Greeting to you all, Task Force Admiral followers !
First of all, best wishes of good health & happy life to you and all your loved ones. The team wishes you all the greatest things - and hope to spend this new year along with your soon enough.
(alright it was the Christmas card, but it looks too good to be left behind - say hi to Taffy!)
Regarding our Kickstarter campaign, please refer to post #1 & post #2 on Steam for a proper intro. I will still copy paste a remark I posted a few days ago as for the reason why this campaign exists in the first place, as a quick recap :
The Kickstarter is about the physical box, plain & simply, with extra steps - that is, a digital option to allow those who want to support without getting a box to do so (with some extra contents), beta access & stretch goals. We still have dev money, it won't make it happen faster or slower (just happen bigger).
As for what the demo will be about, allow us to direct you towards this preview from Tim Stone on TallyHo Corner, which will give you a small taste of the things to come.
As for the Kickstarter proper and to be kept updated, this way below, please:
One side we have not talked about just yet is that one interesting perk of running a campaign on Kickstarter : the famed stretch goals.
What’s a stretch goal ?
A stretch goal is like the bonus level of a video game: you’ve already crushed the main challenge (funding the project), and now you're unlocking extra cool rewards! It’s our way of saying, “Hey, let’s dream bigger together and make this project even more epic!”. It’s not about adding new perks to the game which will not slow down development, but make the gameplay more diverse, making good use of the simulation engine we developed for what remains, first and foremost, a strategy game.
So, what do we have in store? You’ve seen these items mentioned already in the survey you filled over the last few weeks – but let’s get into more details here and now. It’s not about hubris or getting over- optimistic about the campaign, for these goals might not all be attainable the first time, but they do remain medium-term relevant objectives.
Stretch goal 1 – Tiny 3D Crewmen!
We’ve heard your cries from the crow’s nest! Everyone loves those little guys scurrying around on deck, and we’re just as excited to bring them to life. Help us hit this stretch goal, and we’ll populate the decks with charming (but static) crewmen to add some life to the action.
Picture them standing ready at their posts, dodging imaginary seagulls, or just looking busy—until the chaos of combat hits. Don’t worry, we won’t leave them stranded during a sinking ship scenario! They’ll even strike dramatic poses for specific action triggers like air operations and action stations. The crew is standing by... ok, still & a bit stiff, but better than ghost ships, I suppose!
Stretch goal 2 – Orchestral Soundtrack!
Ready to take your ears on a journey? Our legendary musical duo, Aleksi Aubry-Carlson and Jonathan Figoli, have crafted some amazing tunes, especially those of Cold Waters, War on the Sea, Xenonauts, and more recently Sea Power — but now they’re dreaming big as far as Task Force Admiral is concerned. With your help, we’ll level up the game’s soundtrack by teaming up with an orchestra for some live performance-powered music!
Imagine the stirring melodies of air and naval combat performed live, sending chills down your spine as you lead your fleet to glory. Think Silent Hunter, Battlestations, and War Thunder, cranked up to eleven with orchestral magic. Your fleet deserves an epic soundtrack, so they’ll be making just that!
Stretch goal 3 – It might be 1943, yet the Pacific Air War continues in TFA!
Do you hear that? That’s the roar of Corsairs and Hellcats taking off! Help us hit this goal, and we’ll expand the timeline to include the climactic battles & what-ifs of 1943. Join the fight with Essex-class carriers, Iowa-class battleships, A6M5 Zeros, and more, as the Solomons campaign heats up and the skies over Bougainville and Rabaul become a battlefield of legends.
Stretch goal 4 – Flyable Fighters: Be the Fleet’s Defender!
Ready to suit up, ace? This stretch goal puts you in the cockpit of your pixel fighters so that you might get dirty. Barrel-roll through flak, chase down torpedo bombers, and go head-to-head with the dreaded Zero in exhilarating dogfights.
Think of it as your “top gun” moment—diving through enemy formations, skimming the ocean’s surface, and saving your fleet one fiery fireball at a time. If you loved the nostalgic thrills of Pacific Air War and the ability to jump into the cockpit in the heat of the action in the carrier battles mode, this is your chance to relive just that, joystick (or mouse) in hand!
We will include a crude experiment in the demo of how it might feel like in-game (see above for a video posted on Youtube a few weeks ago). If you're into that sort of fun, give us a hand and make it happen for real with this stretch goal.
Stretch goal 5 – Controllable Anti-Air Mounts!
Do you have what it takes to man the guns yourself? With this optional mode, we’ll let you hop at the commands of a 20mm Oerlikon, a 1.1-inch "Chicago Piano" or a 40mm Bofors twin-mount and take the fight directly to the incoming planes.
Feel the adrenaline as you track targets, unleash flurries of bullets, and try to keep your cool under pressure as Kate skim the waves on their way to scalp you. Can you stop that last torpedo bomber before it gets through? Or will you shoot down that helldiving Val seconds before its bomb gets released? This is your moment to shine—or to feel the sting of salty sea spray on the first row in defeat!
Stretch goal 6 – Animated Crewmen & Activity in the Flag Plot!
Who wants static when you can have cinematic? With this stretch goal, your tiny 3D crewmen come to life—running, saluting, scrambling to action stations, and who knows what!
But wait, there’s more! We’ll also bring the flag plot to life with officers and sailors moving around, pointing at charts, and coordinating the chaos. Imagine the default in-game view pulsing with activity, like it’s been done in submarines games since Silent Hunter 3. Pushing the boundaries of your own naval drama is what Task Force Admiral is all about!
Stretch goal 7 – Controllable Ships!
You’ve mastered the skies of the Pacific, but can you handle the rough seas from up-close? With this stretch goal, we’ll let you take direct control of ships in the most intense naval battles of the Pacific. Command your destroyer through a night battle, dodge incoming torpedoes, and unleash fiery broadsides in the perilous waters off Guadalcanal.
Whether it’s day or night, surface combat or shore bombardment, this mode lets you captain the action and builds upon the foundation of our out-of-the-box surface combat mechanics. Get ready to channel your inner naval tactician—because every wave brings new challenges... or a spread of long lances in the Iron Bottom Sound!
Here. We hope it kinda sums up the possibilities offered by this campaign. Stay put, a few weeks still to wait, and it should hit the digital world in full swing.
Take care, everyone!
Cheers,
The TFA Team
The Task Force Admiral Team
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