Anyone remember this pseudo-3D RTS?
by Chris Jorgensen · in General Discussion · 03/22/2007 (10:25 am) · 18 replies
About the same time Total Annihilation was released --maybe just before-- there was a different RTS game released that had a pseudo-3D look. It utilized an effect that only popped up in a handful of games, where the camera was fixed in exact top-down but the terrain scrolled by as if it was 3D. (Imagine if you're flying over a city and you see how the building appearances change... it was like that, but with terrain.) It used 2D sprites for the units. I *think* it also had a scifi theme, but that one I can't recall for sure.
I know I saw an ad for this once in a computer game magazine like EGM or something in that vein. Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? I can't seem to remember!
I'd like to mimic the terrain effect, but I was hoping to get an example to work from. If someone knows of a different game that used it --I'm seem to recall a few shareware titles had it-- any info would be appreciated. :D
I know I saw an ad for this once in a computer game magazine like EGM or something in that vein. Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? I can't seem to remember!
I'd like to mimic the terrain effect, but I was hoping to get an example to work from. If someone knows of a different game that used it --I'm seem to recall a few shareware titles had it-- any info would be appreciated. :D
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#2
03/24/2007 (12:18 pm)
Nope, not Dark Reign --that has an isometric camera. The game I seem to recall had a perfect top-down angle. It also had that funky terrain-scrolling effect I described. It might be earlier than '97... might even have been dos-based. Sadly, I realized today that I threw out all my old game magazines. I wish I could remember what it was! 
#3
03/24/2007 (12:36 pm)
10six? 
#4
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_strategy
Lots of games listed there, from the early eighties and up ...
03/24/2007 (12:39 pm)
Give this a look-see ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_strategy
Lots of games listed there, from the early eighties and up ...
#5
It's hard to explain the effect it used for the terrain, it really was so rare. I saw about 3 games use it. The game was 2D. It had some sort of parallax-like faking of 3d for the terrain. I wish I knew the name of that effect. I guess it was unpopular since it was only around shortly before true 3D height maps and such were used. I'm pretty sure there was nothing 3D about it, other than it sort of faked 3D perspective from a birds-eye-view.
Hmmm.... anyone know where a super-complete list of RTS games would be?
03/25/2007 (10:15 pm)
Thanks for the suggestions, but 10six is definitely not it and nothing in that Wiki entry seems right. In my searching online, I learned that about 30 RTS games were released in '97. Ugh!It's hard to explain the effect it used for the terrain, it really was so rare. I saw about 3 games use it. The game was 2D. It had some sort of parallax-like faking of 3d for the terrain. I wish I knew the name of that effect. I guess it was unpopular since it was only around shortly before true 3D height maps and such were used. I'm pretty sure there was nothing 3D about it, other than it sort of faked 3D perspective from a birds-eye-view.
Hmmm.... anyone know where a super-complete list of RTS games would be?
#7
03/26/2007 (7:58 am)
Krush Kill and Destroy? KKND?
#8
I really don't know if it was voxels or not. I thought about that one myself, but googling with voxels as a keyword hasn't yielded anything interesting.
@Matt
Lol! I totally forgot about KKND. That's not the game, but I think we're definitely in the right time-frame with that one.
03/26/2007 (1:21 pm)
@StefanI really don't know if it was voxels or not. I thought about that one myself, but googling with voxels as a keyword hasn't yielded anything interesting.
@Matt
Lol! I totally forgot about KKND. That's not the game, but I think we're definitely in the right time-frame with that one.
#11
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (released in... hm. 99 or so?) used some sort of voxel/sprite mix.
Other than that I can't really think of anything.
05/09/2007 (5:21 pm)
Grand Theft Auto used something like what you describe, yeah. (but I'm guessing that's not what you're looking for?).Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (released in... hm. 99 or so?) used some sort of voxel/sprite mix.
Other than that I can't really think of anything.
#12
05/10/2007 (8:34 pm)
Grand Theft Auto was definitely 2D when it started out. It's strange about this mystery RTS though. It predated voxels I think, but it's possible it used them. It definitely was 2D sprites for units on top of just some optical trick that made the terrain 3D. Alas, I'll just have to remake if from memory if I get the chance.
#15
Sounds like Myth.
05/10/2007 (10:22 pm)
Quote:It definitely was 2D sprites for units on top of just some optical trick that made the terrain 3D.
Sounds like Myth.
#16
Hey! I think this is the one!! I tried downloading an old demo but it needs DOS.. but I'm almost certain this is it!
Thanks to everyone who put their ideas out there. It's been a trip down memory lane, that's for sure. :)
05/11/2007 (12:40 am)
Quote:I think I may have figured it out! M.A.X 2?
Hey! I think this is the one!! I tried downloading an old demo but it needs DOS.. but I'm almost certain this is it!
Thanks to everyone who put their ideas out there. It's been a trip down memory lane, that's for sure. :)
#17
05/11/2007 (12:47 am)
Yeah, I'm pretty certain it's M.A.X 2 you're looking for. The thing that threw me off a bit was the fact that the first game didn't have the psuedo 3d parallax terrain layer thing so I wrote it off as a possible candidate quite early until just now when I did some extra checking.
#18
Thanks again!
05/11/2007 (1:09 pm)
Ya, I think you're right. I got the demo to work. That parallax effect wasn't as cool as the advertisement made it seem. But that's the one! Classic from that era, though TA was obviously leaps and bounds ahead of it.Thanks again!
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