Time of Defiance to launch this fall

UK-based Nicely Crafted Entertainment has announced that Time of Defiance, its upcoming online 3D real-time strategy game, will launch in August. The sci-fi game will let up to 1,000 players per game battle for control of thousands of islands spread across a persistent alien planet.

"We've come up with a game so flexible in structure and tactics that there is an almost limitless variety of strategies for victory," said Toby Simpson, managing director of Nicely Crafted. "We've run a dozen full games with a fairly small number of players with every player emerging with a different strategy. The winners of each game will be those that demonstrate the most skill, cunning, treachery, and bravado. It is a strategy game unlike any other."

Each separate game will have its own persistent world that will last for approximately one month. Players will build an empire by exploring and colonizing islands, and they will fund their expansion by mining resources from the islands. They must also defend their empire from attacks, and they can automate their defenses when they are away from the computer. The game will also include an option for players to receive an e-mail or mobile phone text message when they are under attack.

Time of Defiance is currently in a preview state with approximately 400 players engaged in battle, and the game is scheduled for launch in August. Monthly subscriptions to the UK-based preview version of the game cost 5 British pounds, or approximately $7.50. For more information and to sign up for a free playable demo of the game, visit the official Nicely Crafted Web site.