Will there be a single player mode? I liked real time against other players but I had to stop playing CoN cause I can’t compete against other people with more time on their hands.

This is an extended version of the trailer I posted yesterday - adding a bit of lore at the beginning.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/ycR_wCtV7XY

I think it's a browser game and I would like to play it but my personal phone is 1gb ram unfortunately since my other one got stolen.

Tim im gonna be making a discord account to join the discord group chat thingys and if i do get into the playtest where do the playtesters install it? Or is it gonna be on chrome for the playtest?

Hey everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the first official gameplay trailer! Let me know what you think.

The game is still in development but playtests will start soon and will be announced on discord (https://discord.nationsatarms.com)!

Music Credits:
Music: Breakthrough by ArcticFoxMusic
Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AOHZKg4AmE

Taking a city in Nations at Arms takes time. Your infantry has to hold the city centre until a capture timer runs out, while open land still changes hands the moment you move in.

A strategy game needs some way to slow down a player who's advancing quickly. Otherwise one strong army can roll over several nations before anyone gets a chance to react. Other games in the genre do this with insurgents: conquered cities rebel unless you leave units behind to keep them under control. I find insurgencies a frustrating mechanic, so I went a different route. In Nations at Arms, conquered cities don't rebel. Instead, you have to hold a city for a while before you can capture it.

To capture a city, you need at least one formation with infantry standing on its centre until the timer runs out. Tanks and parked aircraft can hold the centre and block anyone else, but only infantry can capture it. Motorized and Modern Infantry are the fastest, while engineers and special forces take a bit longer and the National Guard takes twice as long.

While the timer runs, the city is frozen for its owner. They can't start any construction, recruitment, upgrades or paid repairs there and anything already in progress pauses.

This also gives the defender a good chance at a comeback. If they destroy the capturing formation, the capture stops and its progress slowly drains away again. And if a city does fall, taking it back is instant: your infantry flips it back the moment it reaches the centre.

The capture speeds are a first version and will probably change during the playtests. If you have any feedback about the mechanic, let me know!

I'm working on a new look for units on the map: your formations will show the actual vehicles as 3D models, in addition to the NATO symbols.

The video shows the first models in a match while I give them orders. They turn and face the direction they're moving in, so you can see where each formation is headed at a glance. Aircraft smoothly change direction and circle over their target. Note that this is an early version and a lot of it is still subject to change, from the models themselves to how they look on the map.

A small technical detail: the units on the map are actually 2D images generated from the 3D models. As you can see in the video, you barely notice the difference, but it keeps the game running a lot smoother.

I'm really looking forward to your feedback, so let me know on our Discord what you think!

A lot of you have asked which game modes Nations at Arms will offer and how fast matches will run. Right now a whole match fits into a single evening and slower modes will follow later.

I'm building the game to support all kinds of modes and speeds. On top of the normal speed there's a 2× and a 4× mode that make matches run even quicker. Fast games like these are something new for the genre and a lot of fun, because they challenge your quick thinking and reaction time.

Fast matches are also hard to balance. On bigger maps travel time still adds up, so units need to move quickly. At the same time, players need enough time to react to an attack and position their units for a proper defense. So expect a lot of changes to be made during the first playtests.

Slow matches like in other games of the genre are possible too, so you can play throughout the week and check in regularly. A slow pace takes longer to develop, so this mode won't be available before release.

There's currently a small Europe map for 8 players and a large world map for \~70 players. Both maps will allow even more players later on. The Europe map will be the only map in the first alpha playtest and the world map will become the default after that.

I have a lot more ideas for game modes, maps and settings to be added in updates after release.

Welcome! You're one of the very first people to visit this sub. Nations at Arms hasn't even been officially announced yet, so you got really lucky!

Feel free to invite your friends and join our Discord to get in early there too.

Thank you for being such an early part of Nations at Arms. Let's write history together!

Welcome to Nations at Arms! This is the home of a new real-time strategy game set during World War III and you're one of the first people to see it.

Nations at Arms puts you in command of a nation in a near-future global conflict. You build up your economy, research new technologies, forge alliances and lead your forces on a 2D tactical map based on real-world geography. The game runs right in your browser and won't have any pay-to-win elements.

I've been working on the game for a while now and it's already fully playable against AI nations. Early playtests with a limited group of players will start soon. Until then, I'll share regular devlogs about what I'm working on. I want to build this game together with its community, so your ideas and feedback will help shape it from the start.

Thank you so much for being here! Join our Discord to chat with me, hear about playtests first and get a special role if you're one of the first 100 members.