Empire of the Eclipse - An online strategy game of epic proportions.

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by LeeDot, Dec 16, 2010.

  1. LeeDot

    LeeDot Well-Known Member

    Apr 22, 2010
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    #1 LeeDot, Dec 16, 2010
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2011
    Hi everyone, here's the official press release and full feature description!
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    Zarksoft Games Announces Empire of the Eclipse


    First True MMO Strategy Experience for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad
    Available Q1 2011


    (San Francisco, CA) January 4, 2011 -- Zarksoft Games, comprised of developers credited with working on the Unreal, Diablo and Star Trek franchises, is pleased to announce Empire of the Eclipse, an online real-time strategy game of epic proportions that can be played anywhere, anytime. By handcrafting Empire of the Eclipse for Apple's iOS family of devices, Zarksoft has achieved a level of interactivity, depth and responsiveness not found in the App Store to date.

    "As long time fans of games like Civilization and Master of Orion, we've worked diligently to make a game that lives up to the standards set by those milestone titles," said Lee Dotson, President, Zarksoft. "Empire of the Eclipse also brings accessibility and massively multiplayer capabilities to mobile devices."

    Key Features:
    • Massively Multiplayer: Fight, trade, scheme and vie for universal domination with up to 1500 other players per game.
    • Epic Universe: Games can range in size from 2,500 to 90,000 sectors. Explore, conquer and exploit hundreds of thousands of planets.
    • Explore: Fog of war and dynamically generated universes require exploration and reconnaissance, key components of the empire building experience.
    • Streamlined Interface: Jump to any controlled planet or fleet from anywhere in the galaxy with just a few touches.
    • Diplomacy: Enact a state of Peace, War or Embargo with other players. A rich array of interpersonal player dynamics awaits.
    • Many Ways to Win: Win by the application of brute force or economic superiority. Transcend the stars or collect ancient alien artifacts. Whether warmonger, diplomat or explorer, there are always ways to win.
    • Skill Trees: Utilize a diverse and flexible selection of 40 skills to uniquely tailor and individualize an interstellar empire.
    • Player Communication: Robust in-game mail and chat systems feature private channels and item attachments to better facilitate trade and covert operations.

    Retina Display: Stunning visuals are tailor-made to support both Retina and traditional iPhone displays.

    • Universal: A single account may login from any i-device you or anyone else owns.
    • Fair Play: Players cannot purchase their way to victory. Robust server side gameplay ensures a fair and competitive play experience for all.

    Set in the distant future, Empire of the Eclipse tasks players with establishing an interstellar empire and using diplomacy, economic acumen and conquest to thrive. Empire of the Eclipse will be available Q1 2011 for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch mobile devices.

    Click to view the full retina display images.​


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    ABOUT ZARKSOFT
    Zarksoft was founded in 2010 by industry veterans Tina Lawton, Lee Dotson, Jeff Lawton, and Jeff Williams whose previous work includes contributions to Diablo 3, Unreal Championship 2, American McGee's Alice, Anachronox, Hellgate: London, Star Trek Online and more titles. Zarksoft retains a passion for creating dynamic multiplayer environments and has a fierce commitment to independent development.

    www.zarksoft.com
     
  2. Juicebox_R

    Juicebox_R Well-Known Member

    Oct 5, 2009
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    Well that looks amazing but I hope you add an option to play against computers. Hopefully this is like GalCiv and I will be following this one closely!
     
  3. LeeDot

    LeeDot Well-Known Member

    Apr 22, 2010
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    Hi Juice -

    In terms of what the game is like I'd place in somewhere between GalCiv and Neptune's Pride. We've tried to aim more for depth than complexity so while there are things like tech trees, resource gathering, trade, and building of various type of ships and orbitals around your planets you won't have to worry about controlling pollution levels and population morale for every planet, etc.

    As for AI opponents we're currently focused on making an in depth online game that revolves primarily around player interaction. What is it that makes AI opponents a more desirable option for you? (ie. Limited connectivity, player cheating / griefing, limited time commitments, etc..)
     
  4. dansu

    dansu Well-Known Member

    Feb 27, 2009
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    Your screenshots look nice but I would also like to see a single player mode. It's difficult for me to get nice, big chunks of interruption-free game playing time (I'm part of that dad gamer demographic someone mentioned in another thread :) ) so it's nice to be able to save a game in progress and then pick up where I left off sometime later.

    Also, if this game has the depth of something like MOO, wouldn't it be kind of difficult to finish an online game in realtime? You might need to implement some kind of turn-based game playing mechanic for players who can't commit to huge amounts of continuous playing time.
     
  5. Juicebox_R

    Juicebox_R Well-Known Member

    Oct 5, 2009
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    This game sounds great! For me sometimes I don't have time or the patience to play against other people. I want to be able to start a game and then play it at my own leisure. Also I want to be able to play the game when there aren't people online.
     
  6. CerenPL

    CerenPL Well-Known Member

    Mar 25, 2010
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    Game looks great but sadly no singleplayer no buy :/
     
  7. LeeDot

    LeeDot Well-Known Member

    Apr 22, 2010
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    Ah, ok - I think some of the issue may be a matter of miscommunication on my part. So while Empire of the Eclipse does run in real time it's over a period of weeks/months and the game world is persistent much like EVE - the key difference that your fleets continue to en route to their destinations, harvesters and freighters run their trade routes, etc. even when you're offline and of course unlike games like EVE someone eventually wins and that instance of the world ends. Another example would be to think of it as playing Civ but your moves are based on timers instead of waiting on other people to take there turns. Given that there can be up to 1500 people playing on a server I really don't think you'd want to go with the turn based method. ;)

    So in terms of time commitment it's very much intended to be something where you log in on a coffee break, check on your empire, set a few things in motion and then go back to work. Hopefully with that kind of pacing EotE should work out well for 'Dad Gamers' - which is fortunate considering that two thirds of our developers fall into that category and it would be really sad if we couldn't play our own game. :)

    One of the other issues with having an offline single player version of the game running along side the online version is that it would open us up to all kinds of hacks/cheats that could ruin the game. As it currently stands the game runs entirely server side with the iphone/ipod touch/ipad acting merely as a client that doesn't have any information about the universe layout / locations of players, etc.
     
  8. Marcus70

    Marcus70 Well-Known Member

    Dec 7, 2010
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    #8 Marcus70, Dec 17, 2010
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2010
    Looks like a fun strategy game and I like the artwork of the ships. Alas, it's no purchase for me either, unless you put in a single player option.
     
  9. dansu

    dansu Well-Known Member

    Feb 27, 2009
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    Oh, your game is different from what I expected but it still sounds very interesting. I guess you are borrowing elements of game play from Farmville, We Rule, etc.?

    Playing against 1,500 players sounds fun, especially since there can be only one eventual winner. (Highlander, anyone?) But how can you make sure everyone starts out on equal footing if people are joining a game at different times? I guess you would group players together who start at roughly the same time?
     
  10. BravadoWaffle

    BravadoWaffle Well-Known Member

    Sep 25, 2010
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    This looks incredible! I'm loving the casual Massive multiplayer strategy vibe it has going for it. Would work well as a F2P game with ads and/or with an in game store (though this would have to be done carefully I'm sure)

    It's exactly the same kind of vibe for a game I was looking to design as well. Gonna keep close tabs on this one!
     
  11. Zark

    Zark Member

    Dec 18, 2010
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    #11 Zark, Dec 18, 2010
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2010
    I am another one of the devs for EotE, I thought I would just chime in here. Basically the server engine creates a new game, and after a few days if the game server fills, or a deadline is met it will create a universe specifically designed to match the amount of people entered in the game. Then that server is closed, and a new server opens.

    So once a game starts it is locked down till either one of the game scenarios are met, or the game expires in which case points are used to determine the winner.

    Games are designed to run about 2 months. With a game ending it allows us to make mods in the server code for future games to fix any extreme imbalances we encounter in a game. While a game is running we would prefer not to touch the game in progress, unless there was something major, like a hack.

    We also have the ability to allow players to create their own servers and invite their friends, and then open a server to the public if they wish. The architecture allows for a great deal of flexibility in game play.

    The games themselves can support anywhere from 30-5000 players in a single game. Although for starters we plan on setting it to around a 1500 player max per game.

    The universe is dynamically generated for every single game, so no 2 games will be alike, and it is generated according to the player count. The more players in a game, the bigger the universe.

    We have spent a lot of time working on getting the server architecture right to make sure the game response time is quick so you don't feel like you are waiting on server responses. It was designed from the ground up to give it a real MMO type server and not a web based server.

    Of course I'm biased though. :) I have to be.

    On a side note, we do have servers running that we call "tutorial" servers. Basically they are open servers you can join to test play the game in. Kind of like a test server. People can join that server at anytime, but it's prone to resets, so while technically someone could finish a game, it would be highly unlikely that anyone would reach an end game scenario before a reset. Tutorial servers are more for learning the basics of the game while you wait for a server to start.

    You can join multiple games if you like, so you could be playing in a few games at a time if you desired.
     
  12. dansu

    dansu Well-Known Member

    Feb 27, 2009
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    That sounds great! I was kind of worried about players who want to move at a faster pace but, you're right, those kind of players can just play in more than one game instance. It'll be like playing multiple chess games against different players simultaneously.

    I have a different idea for your tutorial server - why don't you just let players join a game in progress (but not too close to ending)? They may have a slim chance of winning but most players won't expect to win on their first try and I believe the best way to learn is to join a real game and watch how experienced players play.
     
  13. 7h30n

    7h30n Well-Known Member

    Jun 8, 2010
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    This seems interesting. Reminds me about that browser based game: O-game. I hope it will be more close to GalCiv or SotSE than O-game though.
     
  14. Zark

    Zark Member

    Dec 18, 2010
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    More like GalCiv, the simplest explanation is similar to Civilization, but against other people, and instead of turns your moves, training, building etc are time based, so you don't get stuck on waiting for other people to move.. O-Game is just a browser based game.

    We have tried to keep the game fairly fast paced, and as the game progresses the pace picks up. As you capture more planets, and place colonies you can build in more locations, or use various locations to harvest from.

    You can trade, or attack your neigbours to increase your territory. There is plenty to do in any downtime.

    We wanted to play a decent strategy game on mobile devices that used real servers for a back end, not a simple web back end. Hopefully we have found a balance that people will enjoy.
     
  15. Nullroar

    Nullroar Well-Known Member

    Jan 6, 2010
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    Munich
    This seems like it could be amazing.

    /Crosses fingers.
     
  16. Zark

    Zark Member

    Dec 18, 2010
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    I would imagine we will end up with people that enjoy the complexity of managing more than one empire. In the latter part of the game (the last 4 weeks) you will be building quite a bit faster, and probably exploring/conquering worlds, or searching out the artifacts.

    Part of the issue that arises is there would be no where to place someone. When the universe is created people are assigned a random starting location. The universe is made up of a fixed size based on the amount of players supported by the game. In the case of a normal game for 1500 users the grid is 300x300 in size (90,000 locations). A tutorial server is larger, 500x500, but it still has a similar maximum for player starting locations (it's set to around 5000 players / tutorial server). If we were to allow a game to progress far along, to just have a few players consuming the majority of the tutorial server could cause issues for new players.

    Now this doesn't mean that we have not considered larger servers. The system is designed to support 30,000 people in a single game, perhaps for high end tournaments or something in the future.

    We'll see how things go, and what people do on the tutorial servers.
     
  17. LeeDot

    LeeDot Well-Known Member

    Apr 22, 2010
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    #17 LeeDot, Jan 5, 2011
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2011
    Official Press release

    Nothing to see here - realized it made more sense to move the press release up to the front of the thread. :)
     
  18. kraivyne

    kraivyne Well-Known Member

    Dec 19, 2008
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    Great! Just what the doctor ordered. I was waiting for a game like this to hit the app store.

    If the game is half of what you say it will be, you have a day one buyer waiting for you.

    Next up... Release date? :0
     
  19. Dazarath

    Dazarath Well-Known Member

    Mar 21, 2010
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    The first thing I thought of when I saw the screenshots was MoO, and then I read the description. If this is anything like MoO, I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for this game.
     
  20. Zark

    Zark Member

    Dec 18, 2010
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    Some of the basic elements are drawn from MoO as well as other games. The biggest difference was trying to bring in all those elements to a touch system and make it easy to control and manage your empire.

    When you get to the point where you own 100s of planets, fleets, ships, etc.. the big question was how to we create something on the iDevices to manage that.

    Pretty much everything in the game is within a couple of touches, jumping from a planet to the planet details, or the system the planet is in.. same goes for ships, fleets and what not.. Hopefully people like what we have put together.

    Always open to suggestions or thoughts about game play either here or on our forums.
     

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