Warzone 2100 Source Liberated

jvm writes "The former game developer Pumpkin Studios has released the source for their 3D real-time strategy game Warzone 2100 under the GNU General Public License. (Direct link to the source archive.) Previously released just for Microsoft Windows and Sony PlayStation, this source release permits this 1999 game to be ported to other platforms, such at GNU/Linux and MacOS. You can join in the developer discussion at the RealTimeStrategies Warzone 2100 Redevelopment Project forum. Note that only the source has been released; an original copy of the game is required to obtain the other parts of the game (graphics, sounds, etc.)"

Comments

Slightly offtopic

[Quill_28]

Are there any rts games that put intelligence in the units?

I know certain ones have improved using auto exploring or workers that find work to do, but so many units in thee games would be great except they need hand holding.

For instance the spy in RON, you should be able to tell it find city and spy on the buildings, or patrol this area when a units move through convert on of them and then run away!

Or the queen in starcraft, you should be able to tell the queen to fly around looking for the enemy and parasite them or use the brooding attack, go to home base when energy gets low.

In one player you can constanly pause, but this kind of takes away the real-time, and you can't pause in multiplayer.

Are there any rts games that allow scripts for each unit?

Re:Slightly offtopic

[Cecil]

The units in Total Annihilation were pretty smart on their own. They weren't foolproof, but you could set their movement style to roam, put them on patrol, and they would happily cruise around the map obliterating anything they could find. They had no concept of formation or cover, unfortunately, but flying units damaged on patrol would at least seek out a repair pad to fix themselved before returning to their patrol routes.

A lot of the 'intelligence' had to do with giving them simple automatic behaviors that would've required intense micromanagement for a player to do. For example, Solar Collectors would automatically close their panels to prevent damage if an enemy started firing on them. If a defensive battery was fired upon, it could back-calculate the trajectory and return fire automatically, even if the enemy was outside of visual range (provided it was within firing range, obviously). A construction unit on patrol would focus on repairing other units, unless you were very low on metal or energy, in which case it would instead try to recover the metal or energy left over in wreckage or rocks or trees or whatever is available.

Like you suggest, the units and buildings did each have an individual script, but I don't think it's quite the same as what you're asking for, as it was only accessible by editing the data files. Besides, the process of writing one is arcane and not very well understood.

But TA was still a fantastic game.

Re:Slightly offtopic

[Lando]

Not really the same thing they are talking about. The units in Dark Reign did not automatically do things other than trying to run from being underfire and shooting at things that came into their range.

However, that said, Dark Reign had one of the best opposing AI's in any game that I have seen so far. It tracked where enemy forces were and allocated it's defense based on that information.

It was also highly configurable. Easy to write scripts and change variables for each unit. Unfortunately Activision didn't market the game well, I think from the numbers I saw they only sold 35K units of the game.

Pet Peeve: I hate the way new strategy games are 3D, Total Annihlation, C&C, Dune 2000, Dark Reign were all 2D games and worked well. Now it seems that unless you buy a $200 3D video card your screwed as to what type of games you can get... Sigh

Warzone scripting

[Kevin_010]

Warzone DOES have a user-modifiable scripting language that, although normally used for the AI and campaign events (yes, you can change the AI :)), can be used to do pretty much anything, including I suppose control your own units. --Kevin, realtimestrategies.net member

Re:Sad

[Kevin_010]

Not all of us on the forums are thinking like that, but I admit, it is a rather disturbing thing to see talked about. I for one am for a much less restrictive distribution of the source, assuming for the momemnt that it is even legally justifiable. I AM however for some sort of closed source, optional, client, designed to verify that people aren't cheating.

-Kevin, realtimestrategies.net admin

Amazing

[CrackedButter]

Some of the levels for this game was brilliant. I particularly like the one where the computer program had found the second base in the urban levels. You had to EVAC the base while at the same time defend it in order to get every last troop out of there. I remember stashing the highest ranking troops in the Airships first and leaving the newbs to defend the base. But the problem was, the newbs were the most advanced troops (if you hadn't already recycled the higher ranking ones). I love playing that level over and over again.
Amazingly, nobody on Slashdot thought it was even worthy of a mention back early this year when Slashdot featured the greatest RTS of all time. Of course TA was mentioned and Warzone 2100 never was.Those 2 games were simply the best for game playing and sheer fun.
Lets not forget the small expansion packs for Warzone 2100, they offered even more units, super troops and those huge Red Dragon Tanks which you knew you had won if you had built them. Then there was the small downloadable campaigns which featured even more unique units. Tanks with 2 gun turrets and such, so powerful they took out nearly everything with one or two shots.
It pissed me right off when I switched to the mac and this game wasn't available. I'd play it again in a heartbeat.