ftw) And it feels great to support a developer in that way, rather than “10 gems to buy a shirt”. ;P

  • really enjoyed the gameplay and artwork of Mecho Wars, and this looks like a port.

    Mecho Wars had a really nonsensical plot — will this game be better on that front? are there any GLBT characters?

    online turn-based stuff is a great idea. I loved playing BBS door games like Barren Realms Elite that had a similar style of delayed interaction.

    looking forward to it!

  • Cool — I love play-by-mail gaming, we haven’t had nearly enough of that on portable game systems. Good luck with it!

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