A lot of people often say that certain games are ‘big’or ‘massive’when they implement larger scale maps into their design, but upcoming real-time strategy game ‘End of Nations’takes the concept of ‘large’to an entirely new level. First off, we’re looking at having 52 players participating in battles on some of the larger maps with each of them in turn, able to control 20 of their own units. That’s right, very intense action is dead-ahead.
What’s even more amazing than the immense scale of this upcoming RTS game (planetary map) is the fact that it’s slated to be a ‘free-to-play’title. The campaign itself is said to be so large a scale that many won’t even believe it. However, unlike some other RTS games which focus on commerce, building or even mining, EoN is really about fighting. Basically, this game is all about conflict and its design has been based around the idea of being able to quickly initiate skirmishes at will.
In terms of strategy, there will be many options available which sharp competitors can use to build their own approaches from. However, it should be noted that each type of unite deployed has its own ingrained attributes. So, there’s not really any emphasis on base-building at all, the goal with this game is to wreak havoc. Having said that, the gameplay seems to be deceptively simple, but it’s actually quite deep. The design choices seek to place combatants more or less on equal footing, but it’s really up to one’s creative use of assets and resources which will determine how effective you are in battle. End of Nations is going to be much more cooperatively-oriented than you might expect, and your ultimate success might very well depend on your alliances in addition to your individual skill. In addition to your human foes, you’ll have to deal with environmental hazards, enemy A.I., and even ‘bossesâ. Add to this the fact that you will be able to control mechanized war bots and I think you see just how intensely cool this game might actually be.
Unlike some other RTS titles, your ultimate success in leveling up or gaining new abilities and attributes isn’t going to depend on your wallet. That is to say, the player who can afford all the upgrades via the in-game monetary system isn’t necessarily going to be an unstoppable force. Developer Petroglyph has spent a lot of time in trying to create a leveling system that is much more balanced across the entire field of players, we’ll just have to wait and see how successful they were.
Whilst the release date for End of Nations is currently set to be announced. We can report that it is coming early 2013, and reports of a late 2012 release are incorrect.
