Unlike my previous Battlecruiser and Universal Combat games which take place in a vast universe, LOD, like the All Aspect Warfare game before it which takes place on the LV-115 planet, takes place in a very small section of it.

The Sirius/Barnard’s Star systems pathway to be exact.

Like all my games, LOD is based on the same lore that I created back in the eighties and which I have streamlined over the years. The setup for LOD is pretty straightforward.

You see, for many years the Terran military forces of GALCOM have been engaged in various conflicts with the Insurgents – a splinter group of military personnel opposed to the Terran governing body. In a surprise move, the Insurgents setup shop on the long abandoned planet of Lyrius, previously used by GALCOM for weapons testing, R&D and other forms of military operations. This move wouldn’t normally warrant a deep space troop deployment, except for the fact that the Insurgents were rumored to be developing a super weapon on the planet.

The key issue here is that for a long time, GALCOM has fought to keep the Insurgents (as well as raiders and other undesirables) as far away from GALCOM controlled regions as possible. So even though Lyrius was abandoned, allowing the Insurgents to remain within the region, poses a significant threat to GALCOM member nations and their allies.

In LOD, a military team of direct action operatives are sent in by GALCOM to neutralize the Insurgent threat and kick them off the planet by any means necessary. The game’s recently released trailer highlights the setup for this as the team arrives in the Lyrius space region aboard the GCV-Starguard carrier.

In the game, the Terran Military GALCOM troops start off aboard the GCV-Starguard which is parked outside the Arkangel starstation, while the Terran Insurgents start off in the Heatwave starbase located on the planet below.

Though the LOD game features both Sirius and Barnard’s Star systems, the space regions are not as big as the previous games or our 2014 game, Galactic Command Online (which goes back to my legacy roots and features the entire galaxy, with fully populated planets – as in LOD, as well as trading, exploration etc).

Despite the size of the space regions, they are large enough and suitable for the fast paced fighter combat skirmishes which will take place in them as both sides fight for control of territories and resources both on space and on the planets below.

As you can see from the LOD world map, there are four space regions, all linked via jump gates. So you can fly from the Lyrius space region to the Lennen space region etc.

Each of these space regions also has planets and moons. In the upcoming first release of LOD, you will only be able to enter the Lyrius planet. We expect to populate and make accessible the other planets and moons via expansion packs depending on how well the game does. We wil also be building additional bases on Lyrius on an as-needed basis.

As for navigation in space and on the planets, here is what you can do:

• As an infantry player on the planet, you can use a Dynamic Jump Pad to go from any Lyrius base to another or to one of the four stations or the GCV-Starguard carrier – and vice versa.
• As a player with a vehicle, you can use a shuttle or heavy gunship to deploy your vehicle to another Lyrius base using a jumpgate.
• As a player with a fighter or shuttle on the planet, you can use a jumpgate to go from any Lyrius base to another base or to one of the four space regions – and vice versa.
• As a player with a fighter or shuttle in space, you can dock with any of the four stations or the GCV-Starguard carrier, exit in infantry (first/third person) mode and move around inside. This will allow you to either DJP or HAIS drop to any of the Lyrius bases. You will also be able to return to your docked craft from inside the station or carrier.
• As a player with a gunship on the planet, you can use a jumpgate to go from any Lyrius base to another base.
• As an infantry player with a High Altitude Insertion Suit (HAIS), you can use the airlock in any of the four stations or the GCV-Starguard to do an orbital drop to any Lyrius base. You can also use it to fast launch and drop on any part of the current Lyrius base without using a DJP.

Each of the thirteen scenes (the planet scenes are about 256 sq. km each, the space scenes are larger) are divided as follows and each supports 256 clients at any one time through a population lock restriction:

1. Lyrius planet/FROSTBITE starbase
2. Lyrius planet/GULGE starbase
3. Lyrius planet/HEATWAVE starbase
4. Lyrius planet/NIGHTBRIDGE starbase
5. Lyrius space
6. Lennen space
7. Sygan space
8. Zilon space
9. Lyrius space/Arkangel station
10. Lennen space/Vanguard station
11. Sygan space/Templar station
12. Zilon space/Overwatch station
13. Lyrius space/GCV-Starguard carrier

To be clear, there is no method of flying from the planet to space and vice versa without a scene loading transition. So you can’t, for example, keep flying straight up and then enter space; or in space, to fly straight into a planet and enter it. This is not due to technical limitations but rather to the design of the game. If we allowed all the scenes to be cohesively connected, then there would be no way to properly handle and implement a client pop lock – which is critical to the performance and handling of the game world – given its size and scope. In my design, I opted for fun instead of realism.

So, that’s the world you’ll be playing in.

For further reading on the game’s lore, factions, nations etc, please refer to the info page

We’ve been busy.

Building a game engine, complete with a slew of integrated middleware for physics, animation, GUI, AI, networking, lighting etc – is a lot of work. Getting around to building the game – in parallel – doesn’t make it any easier.

Then there’s the content. LOD has a ton of content that’s just mindboggling when I think about it. Especially when you consider the size of the team that has to put it together. Well, take a look at our scenes and draw your own conclusions. This is not some “level” based game where you have one or two buildings strewn around the equivalent of a city block. We’re talking a massive (each scene is 16km x 16km end-to-end, with each base covering a good 2km x 3km area within) base which has to be populated and designed with not only infantry, but also vehicles and aircrafts in mind.

You may be wondering why we decided to build a new game engine from the ground up. Simple. These days, your choice of engine pretty much dictates the type of game you’re going to end up developing. Since I tend not to develop run-of-the-mill games that everyone else is making, the typical engines out there tend to have a lot of gotchas by the time you are in deep enough. So the games that I want to make, tend to require specific engines for them. Which is why for more than twenty-two years now, I have never licensed a game engine for any of my games. LOD is no different.

But to be honest, this being the first time in many years that we’re building a new engine from the ground up and filling in the blanks with middleware libraries, I probably should have gone the licensing route back when we started. Doing that would have got us to the “making the game” part quicker. But again, the fear on my part is always that at some point down the road, a licensed engine is not going to do some things that you want to do. And then you’re left with having to either cut corners, change features, hack in some less than stellar solution – or doing a whole different game.

You know what they say about the “best laid plans”. The long and short of that is that decision caused some delays. But now that things are back on track, the game is completely out of the original Q4/11 release period and into “early” 2012. Joy.

Today the media page has been updated with a slew of shots from various parts of the game world. There are some shots of the completed (one of my favs), as well as first shots of the , inside the – and last but not the least, the .

The Arkangel station is one of four stations in the game world. It orbits the contested Lyrius planet. Players are able to move between these stations and the planet surface using jump pads. So as an infantry player, you can go from a starbase (e.g. on Nightbridge) on the planet to the Arkangel (or any other linked station) and vice versa. If you have access to a fighter, you can also fly from the planet to space, then dock – and exit into the station in first or third person mode.

Like starbases on the planet, these stations have all the amenities (repair, weapons, cash shop etc). And since players exist inside (play in first or third person) combat can take place in there.

There is also a single carrier floating around in space. This is the last carrier that was part of the battle fleet. It’s crew abandoned it and left it on auto-pilot. Which means that it just flies around the space region. Since we built the entire carrier’s internals, players can move between it, stations, the planet bases etc.

The reason that so much was invested in these huge areas (planets, stations/carrier) is because we’re going to be selling and renting rooms inside these installations. So you can have your own private quarters in any base, station (or the carrier) and be able to invite your friends over (in full first or third person mode gameplay btw), stash your stuff (gear, ammo etc) etc. In short, they are fully functional areas. Monocles are optional.

So yeah, that’s how you do it.

They say that space games are making a comeback. I know that a lot of my install base would be disappointed if I didn’t insert myself squarely in the middle of that revolution.

So yeah, the space region where the contested planets and moons are located in Line Of Defense, is also accessible. Even though the space regions aren’t as big* as my previous games, this is a different kind of game and so these regions are more than adequate. You will be able to combat in space and on planets – moving between them with ease.

* If you want to be a part of the massive space regions and epic skirmishes from my earlier games, you have to wait for my next game, – which takes us all the way back to our roots. It promises to be epic.

You can view the game’s for a better idea of how this is all linked together.

The is also online. And yes, those are actual in-game models.

Starting next week, we are going to be releasing video tours of all these bases in order to give you guys a better idea of the sort of scope and tech we’re dealing with in Line Of Defense.

At the end of the day, even though there are a lot of shooters out there, not to mention this whole F2P fad currently gripping the industry, what is going to set games apart is not the premise or the genre, but rather the gameplay experience and audience being targeted. My games have always catered to the hardcore gamer – and Line Of Defense, though much more accessible than any of my previous games – is no exception. These days, run-of-the-mill simply won’t cut it. You need more. Much more.

Enjoy!

Since each of the game’s four original bases () have a specific theme, what I envisioned for Nightbridge was an abandoned city in which a base was built. A base which, like the blown up city, had seen its own share of war.

Of course building it to my specs was an entirely different story. Especially given the fact that the new game engine (), as well as its editor, were still also in development.

But I think the content guys have done an amazing job of bringing it to life. Trust me, the screen shots do doing it justice.

And yes, it is. We’re talking nearly 2km x 3km massive. And that’s just the base extents. The entire scene itself – like the other three – is about 64km x 64km. A lot of space to run around in with weapons of mass destruction.

Apart from the fact that you can enter all buildings (e.g. those skyscrapers) from the ground floor, jetpack (if you have one) to the top of any of them etc there are numerous roads, canals, lakes, rivers, rubble mounds, busted buildings, alley ways etc to explore. And lots and lots of hidey holes, sniping coves, meeting points etc.

My single greatest concern at this point is that it is so huge that most gamers used to the “closed in” level based design of fps games, may just get lost in there. Or at best, be intimidated by the size of it all. Our friends used to [older] fps games like Planetside, will probably appreciate the scope of it all. But despite that, even if you had 128 people in a single world, that is still a heckuva lot of space to run around in. Sure there are all kinds of vehicles (incl. naval units), aircrafts, jetpacks and such to use, but for my part, running () around in these bases is a lot of fun. Especially if you know where you’re going ().

So what are your thoughts on the size and scope?

Nightbridge will be completed later this month once we have some final bits () and pieces in place. Until then, here to feast your eyes on. And no, shots simply don’t do it justice. Wait for the public Beta coming soon and draw your own conclusions.

Oh, please ignore the GUI elements; they’re all placeholders used for testing as we have not yet settled on a final GUI design – though I’m shooting for the minimalist style that is prevalent in newer fps games. I should have shots of that by the end of next month.

Also coming soon are shots of the Frostbite base which is set in an artic climate zone.

Also coming soon are shots of the space () section of the game world, along with the one: shots of the GCV-Starguard space carrier base. Yes, in addition to the four space stations – all of which you can hang around inside in fps mode – we’re building a base out of a 350m long carrier (an ) out in space and which is just as detailed as the planetary bases; complete with bridge, useable armory, various rooms etc. No, you can’t fly it. It’s a derelict ship with a busted autopilot, so like , it just flies around on a pre-computed path. But you can land on it and even use a DJP (Dynamic Jump Pad) to move between it and the planet below. We expect firefights within these stations and carrier bases to be chaotic – and absolutely claustrophobic.

It.will.be.crazy.

In LOD I still wanted to build a fairly large open world area due to the fact that the game features infantry combat, as well as vehicles, naval and fast moving aircrafts. Aircrafts by their very nature need a lot of room to move. Unless of course you’re happy with the COD or Battlefield style boxed-in environment whereby a jet is just another big and powerful gun with zero meaningful qualities in terms of its apparent effectiveness.

However, when you go open world, you better have the content to fill it up with or you end up with a large and boring environment.

In All Aspect Warfare though the game was set on a barren planet, some gamers still expected the vast expanse to be populated (trees, shrubs, rocks etc) regardless of the premise of the game world.

The bases in LOD are vastly different because though the world is smaller, with a new game engine and totally different art direction, we are able to do more things within the premise of the game. For example, the Nightbridge starbase (one of four bases) located in the moderate climate zone was built within the ruins of a once bustling city, long since abandoned when war came. Imagine what would happen if New York City were abandoned and the military setup shop there. That’s Nightbridge. The massive (2km x 3km) city is being built as a regular city, with buildings, roads, streets, rubble, bridges, canals etc and with all the key starbase assets (reactors, starbase etc) strewn across it at various locations. Gamers will be able to run or drive up and down the streets wielding weapons of mass destruction. Some will probably die before they actually get to their destination (e.g. the C&C building is clean, clear across town) unless of course you’re flying or driving the distance.

This image shows the construction of Nightbridge as it takes form. In the coming weeks, other shots will show all the buildings fully textured, the city laid out etc. And if you imagine you and your fireteam standing in the middle of a mall square plotting your last stand, you peering through the scope of a sniper rifle from 1500m away from atop a skyscraper or you wounded, crouched behind debris smack in the middle of a hot LZ awaiting a helo evac – that is exactly what you”ll be doing.

It is going to be fun!