Posted on July 8th 2005
Here we go again!
Well, although it's in early days of concept I've decided to start working on a Hyperspace spin-off level that will be set in the Hyperspace environment. After Apotheosis was completed, I designed a series of plans and sketches intended for a future project, something that was going to be "maybe" only. The goal was to create a level based on Hyperspace, but with more interactive and strategic implementation. It wouldn't just be "destroy", but there would be actual strategy involved in protecting your assets, and how to destroy the enemy. The result of this will be a level designed solely for Assault style play. There will be no CTF or other modes of play. The map will be layed out in multiple-systems (about five or six), connected through a small jumpgate network. I was very dubious that this could be done, but after some testing yesturday I was able to confirm it can be done with a trick.
Now with some details on the content. There will be two bases, like in previous levels, except they will be seperated by some distance. Also, the bases themselves will be setup differently. Everything will be destroyable (which means, you can actually destroy the base by firing at it). Think "Command and Conquer", except in space. Here is the planned structures:
Control Tower - The main base of operations from where players control their base.
Shield Generator - There will be a few shield generators, which will enable the Control Tower to be protected by a shield. The only way to destroy the tower is take down the generators.
Repair Dock - Players can refuel and repair their ships in these floating hangers. Despite being protected by the shield generators, these are destroyable hangers.
Silo - The silo is where player weapons and platforms can be found. Platforms are "sentry guns" that can be deployed by players, and they will be generated once every few minutes (depending on the platform type, for example a Cruise Platform could take up to ten minutes to generate due to it's high damage output).
Electronic Satellite - Essential for automated defenses tracking. Without these, the control towers turrets are rendered inert.
Stargate - Used to travel distances between systems or within system (for example, Red Teams base may in orbit above a planet, whereas Blue are in midspace, but the same system).
So, your probably now wondering why the need for multiple systems? Well, I'm going to add a bit of depth to the level by introducing pirates (in Apotheosis there is lone pirate in the asteroid field). These AI pirates will vary in ship class, from mere fighters to powerful battleships. They will have various weapons, based on the type of weapons the robots use in Hyperspace. They will hang around the systems, at either asteroid fields or their own little outposts. Also, they may not always be there ?They will sometimes be cloaked, or sometimes just not there until you get close to their assets. They will serve no purpose to the objectives, and will just be there for something to shoot at. But, they might drop a special weapon you can use when they die?Which gives you some incentive to shoot them. But don�t expect an easy fight.
At the moment, I can�t provide any details on robots, ships or weapons. Suffice to say I plan to include a rich amount of content, with a patchable feature this time ?So I can continue to update the level without the necessary uber-size download.
In total, for the release level I plan to include three new player ships. One will be really fast and weak, the second will be inbetween, while the third will be slow with high amounts of shield ?The third ship will also be used to deploy Sentry Guns. Some new player weapons will also be included, but I have not done any design notes for weapons yet.
Expect more information as design progresses, and I cannot confirm any BETA testing date yet.