Type of game: Stealth based tactics game done right. By this I mean take a tactical rpg add in stealth game elements and remove the rpg elements. I know some other games have tried this by bringing over detection cones used in real time stealth games and it didn't work so well. The developer of this game gets around that and introduces stealth mechanics to a turn based tactical game in a way that is appropriate to the genre.

Paragraph version of review:

Just started playing but I'm already impressed. If you look on the forums the dev gives a nice detailed answer about what type of game the game is, but in short think of a tactical rpg, minus the rpg (i.e. no leveling, farming currency etc) - so just a tactics game, although unused supplies are carried over from one mission to the next. The detection side of it is a nice new idea for a genre that's needed something like that for a long time and adds another layer of depth. Right now my only real concern is that there might not be a lot of content but I'll update this after I have played some more. In any case it's worth a look even if it's just for the mechanics it introduces, particular if on sale and may or may not be worth the price tag dependent upon how much content there is - unfortunately I'm a little worried that if I was to sit down and play it straight through for a weekend that I would have played through everything it has to offer in a day or two but hopefully that's just a false first impression. Also that's really not how I'm inclined to play this game. Missions are more like combat puzzles and are the type of thing I'm inclined to play one or two at a time and then come back to it a few days (or even weeks) later.

List Version of Review:

Pros:
+Lots of good mechanics for a tactics game - not only the stealth/detection aspect, but weapon damage degrades with distance instead of relying on hit chances for this (although there are hit chances, but as far as I can tell these aren't based on distance from target aside from how distance from target plays into detection). Pretty much anything you care about that should be related to distance between targets has reasonable nonlinear relations and you have easy access to detailed information on these (in the form of graphs, which actually works really well for this). I really can't praise this enough with respect to its tactical mechanics
+Great interface - there is lots of information readily available that you don't have to go digging through menus to find, weapon damage, detection, how visible your ships are etc are not only easy to find but easy to see breakdowns of why they are the way they are.
+Runs smoothly, with minimal bugs - my only complain here so far is that if you try to move too close to where an object (ship, asteroid etc) already is rather than just stopping you from moving the path closer it jumps to a seemingly random location on the map.
+Easy controls that only take a little bit of getting use to.
+Truly 3D tactical combat.
+Doesn't rely on hexes, squares etc. movement and distances are actually measured. As much as I enjoy games that do use these and I think it's a reasonable simplification to tile a plane its nice when you run into a game that implements distances in a non-simplified manner and does it well.

Potential Con:
-Might not have that much content.
-AI might not play that well - hopefully this is just in the first couple of missions and it gets harder. It does look like their is a hard AI setting available in skirmish mode so hopefully this is a non-issue.
-Only one difficulty setting.

Overall:
As a first impression the game has tons of potential, but I'm worried it's not going to live up to it because of too little content and too easy of an opponent. If it gets a good multiplayer community going though both of those might not be an issue.

Update: It looks like there are a pretty good array of modes for skirmish so that certainly adds a bit to the amount of content. There are 17 solo missions available and if you beat them all on the first go it would probably be reasonable to beat all of them within a day. That said that's assuming that you can beat them all on the first go without a lot of planning and even a few in I'd say the difficulty is reasonable - managable but certaintly not easy to play through quickly unless you already have a good tactic in mind for the mission.

Additional difficulty modes for the story missions would be nice (i.e. harder modes have more/better ships or even better yet the AI plays better).

The game features a 17-mission campaign of fairly challenging scripted scenarios; ship items carry over from mission to mission, so losing a lot of equipment will add difficulties later on. A robust skirmish mode includes multiple game rules and custom ship loadouts for high replay value. Online games are also available. Concealed Intent features a great interface that makes it easy to find ships in the 3-D maps. A list of all friendly and sighted enemy ships can be used to find and target specific vessels, while off-screen ships are indicated with arrows. Orders can be issued with hotkeys or the mouse. Graphs show weapon effectiveness over range, and clear hit chances are displayed. The gameplay focuses on scanning and identifying enemy ships, while preventing detection of your own. Every action (moving, shooting, scanning) increases a ship’s signature, which makes it easier to the enemy to identify it. Thus, deciding which actions to perform each turn and when to use countermeasures to decrease ship signature is key. Probes and drones are the preferred method of scouting for the enemy, allowing for your ships to reveal and engage later. The turn-based gameplay gives you time to think. The AI is decent, although it seems to “give up” easily and stop moving before it is defeated. Concealed Intent is a very effective turn-based strategy game, thanks to its feature set, ship ability variety, and detection-based gameplay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB_1npSAIUg

So far so fun. I just stared playing. Completed the tutorial and a mission and a skirmish.

A promising title with an engaged developer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=limV-arFiRA&list=PL-7ICWbZUDjl9Y_OHSjHmC2vt7BYn24ra&index=1

Pros:
- Gameplay is *hard*
- Interesting take on space combat. You must be able to see the opponent to be able to shoot them. Forces a nice tactical twist
- Developer is actively working on the game and adding content

Cons:
- Is still rough. Needs polish.

I'm editing this review based on the updates to the game and my interactions with the dev. No review copies, etc., are involved.

Initially, I basically said this is a very good game, especially for short sessions but needed more features to be worth the price. To keep things short and sweet - it is an excellent (coffee-break) game and is well worth the price. But it's also a very solid and innovative strategy title in terms of game design, but still simple, clear, and fun, with considerable depth. Also, the dev is really nice and very committed...it's clear that this is a labor of love.

+ great skirmish mode, with ability to choose loadout of yours + enemy's ship(s)
+ new skirmish options, some gameplay types added
+ AI has been improved and is really solid as far as I have been able to see. Initially I would win "even" matches hands-down...now usually really tight matches
+ you can now have matchups with more than 1 ship per side
+ other cool options like minefields, etc.
+ matches are tense, but not stressful
+ simple but elegant gameplay and art design

- AI could be improved some in some areas (e.g., stealth loadouts)
- would be great to see more options/mission types (only 2 ATM)
- good tooltips, but still not always easy to really "get" the finer points of the mechanics without some poking around, or how different mechanics impact play
- couple effects / sounds coule be improved (others are good)



The old review is still somewhat relevant and is found below, though some comments have been addressed above.




First off, the game is a great coffee-break game (5-20 mins) - better than most of that kind. Both the importance of spotting enemy vessels and avoiding being spotted yourself, etc., which even now works very well, and the depth of difference between ship types make it a lot smarter game than other space-fleet titles. I started by playing with Corvettes on both sides, which seems to be a well-rounded vessel, and won handily enough. Then, I tried fighting against a Corvette as an Interceptor, a much weaker ship with good stealth options. Winning even once took a dozen tries or so, and even with the same ship, each loadout played differently. Trying a third ship tonight, I was again struck by how differently the game played out.

To really make the title shine, here is what I would like to see changed:

1. Better tooltips - There just isn't enough info at present for mouse-over tooltips...as a new player, it's hard to see what different stuff will do, which is frustrating to have to test out.

2. Improved AI - This isn't to say that the AI is bad, but it seems unbalanced. Sometimes it feels crafty at evading or closing, etc. However, when I played against a stealth ship, it didn't seem to turn on its ECM stealth system even once - which basically made victory in that match-up impossible.

3. More skirmish options - Currently you can play a handful of maps with 1-1 matches of various ships (which can each carry multiple drones). While the game probably isn't optmized for more, and the small number plays better, it would be nice at least to have the option to have small fleets face each other. Also, at present you can't change the AI's loadout - it would be nice to have the option for that along with auto-selection. Etc.

4. Skirmish mission types - I almost never play campaign games, and even then would want replayability of a healthy skirmish mode. Having different simple mission types like station assault, escort, etc., would add a lot of bang for the buck in terms of depth and replayability.

If you are looking for something to fill the odd 10-minute time slot or a game with short but fulfilling matches, this one is good and you will need your brain to play. I'm just not sure how long it can capture gamers' interest with the current amount of features.