Perimeter (video Game)
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''Perimeter'' () is a
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed by Russian studio K-D Lab for
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
. It is published by
1C Company 1C Company (, ) is a Russian software developer, distributor and publisher based in Moscow. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, related services and video games. In Russia, 1C develops and sells the business ...
and
Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer and former publisher based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under the EA Sports ...
, and was released in 2004.


Gameplay

In ''Perimeter'', ground must be terraformed before buildings can be built on it. Some weapons can distort the ground, which will cause constant damage to buildings until the ground is re-terraformed. Buildings must also be placed on a power grid formed by Energy Cores linked to the player's Frame. A building that loses connection to the power grid stops working and may be captured by an enemy player who connects it to their own Energy Core network. Thus destroying Energy Cores to disconnect parts of an enemy's base is a possible strategy on certain maps. Energy Cores also produce energy, the game's only resource. The amount of energy generated depends on the total area of terraformed ground covered by the player's Energy Cores. Energy Cores can activate the titular Perimeter, an impenetrable barrier that destroys any enemies passing through it. However, this drains a large amount of energy. Only 3 basic units (Soldier, Officer and Technician) can be built in factories, the more advanced units are created by morphing squads of basic units. Each unit type requires a certain amount of basic units, so for example if a unit costs 6 Soldiers and 2 Officers, a squad containing 20 Soldiers and 7 Officers could be morphed into 3 of the advanced unit, with 2 Soldiers and 1 Officer left over. Morphing is not permanent, so the squad can later be morphed into a different advanced unit, or reverted into basic units. More advanced units require the construction of laboratories before they can be morphed. The available military units include land-based, flying and underground units, with various weapons such as lasers, rockets and bombs. Defensive turrets may also be built to attack incoming enemy units. The 3 factions found in the game (Exodus, Empire and Harkback) share most of their technology, but each faction has its own specialized lab that unlocks faction-specific units. The goal of the game varies by mission. For example, the mission may require players to capture or destroy an enemy Frame, destroy Scourge nests, build a certain structure at a certain location, or charge up the Frame's Spiral to warp through a portal.


Plot

Humanity has undergone radical changes in society. Scientists and spiritual leaders became one and the same, calling themselves Spirits. The Spirits, foreseeing the inevitable destruction of
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
due to the ravages of our time, directed scientific efforts into the discovery of a new plane of existence: the Psychosphere. The Psychosphere acted as a
conduit Conduit may refer to: Engineering systems * Conduit (fluid conveyance), a pipe suitable for carrying either open-channel or pressurized liquids * Electrical conduit, a protective cover, tube or piping system for electric cables * Conduit cur ...
, providing means to reach another, untouched world, a new Promised Land, by jumping between flat worlds within the Psychosphere. The Psychosphere is appropriately named, as the various worlds resemble the thoughts and actions that have occurred upon Earth during its history. The Spirits then embarked upon the construction of massive floating city-ships called Frames, which could house hundreds of thousands of people for an indefinite period of time. With the Frames completed, the Spirits sent them forth into the Psychosphere with the intent to lead their people to the Promised Land, leaving Earth behind forever. Within each of the Frames, the Spirits formed Spirit Councils which exercised absolute authority in all matters relating to the Frame. The general populace were kept sedate and forced into a ritualistic spiritualism to control their minds, for it was soon discovered that the Psychosphere reacted to negative emotions; causing creatures known as Scourge to erupt out of the very ground and attack the Frames. Eventually, some of the citizens of the Frames began to revolt against the rule of the Spirit Council, and the Frames began to separate into three factions: the Exodus who continued to follow the guidance of the Spirits and seek the Promised Land, the Harkback who reject the rule of the Spirits and seek to return to Earth, and the Empire who reject the Spirits, the idea of the Promised Land, and Earth, seeking to establish a cybernetic Human empire within the Psychosphere itself. As the game progresses, the various factions come into contact, and eventually combat, with one another's Frames and with the Scourge. Exodus continues to move through the Chain of Worlds to its very end; Harkback move to the Root Worlds at the very beginning of the Chain, and the Empire tries to dominate both sides. Ultimately Exodus destroys the primary Imperial Frame near a portal to the Promised Land, and then move through the portal. Meanwhile, the Harkback find the Root Worlds and a portal back to Earth, also moving through. However, both factions end up near one another on the Promised Land, which appears to be Earth as it was millions of years ago. This sets the scene for the game's sequel.


Reception

The game received "favorable" reviews according to video game
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. It was nominated for ''GameSpot''s annual "Most Innovative Game" award, which went to ''
Katamari Damacy () is a 2004 action-puzzle video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2. The game's plot concerns a diminutive prince on a mission to rebuild stars, constellations, and the Moon, which were inadvertently destroyed by his f ...
''.


Perimeter: Emperor's Testament

A stand-alone
expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion, is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game, collectible card game or Miniature wargaming, miniature wargame. An expansion may introduce new rules ...
titled ''Perimeter: Emperor's Testament'' was published by
1C Company 1C Company (, ) is a Russian software developer, distributor and publisher based in Moscow. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, related services and video games. In Russia, 1C develops and sells the business ...
and first released in Russia in November 6, 2005. It was then published by
Paradox Interactive Paradox Interactive AB is a video game publisher based in Stockholm, Sweden. The company started out as the video game division of Target Games and then Paradox Entertainment (now Cabinet Entertainment) before being spun out into an independ ...
for release in several worldwide regions in second half of 2006.


Reception

The expansion pack received "average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.


Sequel

K-D Lab released a sequel '' Perimeter 2: New Earth'' in 2008.


Releasing of the source code

In 2021 the chief creator Andrey KranK Kuzmin released source code to
GitHub GitHub () is a Proprietary software, proprietary developer platform that allows developers to create, store, manage, and share their code. It uses Git to provide distributed version control and GitHub itself provides access control, bug trackin ...
with an open license
GPLv3 The GNU General Public Licenses (GNU GPL or simply GPL) are a series of widely used free software licenses, or ''copyleft'' licenses, that guarantee end users the freedom to run, study, share, or modify the software. The GPL was the first ...
, excluding game data (models, textures, music).


Legate Edition

''PERIMETER: Legate Edition'' was released for Windows on May 20, 2024.


See also

*'' Maelstrom: The Battle for Earth Begins'' *'' Vangers''


References


External links

* * {{moby game, id=/windows/perimeter-emperors-testament, name=''Perimeter: Emperor's Testament'' 1C Company games 2004 video games Codemasters games K-D Lab games Multiplayer and single-player video games Real-time strategy video games Science fiction video games Video games developed in Russia Video games with voxel graphics Windows games Windows-only games Open-source video games Video games with terraforming