Expeditions: Conquistador

Overview

Expeditions: Conquistador is a turn based RPG, by Danish indie developer Logic Artists, set in the Age of exploration. Players take the role of a Spanish explorer set to lead an expedition into the new world with the promise of adventure. The game takes place between two adventure campaigns: Hispaniola (Modern day Dominican Republic) and Mexico (Modern day Mexico). Along the way players will discover the Aztec Empire in the midst of rebellion and have to decide whether to side with the the rebels, the empire, or even play both sides waiting until the opportunity comes up to seize Mexico for Spain.

Gameplay

At the start of the game players select their character's gender and name. They then can allocate points into six player stats: Tactics, Diplomacy, Healing, Survival, Scouting, and Leadership. Finally, the player chooses 10 characters to accompany them on the expedition, these characters come from the following classes: Scholar, Doctor, Hunter, Scout and Soldier. Each class have their own unique class skills and abilities which benefit the party in and out of combat and all classes get to select an additional passive ability for every level advancement. As the player gains experience, the class skills are unlocked by allocating XP (which is collected in a party pool) to each the party members.

The game is split into two parts: the travel maps and the combat maps. In the travel map, the entire expedition is represented by a mounted Conquistador carrying a banner. In this mode, the player can direct their expedition around to explore the game world, having encounters (sometimes combative other times not) and finding resources (food, treasure and supplies). Each night the expedition must make camp. A day is represented by a certain number of movement points, once the expedition’s movement is spent, the only option is to set camp for the night. Setting camp reveals a camping system where the player must assign camping tasks and make sure that all the party members are fed (not feeding them eventually results in the death of followers). The camping tasks include guarding the camp, hunting, patrolling, herbalism (converting herbs into medicines), and preserving meat (which would otherwise spoil). There are other contextual tasks that can arise, such as fishing, cave exploring, grave robbing, etc. Players may also allocate followers to ‘tinker’, where they can construct traps and barricades, or other items such as lanterns and torches. Tinkering also allows for technological improvements via the ‘invention’ tab, like designing better tents (increases morale), carts (increases movement per day), axes and pickaxes (both give increases resource collection). The camping menu is also where players can use their doctors to treat sick, injured or wounded party members. If left untreated party memebers health will degenerate and eventually die. Camping also triggers random events, some good, some bad.

Events are text-based but can also trigger battles, which expose the player to the combat maps. The combat system is turn based and the player can bring up to six party members into each combat. The combat maps uses a hex-tile system. On a player’s turn they are able to move and attack with all their units before their turn ends. Units that are incapacitated during combat risk a chance to become injured (requiring treatment in the camp as discussed above). Injured units can’t be used in combat or do camp tasks.

System Requirements

PC

Minimum

• Processor: Dual Core 2.6 GHz or AMD64X2 2.6 GHz
• Memory: 2 GB RAM
• Graphics: nVidia GeForce 8600 GT or higher, ATI Radeon X1800 or higher, min. 256 MB VideoRAM, Shader Model 3.0
• DirectX®: 9.0c

Recommended

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 or higher, AMD Phenom X3 8750 or higher
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: nVidia GeForce 280 GTX or higher, ATI Radeon HD4870 or higher, 512 MB VideoRAM, Shader Model 3.0
• DirectX®: 9.0c

Mac

Minimum

• Processor: Dual Core 2.6 GHz or AMD64X2 2.6 GHz
• Memory: 2 GB RAM
• Graphics: nVidia GeForce 8600 GT or higher, ATI Radeon X1800 or higher, min. 256 MB VideoRAM, Shader Model 3.0

Recommended

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 or higher, AMD Phenom X3 8750 or higher
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: nVidia GeForce 280 GTX or higher, ATI Radeon HD4870 or higher, 512 MB VideoRAM, Shader Model 3.0

Linux

Minimum

• OS: Ubuntu 13.04
• Processor: Dual Core 2,6 GHz or AMD64X2 2,6 GHz
• Memory: 2 GB
• Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8600 GT or higher, ATI Radeon X1800 or higher, at least 256mb VideoRAM, DirectX 9c, Shadermodel 3.0

Recommended

• OS: Ubuntu 13.04
• Processor: Dualcore CPU (Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 or higher, AMD Phenom X3 8750 or higher)
• Memory: 4 GB
• Video Card: nVidia GeForce 280 GTX or higher, ATI Radeon HD4870 or higher, 512mb VideoRAM, DirectX 9c, Shadermodel 3.0