Urban Assault
Encyclopedia
Urban Assault is a combined first-person shooter
and real-time strategy
computer game developed by the German
company TerraTools and published by Microsoft
. It was released on July 31, 1998.
The player creates and commands groups of tank
s and aircraft
, and can also take direct control of one vehicle at a time. Over the course of the game one can acquire upgrades and new vehicles.
, termed The Big Mistake, results in destruction of the ocean's phytoplankton
, causing the Earth's food chain
to collapse. Scarce food supplies results in a resource war, and plasma formation technology — the ability to form solid constructions using only energy — allows military commanders to create entire armies to subjugate their foes. The technology was leaked to enemy factions, destroying fragile political alliances and launching the planet into a third world war
. Citizens are forced into domed communities, which shield them from dangerous levels of UV radiation (to an extent) and filters the toxic air. However, most of the adult population had already consumed contaminated food, and most died within five years - regardless of location, domed or not.
A group of alien invaders, the Mykonians, view humans as being unworthy of such a resource-rich planet, and implant their Parasite Machine into the crust
of the planet to draw energy directly from the Earth's core. The Parasite Machine is causing the Earth's core to cool, weakening its magnetic field
. This will eventually cause solar radiation levels to rise and obliterate all of the planet's biomass
, making it suitable for Mykonian colonization. In the campaign, Mykonian forces are usually present in northern Europe
, where the cool temperatures allow for more efficient data transfer.
A second group of alien invaders, the plant-like Sulgogars, have invaded northern Africa, where the warm climate creates a suitable spawning
ground. Only seen in mid- to late-game missions in northern Africa, the Sulgogars are the most challenging faction to defeat.
Three human factions exist as well; these include the Ghorkovs, Taerkastens, and the Black Sect.
and freedom to survive global chaos. The Resistance was months away from destruction when a coalition of engineers and hackers wired together the free world's computers to create seven host stations. The host stations, however, had a caveat: no one would entrust the task of defending democracy and freedom to machines, so each host station was piloted by a Synaptic Donor Unit, abbreviated SDU. These SDUs were regarded as heroes, who, according to the game's help files, "sacrificed their humanity for the continual humanity of others."
In the single-player campaign, the player role is that of the last SDU champion to be deployed into battle, SDU 7. The player can read the diary entries of the fallen SDUs on the briefing for each game.
Their Resistance's training grounds are located in Britain.
The Resistance has a variety of war machines, notably the rapid-fire Dragonfly helicopter, the sub-nuclear missile launching Rhino, and the effective anti-air tank Fox. It is based around 90's era "modern" designs and weapons consist primary of machine guns, artillery shells, and rockets.
The Ghorkov host station icon is a red star, representing communism
and totalitarianism.
In the single-player campaign, the Ghorkovs are the easiest faction to defeat, and are usually saved for last in multi-faction missions.
Notable vehicles in the Ghorkovian arsenal include the Tekh-Trak, a ground assault vehicle; the Speedy, an anti-air tank; and the Gigant, a saucer-style aircraft that specializes in destroying host stations. Their Ghargoil series of aircraft are also a staple of Ghorkov commanders.
society, abhorrent of technology. Hypocritically, they embrace plasma formation technology, regarding it as a necessary evil. The Taerkastens blame technological factions like The Resistance and Ghorkovs for destroying the Earth's ozone layer.
They have a cult like formation and are situated in much of Southern Europe and Africa. They are infamous for getting into conflict with the Ghorkovs and have higher hatred for the Ghorkov's due to their radiation-based weaponry.
Taerkast units are typically heavily armored and have strong attacks, but are much slower and vulnerable to hit and run tactics. Much of their technology is based around the First/Second World War. The backbone of any Taerkast assault usually involves massed Leonid tank units, with Hetzel fighter plane support.
Mykonian units are geometric shapes, with evocative names like "Air Prism" and "Ground Cube." The Mykonians are typically located in biovein-infested environments, where their vehicles blend in with the surroundings better. Mykonian units have weak shielding, but have some of the strongest attacks in the game.
Sulgogar host stations are unique in that they are unable to terraform buildings, and must rely on conquest to power their broods. One cannot play as the Sulgogars in Multiplayer, but the well known "jump gun" cheat allows one to play as the Sulgogars in the single player campaigns. Moreover a fair amount of "mods" (essentially hacks) have been released to allow their play.
The Black Sect also have the ability to create some Mykonian units, which hints that even the Mykonians have a history with the Sect. This is backed up with the constant communication with the terran forces and Mykonians.
. Partly due to poor sales, the expansion pack did not make it into the game market. The expansion pack contains new levels for the player, this time allowing play as either the Ghorkovs or Taerkastens, and also adds new vehicles for the Taerkastens and Mykonians.
The new campaigns both play in different parts of the world, but gameplay resembles that of the original campaign. The Ghorkov campaign is set mainly in Asia and the Taerkasten campaign in Africa. The campaigns add more depth to the story line and the mission briefings provide more background for each faction. For example, the Ghorkov "Briefings" and menu show the Ghorkovs to be very much in line with communist ideology and back up the claims that the Ghorkovs were sold out by the resistance.
The new units were designed to help balance out the game. The Taerkastens' new vehicles are Ostwind, an anti-air tank, and the Thor's Hammer, a heavy tank specializing in destroying other tanks. The Mykonian's new vehicle is an airborne nuisance aircraft named the Crusher.
A supposedly disgruntled game designer distributed the near-complete version of the expansion pack to a few fans in the game community, and it remains in circulation today. It is presumed by many websites and fans, along with the original game, to be freeware
or abandonware
now.
.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
and 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....
computer game developed by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
company TerraTools and published by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. It was released on July 31, 1998.
The player creates and commands groups of tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s and aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, and can also take direct control of one vehicle at a time. Over the course of the game one can acquire upgrades and new vehicles.
Gameplay
The player is in command of a futuristic host station with plasma energy technology, allowing the player to create units and buildings, as long as the blueprints and sufficient energy are available. In the single-player campaign, the objective of each mission is to capture each key sector on the map, allowing use of the beam gate to transport the host station to the next field of battle. However, destroying enemy host stations imparts a bonus to the player's maximum energy reserves. Combined with the fact that many key sectors are located deep in enemy territory or even right below an enemy faction's host station, the unstated goal of each game is to eliminate all enemy host stations. In multiplayer, beam gates are not present on the map and the only objective is to destroy opponents.Resources
Like most strategy games, the game is centered around resources. The sole resource in Urban Assault is energy, which is required to build units and buildings used to conquer other factions. Energy is gained through controlling power stations. Each power station emits energy relative to the number of white boxes attached to it on the map screen; each box represents more power output. Power stations are also limited in power output by the number of adjacent sectors controlled by the player, referred to in-game as efficiency, forcing the player to increase control of the map in order to create more powerful armies. Powerful units and buildings require significant amounts of energy to build.Plot
The plot of Urban Assault is set in the future, where ozone depletionOzone depletion
Ozone depletion describes two distinct but related phenomena observed since the late 1970s: a steady decline of about 4% per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere , and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions. The latter phenomenon...
, termed The Big Mistake, results in destruction of the ocean's phytoplankton
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν , meaning "plant", and πλαγκτός , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye...
, causing the Earth's food chain
Food chain
A food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological community. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one of two categories called trophic levels: 1) the autotrophs, and 2) the heterotrophs...
to collapse. Scarce food supplies results in a resource war, and plasma formation technology — the ability to form solid constructions using only energy — allows military commanders to create entire armies to subjugate their foes. The technology was leaked to enemy factions, destroying fragile political alliances and launching the planet into a third world war
World War III
World War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....
. Citizens are forced into domed communities, which shield them from dangerous levels of UV radiation (to an extent) and filters the toxic air. However, most of the adult population had already consumed contaminated food, and most died within five years - regardless of location, domed or not.
A group of alien invaders, the Mykonians, view humans as being unworthy of such a resource-rich planet, and implant their Parasite Machine into the crust
Crust (geology)
In geology, the crust is the outermost solid shell of a rocky planet or natural satellite, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle...
of the planet to draw energy directly from the Earth's core. The Parasite Machine is causing the Earth's core to cool, weakening its magnetic field
Magnetic field
A magnetic field is a mathematical description of the magnetic influence of electric currents and magnetic materials. The magnetic field at any given point is specified by both a direction and a magnitude ; as such it is a vector field.Technically, a magnetic field is a pseudo vector;...
. This will eventually cause solar radiation levels to rise and obliterate all of the planet's biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
, making it suitable for Mykonian colonization. In the campaign, Mykonian forces are usually present in northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
, where the cool temperatures allow for more efficient data transfer.
A second group of alien invaders, the plant-like Sulgogars, have invaded northern Africa, where the warm climate creates a suitable spawning
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
ground. Only seen in mid- to late-game missions in northern Africa, the Sulgogars are the most challenging faction to defeat.
Three human factions exist as well; these include the Ghorkovs, Taerkastens, and the Black Sect.
The Resistance
The Resistance represents the last traces of democracyDemocracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and freedom to survive global chaos. The Resistance was months away from destruction when a coalition of engineers and hackers wired together the free world's computers to create seven host stations. The host stations, however, had a caveat: no one would entrust the task of defending democracy and freedom to machines, so each host station was piloted by a Synaptic Donor Unit, abbreviated SDU. These SDUs were regarded as heroes, who, according to the game's help files, "sacrificed their humanity for the continual humanity of others."
In the single-player campaign, the player role is that of the last SDU champion to be deployed into battle, SDU 7. The player can read the diary entries of the fallen SDUs on the briefing for each game.
Their Resistance's training grounds are located in Britain.
The Resistance has a variety of war machines, notably the rapid-fire Dragonfly helicopter, the sub-nuclear missile launching Rhino, and the effective anti-air tank Fox. It is based around 90's era "modern" designs and weapons consist primary of machine guns, artillery shells, and rockets.
Ghorkovs
The Ghorkovs are the faction most similar to The Resistance in terms of the vehicles they use. The Ghorkovs begin as the first enemy the player encounters in the game, and Ghorkovs frequently reappear in later missions. According to one of the game's pre-mission briefings, the Ghorkovs were originally allies of the Resistance, but later turned against them when the Resistance attempted to sell the Ghorkovs out to the Mykonians.The Ghorkov host station icon is a red star, representing communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and totalitarianism.
In the single-player campaign, the Ghorkovs are the easiest faction to defeat, and are usually saved for last in multi-faction missions.
Notable vehicles in the Ghorkovian arsenal include the Tekh-Trak, a ground assault vehicle; the Speedy, an anti-air tank; and the Gigant, a saucer-style aircraft that specializes in destroying host stations. Their Ghargoil series of aircraft are also a staple of Ghorkov commanders.
Taerkastens
The Taerkasts represent a fundamentalist, neo-LudditeLuddite
The Luddites were a social movement of 19th-century English textile artisans who protested – often by destroying mechanised looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life...
society, abhorrent of technology. Hypocritically, they embrace plasma formation technology, regarding it as a necessary evil. The Taerkastens blame technological factions like The Resistance and Ghorkovs for destroying the Earth's ozone layer.
They have a cult like formation and are situated in much of Southern Europe and Africa. They are infamous for getting into conflict with the Ghorkovs and have higher hatred for the Ghorkov's due to their radiation-based weaponry.
Taerkast units are typically heavily armored and have strong attacks, but are much slower and vulnerable to hit and run tactics. Much of their technology is based around the First/Second World War. The backbone of any Taerkast assault usually involves massed Leonid tank units, with Hetzel fighter plane support.
Mykonians
The invader Mykonians disdain humanity for wasting a precious birthright like the Earth. They see Earth as nothing more than a battery and use the Parasite Machine to drain the power from the earths core. Destruction of the Parasite Machine is the focus of the single-player campaign, and, in the final mission, the player must destroy it before a long in-game timer runs out.Mykonian units are geometric shapes, with evocative names like "Air Prism" and "Ground Cube." The Mykonians are typically located in biovein-infested environments, where their vehicles blend in with the surroundings better. Mykonian units have weak shielding, but have some of the strongest attacks in the game.
Sulgogars
The off-world Sulgogars view humanity as fertilizer for their spawning grounds. Rarely encountered, the Sulgogars are one of two most formidable factions that players often seek to eliminate first, due to their exceptionally strong attacks and units. All Sulgogar units are airborne, and are supposedly sentient.Sulgogar host stations are unique in that they are unable to terraform buildings, and must rely on conquest to power their broods. One cannot play as the Sulgogars in Multiplayer, but the well known "jump gun" cheat allows one to play as the Sulgogars in the single player campaigns. Moreover a fair amount of "mods" (essentially hacks) have been released to allow their play.
The Black Sect
The Black Sect is a splinter faction composed of criminals, terrorists, and thieves who have decided to enter the war for personal profit and gain. Having no original units of their own, the Black Sect relies on stealing technology from other factions, including the Resistance Anvil-class host station (the one that SDU7 was meant to use) and the Taerkast Bronstejin flying ion cannon. Black Sect units have a special stealth projection, rendering them invisible to enemy radar. They are usually one of the player's top priorities, the other being the Sulgogars and Mykonians. One cannot play as the Black Sect in Multiplayer.The Black Sect also have the ability to create some Mykonian units, which hints that even the Mykonians have a history with the Sect. This is backed up with the constant communication with the terran forces and Mykonians.
Expansion pack
There was going to be an expansion pack for Urban Assault, named Urban Assault: Metropolis Dawn expansion packExpansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
. Partly due to poor sales, the expansion pack did not make it into the game market. The expansion pack contains new levels for the player, this time allowing play as either the Ghorkovs or Taerkastens, and also adds new vehicles for the Taerkastens and Mykonians.
The new campaigns both play in different parts of the world, but gameplay resembles that of the original campaign. The Ghorkov campaign is set mainly in Asia and the Taerkasten campaign in Africa. The campaigns add more depth to the story line and the mission briefings provide more background for each faction. For example, the Ghorkov "Briefings" and menu show the Ghorkovs to be very much in line with communist ideology and back up the claims that the Ghorkovs were sold out by the resistance.
The new units were designed to help balance out the game. The Taerkastens' new vehicles are Ostwind, an anti-air tank, and the Thor's Hammer, a heavy tank specializing in destroying other tanks. The Mykonian's new vehicle is an airborne nuisance aircraft named the Crusher.
A supposedly disgruntled game designer distributed the near-complete version of the expansion pack to a few fans in the game community, and it remains in circulation today. It is presumed by many websites and fans, along with the original game, to be freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
or abandonware
Abandonware
Abandonware are discontinued products for which no product support is available, or whose copyright ownership may be unclear for various reasons...
now.
Reception
The game received mixed reviews from critics and suffered from poor sales. Common criticisms included poor interface, poor controls, lack of variety, and steep difficulty and learning curves. Praise included innovative gameplay, excellent joystick support, and the introductory video with music by Mark SnowMark Snow
Mark Snow is an American composer for film and television.Born in New York, he grew up in Brooklyn, graduating from the High School of Music and Art and, afterwards, the Juilliard School of Music...
.
Trivia
- The Sulgogars and the Black Sect were considered so difficult to defeat that a second, easier, set of scenarios for the game's single-player mode was included on the game's CD. The extra scenarios removed the Sulgogar and Black Sect factions from single-player missions, but also prevented completion of the game.
- The Black Sect is not mentioned in the game's help files or manual, but is mentioned on the official website.
- Missions from the demo version (First Blood, Raging Steel and Sturmfront) are not included in the full version.
External links
- Microsoft's Urban Assault site
- Radon LabsRadon LabsRadon Labs was a video game developer based in Germany.The company was founded in 2000 as a spin off of the company Terratools.Radon Labs has its headquarters in Berlin and a second development studio in Halle-Leipzig...
' (formerly TerraTools) Urban Assault site - Metropolis Dawn Forums, an Urban Assault fan forum
- Stoudson Corp FTP, a download source for the original Urban Assault game and mods
- UrbanAssault FR, an Urban Assault fan forum (FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
)