Shattered Galaxy
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Shattered Galaxy is a massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game that was released in 2001 by Nexon Inc., now known as KRU Games, after an extensive open beta period. It combines the attributes of a massive multiplayer online role-playing game and a real-time strategy game.
The game consists of two planets, Relic and Morgana Prime (MP), with about eighty-eight territories each, which are controlled by one of the planet's three factions. Battles in these territories revolve around "Points of Contention" (POCs) which are scattered around the map; to win the battle, one side must capture all the POCs, or hold a majority at the end of the battle.
As of August 11, 2003, the game can be played for free (the normal fee is $9.95 USD per month) for any length of time, but with statistic and level handicaps.
Characters and Army
Shattered Galaxy differs from other real-time strategy games in that a player controls only a handful of units (6 to 12), and battles are fought with many players on each side, each with their own selection of units. It also features a level and statistic system, adding an RPG element to a game that, for the most part, revolves around battles.
Players can also join regiments, groups of people who play together, especially from the same areas of the world. Einherjar (reformed Ituron Cavalry), Mystics, Shadow Warriors, 6days7nights (reformed Strategists), TOFU, Leaders of War and BloodAngels are some established regiments that have been around since Shattered Galaxy went commercial.
Each player has four statistics (stats): Tactics, Clout, Education and Mechanical Aptitude. On Relic, the total number of stat points is 124. On MP, the total number of stat points is 236. Players are recommended to emphasize one stat above all others; the two major choices are "Clouters" (as they are called in game slang), who gain access to advanced and more-durable units, and "Eduers," who get better guns, armor and accessories for their units.
Clouters make better "poccers" (they are better suited to the task of seizing an enemy-held POC while under fire), while Eduers do a better job of killing things. Because POCs are the strategic and tactical center of battle, both roles often specialize to the task. Clouters will forgo accessories, extra speed and even weapons in favor of armor and health, while Eduers disdain durability for increased mobility and lethality.
"Tacters" can bring more units into battle than those with a lower Tactics score. Every player is generally encouraged to invest points in Tactics, as seven or eight strong units are better than six. In fact, on Morgana Prime, eight units - 40 tactics - are considered the minimal amount necessary to play competitively. Obviously, twelve strong units - 120 Tactics - are better than seven, but one must realize that most players put every available point into their chosen stat; a player who has just reached 120 Tactics will not have 12 strong units, but rather 12 middling ones. However, depending on the combination of stats, twelve strong units can either deal more total damage or have more total health points (HP) even if the individual units deal less damage or have less HP. In any case, a good Clouter or Eduer always has a significant portion of points invested in Tactics.
Mechanical aptitude (MA) allows the player to cram more equipment onto their units by increasing the total weight capacity. MA though is a supporting stat. Generally, Eduers will need it more than Clouters. 30-60 is the general accepted range for MP.
The different units in the game are spread over four divisions: Infantry (from speedy lightsaber-users to men with flamethrowers to waddling anti-aircraft-missile towers), Mobile (tanks, motorcycles, artillery, radar, etc), Aviation (dogfighters, ground-attack planes and several specialty craft with area-of-effect attacks), and Organic (native aliens that have been domesticated, showing characteristics of all three other divisions). Units gain experience points through battles. Every time a unit levels up, the player receives Experience in that division equal to the square of the level the unit has left (if an Imp reaches level 4, its owner gets 9 experience in his or her Infantry category); once the player has accumulated enough division experience, they level up in that division, which provides another attribute point to assign to Tactics, Clout, Education or MA. Division level also augments the effects of Clout and Education in accessing equipment and marks.
Shattered Galaxy has over fifty different kinds of units, all of which can be upgraded into stronger "Marks" or versions (Clouters do this) and re-equipped with better gear (Eduers do this). Every individual unit gains experience, can be renamed, and is not permanently lost when killed in battle, but rather can be instantly repaired at appropriate facilities. They are also specialized in application, by way of Shattered Galaxy
Battles
Battles in Shattered Galaxy revolve around controlling the battleground's POCs. Generally, the offensive team wins immediately if they manage to seize all POCs. If the game's built-in 15-minute time limit is exhausted, the winner is decided by the team who controls the most POCs at the end, with ties going to the defenders. Since capturing and defending the POC is the main objective, most units are specifically designed for these roles. However, support units like carpet bombers, radar jammers, mine-laying sappers, infantry with nuke stopping shields, and soldiers with paralyzing weaponry can also contribute to the outcome of the battle.
Battles can involve twenty or more people to a side. The battle prowess of each player is heavily dependent his current character level, and the level of units he puts into play. A veteran player with good mastery of battle tactics with a high level can easily defeat disorganized and/or low-level opponents. Communication and teamwork are also crucial to success. A "regiment" system had been implemented, allowing players to band together and guarantee themselves a supply of dependable teammates. This system has evolved into essentially complex teams, and in the event of Reconstructions (where the factions are remade), the various factions are organized by regiment strength.
Battles are frantic, fast-paced and ever-fluid situations, with players constantly bringing in new sets of units, either to replace destroyed ones or to counter enemy reinforcements. The most significant difference between Shattered Galaxy and multiplayer modes in other RTS games is the profusion of players and their relative powerlessness. In an average three-on-three WarCraft match, each team member is invaluable, and cannot be replaced; losing one to enemy forces—or, even worse, discovering that he is an incompetent newbie—is essentially a death sentence. Shattered Galaxy, on the other hand, embodies an old adage: "There is no I in team." Each of the battle's many members are relatively powerless on their own, and must trust in teammates for support, information and victory—teammates who may or may not actually be trustworthy. Most battles are lost to either ignorance ("I don't know what to do") or sheer apathy ("I do know, but it's not fun, so I won't do it"). Rarely can one single player cause the loss of an entire battle, but, conversely, rarely does victory result from anything less than a concerted effort by a large number of players.
POC and Victory Rules
There are three basic rulesets relating to the POCs: All or Nothing, Standard, and Victory. All or Nothing maps are exactly what their name implies. The attacking side must take all of the POC's and have them in their possession for them to win. The opposing side simply has to keep one POC. Maps of this nature used to involve only 1 POC, but today they involve 3 clustered together, with the sole exception of Sector 44, the Crater in the very middle of the map (in game lore, it is the place where human surivors crash-landed on the planet), which is constantly a battlefield.
Standard maps are the bread and butter of Shattered Galaxy play. In this scenario, the attacking side has to hold a majority of POCs to win. The defending side must prevent this from happening. POCs typically take 45 seconds to capture (they must be occupied by units from the same faction for 45 seconds), but there are certain "Standard Enhanced" maps where the time to take POC's varies.
Victory maps are the most difficult maps to fight on. Each side starts with 800 points and attempts to whittle the opposing side's score down to 0. Points are rewarded for players joining into the battle, while points are taken away for units dying, players sending another set of units after their first set dies, or for not holding a majority of the POCs.
Finally, if at any time either side has no units in battle, that side loses instantly (or, in a Victory map, very very quickly).
Other Activities
Caving is a term in Shattered Galaxy for going into alien caves in order to fight and gain experience points. Most caving is done on Relic, where the aliens consist of weak slursts and larvae, as the caves on Morgana Prime are famous for their tough difficulty level and, because of this, caving is usually considered a waste of time. Caving on Relic usually takes places only within the factions' capitals, as most caves in other provinces have stronger aliens. A cave battle is similar to a normal battle but with only 1 POC and aliens instead of enemy factions. Experience received in caves is based on how long a player waits before POCcing.
Mercing is a term that refers to mercenaries within the game. People can choose to become mercenaries for the 15% experience bonus and fight for the faction that is currently losing. This is highly discouraged within regiments, although now it is possible to be a mercenary without leaving a regiment as had previously been done.
Reincarnations are events for payers only in which all paying characters that sign up get their characters reset to level 1. The benefit for this is that extra attribute points, and storage space for units, are given based on the number of reincarnations, and division levels above 50. Players must be at level 50 and in at least 1 division in order to reincarnate.
Calculations for specific stats
TL (Tech level) (determines what kind of items your units may equip)
- TL = unit level + (Education/2)
- UQ = unit level + (Clout/2)
- Influence = division level (Infantry, mobile, aviation, organic) + (Clout/2)
- ATL= Unit level + (Education/2) + (MA/2)
Game terms
GG-Ground to ground units. These units are effective against GA. (examples: Ghasts, Poda family, Arbalests)
GA-Ground to air units. These units are effective against AA (examples: Manticores, Liches, Ballistas)
GV-Ground versatile units. (examples: Ubik family, Shades, Chimeras)
AA-Air to air units. These units are effective against AG (examples: Hawks, Owls, Mamos family, Phoenixes with flame weapon)
AG-Air to ground units. These units are effective against GG (examples: Eagles, Vultures, Pelicans)
AV-Air versatile units. (examples: Condors, Phoenixes with missile weapon)
POC- Point of Contention. The objectives that must be captured by standing on it for the full duration of time. (POC times can be checked by using the Strategic Map.)
Poccer- A unit designed for standing on a Poc under heavy fire, so usually these units have high HP/armor. Sometimes weapons are sacrificed to achieve high HP/armor. (examples: Abominations/Quorgs, Revenants, Wraiths, Mephits, Behemoths, Chimeras, Poda family)
Anti-Poccer- A unit designed to kill enemy Poccers before they can successfully capture a POC. General characteristics of Anti-Poccers are Armor pierce (or high damage) and Splash damage. (examples: Daevas with Grenade ability, War Pigeons, Ghasts with high damage, Revenants with EarthQuake ability)
FP- FastPoc. A strategy in which the player(s) in the map try to grab all the POCs as fast as possible. Therefore FPers (fastpoccer units) generally have speed. (examples: Hydras, Poda family)
FS- Fusion Storm. Condor special ability. Takes off 80% of any air units that it hits max HP. 2 FSs instantly kill any air units. (Note: This only applies to Tech Level 20 Fusion Generator.)
Nukes-IRBMs launched by spectres. Massive damage. Used to nuke POCs and clusters of enemy units.
Mine clearing- Using units, usually large ones, to clear air or land mines by ramming into them. Condors can detect air mines and remeove them without getting damaged. Sappers can do the same for land mines.
EMPed/Grounded- A unit that is out of energy, whether from a Sappers EMP mines or Volte & Wraith EMP attack.
Hit and run- A useful tactic. Hit and run units usually have high range, high speed and high damage. (example: Spirits, Hawks)
Cloak - Makes a unit difficult to see. Units won't automatically attack cloaked units, and thus they must be targeted by the player, or can be revealed by a detector. (RTS sensors for Arbalests and Ballistas are an exception; their mortar shells hit visible enemy units, but with RTS sensor, nearby cloaked enemy units take splash damage.)
Camo - Camouflage. Makes a unit completely invisible, and impossible to attack directly. The unit is unable to move or perform any actions. Camoed units must be hit with splash damage. or revealed with a detector.
Infil - Infiltrator. Makes the unit appear to enemies as an ally, and must be targeted manually by the player to attack, or revealed with a detector.
Rein-To reinforce a battle.
Lag Armor: a condition created by Internet latency and exacerbated by the multiplayer nature of the game. At times, a player will be able to send information to the server ("I am attacking [these] units") but not receive information in response ("You are being attacked by [those] units"). This creates a condition in which the server allows the player to control units whose destruction is known to everyone except that player. These units, which can attack but cannot be killed, are described as having "lag armor". The damage they inflict is sometimes, but not always, retroactively reversed after they are finally declared dead.
Units
Infantry
(In alphabetical order)Note: All Infantry units are capable of using the Cloak ability if equipped with the Terminus or Mutated biodrives. Some have items that give them Cloak without these biodrives.
- Apparition: "Apps" are sniper units, with very-long-range weapons. They are most often found guarding POCs or providing interdiction fire. They are capable of the "Camouflage" ability, which renders the unit unable to move or shoot but also totally invisible and invulnerable, unless specific detectors are brought nearby. They are useless for POC defense and are generally frowned upon.
- Banshee: "Shees" are notable for their high rate of fire and movement speed. While they are largely impotent against well-armored units, they can chew through just about anything else due to their fast rate of fire. Banshees can also equip flamethrowers, formerly the exclusive domain of the Imp. While not as powerful as the Imp's, they are much easier to get behind enemy lines due to the Banshee's movement speed, and are often employed against enemy artillery. Finally, Banshees are also capable of throwing Flares, which reveals areas of the map currently hidden by Fog of War.
- Daeva: While the Daeva's weapons are fair, it is mostly used for its Grenade ability, which allows the Daeva to throw splash-damage Grenades with a rate of fire almost equal to how fast the player can activate the ability. Alternately, the Daeva can employ EMP grenades, which drain the enemy's power resources and render it inoperable, resulting in idling units which must be destroyed either by careless enemies or by team-killing. Finally, the Daeva has several weapons with no muzzle-flash animation, allowing the Daeva total anonymity if equipped with a cloaking device.
- Ghast: Ghasts are melee units, carrying lightsaber-like swords. Ghasts have a high movement speed, damage and rate of fire. To balance this, they are fairly fragile, and have to be right next to an enemy to attack. Ghasts are usually used to destroy heavily armored POCing units, or to hunt for artillery. When equipped with cloaking devices, they can be very difficult to attack, as their slim profile and frequent movement makes it hard to manually target them.
- Imp: Imps are best known for their high-damage flamethrowers, which can hit many enemies at a time and are useful for clearing POCs. The Imp's movement speed is very slow, but it is resilient to damage. Imps are capable of the Infiltrate ability, which causes enemies to see them as allies (wearing their team color). To the allies of the Imp, its team color will change to grey. This allows the Imp to get in close, but it can still be attacked if targeted manually. To enemies, an infiltrated Imp can be distinguished, but the difference in its name when highlighted is extremely slight. Most Imps are only found to be infiltrating when they start attacking their enemies.
- Liche: Liches are primarily used for their IRBM Defense Shields. When activated, this blocks all damage from IRBMs (the enemy cannot see this shield, but will see their IRBM harmlessly explode with a blue splash), and will also block phasic units from teleporting to their location, but it affects both enemies and allies. Liches aren't typically seen in large squads, but rather one or two is sent in as part of a squad, usually a group of POCers or POC-sitters. When cloaked, this strategy is very annoying. One technique in overcoming their IRBM shield is to launch two IRBMs with a small delay between them. The first missile to reach the target will explode harmlessly, while the second will avoid the Liche's shield, since the Liche cannot block two or more consecutive IRBMs, and usually kill it, while damaging other units.
- Medic: one of a very few Infantry units to not be named after incorporeal beings, Medics can't attack, but can heal Infantry and Organic units, and repair Mobile and Air units. Medics can be equipped with Biodrive Scramblers, which temporarily paralyze enemy Infantry or Organic unit. Finally, where most units with Teleporters are only able to pick up other units and move them to the Teleporter's location, Medics have a Self-Teleport ability; it takes 45 seconds to charge and allowing them to teleport themselves to anywhere on the map that is currently visible. Medics are commonly used to capture POCs, teleporting to unsupervised POCs and healing each other to stall for time, since they can carry a large amount of armour. However, they are not very effective when under heavy fire, especially when alone.
- Mephit: "Mephs" have a very slow movement speed, but make up for this with their long-range, high-damage attacks, as well as their capacity to equip plenty of armor. They are good at destroying enemies, as well as capturing POCs.
- Phantom: - While a "Phant"'s movement speed, damage, rate of fire and defensive abilities are all average, its true strength is in their armour piercing weapons. This makes them a threat to enemies that rely on armor for protection. They are also versatile, attacking both ground and air units. They can be irritating when cloaked, as they can do massive damage while still avoiding enemy fire.
- Revenant: "Revs" are melee units that use their bare hands to attack enemies; in previous revisions of Shattered Galaxy, they were called "Brutes." They deal and can be dealt tons of damage. Revenants also have the Earthquake ability, which allows them to pound the ground and damage all ground units around them, including allies, themselves and each other. Typically this is used as a suicidal tactic to clear a POC of enemies. Finally, Revs can Camoflague, and players often place eight or more Camo'd Revs in a ring around the POC. The Revs will stand there, invisible and untargetable, but blocking all enemy incursion with their bodies; the only way to circumvent them is to either launch an IRBM at them, transport a unit in by air or use Knells. Players may also use the earthquake ability to quickly dispose of the units inside the ring. An earthquake, also known as EQ, cannot damage any unit with an antigravity harness when used. Some players armour their Revenants so heavily that its health bar will seem not to decrease at all even under heavy fire. These are mainly used to capture POCs.
- Sapper: "Saps" can lay armor-piercing land mines, which are invisible to the enemy. While most mines cause damage, there are also Chemical mines, which explode with a green cloud and slow down affected units, as well as EMP mines, which drain the enemy's power supply. A common tactic is to equip most of your Sappers with damaging mines, and equip one or two with the chemical mines. This causes the enemy to be forced to be hit with all the mines they detonate, as some faster units can take advantage of lag issues. It is important to note that although allies can't set off the mines, they can be hit by them if the enemy steps on one close enough. This is why mining on top of or too close to a POC is generally frowned upon, as enemies can intentionally set off the mines to hurt those defending it. Sappers can also be equipped with the Mine Remover ability, which allows them to harmlessly remove any enemy landmines within a radius of the Sapper. Finally, Sappers can be equipped with a self-destruct ability which causes more damage to enemies than what the Fallout power sources can provide.
- Shade: Shades shoot quickly and can attack both air and ground units. However, they're fragile and don't do a lot of damage, and their versatility is of questionable utility in a game where twenty different people are using twenty different units: even if Shades are the only soldiers that can currently shoot down airplanes, they probably won't be in the next thirty seconds. Shades are most effective in large groups when used by a player with a high Tactics stat. They are useful for new players who are still learning the game and don't feel comfortable being unable to attack certain units.
- Spirit: a unit with a good level of damage and attack range. Spirits have abilities that make life harder for the enemy. They are capable of the Sensor Evasion ability, which turns the spirit black with team colors; this lowers the attack range of enemies trying to target the Spirit, forcing them to move in closer while the Spirit continues to fire. Spirits also have "Mindwarp" and "Shortcircuit" abilities, which causes enemy units to become temporarily unable to receive new orders from their commander. It will continue to carry out its last order, though. Many players will take a single cloaked Spirit along with another squad to use these abilities on enemies as the rest of the squad attacks. They are used as support units, preferably equipped with Mindwarp or ShortCircut, they are prefer to be used with a squad of ghasts.
- Spectre: "Specs" are fragile, slow, and have some pretty decent ground-to-air attacks. Their main use, however, is for launching IRBM, commonly known as "nukes." IRBMs take three minutes to charge up (five minutes if bunkered in a Mantlet), can be launched at anywhere on the map that is currently visible, and cause massive damage to all units caught in the radius. IRBMs take a lot of energy to launch, and won't work with Solar Batteries. Players typically launch all of their IRBMs simultaneously and at the same target, as it maximizes damage, and good opportunities usually must be taken advantage of quickly. It takes 10 seconds for the IRBMs to arrive at their target. A good technique on Relic is to launch IRBMs in pairs, keeping more for launching at other targets while still doing a lot of damage. Spectres are one of the units always targeted first, the others being the Arbalests, Ballistas and Trebuchets.
- Virus: The Virus' main weapon causes a great deal of damage, but has an extremely slow rate of fire. Viruses are typically used for hit and run tactics, as team of Viruses can move in, destroy a unit, escape, then return when the weapon has recharged. Viruses can also be equipped with an item that causes enemies to self-destruct, damaging units around them. This is effective against tightly grouped, hard-to-kill units such as POC sitters.
- Wight: - Wights are only available to paying users, and a player must pay 250 Uranium to add it to the list of recruitable units in the Factory. Wights are capable of very high damage. They can use the Overloader ability, which allows them to do a great deal of damage per second. Wights are durable units, but have a slow movement speed.
- Wraith: Wraiths can attain great deals of health, especially in the hands of a player with a high Clout stat . They are usually used as a POC capturing or sitting unit. They also have the ability to transform their attacks into an EMP attack, to drain enemy power reserves. Because Wraiths have a very slow movement speed, many players use an Orbus or Roc to teleport their Wraiths onto or close to a POC. Some players also align them in rows to block enemy movement, since they are relatively durable and can endure a large amount of damage before being destroyed.
Mobile
In alphabetical orderNote: All Mobile units can be equipped with engines that add boosters to increase movement speed
- Arbalest: "Arbs" are artillery units. They have a slow movement speed, are fragile and can't attack directly; instead, activating them places cross-hairs on the ground at a specific distance from the unit, and any ground units that wander over or near these crosshairs get shelled. Arbs do splash damage, but only to enemy units; this splash damage is the only way to hit cloaked units. The exact range between Arb and crosshair is determined by what particular gun the Arb is using.
- Ballista: "Balls" are flak units, and operate similarly to Arbalests, but instead of hitting ground units they hit airborne units. The do approximately half the damage of Arbalests, but generally have longer range and are much more resilient under enemy fire.
- Behemoths: "Moths" are tanks. While they have a slow movement speed and slow rate of fire, they have long-range, high-damage weapons and, most importantly, extreme health and armor. They are predominantly used as POCers and/or POC-defenders. Their large size lets a group of Moths physically cover a POC so that enemy units cannot stand on it. The answer, of course, is to destroy the offending tanks, but that can take a while.
- Chimera: "Chims," like the Infantry Shades, are well-balanced, versatile, jack of all trades units. Unlike Shades, they are much more durable, which allows them to do some POCing, but they also make useful hunters if you can circumvent their slow movement speed.
- Gear-Doc: This is basically the Mobile equivalent of the Medic. Gear-Docs can heal as well as repair. Unlike the Medic, Gear-Docs cannot Warp, but they can Neutron and Camouflage, and this combined with their large physical size allows them to block POCs the way Revenants or Behemoths are. Otherwise, they are usually sent one at a time to supplement other units.
- Gryphon: Gryphons are the fastest ground unit in the game. Although they are fragile, their speed and attack range allows them to excel at hit-and-run tactics, and can be deadly in the hands of a skilled player. Because of their fragility, Gryphons are often used by players with a high Tactics rating.
- Hydra: A variant on the venerable Manticore, Hydras move quickly and feature high-damage ground-to-air attacks. They are also fairly tough to kill. This makes them a good quick-response unit against enemy air assets that are too dangerous to send other air units against, but too nimble for Manticores to catch. They are usually used as POCcers. Players remove their weapons to make way for heavier armour, making it extremely difficult to damage them.
- Leviathan: The "Levi" is a tank, but it trades the Behemoth's durability for mobility and a higher rate of fire. Leviathans can also use the Neuton Shield ability, which, at the cost of energy, can render the Leviathan impervious to all damage. There are different Neutron for the four types of damage (laser, ballistic, missile and flame), which increases their armor by multiplying it by 6 against the selected type of damage. This allows the Leviathan to harmlessly detonate landmines, dodge artillery fire, and even take a direct IRBM strike. Leviathans cannot capture a POC while the Neuton Shield is activated.
- Manticores: "Mantis," or sometimes "Cores," are durable ground-to-air units. Especially when the proper sensors are equipped, they can attack from alarming distances. Manticores are slow, though, and so often must allow enemies to enter their attack range, rather than give chase. Manticore weapons can be either medium-ranged, very-high rate-of-fire and medium damage, or very-high-ranged, slow rate-of-fire, and very high damage. Manticores, and to a lesser extent Hydras, are the bane of air units, and players go out of their way to avoid them; this allows Mantis to have a battlefield presence just by existing.
- Mantlet: "Mants" are mobile bunkers. They can move about the map on wheels, and then transform into Bunker mode, allowing Infantry units to enter them and attack enemies from safety. While in Bunker mode, Mantlets have a huge amount of armor, as well as a large sight radius. Some players use Mantlets to shelter their Spectres, but this causes the Spectres' nukes to charge more slowly.
- Orbus: The Orbus has no attacks, medium movement speed and low-to-medium durability. What it excels at is transportaton: it can instantly teleport allied units to itself. Players using slow units often bring an Orbus with them, and send it forward to teleport the units to or close to their destination, rather than waste time walking across the map. This also works as a good escape route for things like Arbalests. The Orbus can also set up a shield that prevents all attacks from passing through it; allies within can't shoot out, but enemies outside can't shoot in... Unless they enter the confines of the shield itself. Finally, the Orbus is also capable of setting up a Link Gate with another Orbus. Units can use it to teleport to the other Orbus and back. Note, the shield only works against Ground-to-Ground attacks, any air unit that can attack ground has the ability to destroy the shield.
- Pegasus: "Pegs" are fast hovercycles, with long-range weapons and options against both air and ground foes. They have very little durability and are not meant for a stand-up fight; instead, armed with cloaking devices, they are generally used to sneak behind enemy lines and wreak havoc on artillery, nukers and other rear-line targets.
- Red-Eye: Red-Eyes have no attacks, have slow movement speed, and are very fragile. Instead, they provide intelligence. They can be equipped with a "Cloak Detector," which enables auto-aiming at cloaked enemy units, and a huge sight radius (one can reveal easily a sixth of the map). They can be equipped with Radar Jammers that disable the enemies' mini-map and deprives them of their allies' sight, leaving them disorganized. They can be equipped with the sonar-like Scan ability, which temporarily reveals the location of every unit on the map, even when the enemy is jamming. Scanning, however, will not reverse the jamming ability. Finally, they can be equipped to create the same shield as the Orbus. They are generally brought in one at a time as a supplement to other soldiers, rather than in a squad. They are also used with a squad of arbalests. In crater maps, mass jamming, a technique that involves constantly jamming the enemies' minimap, is very useful for the jammer. The enemy players cannot work with each other and will not be able to capture the heavily guarded "crater" POC. The Red Eye used in this technique is usually not in the crater. It is very often hidden behind a tree.
- Trebuchet: "Trebs" are artillery units and combine the air- and ground-assault capabilities of the Arbalest and Ballista, but at the cost of decreased damage. It also has the ability to cloak, making it difficult to find, except by random chance of an enemy unit stumbling directly on to the cloaked Trebuchet or mousing over it. In general, its versatility and increased durability are an alternative to other artilley units; however, their damage is too low to make the versatility worthwhile.
- Triage: a mobile medical facility with no attacks. Like the Mantlet, it unfolds into a platform which heals and repairs any allied unit that steps or flies above it. It is fairly weak and has medium movement speed. They are generally used one at a time, not en masse.
- Volte: - The Volte is a mobile power station. It has a good movement speed, low to medium durability, and has some low damage attacks. It has its own, infinitely renewing power supply. It is capable of deploying into a power station that recharges the energy of any ally that comes near it. It can be equipped with an EMP ability for its undeployed mode. Also, they can be armed with short-range, high rate-of-fire machine guns useful against units with little armor.
Aviation
In alphabetical order
- Albatross: "Albs" have a slow movement speed, medium durability, and a low-damage attack. Since this weapon only inflicts 93 damage, fires once every 3.0 seconds and takes up 10 weight, many people avoid it. Albatrosses are most famous, instead, for their ability to disperse "alt-charges," more commonly known as "air mines." They are undetectable by the enemy and explode in proximity to opposing air units. By blanketing critical areas, Albs can severely stymie the opponents' movement. Albs can also be equipped with some cloak, camoflague, and infiltrator detectors. However, their mines are sometimes cleared by sacrificing a squad of usually fast air units arranged in a line and moving through the mined area.
- Condor: "Dors" have a slow movement speed and a slow rate of attack, but are very durable and do tons of damage over long range, and can strike both air and ground units. Condors also have a powerful weapon in the "Fusion Storm" ability, which causes percentage-based damage to enemy air units in a line. Two Condors using Tech-Level 20 "FS" on the same target can instantly destroy entire groups of tightly-clustered aircraft. They are also able to clear an Albatross's air mines, but they are not allowed to equip both Fusion Storm and Mine Clearing at once. All their weapons have a 27 metre range, with the exception of the "Fusion Storm". They are generally frowned upon, being referred to derogatively as "condoms".
- Eagle: Are heavily armored, but with weak weapons. At lower levels they have a low cd, low damage AG weapon. At higher levels they get decent V weapons. Because of their high hp and armor and their speed, and since they don't deal much damage, they're mostly used to hunt.
- Falcon: "Falcs" are fragile but extremely speedy, and are typically seen equipped with cloaking devices. Their weapons don't do much damage per hit, but fire continuously without stopping, and a squad of them can destroy moderately armoured units in an alarmingly short period of time. They are usually cloaked and placed in a cluster of enemy units and fire from the inside, making it hard for enemy players to target them individually.
- Hawk: Hawks are by far the one of the most common sight in the skies of Shattered Galaxy. Larger, heavier Falcons, they are the second quickest plane in the sky, and the second least durable. They are armed with conventional bullet and missile based weapons, as opposed to the Falcons' lightning guns. They are good at hit-and-run tactics against enemy air formations, possessing high speed and long range weapons. Hawks, like the ground-based Spirits, can equip the Sensor Evasion ability, which reduces the attack range of enemies attacking the Hawk, forcing them to come closer while the Hawk can evade and attack the enemy with hit-and-run tactics. Hawks also have an item called a "Floater" that lets them avoid alt charges, or air mines.
- Owl: Owls have high-damage air-to-air missiles and are fairly durable, but their medium to low movement speed makes it easy for the far more common Hawks to outrun them. They are often used to hunt slower aircraft, like Condors or Vultures, or defend a position. In earlier (beta) versions of Shattered Galaxy, Owls held down the attack roles that are today filled by the Pelican and War Pigeon.
- Pelican: Pelicans have medium movement speed and low-to-medium durability. They have a few versatile weapons, but they specialize in air-to-ground missile attacks and are the most common choice for the ground-attack role.
- Phoenix: "Nixes" have many types of high-damage Missile weapons that help it gain levels quickly. It truly shines, however, when equipped with high-damage, short-range flamethrowers; using them, Phoenixes can send a tight cluster of enemy planes spiraling to the ground with a single salvo. Most players break their planes into loose formation when Nixes arrive. They are fairly durable but also fairly slow, and are totally vulnerable to ground-to-air units like Manticores.
- Roc: Rocs are transport units. They are fairly slow and have good health and armor, but no attack capability. They each have the ability to pick up a single unit (your own or an ally's) and drop it off somewhere. Once equipped with a Phase Generator, they can also have the ability to teleport units to themselves, and many players use them the way they use Orbuses. The advantage of the airborne Roc is that it can drop units directly onto a POC, circumventing strategies like camo'd Revenants.
- Vulture: "Vults" are, essentially, airborne Arbalests. They have low movement speed and are easily preyed upon to Air-to-Air killers, and even carefully-placed G-to-A. Compared to Arbalests, Vultures have a higher damage per second but much lower range, but they fire faster and are much more mobile, able to find (and retreat from) advantageous sieging positions with alarming ease. They are mostly food for airbone units.
- War Pigeon: "Pigs" have medium speed, but its durability depends directly on the character's stats, as opposed to most units who must be specifically equipped with armor. It has no direct attacks. Instead, the War Pigeon is capable of using the Carpet Bomb ability, which, once activated, drops a stream of bombs (several every second) onto enemy units below the War Pigeon. These bombs do lots of damage and ignore armor, making the Pig ideally suited for breaking up enemy POCcers. Since the War Pigeon's bombs drain lots of energy, most War Pigeons carry a Methane or Cell energy supply. They are also prime targets for just about any airborne interceptors in the area. War Pigeons are encouraged to use to clear a POC.
Organic
In alphabetical order by basic form.
- Abomination: "Aboms" are only available to paying players who have special promotional codes. They have much the same abilities as the Revenant but feature higher health and armor, and are larger in size, making them even more suited for the job of physically denying the enemy of POC space. It does not evolve.
- Larva: Larvae do low-to-medium damage, with a decent attack speed, and pierce armor. They have medium health, low armor and a medium movement speed. Many players see Larvae as only a step on the path to Knells.
- *Scave: these round, spiky creatures evolve from Larvae.
- **Knell: Evolves from Scave. Knells are a unique unit in that they burrow and tunnel underground. This allows them to move like an air unit, but also lets them POC.
- Lithubik: Lithubiks are short-to-medium range Armor Piercing units. They have a special ability which allows them to attack faster but drains health every second. It does not evolve.
- Mamos: An air-to-air unit, Mamoses have good health and armor, as well as good attack range. They have decent damage, but are fairly slow.
- *Momos: Evolves from Mamos.
- **Momas: Evolves from Momos. Neither the Mamos nor Momos is visually much different from the Mamos, though they are faster and more durable.
- Manta: The Manta's primary purpose is detection: it has a large detector radius and the ability to see through both cloak and camouflage. It has a lot of health but low armor, and medium movement speed. Its attacks have low damage and have a slow rate of fire. It has the ability to cloak. A single Manta can be used for detection purposes, while a set is considered useless since their damage is too low to kill efficiently.
- *Onnir: Evolves from Manta. Looks different but functions the same.
- Oizys: Are air to ground attackers. They have low range, but fair damage and a fast rate of fire. They have a very fast movement speed, allowing them to get around quickly; they are mostly used to hunt artillery units and Red Eyes. Because they have fairly low health, though, they generally can't be used on more than one target.
- *Boreas: Evolves from Oizys.
- **Eris: Evolves from Boreas.
- ***Lyssa: Evolves from Eris. Looks very similar to a Dragon.
- Poda: melee attackers, with medium movement speed and low armor but good health. Their damage is good. A general purpose melee unit. Many players use them to attack and capture POCs.
- *Kritsk: Evolves from Poda. Has better health and is more durable and better for POCcing than Podas.
- **Mlortha: Evolves from Kritsk.
- Quorg: Quorgs are only available to paying players, who must spend 800 Uranium to unlock them. They are essentially identical to the Abomination aside from appearance. The one difference is the power and cooldown of their earthquake abilities
- Slanth: Slanths have a very long range attacks, with medium damage and a medium rate of fire. They aren't very durable and have a slow movement speed, but they are naturally phasic. Groups of them can deal large amounts of damage in a short period of time.
- *Crudgin: Evolves from Slanth.
- **Rouke: Evolves from Crudgin.
- Ubik: Like Shades and Chimeras, Ubiks are well-rounded units, striking a balance between the Shade's hit and run delicacy and the trundling bulk of a Chimera. They have no major weaknesses but no real strengths either. They are, however, relatively durable and can withstand a large amount of damage.
- *Tyr: Evolves from Ubik. Tyrs have four legs and walk on two, and they have a furry appearance, but they may not actually have fur.
- **Haltyr: Evolves from Tyr.
Super Organic Units
120 points into Tactics, Clout, Education, or Mech Aptitude will give you a super organic unit. You must be a payer to put more than 100 points into Tactics, Clout, Education, or Mech Aptitude.
- TACTICS - From 1 to 12 Jorias OR from 1 to 12 Vytyrs
- CLOUT - 1 Dythe OR 1 Charise
- MECHAPT - 1 Miasmal OR 1 Miasam
- EDUCATION - 1 Charnal OR 1 Rayoks
Similarities to
Shattered Galaxy is very similar to the game StarCraft in many areas. The terrains in maps in both games are very similar, just that StarCraft terrains are more detailed and sharper, but they are mainly identical. Both games also do not have any units that travel on or under water. The two games also have the principle that units cannot travel through each other.
Shattered Galaxy also has many units that are very similar to several StarCraft units, buildings or abilities in appearance and in abilities. Below is a list of the units concerned, with Shattered Galaxy units first, followed by their StarCraft counterparts.
- Arbalest / Trebuchet (Land Attack Only) = Terran Siege Tank (Deployed)
- Behemoth = Terran Siege Tank (Undeployed)
- Chimera = Protoss Dragoon
- Condor = Protoss Carrier
- Condor (Fusion Generator Ability) = Terran Battleship (Yamato Cannon)
- Eagle = Terran BattleCruiser
- GearDoc = Terran SCV
- Ghast = Protoss Zealot
- Hawk = Terran Wraith / Protoss Scout
- Imp = Terran Firebat
- IRBM Nuclear Missile = Terran Tactical Nuclear Warhead
- Larva = Zerg Zergling
- Leviathan / Slanth = Protoss Reaver
- Manta = Zerg Overlord
- Manticore = Terran Missile Turret / Zerg Spore Colony
- Mantlet = Terran Bunker
- Oizys = Zerg Mutalisk
- Orbus = Protoss Arbiter
- Red Eye = Protoss Observer
- Pegasus / Gryphon = Terran Vulture
- Phantom / Wight = Terran Goliath
- Poda / Abomination / Quorg = Zerg Ultralisk
- Roc = Terran Dropship / Protoss Shuttle / Zerg Overlord
- Sapper (Self Destruct Ability) = Zerg Infested Terran
- Shade = Terran Marine
- Spirit = Terran Ghost
- Ubik = Zerg Hydralisk
- Virus = Terran Science Vessel / Zerg Queen / Zerg Defiler
Other similarities
- The unit Spirit can also be compaired to the Labor units in the hit anime film, Patlabor.
- The unit Scave is similar in appearance and attacking ability to the unit "Shredder" in the game Dark Reign.
- The unit Wight is similar to a Mech in the game MechWarriors.
- The unit Liche is also very similar in appearance and attacking ability to a "Catapult", a type of MechWarrior in the game MechWarriors.
Trivia
- The game was published under the name "Tactical Commanders" in Germany. Decorative boards in some maps show the name "Tactical Commanders".
- The game uses the KUF (Kingdom Under Fire) engine. This can be seen from the similarities in graphics in the game, the formations of units and the 'all-telling' .KUF files installed with the game
Links
SG Wiki[link] SG Forums[link]
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