#026 GAD BA5: Gameplay and Game Modes

Taking my own experiences of RTS, I've formulated a brief but detailed outline of the game-play as well as Game Modes. The game play is pretty much a generic RTS style, as explained below. The game modes are fairly limited, but I've stuck to two modes that are fairly similar to each other, just with a different end objective.

Gameplay:
Gameplay typically requires the player to construct a base and acquire resources, in order to fund the ongoing production of various types of forces with which to assault and conquer the opponent's base. All available structures of the house chosen by the player are constructed on-site with materials gathered by the player.

Materials, or resources, are gathered via a specialised mine which tunnels directly down branching out like a tree root to gather as much resources as possible. The resources gathered are then processed and stored in a refinery, ready to be used to build Mech Warriors or structures. Refinery's must be placed within a radius of the mine and a bonus is given when a refinery is placed in the radios of multiple mines.

Fusion Reactors provide the players base with power, without adequate power the base will cut down on non-essential systems until additional Fusion Reactors are created. Power provides the player with multiple advances, such as Radar, which reveals the mini-map as well as detects incoming attacks.

Players can construct a Mech Factory, which allows them to build light to heavy Mech Warriors. Later on players can build a Mech Engineering Facility, which then allows them to build the much heavier, superior Assault Mechs.

All houses have the same technology, being only half a decade into the war, so no advantage is given to a player who chooses a specific faction over another. There are a variety of structures and units which provide a range of tactical opportunities.


Game Modes:
Conquer:
The most simple of game modes, the player constructs and builds up their base to achieve the objective of destroying their enemies base and forces. The mode supports up to 12 players at once, depending on the map choice and game settings.

Capture:
Capture is a similar game mode to Conquer, except for the main objective is to capture your opponents base by having units within a radius of the enemies main base structure (command module). The enemy can counter your attempt to capture it by either destroying your units, or having more units than yours within the radius.

Sandbox:
In Sandbox mode the player can construct and build up their base without an opponent to hinder them. It serves no purpose other than to allow players to familiarise themselves with the game and see what structures and units can be unlocked within the game.