Project Visitor

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Project Visitor has been recognized as the first massively multiplayer online game with both first-person shooter and real-time strategy elements. Project Visitor was released in 2000 as 10six and was originally produced by an independent game developer called Postlinear Entertainment, and published by SEGA. The original designer and producer was Ron Martinez, co-founder of Postlinear Entertainment. 10six was completed by an internal Sega development group including original development team members from Postlinear. Originally launched in February 27th, 2000. Following SEGA's change in company direction away from PC-based online networks, the game was shut down on May 31, 2002. It has since been refined and supported by a fan base under its new name.

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[edit] Overview

The game environment is nearly identical to a first-person shooter. The "avatar" can equip gear and weapons and attack other players. What makes this much more interesting is that each player owns territory(s) with assets. The player base is divided into four "corporations", each with different items (which are traded or lost to others). Anyone can attack other players of other corporations to expand their personal empire (made up of "camps") and build their own defenses.

[edit] Game play

Game play in Project Visitor is unique to say the least. All the action takes place on a planet named "Visitor" which has entered our solar system. The four corporations spread themselves across the planet with their camps. Transportation between camps is done by teleportation and specific location on a planet has little strategic value (however, as in real life, there are some cases where a location or camp number may appeal to someone). Camps are destroyed and reclaimed by teams of players, constantly shifting the power between corporations. Once a player builds up his empire, he depends on his "Mutual Defense Network" (MDN) to defend it. An MDN generally consists of (no more than) 20 members of the same corporation who usually play hours that complement one another. With an active MDN, a player can sleep with the satisfaction that his assets are protected by the others online.

[edit] Defensive combat

While in combat, the refined nature of Project Visitor shines. Each attacker adopts his or her own gaming style. One builds according to their approach to combat (or defense). Nearly every aspect of your arsenal is customizable.

Each camp you own beyond your "main" camp is open to attack while offline. Every camp is a microcosm for a typical RTS game. Attackers (and there are often more than one) will enter the camp on foot with their army of rovers and attempt to destroy the infrastructure. Within each camp lies five "transium wells" which provide the power for the automated defenses. Beyond that, the defender may have teammates who receive an alert of the attack, coming to the aid with rovers of their own.

[edit] Offensive combat

An attacker enters a camp with his army, and possibly other members of his team, to stage an offensive. A typical strategy is to destroy all five transium wells and "drain" the camp of its built up energy, thus leaving it defenseless. More often, however, camps are well built and terrain prohibits this strategy and players will try to pick at its weaknesses or "break the line" and reach the less defended infrastructure. If the player is attacking someone online, another wise move is destroying the "nerve center" which will pull him out of the overhead view and put him in the thick of the battle where the building once was. Doing this accomplishes two things: first he loses the advantage of controlling his arsenal from overhead and, more importantly, the owner will not be able to rebuild his camp while under attack.

[edit] Customizability

The player is able to influence the affects of their armor, weapons, rovers, and buildings with modifications. Players can also apply modifications to themselves for speed boosts, enhanced head-up display, etc.

Everything is built in the player's camp in special buildings using the camp's resources. Typically the player's main camp stores the most valuable items while they are not built, though some players find it easier (and cheaper) to have camps just for construction (not unlike a decentralized manufacturer).

[edit] Economy

On the most basic level, each player acquires his assets from his land. Each camp will use the five mines to acquire a resource called "transium" which can be sold at various exchange rates for "visitor dollars". This money can be exchanged with the server itself for a "booster pack" which includes random items from your corporation. Another option is to engage in trade with other players.

Macroeconomy is very realistic: supply and demand of items available between players is balanced by world inflation and consumable items. Tradable assets run the gamut of "rover parts" to super-rare turrets, or even land. Trades occur between friends, teammates, or in public areas.

[edit] Politics

World-wide politics are often very formal. Everyone wants to keep things professional just in case your enemies become allies (or vice-versa). This is a feature most players can avoid. Usually only the leaders of MDNs pick targets or start and end wars.

Intra-corporation politics are typically pretty mild considering everyone is on the same side. MDNs of the same corporation will often form alliances with one another to help defend against attacks, or wage war (though, that is highly frowned upon).

Intra-MDN politics are the most personal. The MDN consists of as many as 20 members, (roughly) sorted by rank. Only the top three places actually have intra-MDN powers (like accepting or kicking members) while the last few places are often a warning sign for replacement. Unfortunately, it's on the MDN level that many players may receive the most pressure. Team members do their best to support the team and contribute to the collective success. When things get rough, these points become more critical and sometimes leaders are forced to make decisions that lead to conflict between members of your own corporation.

[edit] Community

Compared to online giants like World of Warcraft, the game has always had a small player base. Unlike many other games, everyone gets to know each other. Anyone making an honest attempt to help his MDN and corporation will establish a good reputation and find a lot of help in return, often even from other corporations. Dishonest players are often shunned by everyone, including their own MDN, and will find themselves alone. Because of this, it is rare for any players to be taken advantage of.

Project Visitor has a tendency to be a very intense game. New players are often met with a very large learning curve and often an inflated economy that puts them at a disadvantage when attempting to start the game for the first time. In this regard the small playerbase is often a positive aspect as everyone is often quite willing to help out any new player get started. 10six had a tendency to be a very vicious experience at times when a player is utterly wiped out of the game often forcing players to quit entirely often in frustration until their addiction kicks in enough for them to join in again. As Project Visitor this aspect is no longer much of a problem because of the close-nit community.

[edit] External links

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