Outpost 2
Encyclopedia
Outpost 2, fully titled Outpost 2: Divided Destiny, is a real-time strategy
computer game developed by Dynamix
, released in 1997 by Sierra Entertainment
. It reuses and refines some of the concepts from the original Outpost
, but there is no direct continuity between the storylines or the gameplay.
which was written by J. Steven York
and included with the game. The novella follows two characters: Axen Moon of Eden, and Emma Burke of Plymouth, who were childhood friends and lovers.
called "Vulcan's Hammer" causes an extinction event
on Earth. A handful of engineers and scientists escape in the starship
Conestoga. The ship travels in interstellar space with the passengers in stasis
. After many centuries, the ship's onboard supplies begin to run out and its A.I.
is forced to awaken the captain and some colonists. They give orders to touch down on the most habitable planet in range, though it is still quite harsh to human life. They name it New Terra and establish the colony of Eden. After many years orbiting New Terra, the Conestoga eventually crashes due to orbital decay
.
Some years after the landing, disagreement over the colony's direction sparks division among its members. The main Eden faction wants to pursue terraforming
, while separatists believe that humanity should adapt to live in the planet's natural environment. The ruling council decides in favor of terraforming. Subsequently, members of the separatist group steal materials and transports in order to form their own splinter colony, Plymouth. Using the sole communications satellite, the two colonies continue the debate remotely. Eventually, Eden announces that they have begun terraforming the planet. In response, the leaders of Plymouth sever relations with Eden by shutting down the communications satellite with the deactivation code. Shortly afterwards it's discovered that no one has the reactivation code, meaning the satellite is offline permanently. This shuts down any direct dialog between the two factions though it is shown in the novella that communication via other routes takes place during specific events.
Eden's terraforming process uses a bioagent that breaks apart oxygen bonds, carrying the potential to also destroy boptronic computer systems and humans by breaking down their organic molecules. At first Eden performs a number of tests with early versions of the bioagent in testwells aligned with a fault line leading almost all the way up to Plymouth's colony. "The Blight
", the uncontrolled expansion of the bioagent, is unleashed upon New Terra when one of their advanced labs explodes. Eden has to evacuate to run from the, at first, mostly unknown cause of the disaster. The water produced by the breaking of oxygen bonds lubricates dormant fault lines, and the air released begins to thicken and storm. These result in more frequent occurrences of earthquakes, lightning storms, and other natural disasters. In Plymouth, a dormant volcano erupts nearby, also forcing them to leave the area. To top off the disasters, the planet does not have enough atmosphere to burn off asteroids as it passes through an asteroid belt. Both factions soon come to the conclusion that New Terra is about to become uninhabitable, and the progressing Blight will soon engulf the entire planet. They decide to evacuate New Terra, but as they discover there are not enough resources left on the planet for two spaceships, confrontation is inevitable.
Most of the storytelling in the novella also explains and adds to most of the games' briefings where the player is usually kept in the dark. Thus, a player who hasn't read the novella has only a small amount of knowledge of what is happening behind the scenes and what the motives and causes are for mission objectives.
Both storylines feature frequent colony relocations to stay ahead of The Blight and other natural disasters, which serves as a plot device to make the player "start again" for each mission. The overall objective of both storylines is to gather sufficient research and resources to build a new starship and evacuate the planet. Subplots and events common to both sides include the takeover of Eden by a totalitarian, eugenics
obsessed regime, a race to salvage data and components from the original starship, the fight for possession of the Gene Banks, and the revelation that the bio-electronic Savant sentient computers relied on by both sides are absorbed intact in to the Blight and replicate, making the Blight-conquered New Terra a paradise for them. At the culmination of both storylines the Savants and main characters of both sides discard political concerns and secretly cooperate to finish the starship design, exceeding specification and allowing the children of the other colony to be evacuated with the winning side.
New Terra's solar system has an asteroid belt, as said both in the game and in the manual. Also, the games hint at one point that there is at least one gas giant
planet in the star system. As shown in the title screen, New Terra has a small spherical grey moon that has yet to be named. New Terra's geography is made mostly of an orange sand and rock, although there are some other kinds of terrain. Since New Terra had past volcanism, it has also lava basins and has a non-native plant lifeform, part of an old failed terraforming experiment of Eden. New Terra's poles contained frozen water like Mars, and the sand may be mostly oxidized iron.
The planet has been hit by many meteors and is mostly homogenized in the metal department. This makes seams of mineable resources much rarer than on Earth. These seams are roughly even mixes of metals though, just thicker than the natural crust. They are defined by "Common Metals", light elements like iron
, aluminum, silicon
, and others from the upper half of the table and Rare Metals such as gold
, lead
, copper
, zinc
, mercury
, cobalt
, and other heavy elements. There are references that lead to the conclusion that there are many semi-precious and precious gemstones included in their mining.
games, Outpost 2 emphasizes colony management over the destruction of enemies. The game can be played in one of three modes: Campaign, Colony, or Multiplayer. In each mode the player can select either the Eden or the Plymouth colony. Eden's research is more advanced and their military is oriented towards brute force, while Plymouth's morale is more stable and their military is oriented towards speed and trickery. Most units and buildings on each side share the same function while having a unique set of game sprites. In addition, each faction also has units and buildings that are exclusive to that side or have slight alterations to the equivalent on the other side.
Morale is a critical factor for the colony, and because it can fluctuate rapidly, much of the player's attention is spent on ensuring that it remains at optimal levels. Low morale often results in decreased efficiency and worker shortages, which in turn can cause buildings to shut down. Extended periods of low morale can lead to colony stagnation and recession. Morale is improved by maintaining a healthy surplus of basic necessities and efficient worker distribution, while it is decreased by food shortages, disasters, and overcrowding.
Combat units can be built according to the player's specifications. There are three generic chassis, each of which can be equipped with one of eleven different weapon turrets; half of these are available to each faction. There are also miniature robots available to Plymouth that have several useful roles in combat. The technology for each chassis and weapon type must first be researched before it becomes available as an option.
Research happens in three specific buildings. The Basic Lab is only encountered in the campaign to rebuild the databases lost
during the evacuation. Next is the Standard Lab which mostly features research enabling new buildings as well as upgrades to buildings, units and the colony. Finally, the Advanced lab allows research on further advantages for your colony, most of the weapons program and a space program to build your spaceship.
In a Colony game, the player plays a single long-term scenario with broad objectives, and usually no time limit. Four scenarios are included in the game, with a 5th having been released later on. Fan-created colony games can also be downloaded from various locations on the internet.
In a Multiplayer game, two to six human players play against each other, either in a straightforward military confrontation, a race towards a predefined objective, or a race to accumulate resources within a time limit. Multiplayer games can be played over a local area network or the Internet; however, since the Sierra Internet Gaming System (SIGS) stopped supporting online play for Outpost 2, the most common avenue of playing online is through virtual networks such as Hamachi.
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
computer game developed by Dynamix
Dynamix
Dynamix, Inc. was an American developer of computer games from 1984 to 2001, best known for their flight simulator, Red Baron, the Front Page Sports series, Betrayal at Krondor, and their online multiplayer game, Tribes.-History:...
, released in 1997 by Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
. It reuses and refines some of the concepts from the original Outpost
Outpost (computer game)
Outpost is a video game developed and published by Sierra On-Line. In general terms the game is a science-fiction version of SimCity, taking place on a distant planet...
, but there is no direct continuity between the storylines or the gameplay.
Storyline
The plot is revealed through a combination of the game's mission briefings and a novellaNovella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
which was written by J. Steven York
J. Steven York
J. Steven York is an American science fiction and fantasy writer.York was born in rural southeast Alabama and from childhood showed a strong interest in science fiction, fantasy and space exploration...
and included with the game. The novella follows two characters: Axen Moon of Eden, and Emma Burke of Plymouth, who were childhood friends and lovers.
Main plot
A massive asteroidAsteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
called "Vulcan's Hammer" causes an extinction event
Extinction event
An extinction event is a sharp decrease in the diversity and abundance of macroscopic life. They occur when the rate of extinction increases with respect to the rate of speciation...
on Earth. A handful of engineers and scientists escape in the starship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
Conestoga. The ship travels in interstellar space with the passengers in stasis
Stasis (fiction)
Stasis , or hypersleep, is a science fiction concept akin to suspended animation. Whereas suspended animation usually refers to a greatly reduced state of life processes, stasis implies a complete cessation of these processes, which can be easily restarted or restart spontaneously when stasis is...
. After many centuries, the ship's onboard supplies begin to run out and its A.I.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
is forced to awaken the captain and some colonists. They give orders to touch down on the most habitable planet in range, though it is still quite harsh to human life. They name it New Terra and establish the colony of Eden. After many years orbiting New Terra, the Conestoga eventually crashes due to orbital decay
Orbital decay
Orbital decay is the process of prolonged reduction in the altitude of a satellite's orbit.This can be due to drag produced by an atmosphere due to frequent collisions between the satellite and surrounding air molecules. The drag experienced by the object is larger in the case of increased solar...
.
Some years after the landing, disagreement over the colony's direction sparks division among its members. The main Eden faction wants to pursue terraforming
Terraforming
Terraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a...
, while separatists believe that humanity should adapt to live in the planet's natural environment. The ruling council decides in favor of terraforming. Subsequently, members of the separatist group steal materials and transports in order to form their own splinter colony, Plymouth. Using the sole communications satellite, the two colonies continue the debate remotely. Eventually, Eden announces that they have begun terraforming the planet. In response, the leaders of Plymouth sever relations with Eden by shutting down the communications satellite with the deactivation code. Shortly afterwards it's discovered that no one has the reactivation code, meaning the satellite is offline permanently. This shuts down any direct dialog between the two factions though it is shown in the novella that communication via other routes takes place during specific events.
Eden's terraforming process uses a bioagent that breaks apart oxygen bonds, carrying the potential to also destroy boptronic computer systems and humans by breaking down their organic molecules. At first Eden performs a number of tests with early versions of the bioagent in testwells aligned with a fault line leading almost all the way up to Plymouth's colony. "The Blight
Grey goo
Grey goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves, a scenario known as ecophagy .Self-replicating machines of the macroscopic variety were originally...
", the uncontrolled expansion of the bioagent, is unleashed upon New Terra when one of their advanced labs explodes. Eden has to evacuate to run from the, at first, mostly unknown cause of the disaster. The water produced by the breaking of oxygen bonds lubricates dormant fault lines, and the air released begins to thicken and storm. These result in more frequent occurrences of earthquakes, lightning storms, and other natural disasters. In Plymouth, a dormant volcano erupts nearby, also forcing them to leave the area. To top off the disasters, the planet does not have enough atmosphere to burn off asteroids as it passes through an asteroid belt. Both factions soon come to the conclusion that New Terra is about to become uninhabitable, and the progressing Blight will soon engulf the entire planet. They decide to evacuate New Terra, but as they discover there are not enough resources left on the planet for two spaceships, confrontation is inevitable.
Ingame
The ingame storyline branches off as there are numerous differences depending on whether Eden or Plymouth is chosen to play. Certain events have another outcome, occur differently or not at all. In the novella, developments in the story are different between the viewpoints of the two characters. These differences are not limited to the broad happenings of the game but can occur as changes to the storyline of which only a reading player is aware. Besides these inconsistencies the information given in each side of the story is usually true for the other side. Some things are often omitted from one perspective which causes insights in one side of the story to be obtained only after reading the other.Most of the storytelling in the novella also explains and adds to most of the games' briefings where the player is usually kept in the dark. Thus, a player who hasn't read the novella has only a small amount of knowledge of what is happening behind the scenes and what the motives and causes are for mission objectives.
Both storylines feature frequent colony relocations to stay ahead of The Blight and other natural disasters, which serves as a plot device to make the player "start again" for each mission. The overall objective of both storylines is to gather sufficient research and resources to build a new starship and evacuate the planet. Subplots and events common to both sides include the takeover of Eden by a totalitarian, eugenics
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
obsessed regime, a race to salvage data and components from the original starship, the fight for possession of the Gene Banks, and the revelation that the bio-electronic Savant sentient computers relied on by both sides are absorbed intact in to the Blight and replicate, making the Blight-conquered New Terra a paradise for them. At the culmination of both storylines the Savants and main characters of both sides discard political concerns and secretly cooperate to finish the starship design, exceeding specification and allowing the children of the other colony to be evacuated with the winning side.
New Terra
New Terra is like Mars: cold, dry, and nearly airless, though with enough resources to allow a decent human colony to be established. No technical data is given about it, like the size, age, or average distance from its parent star. However, there are some hints about it through the game, the Novella, and the help manual.New Terra's solar system has an asteroid belt, as said both in the game and in the manual. Also, the games hint at one point that there is at least one gas giant
Gas giant
A gas giant is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. There are four gas giants in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune...
planet in the star system. As shown in the title screen, New Terra has a small spherical grey moon that has yet to be named. New Terra's geography is made mostly of an orange sand and rock, although there are some other kinds of terrain. Since New Terra had past volcanism, it has also lava basins and has a non-native plant lifeform, part of an old failed terraforming experiment of Eden. New Terra's poles contained frozen water like Mars, and the sand may be mostly oxidized iron.
The planet has been hit by many meteors and is mostly homogenized in the metal department. This makes seams of mineable resources much rarer than on Earth. These seams are roughly even mixes of metals though, just thicker than the natural crust. They are defined by "Common Metals", light elements like iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, aluminum, silicon
Silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...
, and others from the upper half of the table and Rare Metals such as gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
, cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
, and other heavy elements. There are references that lead to the conclusion that there are many semi-precious and precious gemstones included in their mining.
Gameplay
Unlike traditional real-time strategyReal-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
games, Outpost 2 emphasizes colony management over the destruction of enemies. The game can be played in one of three modes: Campaign, Colony, or Multiplayer. In each mode the player can select either the Eden or the Plymouth colony. Eden's research is more advanced and their military is oriented towards brute force, while Plymouth's morale is more stable and their military is oriented towards speed and trickery. Most units and buildings on each side share the same function while having a unique set of game sprites. In addition, each faction also has units and buildings that are exclusive to that side or have slight alterations to the equivalent on the other side.
Morale is a critical factor for the colony, and because it can fluctuate rapidly, much of the player's attention is spent on ensuring that it remains at optimal levels. Low morale often results in decreased efficiency and worker shortages, which in turn can cause buildings to shut down. Extended periods of low morale can lead to colony stagnation and recession. Morale is improved by maintaining a healthy surplus of basic necessities and efficient worker distribution, while it is decreased by food shortages, disasters, and overcrowding.
Combat units can be built according to the player's specifications. There are three generic chassis, each of which can be equipped with one of eleven different weapon turrets; half of these are available to each faction. There are also miniature robots available to Plymouth that have several useful roles in combat. The technology for each chassis and weapon type must first be researched before it becomes available as an option.
Research happens in three specific buildings. The Basic Lab is only encountered in the campaign to rebuild the databases lost
during the evacuation. Next is the Standard Lab which mostly features research enabling new buildings as well as upgrades to buildings, units and the colony. Finally, the Advanced lab allows research on further advantages for your colony, most of the weapons program and a space program to build your spaceship.
Game modes
In a Campaign game, the player can play through 24 scripted missions, 12 for each colony. These missions challenge the player to maintain population levels, collect resources, construct kits and vehicles, and perform research, all within a strict time limit, to keep moving the colony away from either the advancing blight or lava flows. If the player fails to make these preparations on time, the blight and/or lava flows will engulf the colony and destroy it. The exact requirements vary between missions and difficulty levels. If enemies are present, the player must also allocate resources to defense, adding to the overall challenge. Later on, relating to the storyline, other missions or objectives must be accomplished such as salvaging parts of the original Conestoga to rescuing scientists and stealing the Genebank from the other faction.In a Colony game, the player plays a single long-term scenario with broad objectives, and usually no time limit. Four scenarios are included in the game, with a 5th having been released later on. Fan-created colony games can also be downloaded from various locations on the internet.
In a Multiplayer game, two to six human players play against each other, either in a straightforward military confrontation, a race towards a predefined objective, or a race to accumulate resources within a time limit. Multiplayer games can be played over a local area network or the Internet; however, since the Sierra Internet Gaming System (SIGS) stopped supporting online play for Outpost 2, the most common avenue of playing online is through virtual networks such as Hamachi.
External links
- Outpost Universe - The Outpost-Universe is a community for the Outpost series games by Sierra/Dynamix.
- Outpost: Renegades - Unofficial game add-on for Outpost 2