Warzone 2100

Warzone 2100
Developer(s)	Pumpkin Studios
Publisher(s)	Eidos Interactive
License	GNU General Public License
Version	2.2.4 (2009-10-11), 2.3 beta 5 (2009-1-3)
Platform(s)	PlayStation, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, more since
Release date(s)	NA April 10, 1999
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T USK: 12
Media	CD; free download since 2004, http://www.wz2100.net/
Input methods	Keyboard and mouse, DualShock

Warzone 2100 is a real-time strategy and real-time tactics hybrid computer game, developed by Pumpkin Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. It was originally released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. On December 6, 2004 the source code and most of its data was released under the GNU General Public License, thereby making it an open source game. On June 10, 2008 the license of the game was clarified, loosened and distribution of films and soundtrack was permitted.^[1]

Story

In the late 21st century, the world's civilizations are wiped out by a series of nuclear strikes. While most of the survivors form scavenger bands to survive, one group of people, who refer to themselves as "The Project," seeks to rebuild civilization using pre-war technology.

The game begins with the Commander, the protagonist, sending teams to gather technology in Arizona that would help with reconstruction. While gathering said "artifacts," the Project fends off attacks from an organization called the New Paradigm, which is under the command of an organization called Nexus, which is actually one man responsible for the nuclear war. In the final campaign, the Project launches a full-scale assault on Nexus, destroying it and thus removing all significant, organized barriers to its reconstruction of the Earth.

Gameplay

A New Paradigm dropship takes off after deploying an assault force against the Project.

The game is fully 3D, based on the iViS games and 3D graphics engine developed by Sam Kerbeck of Eidos. The terrain is mapped by a grid; vehicles tilt to meet hilly terrain, and projectiles can be realistically blocked by steep mountains. The camera is free-moving and can zoom in and out, rotate, and pan up or down while navigating the battlefield.

In the game, units of different factions are painted different colors. The New Paradigm, the Collective, and Nexus are the enemies of the Project in the campaign, and they can be seen attacking Project forces as well as Scavengers, survivors of the nuclear fallout.

Units can all be customized according to: chassis (which, for example, takes weight and power into account); drive system (such as wheels or tracks); and mounted object (such as a weapon, or one of various support tools). Units can level up from ranks such as Rookie to Trained and Professional.

Mobile mortar weapons bombard Scavenger-occupied shacks from afar.

Warzone 2100 places an emphasis on sensors and radar to detect units and to coordinate ground attacks. Counter-battery sensors detect enemy artillery by sensing their projectiles and firing arcs and pinpointing their location to coordinate artillery strikes against enemy artillery. VTOL sensors work like basic sensors, only they coordinate VTOL attacks. VTOL counter-battery sensors coordinate VTOLs to find and destroy enemy batteries.

There is an emphasis on artillery: although many direct- and close-combat weapons and anti-air weapons can be researched and deployed, artillery is a staple of assault on enemy bases and outposts.While the technology tree is clearly defined and consistent, it never appears in-game and, therefore, the player can be left guessing as to what technology is next in the tree. Technology can be acquired by gathering artifacts left behind by certain destroyed enemy structures or units. Researching is composed of largely small and incremental advancements over existing weapons, armor, and chassis types.

Videos frequently appear during gameplay. This image depicts a dropship transporting the player's forces towards the campaign's first Away mission.

Every level, excluding the first and last, has a time limit. This gives a sense of urgency and keeps players from waiting very long to gather more resources for unit construction. However, in Away missions, the player must select a limited group of units to transport to a territory completely away from the original base.

All of the terrain throughout the campaign is essentially composed of three areas, with different sectors for Away missions and other such levels; upon progression, previous maps simply expand and the player's original bases from past levels are maintained. Also, its resource system is quite different from mainstream RTS games; Oil Derricks are established over specific, scarce locations which constantly provide a slow, fixed rate of income. Combined with a mission time limit, this resource method prevents players from simply waiting for long periods of time to amass surplus resources and ridiculously large armies using traditional RTS tactics.

Community

After having released patch 1.10 final in November 1999, Pumpkin Studios ended their support for Warzone 2100 at 5 January 2000.^[2] 15 March 2000, Pumpkin Studios was closed down by Eidos Interactive. Pumpkin Studios later reformed as Pivotal Games.

Warzone 2100 map editor (EditWorld)

Warzone 2100 map editor (EditWorld)

N.E.W.S.T

Formed in October 1999, a third-party group, N.E.W.S.T., completely took over. In November 2000, they released the unofficial patch 1.11. N.E.W.S.T. became Pumpkin-2 in February 2003.^[3]

Pumpkin-2

Support was taken over by a fan group called Pumpkin-2. Pumpkin-2 established an anti-cheating Warzone 2100 server (named Directgames), and made a new patch, patch 1.12, released July 2003. This patch included many new improvements, most notably the addition of landmines. However, the host for Pumpkin-2 withdrew without warning, and Pumpkin-2 was confined to the backup forums at Directgames. It has since relocated itself to Realtimestrategies.net.

During this time however, Pumpkin-2 sent a petition^{[citation needed]} to Eidos Interactive, the legal copyright holder and holder of the source code, to make Warzone free and open-source. On 6 December 2004 the Warzone source code was uploaded to Radiosity's FTP server by Alex McLean.^[4]

Several people at Pumpkin-2 were working on making a sequel to Warzone 2100, entitled Total Warzone. A pre-alpha demo has been released at the realtimestrategies.net forums. Since the source code release for Warzone 2100, most (if not all) development resources that were present in this project have been moved to the Warzone Re-Development project.

Pumpkin-2 has continued development as The Warzone 2100 Resurrection Project.

The Warzone 2100 Project

Current development takes place at The Warzone 2100 Project (formerly named the Warzone 2100 Resurrection Project). On 11 June 2005, version 0.1 was released, with all proprietary technology replaced by free and open-source alternatives, with the result that the game now runs on Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. After version 0.2.3, the numbering scheme changed, and the next release became 2.0.3. The latest stable version is 2.2.4, released on October 11, 2009.

Diorama, a random map generator has been written independently for version 2.2.0, which can create maps for skirmish and multiplayer games.

Reception

Warzone 2100 was generally well received amongst reviewers, with the PC version receiving an average of 81% from GameRankings, and the PlayStation version an average of 76%.^[5][6]

Gamespot gave the Playstation version a 6.5, and the PC version a 7.6. Gamespot praised the game for its high level of customizability and concluded, "Warzone 2100's highly navigable 3D engine, unique campaign structure, and multiplayer gameplay should please most real-time strategy fans."^[7][8]

IGN shared similar sentiments, rating the PC version 8.0, and the PlayStation version 7.5. IGN praised the PlayStation version for being one of the few RTS games on the system, "In the end the weird truth is that Warzone 2100 is one of the best RTS on the system."^[9] In their PC review, the author expressed disappointment with the lack of innovation, but praised it nonetheless, "Mostly it boils down to taking great ideas found in other RTS titles and combining them into one. Pumpkin Studios did a fantastic job with that task and this one is certainly worth playing all the way through."^[10]

Notes

External links

Free software portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Warzone 2100

• The Warzone 2100 Project (official development site of the GPL version)
• GNA! Project Page of the Resurrection Project
• Warzone 2100 Resurrection at Freshmeat
• Warzone 2100 at The Linux Game Tome
• BerliOS Project Page (discontinued)
• Site on Strategyplanet.com
• Warzone 2100 Link Turret
• Warzone 2100 at MobyGames
• German Warzone 2100 Page