ARMED! updated with Mango support, new multiplayer features, and more

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ARMED! is the best multiplayer strategy game on Windows Phone, hands-down. True, there is very little competition on that front, but the game would be impressive regardless. Even better, Sickhead Games has just published the massive ARMED! version 1.2 update.  Among the changes are Fast App Switching support, a new multiplayer matchmaking lobby, Ranked correspondence matches, an in-game news ticker, more language translations, and lots more. Having spent some time with the update prior to its release, I must say that all of the additions and tweaks make for an incredibly deep and polished experience.

Head past the break for the full release notes.

ARMED! version v1.2 release notes

New Features:

  • New Multiplayer/matchmaking lobby
  • New Ranked correspondence mode
  • ARMED! is now a Mango app!
    • Fast Application Switching. No more lost games to the search button!
    • Can now pin a live tile to the home screen by pressing and holding on a match in the Quick Start menu
    • Toast notifications alert you when it's your turn in a correspondence match
  • New News ticker on the Main Menu
  • ARMED! Has been translated into the following languages
  • Spanish
  • German
  • Italian
  • If you'd like to help translate ARMED! into your language, contact support.
  • New Unit Information screen, accessible when a unit is selected by tapping the Magnifying glass button or from within the buy screen
  • New "multi-select" button replaces one of the command group buttons, allows the user to make a temporary selection of multiple units without changing their group
  • Drag select! Can drag a selection box while holding down a group button or the multi-select button
  • BugSense support added, in-game crash details will be automatically reported to the support team

Balance Changes:

  • Factory:
  •  
    • Isolated the Factory's Reactor node. No longer requires any previous upgrades nor does the Reactor upgrade block future upgrades
    • Factories can no longer be added to unit groups
  • Striker:
  • All Strikers start out with 25 shield points.
  • Damage decreased to 15 (Down from 20).
  • Fire range increased to 3 (Up from 2).
  • Removed Immolation special
  • New special "Caution". Strikers using this action will retreat to a safe distance while under attack
  • Maximum HP is now 80. (Down from 100)
  • Armor Rating is now 2 (Up from 1)
  • Now costs 500 to deploy (Down from 750)
  • Armor rating is now 3 (Up from 0)
  • Damage increased from 9 to 15.
  • Speed increased by 1.
  • HP reduced from 100 to 25, but added 75 shield points.
  • Speed boost from Turbo special now works correctly.
  • Turbo special rebalanced to now be free of cost and not cause self-damage, but can only be used every other turn
  • Flamethrower now hits more than one target.
  • Starts with 3 rockets instead of 1.
  • Now only launches one "volley" of rockets per combat phase.
  • Replaced initial "Extra Rocket" upgrade with a "Shield" upgrade.
  • Replaced "3-Way Rockets" upgrade with another "Extra Rocket" upgrade.
  • All Rocket Batteries now deal 25% splash damage
  • Base damage is now 30 (Up from 20)
  • Starting HP is now 150 (Up from 100)
  • Now costs 300 to deploy (Down from 400)
  • Armor Rating is now 2 (Up from 0)
  • Anti-Air rockets now cost 100 resources. (Down from 250)
  • Anti-Air rockets reduce base damage by 2. (Down from 5)
  • Concussion Rockets now cost 100 resources. (Down from 200)
  • Extra Rocket upgrade now costs 75 resources (Down from 150)
  • Now prefers changing targets between shots
  • New Detector upgrade gives vision of all units and tiles within sight range, regardless of vision blocking terrain or cloaking abilities
  • Drones which are attacked while idle (not pathed or capturing) will now automatically attempt to move away towards safety
  • Now costs 300 to deploy (Up from 150)
  • Repair Stations can now heal themselves at twice their normal repair amount (previously could not self-repair)
  • Added shield upgrade option
  • Starting HP is now 150 (Up from 100)
  • Armor Rating is now 2 (Up from 0)
  • Now costs 400 to deploy (Down from 600)
  • Armor Rating is now 3 (Up from 0)
  • Shockwave special no longer damages the Mech
  • Shockwave special now hits friendly units within 1 tile in addition to the enemy
  • Shockwave special now slows enemy units within 2 tiles
  • The Mech can now move normally while using Shockwave (previously movement was disabled for the combat turn in which shockwave was used)
  • Starting HP is now 200. (Up from 100)
  • Interceptor upgrades can no longer destroy Silo projectiles
  • Armor Rating is now 3 (Up from 0)
  • Shield upgrade for structure now costs 75 resources. (Down from 100)
  • Units cannot fire at units directly above them. (Flying units in the same tile)
  • Tank:
  • Missile Silo:
  • HoverTank:
  • Rocket Battery
  • Drone:
  • Repair Station:
  • Incendiary Launcher:
  • Mech:
  • Laser Turret:
  • General:

Improvements:

  • Major multiplayer improvements
    • Improved matchmaking algorithms to match players together quicker
    • New Ranked correspondence mode
  • Units are now much easier to select
  • Redesigned main menu and other screens in accordance with metro principals, text should now be easier to read and appear cleaner in general
  • Double tapping a non-Factory structure opens its Upgrade Screen (Factories only open the Upgrade Screen if it cannot currently produce vehicles)
  • Can now buy specials and upgrades more quickly by double-tapping, in the same way one can for vehicles and structures
  • Units within SoftCover tiles (trees) now have their healthbar rendering turned on to increase visibility to the user (previously only turned on when taking damage)
  • Various rendering optimizations noticably increase fps during combat
  • New Alert icons
  • New Alerts:
  • Orbital Strike launched
  • HQ Under Attack
  • Power Station being captured
  • Duplicate alerts no longer appear if a similar/nearby alert is already on screen
  • Alerts increase in size as similar events happen nearby
  • Adjusted HUD to take up less screen space
  • A path node now pulsates while being dragged for easier visibility
  • Units Destroyed are now logged in the end of game statistics screen
  • Slight improvements to AI, Hard/Insane in particular will now begin the game with a stronger opening
  • Added several missing characters to fonts
  • Improved particle effect for "Slowed" units
  • Better reporting for Scoreloop-related errors
  • Text appears crisper and easier to read
  • Added preview margin to the Level Select screen to make user aware the screen scrolls horizontally
  • Vibration and alert options are enabled by default
  • Adjusted spacing and justification for buy screen menu text
  • Factories will now prefer to warp in Vehicles on tiles closer to their rally-point

Bug Fixes:

  • Fixed issue that was preventing some players from connecting to multiplayer
  • Can now add all units of a certain type to a group while holding a group button and double tapping a unit
  • Buy/Upgrade screens are no longer accessible outside of deployment via a doubletap
  • Enemy units are no longer selectable while in grouping mode
  • After performing a special or upgrade, the enhanced unit will remain selected on exiting the menu
  • Can follow/path to a unit that renders through fog of war (the HQ and Mech).
  • Drone's Repair no longer causes issues with units that are moving or attacking.
  • Prevented camera-related crash during the level loading process
  • Factories no longer emit smoke while producing a unit if they're under fog of war.
  • Camera now saves/restores it's position while pointing out SoftCover in the Tutorial.
  • Improved network stability
  • Vehicles now face the enemy HQ after being built
  • Orbital Strike AoE no longer renders during the Game Over sequence.
  • Tank's Overshield special now shows the correct icon
  • Scoreloop menu option no longer remains disabled in a rare timing issue.
  • Scoreloop "date of birth" no longer offsets by 24 hours
  • Scoreloop usernames with extended characters no longer cause issues
  • Tutorial Time/Resource control can no longer become "stuck" while dragging the camera
  • Fixed purple screen flash before loading a game.

ARMED! costs $3.99 and has a free trial. Pick it up here on the Marketplace.

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Paul Acevedo
Paul Acevedo

Paul Acevedo is the Games Editor at Windows Central. A lifelong gamer, he has written about videogames for over 15 years and reviewed over 350 games for our site. Follow him on Twitter @PaulRAcevedo. Don’t hate. Appreciate!