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Recently, I hunted down Rob Crandall and Jim Snyder of Simulations Canada so I could check out Flashpoint: Germany. This plan went slightly awry, as I instead got a look at the upcoming Flashpoint: Middle East - which is modern, land-based warfare set in the current desert hotspots. The original Flashpoint: Germany gave us warfare in an environment packed with military forces; in fact one of the densest buildups ever. Flashpoint: Middle East shifts the focus from density of combat and into the modern era, where locating an enemy is almost synonymous with exterminating said enemy. We joked that the entire game could be simplified down to "Blind Man's Buff with shotguns!" How does this go down? What game mechanisms create this hide and seek environment, how does this generate a fun scenario, and how do the developers plan on addressing replayability and ongoing interest?

Before I address the core concepts and "hooks" of the game, I'd like to note that the interface was very clean and very intuitive to me. A wide array of orders could be issued with simple right-click mechanics, allowing movement and disposition of forces to be determined quickly and efficiently. Surveying the battlefield was accomplished with a clean array of drill-down windows. Each tile reflects a collection of forces, and selecting the tile pops up a window which reflects the composition of that small collection. Within that window, an individual unit can be selected - and this activates yet another window showing detailed information on the unit in question. It's often overlooked when an interface is done WELL, but much decried when an interface sucks - so I like to make sure that I take note when the basic mechanics of interacting with a game shines through.

The highest level concept in Flashpoint: Middle East is that of limited orders, and the effects that this has on a battle. This mechanic is based on the fact that orders have to be transmitted somehow, and in the modern era transmissions can be monitored. Even if they can't be interpreted, they can be traced - and as we noted, knowing where your enemy is can be a tremendous advantage in and of itself. As a result, commanders can't risk micromanaging their units unless they're willing to broadcast the location of their forces - and this requires units to be able to function with limited direction. This means that when you do transmit orders, you'll be sending higher level concepts like movement waypoints and artillery doctrines, along with directives on how stringently these strategies are to be followed. Units that you allow a certain degree of autonomy can be directed to scout, attack when they perceive an advantage, or attack when they expect a decisive victory. These decisions will be made based on what they know as soon as they know it, and units will acknowledge when their information has aged and may no longer be valid.

As a counter-example, you can direct an artillery unit to go to a certain point and open fire on the enemy as soon as it has a fix on their location, with no autonomy. This unit will drive to its destination no matter what gets in its way, and will bombard a location as soon as it's known to contain enemies. If it loses its fix on whether or not the enemy are still there - it may keep firing, it may not ... depends on what you've told it! You can always refine your orders should something go wrong, but remember, people are listening! For an additional quirk, you can even apply the "limited staff" concept, which will cap the orders you're able to give whether you want to issue them or not. Whatever shape your orders take, they will be executed simultaneously with enemy orders, and units will react as you've indicated.

The behavior of various units is modeled as intra-unit radio traffic, and reviewing this information at the end of a battle will show you exactly what various units were thinking at various points in the battle. This helps you, as a commander, learn how your troops will react in given situations and allows you to refine future orders. In addition to glimpsing the workings of unit AI, the end-of-scenario phase includes a complete "general's staff" battle evaluation to show you what aspects of your command need improvement, what was satisfactory, and in what ways you kicked tail. This is complete with promotions and demotions, so you could find yourself wearing five stars - or busted down to zero. By the way, if you find yourself starless your game is over - so learn fast! Many of these evaluations are based on the goals of the scenario - which will be highly variable. After all, if one side fields 75% of the active forces but barely scratches out a win - is that really a victory? This in and of itself positively affects Flashpoint's replayability, as a given scenario will change a great deal based on what sides are fielding what forces with which particular victory conditions!

In a full campaign of Flashpoint: Middle East, this "Fathering" session is followed by a "Mothering" segment. This is typified by the awarding of medals and honors to units that performed well - which is important because experienced, decorated units outperform ordinary ones (as is common in wargames and war). Not only will they fight more effectively, but they'll also process information more effectively - reflected by improved decision making and reactions. The Mothering stage also includes the assignation of reinforcements and assets based on how well you did and how great your need in the campaign's immediate future. An important distinction here, is the discrepancy between new assets and recovered assets. Flashpoint differentiates between "deceased" units and "fallen out" units; which can be repaired in less time and for less effective cost than deceased units can be replaced. Time and cost play big roles in campaign success, bluntly, because they do so in real military campaigns. There's a short window where armed conflict is effective, and then circumstance inevitably intervenes - thusly it's your job to finish your campaign before that virtual alarm clock rings and signals the end of your military opportunity.

The last thing I wanted to touch on with Flashpoint is a series of "extras" and customizability options. First off is the planned set of tutorials. These are beginner levels that are designed not only to teach you how to play, but also how to think. In playing these levels, you hopefully get a sense of what orders make sense in what situations, rather than just learning how to issue orders. The game will also ship with a full set of mod tools for creating custom levels and units and the like. For customization features; much like real units have their own standards and paint their hardware in special ways, so too will you be able to apply personal touches to your units. Have a best friend that you want to "give" a unit? Grab a picture of them from that party, that time, attach it to the unit, and call them "Marshall's Marauders!" Want to have your own unit? Actually, that will be required. That's right - you're in the game. You can also die. That's bad. If you die, you effectively lose the scenario - no matter how well you were doing. I mean ... you're DEAD! Personally, I think that's very cool. It's like having a secret "king" on the chessboard. Lastly, the developers shared with me that they want Flashpoint: Middle East to have a greater arsenal of animations and sound effects than those in Flashpoint: Germany, so those of you familiar with the previous Flashpoint incarnation can expect a bit more audio/visual variety.

So if the command of modern forces appeals to you, especially in the sense that you cannot directly command them all the time - you should keep an eye out for Flashpoint: Middle East. It looks to be an incredibly interesting study in the maximization of, effectively, the min/maxing of your abilities to micromanage. Developing a strong initial plan, and subsequently knowing what is important enough to say and when looks to be the skill that carries the day, and it's a skill that is not often emphasized. A departure such as that suggests a game worth playing, in and of itself.

Editor's Note: the included screenshots contain placeholder art -- we are assured that Ms. Spears will be relieved of her command before the game's release.