The Tone Rebellion
Encyclopedia
The Tone Rebellion is a science fiction
real-time strategy
game created by The Logic Factory
. Released in 1997, it was the company's second release after Ascendancy, a space strategy game.
and puzzle-solving elements. Similar to Alien Legacy
and Maelstrom, there is a plot that runs throughout the game and unfolds with progress. You are leader of the Floaters, jellyfish
-like aliens fight to release the Tone, the life energy of the Floater world, from the grip of a force of evil called the Leviathan
.
The game employs the theme of realm
s that determine the form and power of creatures that initiate from those realms. These realms have effects on both the Floaters and the Leviathan.
The Tone Rebellion also plays upon a strong "good versus evil" theme: the Floaters are pure, innocent and yet fighting for good, while the Leviathan represents an evil with no conscience, overcome by greed and hatred. "Leviathan" itself is a Biblical
reference to a large, powerful sea creature. Long ago, when the Leviathan first attacked the peaceful Floaters, there was one large island and one kind of Floaters. During the attack, the island split into many smaller islands. The four surviving Floater tribes were stuck on islands far from each other, with each tribe believing no one else survived. Over time, the tribes began to develop differently
from each other. Their goal, however, is to defeat the Leviathan and restore the flow of the "good" Tone, recreating the original island.
The game starts out on the chosen tribe's home island, with a few worker Floaters and a tribal center. From there, the civilization of the Floaters must be rebuilt while fighting against the Leviathan enemy. The player must also solve the mysteries of defeating the Leviathan: each world contains specific mysteries that must be solved in order to bridge the gap to new islands or discover how the land has come to its current state. As the player discovers new islands and builds more structures and defenses, the Leviathan becomes more aware of the rebellion, and sends more and stronger armies in an attempt to defeat you. Battles take place in real-time.
Although a complete single player game, The Tone Rebellion offers multiplayer support for up to four players over the Internet or via IPX network connection.
Importantly, there is a rock, paper, scissors
-like hierarchy of dominance between the realms:
This hierarchy follows a clockwise rotation along the realm-tide meter that is provided in the controls.
, which will belong to the next clockwise realm.
s. Once spores land on a location, that pool or node becomes infected, turning a grey color and pulsating.
Infected pools produce spawners, enormous buildings responsible for the production of more spores and attack creatures. Spawner structure is determined by the dominant realms on the particular island:
Infected tone nodes produce hostile growths and machines, which may be either active or passive. Passive structures (such as a blind arm) may injure floaters upon direct contact, whereas active structures (such as a plasid) may shoot projectiles at floaters from a long distance.
As well as spore units, spawners produce attack creatures for fighting against the rebelling floaters. These, like spawners, often depend on the influence of realms on the location. A wide variety of different creatures exist, and most have a less fierce and more fierce version; for example, a Nadrack is like a Drack, but has more hit-points and causes more damage. The chosen level of difficulty often plays a role in the type, severity and number of the creatures that appear.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
game created by The Logic Factory
The Logic Factory
The Logic Factory is an award-winning video game development company founded by Jason and Todd Templeman in 1993. The company is responsible for Ascendancy , a turn-based science fiction strategy game for the PC, The Tone Rebellion , and on the iOS platform .- Projects :Several years after the...
. Released in 1997, it was the company's second release after Ascendancy, a space strategy game.
Background
The Tone Rebellion is a pseudo-3D real-time strategy game with some RPGRole-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
and puzzle-solving elements. Similar to Alien Legacy
Alien Legacy
Alien Legacy is a sci-fi strategy game developed by Ybarra Productions, Inc. and published by Sierra On-Line in 1994 for the DOS operating system on the PC.-Gameplay:...
and Maelstrom, there is a plot that runs throughout the game and unfolds with progress. You are leader of the Floaters, jellyfish
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...
-like aliens fight to release the Tone, the life energy of the Floater world, from the grip of a force of evil called the Leviathan
Leviathan
Leviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper . The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...
.
The game employs the theme of realm
Realm
A realm is a dominion of a monarch or other sovereign ruler.The Old French word reaume, modern French royaume, was the word first adopted in English; the fixed modern spelling does not appear until the beginning of the 17th century...
s that determine the form and power of creatures that initiate from those realms. These realms have effects on both the Floaters and the Leviathan.
The Tone Rebellion also plays upon a strong "good versus evil" theme: the Floaters are pure, innocent and yet fighting for good, while the Leviathan represents an evil with no conscience, overcome by greed and hatred. "Leviathan" itself is a Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
reference to a large, powerful sea creature. Long ago, when the Leviathan first attacked the peaceful Floaters, there was one large island and one kind of Floaters. During the attack, the island split into many smaller islands. The four surviving Floater tribes were stuck on islands far from each other, with each tribe believing no one else survived. Over time, the tribes began to develop differently
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
from each other. Their goal, however, is to defeat the Leviathan and restore the flow of the "good" Tone, recreating the original island.
Gameplay
Similar to other 4X games, The Tone Rebellion offers different races (called tribes in the game) for you to control. Each tribe differs from the others in its abilities, the structures it can build, and the type of spells it can cast. There are only four clans to choose from, although they are unique enough that replaying the game as a different clan produces a different playing experience. The difficulty of the Leviathan is adjustable on a 1 to 5 scale at the start of the game. Lastly, the number of islands in the game can be pre-chosen, producing a longer or shorter gameplay.The game starts out on the chosen tribe's home island, with a few worker Floaters and a tribal center. From there, the civilization of the Floaters must be rebuilt while fighting against the Leviathan enemy. The player must also solve the mysteries of defeating the Leviathan: each world contains specific mysteries that must be solved in order to bridge the gap to new islands or discover how the land has come to its current state. As the player discovers new islands and builds more structures and defenses, the Leviathan becomes more aware of the rebellion, and sends more and stronger armies in an attempt to defeat you. Battles take place in real-time.
Although a complete single player game, The Tone Rebellion offers multiplayer support for up to four players over the Internet or via IPX network connection.
Realms
Four different realms control the struggles between living things: the Physical, the Supernatural, the Ethereal, and the Natural. Each realm influences both the Floater races and the forms of the Leviathan. The Physical is the opposite of the Ethereal, and the Supernatural is the opposite of the Natural. The balance of realms shifts over time, so that the awareness of Floaters may be stronger in different realms as the game progresses.Importantly, there is a rock, paper, scissors
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Rock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two people. The game is also known as roshambo, or another ordering of the three items ....
-like hierarchy of dominance between the realms:
- Physical dominates Supernatural
- Supernatural dominates Ethereal
- Ethereal dominates Natural
- Natural dominates Physical
This hierarchy follows a clockwise rotation along the realm-tide meter that is provided in the controls.
Tribes
There are four tribes to choose from, each possessing unique defense units and magic spells. Each is associated with a particular color, and always starts off its own home island. The majority of each tribe is associated with one of the realms, except for one set of fighting units, or dojoDojo
A is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to...
, which will belong to the next clockwise realm.
- Tarks
- Color: Red
- Home island: Tarzus
- Realm: Physical
- Zygons
- Color: Yellow
- Home island: The Crystal Cave
- Realm: Supernatural
- Cepheans
- Color: Blue
- Home island: The Cephean Sea
- Realm: Ethereal
- Dyla
- Color: Green
- Home island: Pangir
- Realm: Natural
Leviathan
The Leviathan produces both immobile structures and mobile creatures as it expands and takes over each island in the game. Immobile structures are built on tone nodes and pools, which are initiated via sporeSpore
In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoa. According to scientist Dr...
s. Once spores land on a location, that pool or node becomes infected, turning a grey color and pulsating.
Infected pools produce spawners, enormous buildings responsible for the production of more spores and attack creatures. Spawner structure is determined by the dominant realms on the particular island:
- Broont Swamp - physical
- Sasp Furnace - supernatural
- Bestial Orb - ethereal
- Maker Tree - natural
Infected tone nodes produce hostile growths and machines, which may be either active or passive. Passive structures (such as a blind arm) may injure floaters upon direct contact, whereas active structures (such as a plasid) may shoot projectiles at floaters from a long distance.
As well as spore units, spawners produce attack creatures for fighting against the rebelling floaters. These, like spawners, often depend on the influence of realms on the location. A wide variety of different creatures exist, and most have a less fierce and more fierce version; for example, a Nadrack is like a Drack, but has more hit-points and causes more damage. The chosen level of difficulty often plays a role in the type, severity and number of the creatures that appear.