Software:Steel Battalion: Line of Contact

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Short description: 2004 video game
Steel Battalion: Line of Contact
North American box art
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Capcom
Director(s)Hifumi Kono
Producer(s)Atsushi Inaba
Artist(s)Sawaki Takeyasu
Composer(s)Masafumi Takada
Platform(s)Xbox
Release
  • JP: February 26, 2004
  • NA: February 26, 2004[1]
  • EU: March 26, 2004[2]
Genre(s)Vehicle simulation
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Script error: The function "nihongo_foot" does not exist. is a 2004 video game created by Capcom for the Xbox console. It is the online-only (via the Xbox Live broadband gaming service) sequel to Capcom's Steel Battalion game. The game was jointly developed by Capcom Production Studio 4[3] and Nude Maker. Gameplay is similar to that of the previous Steel Battalion game, utilizing the same two joystick, three pedal, 4 button controller.

In the game, players engage in mechanized combat using Vertical Tanks, the game terminology for very large, bipedal combat platforms. Vertical Tanks (abbreviated as VT's) are fictional vehicles that range in height from 8–15m. Vertical Tanks are the platform of choice for future combat in the year 2084.

The campaign mode for Steel Battalion: Line of Contact was taken offline on September 30, 2005.[4]

Gameplay

Gameplay is entirely online and consists of various game types such as deathmatch and capture the flag. Up to ten players (five against five) can participate, and each player must have an Xbox, Xbox Live, and a special controller to play the game. However, at this time in everywhere except Japan, matches are limited to 3 vs. 3 with some 4 vs. 4 and rare 5 vs. 5 combat. Players connecting with less than 100 kB/s upload and 300 kB/s download are usually limited to 4 on 4 or 3 on 3 combat. There are a total of 10 new VT's introduced in this game, for a total of 31 different models, but it is worth mentioning that there is no single player mode available. After having their VT destroyed during an online match, the player must go through the entire start-up process again before re-spawning onto the battlefield.

Steel Battalion: Line of Contact was an online-only expansion to the original Steel Battalion. Although the game also supports a System Link mode, the logistics of outfitting for LAN-based play are quite daunting. Each player must have an Xbox, Steel Battalion controller, game disc, and display. Due to system link support, the game can be played online through LAN tunnelling solutions such as XLink Kai. Steel Battalion: Line of Contact multiplayer is now playable online again on the replacement Xbox Live servers called Insignia.[5][6]

Before the closure of the Campaign servers, two modes of play existed for online combat: Campaign Mode and Free Mission mode.

Campaign mode

Campaign Mode took place on a persistent battlefield where up to four factions engaged in mechanized combat to control landmass areas on the fictional Southeast Asian nation of Ocean City Island. The overall campaign progress was divided into rounds, each of which would last a total of eight weeks. Each week within a Round was termed a Turn, during which three Mission maps were available to select from as the battle arena. At the beginning of each Round, on Turn one, players would be required to select a faction in which to participate. Initially, there were only two factions to select from, the Hai Shi Dao and the Pacific Rim Forces. With the arrival of Turn three, a 3rd independent faction would become available for pilots to transfer their allegiance to, the Right Brothers. Turn 5 would offer the option to transfer to the Jaralaccs Mercenary Forces. Turns would continue to progress over the eight weeks, after which the game would then return to Turn one and begin a new Round.

Each Turn would dictate the Vertical Tanks available for purchase from the Supply Bin of each faction.

Hai Shi Dao (HSD) – in Steel Battalion: Line of Contact, the Hai Shi Dao are presented as a strongly patriotic nation who are actively resisting the occupying army of the Pacific Rim Forces. HSD 1st Gen VTs: Vitzh, Vortex, m-Vitzh, Scare Face, Scare Face A1 HSD 2nd Gen VTs: Scare Face II, Maelstrom, Garpike, Behemoth HSD 3rd Gen VTs: Regal Dress N, Regal Dress A, Juggernaut

Pacific Rim Forces (PRF) – unlike in the original Steel Battalion, the sequel casts the Pacific Rim Forces in a much darker light, having them play the part of invading oppressors against the Hai Shi Dao nationalists. PRF 1st Gen VTs: Decider, Falchion, Decider Volcanic PRF 2nd Gen VTs: Prominence M1, Prominence M2, Prominence M3, Blade, Rapier PRF 3rd Gen VTs: Quasar

Right Brothers (RB) – only available after Turn three of each Round, the Right Brothers are fierce individualist freedom fighters, adept at using guerilla tactics and specialized Vertical Tank equipment to defend the native lands of their ancestors. RB 1st Gen VTs: Colt, Colt Executive RB 2nd Gen VTs: Yellow Jacket, Sheepdog, Siegeszug RB 3rd Gen VTs: Earthshaker

Jaralaccs Mercenary Forces (JAR) – the only "faction" that does not fight for its land, the Jaralaccs Mercenaries were able to participate on behalf of any faction within the context of an individual mission and individual pilots could switch their loyalties from mission-to-mission. They first enter the conflict in turn five of the round. The Vertical Tanks of the Jaralaccs were much more durable and suited to individualistic fighting tactics, but also more expensive. JAR 1st Gen VTs: Vitzh, m-Vitzh JAR 2nd Gen VTs: Jaralacss N, Jaralaccs C, Jaralaccs NS-R, Jaralaccs Macabre

  • The Jaralaccs Macabre was initially classed the 3rd generation VT during the Line of Contact BETA test period and its performance profile still reflects this lineage despite its current 2nd generation classification.

Vertical Tanks are classed across several different performance specifications, with the most generalized being Generation. 1st Generation VTs are generally slower, less responsive, and have lower armor ratings, firepower, or range. These units are generally very cheap in comparison to the later generations and are easily disposable on the battlefield. 2nd Generation VTs have increased armor, speed, and performance capabilities. 3rd Generation VTs are the epitome of VT design and performance, but also very expensive to field. The loss of 3rd generation machines within a battle would often result in defeat, however, fielding the 3rd generation VT afforded a team an advantage.

Beyond the Generation classification, VTs are further broken down by role type, which included Standard Combat, Support (artillery), Assault (frontline combat), Scout (reconnaissance), and Light (typically fast hit-and-run assault VTs).

Players participate in missions, the result of which determines the number of Supply and Command points they are awarded. Supply points are used to purchase additional Vertical Tanks from the Supply Bin of a pilot's respective faction. Command points are accrued and determine the rank of the pilot profile.

The Supply Bin for each faction could contain both "mass-produced" and "limited-edition" Vertical Tanks. The mass-produced variety was in continuous availability, whereas the limited types could only be purchased if units were available. Typically, the more powerful and expensive VTs were classed as limited. Each VT had a serial number which marked it as unique, thus allowing players to "own" specific VTs within the game world. Due to a flawed resource management design in the programming of the Campaign server, there were no facilities for reallocating limited VTs back into the active pilot community. As a result of both normal player attrition and rampant use of 2 monthly Xbox Live trial cards, innumerable limited class VTs were forever locked up against pilot profiles for Xbox Live players who no longer actively played the game. This resulted in a massive shortage of limited VTs as the game world progressed.

Players would purchase VT's from the Supply Bin to use in missions. When these VT's were not actively being fielded, they would be stored in a virtual hangar space for each player, which was retained on the Campaign server. Each VT would have both a Sortie Point and Supply Point value, the latter being the value required to purchase the VT from the Supply Bin. The Sortie Point value was a "weight" that the vehicle would debit from a team if destroyed in a battle. This value was also used to limit the number of VTs a single player could own, with a maximum of 600 Sortie Points in available hangar space being allocated to each player profile.

In the Campaign Mode, players had to purchase multiple copies of the same type of VT to remain in the conflict.

On September 30, 2005, Capcom ended the Campaign portion of Line of Contact. Free Mission mode was still supported and continued to be popular with LoC players up until April 15, 2010, when support for the original version of Xbox live was dropped, but the LAN portion of the game, which is similar to Free Mission mode, is still played online using XLink Kai.

Free mission

Free Mission mode relied only on the Xbox Live matchmaking services for players to host sessions, thus no external servers were required. Unlike Campaign Mode, Free Mission did not have a complex economy or persistent online conflict. Instead players hosted individual battle sessions using both the original campaign "Conquest" mode of play, as well as "Battle Royale" and "Capture the Container". The LAN portion of the game works similarly to the Xbox Live Free Mission mode.

Conquest

Conquest mode follows much the same formula as Campaign did, with players participating in a single battle on opposing factional sides which are chosen by the host of the session.

Capture the Container

Capture the Container is very similar to traditional Capture the Flag type play modes from other online multiplayer games, but instead of a flag, each team attempts to steal a container from their enemy's base and return it to their own to score points. Bases may be captured, as in Conquest mode, and the flag may be returned to any base their team owns. VT combat is still in play but does not directly affect the outcome of the mission other than to eventually remove opposing players from the battle by eliminating their remaining vehicles.

Battle Royale

Battle Royale is considered a training mode, in which all Vertical Tanks appear on the overall map radar view. Additionally, the game mode is "every player for themselves" in a last-player standing fashion.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic70/100[7]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Edge8/10[8]
Famitsu30/40[9]
GameSpot7.3/10[10]
GameSpyStarStarStarStar[11]
IGN8/10[12]
OXM (US)8.1/10[13]
TeamXbox9/10[14]
Maxim6/10[15]

The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[7] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one eight, two sevens, and one eight for a total of 30 out of 40.[9] In Germany the game was not playable at launch, do to crashing servers, so that magazines like GamePro Germany refused to give it a score.[16]

Notes

References

  1. ↑ "Press Releases". 2004-04-09. http://www.capcom.com/news/news.xpml?prid=450123. 
  2. ↑ "What's New?" (in en-gb). Eurogamer.net. 2004-03-26. https://www.eurogamer.net/whatsnew-260304. 
  3. ↑ "Production Studio 4" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 6, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050206023353/http://www.capcom.co.jp/studio4/index.html. 
  4. ↑ Maragos, Nick (September 6, 2005). "Round-Up: Steel Battalion Offline, Laser Mouse 6000, DMB Vs. Tiger". UBM plc. https://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=6437. 
  5. ↑ "Insignia - Steel Battalion: Line of Contact" (in en). https://insignia.live/games/43430009. 
  6. ↑ Xbox, Pure (2023-11-16). "Xbox Live 1.0 Replacement 'Insignia' Now Supports 150 Games" (in en-GB). https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/11/xbox-live-1-0-replacement-insignia-now-supports-150-games. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Steel Battalion: Line of Contact for Xbox Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/steel-battalion-line-of-contact/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox. Retrieved February 10, 2018. 
  8. ↑ Edge staff (June 2004). "Steel Battalion: Line of Contact". Edge (Future plc) (137): 107. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 IGN staff (March 17, 2004). "Gaming Life in Japan". Ziff Davis. http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/03/17/gaming-life-in-japan-207. Retrieved February 10, 2018. 
  10. ↑ MacDonald, Ryan (March 1, 2004). "Steel Battalion: Line of Contact Review". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/steel-battalion-line-of-contact-review/1900-6090381/. Retrieved February 10, 2018. 
  11. ↑ Meston, Zach (March 10, 2004). "GameSpy: Steel Battalion: Line of Contact". Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on November 2, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20051102123200/http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/steel-battalion-line-of-contact/499712p1.html. Retrieved February 10, 2018. 
  12. ↑ IGN staff (March 3, 2004). "Steel Battalion: Line of Contact". Ziff Davis. http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/03/04/steel-battalion-line-of-contact. Retrieved February 10, 2018. 
  13. ↑ "Steel Battalion: Line of Contact". Official Xbox Magazine (Future plc): 74. May 2004. 
  14. ↑ Nardozzi, Dale (March 15, 2004). "Steel Battalion: Line of Contact Review (Xbox)". IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 13, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110113092507/http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox/721/Steel-Battalion-Line-of-Contact/p1/. Retrieved February 10, 2018. 
  15. ↑ Porter, Alex (February 26, 2004). "Steel Battalion: Line of Contact". Biglari Holdings. Archived from the original on February 29, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040229191829/http://www.maximonline.com/entertainment/reviews/review_games_7045.html. Retrieved February 10, 2018. 
  16. ↑ GamePro (Germany) 07/2004 P. 120
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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