ParaWorld
| ParaWorld | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Game development combine | ||
| Publisher | Sunflowers | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
September 15, 2006 | ||
| platform | Microsoft Windows | ||
| Game engine | PEST engine | ||
| genre | Real-time strategy | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer ( Internet and LAN ) | ||
| control | Keyboard , mouse | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
Windows XP / 2000 1.6 GHz CPU 512 MB RAM 128 MB video card DirectX 9.0c |
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| medium | 1 DVD-ROM | ||
| language | German | ||
| copy protection | Tagès | ||
| Age rating |
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ParaWorld is a real-time strategy game from the Berlin development studio Spieleentwicklungskombinat (SEK-Ost), which was published on September 15, 2006 by the German publisher Sunflowers . It takes place in a parallel world in which the dinosaurs survived and are used by humans for their war campaigns against each other. The game principle, expanded with role-playing elements , was based on a. the competing titles Warcraft 3 and should as e-sports are placed title. Although it was the most expensive German game production at the time, ParaWorld was unable to establish itself on the market, which in 2007 led to the dissolution of the developer studio SEK-Ost and the takeover of Sunflowers by the French publisher Ubisoft .
Game world
background
At the end of the 19th century, a group of elite scientists under the leadership of the mathematician Jarvis Babbit discovered a gateway to the "ParaWorld". Time passes so slowly there that the scientists barely aged and had enough time to exploit this world in peace.
About a hundred years later - in the present day - three young scientists - the biologist Stina Holmlund, the geologist Anthony Cole and the physicist Béla András Benedek - discovered ParaWorld independently of each other. In order to silence them, Babbit and his followers dragged them into it.
The world
ParaWorld is a parallel world in which dinosaurs and other beings of prehistoric times survived. But three human tribes have also evolved in the harsh environment. It largely consists of different islands and can be roughly divided into five climate zones:
- The Nordland: The Nordland corresponds to the typical Central European landscape. In addition to many mammals , some species of dinosaurs also live here .
- The savanna: The savanna is a desert and steppe landscape that is criss-crossed by numerous canyons . Large dinosaurs like the stegosaurus and the brachiosaurus live here .
- The jungle: The jungle is a huge, tropical rainforest that is criss-crossed by many bodies of water . Dinosaurs like the baryonyx and the iguanodon live there .
- The ice desert: The ice desert was once part of the Nordland, now it is a huge area, criss-crossed by frozen rivers, which lies under a thick blanket of snow all year round . Only allosaurs , small carnivores and mammals live here.
- The Aschetal: The Aschetal is a volcanic landscape that consists mainly of basalt and is traversed by numerous lava flows . None of the peoples has settled here. Only dinosaurs like the Carnotaurus and the Polacanthus live here , which have specially adapted to this environment.
The people
The human population of the parallel world can be divided into three tribes. You are roughly at the technological level of the Middle Ages .
- The northern people
- The northern people are based on the Vikings and Celts . It has settled in the north country. It used to be at home in the ice desert, which is now a hostile zone due to climate changes . But you can still come across remnants of their former cities there, the most powerful of them being Valhalla , their former capital.
- Except for the Kentrosaurus , a few human warriors and their titan, a giant triceratops , their units consist only of prehistoric mammals . Their buildings are more robust than those of other races.
- The desert riders
- The people of the desert riders are based on the Egyptians and African nomadic people . It lives in the savannah and has only tent-like dwellings, apart from the Holy City , the largest settlement center in ParaWorld. This city is the main hub for goods of all kinds. Members of all peoples also live there peacefully. The nomadic nature of the people shows itself in two things: On the one hand, all infantrymen can build buildings and, on the other hand, every building can be converted 100% into the resources from which it was built.
- The units of the desert riders consist largely of giant dinosaurs such as the Brachiosaurus and the Allosaurus . Your titan is the gigantic Tyrannosaurus Rex .
- The dragon clan
- The dragon clan was based on the East Asian cultures . Another allusion is the use of black powder , which has not yet been discovered by any other people in the game. These people live in the jungle regions .
- It can only produce relatively small dinosaurs. The only exception is the Saltasaurus transporter and its titan, a huge Seismosaurus . For this you have several machine units and special technologies. Your buildings can be equipped with an explosive device which, if the building is destroyed, will damage all enemy / neutral ones.
- The SEAS
- The Society for the Exact Alternative Sciences was founded by Jarvis Babbit, the discoverer of ParaWorld.
- Most of their units consist of steam-powered robots . However, they also have various infantrymen and Triceratops cyborgs . Your troops are generally very strong. In multiplayer mode , this fraction is not entitled to choose from.
Gameplay
ParaWorld is playfully based on well-known genre representatives such as Age of Empires or Warcraft 3 . The player must collect resources and build a base in order to then train combat units to defeat the enemy. There are three basic resources that must be mined by so-called workers, with some factions receiving the resources with further special collector units.
- Food: The game's simplest resource. It is available for mining in endless quantities right from the start. Food is needed for every unit and some buildings. Occurrence: wild animals, fruit bushes, faction-specific production facility
- Wood: The most important resource for building buildings. It usually does not grow back, but is available in sufficient quantities. With its bamboo farms, the dragon clan has this resource in endless quantities. Occurrence: trees, bamboo farm (dragon clan)
- Stone: Stone is the game's most valuable resource as it is only available in very limited quantities and cannot be replicated. It is used for all units of level 3 or higher and for most buildings. Occurrence: heaps of stones
Skulls serve as the fourth resource. They are obtained by killing opponents or wild animals and by destroying animal nests or enemy buildings. They are needed to level up the units, the costs of which rise progressively for higher levels, as well as for researching many special abilities and training heroes. The desert riders need them in small quantities for the ascent of the epochs. You can also exchange them in the marketplace for the other resources in a ratio of 2: 1.
An outstanding operating feature is the so-called Army Controller on the left edge of the screen. It lists your own troops according to their level in order to make selection and overview easier. With the help of the controller, the player can see the current activities of his units and center the camera on a specific unit. The controller tapers towards the top so that you can have 15 level 2 units, for example, but only 1 level 5 unit. Furthermore, various "heroes" are available who represent special units in the game. Certain heroes unlock exclusive units or buildings for each race. If a hero dies he can be hired again in the tavern. It now starts again at level 1. The cost of hiring a hero (food, skull) increases with the number of heroes currently controlled.
development
ParaWorld was SEK's second development after Wiggles . The game was presented to the public for the first time at E3 2003. ParaWorld uses the PEST graphics engine developed by the SEK. In December 2005, the publication period was initially given for March 2006. At this point the game was in quality control with the support of the Games Academy in Berlin. In February, however, Sunflowers announced the postponement by six months for balancing and further quality assurance. To this end, Sunflowers started a first closed beta test in May 2006. The final release date was announced in a press release on July 18th. A multiplayer demo was released on August 18th, before development work was finally announced on August 21st. As one of the first major German game productions, the game received an orchestral soundtrack composed by the Mainz music production company Dynamedion and recorded in cooperation with the Leipzig company Genuin and the Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra , the Magdeburg Opera Orchestra. Publisher Sunflowers invested a total of around 8 million euros in the game, which made it the most expensive German game production of the time. Koch Media took over the distribution of the game in Europe . Shortly after publication, on October 20, 2006, a program update to version 1.01 was released. In January 2007 the closure of the game development combine was announced. The remaining extensions to ParaWorld announced were released on April 20, 2007 as a so-called Booster Pack with the update to version 1.05 free of charge. It adds new missions and multiplayer maps as well as other hero and special units to the game. The update was released at the same time as a version of the same Gold Edition of the game.
reception
Reviews and awards
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The game received mixed ratings (Metacritic: 71 out of 100).
“When I played Paraworld for the first time months ago, it was immediately clear to me that this game had hit potential. Only the "dinosaur threshold" cost me to overcome. What is that? Computer games with dinosaurs are usually aimed at younger audiences, so my initial reaction was that. But once you've tasted blood, you can't get away from Paraworld so quickly. "
“Basically, ParaWorld offers a real-time strategy experience that has often been offered in a playful way on the PC - only that in this case the scenario was designed as extraordinary as it is imaginative, the background story is more exciting and better told than with most competing titles and also many useful extras like the great Army controller make operation a real pleasure. Experienced strategists with the desire for new challenges should definitely take the trip to this fascinating parallel world - it's worth it. "
“ParaWorld isn't without its charms, particularly its diverse and enticing set of armies, but it's truly a dinosaur of an RTS, bog standard in terms of mission design and somewhat messy in the combat department. Strategy gamers expect more than this now, but even so, there are undeniable nuggets of fun to be had watching giant reptiles beat the crap out of each other. "
“ParaWorld has its charm, especially its versatile and tempting set of units; but it is truly a dinosaur of real-time strategy, outdated standard fare in terms of mission design, and quite chaotic in the battle department. Strategy players now expect more than that; but still, there are some undeniable entertaining moments that you can have while watching gigantic reptiles beat each other's hearts out. "
ParaWorld was the first German production to receive the GANG Award for the best instrumental piece of music.
The sales figures, however, remained below expectations. In January 2007, the game development combine had to cease business operations. The sales figures at that time were estimated at around 100,000 copies, according to which the sales would not have been sufficient to cover the development costs . In April 2007, Sunflowers was taken over by the French publisher Ubisoft .
ParaWorld and e-sports
The manufacturers had the goal of making ParaWorld an e-sport discipline. Therefore, ParaWorld could already be played at relevant events before the official release:
- June 28th, 2006: ParaWorld gains NGL gold game status.
- August 15, 2006: One month before the release, the game will be included in the ESL .
Web links
credentials
- ↑ T-Rex is alive! In: stern.de . September 25, 2006 ( stern.de [accessed August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ a b game test: ParaWorld - With dinosaurs against Warcraft - Golem.de . ( golem.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ E3: Revealed: SEK's strategy hammer . In: PC GAMES . ( pcgames.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ a b ParaWorld - Test, Strategy - 4Players.de . In: 4Players . ( 4players.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Date limited to March 2006 . In: PC GAMES . ( pcgames.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Not published until the end of August; six months for balancing . In: PC GAMES . ( pcgames.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Beta test selection begins . In: PC GAMES . ( pcgames.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ ParaWorld: From September in the parallel world - 4Players.de . In: 4Players . ( 4players.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Paraworld - Multiplayer Demo with Two Maps - GameStar . ( gamestar.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Off to the gold phase . In: PC GAMES . ( pcgames.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Paraworld: At them with a roar: Soundtrack is ready. Retrieved August 19, 2018 .
- ↑ a b heise online: Music producers: upward trend in the German computer game market. Retrieved on August 19, 2018 (German).
- ↑ Paraworld - real-time strategy on the home straight - GameStar . ( gamestar.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Sunflowers: 15 million for Anno & Paraworld . In: PC GAMES . ( pcgames.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Paraworld - development team says goodbye [UPDATE]: Programmers say goodbye ... In: Gameswelt . January 22, 2007 ( gameswelt.de [accessed August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Paraworld - booster pack released - GameStar . ( gamestar.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Paraworld: Gold Edition with bonus content published. Retrieved August 19, 2018 .
- ↑ a b ParaWorld. Retrieved August 19, 2018 .
- ↑ a b https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_paraworld_pc
- ↑ https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/paraworld-review/1900-6161049/
- ↑ http://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0000/00006832_test.htm
- ↑ a b http://www.pcgames.de/Paraworld-Spiel-26659/Tests/Paraworld-499826/
- ↑ http://www.pcgames.de/Paraworld-Spiel-26659/Tests/Paraworld-Mehrspielteile-getestet-518360/
- ↑ https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/paraworld,1464429.html
- ↑ http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/09/28/paraworld-review
- ↑ Brandon Boyer, Gears Takes Home Three GANG Awards . ( gamasutra.com [accessed August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Lars Winckler: Dinosaurs bring down PC game studios . In: The world . January 22, 2007 ( welt.de [accessed August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Ubisoft buys Sunflowers . In: Golem.de . ( golem.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ ParaWorld: Tournament game of the Netzstatt Gaming League - 4Players.de . In: 4Players . ( 4players.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).
- ↑ ParaWorld: real-time access in the ESL - 4Players.de . In: 4Players . ( 4players.de [accessed on August 19, 2018]).