Mode 7 Games has announced a change of title for its upcoming turn-based strategy game Frozen Endzone - it’s now called Frozen Cortex, which sounds much less like a horrible lower-body affliction.
The developers have also released a new update which adds OSX and Linux compatibility, upgraded animations and better AI.
As for the name change, Mode 7 gave the following excellent reasons for the decision:
1.) The original name was a bit rubbish and we got bored of it
2.) We think the game looks better like this
3.) Some people thought we were making a Madden game with robots: that is not what we’re doing
Fairly concise. The distinction between strategy and sports simulation is important. ”Cortex is a simultaneous-turn-based strategy game,” Mode 7 explains, ”a tense competitive contest wrapped up in the trappings of a brutal futuristic sport. It’s not a simulation of any existing sport; it takes an influence from football but you can certainly play it without understanding even a smidgen of that particular game.”
I’m yet to try Frozen Cortex, but if it manages to capture the tense, difficult strategy of Mode 7’s previous game Frozen Synapse then I might just have to check it out. It’s good to know I can maintain my ignorance of American Football and still enjoy it.
Frozen Cortex is in Early Access currently, with the most basic version of the game available for $24.99. More expensive tiers come with various extra goodies. As for the new update, I’ve posted the full list of changes below.
Here’s what’s in the update:
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OSX and Linux versions
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New pitch, ball and animations
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Completely overhauled AI including much faster performance and much more intelligent play
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Five new stadiums
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Significant performance improvements: frame rate should be 50-100% improved on most hardware
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Big loading time improvements
UI improvements:
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Throwing UI improved
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Intelligent interception-radius rendering
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indicator for whether a move location is “safe” or not
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Minor rules changes to reduce the need to “keep playing when the match is clearly over”; other gameplay improvements
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Quite a few new gameplay options to play around with in the Custom Game editor.
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Significantly updated in-game commentary text
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Other minor changes
