Gameplay Continued

Charge!

The first battle we visited was a one POC map just past the central crater deep in enemy territory. The battle had been going on for a bit, and once our tank’s treads hit dirt, our faction had but 5 minutes left to get the 2 minute POC. New to 1.5 for veteran SG players is a different POC system, a number of the maps have varied POC times, if a map has only one POC, it takes an extreme 2 minutes, while the maps with four or more POCs take a mere 30 seconds a piece. So while the enemy needs to take only one POC, he has to keep at least one unit on it for two minutes straight. The initial unit who took the POC can die or step off of it, but if at any time a unit steps off or all units on the POC are killed, the POC timer resets.

We began charging with our REALLYBigGuns straight to the heart of the POC. We paused for a brief moment while our allied air to air Fighters scoured the skies free from bombers. Seeing a hole in the enemy defense, we made our way in. Knowing that firepower wasn’t the key, but lasting power, we began sending in the tanks in pairs, and as our enemy blew nukes and wasted artillery ammo trying to oust each REALLYBigGun. At the end of two minutes, we had been pounded non stop with two enemy artillery batteries, had witnessed three nuclear strikes, and watched hordes of tank hunting mobile units swarm in to be countered by allied artillery. We were left with one half dead REALLYBigGun, five repairable dead tanks, one controlled POC, and one map. Victory!

Every map in Shattered Galaxy plays like the above scenario. POC control is a desperate pressing issue, allies scream at each other to haul in air to air, ground to air, air to ground to counter bombers, fighters or tanks. Every situation is entirely dynamic, and given that each player is fielding an entirely unique unit, you have no idea what to expect. As the bombers swoop in on your infantry you yell for Air to Air, but when you don’t have that, you might make a mad dash for an allied Orbus shield generator to take cover until it arrives.

Players who specialize will truly excel in their chosen situation, but the more they specialize a unit, the less they are to see the situation where they will excel. Our REALLYBigGuns for example, while excellent at POCing are regularly torn apart by tank hunting bombers with laser damage and are generally useless unless performing a POC. For defense it’s downright terrible. When we were caught off-guard after a battle and forced to field them on defense we generally had to lose or retreat to the portal to bring in new units.

Archers taking on the air.

More air engagements.

Mantas killing commandos.

Charge again!

These counter-measures are the crux of what makes Shattered Galaxy so perfect, with players in control of only a minimal number of units filling a specialized role, it becomes imperative that you apply those units to their maximum potential. Every battle players are hunting their chosen prey, and avoiding the predators that would counter their chosen role, or luring said predators back to allies for a group pounding. In this respect, Shattered Galaxy very much so inherits a major appeal from Starcraft, and that is the presence of defined counters. Levels play an issue in how strong a unit is, how great its hitpoints are, but regardless of how high of level those artillery are, a Beetle or Condor of any level will be able to take them down over time. However, the more time that artillery piece has, it has a greater chance of splitting and repositioning itself to shoot down the planes that are attacking. The same artillery could wait for a group of friendly Sharks to come over and throw some missiles into the sky, or for friendly air to air to fly over and get a few free kills.

An eliminated player will bring back the necessary units to POC, or to cover advancing armor, and a player can always message his overlord and have him shout for backup in a chosen role. As such the field is always dynamic, when you eliminate a player you will always wonder what he is bringing back to the field, and when you clear the skies, there is still always a wonder of what those players may be returning with, or what reinforcements may bring.

And the commandos are saved by allied AA.

Charging a POC.

Woo woo!

For the overlord

The teamplay elements on the battlefield are staggering in how effective and simple they are. Off of the battlefield there is still just as much going on. Players, should they so choose, can spend a good amount of time politicking and discussing strategy on the built in message boards Nexon provides, or by chatting it up in their capital. Eventually the player may become Overlord or a council member, and can direct other players and strategize an opposing faction’s demise. So even when you are retired from making a name for yourself on the battlefield, you can apply that name off of the field and lead other players to victory. This gives even further depth not only a long term replay value, but also that Overlords play a quintessential role in communication between players.

Moreover, when one becomes frustrated with the newbies around on your first planet, you can move on to the next planet, and engage with the veterans of Shattered Galaxy (12-30th level and 30-60th level) who have been playing the game for far longer, and don’t accept newbie incompetence.