It's Raining

 

Beaten to the Punch (Part 2 of 2)

Cover-based shooters were all the rage during the late 2000s and early 2010s.  The mechanic was popularized with the release of Gears of War in 2006, but had existed at least as far back as 1995 in the form of the arcade machine Time Crisis.  Granted, that was a light-gun game.  However, even if we were to limit the genre to third-person cover-based shooters there was kill.switch in 2003 and WinBack: Covert Operations in 1999.  Both of these titles have largely been forgotten to time compared to Gears of War, which has since gone on to become one of Microsoft's tentpole franchises (with four mainline sequels and several spinoff titles).  If I had to hazard a guess as to why, I'd say it has something to do with WinBack and kill.switch being more techno-thrillers and less Warhammer 40k adjacent.  I guess people really love guns that have their bayonet attachments replaced by chainsaws.

Angbad is one of those venerable ASCII roguelikes whose lineage can be traced back through Dungeons of Moria to the original Rogue.  As one might guess based on its name (and the name of its immediate predecessor), Angbad is heavily inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth setting.  The player begins the game in a small town consisting of some shops and a few NPCs.  Bellow is a hundred floors of procedurally generated dungeons filled with monsters, traps and treasure.  At the bottom level is Morgoth, who must be defeated in order to win the game.  In other words, Angbad is basically Diablo without music, sound or graphics.  It even has the randomized loot drops and a color coating system that is practically the standard for games of these types.  It's also free-to-play, obviously, for copyright reasons.  Despite not having much in the way of monetization potential, Angbad has been in active development for over three decades with a surprisingly active mod making community.  Even so, it has been completely eclipsed by the Blizzard franchise that was inspired by it.

Saving the most unusual for last, we have Herzog Zwei.  German for "Duke Two", this Sega Genesis exclusive was the inspiration for not one, but two whole genres of video games - the RTS and the MOBA.  As the title is perhaps trying to imply, the game can be played either versus the CPU or via split screen.  Players only directly control a single transformable air/ground vehicle, but are able to build a number of other units to assist them in capturing key locations on the map.  These subservient units can be given simple orders, but generally require a lot of micromanagement to be effective.  Because the game is real-time this can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed.  It's a problem that prevented the game from achieving wide-spread appeal.  Regardless of that, Herzog Zwei is the grandfather of Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander, not to mention Dune II: Battle for Arrakis and Warcraft as well as the Command and Conquer series.  It even got a spiritual successor in the form of the free-to-play online-only game AirMech.  Despite recieveing this polished up re-imagining the original concept has never really attracted a large playerbase.

There are more games I could cover.  Meridian 59 (the first MMORPG to feature three-dimension environments) comes to mind, but I think I have written enough for now about humble trend setters.  It's also worth mentioning that one can always dig deeper.  Back at the beginning I mentioned Sweet Home being the starting point for the survival horror genre.  In truth though one could go back further to Project Firestart in 1989 or even Haunted House way back in 1982 (for the Atari 2600) and claim that either of them is where it all really got started.  Of course that can lead to very reductive statements like "all games are based on the first distributed game ever - Space War!"  Tempting to declare, I'm sure, but the fact of the matter is game designers are influenced by things outside the realm of video games too.  The same holds true for other kinds of media as well.  One could claim that the 1982 film TRON was inspired by electronic entertainment, but if you sit down and watch the movie you'll gradually realize that it was based on Frisbee, handball, tennis and motorcycle racing as much as Pacman or Pong.      

Beaten to the Punch (Part 1 of 2)

On February 5th, 2023 the United States military deployed an F-22 jet fighter to shoot down a high altitude spy balloon that had been launched by China.  Some might think this was a first for aerial combat, but it was actually something that happened surprisingly often during World War 1.  Specifically, hot air balloons were used regularly to gain a vantage point in which one could observe enemy positions while being safely out of artillery range behind friendly lines.  As such, missions to shoot down enemy balloons were a fairly common assignment for pilots of that era.  Unsurprisingly, older-than-you-think is very much an ever present aspect of game mechanics and design as well.  Sometimes the games that started a trend, or even a whole (sub-)genre, are celebrated to this day.  However, in many cases they are mostly forgotten.  Lets go over seven such examples.

Sweet Home is an NES title that was never ported and, as such, failed to receive much recognition outside of Japan.  Nevertheless, it is often thought to be the origin of the survival horror genre.  While some claim the roots go back even further, there is no denying that this game along with the original Alone in the Dark were the primary inspirations for Resident Evil.  RagnarRox, of Youtube fame, goes into extensive detail about the Sweet Home and how the original Resident Evil was going to have a very similar story.  Some of the details remain in the final product; in particular, thematic elements such as a mansion and multiple playable characters, each with their own unique abilities.  Ultimately, part way into development the story was modified to include the idea of a zombie/monster creating virus and the elite crime-fighting unit (S.T.A.R.S.) that we all know and love.  Unlike Alone in the Dark, which spawned several sequels and a soon-to-be-release remake (as of the time this blog entry), Sweet Home is largely unknown outside of collectors and gaming historians. 

Next is Daisenryaku.  Translated to English the title means something like "Great Strategy" and features gameplay that would seem strangely familiar to fans of the Advanced Wars series.  Originally it began on PC, but saw ports as well as exclusive titles on a variety of consoles and operating systems.  All told it has been on over 22 different devices with something like 70 titles in the series.  However, the vast majority of these games were never released outside of Japan.  As such the IP has never really gained traction the way its more cartoonish predecessor has.  Kind of crazy to think, considering it was the first game to feature the split screen combat scenes which are a hallmark of numerous Japanese strategy war games that followed.  If I had to wager a guess, I'd say that Daisenryaku might have scared a lot of potential players off due to its use of a hex grid map.  As stupid as it sounds making the zones squares might have made it more palatable to a wider audience.

Speaking of games like Advanced Wars, there are a few fantasy-themed equivalents that have come out over the years.  Wargroove is one of the most recent and is based on the much older Warsong (also known as Langrisser: The Decendants of Light).  Even older still is a prequel of of sorts to that series called Elthlead.  The ur-example when it comes to SRPGs, it was only released for the Japanese PC market.  That, along with the previously mentioned aversion many gamers had toward hex grids at the time, might have kept it from gaining wider acclaim.  Elthlead also lacked the large cast of distinct hero characters that has since become a pillar of the genre.  Overall, the game feels closer to a table-top wargame than those titles which followed.  Nonetheless, far more widely recognized games such Final Fantasy: Tactics, Shinning Force and the Fire Emblem series have roots stretching back to this obscure game from 1987.   

People will often point to the original Legend of Zelda (or The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu in Japan) as the starting point for the classic hero's action/adventure genre.  What they don't know is another game came out two years before it by the name of Hydlide.  Released in 1984 for PC only, it was ported to the NES two years later.  Then, three year after that, it was finally localized for the western market.  By that time though Zelda had a gained a considerable lead in popularity.  As such, Hydlide never really caught up despite trying to innovate in its own ways.  An awkwardly named sequel, Hydlide: Shine of Darkness, was released exclusively for the Japanese market.  In addition to that, plans for a Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) port of the original under the name "Hydlide Special" were made, but this was abandoned in lieu of an all new entry in the series entitled Super Hydlide (or in Japan Hydlide 3: The Space Memories) followed by Virtual Hydlide for the Sega Saturn...honestly, I think the naming conventions for this series leave something to be desired.  "Link the Adventurer" might not sound like the most inspiring name for a protagonist, but it's still better than Hydlide's "Jim the Knight".

Since we still have three more examples to go, I'm splitting this blogpost entry into two parts.  In the next and final installment, we'll go over three more games; starting with something more contemporary and ending with a game that inspired not one, but two whole genres.  Stay tuned until then!

Oscilloscope Deconstructions

 

Fresh from the Shipyards

Recent updates to HighFleet have necessitated a re-evaluation of the designs I presented here last year (links to parts 1, 2 and 3).  Despite some major changes to in-game system stats, the majority of my custom-made ships continue to work fine as is.  Three in particular (the Foxhound, Lynx and Matryoshka) ended up being 2 percent short on their crew requirements, but I decided to leave them be.  There were other designs that required a bit of tweaking. The landing gear on the Chakram was altered to make it more stable. The internal components on both the Bulldog and Puma were radically reworked to make them more resilient. The Sentinel had two of its Sprint launchers blocked so I had them swap places with the escape pods.  The only design that had to be scraped entirely was the Sparrowhawk.  It was never particularly viable (due to its expensive "Palash" defense system), but has been replaced by an all new design simply called the Hawk.  In addition to that, there are six more new designs I will share bellow (along with the revised versions of the Bulldog and Puma):

Designation: Hawk

Classification: Heavy Corvette

Role: Air Superiority Ship

Description: Sudden strikes are somewhat of a mixed blessing. On one hand the enemy is caught flatfooted on the ground, but on the other they are underneath you attack ships. All the default designs, as well as the designs in this guide have soft undersides, but not the Hawk.

Designation: Bobcat

Classification: Heavy Corvette

Role: Interceptor

Description: A variant of the Lynx, the unarmored Bobcat is all about hitting them before they can hit back. Its faster and has better range as well as a uniform armament. It also features hardpoints which can be outfitted with Zenith missiles (up to four in total) for a bit of extra firepower.

Designation: Bulldog

Classification: Attack Frigate

Role: Air Superiority Ship

Description: Using special ammunition might turn a defeat into a victory, but it often comes at great cost. A single cruiser salvo can result in thousands worth of funds literally going up in smoke. The Bulldog provides a platform in which each of those pricey 180mm rounds count.

Designation: Puma

Classification: Attack Frigate

Role: Air Superiority Ship

Description: Taking the tried-and-true quad-turret arrangement and applying to 130mm cannons, the Puma has a hard top, but soft underbelly. Stay low to the ground and prioritize dodging Zenith missiles over incoming gunfire (especially small caliber rounds).

Designation: Ballista

Classification: Frigate

Role: Aircraft Carrier

Description: Acting as a "fleet carrier" of sorts, the Ballista lacks any integrated defenses, but is a surprisingly affordable and fast. Able to keep up with assault ships, it also has considerable range - not to mention a hefty punch in the form of eight fighter craft.

Designation: Strix

Classification: Attack Frigate

Role: Air Superiority Ship

Description: Corvettes tend to be very fragile and as such are not well suited to extended close-in brawls. The Strix represents an attempt to go against the tendencies of its class. It's tough and, while not very fast, serves as an excellent escort for fleet support vessels.

Designation: Jackal

Classification: Attack Frigate

Role: Air Superiority Ship

Description: Designed to operate semi-independently of the main fleet, the Jackal is ideally suited to looking for Tarkhans who are off the beaten path. It has the speed and firepower to clear garrisons without raising the alarm in addition to a respectable range and price tag.

Designation: Tiger

Classification: Attack Frigate

Role: Air Superiority Ship

Description: Speed and armor are a bit like oil and water when it comes to designing ships. Even so the Tiger manages to force the two to combine. At the same time range and firepower are good enough to make it useful asset to have over the course of the campaign.

Designation: Wolfhound

Classification: Strategic Frigate

Role: Missile Carrier

Description: Bigger brother to the foxhound, this missile hauler features two additional tubes for a total of five. The default version is loaded with highly valuable ballistic missiles, but using other types will reduce the purchase cost by several thousand.