SteamBirds: turn-based air battles of the World Wars

Aerial dogfight is a very dynamic action where the positions of the opposing sides change constantly. As a rule the computer games featuring these battles are real-time, but Andy Moore and Daniel Cooh invented a turn-based gameplay which reflects the spirit of sky combat.

The game takes place in the steampunk setting of the alternate history in which in 1835 the cold fusion was invented and a nuclear hotbox was installed on an early airplane. All the systems of the plane are diven by the super-heated steam. The game’s first misson takes place in 1907, it is a testing of Mansfel intermittent steamgun. The following missions are the air battles of the Fist and the Second World Wars.

So, this is a turn-based game. Every turn has a planning phase and executing orders phase. During the planning phase you can give orders to your planes. As you can see on the screenshot, every plane under your command has a marker which shows the plane’s next position. You can move this marker with your mouse, thus, setting the maneuvers of your squadron.

Besides, by clicking on the marker, you can open Special Abilities menu. Each plane has up to two of them. The special ability can be used once per two turns. They are:
Shield – your plane will receive no damage from the enemy fire, but won’t shoot, too. Use it when your plane is tailed by opposing forces.
Speed boost – during the next turn your plane will fly twice as long as usually. It is helphul both when you want to throw the pursuer off and to engage the enemy faster.
180 Turn – your plane will perform a 180-degrees turn and will be facing the opposite direction. It is a very useful ability, because merely moving the marker lets you change the course by 90 degrees at most.
360 Turn – your plane will perform a 360-degrees turn and will be facing the same direction as before. This ability can be used when you want your plane to stay at he same point next turn as it is now.
Poisonous gas – the plain will emit the trail of poisonous gas, which will damage all the enemies passing through it. This ability appears only in the mid-game, but the enemy plames have it since level 3.
Missile - your plane will launch a missile which will perhaps hit an enemy then. Better to use at close distances during approach to weaken them.
Bomb - you can drop a powerful bomb behind your plane. This is one more way to damage the prusuers.

When the End Turn button or Space is pressed, the planes of both sides start moving according to their orders. They shoot automaticaly if the aim is ahead and within the firing range. During the game various types of enemous aircraft, which require different tactics to be shot down, will oppose you. First they are ordinary fighters, then – bombers which leave a trail of poisonous gas behind them. Later scout baloons apeear. They are not defenceless, as I first thought, but they are armed with a quite powerful machine-gun. As the war goes on, Germans invent new, more powerful types of planes, for example a flying wing. Big zeppelins called Behemoths will appear then, too.

The planes have 5 characteristics: Hitpoints, Weapons, Speed, Agility and Armor. To see the current state of the plane hove the mouse over it. Receiving damage by your plane doesn’t only reduce its hitpoints. Sometimes after a bullet-strike the rudders of a gun can become jammed, so it won’t be able to turn or to shoot during the following turn. So, plan your manouvers carefully and become a wing leader in this great turn-based air battles simulator.



The in-game sound deserves a separate praise. The combination of violins, drums and airplane motors creates an unforgettable atmosphere of early (yet alternate) days of aviation.

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Categories: air, steampunk, turn-based, war