Of course, we could get into a debate about what, exactly, constitutes a game engine, but the large amount of underlying architecture that has remained essentially unchanged seems to qualify. Obviously, there have been some improvements over time-new additions and tweaks-but the basic "game engine" that IV are using is, essentially, that written for Uplink.
While you can see this in the source code if you have access, it is pretty clear from the structure of the main.dat and sounds.dat files for all of the games. The code that plays sounds, loads and saves files, displays graphics, and so on is all contained in a core set of libraries that IV have written and modified as they create games.
There is a core of code that is common to all of IV's games. We are UK based indie game developer Introversion Software - we started way back in 2001 with cult hacker sim Uplink, and since then we've made Darwinia, DEFCON, Multiwinia, Prison Architect, and. Please please please please elaborate on that. Technically, all of Introversion's games are built on the same engine. I want a new game built on the same engine technicaly Even though it was not made with this experience in mind, Darwinia’s unique design brought successfully to consoles brings hope that we may yet see the RTS stretch successfully beyond the land of the PC.Dosedmonkey wrote:I don't really want a sequel. This is mostly because developers are unwilling to rethink how they are structured for the benefit of the console experience. Even games made for consoles have struggled to find footing.
This generation has seen many different ports of PC RTS games, all of which are hampered by their control schemes and broad scope. This reductive approach to resources keeps the spirit of the mechanic intact while simplifying the systems to work on consoles.
If a unit dies, it can be reconstructed right away at any structure the player controls, effectively replacing a resource penalty with what is essentially a checkpoint system. In the same vein, the controllable units themselves don’t require resources to construct. You don’t need to command them to since they will automatically collect souls if you don’t give them any other commands. The engineer, one of the controllable units, has the job of collecting the souls and bringing them to generators to make Darwinians. They produce Darwinians, which are required for operating many of the objective structures across the maps. Darwinia’s only real resource is the Darwinian souls, which enemies leave behind. This is another area where less is more for consoles. The other part of micromanagement is collecting different resources to build more units. The notable thing here is that the places where units can be directly controlled fully exploit the strengths of the controller, filling in the gaps where micromanagement would have been in PC RTS games. The player can also take direct control of the stationary turrets and fire from first-person view.
It works really well and gives the game a sensible ebb and flow, exterminating enemies manually then using your other units to complete the objectives. Rather than providing a procedural order, you directly control one of them, where it takes on controls similar to a twin stick shooter. By themselves, they shoot at any enemies that come near, making them able defenders. This is where the Squad unit comes into play.
The structure of the levels provides linear paths through the maps towards objectives impeded by enemies. Multiwinia is a stand-alone multiplayer skirmish game based on Introversion’s 2003 release of Darwinia.Fans of this sleeper title might not have expected a sequel from the developer, one that tends to shy away from rehashes and instead focus on entirely new games.
More than most RTS games, Darwinia is a game about traversal. Provide an avatar for the player to directly control.