Additional Info
Hard drive space
Full download: 0.27 GB
Initial download: 0.22 GB
Download time
| Kb/s | 20 MB | 8 MB | 512 KB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | 1mn | 3mn | 47mn |
System Requirements
- Operating System: 2000/XP,Vista
- OS: Windows
Copyright
© 2000 Activision Publishing, Inc.
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Overview
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Instructions & Tips
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Screenshots & Video
Basics
Dark Reign is a real time strategy (RTS) game: you act as the commander of your military forces, and must oversee and supervise all aspects of a strategy leading toward victory. You will build structures, manage resources, train new military and support units, explore the theatre of battle and engage your enemy, all in real time -- there's no pausing, no ending a turn. Success is based on both your martial skills and your ability as a logistical administrator.
Missions
For most of the game you'll be simulating battles that happened years ago, to demonstrate your military competence. This means you will control armies of the warring powers, the Imperium and Freedom Guard, and guide them to victory. Each mission will involve objectives that you must fulfill in order to meet the victory conditions.
Getting Started
Your first step is to establish a base. Use construction units to place structures in strategic locations. Each building has a purpose: some are used to construct military or support units, some perform research to enhance your weaponry, others gather resources or help defend your base. Base management is more art than science; your individual play style will determine how you attend to the needs of your bases.
Buildings
Click on a building to view its tasks, then click an option to tell the structure what you want it to do. In many cases you can queue up a series of commands by repeatedly clicking produce or research orders. This way the buildings keep working while you're off doing other things. Units produced by buildings will appear outside when they're complete and ready to go.
Resources
You'll also need to track resources. In the future, water is the precious commodity, and the Imperium has maintained its dominion because it controls most of the water. The other crucial resource is Taelon, which powers your facilities. Naturally, you'll want to put your base somewhere that has ready and defensible access to these resources, and build the necessary structures to gather them.
Units
Control your military and support units by selecting them and issuing commands -- move, attack, and so forth. You can select several units by click-dragging a box around them, and group units into companies for easy control. Military units come in all shapes and sizes, from infantry to heavy armor, so you'll want to strike a balance that suits your mission and the terrain.
Winning
Of course, while you're doing all of this, the enemy is out there somewhere too, doing the same thing. Working quickly and efficiently is as important as careful strategy, because victory is often determined by who can field the larger army faster. Destroy your opponents, and victory will be yours.
Tip: Tutorials
Dark Reign comes with two tutorials that will help you learn the commands. One tutorial is for total beginners, the other for real time strategy vets who just want to learn about Dark Reign's unique features.
Tip: Waypoints
Setting unit waypoints is a good strategy for keeping otherwise idle units busy. They could walk a beat around your base or some strategically significant area, for example. You can even coordinate multiple waypoint sets, to map out a multidirectional attack.
Tip: Harassment
Another useful strategy is to order units to harass opponents -- not a pitched battle so much as a few potshots. You can set how long your harassers follow an enemy, and how much damage they should take before they withdraw.
Tip: Ramblin' Man
Mission maps are pretty big, and the more you know about the lay of the land the better off you are. You can order units to scout independently, allowing you to manage other things while your people poke around.
Tip: Automatic Defenses
You can't be everywhere at once. Be sure to construct automated defenses for your base, in case you or your troops aren't there to defend it. Both sides have a selection of unmanned defense mechanisms.
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