What is Starfare?
Starfare literally plays in its very own universe. In the future mankind encounters another lack of resources which eventually leads into war. In the aftermath, the people of the earth find an alternate source to satisfy their need for resources: Asteroids that contain energy-rich materials.
The Asteroids
Two types of asteroids can be found in Starfare: Those which contain Radon and those which are covered with Silicea. In order to construct units there is both needed as well as Power, which is generated by power plants. In order to capture an asteroid and generate resources from it, there must be a mining unit deployed on the asteroid. Each asteroid can only have one mining unit on it - A basic task in Starfare is to locate an destroy hostile mining units and deploy the own ones on their asteroids.
Players that are unable to acquire both types can construct a trade center to exchange resources paying 50% trade fee.
The fractions
There are four of them and each one has slightly different unit attributes as well as one unique unit.
The Eurasian Union
Known for their high-developed plating technologies, the EU is the first fraction to play with in the campaign. All units of that fraction have more hitpoints which makes them harder to destroy. The unique unit of the EU is a static shield generator that absorbs any damage inflicted by hostile units.
The African Concordat
This fraction is quite the balanced one. Their combat attributes are a little bit of everything - Hitpoints, speed, damage. The special unit is a mobile repair unit which makes this fraction a valueable team partner.
The Asian Confederation
Just like a ninja, the Asian Confederation has a speed bonus for their units which is especially useful in an early match when everyone rushes out to find the asteroids. A cloak-field emitting ship is the special the special unit of this fraction - Excellent for hit-and-run attacks.
The Western Alliance
Encountered as the last fraction in the campaign, the Western Alliance shows its aggressive character: The battle attribute is additional damage. Plus, their unique unit is a strong assault cruiser.
The game modes
Aside from the campaign there is the custom game mode to play a simple deathmatch game. In that mode, the teams can be fully customized as well as their members. For example, the AI strength and the fraction can be changed individually for each participant. Some global settings can be also be defined: The number of asteroids in the game as well as their movement speed.
The upcoming battle system
In the next major update of Starfare (1.0.7) there will be an enhanced battle system. Each unit will have assigned a particular weapon type that comes along with a corresponding armor type. Thus, a unit can be stronger or weaker against another one in the battle:
| Counter-Deflection weapons / Heavy-Plating armor | Plate-Piercing weapons / Polarization armor | Anti-Polarization weapons / Deflection armor | |
| Counter-Deflection weapons / Heavy-Plating armor | 1x | 0.5x | 1.5x |
| Plate-Piercing weapons / Polarization armor | 1.5x | 1x | 0.5x |
| Anti-Polarization weapons / Deflection armor | 0.5x | 1.5x | 1x |
Written by ZaP on 2010-02-01 19:20:35
