This game is not only a culmination of the
entire MMORTS genre; it is also a giant leap beyond anything ever attempted in
its history. The developers at Dark Sky Entertainment have played most of the
titles that have, until now, tried to capture an audience that desires more
than the hack and slash style games we call MMORPG. They, like the rest of us,
felt something was lacking. After years of development and secrecy, finally
they have brought their work of art to the forefront, and they’re ready to
shake the walls!
This is going to be a long review because
of just how awesome this game truly is, so, if you haven’t already, grab
something to eat and drink before reading past this line. Seriously, I’m only
thinking of your health here…
To start off with the first thing you
notice when you land on a planet are the graphics. If you’ve played any game
claiming to be an MMORTS for any amount of time, forget anything you saw.
Beyond Protocol looks almost good enough to be an RPG, we’re not quite talking
EVE level, but in EVE you get to control maybe one cool looking ship at a time?
In Beyond Protocol , the number of awesome units you can have is limited only by
your ambition! Another thing to behold are the planet surfaces. We’re talking rich
planetary textures, complex random planet configurations, city creep, sunrise,
sunset, clouds in the sky, and even stars at night! If that’s not enough for
you, I’ll just say, when you’re planet side, the system’s star reflects off of multiple
layers of the water… I believe I’ve made my point. Now, if you’re an RPG’er,
you’re probably scoffing at this point. I have two words for you. “SHUT UP!”
I’d love to see WoW or EVE pull off a full view range, 3000 unit dog fight for
three hours without lagging a server to death or frying a few video cards! If
you’re still not impressed, 3000 units is MAYBE 3-4 players in one environment,
with more players and countless environments, the possible numbers skyrocket.
I’ve said plenty about units, but until now
have only talked about the frills. “Prepare to be amazed,” sorry I couldn’t
resist… If you’ve played Shattered Galaxy at all, then you’ve seen unit
customization in RTS, and you’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. Beyond
Protocol, takes customization to an entirely new level. Every component, every
hull, and every slab of armor is custom created by the player. To do this, you
can choose from the, about 105 minerals the game boasts. If that’s not enough
for you, the resource system becomes infinite with the creation of custom
alloys. Really wish you had a material that was both hard and malleable? Take a
couple minutes and whip up an alloy! Once you’re done, stick what you think is
best into a design plan and let your techies go to work figuring out what it
will take to research, and produce, the design you want. Sometimes you get a
smart group of genius grad students, and sometimes you get the high school drop
outs making engineering drawings in crayon.
Hull Builder
However, once you get something
you’re satisfied with, you have just created your own component. Is it a
projectile that fires a huge hunk of uranium through space, or a pulse laser
that rains colorful bolts of energy at your enemy in close range? Or perhaps
you’re into missiles that can deliver devastating area of effect damage, or a
Star Trek type shield that protects your vessel from damage? Maybe it’s an
engine that affords crazy amounts of energy to a small fighter, or an entire
city? Or, have you created the titan of buildings with enormous amounts of
armor, bristling with weapons and radar that can see a quarter of the map? It’s
all possible.
Radar Builder
To add structure to this wide open research system, there is an
overarching framework that allows you to improve the maximum stats of the
components you can build. This way, your designs will never hit a permanent
stalemate with someone else’s. They may get a boost to maximum damage, while
you may get a boost to maximum maneuverability. So now, if they hit you, it’ll
hurt more, but your ships are more agile, so that’s a big “if”! The one thing
this reviewer would like to see made customizable is the actual shape and
texture of the units. However, in order to make this game accessible to lower
end PC’s the developers have opted to leave this ability out. The player does, however,
have control over weapon color, engine glow, shield flare and is presented with
a vast array of hull designs that give every battle its own unique look.
What to discuss next? Ah yes! There is a
very robust trade system in this game as well. In past MMORTS’s trade has
either been a dangerous venture where you risk loosing everything to war
mongers or else it’s completely non existent between players. In Beyond
Protocol, your ground based trade posts are hidden from public view, making
small ship and mineral trading easy and safe. With the right research that one
trade post can trade to others on the planet, in the star system, and clear
across the constellation. However, if you want to be a trade mogul and sell the
enormously dangerous ship classes, you’ll need to create a space trade post.
These ARE viewable by other players, so, as business increases so does the risk
of being discovered. Should you be discovered and under attack, you can always call
on one of your allies to assist you.
Unfortunately, at the moment the diplomatic
features are somewhat limited. While still in Closed Beta, the original
diplomatic system was found to have flaws, and was gutted. However, there are
some very interesting ideas popping up, some of which have been scheduled for
release soon. Currently on the table is an idea, tentatively called “Socketed
Factions”, which promises to deal with the issue of newbie players and their,
often harsh, starting conditions. The new feature allows any empire to take on
new players as trainees in exchange for research, economic and other bonuses
for all involved parties. However, at a certain point the smaller empires are
considered trained and therefore cease to provide/gain benefits from this
relationship. At that point, they are left with a few options. Attempt to forge
a permanent alliance with their mentor, leave the system, or try and take it by
force! The idea is that now this, once newbie, player has some solid
understanding of the game mechanics and should stand some chance in any
conflict. The community has also been promised that upon live release, the
faction/guild/clan bonuses will be significant (Faction is by far the best
choice of those words for a SciFi MMORTS!). Though, we have yet to hear many of
those specifics finalized.
Somewhat related to the diplomatic system,
is the agent system. Have you ever been thinking while playing an MMORTS, “Wow,
I really want to hurt this guy, but I don’t want him to know that I did it…”?
Well now you can. The agent system allows you to embed spies into your
opponent’s, or even ally’s, empire. These agents can report military scores,
trade incomes, and run a gambit of missions that could demoralize a population,
clog up production, steal design plans, and even locate remote outposts. The
missions introduced so far in Beta are nice, but few, while growing in number, many
more are still scheduled for release before the game goes live. Individual
agents can have any number of skills and talents that will aid you in your
missions, or make them more likely to be caught by the counter agents of the
empire they’ve infiltrated. Pick your team, set your objective, and just hope
and pray no one blows their cover!
The final thing this game really has going
in its favor is the tenacity and devotion of its developers. MMORTS’s in the
past have generally been plagued by inactivity or stagnation, due most commonly
to the dev’s lack of funds or interest. As for funds, advertisements in
magazines like PCGamer , and major MMO sites like Guildcafe (and many more),
indicate that there is significant financial backing to see this project
through to the long term. In terms of dedication, since Beyond Protocol has
been released in Closed Beta, the players have seen feverish commitment in the
form of multiple patches in one day, late night hours, and open, honest conversation
with the developers on their Ventrilo server, not to mention they actually play
the game they created (when possible). The team has overcome incredible odds
against card incompatibilities, severe login issues, and numerous exploits
fixed nearly as soon as they’re reported. They have ambitious goals. If it was
any other independent development team out there, I would say they couldn’t do
it. However, from what they’ve shown the players so far, I have every
confidence in their ability to exceed expectations.
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