Support NeoGAF

[ElectricThunder]

http://achrongame.com/

"Achron is the world's first meta-time strategy game, a real-time strategy game where players and units can jump to and play at different times simultaneously and independently."

The above quote pretty much says it all. They've got a growing FAQ and some videos up from their GDC adventure. They are looking for a publisher and I really do hope they find one as I can imagine lots of potential for the engine/techniques they've come up with---like for Roguelikes!

I shot them an email asking about modding and such, so we'll see if I hear back.

Did a search yet saw nothing, what say ye GAF enthusiasts?

 

[eznark]

Listen to Idle Thumbs talk about it. It sounds pretty incredible and incredibly complicated.

 

[Acosta]

*Gaf collective mind goes boom*

 

[storybook77]

Damn, I misread that as Archon!

 

[Crye]

Sending units from the future, back into the past before they even existed... to deal damage and then change the current time line... but their future (or eventually present) selfs must also go back to the teleporter when time catches up to teleport back into the past, or the time traveling units will cease to exist... have I got that right? :lol

Oh this is so awesome. :lol

 

[larvi]

Damn, I misread that as Archon!

Same here, Archon could be considered a RTS as the combat was real time

 

[diarrhea_pangs]

The Day 2 idle Thumbs Conf Grenade discussed Achron in detail. Time manipulation is not the only interesting mechanic the games offering.

Edit * beaten badly

 

[b.e.r.g]

Oh god... just what rts needs, another dimension of complexity :lol

I'd love to try this though

 

[untoldhero]

Sending units from the future, back into the past before they even existed... to deal damage and then change the current time line... but their future (or eventually present) selfs must also go back to the teleporter when time catches up to teleport back into the past, or the time traveling units will cease to exist... have I got that right? :lol

Oh this is so awesome. :lol

Yeah and the stuff they did would never of happened if they didn't go back :lol MIND FUCK

 

[johnyqd]

Thanks for posting this ElectricThunder - looks like an amazing idea, seemingly well implemented.

Great info in the faq also, mind ready to be blown - some publisher better grab this quick.

 

[Caesar III]

Wow, this is just awesome. My mind is blown

edit:

Q. What about playing in the future of the timeline?
A. Playing in the future has several purposes such as scouting, finding out about a large battle that has not yet happened

how would this be possible? There cannot be a battle in the future without someone starting it

 

[Sibylus]

Darn time-waves are going to corrupt the minds of our children!

 

[ChackanKun]

Holy crap, what?? :lol

 

[Danne-Danger]

This is insane. I love that "chronoported" units die if ther past selfes die before they travel back in time. :lol

 

[bistromathics]

I'll wait for the console port.

 

[bjaelke]

Wow, this is just awesome. My mind is blown

edit:
how would this be possible? There cannot be a battle in the future without someone starting it

It could be computer/server generated and thereby known by the game. Just like mmorpg events.

 

[fallengorn]

Just listened to the Idle Thumbs conf grenade. This sounds absolutely insane.

 

[Mindlog]

I will play this and I will enjoy this and I will have sex with my grandmother and I will enjoy that as well.

Something like that. All this time travel business is tricky and frightening.

 

[ElectricThunder]

Heard back!

"Thanks for your interest.

As you said, a lot of our plans may change depending on the publisher.
But the engine has been designed with great flexibility in mind from the
start. We have a scenario editor that allows you to edit virtually
everything, an interaction and AI scripting language, and a language to
program and modify the skin/HUD.

We even have the beginning of a prototype of a casual puzzle game based on
time travel, with gamepad-style controls, that uses the same engine with
no modifications.

We at Hazardous Software have always admired Valve's openness to modding
communities and how they've handled mods such as Counter Strike. While
obviously there will be many business decisions when talking to
publishers, I will be pushing for opening up mod tools.

Thanks,
-Chris Hazard
President/Founder
Hazardous Software Inc."

 

[bishoptl]

Damn, I misread that as Archon!

Dammit!

 

[bigmit3737]

:lol :lol

I suck at RTS...(way too slow)...so this looks nothing close to my alley.

Way too complicated for me.

 

[ElectricThunder]

Site's been updated to mention they are working on a video showcasing paradoxes and that they'll be attending something called the Triange Game Conference in Raleigh, NC on April 29th.

So...Raleigh, NC GAF/secret infiltrators---try to get ahold of them for more info!

 

[Odrion]

how would this be possible? There cannot be a battle in the future without someone starting it

Q. What about playing in the future of the timeline?
A. Playing in the future has several purposes such as scouting, finding out about a large battle that has not yet happened

Q. What about playing in the future of the timeline?
A. Playing in the future has several purposes such as scouting, finding out about a large battle that has not yet happened

finding out about a large battle that has not yet happened

(blood comes out of eyes, brain explodes soon after)

 

[arne]

I was at this experimental gameplay session at GDC. this has been in development for 10 years. 10 YEARS.

they really need to make a video of a battle Chris Hazard talked about.

basically, it was one where he and his opponent were fighting so he went back in time to get the first strike on his opponent. then his opponent went into the future and researched nukes and sent a nuke back in time to take out Chris's battlegroup after Chris was victorious.

the Chris did him one better and went back in time and DIDN'T send his troops to attack in the first place.

so when the time waves caught up, his opponent ended up nuking his own army!!!

 

[Odious Tea]

I can barely handle Dawn of War II. Yeah, I'm out.

 

[careful]

I was at this experimental gameplay session at GDC. this has been in development for 10 years. 10 YEARS.

they really need to make a video of a battle Chris Hazard talked about.

basically, it was one where he and his opponent were fighting so he went back in time to get the first strike on his opponent. then his opponent went into the future and researched nukes and sent a nuke back in time to take out Chris's battlegroup after Chris was victorious.

the Chris did him one better and went back in time and DIDN'T send his troops to attack in the first place.

so when the time waves caught up, his opponent ended up nuking his own army!!!

Wow.

 

[PedroLumpy]

I was at this experimental gameplay session at GDC. this has been in development for 10 years. 10 YEARS.

they really need to make a video of a battle Chris Hazard talked about.

basically, it was one where he and his opponent were fighting so he went back in time to get the first strike on his opponent. then his opponent went into the future and researched nukes and sent a nuke back in time to take out Chris's battlegroup after Chris was victorious.

the Chris did him one better and went back in time and DIDN'T send his troops to attack in the first place.

so when the time waves caught up, his opponent ended up nuking his own army!!!

I think my brain is trying to escape.

 

[Mindlog]

~rad~
so when the time waves caught up, his opponent ended up nuking his own army!!!

I've been to the future so this is really no surprise but...

Intel bought Project Offset in order to show off Larrabee.

IMO, MS would do well to at least license Achron to show off Surface.

A multi-touch enhanced RTS is going to happen eventually. It's going to be more than just using your hands to mimic a mouse. It's going to be about using your hands to function as 10 mice with gesture macros and custom mini-GUI's surrounding your individual fingers.

In the case of Achron a multi-touch interface presents awesome possibilities. Imagine each wave spawning a card (game instance window) that could be easily dragged from the time bar onto the main screen. The main screen would basically be a desktop and the background would always be the present. It'd be like the current useless Surface picture demo except the pictures are time waves and they can all be easily organized at the bottom inside the main timeline. We're going to need pretty beefy PCs to run what ammounts to many multiple instances of the game, but if MT is the foundation I doubt power is a problem.

 

[Doytch]

Site's been updated to mention they are working on a video showcasing paradoxes and that they'll be attending something called the Triange Game Conference in Raleigh, NC on April 29th.

So...Raleigh, NC GAF/secret infiltrators---try to get ahold of them for more info!

Dammit, I'll be there a week late

 

[Vaporak]

I was at this experimental gameplay session at GDC. this has been in development for 10 years. 10 YEARS.

they really need to make a video of a battle Chris Hazard talked about.

basically, it was one where he and his opponent were fighting so he went back in time to get the first strike on his opponent. then his opponent went into the future and researched nukes and sent a nuke back in time to take out Chris's battlegroup after Chris was victorious.

the Chris did him one better and went back in time and DIDN'T send his troops to attack in the first place.

so when the time waves caught up, his opponent ended up nuking his own army!!!

Holy shit this sounds awesome. :lol These are definitely some guys to keep an eye on.

 

[bistromathics]

old

 

[The Lamonster]

This is fucking crazy. I really hope this game sees the light of day.

 

[leroidys]

Holy shit! This looks sweet. Finally an rts thats not a War III/AoE copy.

 

[NetMapel]

Damn, my mind just exploded a bit after hearing about time travelling RTS. I won't be able to comprehend and play this game :lol

 

[Joseph Merrick]

Yeah, this game is going to be amazing. Just tell me where to put my cc details, Hazard.

 

[Druz]

Holy shit! This looks sweet. Finally an rts thats not a War III/AoE copy.

Finally! Is Command and Conquer out? Is Company of Heroes finally out? Phooey....

 

[Dreavus]

This is... this is crazy. Would this game even be possible with more than two players? Keeping track of where everyone is and how they are affecting you across time is just staggering. I can imagine watching half my army disappear during a fight with player 2 because player 3 attacked my base in the past, wiping out my units before they could...

Oh god this sounds so complicated, but kind of awesome.

 

[SapientWolf]

I was at this experimental gameplay session at GDC. this has been in development for 10 years. 10 YEARS.

they really need to make a video of a battle Chris Hazard talked about.

basically, it was one where he and his opponent were fighting so he went back in time to get the first strike on his opponent. then his opponent went into the future and researched nukes and sent a nuke back in time to take out Chris's battlegroup after Chris was victorious.

the Chris did him one better and went back in time and DIDN'T send his troops to attack in the first place.

so when the time waves caught up, his opponent ended up nuking his own army!!!

You're going to have to make a chart of this because I cannot think in 4 dimensions.

 

[Raist]

I was at this experimental gameplay session at GDC. this has been in development for 10 years. 10 YEARS.

they really need to make a video of a battle Chris Hazard talked about.

basically, it was one where he and his opponent were fighting so he went back in time to get the first strike on his opponent. then his opponent went into the future and researched nukes and sent a nuke back in time to take out Chris's battlegroup after Chris was victorious.

the Chris did him one better and went back in time and DIDN'T send his troops to attack in the first place.

so when the time waves caught up, his opponent ended up nuking his own army!!!

 

[Dreavus]

Perfect! :lol

 

[FirewalkR]

raistwin

 

[Amir0x]

I never heard of it before, but I want it.

 

[ElectricThunder]

New blurb up on the mainpage of their site by the AI fellow detailing how they went about Command Hierarchy and some applications of it---nifty little read.

 

[ElectricThunder]

2 new videos are up...one on using the future to see upcoming battles and another being the paradox video that has an entire page/transcript devoted to it. Crazy stuff in here.

 

[Caesar III]

Wow this is so awesome and mind blowing. I hope this game sees the day of light soon

 

[Joseph Merrick]

still awesome. still day one bought. give it please

 

[ElectricThunder]

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/pc/2009/04/14/achron-interview-your-head-will-explode/

Interview that sheds some interesting light. Crazed Assembly past. 4XRTS. 3 races, 2 of which Alien. Some interest from the military. Weird 4 page interview style.

 

[Hazaro]

Saw info on this game, crazy stuff. They updated a few things.
Possible more entertaining to watch than Starcraft?

It shouldn't be called an RTS :lol

http://achrongame.com/achron_faq.html
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=HazardousSoftware&view=videos

 

[ElectricThunder]

New video up on the main site showing their updated UI and going into pause time for specific orders, slides from that conference awhile back, and explanations of hierarchy. Still looks like they are making progress at a decent clip with this.

 

[water_wendi]

i misread this as Archon as well. i was like WTF does RTS have to do with Archon?