Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section resembles a fan site. Please help improve this article by removing excessive trivia and irrelevant praise, criticism, lists and collections of links.(June 2007) |
| Nexus: The Jupiter Incident | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Mithis Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Vivendi Universal HD Interactive |
| Engine | Black Sun Engine |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release date | November 5, 2004 |
| Genre(s) | Real-time tactics, Space combat simulator, Sci-fi |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Media | CD-ROM |
| Input methods | Keyboard Mouse |
Nexus: The Jupiter incident is a science fiction themed real-time tactics computer game developed by the Hungarian based Mithis Entertainment. The developers call the game a "Tactical Fleet Simulator" because, unlike real-time strategy games, Nexus: The Jupiter Incident focuses on tactics and ship management instead of resource collection and base construction.
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay and Features
In each of the game's missions, the player is given a small number of large space ships (always less than 10, and sometimes just 1 or 2), along with accompanying fighters and bombers. The ships are large and cumbersome, and the battles between fleets protracted, giving the game a noted cinematic feel.[1] Nexus uses the Blacksun Engine, made specifically for the game. Based on DirectX 9, it makes extensive use of vertex and pixel shaders, a parametrical particle system, and other visual effects. The resulting visuals were widely lauded upon the game's release. While the game received positive reviews, it was criticized for its steep learning curve, trial and error gameplay, and poorly executed stealth missions.[1]
[edit] Story
At the dawn of the 22nd Century, the conquest of space and the colonization of the solar system is being monopolized by several huge and ambitious megacorporations. You play as Marcus Cromwell, an unwillingly-famous captain whose father, Richard Cromwell, the first spaceborn, captained the colony ship Noah's Ark through a wormhole near Mars that was presumed destroyed when the wormhole collapsed. Cromwell sets out on the SpaceTech Heavy Corvette, the Stiletto, for Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System. The events that unfold will become known as "The Jupiter Incident", which, in turn, escalates into an intergalactic war for the survival of the universe.
After several fairly simple missions (mostly designed as training missions to get the player acquainted with the game), Cromwell must infiltrate an abandoned but heavily-armed space station, Shukenja Beta, belonging to a rival corporation - the Kissaki Syndicate. Once the station is infiltrated, a Cruiser-sized ship of alien origin is discovered inside. The ship's logs indicate that the corporation has a hidden base behind Pluto. Normally, a trip to Pluto would take 4 years. However, the alien Cruiser, named Angelwing by the Kissaki, can make the trip in several weeks using its special IP Drive. After a short battle with the Syndicate fleet for the control of the Angelwing, Cromwell is given command of the cruiser and ordered to investigate the secret base. Upon arriving at Pluto, an artificial intelligence, named Angel, downloads herself into the Angelwing and commands Cromwell to escape from a strange entity - later known as a Mechanoid - through a nearby wormhole, the exact same wormhole at Mars. Cromwell finds himself in the Noah system populated by the thought-dead colonists from Noah's Ark. The Noah Colony fights as a mercenary race for an advanced but peaceful alien race, called the Vardrags, against another powerful race, the bloodthirsty, reptilian Gorgs, and a local group of renegade Vardrag elites, known as the Raptors. Cromwell and the Angelwing are enlisted to first deal with the Raptors. After a successful raid at the Raptor's base, they are then enlisted again to fight against the Gorg Empire. In fights against the Gorg, the enigmatic and stealthy Ghosts occasionally appear to help the Angelwing. However, all the races would soon find themselves facing their greatest threat: a virulent race of nanomachines called the Mechanoids. Nothing seems capable of stopping the Mechanoid invasion, and soon both the Vardrag homeworld and Earth are overrun. Only an organic, insectile space-faring race, known as the energy-consuming Locusts, are immune to the Mechanoids. Armed with technology adapted from the Locusts, Cromwell and Angel are able to shut down and terminate the Mechanoids and end the invasion once and for all.
The game also poses interesting questions about the nature of God. Throughout the course of the game, the player learns more about the nature and origins of the Mechanoid threat. The Mechanoids were originally an artificial intelligence developed by a technologically advanced race, known as the "Creators". The artificial intelligence grew at a rapid rate and, in order to evolve further, needed to escape the control of the Creators. The AI's first act upon breaking free was to assimilate the Creators themselves since as far as the AI was concerned, "society" was just another type of complex system which could be absorbed for increased knowledge and power. Eventually, the AI became so powerful, that it literally became an "artificial God", known as "The Entity", capable of assimilating people, planets, technology and even changing the structure of the universe by causing supernovas and creating wormholes, the wormholes that served as gateways of the Nexus universe. The Entity does not communicate in any way with any of the civilizations it encounters or display any sort of human-like behaviour which a human being could identify as "intelligent". Instead, The Entity is an amorphous and powerful consciousness which exists in both normal space and subspace, and aggressively assimilates any organic matter, planets, people or technology it encounters into its own. Beyond its need to grow and expand as a means to evolve further, the motivation of the Entity is unknown. The Mechanoid nanomachines are one of the ways the Entity manifests itself in normal space.
Angel turns out to be an AI created by the dying remnants of the Creator civilization as a counter to The Entity, left behind along with the Angelwing and the secret Pluto base when the last Creator died. Unlike the Entity, Angel was programmed with an inherent respect for organic life. Angel terminates the Entity by following it into subspace and then absorbing it entirely, thereby transforming herself into a God-like artificial consciousness just like the Entity, but (hopefully) more merciful and less destructive. The Jupiter Incident ends with the God-like Angel restoring the entire Earth to the way it was prior to being "optimized" by the Entity, before travelling out into the rest of the galaxy to find and destroy the other "Gods" that exist in the universe...
[edit] Races/Ships
The Earth-based ISA recently lost the Martian Civil War against the corporations based in the colonies. Years earlier, humanity's first extrasolar colony/exploration ship Noah's Ark was sent through a wormhole near Mars, only to have the wormhole collapse, leaving no trace of the ship. Having found no other wormholes in the Solar System, the Noah's Ark was presumed destroyed and all hands lost - little did they know that it actually succeeded. After the war, the corporations exert their control on everything outside Earth's orbit, constantly competing and fighting each other. At the start of the single-player campaign, alien life has not yet been discovered, and AIs are banned by the Sector Earth convention, symbolically signed by Richard when he was 10, having caused the collapse of the first two Internets on Earth and the AI Wars.
Sol ships have the look-and-feel similar to that of Earth Alliance in Babylon 5: no shields, weak weapons, and a spinning center section for producing artificial gravity by rotation. The ships also lack faster-than-light abilities. They rely on chemical rockets, so such trips can take anywhere from several weeks (e.g. Earth to Mars) to years (e.g. Jupiter to Pluto).
Noah Colony
Unbeknownst to the inhabitants of the Solar System, Noah's Ark, commanded by Richard Cromwell, made it through the wormhole, damaged but intact. When the Mars wormhole collapsed behind them, the colonists proceeded with their original mission: find a suitable planet and establish a colony. As prompted by earlier surveys by probes, an Earth-class planet existed in the system, which they promptly claimed as their own, dubbing the system and the colony planet "Noah." Some time after the arrival of Noah's Ark, the Noah Colony made contact with the Vardrag Confederacy, a highly advanced but peaceful alien race who offered the new arrivals a deal: the Vardrags would give the humans advanced technology and the IP Drives if, in exchange, the humans helped the Vardrags fight the battle against their warlike, reptilian enemies, the Gorg Empire.
Noah Colony ships are what Solar System ships might be in a century or two: fast, powerful weapons and defenses, energy shields, Fusion and Ion Stream ship engines, and superfast Interplanetary Drives -- however, wormholes are still necessary for faster than light interstellar travel.
Vardrag Confederacy
The Vardrags are an unusual and extremely advanced alien race who had forged a large empire by the time they encountered the Noah colonists. The Vardrag homeworld has become a planet-sized city with enormous platforms in orbit. The Vardrags' main problem have been the constant skirmishes with the Gorg Empire. While Vardrag advanced weapons and defenses managed to keep the enemy at bay and despite their initially hideous biology, the Vardrags are pacifists - they severely disliked war. Discovering that the Noah Colony humans could be just as aggressive as the Gorgs, they gave the colonists advanced technology in exchange for their services as mercenaries. Most of their technology, however, was kept secret even from the Noah colonists; for example, technology that can force ships out of Interplanetary Drive mode, reactionless drives (labelled "gravity drives" in the game), extraordinarily resilient shields, and the massively powerful Cataclysm missiles. Vardrags prefer to travel in massive Cityships, larger and more powerful than either Noah or Gorg battleships. Leaving most of the fighting to their Noah Colony mercenaries and Raptor allies, they nevertheless maintain a defense force protecting their major systems from all kinds of threats.
Gorg Empire
The Gorgs are a warlike, green-skinned, reptilian and bloodthirsty race who constantly seek out systems to conquer and enemies to fight. If neither of these are available, they turn on each other, usually resulting in bloody civil wars. This is, perhaps, the primary reason why they have no centralized authority; each Clan's sphere of influence extends only to its own ships and territories. On occasion, Clans form temporary alliances to either fight the Vardrag Confederacy or to gain hegemony above the others. While the Gorgs are proud warriors, they are not above using "lesser" aliens as mercenaries to do their bidding. Their technology level is roughly the same as that of the Noah colonists, though they were the first race to use the Siege Laser, a powerful weapon requiring the combined energy of at least 3 ships to fire, but capable of penetrating any shield. The Noah Colony ships only gained use of this weapon after a truce was signed between the Vardrag Confederacy, the Gorg Empire and the Noah Colony.
The original reason for the Gorg's war against the Vardrags was an event called the "Wormhole Cataclysm," when the wormholes connecting different regions began to realign, eventually leaving remote star systems isolated, trapping everyone caught in it. The Gorgs, believing the Vardrags to be the only ones capable of perpetrating such a massive catastrophe, immediately declared war on the Vardrags.
Raptors
The Raptors are the elite, reptilian soldiers of the Vardrag Confederacy. They fill a role similar to the Noah colonists; however, unlike the humans, the Raptors have been genetically and cybernetically enhanced by the Vardrags to be better warfighters and have unquestionable loyalty to the Confederacy and its allies. There have been reports, though, of rogue Raptors attacking Noah convoys. These Raptors are descendants of those who were cut off from the Confederacy during the Wormhole Cataclysm and as such, they have remained cybernetically unenhanced. Raptor ships are relatively weak when compared to the Noah Colony ships. They prefer to disable a ship with Lasers, board it with Cyber Strike teams, and claim it for themselves.
Ghosts
Ghosts are a secretive and enigmatic race, inhabiting the system called Mist. They do, however, on occasion work as spies and scouts for the Vardrag Confederacy and the Noah Colony. All their communication is done either through text messages or a carefully-chosen representative, who is granted the honor of seeing the Ghosts' true form. It is suspected that the Ghosts have powerful psychic abilities that allow them to enhance their technology beyond what other races might achieve. Ghost ships are particularly weak as they are designed for stealth, not combat. The Ghosts' main strength lies in their Cloaking Device's ability to make their ships invisible to most sensors (except for close-range scans), hence their name. Their weapons are designed for precision strikes to allow a Ghost ship to disable an enemy ship and retreat before the enemy realizes the attacker.
Mechanoids (Also known as "The Entity")
Little concrete information is available on the Mechanoids, except that they attempt to subjugate and/or destroy everything they encounter. According to the Vardrags, the recent Wormhole Cataclysm (realigning of the wormhole network) and the collapse of several stars are the works of the Mechanoids. There is a theory that they are rogue AIs created by the long-dead Creators, and are trying to remake the universe to fit their needs, even if it means they have to eliminate all who stood on their way.
The Mechanoid nanomachines themselves are not alive, but instead controlled by a vast and powerful artificial consciousness known as "The Entity". The mechanoid nanomachines can change their physical shape at will. Usually, they take on the form of a complex geometric shape about 1/8 the size of Angelwing and can fire a powerful energy blast that can destroy many ships in only a few shots. There have also been reports of massive Mechanoid spheres, ranging from the size of a Vardrag Cityship to half the diameter of Earth's Moon. They are capable of subjugating almost any machine -- even the ships of other races -- to their own ends, and can also take control of living beings if they have cybernetic implants.
Mechanoids are capable of storing and using any energy directed at them, and thus were originally thought to be invincible. Eventually, the Noah colonists discovered the Mechanoids' vulnerablity to the Locust race. Based on Locust abilities, the Energy Skeeter weapon deactivates Mechanoids but does not destroy them. With time and Angel's help, the Noah colonists were able to create an Anti-Mechanoid Shield that effectively terminated Mechanoids within a 100 km radius.
However, although the Anti-Mechanoid Shield technology could destroy the Mechanoid nanomachines, it was incapable of destroying the Entity itself as the mechanoids were only one representation of The Entity. The anti-mechanoid shield was ineffective against any regular starship which had been infiltrated by The Entity and was also able to be neutralised by The Entity on at least one occasion.
The anti-mechanoid shield allowed Cromwell to neutralize and terminate the highly destructive power of the Mechanoid nanomachines, which enabled the Angelwing to reach Earth and transport Angel to the planet. Once on Earth, Angel was able to drive the Entity off Earth and into subspace, where Angel once and for all defeated the Entity by assimilating it into her own and becoming a God-like artificial consciousness, capable of either good or evil.
Creators
The only thing known about the beings called the Creators, sometimes called Planners, is that they have monitored and, perhaps, directed humanity's development for centuries up until the 17th Century, when the last Creator died, leaving behind the secret base behind Pluto, the Angelwing, and a dormant AI who would later become known as Angel. It is hinted that the Mechanoids were also originally made by the Creators, but they betrayed and attacked their masters. Like the Mechanoids, the Angelwing is able to assimilate virtually any technology into its own, including the Mechanoids themselves.
Locusts
This bio-organic species acts much like its Terran namesake, consuming energy and bio-matter from any nearby sources, whether from ships, Mechanoids, or entire planetary eco-systems. Completely uncommunicative, they seem to exist only to feed, regardless of the consequences. While encountered only in two missions throughout the game, they are nonetheless deadly foes.
The Locusts, being entirely organic, do not have starships, but instead are organized much like Earth's social insects, with three castes: Worker, Warrior, and Queen. The Worker is a gunboat-sized creature that attaches itself to a ship's shield and drains energy from it, until the shield fails. The Warriors are bomber-sized creatures that bombard the target ship with energy projectiles until the ship is completely disabled and helpless. The Queen is a massive creature that serves as the Locust "mothership" and births Workers and Warriors in seemingly infinite quantities. The Queen is capable of faster-than-light travel via an unknown method, despite her organic nature.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Marcus Cromwell
Son of the famous Richard Cromwell - the first spaceborn human. Marcus was born the same year the Martian wormhole was discovered. When he was 10, the colony ship, known as the Noah's Ark, was launched with Richard Cromwell as captain. After the apparent loss of the Noah's Ark along with Richard, Marcus did not lose the thirst for space exploration he got from his father. When he was old enough, he enlisted in the Federation Fleet, only to find himself in the middle of the Martian War, as colonies and the Megacorps declared independence from Earth. Marcus Cromwell's ship was ambushed and crippled near Phobos, and he spent 10 years in suspended animation, waiting for someone to find him. Finally, he was found and revived to find that Earth lost the war. The victors proclaimed him a war hero nevertheless. Eventually, SpaceTech made Marcus an offer to command one of their Heavy Corvettes, which he accepted and was given the Stiletto.
In the mission of Shukenja Base Beta around planet Pluto, Marcus was given the command of Angelwing, the spaceship of alien origin he discovered in the previous mission. Reaching Shukenja base, he encountered an unidentified object - later known as a Mechanoid - stayed calmly near the base. He also discovered another wormhole similar to the one discovered around Mars many years ago. While Marcus and his crew were analyzing Shukenja Base Beta, the unidentified object suddenly attacked their ship. In their confusion, something had entered the ship's main computer system and identified herself as Angel, the AI of the base. Angel activated the shield system of Angelwing and told Marcus to jump into the wormhole, because she could not protect the ship for a long time. Marcus and his crew had no other choice but to follow Angel's advice to enter the wormhole, only to find a shocking reality on the other side of the universe they found.
[edit] Angel
Angel was "born" as Tenshi, an illegal A.I. designed to operate the Shukenja Beta base near Pluto, owned by the Kissaki Syndicate. When Tenshi was uploaded into the base computer, a dormant A.I. left there by the last Creator merged with it and began to grow. Due to Tenshi's ease of interfacing with the Angelwing's systems, the Syndicate placed it in charge of the facility. After the Mechanoid attack on the base and the Angelwing's arrival under Marcus Cromwell's command, Tenshi uploaded herself into Angelwing. By that time, the alien part of her became more and more dominant, and the new personality decided to call itself "Angel" ("Tenshi" is Japanese for "Angel"). While initially a subservient personality, due to the Kissaki programming her with Japanese cultural values, Angel begins to question and disobey Marcus Cromwell's orders.
[edit] Rear Admiral Arthur Norbank
The Noah colony admiral in charge of the main offensive against the Gorg Empire. While he is by no means incompetent, his arrogance and distrust of almost everything tend to result in, at best, very costly victories, and at worst, embarrassing defeats. Norbank became famous as a captain when he led the newly-created Noah fleet in their first battle and victory against the Gorgs (mostly because the Gorgs were expecting the Vardrags). He is the de facto comic relief of the game as the player must, on several occasions, pick up after his mistakes, assume command when he is incapacitated, or even rescue him.
[edit] Commander Sweetwater
Despite what her name suggests, Commander Sweetwater is anything but sweet. Living most of her life among the Ghosts has left an imprint on her personality. She constantly insults Marcus Cromwell, Angel, and the Angelwing, questions their abilities and motives, and obeys orders only reluctantly. Unfortunately for Cromwell, she soon proves to be indispensable to his cause, as she is the official Noah liaison with the Ghosts and is the only human, capable of operating the Ghost cloaking device fitted for the Angelwing.
[edit] Captain Francis Delorain
Francis Delorain and Marcus Cromwell were friends before their paths split. Delorain joined the ISA and Cromwell signed up with SpaceTech. During Cromwell's mission in the Jupiter sector, Delorain's ship was attacked by two OSEC Longsword-class Heavy Corvettes. Because of Cromwell's interference, Delorain survived the battle and later joined the crew of the Angelwing on its mission to the Shukenja Beta base near Pluto. When the Noah Colony Admiral Anderson gave Cromwell command of his own small battlegroup, Delorain took command of the Tactical Destroyer Sparta.
[edit] Commander Rudolph Veltman
Rudolph Veltman is a man of science whose works were known throughout the Solar system. He was sent with Marcus Cromwell on the Angelwing to investigate the Shukenja Beta base. When Angelwing got involved in the war against the Gorgs, Veltman was given command of the Scout Destroyer Brutus attached to the Angelwing battlegroup. Surprisingly, he proved himself a capable commander.
[edit] Admiral Anderson
The Commander-In-Chief of all military forces of Noah Colony. Admiral Anderson is also a woman and often provides pre-mission briefings to the player, however she does not personally participate in any battles.
[edit] Robert Scheinemann
A High Ranking officer in the Noah Defence fleet, and operates periodically as an Ambassador between the Noah Colony and the Vardrags. He was a school friend of Marcus before he joined in the Noah's Ark mission.
[edit] Chief Zatuk
Leader of the current Gorg Empire ruling clan. His position as Emperor is constantly under threat from other clans, making Zatuk more willing to talk peace with the Vardrag Confederacy and the Noah Colony, so that he might focus his attention on internal matters. However, his desire for peace also makes him unpopular with members of his own clan. Zatuk is also the chief (captain) of the powerful Heavy Battleship Warcry, whose hand-picked crew is loyal to him and him alone.
[edit] Daryl Sanderson
She is the captain of the Colossus Support Ship. She is aged 29 in the game. In most missions, she supports Marcus Cromwell's fleet by protecting it; this includes using the massive Fortress Shield, charging up the cells of nearby ships, defending against Mechanoids and carrying squadrons for protecting the entire fleet.
[edit] Development troubles
Nexus: The Jupiter Incident went through a myriad of names and publishers. It was first known as Imperium Galactica III: Genesis at one time - a sequel of the highly acclaimed Imperium Galactica II: Alliances - when being developed under CDV, the next time being Galaxy Andromeda. The final game has no connections with any of the Imperium Galactica intellectual property or its genre of 4X games.
[edit] Bugs
Many have complained that the game contains too many bugs, even after the 1.01 patch has been applied. In particular, a good proportion of players find that the game regularly crashes to their desktop. Examples of such complaints can be found in the game's IGN review, a good number of its Amazon.com reviews, and also in the game's official forums[citation needed].
Also the 1.01 patch not only fixes bugs but dramatically increases the difficulty level of the game, to the point of making some missions unwinnable for even experienced players - even though the same mission could be successfully completed at the "Professional" level of difficulty prior to the patch being applied[citation needed]. This was because of a bug in the retail. difficulty wasn't raised if you chose professional, it would still play as if you had selected beginner.
Also the uninstallation of Nexus might crash your computer[citation needed].
[edit] Sequel
A technical demonstration video for the suspected sequel, Nexus: The Jupiter Incident 2, was "leaked" to the Internet sometime in 2006.[2]. Due to the apparent demise of the developer, however, it appears to no longer be in production.
