Dark Reign
Developer(s)	Auran
Publisher(s)	Activision
Engine	Tactics Engine
Release date(s)	August 31, 1997
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Platform(s)	Windows
Media	CD
Input	Keyboard and Mouse

Dark Reign: The Future of War is a real-time strategy computer game for Microsoft Windows, developed by Auran and published by Activision in 1997. The game consists of a large single-player campaign but also supports multiplayer online games. A fully functional mission construction kit was included with the game, that allowed players to create new maps for multiplayer game and even create entire new missions and campaigns. Image File history File links Dark_Reign_Cover. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... Auran is an Australian video game developer and publisher based in Brisbane, Queensland. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Activision, Inc. ... A game engine is the core software component of a computer or video game or other interactive application with real-time graphics. ... August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Video games are generally categorized into genres. ... Real-time strategy, often abbreviated RTS, is a genre of computer games characterized by being wargames which take place in real-time, where resource gathering, base building, technology development and direct control over individual units are key components. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... Online gaming redirects here. ... Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral partially modeled after the typewriter keyboard. ... Operating a mechanical 1: Pulling the mouse turns the ball. ... Real-time strategy, often abbreviated RTS, is a genre of computer games characterized by being wargames which take place in real-time, where resource gathering, base building, technology development and direct control over individual units are key components. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. ... Auran is an Australian video game developer and publisher based in Brisbane, Queensland. ... Activision, Inc. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Online gaming redirects here. ...

An expansion pack, Rise of the Shadowhand, was released on March 31, 1998, which added new missions and new units to the game. March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (91st in leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ...

A sequel, Dark Reign 2 was released on June 30, 2000. The sequel itself depicts events before those of the original game, hence should be treated as a prequel. Dark Reign 2 is a 3D Real Time Strategy PC game released on June 30, 2000 by Activision and Pandemic Studios. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Story

The game takes place in the distant future, where a crippled scout ship encounters a probe launched by Togra, the now deceased leader of the Togran civilization just before his death. As one of the last remaining Tograns, the player is presented with an opportunity to go back through time and prevent the death of the beloved Togran leader. However, the player must first demonstrate their worth by playing out the battles between the Imperium and Freedom Guard forces that ultimately led to the decimation of the Tograns' home planet.

The twelve missions play out the events from the first skirmish between the Imperium and Freedom Guard up to their final showdown and the destruction of the Tograns' home planet. The missions may freely be played from the perspective of the Imperium or the Freedom Guard. In the thirteenth and final mission, the player is sent back in time to Togra's world, and must use the weapons and technology of both the Imperium and the Freedom Guard to defeat both sides and prevent the destruction of the planet.

Gameplay

The gameplay is that of a futuristic real-time strategy, similar to that of Command and Conquer. In any given scenario, the player first constructs buildings such as a headquarters and training facilities. Those are then used to produces offensive units such as infantry or tanks and the player uses those to attack enemy units. The production of Units and buildings represent an opportunity cost as they all have an associated cost in terms of credits (the currency used by the game). Additional credits are earned by collecting shipments of water from fresh springs. Real-time strategy, often abbreviated RTS, is a genre of computer games characterized by being wargames which take place in real-time, where resource gathering, base building, technology development and direct control over individual units are key components. ... Command & Conquer is a real-time strategy series of computer games released by the game developer Westwood Studios, now a part of Electronic Arts. ... In economics, opportunity cost, or economic cost, is the cost of something in terms of an opportunity forgone (and the benefits that could be received from that opportunity), or the most valuable forgone alternative (or highest-valued option forgone), i. ...

In the single-player missions a number of objectives are given to the player to complete before the mission is successfully completed. Those range from escorting a special unit or protecting a specific building. In multiplayer games, the only objective is to destroy all the enemies units and buildings.

Online Community

Dark Reign supported a thriving online community of several hundred regular gamers for approximately three years. Competitive play was largely based around Case's Ladder, but the Australian Dark Reign League also attracted a significant number of players. Significant clans included DI, KoA, MR, SyN, VuP, PK, DSM, FOE, WBS, DT. The prominent multi-game clan InsomniaX was founded on the Dark Reign servers. There were many well known players, including Smoo and Fooo. Some of these players had strange relationships though, for example Smoo and Foo were thought to be homosexual. Which created several online issues. Several years later, the Dark Reign community released a server and patch solving the various Windows 2000/XP Server issues. Since its release many players have come back to Dark Reign to join the thriving online community. Dark Reign Central acts as a community hub with several features such as forums, downloads including maps and a pre-patched downloadable version of the game, competitive play on Case's Ladder, game strategies and list of current player details.

Maps

One of the attractive points of Dark Reign was the ability to create customized maps that could then be uploaded to other players.

Background

Dark Reign began life as a game called 'Corporation'. Developed by Auran's co founder Greg Lane, 'Corporation' and its sister game entitled 'Wild West' were demonstrated to Activision in June 1996 and a deal signed shortly thereafter. Auran continued developmement of the Tactics Engine whilst Activision layered a new story on top of 'Corporation' and Dark Reign was born. Many of the units, unit AI, map systems, production systems and real time line of sight were already present in 'Corporation' when it was first demonstrated to Activision in 1996.

External links

• The Dark Reign series at MobyGames
• Cases Ladder for Dark Reign

MobyGames is a website devoted to cataloging computer and video games, both past and present. ...

References