Software:WarBreeds

From HandWiki
WarBreeds
Developer(s)Red Orb Entertainment
Publisher(s)Red Orb Entertainment, Broderbund
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
Genre(s)Real-time strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

WarBreeds is a real-time strategy video game developed and published by Red Orb Entertainment and Broderbund. The game is set in a far off galaxy where the humanoid amphibian race called the Yedda have died out due to famine, disease and civil war, leaving their four former servitor races to fight for supremacy for their planet. WarBreeds features the ability to fully customise the warriors with many types of weapons which provide over 35,000 unique combinations. The central theme and mechanic of the game is genetic engineering.

Gameplay

WarBreeds includes skirmishes, a multiplayer mode, and campaigns. WarBreeds has four playable sides, only two of which are playable in campaign mode. As the campaign progresses, another side joins with the player, providing more depth in what they do with their warriors.

WarBreeds provides a different concept on construction of units and buildings as compared with other real time strategy games. WarBreeds allows the player to create many units and structures, but it limits the player on the amount of structures by making them harvest power from spore pods. Although other RTS games use units to gather resources like food, lumber, gold, Vespene gas, Tiberium, etc., resources in WarBreeds are harvested by buildings at a constant rate based on the abundance of resources within a certain radius of those buildings. The player is also limited on how many units they can create.

A major gameplay factor in WarBreeds is the ability to collect DNA from dead enemies, thereby gaining their technologies. Players can gain access to alternate tech trees in some other RTS games, but only Warbreeds makes it a constant, crucial part of gameplay.

Clans

There are four playable clans in Warbreeds, each with their own characteristics. Each race has its own variant of Shaman (the builder/tech class used to plant crops and create structures), and then four units. The game's setting establishes that the Tanu, Kelika, and Sen-Soth were created as servitor races to the Yedda, the first sapient inhabitants of the planet Aeolia; then a group of Yedda religious reactionaries tried to create a prophesied holy warrior—the Magha'Re. The Magha, however, proved to be homicidal and ran the Yedda almost to extinction. The three other races quickly adapted to the Yedda technology, revealing themselves to be far more intelligent than their creators had intended, and became viable competition to the Magha, engaging in a four-way war.

The Tanu campaign mode has the Kelika as eventual allies, and the Magha's campaign has them eventually enslave the Sen-Soth.

Tanu

The saurian Tanu are all reptilian and have orange as a dominant color. Their units are the fastest movers. Their units are the Scouts (bipedal, swift-moving, fragile units who can mount two weapons), Raptors (a more warlike Scout who can take a head-mounted weapon as well as arm-weapons, as well as having an increase in resilience), Ophidians (large, four-legged creatures who take two shoulder mounts and a head mount; fast speed and moderate armor), and the dirigible Jubjub, which has a natural light laser weapon. The Tanu's indigenous tech includes defensive structures and most melee weapons.

Kelika

The elephantine or cetacean Kelika are blue with some purple. They tend to be slow, but they can take a beating. Their units are the Thumper (small, fast-moving creature with a natural buzzsaw attack), the Mongrel (gangly bipedal creature), the Behemoth (similar to an Ophidian, but slower and with more armor), and the mighty Leviathan (notable for being one of two units in the game which can take four arm-weapons, their spinning attack, and also for the phenomenal amount of punishment they can endure). The Kelika's indigenous tech includes an eclectic array of structures and armaments, including at the highest level the Summoner structure and the Missile limb-weapon, two of the most powerful weapons in the game.

Sen-Soth

The insectoid Sen-Soth are colored purple, yellow, and green. Their units tend to be relatively fragile, but are moderately quick, and have very fast development times, allowing them to quickly grow formidable numbers of troops. They include the lightly armed Snipe, the quadrupedal Myrmidon, the giant Dhuganaya (the other unit with four weapon mounts), and the flying Aphid (the only flying unit which allows the player to choose its weapons). The Sen-Soth's indigenous tech includes helpful support structures, perception enhancing Eyestalks, and good ranged weapons.

Magha

Unlike the other three races, the Magha have no immediate counterpart, apart from looking demonic or devilish. Their units are characterized by red and white, and two of their units have a stealth feature; after being out of combat for a short period of time, the Shadows and Reavers become invisible to the enemies. Their units are the four-legged Shadows, the bladed-armed Dervishes (who attack by spinning their arms like a circular saw), the tall, bipedal Reavers, and the aerial Vipers, who function as bombardiers. The Magha's indigenous tech includes landmines, teleporters, whips, and explosive weapons including the kamikaze.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings62%[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGSPStarStar[5]
CGWStarStarStarHalf star[6]
GameSpot6.6/10[7]
GameStar32%[8]
Hyper63%[9]
PC Gamer (US)50%[10]
PC PowerPlay54%[11]
PC Zone80%[2]

The game received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "News for March 23, 1998". March 23, 1998. http://ogr.com/news/news0398.html. ""March 23, 1998: Several new titles have been spotted in stores, including WarBreeds from Red Orb Entertainment..."" 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hill, Steve (March 1998). "WarBreeds". PC Zone (Dennis Publishing) (61): 80–81. https://archive.org/details/PC_Zone_61_March_1998/page/n81/mode/2up. Retrieved January 23, 2021. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "WarBreeds for PC". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/199254-warbreeds/index.html. 
  4. ↑ Dembo, Arinn (May 19, 1998). "WarBreeds". CNET. http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-1718,00.html. 
  5. ↑ Ingram, Greg (May 6, 1998). "WarBreeds". Strategy Plus, Inc.. http://www.cdmag.com/articles/011/136/warbreeds_review.html. 
  6. ↑ May, Scott A. (July 1998). "Bred for Success (WarBreeds Review)". Computer Games Magazine (Ziff Davis) (168): 189, 191, 193. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_168.pdf. Retrieved January 23, 2021. 
  7. ↑ Krol, Scott (May 5, 1998). "WarBreeds Review [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000""]. CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/warbreeds-review/1900-2531807/. 
  8. ↑ "WarBreeds" (in de). GameStar (Webedia). March 1998. 
  9. ↑ Nathan (July 1998). "Warbreeds [sic"]. Hyper (Next Media Pty Ltd) (57): 72. https://archive.org/details/hyper-057/page/72/mode/2up. Retrieved January 23, 2021. 
  10. ↑ McDonald, T. Liam (July 1998). "Warbreeds [sic"]. PC Gamer (Imagine Media) 5 (7). http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/127.html. Retrieved January 23, 2021. 
  11. ↑ Jones, Gareth (July 1998). "Warbreeds [sic"]. PC PowerPlay (Next Media Pty Ltd) (26): 88. https://archive.org/details/PCPowerplay-026-1998-07/page/n87/mode/2up. Retrieved January 23, 2021. 
  • 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 lengthy 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]

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. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari




Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:WarBreeds&oldid=739256"