Hey! I know it’s been a while since we updated the blog about Echoes, so it’s about time to show some pulse.

We had a few internal changes lately, and that includes the arts team. Worry not, Axel is still leading the exceptionally awesome style behind Echoes. But we have two new fellows working with him, and I can’t hold it in anymore, I just have to post some of the stuff they’ve produced for the game.

Let me introduce Greg Bartlett (http://www.zeedox.net/), Greg takes care of the level design in Act 2. So he’s already done some impressive work! Let me show you a glimpse from one of the stages in Act 2:

Pretty awesome eh?! You can see the new multiple paths, executed with hills and caves. Some of these are well hidden, as there’s “fog of war” by default – found on many popular RTS games. You get rewarded for finding those sort of caves during the campaign!

Now let’s take a closer look at things, done perfectly by Samuel Thompson (http://www.wildforge.com/). Sam took care of the concept art in Act 2, and he’s mad talent and stylish. Check out the following shot of Diabolus holding up a UEN Marine:

Anyone up for these as wallpapers?:-)

That’s it for this update, keep checking on us every now and then!

- Check out some new gameplay elements in Act 2

- Check out the new shield concept in Act 2

Hey! Echoes: Operation Stranglehold (Act 1) is out for some time now. Since its release we learnt a lot about how to make Echoes even better. We listened and still are listening to all the feedback, and we’re glad to introduce two important concepts which we’re implementing in Act 2.

Grounds

One of the things that make Echoes unique is the genre union of RTS and Shooter. Many complained RTS is too difficult to pull off in a side scroller. We sat and thought it through, and we figured a solid way to have true strategy in a sidescroller, here’s an example:

Multiple paths are now introduced in Act 2. Some underground, some on hills. These paths offer tactical value, and we believe complete the RTS aspect of Echoes.

Cover System

The Shooter aspect of Echoes (Combat mode) was a great challenge to make. It’s not about throwing sidescroller-shooter elements into the engine, because there’s also a great deal of balancing between the enemy AI and the player’s powers. So we balanced the player further in Act 2, and one of the things we added is the option to avoid bullets on both sides. We simply laid a few sandbags around the battlefield, and voila!

Of course it works with Dem as well.

These are just two of many new things that make Echoes Act 2 so solid.

Speaking of cool new additions, check out Robin Lingmerth. He’s one of the two new artists we have on the team, and takes good care of all concept art and still scenes.

So when can you expect Act 2? Well, unfortunately, not this Christmas. We’re expecting a delay for Act 2, and we can’t promise any date yet. Keep checking for updates though, because we will eventually post a few spicy videos from development.

Now that Act 1 “Operation Stranglehold” is out and is fully playable, we’re getting quite a few questions about what is next for Echoes.

Spreading Act 1 among Flash portals on the internet is an important goal. This will build up what we need before the release of Act 2, which we’re now working on. If you’re a game site owner, contact us for details.

Speaking of Act 2, here’s a nice concept which we’ll see quite often in battle. It’s the ‘shield carrier’ unit of the UEN – it casts a large shield which protects the units inside it from enemy fire. It can take quite a few bullets and even explosions before ‘running out’, and when it does run out, it starts charging itself back up again. It’s an efficient vs. enemy fire with splash damage, such as the Hybrid Grenadiers… and other things coming up in Act 2

So this is just one out of many features we’re working on for Act 2, which will enhance the epicness for both Strategy and Combat modes. We’ll keep posting them overtime, as well as gameplay videos sometime later in development, so keep tracking Echoes Act 2!

Hey everyone, we’re glad to announce you can now play Echoes: Operation Stranglehold (Act 1) on Echoesgame.com . Here’s a mirror for Echoes: Operation Stranglehold on Armor Games!

Echoes is an action-strategy game. It’s set in an extensive universe on a torn Earth almost three-hundred years in the future. It joins the famous Real Time Strategy genre with many elements from the Third Person Shooter genre, in a side-scrolling environment.

If you need help playing Echoes, you can hit our forums right here. Echoes: Operation Stranglehold is also on Facebook, in case you wanna follow the series and its next games.

Stay tuned for Act II

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