After a few unexpected delays publisher Shrapnel Games and
developer Spruegames announced that Salvo! has reached the gold milestone and
is now entering into production. Salvo! is expected to ship on July 5,
2005. 



Salvo! will be available for both the Windows and Mac OSX operating Systems. 
It ships in a DVD box and comes with a printed manual.  Salvo! is a single
player experience of naval warfare from the 17th until the 19th
centuries.  Covering a wide range of engagements and combatants Salvo! aims
to capture the essence of commanding a battle fleet during the Age of Sail,
using its Action Marker system for controlling individual ships and its
Squadron Control for larger formations.  With these systems battles can be
fought between a handful of ships, huge fleet clashes, or everything in between
and all with the same ease of control. 



Noted longtime wargame critic Jim Cobb had this to say about the control scheme
in his preview of Salvo! for Subsim.com, "Despite the panache of single
ship clashes, Salvo! actually concentrates on fleet engagements.  First,
players create squadrons.  These squadrons are then given orders for
movement and combat while waypoints on the battle map expedite movement. 
Depending on the situation, ships follow squadron orders, can be instructed to
act on their own initiative or can be controlled individually by the player
seeking that Nelonesque movement.  This method of handling a fleet is a
significant departure from the lassoed groups in previous games and allows
players much more control in handling numerous ships."



Additionally, please be sure to check out the Salvo! full-featured demo for
both PC and Mac available at www.shrapnelgames.com/Sprue/Salvo/6.htm.  
The demo boasts all the features found in the full retail game, and even allows
gamers to try out one of the campaigns!