Time of Defiance updated

Nicely Crafted's massively multiplayer real-time strategy title, Time of Defiance, has been revised to include several significant new features, and re-released in a slender 10MB build.

Our favourite addition is the 'Player Conference' facility, which allows allies to host chat rooms and natter about tactical issues. The exciting bit being that there's no limit on the number of separate conferences players can attend - cuing a new era of sneaky, under-handed, double-crossing gameplay.

Other changes to the previous formula include the addition of drag-box selection, which allows players to select multiple units by, well, dragging a box around them, and the associated benefits of a new 'select all of unit type' keyboard shortcut, bringing the game further into line with traditional RTSes, like WarCraft, Command & Conquer, et al.

Polish has also been applied to the game's visuals and general presentation - a nice touch is the addition of an external interface to load community-developed tools and utilities. NiCE is keen to encourage the growth of the Time of Defiance community, with players numbering in the many thousands already.

"This new client is by far the greatest step Time of Defiance has taken," says Toby Simpson, managing director, Nicely Crafted Entertainment. "These new features ensure that the game behaves exactly as you'd expect it to, first time. The new empire management and camera controls make it easier than ever before to navigate around your growing empire. Together with the incorporation of valuable feedback from our players, this release of Time of Defiance is the best yet - by a long shot."

Those interested in trying the game out for the first time should journey to www.nicelycrafted.com, where a free five-day is available along with the 10MB update for existing users.