Allegiance (computer game)

Allegiance is a multiplayer - computer game , which over the Internet can be played. Allegiance is an action-heavy mixture of space flight simulation and real-time strategy game that requires the players to carry out activities in a coordinated manner. This concept was relatively new at the time and it was the first pure online game from Microsoft.

Story of the game

Allegiance was distributed worldwide by Microsoft beginning March 16, 2000. It is based on the Xerox Alto game AltoTrek . Microsoft Research used the development of this game to become familiar with the DirectX API. In 2000, the game was named Best Game No One Played by GameSpot . After the game had no commercial success, the official servers, which were part of the MSN Gaming Zone, were shut down in 2002 . With the help of Microsoft Research, however, it was quickly possible for the fan base to provide the necessary infrastructure for the game itself. The highlight of this support, however, was ultimately the release of the source code under a shared source license in 2004. With this, the community of players took over the support and further development of the game, which continues to this day. In July 2017, Microsoft changed the license again. The source code is now available to everyone under the MIT license .

Game description

There are several game modes including Deathmatch, Capture the flag and many more. The most popular is the Conquest mode.

The aim in Conquest mode is to explore the map, control sectors, mine resources, research technologies in order to ultimately defeat the opposing team or teams. Each team has a commander who manages the money and the non-player controlled vehicles and coordinates the team. The map consists of several sectors that are connected by so-called alephs ( wormholes ). Mining vehicles mine helium-3 to earn money . This money can be invested in new mining vehicles, construction vehicles for stations, technologies or ships.

The teams choose a parliamentary group before the start:

Gigacorp - commercial enterprise
Iron Coalition - UN military
BIOS - Genetically Enhanced People
Belters - freelancers and pirates
Rixian Unity - Fanatic Aliens

The players themselves control their own spaceships, which they can equip themselves and modify to a small extent. After a ship has been destroyed, the player must fly back to the nearest friendly base with his escape pod, or he will be rescued by a friendly player beforehand. The escape pod can also be destroyed by the enemy or the player runs out of oxygen . As soon as a player is dead , he can take part in the rest of the game with a new ship.

The game is over as soon as a team no longer has its own stations or surrenders ( resign ).

Spaceships

Every player has the possibility to choose his ship freely. There are the following types of ships, some of which have to be researched first:

Scout : This ship has little firepower, but its high speed and sensor range make it very useful. It is also the only ship that can repair other ships.
Fighter : This ship has many times the firepower of a scout. Like almost all ships, it is able to teleport to certain stations or special ships.
Stealth fighter : Due to its camouflage ability, this ship can stalk enemy mine vehicles and construction vehicles almost unnoticed. It has missiles with long range and accuracy. Since the camouflage is energy-based, it has to unmask itself from time to time in order to recharge it.
Interceptor : The interceptor has neither missiles nor shields, but he has the most powerful weapons in his ship class. He has only a very short sensor range, so he is almost helpless without a scout or a base nearby.
Bomber : The bomber is used to destroy enemy stations. He has two human gunners who defend him during his flight. Usually this ship is accompanied by scouts, who are equipped with repair tools.
- Stealth bomber : This variant has a reduced firepower against stations, but this ship can also camouflage itself in order to reach its target unseen. In the attack phase he is discovered and is exposed to enemy fire.
Troop transport : The troop transport is able to take over most of the enemy stations. Like the bomber, it is usually accompanied by scouts.
Capital Ships: These ships are rare and cost a lot of money.
- Missile frigate : This ship is used to destroy enemy stations and has three gunner.
- Cruiser : The big brother of the Missile Frigate has four gunners and can also teleport.
- Carrier : Used to reload and repair small ships.
- Assault ship : Acts as a mobile teleporter.
- Destroyer : Ship that uses missiles to attack other ships.
- Devastator : Like the cruiser, it has four gunners. It also has a powerful cannon that can primarily work against ships, but also against stations in an emergency.

Almost all weapons require ammunition, so their stocks on the ships are limited. Furthermore, the Interceptor and Fighter have auxiliary engines that consume fuel. This means that the player may have to reload his ship if it is not destroyed beforehand.

Web links

FreeAllegiance.org community site (English)
History of Allegiance on the FreeAllegiance.org Wiki
Official Microsoft Allegiance website ( Memento of February 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (English, archived)
Allegiance at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

↑ Development AllegWiki (English)
^ Rick Rashid: Day 3 Keynote, Professional Developers Conference 2008 (PDC2008) . microsoft.com. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
↑ Best Game No One Played - Allegiance . gamespot.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
↑ Nick Pirocanac: Allegiance . escapistmagazine.com. April 22, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
^ Bob Colayco: Microsoft pledges Allegiance to its fanbase . gamespot.com. February 6, 2004. Retrieved July 22, 2011: “ The release of the source code came in response to the enthusiasm of Allegiance's small-but-dedicated fanbase. Microsoft's Joel Dehlin commented that the development team has, "been amazed at the level to which some of the Allegiance fans have remained hard-core. We're astounded at the progress that has been made at creating new factions, hosting new servers, replacing authentication, etc. It seems that Allegiance hasn't really died. With that in mind, we're releasing the Allegiance source code to the community. " "
↑ Eric Horvitz: Allegiance ReLicense Letter . Director, Microsoft Research. July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017: " Microsoft Corporation (" Microsoft ") hereby relicenses the Microsoft Video Game Allegiance source code found at https://github.com/FreeAllegiance/Allegiance/tree/master/src (" Allegiance Source Code ”) from the current Microsoft Research Shared Source license Agreement (MSR-SSLA) to the MIT license. "

[1] Development AllegWiki (English)

[2] Rick Rashid: Day 3 Keynote, Professional Developers Conference 2008 (PDC2008) . microsoft.com. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[3] Best Game No One Played - Allegiance . gamespot.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[4] Nick Pirocanac: Allegiance . escapistmagazine.com. April 22, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[allegiancesource-5] Bob Colayco: Microsoft pledges Allegiance to its fanbase . gamespot.com. February 6, 2004. Retrieved July 22, 2011: “ The release of the source code came in response to the enthusiasm of Allegiance's small-but-dedicated fanbase. Microsoft's Joel Dehlin commented that the development team has, "been amazed at the level to which some of the Allegiance fans have remained hard-core. We're astounded at the progress that has been made at creating new factions, hosting new servers, replacing authentication, etc. It seems that Allegiance hasn't really died. With that in mind, we're releasing the Allegiance source code to the community. " "

[MIT_license-6] Eric Horvitz: Allegiance ReLicense Letter . Director, Microsoft Research. July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017: " Microsoft Corporation (" Microsoft ") hereby relicenses the Microsoft Video Game Allegiance source code found at https://github.com/FreeAllegiance/Allegiance/tree/master/src (" Allegiance Source Code ”) from the current Microsoft Research Shared Source license Agreement (MSR-SSLA) to the MIT license. "