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When the game begins, Chivaldori has hired the player to remove Deidranna by whatever means necessary. He puts the player and his team of mercenaries in contact with a rebel movement in the northern city of Omerta, led by Miguel Cordona and a handful of his trusted advisors. Omerta suffered a massive raid shortly before the events of the game, leaving the town damaged and nearly deserted. Miguel guides the player to the city of Drassen, though the cities and countryside may be captured in any order, at the players leisure. Capturing cities opens the facilities they house. Sci-Fi mode includes an enemy not present in realistic mode: the "Crepitus.", a species of giant insect. |
When the game begins, Chivaldori has hired the player to remove Deidranna by whatever means necessary. He puts the player and his team of mercenaries in contact with a rebel movement in the northern city of Omerta, led by Miguel Cordona and a handful of his trusted advisors. Omerta suffered a massive raid shortly before the events of the game, leaving the town damaged and nearly deserted. Miguel guides the player to the city of Drassen, though the cities and countryside may be captured in any order, at the players leisure. Capturing cities opens the facilities they house. Sci-Fi mode includes an enemy not present in realistic mode: the "Crepitus.", a species of giant insect. |
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==Gameplay== |
== Gameplay == |
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{{Cleanup-section|date=April 2008}} |
{{Cleanup-section|date=April 2008}} |
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The game puts the player in control of several mercenaries for hire, that must explore and reclaim cities and teritories from enemy forces. As the game advances, the player hires new mercenaries and acquires better weapons and armor to combat the opponents. The game utilizes a map screen to show the map of Arulco and issue high-level orders to the troups; and a tactical screen, where the player takes control of individual mercenaries during real-time interactions or during a turn-based combat. |
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| ⚫ | |||
The map screen is where the game begins. It displays Arulco in a square grid, its terrain and cities, and the forces deployed by the enemy and the player. This is the strategic side of the game, as the player directs their forces, and controls the progress of time, which may be sped up or paused. From here, the player can also access the game's email and internet functions, allowing the player to receive emails from characters in the game, buy weapons, equipment, and hire and fire mercenaries. The player may recruit up to eighteen mercenaries (commonly shortened to "mercs"), who can be formed into teams, with a maximum of six mercenaries per team. |
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| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | This screen |
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The map screen displays the map of Arulco in a square grid (called sectors), its terrain and cities, and the forces deployed by the enemy and the player. This is the strategic side of the game, as the player directs his forces, and controls the progress of time, which may be sped up or paused. |
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From here, the player can also access the game's '''laptop''' function, allowing the player to receive emails from characters in the game, buy weapons and equipment, and hire and fire mercenaries. |
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| ⚫ | |||
Battles occur whenever the player's and enemy forces occupy the same square on the grid. These take place from an [[isometric]] viewpoint, and in real time until a member of one force spots an enemy. |
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| ⚫ | This screen is also used to give mercenaries '''long-term tasks'''. Mercs with a medical kit and medical skill can be set to tend to wounded mercs; this significantly quickens their recovery. Mercs with a tool box and mechanical skill can be set to repair damaged weapons, tools and armor. Mercs can "practice" a skill by themselves or work as a "trainer" and "student". Training a student increases his or her chosen skill; the effectiveness of training is determined by the leadership of the trainer and the wisdom of the student, as well as the current skill level of both mercs. A trainer may also train local citizens to become [[militia]] to defend sectors while the mercs are away. |
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| ⚫ | |||
Mercs can be ordered to '''travel''' on foot between the sectors. If the player acquires a vehicle in-game, he may load his troups into it to travel between places much faster. |
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Mercs can run, walk, crouch or crawl. When mercs move, this can be done in either normal or stealth mode. In normal mode, the merc does not really care how much noise they make during movement. This saves action points, but can give away their position. |
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<!-- Mentioning helicopter seems like a big spoiler, so "vehicle" is kept --> |
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=== Tactical Screen === |
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When attacking, there is a certain chance that the merc will hit. This can be done in a wide variety of ways, using firearms, close combat, throwing weapons such as knives or grenades, and heavy weapons. Walls, doors, and other terrain can also be destroyed using bombs or heavy weapons to provide "alternative entrances" or to remove cover used by the enemy. |
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The tactical screen shows the contents of a sector from an [[isometric]] viewpoint. Here the player can view the terrain, explored buildings and previously discovered items. Although the game does not feature a visual [[Fog_of_war#Simulations_and_games|fog of war]], the NPC characters can only be seen if a player controlled or allied characters see them. The game time advances in real-time on the tactical screen unless a battle is initiated, upon which the game switches to a turn-based comabt mode. |
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The player can '''control''' an individual merc or a group of mercs, issuing move, communication and various interaction commands. Mercs can run, walk, swim, crouch or crawl. Mercs may also climb onto the roofs of flat-roof buildings. |
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===Management=== |
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In addition to the battles taking place in different sectors of the game, the player has to manage both mercenaries and supplies. This is done mainly by means of the laptop, a game mechanism where the player can receive emails, contact mercenaries and buy weapons through the in-game Internet. |
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=== |
=== Battle === |
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Battles occur whenever the player's and enemy forces occupy the same sector. This can happen if enemy or player forces arrive at a hostile sector or the player's actions cause a previously friendly or neutral force to become hostile. The game proceeds in real-time until a member of one force spots an enemy. The game then switches to a [[Turn-based_game|turn-based play]]. The battles are played on the tactical screen. |
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| ⚫ | |||
<!-- "auto-resolve" isn't mentioned as this really isn't the main game aspect --> |
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| ⚫ | Each force takes alternating '''turns''' to move, attack, and perform various other actions. Each character has a limited amount of [[action points]], which are spent to perform these actions. The action points are renewed at the beginning of each round, depending on the physical state of the merc. A maximum of 5 unspent action points will also be carried over to the next round. |
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Skills increase when the mercenary intensively uses them or by training. They can also decrease if a character is wounded. Apart from this, a mercenary can also have two special skills chosen from a range including night operations, martial arts and lockpicking. |
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<!-- Discussing "interrupts" would be too overwhelming for a user not already familiar with turn-based combat, so this is skipped entirely --> |
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The game may be played by adopting '''stealth''' elements. Mercs may move either in normal or stealth mode. In stealth mode, the merc attempts to move without making any noise. Moving in stealth costs more action points, but may successfully hide their position from enemies. The game also features "stealth" weapons that do not cause loud attack noise. Merc attributes and some special skills affect how "stealthy" they are. |
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When a mercenary is injured with 15 or less HP, the character drops to the floor, dying, meaning that they cannot do anything and has to be bandaged in order to be able to become active. Every turn that passes without medical treatment will result in a permanent loss of 1 HP from the merc's total health. |
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Mercs can '''attack''' enemies in many different ways - firearms (pistols, machine-guns, rifles, etc.), close combat, thrown weapons (knives and grenades), heavy weapons (mortars, [[Rocket-propelled_grenade|RPGs]], [[Light_anti-tank_weapon|LAWs]], etc.) and explosives (mines, bombs). When a merc attacks, he or she has a certain chance to hit the target based on his or her skills. Walls, doors, and many objects can be destroyed using explosives or heavy weapons; this may provide "alternative entrances" or remove cover used by the enemy. |
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When health is lost, the first thing required to regain this is bandaging, or first aid. The merc can apply this to their self, or to another character, unless they have no medical skill or are dying. It also requires a first aid or medical kit. When a character is fully bandaged, they are no longer bleeding and all of the lost points will be replaced with bandaged points. If a character is shot, health will be drained, the amount of bandaged points stays the same. Turning bandaged points into normal points requires either time or a doctor. |
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=== |
=== Characters === |
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| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
The game is played almost entirely through the '''mercenaries'' chosen. These mercenaries can be hired from online websites, or recruited from the local citizenry for a one-time or daily fee. The player may also create one personalized, unique mercenary. |
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Character are defined by their '''skills'''. Every character has an experience level, 5 attributes (agility, dexterity, strength, leedership, wisdom) and 4 skills (marksmanship, explosives, mechanical, medical). Character's level is increased (up to 10) by actively participating in the game - mainly combat. The skills are increased (up to 100) by performing actions based on these skills or by training. Attribute points may be lost if a character is critically hit. Apart from this, a mercenary can also have two (or one highly trained) special skills enhancing a certain aspect of his or her performance (e.g. night operations, martial arts,lockpicking, etc.). |
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Each character has a certain amount of '''health''' points, which are reduced when he or she takes damage. The lost health points can be restored by using first aid kits (by themselves or another merc); however the character will quickly lose the "restored" points if he or she is wounded again. If a character's wounds are untreated, he will slowly bleed and lose more health. When a mercenary has less than 15 health, the character falls on the ground slowly dying, unable to do anything until medically treated. If a character dies, he may never be resurrected. |
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Characters also have a level of '''fatigue''', restored by sleep and rest. Moving, using stealth and getting hit fatigues the characters. Tired mercs who have not rested for a long time become exhausted faster. Fully exhausted characters will fall to the ground until they regain some strength again. |
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Mercenaries also have '''morale''' level, mainly increased by victories and successful kills and decreased by the opposite. Happy mercs perform better, while unhappy mercs will complain and may leave the player's forces altogether. |
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| ⚫ | Players must also pay attention to the '''personality conflicts''' between mercenaries. Mercs who like each other and work together will have a higher morale than others. Mercenaries who dislike each other will complain often and eventually one of the two mercenaries will quit. Mercenaries may also refuse to be hired if you have already hired someone they dislike. |
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<!-- This is kind of a trivial, but a very unique aspect of the game --> |
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| ⚫ | |||
The game features a large array of various items. These include weapons, armor, trade tools and miscellaneous items. |
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Items can be traded between mercs, picked up and dropped in the world. If a merc dies, he drops all his items. Enemies will sometimes drop items upon dieing. Most mercs are hired with their own combat equipement. |
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Mercenaries can equip and carry various items in their '''inventory'''. The mercs can wear armor in head, chest and leg "slots". Sunglasses and night-vision googles can also be equipped. The mercs can hold one large weapon or dual-wield two small weapons. Certain skills and interactions require the mercs to hold a necessary trade tool. Mercs may also carry 4 large items (e.g. rifle, medical kit, RPG) and 8 small (e.g. ammo, grenade, knife) items. |
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<!-- Holding small weapon + some tool is trivial to mention --> |
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=== Economy === |
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The player needs money to pay the mercenary hire fees and to purchase eqipment. At the start of the game, the player is given a set amount of money. The main source of income in the game are silver and gold mines located under several cities. The player has to reclaim these city sectors and convince the local miners to work for the player to receive a daily income. |
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<!-- Talking about secret caches and alternative money sources is more or less a spoiler, however capturing mines is the main economy aspect of the game, so it is mentioned here --> |
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== v1.13 == |
== v1.13 == |
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Revision as of 16:36, 29 May 2009
| Jagged Alliance 2 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Sir-Tech Canada |
| Publisher(s) | TalonSoft (Windows) Titan Computer (Linux) |
| Platform(s) | AmigaOS, Linux, Windows |
| Genre(s) | Tactical role-playing game, Turn-based tactics, RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Jagged Alliance 2 is a tactical role-playing game for PC, released in 1999 for Windows, and later ported to Linux by Tribsoft. It is the third game in the Jagged Alliance series, and was followed by two expansions: Unfinished Business (2000) and Wildfire (2004). Jagged Alliance 2 and the Unfinished Business expansion were combined in the Jagged Alliance 2 Gold Pack, released on August 6, 2002.[1]
Plot
Jagged Alliance 2 takes place in the nation of Arulco, ruled until the late 1980s by a unique democratic monarchy- a monarch led the nation, but elections were held every ten years to assert their legitimacy. In 1988, election candidate Enrico Chivaldori took a wife, Deidranna Reitman of Romania, in order to boost his popularity and consequently was victorious. However, Deidranna proved to be far more than a simple pawn; showing an unquenchable thirst for power, she soon framed Chivaldori for the murder of his father. Removing all other obstacles from her way, she soon consolidated her power and converted the nation into a totalitarian state.
When the game begins, Chivaldori has hired the player to remove Deidranna by whatever means necessary. He puts the player and his team of mercenaries in contact with a rebel movement in the northern city of Omerta, led by Miguel Cordona and a handful of his trusted advisors. Omerta suffered a massive raid shortly before the events of the game, leaving the town damaged and nearly deserted. Miguel guides the player to the city of Drassen, though the cities and countryside may be captured in any order, at the players leisure. Capturing cities opens the facilities they house. Sci-Fi mode includes an enemy not present in realistic mode: the "Crepitus.", a species of giant insect.
Gameplay
The game puts the player in control of several mercenaries for hire, that must explore and reclaim cities and teritories from enemy forces. As the game advances, the player hires new mercenaries and acquires better weapons and armor to combat the opponents. The game utilizes a map screen to show the map of Arulco and issue high-level orders to the troups; and a tactical screen, where the player takes control of individual mercenaries during real-time interactions or during a turn-based combat.
Map Screen
The map screen displays the map of Arulco in a square grid (called sectors), its terrain and cities, and the forces deployed by the enemy and the player. This is the strategic side of the game, as the player directs his forces, and controls the progress of time, which may be sped up or paused.
From here, the player can also access the game's laptop function, allowing the player to receive emails from characters in the game, buy weapons and equipment, and hire and fire mercenaries.
This screen is also used to give mercenaries long-term tasks. Mercs with a medical kit and medical skill can be set to tend to wounded mercs; this significantly quickens their recovery. Mercs with a tool box and mechanical skill can be set to repair damaged weapons, tools and armor. Mercs can "practice" a skill by themselves or work as a "trainer" and "student". Training a student increases his or her chosen skill; the effectiveness of training is determined by the leadership of the trainer and the wisdom of the student, as well as the current skill level of both mercs. A trainer may also train local citizens to become militia to defend sectors while the mercs are away.
Mercs can be ordered to travel on foot between the sectors. If the player acquires a vehicle in-game, he may load his troups into it to travel between places much faster.
Tactical Screen
The tactical screen shows the contents of a sector from an isometric viewpoint. Here the player can view the terrain, explored buildings and previously discovered items. Although the game does not feature a visual fog of war, the NPC characters can only be seen if a player controlled or allied characters see them. The game time advances in real-time on the tactical screen unless a battle is initiated, upon which the game switches to a turn-based comabt mode.
The player can control an individual merc or a group of mercs, issuing move, communication and various interaction commands. Mercs can run, walk, swim, crouch or crawl. Mercs may also climb onto the roofs of flat-roof buildings.
Battle
Battles occur whenever the player's and enemy forces occupy the same sector. This can happen if enemy or player forces arrive at a hostile sector or the player's actions cause a previously friendly or neutral force to become hostile. The game proceeds in real-time until a member of one force spots an enemy. The game then switches to a turn-based play. The battles are played on the tactical screen.
Each force takes alternating turns to move, attack, and perform various other actions. Each character has a limited amount of action points, which are spent to perform these actions. The action points are renewed at the beginning of each round, depending on the physical state of the merc. A maximum of 5 unspent action points will also be carried over to the next round.
The game may be played by adopting stealth elements. Mercs may move either in normal or stealth mode. In stealth mode, the merc attempts to move without making any noise. Moving in stealth costs more action points, but may successfully hide their position from enemies. The game also features "stealth" weapons that do not cause loud attack noise. Merc attributes and some special skills affect how "stealthy" they are.
Mercs can attack enemies in many different ways - firearms (pistols, machine-guns, rifles, etc.), close combat, thrown weapons (knives and grenades), heavy weapons (mortars, RPGs, LAWs, etc.) and explosives (mines, bombs). When a merc attacks, he or she has a certain chance to hit the target based on his or her skills. Walls, doors, and many objects can be destroyed using explosives or heavy weapons; this may provide "alternative entrances" or remove cover used by the enemy.
Characters
The characters in Jagged Alliance 2 are mercenaries, enemies, allies and the townsfolk.
The game is played almost entirely through the 'mercenaries chosen. These mercenaries can be hired from online websites, or recruited from the local citizenry for a one-time or daily fee. The player may also create one personalized, unique mercenary.
Character are defined by their skills. Every character has an experience level, 5 attributes (agility, dexterity, strength, leedership, wisdom) and 4 skills (marksmanship, explosives, mechanical, medical). Character's level is increased (up to 10) by actively participating in the game - mainly combat. The skills are increased (up to 100) by performing actions based on these skills or by training. Attribute points may be lost if a character is critically hit. Apart from this, a mercenary can also have two (or one highly trained) special skills enhancing a certain aspect of his or her performance (e.g. night operations, martial arts,lockpicking, etc.).
Each character has a certain amount of health points, which are reduced when he or she takes damage. The lost health points can be restored by using first aid kits (by themselves or another merc); however the character will quickly lose the "restored" points if he or she is wounded again. If a character's wounds are untreated, he will slowly bleed and lose more health. When a mercenary has less than 15 health, the character falls on the ground slowly dying, unable to do anything until medically treated. If a character dies, he may never be resurrected.
Characters also have a level of fatigue, restored by sleep and rest. Moving, using stealth and getting hit fatigues the characters. Tired mercs who have not rested for a long time become exhausted faster. Fully exhausted characters will fall to the ground until they regain some strength again.
Mercenaries also have morale level, mainly increased by victories and successful kills and decreased by the opposite. Happy mercs perform better, while unhappy mercs will complain and may leave the player's forces altogether.
Players must also pay attention to the personality conflicts between mercenaries. Mercs who like each other and work together will have a higher morale than others. Mercenaries who dislike each other will complain often and eventually one of the two mercenaries will quit. Mercenaries may also refuse to be hired if you have already hired someone they dislike.
Items
The game features a large array of various items. These include weapons, armor, trade tools and miscellaneous items.
Items can be traded between mercs, picked up and dropped in the world. If a merc dies, he drops all his items. Enemies will sometimes drop items upon dieing. Most mercs are hired with their own combat equipement.
Mercenaries can equip and carry various items in their inventory. The mercs can wear armor in head, chest and leg "slots". Sunglasses and night-vision googles can also be equipped. The mercs can hold one large weapon or dual-wield two small weapons. Certain skills and interactions require the mercs to hold a necessary trade tool. Mercs may also carry 4 large items (e.g. rifle, medical kit, RPG) and 8 small (e.g. ammo, grenade, knife) items.
Economy
The player needs money to pay the mercenary hire fees and to purchase eqipment. At the start of the game, the player is given a set amount of money. The main source of income in the game are silver and gold mines located under several cities. The player has to reclaim these city sectors and convince the local miners to work for the player to receive a daily income.
v1.13
Version 1.13 is not just a community patch, but almost a total rewrite. It has introduced many new features and items such as:[2]
- Higher resolutions.
- Externalized data
- Limit on items in the game was increased from 350 to 5000.
- Externalized options, including events, costs, character attributes. They can be easily modified with simple text editor as well.
- Improved artificial intelligence and AI teamplay.
- New difficulty level.
- Possibility to create several custom characters and improved IMP features.
- Militia allows manual control in battle mode and veterans can be trained.
- Weather effects
- Items, attributes, weapons and ammunition have been drastically expanded (700+ items) and shifted towards realism.
- Added Bobby Ray selection levels.
- New characters.
- New game options, shortcuts and interface changes.
- Mercenary profiles tweaks.
- Increased maximum number of tilesets.
- Map editor
v1.13 Linux port
Since July, 2007, 1.13 has been successfully ported to Linux and is available via GPL license.[3] [4]
Steam
In July 2006, the Jagged Alliance 2 Gold Pack was released on Steam. Until August 2008, the Steam version contained a bug which gave the player unlimited money, destroying the game's financial balance. Another bug prevented delivery of weapons bought by the player from Bobby Ray's store. These problems were fixed in an August 2008 update.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Jagged Alliance 2: Gold Pack". Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ^ "JA2 v1.13 wiki - Jagged Alliance 2 v1.13 Mod Wiki". Retrieved 2008-05-08.
- ^ "Jagged Alliance 2 1.13 Linux Port devel source SVN".
- ^ "Jagged Alliance 2 1.13 Linux Port Support Forum".
External links
- Official website
- The Jagged Alliance series at MobyGames
- The Jagged Alliance series at Curlie
- Jagged Alliance Galaxy one of the largest fansites for Jagged Alliance 2
- Bear's Pit JA Forums community of Jagged Alliance 2 veterans
- Jagged Alliance 2: Stracciatella a source port for Jagged Alliance 2
- GameSpot review
- Jagged Alliance 2 (straciatella) port for AmigaOS 4