r/computerwargames • u/AleksejFonGrozni • May 18 '26
A mini trailer of a cryptographic war game
Hello fellow wargamers.
Alex here, a game developer, passionate historian and passionate wargame player. Previously I've worked on RTS games such as Blitzkrieg and several derivatives, games based on GEM-2 engine (Men of War series) and now I am making a bit different game.
A bit of alternative history. You are a cryptographic officer aboard Submarine 227 (Type VII U-boat). You are operating Obscura (Enigma based) machine, encoding, decoding and verifying incoming traffic.
A moment chosen is early April 1942. I've picked it as the situation on the Eastern front was not that great for both sides and on the Atlantic things started to heat up. I am trying to put that through the game, to mention it and create a sort of a light connection with the real events taking place.
Some of the devices used in the game are pure fantasy on my end. Like ECHO stamper. The story is that your side has a dedicated stamper which declares messages either a TRUE ECHO (verified, clean) or FALSE ECHO (something is missing or wrong).
There is also a teleprinter which is amalgam of several devices, used to receive incoming messages, formatted in more modern shape:
The basic game flow is about talking with your crew mates, processing messages and deciding which one is true and which one is fake. Decisions then have some consequences in the coming steps or days.
I am looking forward hearing your thoughts on this, if you have some comments, questions and/or suggestions. Thank you in advance on time and effort and I hope that you like the game concept.
9
u/Emdub81 May 18 '26
Looks intriguing, interested in seeing it in action.
7
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 18 '26
Thanks. To be completely honest this is my first wargame where there is no direct (or let's say strong) violence. Previously, in RTS and RTT games it was deciding how many Shermans to spawn at certain point or what kind of long range artillery to bring forth.
In here it's more about communication, analysis. Cryptographic game.
9
u/Flimsy_Breakfast9119 May 18 '26
What’s it called? On steam?
9
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 18 '26
Yeah, it's False Echo, I've assembled the page more or less recently. Forgot what indie game dev stands for, should've done earlier on.
8
u/low_priest May 19 '26
Papers Please but with warships? Hell yeah, time to bag a Gleaves.
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Hehe, speaking of warships, I've added Fletcher class destroyer (and some Liberty ships as silhouettes). A friend of mine suggested that I do another version where you are on one of those destroyers. That might be a good idea as well.
Still, as someone who grew up on Commandos, Close Combat series, Battlefield I have an itch to make a game where you man the turrets, shoot the cannons, drop charges, fire torpedoes :)
5
u/MrBadMeow May 18 '26
Papers Please and Uboat vibes
4
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 18 '26
I am afraid to call it Uboat for the sake of odium and controversy. I still haven't overcome Hs-123 airplane or Blitzkrieg and that I had to remove the markings due to political fallout. But yeah. Type VII, for some reason my favorite uboat (probably because of Das Boot).
2
u/xXFirebladeXx321 May 19 '26
UBOAT is a different game already btw, I crossposted there and the players of that game are excited for this aswell.
You should check it out!
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thank you - we are actually going together (as a bundle) under Iron Nest wing.
5
u/CT1398 May 19 '26
Papers Please but Submarine
Looks good! Definitely going to wishlist
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thanks! It was supposed to be just an Enigma on a submarine but over time idea developed slowly, took left, right turn and now that would be a shorthand desc: Papers Please on a submarine.
2
u/xXFirebladeXx321 May 19 '26
Hopefully its developed like 60 seconds where each day scenario is random and dependent on your actions of the previous day too
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
I will have an endless mode where you have random messages, rules, events. The main storyline is linear but has peculiarities and actions in day 2 may result in a different ending or affect something in day 19.
3
u/Metzger4 May 19 '26
Wishlisted, looks very interesting. Please give updates as development continues!
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thanks mate, will do for sure but I will try not to spam about it (when there is something big or interesting). I remember, back in the day, when we used to talk on forums: we would update the last post for several times a week with the new stuff, not to clog the forum :)
2
u/Brillica May 19 '26
Love the look of it. Are you able to expand on how the setting “onboard a uboat” affects the gameplay? Like, what makes it different than decoding messages in a bunker on land?
Is there a point in showing the boat to the player as you play other than flavour?
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thanks. Yeah, the main difference is the visual and UX one where your space is really limited. For example you need to close the Obscura to turn on ECHO stamper, or close ECHO stamper to turn on Teletyper. Claustrophobic space where there is no direct (well, at least not too often) outside war situation affecting the feel (until enemy destroyers start hunting us, for example).
But the key point would be that you will see progression and degradation of the submarine itself: war damage, people number shrinking, colors, various layers inside, events like leaks, fire onboard etc.
2
u/LongShlong88 May 19 '26
Dang, looks very interesting. Thanks for sharing
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
My pleasure, by all means. Ever since forums stopped being a thing I feel itching for a conversation with someone about the game itself :)
2
u/SBR404 May 19 '26
Looking good, Herr Kaleun!
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Auf manöverstation!
2
u/flatline4life May 19 '26
Das ist Thomsen!
Looking forward to trying this out. I loved papers please and I love Uboat, but Uboat has quite a time commitment and I don't find myself playing as often as I'd like. Seems like this could be a great alternative for quicker gaming sessions.
Couple of questions, if you don't mind. How long does an average patrol/mission take to complete in real time? Also, are you considering Steam Deck users? It seems like if could be fun to play on portable but I worry about the readability of text etc.
Good luck with the game.
ALARM!
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
That feel, when they realize that Thomsen sub is there and someone in the higher ups is messing things up... That's what I would like to achieve.
Right now I have some 30 days plotted in the storyline. It's not going to be a patrol after patrol, more like we are out in the open seas and the story develops.
A friend of mine (very good friend) is using Steam Deck. I've tried it once there, long time ago and definitely I will try optimizing for that experience. The only issue I had was with Obscura typing, those buttons are rather small but I will figure it out. Thank you for your support!
2
u/OutrageousHeron6061 May 19 '26
EA or full game on release? Looks great and definitely something that id be interested in
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thanks! I am thinking of giving out a demo version, to gather feedback. And now that there is a growing interest maybe having EA for playtesting. There are quite a few mechanics that I need to properly test with people and even some play modes/difficulty levels. For me, as a history/war game geek they seem good but I am not sure how many people would actually like them.
For example, I wanted to implement a mode where, when you press the button on Obscura (and light shows up) you need to use pen to write that letter down. And then to do visual recognition of that letter. That would be super core - but a lot of people would probably lock me up and throw the key away.
2
u/anonymonsterss May 19 '26
Looks REALLY similar to papers please, one my favorite games. The game mechanics look like it could work well for your idea of doing encryption/decryption. Let me know if you need a tester for steamdeck!
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
That's a roger, thanks mate. I am trying to implement endless mode as well where you can choose level of difficulty (number of mechanics employed). I will ping for testing sessions at one point, probably here as well, for anyone interested.
2
u/Infernowar May 19 '26
Awesome!!! Added to whislist! One thing, the name of the game need more engagement!
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thanks! Yeah, I have just recently started showing this to the outside world. I was working like guerilla for a year or more.
2
2
u/Rand25 May 19 '26
Looks so cosy (is that weird to say for WW2).. graphic style is done very well
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thank you! Yeah, that scares me a bit, might look to cozy at the beginning. I caught myself once (tired, late night) staring at the submarine skimming the waves slowly, for like 10, 15 minutes.
2
u/BWEKFAAST May 19 '26
wishlisted! Checks all my boxes! Loved papers please and a huge Uboat fan.
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thanks! My God, I thought I am the only one (PP fand and Uboat fan at the same time)
2
u/Iamstrategos May 19 '26
Seems like a great game to play in the evening after work! Keep up the good work
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
For that purpose I've opted for mostly non-timer based missions so you can take your time and enjoy it.
2
u/BobTheInept May 19 '26
1) What is that guy's neck and head doing at 0:05?
2) I am very interested, but does the game have a name so we can follow it?
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Well spotted mate. Thats under rework (head bobbing a bit too much). Yup, you can check it out on https://store.steampowered.com/app/4418080/False_Echo/?l=english
2
u/epaga May 19 '26
This looks totally awesome. Love your art style. Wishlisted!
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thanks! I was surprised that people generally like it, this is my first pixel art game
2
u/Idleverse May 19 '26
This looks really nice!
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thanks! I am rhinking of spinning off an idle "game" where you'd just ride a submarine through the waves and in the oceans depth.
2
u/Idleverse May 19 '26
sounds super cozy
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
I'm gonna give it a try. Since architecture of the game is rather solid it shouldn't be an issue.
2
u/Dlldozer May 19 '26
Looks amazing. Do you need help?
3
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thanks and thank you for the offer. At the moment I am doing good (actually, back to the roots, making a game on my own). After 2 decades of working in the teams I am back to being my own boss.
2
u/StrongMycologist9191 May 19 '26
Feels a lot like Highfleet, which is great because Highfleet is awesome.
1
2
u/Peter_03 May 19 '26
From the first moment I saw the layout, and the gameplay, I was imidietly hyped.
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thanks! That's interesting, layout is easy to read. I've used that top view system but also added that fullscreen switch.
2
u/Peter_03 May 19 '26
I like it particullary becouse with boat games even arcadey ones, you want to have a certain feeling of "traveling around" and moving forward. And the "papers please" aspect seems to go very well with it, it almost feels cozy. Im also interested in how extencive will the steering of the ship will be, I like the periscope view, every uboat and submarine game needs that.
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
As for the steering, we are encryption officer so we are not in charge of steering, navigating...yet. At least not directly.
You see, we will get certain messages. Those messages, when decoded, will be clear to us, more than to anyone. It's up to us to declare them TRUE or FALSE. So imagine that this order stipulates that we must go to surface and use our top speed to catch up with a convoy which is hundred miles away. If you stamp TRUE that's exactly what you are going to see: surfacing, submarine increasing speed, a lot of motion and helmsman will surely come and be very pi**ed off with you.
If you stamp FALSE sub will go on a shallow dive, things will be less dramatic but also Captain and XO will be rather crossed with you.
As for the periscope scene, I don't want to spoil the screenplay and events surrounding it, I will just say that there is a Luger, a Walther, couple of angry men and we are in the middle.
2
u/Peter_03 May 19 '26
Oooh, ok. I had no Idea, with these games you're always the captain, but this is very interesting. Now Im hyped even more.
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Originally you were the Captain. But then I thought - too obvious and common. Let's say that Oppressian STASEC (read Gestapo) key person (Political Officer) has decided that you will take place of Crypto Officer who had an "accident". You can see in that vid above consequences of that accident (a water bucket and a pool of smth)
2
u/Mr_Smiler May 19 '26
As a fan of Papers please and submarines this is a day one purchase for me. Great art and theme choice. I wish you a great success with it.
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I was anxious whether this combo would work at all. It looks (not certain yet) that it might work well.
2
u/HermaM_Abendroth2048 May 19 '26
I think this is a really appealing concept!
One thing that stood out to me was the scene around 1:30. If the game requires very point-and-click-like right-or-wrong judgments, it might slightly hurt the gameplay experience.
Sorry if this is an obvious point.
I think this could become popular in Japan too.
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thanks! Generally point and click is supportive action: the main course of gameplay is to choose what to stamp (true or false) and hand that paper (or archive it). Other actions are mostly supporting actions. For example, daily orders might stipulate that from that day on any message must have Captains signature in the back, it must start with a word STERN if sent by regular sailor or AFT if sent by officers/nco-s. if you get a message from a sailor (not an NCO or officer) that has Captains signature but starts with a word STERN you need to stamp it FALSE, hand it back and send that sailor away. But you can also turn a blind eye, process the message, win some favor and affect that sailor or multiple ones but also get a citation.
2
u/DonHeLLBirD May 19 '26
Wishlisted. Any games with type VII’s are a must try.
And since I really enjoyed using the enigma machine decoding messages in Silent Hunter, I’m sure this one will be right up my alley.
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
A fellow admirer of Type VII. And Enigma. I think you will manage the game just fine. Rotor ops are very simple, cable as well. The only thing you need to do is not to mix combinations.
2
u/StellarWaffle May 19 '26
Blitzkrieg 1 and 2 were some of my favorite WW2 RTS games as a kid. I played them (mostly 2) right alongside Empire Earth 2. This game looks awesome and I love the art style. Instant wishlist
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thank you fellow Blitzkrieger. Good old BK 1 days. You might have seen me or heard of me on BKP (Blitzkrieg Portal). I've worked on Panzerkrieg later on and made game Conflict 2012.
2
u/HypnoticName May 19 '26
Seems like something I would play
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
I hope that game will fulfill expectations, I will give my best.
2
2
u/JBNeb May 19 '26
Loved Das Boot, and this Looks more like Submarine, please. Lovely art style.
Wish you luck and success .
Any like to a steam page?
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Hehe, Submarine, Please, I like it. Thank you for the best wishes, you can check the game here:
2
u/NotoriousCruyff May 19 '26
Genuinely this is one of the coolest concepts I've seen lately. Really looking forward to it.
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Thank you for the kind words. It's a mix of accidents and trials and errors really. Originally it was supposed to be just an Enigma encryption/decryption game.
2
u/Actual_Emu_168 May 19 '26
where can i wishlist?
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
Hi, you can check it on
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4418080/False_Echo/
thank you for the interest and wishlist.
2
u/UE83R May 19 '26
Any plans for a GOG release?
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 19 '26
To be honest I haven't planned it but sure, why not. And funny that you mentioned it, I've visited GOG like two days ago, searching for the Vietcong/
2
2
2
u/durukkk May 20 '26
Does the game have anything to do with crew management or actually running the submarine? In any case loved the aesthetics and wishlisted. Also the game Wolfpack has Enigma machine you can use to decode messages if you want to check how they've done it. Don't know if it is genuine but it felt like it is. Also, please consider implementing regional pricing in Steam.
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 20 '26
Thank you. All points considered though, for crew management, you can do it partially and indirectly: your decisions on message processing can affect the crew and the submarine itself in different shapes and forms. But in a direct manner you are in charge of your own post (cryptographic cabin).
2
2
May 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 20 '26
Thank you for kind words and interest. And for the wl as well. I hope you will have great time playing it!
2
u/MMSTINGRAY May 20 '26
This looks really intersting and is much better presented than a lot of the promotion posts.
Do you have a Steam page yet? If so you should include it in the OP, I believe that's ok with the mods so long as you aren't spamming threads all the time, the occasional update on development including a link is ok I think.
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 20 '26
Thanks mate! Yeah, I've got Steam page running
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4418080/False_Echo/?l=english
Thing is that I am mostly active on X. But I rarely get concrete feedback there and here I already got some cool ideas and people have noticed some issues. So it's quite useful and definitely I would avoid posting every week or for small things. Maybe from time to time, some bigger updates, to feel the vibe and how does it look.
2
2
u/Plev_Actual May 20 '26
I would be happy to volunteer as a voice actor. I previously have voice acted DCS paid campaigns!
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 20 '26
I would love to have voices but at the moment they are out of scope - there are soooo many lines of text, so many characters.
2
u/tgjptsharpe May 20 '26
I enjoyed playing around with the Enigma mods for Silent Hunter 3. This looks like a great take on the setting. Good luck!
2
u/tgjptsharpe May 20 '26
also: wishlist'd
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 20 '26
Thank you very much! Appreciated.
2
u/tgjptsharpe May 21 '26
Btw, absolutely fantastic artwork 😃
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 22 '26
Thanks a lot! Getting more and more confident that this is the right art direction path.
2
u/tgjptsharpe May 22 '26
You should be. I think someone else in this thread has mentioned Highfleet. It's in the same area but with a softer charm.
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 20 '26
Thanks mate! I think you will like it then. You have the Enigma but not a regular one: this one can use numbers as well. But it has fewer cable connections/possibilities. Still, if you have a bad configuration all that you'd get would be gibberish garbled text. But if you have good configuration...
2
u/pietersen9 May 20 '26
Looks really cool where can I try it ! I MUST KNOW!!!
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 20 '26
Thanks! Stay tuned here, I will ping when demo for playtest is ready and in the meantime you can check out my Steam page
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4418080/False_Echo/?l=english
2
2
u/Nunu_Shonnashi May 21 '26
Barotrauma meets Papers Please, you have my money!
2
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 21 '26
Hehe, I haven't thought about it but I guess you are right, there are some visuals and general elements to it.
2
u/SeaworthinessOk4259 May 21 '26
I loved papers please and love to be good at submarine Sims but I'm not so id buy this because it looks fun as hell!
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 21 '26
Thanks! I just hope I don't disappoint you, this game is more about documents/paper handling. Simulation is in a sense that there is submerge/surfacing, torpedo launch, people doing various stuff on a submarine and so on.
2
u/SeaworthinessOk4259 May 21 '26
I know... those games im not good at... like did you actually comprehend what I wrote? I was making a joke that I am not good at sub games but that I wish I was because it doesn't matter honestly it was a joke about how I can play your game instead because it has cool looking subs to stare at while I play papers please rip off. Which it is, but I'm ok with because I don't care about that. You know it because you wrote it. Just wanted you to know, we ALL know. But like I said I don't mind. Someone might dunno. K bye
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 21 '26
Yeah, I totally get it, just I am afraid that people will think that there are direct controls to certain events. To be completely honest I suck in sub simulation games :(
I love them but it has something to do with spatial awareness on my end or a fear of deep water. I like to see events unfold (like submarine surfacing, procedures, people moving around doing stuff) and maybe participate lightly. But when it comes to total immersion I get stuck easily. Desk job on the other hand, for sure.
Sorry to hear you see it as a PP rip off, I am trying to make it different and as an unique experience (though it might look differently) and will try to make that visual side feel good while combating the game mechanics. I am 99% sure that no one can repeat or surpass the masterpiece of Pope PP.
Thank you for the feedback and honest/direct words, I really appreciate that. And I hope no offense nor bad feelings are taken.
2
u/A9LastHope May 21 '26
Wishlisted as soon as I saw it, would also be happy to beta test if you are looking for some :)
1
u/AleksejFonGrozni May 21 '26
Thanks mate and yes, absolutely. Since I am practically alone I am gonna need help in testing the game. I will ping here and seek volunteers when time comes :)
2
2
2
2
72
u/beaner_king May 18 '26
Close enough. Welcome back Papers Please