Steel Skirmish: Online Multiplayer Tank Shooter

Arise, commander! The battlefield calls, and it demands to be answered! Jump into your tank and face the enemy head-on!

Steel Skirmish is a fast-paced, online PvP multiplayer third-person tank shooter. Players fight in teams of 10 against each other in arcade-style vehicular combat. You will always have the opportunity to engage the enemy, but be careful - this battle isn't exactly forgiving!

Features

• 5 unique tanks playable on 4 maps
• 2 game modes - Normal and Supremacy
• Fully functional lobby system with room for up to 20 players
• Server-based gameplay minimizes hacking and provides for a stable, consistent experience
• Bots to fill in the extra space in the lobby
• Statistics and leaderboards
• No RNG, no pay-to-win, and no excessive grind - just fun and tanks!

Controls (default)

• LMB: Fire
• RMB (hold): Zoom in
• Mouse XY: Aim/look
• WASD: Move
• Space: Handbrake (experimental, somewhat useless at this point)
• MMB: Auto-aim (point the reticle at your desired target)
• Left Shift (hold): View enlarged map
• Tab (hold): View team standings
• LMB/RMB: Spectate (if destroyed)
• F1: Tutorial
• Escape: Open menu/leave or abandon match
• Enter: Open chat/send chat message

How to Play

From the main menu, you can choose to either host a game or join one. Steel Skirmish supports both public and private games.

Once you host or join a game, you will be sent to the lobby, where the match is configured. The host sets the game mode, the teams of the players, the AI, and any other game options. The individual players can select their tanks for the battle. Once all players have marked themselves as ready, the host will start the game, and the battle will begin. 

The objective in the match depends on the game mode being played. In a Normal match, the goal is to eliminate the enemy team or to hold the lead when the battle time expires. In a Supremacy match, the goal is the same, but you can also obtain victory by gaining the required number of supremacy points (1500 by default). Enemies are visible when they are within 150 meters of either you or one of your allies. In order to fire at an enemy, press down LMB by default when your gun is loaded. Your shot will hit its target instantly, and is not subject to accuracy or randomness, but beware - each vehicle's range is limited. To assist you with the aiming process, an aim cursor has been provided. The aim cursor represents the point that your vehicle is currently aiming at and also displays how far away the point is. This cursor changes color based on where it is located. If the aim cursor is gray, your target is out of range; if it is white, you are aiming at an obstacle or at the ground; if it is red, you are aiming at spaced armor (which will not deal damage); and if it is green, you are aiming at what would be a successful hit if you fire at that moment.

A successful hit on a vehicle will deal a fixed amount of damage and will also launch the enemy vehicle backwards. If the enemy forcefully impacts an obstacle as a result of your hit, extra damage will be dealt - sometimes a lot of extra damage. Know what lies behind your target, but also know what lies behind you - it could really hurt if you're caught unaware!

As you duke it out with your opponents and rake up the destruction, you will increase your score. You are given one point for each point of damage and an extra 750 points for each enemy that you destroy. There is no penalty for losing your vehicles. You will also receive bonus points for capturing and defending bases in the Supremacy game mode.

If you lose your vehicle in battle, don't worry. You are given a fixed number of respawns, as determined by the host (2 by default). After a short delay, you will get right back into the action again. However, once you lose all your respawns, you will be out of the match and be left to spectate. You can use LMB/RMB to cycle between your teammates and see if your team can manage to pull it off.

Once one team achieves victory, all players are sent back to the lobby, and you can view the postgame screen to see how well you performed in the match. You will also be given a certain amount of coins based on your score and whether or not your team won. Coins can be used to unlock the Wagon XII and the T86 III.

System Requirements

I am no expert on computer specs, so I can't give any specifics on to what the minimum CPU or GPU is. The game ran stably on my early-2010s HP DV4 laptop, but only at about 20-30 frames per second. I guess I will call that laptop or its equivalent the "minimum," but I'd recommend that you have something a bit more powerful. Also make sure that you have a stable internet connection.

If you are going to play as a host with multiple players, make sure that you have a strong CPU and fast upload speeds.

Let's roll!

Thank you for checking out Steel Skirmish! You can download the game for free down below.  Grab your friends, select your tank, and get to the battlefield!

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Font "Play" Copyright (c) 2011, Jonas Hecksher, Playtypes, with Reserved Font Name "Play", "Playtype", "Playtype Sans". Licensed under the SIL Open Font License.

Font "Molot" by Roman Yershov. Modified with TMPro.

Game Jolt API integration by infected_bytes

Translations from English courtesy of Google Translate

Some particle textures taken from Unity Standard Assets

Sound effects by Pixabay, Olivier Girardot, cabled_mess, Skril Studio, chris markert,and MGWSoundDesign

Music by Vertex Studio and Christopher Baklid

Select skyboxes made with asset by Key Mouse

Many thanks to all the guides, forums, and videos that made this game possible.