Soldat (video game)
Original author(s) | Michał Marcinkowski |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Transhuman Design
|
Initial release | 23 August 2002 |
Stable release | 1.8.0
/ 25 May 2020 |
Run and gun | |
License |
|
Website | www |
Soldat is a 2D
Development history
Soldat was initially developed by Michał Marcinkowski (MM) beginning in November 2001. MM is CEO of the
Soldat's head developer changed over time: Michał "MM" Marcinkowski led the project until 2008, followed until 2010 by Nick "EnEsCe" Cooper. Gregor "Shoozza" A. Cieslak lead the project from 2010 to 2016. Between 2016 and 2017 Tomasz "Falcon" Kołosowski was the project lead, followed again by Gregor "Shoooza" A. Cieslak.
Released on August 23, 2002, version 1.0.5b is considered the first major release of the game,
1.4.2 added many major features. These included a completely new lobby system to replace the aged and unreliable original system (see the forums for problems), an option (registered only) to scale the resolution interface for a cleaner view, a
1.5.0 is the first release to be handled using public beta testing. In addition to a long list of bug fixes, major new features in this version include in game radio commands,
The version 1.6.0 - released more than two years after 1.5.0 - focuses primarily on bug fixes. It also adds a new
1.7.0 introduced some bigger changes: It included a new OpenGL-based renderer with improved performance and major graphical updates.[3]
Released in January 2016, 1.7.1 is the latest version of the game. It brought
As of April 2018, the current goal being to release the next version on
On 31 March 2020 Soldat 1.7.1 was released on Steam, even though official date on Steam Store page was on April 1.[6] During its first hours on Steam, Soldat hit close to 400 active players at the same time, getting over 130 user reviews with a general score of "Very Positive".
On May 26, 2020 the
On September 22, 2020 sequel to original game- Soldat 2, was released in Early Access on Steam.
Gameplay
In Soldat, the player controls a small customizable soldier who possesses jet boots. These boots allow the soldier to fly for a relatively short time, before needing to automatically regenerate their fuel. The amount of flying possible at a time, and fuel regeneration rate, both depend on individual maps. The game is normally played over the
For all game modes, the basic objective is to kill enemy players. Upon
Most games are fast-paced and chaotic. Bodies often explode in a spectacle of blood and body parts, sometimes being hurled clear across the map. Besides its
Weapons
There are ten primary weapons and four secondary weapons to choose from. A total of any two weapons may be held at any given time. Players can drop their current weapon and pick up others from defeated enemies. It is also possible to create server-specific weapon mods. The choice of weapon is largely dependent on the type of map, preferred tactics and weapons choice of the players' enemies.
Soldat aims to create balance between all of the weapons (also known as Weapon Mod), in order to make all weapons viable. A lot of tweaking was done (and is done until today) in order to achieve this goal. The matter of the weapon mod is quite controversial. This has led to the existence of an entire section of the official community message board devoted to discussion about the weapons' game balance.
Bunny hopping
Soldat is one of many games in which
Maps
Maps in Soldat are 2D arenas, most being tailored to fast-paced game-play. Deathmatch maps are shared with Pointmatch (PM), Rambomatch (RM), and Teammatch (TM or TDM, for Team Deathmatch) gamemodes, whereas Capture-the-Flag (CTF), Infiltration (INF) and Hold-the-Flag (HTF) have their own sets of specialized maps. There are currently 97 default maps in the game for the different game modes.[9]
Every map consists of numerous textured
There are several known programs for mapping. The original map editor program is MapMaker 1.2, by Michał Marcinkowski himself. It has a unique control scheme that includes using the right mouse button to navigate the map and the control, shift, and alt keys combined with the left or right mouse button to perform functions. Another popular Soldat mapping program is PolyWorks, which has a different control scheme and a much more complex interface.
Community
The new lobby server indicates it holds a record number of lobby requests at 71459 per day. The whole number of players has not been counted but the official Soldat
Sub game-modes
Realistic Mode
As the Soldat community has grown, so has the popularity of the sub-gamemode Realistic (often abbreviated "R" or "R-mode"). Realistic makes the game have more realistic characteristics to it; the weapons are more powerful and they have recoil (the cross-hair moves upwards with each successive shot), there is a realistic field of view and players sustain greater damage when they hit the ground at high speeds. This mode emphasizes the need for proper tactics more strongly than the standard game mode, sometimes regarded as requiring more skill.
Survival Mode
All players spawn together at the beginning. Once players die, they must wait until the round is decided, then every player spawns again to start the next round. This game mode also provides a break from the normal non-stop action and more intensive battles.
In most realistic servers, survival mode is also activated. These servers are referred to as Realistic-Survival (R/S) servers. R/S mode games usually consist of short length battles between two sides in Capture the Flag mode.
Around the time of Soldat v1.3.1, most R/S matches developed a certain "gentlemen's rule" that a player should not capture the flag unless the opposing team is defeated. Because this is an unwritten rule, it is confusing to most people new to R/S servers. "Capping" or "Running" in an R/S server is usually considered bad etiquette, because it effectively defeats the other team without having to kill them. In more popular servers ran by R/S clans, capturing the flag is a legitimate tactic, as the game mode is still "Capture the Flag", not "Team Deathmatch", which only involves eradicating the enemy team. On the other hand, killing the other team and capping the flag in the few seconds remaining before the round ends, is called a doublecap, earns the team 2 points instead of the normal single point and is accepted in most servers, although many have implemented anti-doublecap scripts to prevent it.
Advance Mode
In Advance mode players start the match armed only with secondary weapons. Primary guns are progressively unlocked as a reward for frags. With its forced low-tech phase and limited weapon choices, advance mode is the often considered the most tactical Soldat mode.
Any of these sub-game modes may be combined with the other game modes, or it can be active by itself.
Reception
Second release on Steam, 31 March 2020, scored a general Very Positive over 130 user reviews. During its first hours on Steam, Soldat hit close to 400 active players at the same time.
References
- ^ "Official Soldat Site". Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ Soldat version history. 1.0.5b was the last beta release.
- ^ "SOLDAT 1.7 RELEASED!". Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ "SOLDAT 1.7.1 RELEASED!". Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ Victory! on change.org — Message from Michał Marcinkowski: "Hey everyone here's my decision. I wholeheartedly consider this petition and the need for open sourcing Soldat. I've spoken with Shoozza, Helloer and other people outside of the community for input. I've decided to open source Soldat *after* the Steam release. So we are aiming at the first quarter of 2018." (Oct. 1, 2017)
- ^ Steam Store page
- ^ soldat on GitHub
- ^ Soldat asset license on github.com
- ^ "Default Maps - Soldat Community Wiki". wiki.soldat.pl.
- ^ Data from http://www.soldatforums.com/ accessed at 20-01-2008
- Eurogamer.net(2006-07-18)
- ^ "thinkdigit-magazine-2008-07 thinkdigit-magazine-2008-07".