According to a recent news piece on Gamasutra, Derek Smart's Galactic Command: Echo Squad will soon be making its way to Turner Broadcasting System's GameTap subscription PC gaming service. Gametap currently offers over 800 licensed videogames for download and play on demand.

"Thanks to GameTap and its commitment to episodic games, we now have a great opportunity for Galactic Command to reach a larger audience," said Smart, who is president and CEO of Galactic Command developer 3000AD and bears no relation to Maxwell Smart. "We're excited to be on board with a company that has a clear vision for broadening the PC gaming market."

Galactic Command: Echo Squad will be released as a set of four downloadable episodes. Episode 1: Rise of the Insurgents will kick of the episode releases in spring. Subsequent episodes will be released on a monthly basis, with the four part collection making up a campaign totaling sixteen missions.

The title offers support for up to sixteen players per mission over a multiplayer client-server, and GameTap subscribers will be able to choose from a variety of modes, including death match, team death match and multiplayer cooperative modes, when playing other GameTap subscribers online.

3000AD clarifies some of its episodic plans in its own forum for the PC/360 Galactic Command. Clarify? Looks more like a slight overhaul from where we're sitting, as the details reveal that the PC and 360 will be getting exclusive episodes and even gameplay genres that all ultimately center around the Galactic Command universe. "Imagine, if you will, the different aspects of the popular sci-fi series, Star Trek."

Or Fabula Nova Crystallis, for that matter. Everyone seems to be into metastories nowadays!

Galactic Command - Echo Squad is the new name of the original aerial/space action combat title based on the adventures of a group of Elite Force Pilots assigned to the Excalibur carrier. This title will remain a PC exclusive. We have this week signed an exclusive four episode deal for this title. More info will be announced by the publisher at the upcoming D.I.C.E. summit in Las Vegas. GALCOM:ES is on schedule for release in Q2/07.

Galactic Command - Bravo Team is an FPS only title based on the adventures of a team of elite marines assigned to a planetary starbase. It is also episodic and features some of our emerging technologies, including a heavily revamped terrain engine which uses SpeedTreeRT. More info and shots will be revealed this Summer, as well as additional info on what platforms it will be released on. GALCOM:BT is on schedule for release in Q4/07.

Galactic Command - Excalibur. Similar to "Echo Squad", this title is also episodic and focuses on the Excalibur command carrier and the combat pilots assigned to it. This title will remain an XBox 360 exclusive. GALCOM:EX is on schedule for release in Q2/08.

At the beginning of December, Derek Smart announced that Universal Combat Collector's Edition, the final game in the series, will be released in the first quarter of this year. Also, a new title, Galactic Command – Rise of the Insurgents, will be released on PC around the same time. Rise of Insurgents will also be released on XBL in early 2008

GALCOM is intended to be the first of four episodes, released quarterly, which tie in with Smart's already established (through previous titles) world. The difference with GALCOM is that it should adopt a more pick-up and play game-style.

Gamasutra has a rather lengthy yet in-depth interview with Smart about his plans for the game, and the challenges that he encountered working with the console. You can get access to that via our read-link below. What we really want to focus on is Smart's take on the advantages that developers can get from providing episodic content.

Here are a few snippets of that from the interview:

How often do you intend to release episodes? Do you feel the time between releases will give you a chance to take on board any comments - whether they be good or bad - regarding the previous episode?
We are planning to release a new episode as frequently as every quarter. This will give us enough time to take in the comments as well as see which aspects we need to revise, enhance, tweak for future episodes.

Do you intend to release the episodes of the game over Live Arcade, and, if so, how much of a challenge is it to work within the 50MB limit?
Apart from the fact that our episodes will be less than 50MB, it is highly unlikely that we would run into this problem, because the episodes will most likely not be released via Live Arcade, but rather through regular content download - similar to how patches and updates are pushed through, regardless of size. Then again, we'll have to wait and see how this goes because it is entirely up to the publisher and Microsoft.

What advantages and disadvantages does episodic content present for 3000AD?
As I mentioned earlier, the primary advantage is that we get to extend the life of the game while gaining residual income through its life. I can't see any disadvantage to this model at this time. Our scenarios are primarily script (all data) driven, so the resources required are minimal.

For the rest of the interview feel free to use our read-link below.

A few days back we told you guys that 3000AD's Galactic Command (PC, Xbox360)will be heading to our PC's and 360's. And as an update to that, WorthPlaying has just posted even more screens and details for the upcoming space shooter-slash-combat game.

According to WP, the game will have missions that'll take place in both space and planet surfaces, as well as "intuitive" help system, user-friendly GUI interface and control scheme (including game pad support). And as we mentioned before, the game will be released in episodic format with four..err..episodes all in all that tell the story of the conflict between the Terran Military forces of Galactic Command and the Insurgents, who are threatening the organization's security and stability.

Here's the gist of the first episode: You're faced with the mission of directing the GCV-Excalibur and GCV-Merlin, two new attack carriers as they take on the Insurgents on their maiden voyage into space. You'll take on the role of captain of the combat flight crew of fighters assigned to the Excalibur. Protect your fleet and zap out enemies into oblivion are your main tasks.

Galactic Command is scheduled for release around March next year, with Episode One included upon purchase (doh). The three succeeding episodes (each sold separately) will be released every two to three months after that. You can expect the game (or rather the first episode) to sell for US $ 29.95, with future episodes to sell for US $ 19.95.

More screens of cosmorgasmic proportions await in the full article!

 

According to a Firing Squad report, 3000AD has just confirmed their upcoming space-based game series called Galactic Command, which will be heading to our 360's and PC's soon.

The report also says that Derek Smart, the guy who brought us the Battlecruiser/Universal Combat space sim series, is scheduled to officially announce the game tomorrow for the PC and Xbox 360. Galactic Command is said to be designed as a space shooter which resembles the style of space combat in the Freespace series. So if you're a Trekkie looking for a game as visually stunning as your beloved Star Trek Legacy, you might wanna watch out for this one.

3000AD is also planning on releasing the game in episodic format for both the PC and Xbox 360. That's about all the info we can gather right now regarding this new space shooter, but trust that we will be keeping you posted for more development once 3000AD officially announces the game. So while we wait for that, here are a few screens to give you a glimpse of how Galactic Command will play out in terms of visual prowess. We'll keep you posted for more.