Hybrid FPS & RTS Gameplay feature - Abatron

One of the biggest challenges that we face in developing Abatron, is bringing together players of different genres. Stereo-typically, it is said that RTS players don't like to die and FPS players don't like to think. I don't believe that this is a fair statement. I love to play both FPS & RTS types of games. We just need to cater to allow either focused or strategic game play styles. In Abatron, this is a primary objective and we implemented the following solutions:

1) Cooperative Multiplayer: You can have up to 4 players on the same team. FPS players may play FPS the whole time without worrying about tech. The RTS players may choose not to play FPS at all and still enjoy the dynamic game-play. Comparatively, in World of Warcraft, a successful group needs to have a healer, a tank, and some dps. In Abatron following the same concept, you can have 1 RTS player and 3 FPS players as a group for an example.

2) AutoTech: If you're in the FPS mood and don't want to play Coop, then we have that option as well. A player can simply start a game and choose to run in one of three different RTS AI auto-modes. Just choose either Tech, Defense, or Offense from the HUD AI Menu options. At any point in the game, the AI can be switched to any mode or turned off completely. Also, each game always begins with a few base units for immediate game-play. Additionally, there are many FPS abilities that can be acquired by killing specific units while in the FPS mode.

Why do this? During my college years, we had Extreme LAN parties. Every weekend, we would party all day and play all night. Our game-play window was basically the time it took to get everyone on the network and then until people started passing out. We played many games, but mainly we played Quake 3 Arena and StarCraft. As our group expanded, it became harder to play both RTS and FPS because of the learning curve required to play one genre or the other. From those experiences, I realized that we needed a game that seamlessly brings together both kinds of players.

Abatron is designed to be less dependent on either game mode and is focused more on the desired game-play. Ultimately, our best feedback will come from the players, regardless of how much we plan for these challenges. However, we do aim to crack the barrier in the current mindset of todays players by applying these particular ideas.

Thanks for reading,
the Abatron Dev Team ;)