King Art Games and Polish artist Jakub Różalski have announced that a new alternative history world war 1 real time strategy game is in the works. Iron Harvest 1920+ is an alternate version of our own world created by Polish artist Jakub Różalski.
The game is set in a world much like our own but with technological advancements happening differently.Mankind, fascinated by technology, iron, and engines, invented powerful walking machines, that proved to be mighty weapons on the battlefields of the Great War and are now part of everyday life.However, secret forces work to destabilize Europe and try to once again set the world ablaze with the fires of war.
The developers named the game Iron harvest after the real life saying of farmers after world war one in which to this day farmers found/find a plethora of unexploded ordnance, barbed wire, weapons, shrapnel and bullets while plowing their fields. They call it the Iron Harvest. As many as one in three shells fired did not detonate in WW1 and considering an estimated one tonne of explosives was fired for every square metre of territory on the Western front, that’s a lot of iron.
Factions
There are three main factions that are known so far, the first is the Saxony Empire. The Saxony Empire is one of the most influential countries in Europe, with powerful industry, developed cities, modern factories and a strong military tradition. After the unfavorable conditions of surrender in the Great War, the current mood in the Empire is bad, and proud elites and humiliated aristocrats secretly oppose the Emperor’s appeasement policies.
The next is the Polania Republic which is a large agricultural country with a long history. It is trying to maintain its status and territory, struggling with its aggressive neighbors: The Saxony Empire in the west and Rusviet in the east. Polania initiated a program to modernize its army while a large part of the country is still occupied by Rusviet forces.
Last but by no means least is the Rusviet Forces. Rusviet is powerful and has unmatched industrial and population potential. However, the country is tired and worn out by the long war. People are frustrated, and the power of Tsar Nikolaj weakens. Mysterious Grigori Rasputin has become an extraordinarily powerful man and revolution is in the air for this long-standing nation.
Gameplay
Very little detail is known about the gameplay at this point. We know its an RTS but that still could take many forms. The developers have said that “You lead hero characters, mechs, and soldiers into battle. Cover mechanics and dynamic destruction play a major role in combat. Your squads take cover automatically, but a simple brick wall will only offer protection against small calibers, not against mech-mounted cannons.”
This leads to the idea that this could possibly resemble a squad based tactics RTS like company of heroes, Dawn of War 2 or it could be a hybrid. We also can assume that if a cover system is going to be in play we are likely talking smaller armies of units rather than Starcraft 2 level of battles.
It has also been confirmed that while the levels themselves are open sandbox style, there will be a dynamic story which will set you goals. It could be conceived that this means that it may contain non-linear mission objectives within battles themselves. It will be interesting to see if they allow players to choose missions and if the game will contain an overworld gameplay element outside of battles.
From an early screenshot, it certainly looks to be more in the style of a squad based RTS which could lead to each character having specific abilities and roles. Other than this, the developers for the time being, are keeping hush about the specifics of the game. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.
