Defcon (computer game)
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Defcon is Introversion Software's third title. It is an RTS based loosely on the 1983 film WarGames, where the main character, a computer hacker, took control of the United States' nuclear arsenal by playing what he believed to be a game called 'Global Thermonuclear War'.
The company's previous hacking game Uplink and retro action game Darwinia have used the taglines "Trust is a weakness" and "A digital dreamscape", respectively. Defcon's has so far been "Everyone dies". [link]
Gameplay
Overview
In Defcon, players are given a dehumanised 1980s computer-themed world map with the objective to kill as many foreign citizens as possible with a variety of nuclear weapons. A typical game will see 'hundreds of millions' of innocent casualties as the opposing players try to cripple their enemies. However, attacking is a very risky strategy and leaves the player wide open to attack themselves, leading to most games not having a clear winner, "both sides obliterated". A Defcon game can last for a range of times by configuring the speed at which events progress, from real-time to 20× real-time. A 'normal' game lasts between 30 and 40 minutes, whereas the slowest games, playing in real-time, can take eight hours.Pacing and DefCon levels
Defcon is intended to be a thoughtful game and as such does not feature unit production, resource collection or research, and sees each player's force chosen and positioned beforehand. Furthermore it implements a 'countdown' system to stop each game disintegrating immediately: players begin at DefCon 5, and the level of alert counts down to 1 as the game progresses. Lowering levels open more possibilities, and ensure that players who can issue orders faster have as little advantage as possible.
| DefCon level | Status | Reached |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | No hostile actions | Game start |
| 4 | Can move naval units | Unknown |
| 3 | Can run basic hostile actions against enemies | Unknown |
| 2 | Can run more hostile actions against enemies | Unknown |
| 1 | Nuclear attacks allowed | Unknown |
Multiplayer and alliances
While the game defaults to two sides, America and Russia, matches with up to six players are possible, and AI opponents are provided. In these larger games, the option to form or break alliances is available. But an alliance is on paper only: one can be broken, made or re-made freely and allied players do not share scores, units or line of sight. Lead designer Chris Delay explains:
The 'chat channels' are based on the IRC model, with public and private chat to alliance members or individual players.
Office mode
There is also an 'Office Mode', where the game can be quickly minimised to the background and the computer can be used for other purposes between bouts of action, with a system tray icon notifying the user of events.Units
A unit cannot be seen unless it is spotted by a unit of the player's or fires a warhead (if it is able to). Defcon uses a realtime line of sight system common to traditional RTS games, whereby stationary units remain on the world map after being seen, but ones that are capable of movement do not.
- Radar installations provide great coverage, but are defenseless.
- Missile silos have two modes: launching nuclear warheads and shooting down incoming ordnance and units. Switching between modes takes time, and a silo is inoperative during a switch. Firing a silo reveals its position to all players.
- Airfields house a large number of bombers and fighters. Aircraft carriers are mobile versions with depth charges against submarines.
- Nuclear subs can launch warheads from any ocean location and move without detection by conventional radar, but have no radar themselves. They're strong against battleships.
- Bombers carry one warhead each, but are slow and vulnerable.
- Jets and battleships are used to detect enemy units, and to destroy opposing units without resorting to warheads.
Beta phase
Alpha testing of the game (Windows version) began April 24, 2006. The main focus of alpha testing was on the networking and UI components of the game.Beta testing began May 8th, 2006.
See also
External links
- Official
- [Official website]
- Previews
- [Eurogamer Jan 2006]
- Unofficial
- [Countrycide]
- [Defcongame.tk]
- [Thermonukez]
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