i am scouring GoG for NetStorm but no luck, this DOSe seem to take at least some elements from it, at least in concept and some visuals.

As per the developer:

"Netstorm, Majesty, Settlers, Civilization, Mega-Lo-Mania - these titles are probably the most popular comparisons."
;)

Ah, my fault for misunderstanding your first post. :)

To me, Driftland is as close to Netstorm as any modern game has ever come. It has many features similar to that classic; indirect combat - you "mark" enemy units or buildings as a priority to attack, and your heroes decide on their own whether or not they want to follow that suggestion (and you can "influence" them to be more inclined by increasing the gold bounty).

The player's role is more on a macro level; using magics to draw floating islands together, connecting them with magic bridges, constructing buildings and upgrades to collect those island's resources and constructing defense and armies for combat. When your armies do enter combat, you can support them with magic spells that aid your own units or impede the enemy's.

Most maps not *quite* as puzzle-based as Netstorm, but many of the Campaign levels to have an element of puzzle-solving to them.

Hope that helps!