CATS Crash Arena Turbo Stars
| CATS Crash Arena Turbo Stars | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | ZeptoLab | ||
| Publisher | ZeptoLab UK Limited | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
19th April 2017 | ||
| platform | iPad, iPhone, Android | ||
| genre | Action | ||
| Age rating |
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CATS Crash Arena Turbo Stars is a two-dimensional, strategic PvP and action game released by ZeptoLab UK Limited on April 19, 2017. The game is compatible with iPad, iPhone (iOS 8.0 or newer) and all Android consoles (Android version 4.1 or higher).
Frame story
When the game is opened for the first time, “Uncle Toni” appears and gives the newcomer a machine so that he can take part in the long-awaited championship. As it turns out, the mentor let this machine go with him from a street hooligan named "Snake", and Snake vehemently demands the machine back. Uncle Toni gives the newcomer tips and gifts on upgrading the machine, with which the player must defeat Snake and his gang in order to keep the machine.
Once Snake and his gang are defeated, “Mr. Macavity ”, a feared gang boss, for whom Snake had dirty work to do. Since the player has switched off Snake, Mr. Macavity demands that the player take his place and now fight street fights for the gang boss himself. Uncle Toni regrets these complications and introduces the player to compensate for the "Steevy screwdriver", who exchanges the wrenches available at various locations for boxes of components, and "Ace Jack", which offers bets on the outcome of fights. As soon as the newcomer has reached the fourth level of the championship, Uncle Toni gives him access to a secret garage in which the “Ultimate Machines” are built, and thus to the “Ultimate League”. Since the ultimate machines are the prerequisite for the game level “King of the City”, access to gangs fighting for the city is now also activated and the game is enriched with a social component (gang members can communicate directly with each other via chat). The tutorial and the associated restrictions have now ended.
Game mechanics
Players are represented as cats and also addressed as "cats" in system messages - a winking reference to the abbreviation for the game title "CATS", which can be understood as the English word for "cat". The players build combat vehicles (chassis) from various components and let them compete online against the combat vehicles of other players in duels, championships or leagues. Whoever wins gets a medal . An advancement model leads the successful player over 25 intermediate levels up to the prestige level. There is also the option to join a gang where he / she can fight group fights and chat with other players online .
All components of the machines can be upgraded by merging them with other parts. Depending on the grade, which is indexed with one to five stars, six to 25 upgrade levels are possible. The power of the upgrades decreases with each level, and the upgrades cost coins or jewels.
The real highlight of the game is an amazingly realistic simulation of physical conditions. H. The machines react to physical conditions such as the rolling resistance of the wheels, the weight of the chassis, the recoil force of certain weapons or changed environmental conditions. This sometimes makes the outcome of the fights surprising, especially since the player cannot intervene during the fight. The challenge is, (n) in respect of its own (n) machine designs a priori be designed so that they can be made in as many combat situations.
Championships
At the regular game level, championships are held at different locations. A championship lasts i. d. R. 48 hours; after this time has elapsed, the top six players advance to the next level. Alternatively, the player who wins 14 battles of his championship level in a row is promoted immediately (in the first levels of the wood class, only 3 or 9 or 12 battles have to be won for immediate promotion). At this level, machines are built from the following components:
chassis
Chassis are available in the basic shapes of Classic, Titan, Schleicher, Surfer, Brocken, Pyramid, Whale and Diamond. The different forms have their specific advantages and disadvantages. They have two to three slots to which either weapons or gadgets can be attached, as well as two to three mounting points for wheels. They have different point values for energy and armor . The energy points decide which and how many weapons or gadgets can be attached, while the armor shows the resistance to fire by the enemy. You can save up to three chassis at the same time, but only use one in a specific battle. During the fight, the player has no influence on the course of the fight - the challenge is to optimize the combat vehicles from the outset so that they win against as many opponents as possible in a championship.
weapons
The weapons have an energy value and an attack value (combat strength). The damage done to the enemy is greater, the higher the attack value . There are several types of weapons: missiles fire projectiles forwards, double missiles fire these projectiles simultaneously forwards and backwards, with both the rate of fire is 1 / second. The laser needs 2.5 seconds to charge before each shot, but then offers above-average destructive power. Other firearms are minigun (machine gun, firing frequency increasing) and shotgun. Melee weapons include the blade (rotating saw), chainsaw, drill, and sting (a long drill). In the game description, a distinction is made between ranged and melee weapons, but the shotgun is something in between, as it works at a certain distance, but not very far-reaching. The shotgun can push back opponents or even knock them over and, if placed well, helps against a slider used by the opponent.
Only a few weapons have a harmful effect behind the machine. These include the blade (depending on where it is attached to the chassis), the double rocket and the very rare boomerang.
bikes
The wheels have armor and are divided into several forms (from large to small): clubfoot, sticky tires, tires, speedster, sticky roller, roller and knob. The larger types of bikes have a significant amount of suspension; H. the machine can wobble more with large wheels than with small ones. Sticky tires and sticky rollers have particularly good traction, so that you cannot be pushed back by the opponent, and can help to climb over the opponent.
Gadgets
The gadgets (additional parts) have armor and an energy value . There are different types of additional parts: The quick repair compensates to a certain extent for damage caused by the enemy. The harpoon pulls the enemy combat vehicle closer to your own, while the recoil does exactly the opposite. Sliders lift the enemy vehicle from a distance with the help of a balloon, while the lifter does so when the vehicles come into contact. The nozzle and rear nozzle shoot your own vehicle in the direction of the enemy or move it away from him.
Tools
There are three types of tools : The armor tool reinforces the armor of the chassis, wheels or gadgets; the energy tool allows the inclusion of larger weapons or gadgets by increasing the energy points, and the attack tool increases the destructive effect of the respective weapon. The use of the tools costs coins or jewels, whereby the amount to be invested increases with each further use of tools or upgrade levels of the same class.
Boxes
The replenishment of parts is ensured by different boxes, which are obtained through game successes, by using virtual or real money or as a reward for won battles and which contain a random mix of parts (chassis, weapons, gadgets, tools, league tickets).
A special feature is Steevy's box (formerly: sponsor box ). You can open up to three of these boxes per day, provided you have collected enough wrenches, which in turn can be found in other boxes or are granted in duels or championship promotions. In contrast to the normal or super boxes, which mostly contain parts that are 2–3 levels below the championship level currently occupied by the player, the parts from Steevey's box always match the current championship level. In addition, a league ticket is included in every Steevy box.
currency
For all changes to machines, amounts are due in coins , which can also be paid in the form of (higher value) jewels . Jewels can be bought with real money (so-called in-app purchase ), but coins cannot. In the ultimate league, a third currency is used, the so-called ultimate money .
Promotion classes
There are five classes that the player goes through consecutively in winning championships: wood , metal , military , gold and carbon . The wood class comprises four, the remaining classes five levels each. The fifth level of the carbon class can either be fought through, or you can opt for prestige , which resets all acquired ranks and coins and you start the game over with a higher prestige class. Up to Prestige 65, each has its own label, which makes it clear to other players how much experience a player has.
All components can be present several times in the same or different quality levels. They can be upgraded by fusing with any other components and thus gain increasingly stable armor or combat strength.
Delayed activation of parts
Certain components are only unlocked during the course of the ascent: Laser from level 5, harpoon from level 7, pyramid from level 9, stick roller from level 14, double rocket from level 19. After completing the first round, the minigun becomes available; if you decide to start over (Prestige 1), you get the whale. In the first prestige level, the diamond is unlocked from level 9, if you select prestige 2, the shotgun. If you select Prestige 3, the quick repair (gadget) becomes available. When choosing Prestige 4, the glider (gadget) becomes available, which lifts enemy vehicles with a balloon.
Duels
The play surface has 4 spaces for boxes that can be purchased and stored in advance. A normal box takes 2 hours, a super box 6 hours to be able to be opened; this time can, with restrictions, be reduced by viewing advertisements. The boxes are acquired by winning three duels, i. H. One-on-one fights against randomly selected opponents.
Bets
The normal game level also includes the possibility of placing bets on which of the two foreign machines involved in a given duel will win. A separate component is used: If you win the bet, the component receives a bonus that increases armor or combat strength; if you lose the bet, you lose this component.
Ultimate league
If the player reaches level 5 of the championship, the Ultimate League is unlocked. This represents a game-within-a-game, which provides similar rules and similar construction parts, but also has many differences to the championship in detail. The ultimate machines are completely independent of the normal machines and are retained even in the event of a restart from the beginning ("Prestige"). League tickets , which are occasionally found in boxes, are required to participate . There are also advancement classes: wood, stone, bronze, silver and gold. The last class above gold is marked with a lock symbol; it can only be achieved by very experienced players.
In contrast to the championship, components of ultimate machines are only available once. The parts cannot be upgraded by fusing them with any other parts, but only with identical parts, provided that these are found in an ultimate box.
chassis
Tailor (corresponds to Schleicher), Corsair (corresponds to surfer), bulldozer (corresponds to chunks), fire hazard (corresponds to classic), Santa's sleigh (corresponds to whale), dragon, Icy Threat (corresponds to titanium), lantern (corresponds to pyramid), cloud (corresponds to diamond ), Diamond pig, room stove, carriage, country bathyscaph (a kind of diving capsule), UFO and special forms such as B. the three models that were issued for the Hot Wheels anniversary (Shark Bite, Twin Mill and Bone Shaker).
weapons
Ice club (corresponds to blade), double blade, Schneider nozzle (corresponds to rocket), Santa's double rocket (corresponds to double rocket), rotating hyperboloid G-27 (rotatable gun), rotating mega-drill G-19 (rotatable drill), bear fall, sting thrower (similar combat dynamics as Minigun), big boy (corresponds to minigun), kite mortar, flamethrower, quick laser (corresponds to laser), Santa's laser bell (corresponds to laser, but is more powerful than the quick laser), trombone cannon (corresponds to shotgun), tailor's chainsaw (corresponds to chainsaw), eye of the Death (the only weapon that automatically aligns itself to the respective position of the enemy vehicle) and special forms.
bikes
The selection of bikes in the Ultimate League is even greater than in the championship, so we will not list them. However, the "anti-gravity runabouts" should be emphasized, for which there is no equivalent in the championship. These are nozzles that lift the chassis, which inevitably leads to the chassis tipping over if only an anti-gravity runabout is installed. If they are attached to the front and rear, it depends on the chassis whether a hover occurs (the icy threat is so unstable due to its height that it always tips over when the nozzles are used).
Gadgets
Many of these additional parts have different names, but their functionality is known from the championship. The following gadgets have no equivalent in the championship: Stovepipe (sends out a puff of smoke that paralyzes the opposing machine for a second, whereby the puff bounces back from obstacles and can therefore paralyze several times); Frost sprinkler (a type of nozzle that periodically sprays ice crystals and thus temporarily paralyzes the enemy machine); Santa's frost gift (a recoil, which at the same time frosts the enemy machine and thus paralyzes it for a second); Lucky horseshoe (starts rotating after the start of the fight and knocks the front wheel away from the opponent's machine after about a second); Energy shield (makes your own machine periodically for a short time permeable to enemy projectiles, which do no damage during this period).
Challenges
Challenges are held at irregular intervals, mostly on certain public holidays (e.g. Easter, New Year's Eve, but also on American Independence Day) . They are played with ultimate machines and replace the ultimate league for 3–4 days, but are more unpredictable than normal league fights due to special environmental conditions for the fights (e.g. burning ground, lack of gravity, wind from different directions).
Gang fights / king of the city
In addition to championships and the ultimate league, gangs represent the third level of the game, which is unlocked after completing the tutorial at level five of the championship. Gangs consist of up to 25 members. A player can found a gang for 100 gems and is then the leader , while those joining are referred to as members . Only the leader can write the gang's self-description and, if necessary, kick members out. If the leader is inactive for 30 days, the system removes him from the gang; the next senior player automatically becomes the next manager.
Gang fights
In the gang fights game mode , each player competes with his up to three championship machines against a selection of ten opponents grouped in ascending order of strength and can win trophies that benefit the whole gang and improve their ranking . Since there are three of your own against three opposing machines in each round, the gang fights are also called 3v3 . By purchasing a cup, discounts can also be acquired in the city battle (king of the city) such as free repair of destroyed machines, free spying on a building or free replacement of machines. Modifications to the championship machines in the meantime have an immediate effect on further fights.
King of the city
In the game mode King of the City (KdS), the gang must work together to conquer a virtual city district in conflict with an opposing gang. Such a fight lasts 24 hours; up to 100 battles are necessary to conquer an entire city. The cities have names like "Miau York", "Miau de Janeiro" or "Miauskau". The battle for the city is fought with ultimate machines. Therefore, after completing the tutorial, a player can join a gang and take part in 3v3 battles, but not participate in the city battle, because the garage for ultimate machines is only unlocked from level 5. After entering combat, the ultimate machines can no longer be changed, so necessary modifications must be made before combat begins. The fact that the same machines are used for the KdS and Ultimate League, but modifications of the machines only affect the UL and not the KdS, makes the game somewhat opaque at this point.
strategy
Successful participation in the game requires an in-depth knowledge of the respective properties of the components of fighting machines, ultimate machines and the respective game modes, because only a close study of the opponent's machines in consideration of the capabilities of your own machines ensures a combat strategy that will result in more victories as defeats. Because of this, individual badges are given up to Prestige 65, and there are quite a few players who have actually played through the game 65 times or more. In addition, the championship parts will be deleted when deciding on a new round, but the ultimate machines and other purchased parts are retained, so that the ultimate machines become more and more powerful over many laps.
While championships and the ultimate league do not seem to have much in common at first glance, the two levels are interlinked by the fact that when the player wins a championship, he also receives a box of ultimate parts. The interdependence of both game levels is particularly clear in the gang area: While gang fights are contested with the regular championship machines, ultimate machines are brought into play in the fight for districts ("King of the City" game mode).
In the championships, there is immediate promotion to the next level when the player has defeated 14 opponents in a row. After a certain period of time (usually 48 hours, but occasionally there are also fast laps with a 24-hour duration), those machines that are placed among the first six also advance to the next level. Therefore, it makes sense to create three machines, each of which represents an optimal combination of chassis and weapon properties, and possibly also gadget properties, as you can also fight individual fights against selected opponents within the championship group, which gradually rise to the top enable. In addition, successful participation in gang fights requires the presence of three machines.
"Aerial combat"
Small and light chassis such as B. Schleicher can use the nozzles to jump over an opponent in a high arc and - if the timing is good - even kill them from the air with a laser or rocket. The nozzles fire faster than most weapons begin to fire, so that the jumper is out of range with the first shot of the attacked person. If the attacked survive the air attack, he will be attacked from behind after the jumper lands. It therefore makes sense for the attacked to use at least one weapon that also works backwards (e.g. double missile, blade).
Classic (chassis)
Although the classic occupies a special position (in the negative sense) because it basically only has one weapon slot, its design means that it poses a danger to the enemy that should not be underestimated. The pointed muzzle of the chassis, especially in connection with non-slip wheels and a nozzle, a slider or a harpoon, allow the opposing machine to be pushed against the wall and jacked up so that its weapons fire into the air and the player in this way Defeat opponents who have the multiple armor and weapon strength of their own classic.
Ultimate league
In the ultimate league, innovative chassis, weapons and gadgets are thrown onto the market much more frequently than in the normal game mode (championships). This makes it difficult to accurately assess the opponent's fighting strength, which is more important than in the championships because a defeat deletes the points scored in previous fights. In addition, the fights cannot be repeated indefinitely, because a ticket is required for each series of fights. The tickets are distributed relatively sparsely. It makes sense in this game mode, therefore, not to take too big risks, but rather to keep the points earned and slowly climb up.
King of the city
In the game mode "King of the City" there are buildings in every district that must be conquered by conquering parking spaces in the fight against enemy machines. The number of parking spaces in the building corresponds to the number of points awarded to a corridor that has fought for more than 50% of the parking spaces. Two to three buildings are marked as connected buildings by a horizontal figure eight. As soon as a group has captured both buildings, the points displayed are doubled (e.g. two metro stations with 5 points each result in 20 points as soon as both stations have been captured). The further the gang goes on their conquests, the more parking spaces the buildings have, i.e. H. the gang must work closely together to score the necessary points against the enemy. Narcissistically motivated solo attempts by individual members quickly lead to failure of the entire group.
Damaged or destroyed machines are healed over time (approx. 1 armor value per second). This also applies to opposing machines - if it is not possible to defeat a machine in individual combat, the player can set up a second machine against the weakened enemy and thus defeat them in the second or third step. This even applies if the destroyed machine is immediately restored with a repair (free of charge or for a fee). In extreme cases, your own weak machine can defeat a much stronger opponent if it is repaired several times in between.
Gang fights
The gang fights are, so to speak, the single player mode within the gang area. The player must go through a series of 10 fights in which he is confronted with the three (championship) machines of an opponent. Usually the first opponent is of a much lower level and can be easily defeated, but in the end opponents of higher levels than your own must be defeated. For every successful three-way fight, the gang receives trophies, the more the higher the level achieved. The trophies are on the one hand an indicator of the fighting strength of a gang, but they also provide additional functions (repairing destroyed machines, spying on buildings, etc.). The player can determine the order in which his own machines are used, so that in this game mode too, a good assessment of the properties of the opposing machines is important in order to achieve a good pairing with his own machines and to achieve victories.
Development and publication
CATS Crash Arena Turbo Stars was released on April 19, 2017 for the App Store and Play Store and was developed by ZeptoLab Limited . ZeptoLab was founded in 2010 by identical twins Efim and Semyon Voinov, who have been programming games since they were 10 years old.
reception
- Best Game 2017 (App Store)
- 4.7 of 5 stars (approx. 12,700 ratings) (App Store)
- 4.7 of 5 stars (1,951,971 ratings) (Play Store)
- approx.50,000,000 installations (Play Store)
Individual evidence
- ↑ ZeptoLab website. Retrieved January 3, 2019 .
- ↑ Play Store / CATS Crash Arena Turbo Stars. Retrieved January 3, 2019 (German).
- ↑ DeanBeat: The iPhone fairy tale comes true for Russia's Cut the Rope developers. In: VentureBeat. December 9, 2011, Retrieved February 1, 2019 (American English).
- ↑ Play Store / CATS Crash Arena Turbo Stars. Retrieved January 3, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Play Store / CATS Crash Arena Turbo Stars. Retrieved January 3, 2019 (German).