The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge
Encyclopedia
The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge was a canceled video game for PC
and PlayStation 2
by Mythos Games
, the authors of the original X-COM game, claimed to having been "essentially a remake
of the first X-COM with 3D graphics".
following a devastating 70-day war against the dinosaurlike Saurans in 2003. Now it's up to player to lead a small resistance group named the Terran Liberation Army in a desperate struggle to regain the planet. The resistance must scramble to protect the areas left in their control and find more supplies and troops, and capture aliens and their equipment to research the alien technology and use it against them. Along the way, the TLA begin to uncover the truth behind alien abductions, UFO conspiracies
, and Area 51
("Dreamland
" is a name often used for Area 51, located near the location called Freedom Ridge), and soon discover other powerful forces at work, including an another alien race (other than the invaders) and the reclusive and mysterious Men in Black
.
preview, the Freedom Ridge interface followed the three-tiered format of a rotatable and zoomable global strategy view, showing various cities areas of interest spread and an outline of the human and alien zones of control (similar to the Geoscape in the most of the X-COM series and also in accelerated real-time), a 3D isometric view
tactical screen when the player controls a squad in turn-based combat, and a first-person view to control the squad's individual units while aiming their weapons. All the detailed 3D environments were fully deformable ("floors, beams, and roofs can collapse, and entire buildings can be leveled if enough damage is sustained"). During the action sequences, the camera would switch from the isometric or first-person view for special effects such as to follow the fired projectiles.
In 2011, the designer Julian Gollop
described this game retrospectively as a "quite an ambitious project" of turn-based tactical strategy game, featuring such innovative elements as a destructible terrain system. He said that, would it had been released, The Dreamland Chronicles would be very similar in gameplay terms to the much later tactical role-playing game Valkyria Chronicles
that was released for the PS3
in 2008. Gollop said: "We had a third-person camera view behind your character with a bar representing your Action Points
, which went down as you moved. When you went into shooting mode it went into a first-person view and you could select snap shots or aimed shots, which altered the size of an aiming circle on screen."
physics engine. The development was first put on hold in February 2001, as Gollop's team failed to find the publisher for their game. It was restarted by Bethesda Softworks
, which in turn ceased funding the project in April 2001. Eventually, it was ultimately cancelled later in 2001 by Titus Interactive and Mythos Games ceased to exist. According to Gallop in 2011: "Titus had no interest in what we were doing – they were only after Interplay
’s assets, and they cancelled the project ... we had no choice but to wind up the company at that point."
, who possessed Dreamland rights, prompted the Czech
developer Altar Interactive to restart production on the PC version. However, the game was renamed, first to UFO: Freedom Ridge, and then to UFO: Aftermath. More and more other changes were also made as the reboot progressed. Even the game engine
was completely different in the final product, as the new developer did not acquire rights to the game's Havok physics engine and other middleware
graphics and sound elements and instead made their own. Eventually, very few elements of the original Freedom Ridge project remained in the finished UFO: Aftermath. Altar themselves described it as "a completely new game with a different combat system, new graphics, and a vastly different background story."
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
and PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
by Mythos Games
Mythos Games
Mythos Games is a defunct British video game developer company founded by Julian Gollop.-Games developed by Mythos Games:* Rebelstar II * Laser Squad * Lords of Chaos * Magic & Mayhem -External links:*...
, the authors of the original X-COM game, claimed to having been "essentially a remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the first X-COM with 3D graphics".
Story
In the game, the human kind had lost Earth to the invading aliensAlien invasion
The alien invasion is a common theme in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial life invades Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under a colonial system, harvest humans for food, steal the planet's resources, or destroy the planet altogether.The...
following a devastating 70-day war against the dinosaurlike Saurans in 2003. Now it's up to player to lead a small resistance group named the Terran Liberation Army in a desperate struggle to regain the planet. The resistance must scramble to protect the areas left in their control and find more supplies and troops, and capture aliens and their equipment to research the alien technology and use it against them. Along the way, the TLA begin to uncover the truth behind alien abductions, UFO conspiracies
UFO conspiracy theory
A UFO conspiracy theory is any one of many often overlapping conspiracy theories which argue that evidence of the reality of unidentified flying objects is being suppressed by various governments around the world...
, and Area 51
Area 51
Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield...
("Dreamland
Dreamland
-Amusement parks:* Dreamland at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York* Dreamland * Dreamland Margate, in Kent, UK* Nara Dreamland, near Nara, Japan* Yokohama Dreamland, in Yokohama, Japan...
" is a name often used for Area 51, located near the location called Freedom Ridge), and soon discover other powerful forces at work, including an another alien race (other than the invaders) and the reclusive and mysterious Men in Black
Men in Black
Men in Black , in American popular culture and in UFO conspiracy theories, are men dressed in black suits who claim to be government agents who harass or threaten UFO witnesses to keep them quiet about what they have seen. It is sometimes implied that they may be aliens themselves...
.
Gameplay
According to the GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
preview, the Freedom Ridge interface followed the three-tiered format of a rotatable and zoomable global strategy view, showing various cities areas of interest spread and an outline of the human and alien zones of control (similar to the Geoscape in the most of the X-COM series and also in accelerated real-time), a 3D isometric view
Isometric projection
Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings...
tactical screen when the player controls a squad in turn-based combat, and a first-person view to control the squad's individual units while aiming their weapons. All the detailed 3D environments were fully deformable ("floors, beams, and roofs can collapse, and entire buildings can be leveled if enough damage is sustained"). During the action sequences, the camera would switch from the isometric or first-person view for special effects such as to follow the fired projectiles.
In 2011, the designer Julian Gollop
Julian Gollop
Julian Gollop is a British designer of strategy video games and founder of the defunct game studios Mythos Games and Codo Technologies.Gollop's career spans over 25 years, during which he has designed games for numerous systems over the years, from the early 8-bit home computers to 32-bit PCs...
described this game retrospectively as a "quite an ambitious project" of turn-based tactical strategy game, featuring such innovative elements as a destructible terrain system. He said that, would it had been released, The Dreamland Chronicles would be very similar in gameplay terms to the much later tactical role-playing game Valkyria Chronicles
Valkyria Chronicles
is a tactical role-playing game developed and published by Sega for the PlayStation 3. The game was released in 2008.The game is set in Europa, loosely based on Europe in 1935...
that was released for the PS3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
in 2008. Gollop said: "We had a third-person camera view behind your character with a bar representing your Action Points
Action point
An action point, commonly abbreviated AP, is a point in games to determine how much action a player, unit, or video game character can do in a single turn.Within computer and video games they are predominantly used in the turn-based tactics genre...
, which went down as you moved. When you went into shooting mode it went into a first-person view and you could select snap shots or aimed shots, which altered the size of an aiming circle on screen."
Development
Freedom Ridge was announced in 2000, using "a lot of new technology" such as the sophisticated environment HavokHavok
Havok is a fictional character, a mutant superhero in the and member of the X-Men. He first appears in Uncanny X-Men No.54 , and was created by Arnold Drake, Don Heck and Neal Adams....
physics engine. The development was first put on hold in February 2001, as Gollop's team failed to find the publisher for their game. It was restarted by Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland...
, which in turn ceased funding the project in April 2001. Eventually, it was ultimately cancelled later in 2001 by Titus Interactive and Mythos Games ceased to exist. According to Gallop in 2011: "Titus had no interest in what we were doing – they were only after Interplay
Interplay
Interplay may refer to:* Interplay , a 1957 album by jazz musician John Coltrane* Interplay , Jerome Robbins, 1945* Interplay , a 1962 album by jazz musician Bill Evans...
’s assets, and they cancelled the project ... we had no choice but to wind up the company at that point."
Legacy
In mid-2001, Virgin InteractiveVirgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group...
, who possessed Dreamland rights, prompted the Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
developer Altar Interactive to restart production on the PC version. However, the game was renamed, first to UFO: Freedom Ridge, and then to UFO: Aftermath. More and more other changes were also made as the reboot progressed. Even the game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
was completely different in the final product, as the new developer did not acquire rights to the game's Havok physics engine and other middleware
Middleware
Middleware is computer software that connects software components or people and their applications. The software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact...
graphics and sound elements and instead made their own. Eventually, very few elements of the original Freedom Ridge project remained in the finished UFO: Aftermath. Altar themselves described it as "a completely new game with a different combat system, new graphics, and a vastly different background story."