Helix

This design document was last edited on 12/26/2007.

Story (WIP)

Conflict between the Western Nations Sphere Alliance and the Eurasian Mutual Freedom Treaty forces had raged on for decades. Brutal war between the Eurasian faction and American nations has shown no signs of resolution in 24 years of fighting. In a desperate struggle to end the war, several countries were threatening nuclear strike if the Western Nations did not surrender. This quickly escalated the war into a nuclear standoff, which has triggered several detonations. In reaction to the sudden brutality of both factions, several nations had abandoned their ties with either faction and declared themselves neutral nations, however these nations were quickly subdued.

In response, several scientists began applying technology originally designed for war to new uses, beginning construction on several colonies in space which were free from the throes of war. Millions of people, eager to leave the warring nations, fled to space and quickly completed work on the colonies. These self-sufficient colonies were governed by their own people and had no organized government or military.

The warring nations, which had first ignored the colonies, suddenly began to show interest in the colonies after a few engineers created a Mobile Arms for utility purposes and to help quicker construction of additional colonies. This however wasn’t how the earth nations saw this suit. They saw the military applications of these suits and wasted no time sending troops into space to capture the colony mass producing these Mobile Arms.

This was met with brutal tragedy when the Western Nations Sphere Alliance detonated a nuclear device inside the colony to prevent their enemies from obtaining the blueprints. The colonies were now a battlefield.

In response to the brutality they had been faced with, the colonies allied themselves to defend against future aggression. This quick response led the earth nations to quickly feel threatened by the colony alliance and their Mobile Arms weapons, and a treaty was struck between the warring factions to ally themselves against the colonies, to protect the planet from this “menace”. The nations of earth felt that a space colony would have no remorse destroying the planet with nuclear weapons since they wouldn’t be affected by the fallout.

At first, tension was high but the fighting had stopped. The United Earth Sphere Alliance (UESA), tired from it’s previous engagements was quick to look for a peaceful solution. The colonies, not so eager to jump on the peace wagon after seeing nuclear weapons used against them, slowly eased into a peaceful mindset. While they weren’t officially at war, the tension between both factions severely limited communication and transit between the colonies and earth.

These tensions continued for several years, until a small group of soldiers from earth, acting on their own, destroyed a resource satellite critical to the survival of one of the colonies.

The colonists began to see the earth as a threat. Influential leaders began claming the earth was a threat to the security of the colonies, and that it was no longer needed. More radical leaders began calling for the destruction of earth, or that all it’s military powers be dissolved for “harboring terrorists” Eventually, the powers of earth attacked the colonies, brutally and without warning. They rapidly fell to the earth forces’ overwhelming numbers, and the war quickly came to an end. The conquered colonies were humiliated and reduced to mere resource mining sites, with all forms of organized government dissolved and the right to self govern eradicated.

The colonists’ reaction to this at first was admission of defeat. However, as the conditions failed to improve, guerilla terrorist groups began popping up again. One such group managed to infiltrate several military complexes, and a bunker used for dismantling and storing nuclear warheads. With the opportunity in hand, they took it and detonated one hundred and twenty four nuclear warheads on the earth. The planet was no longer hospitable.

More colonies quickly were constructed out of necessity, and with all forms of government absolved, they quickly formed into three separate factions. These factions were built at opposing areas, to distance themselves from their “enemies”. Paranoia was high and wars quickly sprung up for control over more space for the construction of colonies and other strategic outposts.

These events have lead to the current state. These three factions still remain, battling over resource satellites and construction facilities, in hopes of annihilating the other factions that stand in their way.

Overview

The general concept is perpetual war in an MMO fashion. While this may seem like a large scale project, the scope has been filed down to a point to leave the amount of work fairly small, with the game mechanics naturally creating a lot of the content for us.

The “world” consists of a handful of locations which happen to lay out in a nice grid fashion, allowing them to be referenced as sectors. Sectors are referenced by a pair of 2d coordinates, and the map shows a “top down” view of the sectors. While the combat does take place in space, the actual zoning is done in a 2d fashion. This creates a “Square” shaped zone which can be easily made visible to the player. Also, the top down method of handling movement and combat creates more of an RTS feel.

Each sector has something worth taking. Some may have an important structure, such as a base or defensive structure, many are simply resource asteroids or other structures that aid in the faction’s advancement. As a faction accumulates more resource satellites, their soldiers get paid more in response.

Sectors become more valuable as they get closer to each faction. For instance, all Mobile Arms factories are located in sectors nearby the colonies/earth. If the enemy takes one of these factories, the player cannot buy any suit made by that factory. However, these important sectors are better defended since they can be quickly re-enforced by allied troops, and they may also come equipped with defensive structures such as turrets and cannons.

While the faction capital sectors cannot be attacked, they can be starved. The sector alone only has the ability to build a handful of Mobile Arms. On top of this, soldier pay is low. To balance this kind of siege, a wall is set up around all sectors creating a “square” of sectors. This creates corners and sides, specifically useful in that they can be attacked by fewer sides. Capitals are on opposite corners, so they can only by attacked by two corners.

Players traverse sectors via sector gates. These gates set up a theoretical boundary inside the sector. In reality, the sector goes on forever, empty space. However, the Mobile Arms won’t have enough power on its own to traverse to the next sector on it’s own so this isn’t an issue. These sector gates are used to transport players between sectors. However, they are placed at opposite ends of the sector, so some traveling is needed to go from sector to sector. When entering battle, these gates are useful strategic points since all forces enter from one.

Out of combat player interactions

When not in combat, players traverse sectors in a Mobile Carrier. These carriers look different per faction. The carrier they own determines how many suits they can carry. If one suit is destroyed, the next one is launched from the carrier if the player wishes, and they re-enter combat where the carrier from the sector gate they entered from. The only exception is the initial attack. Players inside the sector while it becomes attacked will have their suits launched from their current location.

Suit carriers can also be equipped with boosters to traverse sectors faster. Boosters only fit certain carriers, so they are limited to more advanced players.

All carriers also have a simple warp drive. This allows them to quickly jump back to their faction’s base without facing combat.

While in the faction base or other sectors with such facilities, players can dock at various structures. These include Mobile Arms factories, upgrade facilities to advance their Mobile Arm’s weaponry and armor, repair facilities to repair damaged suits, and other facilities that are outlined later in this document. If the sector is attacked while a player is docked, they will be ejected from the dock and thrown into combat.

In combat player interactions

In combat, players are greeted with a simple interface for attacking enemies. This includes a top down map of the sector (With fog of war. Revealed area is compiled among all allied units), a chat box for discussion among allies, and a lightweight collection of command buttons that allows players to perform unit specific actions.

Movement and combat is very similar to the classic top down RTS. Each suit has a specific set of unique commands based on it’s equipment, but all have the usual “attack”, “stop”, “move” command set.

Mobile Arms are launched in groups of 5. This number can be increased based on the player’s skills, but more suits launched does not mean an increased carrier capacity, so players must be careful how they organize their squads. These suits all function independent of each other, allowing them to split up and complete more widespread tasks, but most combat situations will require the complete squad to be victorious.

Sectors will initially be all in space. Expansion to earth is a possibility, but outside the scope of this document. Sectors will include various structures and obstacles, none of which are useful in a combat situation for much other than cover.

Victory Conditions

Victory conditions for a sector vary from the usual RTS. Each sector has a set number of Contact Points (CPs) which must be held by a side for a set amount of time. After the elapsed time, they become controlled by that faction. To take a sector, the attacking faction must control all of the CPs, or a majority of them after 15 minutes. Destroying all enemy units is also a valid victory condition but may be slower than controlling all CPs on the map. Other victory conditions exist, please see the Game Types section below

Player enhancement

Players can advance their skills by spending combat points on skills. The amount of points earned is capped, so players must spend them wisely. Points can be placed into four categories to enhance their combat advantage over other players.

Leadership

A player with strong leadership can control more units in battle. This gives the player a unique advantage over other players in that he has a large quantity of units on the battlefield. Leadership also gives small a bonus to unit speed.

Control

A player’s control allows him stronger understanding of Mobile Arms, and thus he can use more advanced Mobile Arms types. While advanced suits can be upgraded, players with a high control can upgrade to more advanced suits, as well as buy more advanced suits from factories.

Intelligence

Intelligence determines what kind of technology a player can fit to his Mobile Arms. A higher intelligence increases the maximum complexity level that a unit can equip, above and beyond it’s normal value (calculated by unit level)

Skill

A player’s skill attribute gives a bonus to the amount of equipment that can be placed on a Mobile Arms. Specifically, it gives a bonus to the maximum weight a Mobile Arms can carry.

Level cap

Most RPGs implement a level cap, leaving players somewhat bored at the end of the leveling system. Helix avoids this by introducing a ‘Rebuilding’ system which, on regular intervals, takes all players at the level cap and resets them to level 1. This is however an advantage as the reset players will start with better initial stats, allowing them to be more powerful at any level than a beginner with the same setup. This system is recurring, so someone with 5 resets is roughly 5 levels better than a beginner at the same level. Players also get other advantages, such as a larger carrier capacity, and markings to indicate their number of resets. This also allows leveling to be a somewhat fast process, keeping people interested through the entire process, while not alienating newer players who would be otherwise crushed by a fleet of maximum level players.

Unit Enhancement

Units advance from experience they gain fighting battles. Experience is significantly higher if the faction is victorious. Units do not have stats that are user controllable, they simply gain levels which act as a modifier to their base stats (Level * Unit modifier + Base stat + Player stat).

Maximum Weight

This is fairly self explanatory; it determines the maximum amount of weight the unit can carry. The modifiers for max weight are generally small, but a small modifier gives higher end units a small advantage on equipment mounting.

Maximum Complexity

Maximum Complexity determines the maximum level of technology that can be fitted to the unit. A higher complexity allows more advanced technology which will give it an overall advantage in combat over other units, as more powerful weapons, armor, and resources can be used.

Speed

Determines the maximum speed a unit can travel at. This modifier is generally small.

Unit revision

As units and players level, the need for more revised base specs becomes necessary. A ‘unit experience’ index (Unit Level + Player Control) is used to calculate when a unit can be upgraded to a higher revision. Higher revision units will have increased speed, hp, armor, and will be marked as such with a revision number. For example, a level 20 Brute could be upgraded to a ‘Brute rev2’, with an additional 5% hp and armor. This gives players who specialize in Control the ability to keep their units competitive.

Unit Types

Previously, all units are referred to as Mobile Arms. There are multiple types of units which may or may not be effective against any given type. The more common type is a Mobile Arms. These small units are very versatile, and come in many shapes and sizes. Mobile Ships are generally larger, but cannot capture CPs. They tend to take lower ground in a battle, and attack from below... These heavily armored units can take a fair amount of abuse from standard weapons, but are generally weak to ship to ship weapons. However, ship to ship weapons track slow and cannot target small objects such as Mobile Arms. At the same time, standard Mobile Arms to Mobile Arms weaponry is far too weak to do any real damage to ships and suits will not waste their time trying to attack them. While Mobile Arms to ship weaponry does exist, it is too cumbersome to be used against other Mobile Arms, and also cannot target objects that small.

Mobile Arms

Mobile Arms are quick versatile humanoid suits which excel in combat. They are small, quick, and can be equipped for a wide variety of combat situations. They however generally cannot attack larger targets due to the massive size and power requirements of these weapons.

MA-100L “Brute”

The Brute is the backbone of any attack force. It’s all around average fighting abilities make it a versatile unit for both attack and defense. It can mount anti-Mobile Arms and anti-mobile ship weaponry, and it can fit a reasonable array of armor and equipment. It has no direct strengths or weaknesses, making this unit good for general use; though it may suffer against more specialized configurations. All factions can build Brutes in their own facilities.

MA-104Li “Punisher”

The Punisher is a newer model of the Brute. While it may look similar, it is more specialized with heavier armaments and stronger armor. The Punisher does however suffer a slower movement speed. The Punisher also can be fitted with an anti-MS beam cannon, though it’s not standard equipment.

MA-2142g “Chaos”

The Chaos specializes in heavy combat. It can be fit with either anti-MS or anti-MA weaponry, and can attack from long ranges. Its weapons are heavy, and the unit’s structure doesn’t allow for much additional equipment so the Chaos is best suited as a defensive unit.

MA-71s “Sprinter”

Quick and nimble, the Sprinter excels in scouting missions. It’s light body and powerful thrusters allow it quick access around the area. It can be fit with a small array of light weapons and armor, but generally does not function well without support from heavier armored units.

MA-X12 “Wasp”

Wasps are well known and quickly targeted in the battlefield. Able to lay mines, the Wasp is a powerful defensive unit. The Wasp cannot equip any weapons though, and cannot flee the area quickly so it is best defended.

Mobile Ship

Mobile Ships are larger than Mobile Arms. They can be fit with large cannons which can penetrate other ship armor, or smaller turrets to attack Mobile Arms. The thick armor of Mobile Ships makes them practically invulnerable to average Mobile Arms weaponry, but other ship to ship weapons and anti-ship weaponry can easily slice through this armor. The largest disadvantage to a mobile ship is that it is too large to assist in the capture of a CP. However, they are useful in defending Mobile Arms currently stationed on one. While mobile Ships are larger than Mobile Arms, they use the same number of bays in a Mobile Carrier, so unit deployment is not affected.

MS-102s “Hawk”

This small nimble little ship can quickly move around the battlefield. Its light weaponry can attack Mobile Arms, making it useful for quickly picking off unsuspecting Mobile Arms.

MS-3302 “Broadsword”

The Broadsword is the backbone of any Mobile Ship fleet. Its versatile design allows for a fairly balanced, or unbalanced selection of weaponry and armor, while maintaining a respectable speed.

MS-231R “Prowler”

The Prowler puts fear on the battlefield with its powerful shelling cannon. The Prowler can launch large shells into the battlefield, causing massive splash damage to nearby units. It can attack either Mobile Arms, or Mobile Ships, but not both, and the cannons must be manually aimed, they will only fire automatically. The Prowler compensates with these weaknesses by causing massive damage in a large area. The Prowler makes an ideal candidate for Command Point defense, but must be defended.

MS-5402 “Apocalypse”

The Apocalypse earned its name on the battlefield through rigorous trial. While its large hull may slow it down, the Apocalypse has no equal. It can shoot down any Mobile Ship that stands in its way. It also has an Anti-MA weapon, but it can only fire one at a time due to power limitations.

MS-X13b “Thumper”

Designed as a counter for the Wasp, the Thumper can lay larger mines. While these larger, more powerful mines do more damage, they are only detonated by Mobile Ships. The Thumper does however have the ability to remove mines from the battlefield.

Mobile Carrier

Every player has one of these. It cannot be attacked and warps out of any battle to the nearest gate. While the carrier can be replaced and upgraded, it cannot be used for combat purposes ever. It’s sole purpose is to transport player units to the battlefield.

Combat

Players enter combat when they either enter a sector currently under attack, or are inside a sector when it is attacked. As the battle continues, other players must reinforce the battle to maintain their faction’s chances of winning.

Entering Combat

If a player is in a sector when attacked, their first wave of units will launch from their current position. Normal launching will commence after that. Players entering the battle afterward or replacing initial troops must be launched from a warp carrier. Warp carriers sit at zone portals and launch units for the faction they are owned by. A player can launch from any warp carrier that their faction controls. The control of a warp carrier is determined by the owner of the adjacent sector. If a sector is taken during battle, that warp carrier is destroyed and replaced by the winning faction’s own warp carrier.

Movement limitations

While the game does take place in space, units will be restricted to one of two 2d planes. Mobile Arms are on a higher plane, where Mobile Ships take a lower plane. Units can only fire to certain planes determined by their armament. 3d objects such as asteroids and debris block movement, and can exist in one or more planes.

Other common blocking objects include laser fences, metal walls, and civilian structures such as colonies and outposts.

Map Layout Examples

Maps are laid out in a square, with control points laid out in pre-set locations. CPs are generally placed in neutral locations overall, giving no side a complete advantage over all CPs.

- Command Point

- Mobile Carrier

- Barrier/Debris

Combat mockup

Side view of unit placement

Notice how the ovals (Mobile Arms) and rectangles (Mobile Ships) stay on their own 2D planes, creating an invisible line that separates them. This creates the game play elements associated with “air” and “ground” units, and applies them to space.

Top view of unit placement

Notice how Mobile Arms can stack on top of Mobile Ships. Also notice how Mobile Ships cannot capture Command Points, and go under them.

Game types

Helix isn’t limited to a single type of game type. Instead, sectors vary in victory conditions to produce a more varied and less monotonous form of play. All battles last until victory conditions are met, or 15 minutes pass.

Domination

These sectors require an attacking faction to hold as many CPs as possible. As time passes, a faction’s score is increased by the number of CPs they possess. The score is also modified by kills and other factors. The winning faction is the first to reach a sector-designated score, or whichever has the highest at the end of the battle.

Control

Control is a simple game type where the winning faction must take all CPs in the map, or hold a majority at the end of the battle.

Complete Control

Complete control varies from control in that it requires the attacking faction to control all CPs to win, regardless of how many may be owned at the end of the battle.

Warlord

The Warlord game type is similar to the Domination game type, but points are awarded much faster; however, CPs cannot be captured, so a faction must keep their units on a CP to continue to gain points. It can be related to a King of the Hill style of play.

Sectors

There are 8x8 (64) sectors in the game map. Areas outside this area are technically fenced off, but really of no strategic value.

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Sector map

Each colored square represents a faction. These three factions fight for control of sectors for additional resources for their faction (Which reflect their pay) and access to more specialized unit factories. Generally, lower tech factories are located near a faction’s capital where the more exotic ones are in more contested territory.

Sample map

This illustrates what a map might look like during play

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Attacking sectors

In the above example, lets take a specific sector. Say, D5. If we were going to attack D5, we’d have limited options.

Red can attack from D4 and C5. Blue can attack from D6 only, but green can re-enforce the position from E5 so attack is risky. Blue would be best to attack E5 first, then conquer D5 while it’s helpless. E4, C4, C6, and E6 cannot attack D5, but they can go through adjacent sectors to join the fight.

Camera Angle

The camera looks down on the playing field at an angle, giving the player a better view of the action below.