Brain Candy #101 - Who's Afraid of the Cosmic Needle Men?

Sometimes, I get surprised. I find new variations on old things on the web that interest me. Way back in Brain Candy #20, I wrote about games and gaming on the Internet. A few weeks ago, I was cruising the Steve Jackson Games website (www.sjgames.com), one of the sites I mentioned in my previous article, and found a curious opportunity. I managed to visit the site a few hours before they launched an open alpha test of a game called Ultracorps. Alpha testing is essentially first contact of a software application with significant numbers of real users. As in any alpha test, there are no guarantees. In theory, anything, including very bad things, can happen during alpha testing. Code in alpha test is beginning to look presentable, but it needs polish, and some nasty bugs can still be lurking within. The alpha test provides the polish and helps identify the bugs. Now alpha testing a variation of a browser-based game that has been acquired from the biggest software house on the planet (Steve Jackson Games acquired and revamped Ultracorps from Microsoft) is nowhere near as gutsy as alpha testing operating system software. In all likelihood, the worst thing that would happen is that the game would crash or lock up after I've invested some time in it. In reality, nothing bad happened and I got an early look at something that I'll probably spend a bit of cash and time on once it goes into production.

Ultracorps is a game of space conquest. The first phase of open alpha testing was for solo play, designed both to flesh out bugs in the software, and teach the new players the game system. The goal was to take possession of all of the planets in a 12 or 13 planet system. Most people interpreted this as a race, and a leaderboard was kept of the fastest times for conquest. A player chooses one of fourteen races, which determines his starting force structure. I was, in turn, an Ectonian (kinda sorta human), an Entradishar (like something from a Simpsons' cartoon), a SxullBorg ("Resistance is futile"), and a Zenrin commander ("Use the Force, Luke.") There are over 50 types of unit that a commander can build. Some are base model units, which can be upgraded with add-ons. Some are space capable (fast or slow), while others must be carried. Some are fodder units, meant to be produced in large numbers to shield other more valuable units. Some units are especially favored in combination with other units, or in defensive situations. A few are non-combat units - cargo transports or scanner units.

The two resources used to create units are population and Ultranium - these are produced each turn from each planet you control. Each unit has a cost in Ultranium and a complexity, which represents population required to produce it. Zenrin War Monks are very cheap - in a static economy, it's the second cheapest combat unit (after the mostly defensive Sentinels of Garsasso), easy to build in large numbers, but not a very effective combat unit - a classic fodder unit. However, if I'm willing to pay the prices, I can apply one, two, or three sequential upgrades to a War Monk, making it a Fighter, Warrior and with the third upgrade, it becomes a Zenrin Master, one of the most powerful units in the game, a frightfully expensive one, too. Another wrinkle - the production version of the game plans to field a dynamic economy. If lots of players are building War Monks this turn, their cost in Ultranium will be considerably higher next turn. Conversely, unpopular units go down in their Ultranium cost (complexity never changes). The kilometer-tall Infinita, ridiculously expensive at first, becomes a bargain at half price, while Nozama Fighters, fairly capable fodder units, would be quite pricy at twice their initial bargain cost. One other factor that needs to be considered - some units are selective, attacking only opponents' fighting units, while others take a severe toll on the population of the target planet. Generally, you don't want to wipe out the population of a planet you wish to acquire, since, if you win, they'll work for you. As defensive units, however, these anti-population units don't have this disadvantage, and there are occasionally tactical reasons for depopulating a planet you are attacking (if you can't win or hold it, for instance.)

The keys to succeeding in the game are growth, managing the changing economic model, and above all, diplomacy. Many of these play-by-mail and browser-based games turn out to be primarily exercises in diplomacy. You can try to fight everyone, but it's better to cooperate with some, so as to more effectively fight others. From what I've read in the game forums, players have long memories and treason stands you in poor stead in future games. The only thing worse than being completely surrounded by enemies, one player wrote, is to be completely surrounded by friends.

Anyway, open alpha testing is scheduled to begin soon for group play. Soon might mean tomorrow, or in six months, although I'm expecting something to happen before the end of the year. The testing is open to anyone who wishes to participate, and is free. The open alpha testing period for solo play only lasted two days, but that was for "go at your own rate" play, while the group game will probably be timed at one turn per day. The anticipated duration of a game is 30 turns, so each game will last for a month. I expect that they may start three or four games separated by one week intervals. From what I've been able to infer, the production game may allow thousands of players in a single game, although of course, you'll not see so many in your little corner of the universe. Especially if you get crushed quickly. You did build an Orn Moon Gun to avoid that possibility, didn't you? Would you like to be my friend?