SubSpace (video game)

"Continuum (computer game)" redirects here. For the 1990 3D game, see Alpha Waves. For the 1999 role-playing game, see Continuum (role-playing game).
SubSpace: The Internet Game
Developer(s) Burst, Virgin Interactive
Publisher(s) Virgin Interactive
Director(s) Michael Simpson
Producer(s) Rod Humble
Designer(s) Virgin Interactive
Programmer(s)
  • Jeff Peterson
  • Jerod M. Bennett
  • Robin Keir
Artist(s) Juan L. Sanchez
Composer(s)
  • David Fries
  • Mical Pedriana
Platform(s) Windows
Release date(s) December 1997
Genre(s) Action
Mode(s) Multiplayer

SubSpace is a two-dimensional space shooter computer game created in 1995 and finally released in 1997 by Virgin Interactive Entertainment (VIE)[1] which was a finalist for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Online Game of the Year Award in 1998.[2] SubSpace incorporates quasi-realistic zero-friction physics into a massively multiplayer online game.[3] It is no longer operated by VIE; instead, fans and players of the game provide servers and technical updates.[4] The action is viewed from above, which presents challenges very different from those of a three-dimensional game. The game has no built-in story or set of goals; players may enter a variety of servers, each of which have differing objectives, maps, sounds, and graphics.

SubSpace is widely considered an early entry in the massively multiplayer online genre due to its unprecedented player counts.[5]

History

SubSpace evolved from a game originally called Sniper (1995), a project to test the effects and severity of lag in a massively multiplayer environment over dialup connections.[6] After its creators realized its viability as an actual game, public beta testing began in February, 1996, and it became fully public later that year. The game was released commercially in December 1997 with a list price of US$27.99 for unlimited play, requiring no monthly or hourly fees.[7] The game was originally developed by Burst, led by Jeff Petersen, Rod Humble and Juan Sanchez, for the US branch of the now-defunct Virgin Interactive.[8]

When the game was officially released, it was not a commercial success due to a lack of marketing and the relative newness of internet gaming. Two years of playing for free became problematic as many players refused to pay for a game that they had beta tested for two years, and instead opted to pirate the software.

SubSpace server software being distributed with the commercial release of the game allowed users to host their own servers on their own computers, enabling them to preserve the game.

Once VIE went under in 1998, many of its remaining US assets were purchased by Electronic Arts, but the SubSpace license was not. This caused all of the commercially hosted servers, including the official VIE servers, to eventually go offline permanently, and independent user-run servers became the only choice for hosting zones, including original zones previously hosted by VIE.

Gameplay

SubSpace players control one of eight ships which are equipped with weapons and a variety of special abilities. Players interact with each other in zones, which are typically split into multiple arenas.[3] Players in each arena are then divided into teams; friendly ships appear as yellow, while enemy ships appear blue. The keyboard is used exclusively for control of the ship and use of in-game chat functions.

Although each zone can have its own unique style of gameplay, certain basic gameplay mechanics are ubiquitous throughout all zones.

Map elements

Each arena uses a 1024x1024 map as the field of play. Some arenas may use the entire size of the map, while others may enclose the players in a smaller space. A coordinate system (A-T horizontal, 1–20 vertical) allows players to easily identify and communicate where they are on the map.

Maps may contain obstacles such as walls or asteroids which cannot be moved or destroyed. Maps often use gates, which open and close at random or regular intervals. If a player's ship gets caught in a gate when it closes, the ship is relocated ("warped") to a random location on the map.

Safe zones allow a players to evade enemies or simply take a break from the game. While in a safe zone, a ship cannot take damage but also cannot fire. Most safe zones have a time limit; if a player stays in a safe zone too long, he is kicked from the game and must rejoin the zone. This prevents players from camping out in a safe zone and leaving their computer idle for an extended period of time in order to maintain their state in the game.

A flag or ball may be present as well. Their importance and role in the game depend on the zone.

The most common map elements in SubSpace are prizes, or "greens" (for their green color). Prizes allow players to upgrade their ships and gain special weapons or abilities. While prizes are generally plentifully scattered throughout the map, the upgrades or abilities they award are randomly selected by the zone.

Energy

Rather than dealing with ammunition counts and hit points separately, SubSpace combines both of these elements into a single unit of measure: energy. Each ship is equipped with a certain amount of energy, from which it must draw its health as well as its weapons power. When a ship's energy is reduced from its capacity (whether from firing weapons or enduring enemy fire), the ship will automatically recharge back to its maximum capacity over a period of time; however, sustained weapons fire or enemy fire will inevitably cause the energy to drop lower.

Once the ship's energy drops below zero, the ship is destroyed and the player is respawned elsewhere in the area. Any upgrades, weapons, or special abilities are lost. The energy mechanic forces players to be cautious of their energy usage, as reckless weapons fire could result in a quick death.

It is usually not possible for players to commit suicide; if a player's own weapon causes more damage than that player has energy, his energy will simply be reduced to zero and begin recharging. However, suicide was possible in early beta versions of the game and the offline practice mode included with the original SubSpace client.

Ship Control

Thrust (Up for forward, Down for reverse) and rotation (Left for counter-clockwise, Right for clockwise) make up the basic movement of the ship. Ships maintain inertia once they are set in motion and cannot be brought to a complete stop except when in a safe zone. In addition, ships experience inelastic collisions with walls and asteroids but do not take damage from them. Ships do not collide with each other.

Players achieve their ship's top speed by maintaining thrust. Each ship is also equipped with afterburners (Shift+Up/Down) which allow the ship to exceed its typical top speed; however, this gradually drains the ship's energy. When afterburners are disengaged, the ship's inertia returns to its normal top speed, not its speed with afterburners.

Ships can instantly warp (Ins) to a random location on the map. This action requires the ship to be at full energy, and its energy is totally drained once the warp is complete, although the ship will begin recharging its energy immediately.

Ships may also attach to other friendly ships. In this scenario, the attaching ship loses thrust control and becomes a weapons turret on the back of another ship. This is technically achieved by performing a warp, thus requiring full energy to attach and draining energy in the process. A turret ship takes damage like a normal ship and may detach at any time. In addition, a ship carrying turrets may detach one or all of them at any time.

Scoring

Players primarily increase their score by killing other players. Each ship has a bounty, which is increased by collecting prizes, killing enemies, or other in-game mechanics. When a ship is killed, its bounty is added to the killer's score.

Each zone implements its own scoring system and may award bonuses for certain achievements.

Competitive Play

Many SubSpace players are organized into squads. These squadrons serve the same purpose as clans or teams do in other online games and allow players to cooperate and improve their skills, as well as to become more familiar with fellow players. In addition, many squads compete in competitive leagues hosted by various zones. Dueling is another favorite pastime and many zones have separate arenas for this purpose alone.

Ships

Within any given zone, a player can choose between up to eight different ships:[9] Warbird, Javelin, Spider, Leviathan, Terrier, Weasel, Lancaster, and Shark.[10]

Standard VIE Settings

Standard VIE Settings, SVS for short, (also referred to as Standard SubSpace Settings[7][11]) is a server configuration conforming to the physics and rules used in non-special game types hosted by Virgin Interactive Entertainment (VIE) before the company's dissolution.[12] The term is sometimes used informally to describe servers which seek, through other means, to preserve the spirit of the game as it was originally played.

Zones

SubSpace is unique in that the gameplay can vary depending on the zone. Some zones are just free-for-all style gameplay, while others are capture the flag, or even powerball style.[13] Zones typically have multiple public arenas, whose settings and maps are the same, which players are automatically distributed to upon joining the server. This serves to reduce crowding in highly populated arenas.

There are also numerous sub-arenas in SubSpace, and these sub-arenas can at times have greater populations than the "main/public" arenas. They differ from the main public arenas, in the sense that they may have their own settings, map, graphics, and bots (if required – or modules in ASSS zones).

Flag Games

Kill Games

"Kill" games have no 'rounds' or 'games'; the objective is simply to kill as many opponents as possible while keeping one's own deaths to a minimum. The original Alpha and Chaos zones followed this basic premise.

However, some zones offer their own variants of this style of gameplay:

Ball Games

Ball games involve taking control of a ball and scoring it in the opposing team's goal. Players cannot fire weapons or warp while carrying the ball, and can only carry the ball for a few seconds. Before the ball timer runs out, they must pass the ball to a teammate (using Ins, Tab, or Ctrl keys), or the ball will shoot out from their ship in a random direction. If a player dies while carrying the ball, the ball is dropped immediately and may be picked up by anyone. A team wins a game when they achieve a certain number of goals, or the game may be timed, with the highest-scoring team winning when time expires.

Customization

A zone is a server to which players can connect using a client. Perhaps the most attractive feature of SubSpace is the extremely high degree of customization that zone sysops can implement. Almost every element of the game can be replaced, from the ship graphics to colors and sounds. Apart from a few basic settings, many game settings, such as ship speeds, energy levels, and such, can be changed. This allows a vast variety of zones to exist.

Game software

SubSpace utilizes a client–server architecture. Initially, both the client and server were provided by VIE. The client executable was titled SubSpace while the server was called SubGame. A new client, titled Continuum, was created by reverse engineering without access to the original source code by the players PriitK and Mr Ekted (one of the creators of Kazaa).[7] The original server software, heavily modified, is still the most common, although an open source alternative, A Small Subspace Server, is now available.

Continuum client

Continuum Interface

Continuum, first released in 2001, was developed as a clone of the SubSpace client, but now contains new original features exclusive to the client over the original. Continuum is the official client of the SubSpace Central Billing Server. It was developed primarily because of the original SubSpace client's failure to prevent hacking. As such, it has been adopted by several zones as a requirement in order to play.

A Small SubSpace Server

ASSS (A Small SubSpace Server) is an open source server designed for use on Linux and other Unix-like operating systems, but can be configured for use on Microsoft Windows.[15] Both are downloadable from Bitbucket.[16] ASSS is under active development.

Re-release

Continuum was released in digital distribution on Steam on July 3, 2015.[17][18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.getcontinuum.com/ Retrieved January 30, 2008
  2. ↑ "The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences :: Awards". The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
  3. 1 2 http://www.subspacedownloads.com/index.php?act=what_is Retrieved January 30, 2008
  4. ↑ "NR Gaming Infantry Interview". GameSurge (originally from New Reality Gaming). September 20, 1999. Retrieved March 5, 2008.
  5. ↑ Sengstack, Jeff (January 9, 1998). "SubSpace for PC Review – PC Review SubSpace". GameSpot. Retrieved March 5, 2008.
  6. ↑ Subspace for PC Review on cnet.com (Retrieved January 30, 2008)
  7. 1 2 3 A Brief Subspace History - In the beginning there were negs... on subspace.legendzones.com (Retrieved January 30, 2008)
  8. ↑ prehistory by epinephrine on oocities.org
  9. ↑ http://play-free-online-games.com/games/subspacecontinuum.html Retrieved January 30, 2008
  10. ↑ http://subspace.legendzones.com/guide/index.php?page=ships/index.php&title=Ships Retrieved January 30, 2008
  11. ↑ Subspace Continuum – Freeware Game on beginner.getcontinuum.com
  12. ↑ SubSpaceDownloads.com – Free Online Multiplayer Action Game
  13. ↑ http://subspace.legendzones.com/guide/index.php?page=zones/index.php&title=Zones Retrieved January 30, 2008
  14. ↑ "17th Parallel " SubSpace/Continuum Zone: FAQ". 2003. Archived from the original on March 4, 2008. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
  15. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20130915234305/http://asss.yi.org/ Retrieved May 18, 2014
  16. ↑ Bitbucket repository
  17. ↑ How Fans Revived 'Subspace,' a Forgotten 20-Year-Old Game About Spaceships by Emanuel Maiberg on vice.com (July 6, 2015)
  18. ↑ http://store.steampowered.com/app/352700/
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