Galley Battles: From Salamis to Actium is classic hex and turn based wargaming while taking advantage of everything a computer can offer a wargamer. Scale-wise each hex represents 50 meters, a turn will be about five minutes, and each ship will be represented individually. Maps can be as big as 512 x 512 hexes, and battles can involve as many as five hundred ships!
Multiplayer action is possible through either hotseat or PBEM play, and a full featured scenario editor will be included. Turns are simultaneous WEGO phases, and thanks to the innovative command structure in Galley Battles: From Salamis to Actium, players will easily be able to manage massive engagements. What the system does is allow players to sketch out the basic general orders at the start of a battle, and once in the heat of battle more detailed orders via individual squadrons are then given. Of course you can also keep your order level at a higher level of command; how much or how little you wish to micro-manage is entirely up to you!
Galley Battles: From Salamis to Actium will cover the Greek-Persian Wars, Peloponnesian Wars, the First Punic War, and ends with the Roman Civil War featuring Actium in 31 BC. Your fleets are not manned by automatons, as the game system places a strong emphasis on fatigue and morale, with the battle actions that ships witness affecting their morale up or down. Likewise, just because your ship may have the capability to move ten hexes in a given turn it may not do so, as the sailors can be worn down, or show their inexperience. Thus, it is not enough to simply take into account how many ships you are engaging with, but you must know the capabilities of your sailors on those ships. Expect a novice, overworked squadron to save the day and you may find their squadron floundering and flung out in a chaotic fashion even before making contact with the enemy!
Plenty of chrome will be found in the game, such as beautiful animations showcasing ramming and boarding, the ability to capture and recapture ships, unique leaders, specialized units, and more. Galley Battles: From Salamis to Actium also features realistic and diverse tactics for the combatants, as fighting against the Greeks in 480 BC will be quite different than fighting against the Romans four hundred years later. There are plenty of orders to give, from individually commanding ships to turn to ordering an entire squadron to adopt a hedgehog formation.
