Rico
Certified Guru
Hi, I'm here to tell you about a little space game I played the other day called SubSpace/Continuum. It's pretty awesome.
To clarify, the old version is called SubSpace, now it's Continuum, and you can pick up a copy here:
http://beginners.subspace.net/downloads/continuum.exe
Gameplay in Continuum is split into multiple 'zones' - you simply select one when you start the game. Zones have themes, such as Trench Wars - where two teams have an intense fight over a single flag - or Death Star - where Imperial and Rebel starships battle inside and outside the Death Star for ownership of 100 control points.
There are 8 ship types, you can choose any you want. The first one, for instance, is reasonably fast and fires extremely fast bullets, but only one about 3 seconds. Although one-shot kill, you obviously have to get pretty good with your aiming to take out your foes. Others have upgrades such as stealth, bombs, decoys, melee attacks, warps and mines.
The key system is the 'Energy' system. Using powerups such as stealth or antiwarp decreases your energy steadily. Firing weapons, bombs, or using your afterburners (for increased speed) will also deplete your energy. Once it's run out, you can no longer use those powers! Also, attacks from the enemy take out your energy and this time if it goes below zero you die. So if you've just fired a bunch of shots you are extremely vulnerable and should take cover and recharge.
Opponents are in blue while allies are in yellow. The numbers after their names are bounties. Killing enemies or getting weapon pickups, all the while without dying, increases the bounty on you. Once killed, your killer collects that score. This creates a great environment where the best players are constantly hunted but newbies like myself can relax a bit.
There's also an original system called 'Turrets'. You can use PgUp and PgDn to select a player on the name list and press F7 to 'attach' to them. They move, but you can aim and shoot an additional weapon from them. In fact, lots of people can hop on to turn a regular ship into a fully-fledged war cannon with tons of weaponry
In the picture above all those guys are on one turret, their names stacked up to show this.
As I said earlier, there's already a Star Wars-themed zone, and tons more player-created zones exist. Capture the Flag, football, hockey, domination, king of the hill, newbie zones, daily events and elimination matches await. Due to the arena system, you'll get in game messages such as 'An elimination match is starting. Type ?go elim to join!' and you can leave your current game to join these regular special events. Which makes the game have a bit more variety and fun.
The other cool feature of the game is its ludicrously exhaustive chat system, featuring multiple chat channels, team messaging, global messaging and custom password-protected squads who can co-ordinate together. You can also customise an icon to appear beside your name, if you really want to.
After you start the app you'll need to hit the 'Profile' button and type in a name and password. As long as the name is unique, the details don't matter much. Then you can click a zone (right-click it for info) and click 'Play' to get going. The first time you enter you'll be asked for registration details - just insert an e-mail. The e-mail isn't used for spam or even verification, it's solely an emergency contact. Upon your first visit to a zone you'll need to download the map; this shouldn't take too long but you can always minimise the app while you wait. SSCU/E/X represent European, East American and West American servers respectively.
Then you can get going! The tips help you out at first, basic controls being the arrow keys, CTRL for your gun, and SHIFT+arrows for thrusters. F1 toggles a bunch of help boxes to get you started, while F2 toggles multiple displays of the score. I haven't worked them all out yet Pressing Esc allows you to spectate with F11, change ship with number keys, or press Q to quit. Alt brings up a larger radar.
In time you'll learn the other stuff like how to use the other weapons, buying stuff, setting up portals and most importantly you'll improve your technique so veterans don't just swoop by and kill you. Enjoy the game, and maybe we can even organise some sort of squad Watch your energy and good luck
To clarify, the old version is called SubSpace, now it's Continuum, and you can pick up a copy here:
http://beginners.subspace.net/downloads/continuum.exe
Gameplay in Continuum is split into multiple 'zones' - you simply select one when you start the game. Zones have themes, such as Trench Wars - where two teams have an intense fight over a single flag - or Death Star - where Imperial and Rebel starships battle inside and outside the Death Star for ownership of 100 control points.
There are 8 ship types, you can choose any you want. The first one, for instance, is reasonably fast and fires extremely fast bullets, but only one about 3 seconds. Although one-shot kill, you obviously have to get pretty good with your aiming to take out your foes. Others have upgrades such as stealth, bombs, decoys, melee attacks, warps and mines.
The key system is the 'Energy' system. Using powerups such as stealth or antiwarp decreases your energy steadily. Firing weapons, bombs, or using your afterburners (for increased speed) will also deplete your energy. Once it's run out, you can no longer use those powers! Also, attacks from the enemy take out your energy and this time if it goes below zero you die. So if you've just fired a bunch of shots you are extremely vulnerable and should take cover and recharge.
Opponents are in blue while allies are in yellow. The numbers after their names are bounties. Killing enemies or getting weapon pickups, all the while without dying, increases the bounty on you. Once killed, your killer collects that score. This creates a great environment where the best players are constantly hunted but newbies like myself can relax a bit.
There's also an original system called 'Turrets'. You can use PgUp and PgDn to select a player on the name list and press F7 to 'attach' to them. They move, but you can aim and shoot an additional weapon from them. In fact, lots of people can hop on to turn a regular ship into a fully-fledged war cannon with tons of weaponry
In the picture above all those guys are on one turret, their names stacked up to show this.As I said earlier, there's already a Star Wars-themed zone, and tons more player-created zones exist. Capture the Flag, football, hockey, domination, king of the hill, newbie zones, daily events and elimination matches await. Due to the arena system, you'll get in game messages such as 'An elimination match is starting. Type ?go elim to join!' and you can leave your current game to join these regular special events. Which makes the game have a bit more variety and fun.
The other cool feature of the game is its ludicrously exhaustive chat system, featuring multiple chat channels, team messaging, global messaging and custom password-protected squads who can co-ordinate together. You can also customise an icon to appear beside your name, if you really want to.
After you start the app you'll need to hit the 'Profile' button and type in a name and password. As long as the name is unique, the details don't matter much. Then you can click a zone (right-click it for info) and click 'Play' to get going. The first time you enter you'll be asked for registration details - just insert an e-mail. The e-mail isn't used for spam or even verification, it's solely an emergency contact. Upon your first visit to a zone you'll need to download the map; this shouldn't take too long but you can always minimise the app while you wait. SSCU/E/X represent European, East American and West American servers respectively.
Then you can get going! The tips help you out at first, basic controls being the arrow keys, CTRL for your gun, and SHIFT+arrows for thrusters. F1 toggles a bunch of help boxes to get you started, while F2 toggles multiple displays of the score. I haven't worked them all out yet
Pressing Esc allows you to spectate with F11, change ship with number keys, or press Q to quit. Alt brings up a larger radar.In time you'll learn the other stuff like how to use the other weapons, buying stuff, setting up portals and most importantly you'll improve your technique so veterans don't just swoop by and kill you. Enjoy the game, and maybe we can even organise some sort of squad
Watch your energy and good luck 
