Comparison question

[Salkin]

I really enjoyed an old FPS/RTS named Battlezone.

Is DropTeam anything like BZ ?

Are there any base building elements ?

Can I get inside a tank and control it myself and at the same time give orders to my AI team mates ?

Hmm...that's it for now .

//Salkin

[ClaytoniousRex]

Hi, Salkin.

I really enjoyed an old FPS/RTS named Battlezone.

We enjoyed it, too. It had plenty of problems, but the basic gameplay mechanic was quite fun.

Is DropTeam anything like BZ ?

Yes, though with some significant differences. DropTeam shares the basic FPS/RTS mix that was featured in BZ, but:

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• Weapons have realistically long ranges and ballistic performance.</font>
• Penetration, armor, and damage are modelled accurately. There is none of the "health bar" kind of simplifications you found in a game like BZ.</font>
• There's a much wider variety of unit types in DropTeam and they make actual military sense (as opposed to the whiz-bang "arcade" items in BZ).</font>
• There's no base-building or unit production in DropTeam. You do have an inventory of units that are available to you and you can extract damaged units from the battlefield for quick repair and redeployment so this inventory will go up and down during the game, but you aren't creating brand new vehicles out of thin air.</font>

... just to name a few. As a consequence of the kind of differences listed above, DropTeam rewards real tactical play as opposed to purely fast-paced twitch shooting. For example, finding and using good hull down positions is very useful in DropTeam. Flanking the enemy, keeping the correct mix of unit types together (such as using EWV units for air cover and sensor jamming as escorts to more straight-forward heavy tanks), coordinating your team, etc. are all necessary to fight a really effective battle in DropTeam.

In short, DropTeam shares some of the same basic mechanics as a game like BZ, but DropTeam is much more of a simulation where BZ was more of an arcade game.

[Salkin]

Sounds great.

Being a huge CM fan and all this is good news to me.

Regarding the campaign in the game is it linear or non linear ?

Do you have any controll over what units you use in combat. Is there a point system like in CM where you buy units in the campaign game/skirmish battle ?

BZ also had some excellent ambience and a real sense of being there. Will this be incorporated into DT or will it be a "callous" super tactical game (hexes in 3D)?

//Salkin

Thanks for the answer

[ClaytoniousRex]

Regarding the campaign in the game is it linear or non linear?

The campaign is linear. DropTeam has been built from the ground-up as a multiplayer game, so the single player experience is honestly never going to be as good as multiplayer. The campaign is just enough to get your feet wet and give you a little flavor for the setting of the game, but the meat of DropTeam will always be in playing online (or on a LAN with friends).

Do you have any controll over what units you use in combat. Is there a point system like in CM where you buy units in the campaign game/skirmish battle?

Each team has an inventory of units that are available in each scenario. This inventory is randomized slightly for each game. You don't have direct control like the point system in CM gives you. Now that you mention it, though, that sounds like a very good candidate feature to add after the initial release.

BZ also had some excellent ambience and a real sense of being there. Will this be incorporated into DT or will it be a "callous" super tactical game (hexes in 3D)?

DropTeam is very immersive. There's nothing "callous" or abstract about it. You're literally right there in the heart of it all with real physics driving everything around you. No hexes, squares, or movement points.

[Salkin]

Sounds great, and once again thanks for all the answers .

//Salkin