Question from a newbie

[Oddysee]

Ok, the last time I played Warzone 2100 was years ago on the PS1. I loved it. So when I discovered a few days ago that the PC version is now freeware and is being improved and updated by you fine people, I was quite frankly overjoyed.

Anyway, on to my question. I was looking at the tech tree and came across the Wyvern and Dragon bodies. Were they in the original game? I don't remember them. I thought that all vehicle bodies came from the factions.

[Terminator]

Yes Dragon & Wyvern were (are) in original too, but on PC version (from 1.08 patch). PSX version didn't have patches so that's why it didnt contain those bodies.

[dmkp]

And even if it did have patches, it wouldn't. PS1 version only has the campaign game mode.

[3drts]

Define "original"

They were not in the game to start with, and never appeared in the campaign.

At some point patches started coming out adding units and weapons, such as

The "cyborg Re-enforcements"
Cyborg mechanic(repair cyborg), Engineer ("truck" cyborg), Grenadier (mortar cyborg), Thermite flamer (more powerful flamer cyborg), Cyborg Transport.
Followed by even more Re-enforcements:
Super Cyborgs of various types,

New Weapons:
Storm Bringer AA laser
Heavy Laser
Plasma cannon
Plasmite bombs (more powerful "flamer" bombs)
EMP cannon, Missiles (vtol weapon), and mortar (disables enemy units for a short time)
Nexus Link turret ("converts" enemy units to units you control)
Twin Assault Gun
Twin Assault Cannon
Heavy Repair Turret

Also added was Auto-Repair (like Nexus did in Gamma campaign, now your forces can do this in multiplayer after a lot of research), Pulse laser hardpoints, Cyclone/Whirlwind/SAM hardpoints.
"Fortresses" which are like really powerful 2x2 hardpoints
Wide Spectrum Sensor tower and turret: Acts as a VTOL/Standard/CB sensor all combined, longer range than any of them
Satellite uplink center: reveals the entire map and all enemy units
Laser Satellite command center: A "super weapon" that can only fire once every 5 minutes.

And of course, the two "Super heavy" bodies.

Since then, this team has tweaked the weapon statistics quite a bit (mostly for the better I think).

[Oddysee]

Thank you for the very detailed answer. By "original game", I meant the PS1/unpatched PC version.

[Zarel]

Heck, the unpatched PC version didn't even have T2 or T3 weapons... Imagine my disappointment when I maxed out the tech tree and still couldn't get ripples.

[3drts]

Thank you for the very detailed answer. By "original game", I meant the PS1/unpatched PC version.

Then as you can see from my list, you have quite a bit more new stuff to play with, other than just two big, slow, heavy, expensive bodies (which I don't bother with anyway)
Cyborg transports are way more fun than Dragons, now you can build in places previously unreachable to your trucks.
The engineers made this possible when combined with the transport, and also mean if you have a cyborg factory left, and all your vehicle factories +trucks were destroyed, you aren't necessarily out of the fight.

There was an unofficial "1.12 patch", that added even more stuff - Jet pack Cyborgs, and mines, as well as Extremely heavily armed cyborg transports, that functioned as "gunships", and were too slow to really be an effective transport, just one, expensive big hard to kill air unit with unlimited ammo for a very rapid fire pulse laser.

It got to be too much me thinks.

The unpatched PC version didn't even have T2 or T3 weapons...

In Skirmish/Multiplayer that is...
Sometime after Alpha 6, I wanted to see what lay ahead in terms of technology, went to skirmish, advanced bases- WHOAH, hover and cyborgs!!! (k i knew cyborgs were coming, but a whole new factory type and such was cool to see).
Maxed out the tech tree, and wondered..... is that it? I saw tons more stuff in the screenshots alone that flashed everytime I quite the demo (played the demo first, then bought the game), looked at my CD case, with the middle flap having screenshots on it, showing howitzers (though I didn't know it at the time), and other bodies ( I think, I know I saw Tigers, Cyclones, and such in the demo teaser screenshots), and wondered where the heck that stuff was.

It wasn't long into Beta, that I realized (thankfully) that there were weapons and technologies beyond what was in Skirmish

I wonder if it was intentional to prevent "spoilers", back in the day when single player was often emphasized over multiplayer,

[Zarel]

There was an unofficial "1.12 patch", that added even more stuff - Jet pack Cyborgs, and mines, as well as Extremely heavily armed cyborg transports, that functioned as "gunships", and were too slow to really be an effective transport, just one, expensive big hard to kill air unit with unlimited ammo for a very rapid fire pulse laser.

I still think the jump cyborgs were 1.11-only. As were the gunships. 1.12 was at least a bit better balanced.

In Skirmish/Multiplayer that is...
Sometime after Alpha 6, I wanted to see what lay ahead in terms of technology, went to skirmish, advanced bases- WHOAH, hover and cyborgs!!! (k i knew cyborgs were coming, but a whole new factory type and such was cool to see).

Ah. I saw my uncle playing with ripples, and was like "I want that!" so I went into skirmish to try to tech up there, but I couldn't. So I knew the campaign went further than skirmish did.

[3drts]

The cyborg transport that looked like the vehicle transport, with the "gatling pulse laser that used the hellstorm weapon model" was definitely too powerful.

But I think Upgrading the transports from Heavy MGs to Assault guns, once AGs are ready, is fine.
I think the old heavy laser transports were about as strong as the transports should be made, but I'd need to look into how easily an AA gun can take down the transports....

Can we make transports use a modified VTOL propulsion type, that takes full damage from HPV cannons, AP weapons/machine guns, etc?

I'd like to see transports land, unload cyborgs, and then provide fire support for the cyborgs.
You can do this now, but the HMG quickly looses its "oomph".

An upgraded version with an Assault gun would be nice IMO.

You could even throw in an HPV version, and assault cannon version, Twin AC, twin AG, etc... but I think it should be kept simple - and I wouldnt want to see attacks by transports with *no* cyborgs in them


When you research assault gun, just as in the design menu, the assault gun Transport replaces the HMG transport in the build menu.

[Zarel]

Even with HMG, I know plenty of people who try to transport-rush - send a bunch of transports with no cyborgs in them... I'm wary of making stronger ones.

[Oddysee]

So previously, technology advanced further in campaign then it did in skirmish? Is that still the case?

[Zarel]

So previously, technology advanced further in campaign then it did in skirmish?

Yes.

Is that still the case?

No.