My zeroK friends I have a treat for you. For eight months I’ve been making a new game off of an old version of zeroK. Third War (3W) is a World War 3 battle game. All unit’s ranges, speeds, and rates of fire are exactly equivalent to their real world values. So for example the speed difference of an M1 Abrams and an AH64 Apache is equal to the real world difference. Also damages were kept realistic so the actual number of bombs, missiles, or cannon hits to kill certain things like a tank or an aircraft carrier are real. The only factor I allowed to deviate from real life was cost, for the purpose of balance. Although I started with all units costing equivalent to their real world value, like an Abrams at 9 million (cost 900), and an F-16 at 20 million (cost 2000) I had to deviate for many reasons. First for game balance. Second because some units like naval units and nukes would be so absurdly high since they are in the billions they would never be seen in the game. So I toned down the power of the naval units but also reduced their cost. I also had to bend the rules for infantry units like the rifleman. Their effective range in reality is 500 meters, but in game units that would be 100 and it’s absurd to see them run up to only begin attacking at point blank ranges. Their game range was made 200 (so 1000 meters effectively). This doesn’t hinder gameplay and they still serve their purpose. Their speed should also be 0.5 but until the truck transport is fixed it’s at 1.
Unit model scales are also kept to scale. The only deviation is naval units. Naval units are ½ their actual scale, lest an aircraft carrier block the view of the whole map. So an infantryman is the same scale to a tank is to a F16 is to a stealth bomber.
Missiles aren’t 100% certain to hit anymore and each time they launch, depending on the target’s angle difference and chance determine the likelihood of a hit, as in reality. A player that micro’s his SAMs by controlling their fire until the right time could get better results, and conversely, an attacker can get better results based purely off their angle of attack with their air units.
Different forms of nuke and antinukes are available. Nukes can be launched from: Nuclear silo, Nuclear truck(Topol), nuclear missile sub, or loaded onto stealth bomber :) Anti nuke can be done from stationary silo, S400 truck, and later missile cruisers.
A lot of research was done making this game and very little has deviated from real world stats. Even little details like how fast different tank turrets rotate in degrees per second was implemented. I am posting this here for a number of reasons. First, I stopped working on the project for a month now. I think mostly because I need to see if there’s enough interest in the community to justify finishing it. Second, I need help finishing it from the ZeroK dev team.
I can’t get a version of the source code to compile and I need to do this to make changes so that the game can begin to truly longer be zeroK anymore. I need help in changing the auto update to no longer target zeroK files and target the latest 3W files instead. I need help getting multiplayer to work so people can browse games and play against each other.
Youtube playist is here (be aware this includes old videos):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjIcWBYCfnHTYlC4OdPaUi4qN_1ZZPuDAPlease skip the earlier videos and go to the newer ones first.
This is the whole playable game:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1iHEdkTfW0ZVbv6bSdCtEVOOO5BMbdMwLUnzip this to some directory like c:\3W or something. To play this you must tell windows to disable all of its incoming and outgoing communication for the 3w.exe in your firewall settings. If you do not do this the game will autoupdate and mess up the files and it wont work and you will have to delete 3w and recopy the files all over again. Because I don't know how to get this thing working with current spring engine and multiplayer, it's singleplayer only, so you all can try it out. You can play with CAI or circuitAI brutal. circuitAI plays better but is known to crash once it reaches underwhelming numbers. Also, CAI doesn't use air units well, it lands them in stupid places.
Units OverviewRate of Fire (ROF) is measured in rounds per minute.
Range: Every 5 meters in real world units is equivalent to 1 game unit. So if the effective range is 2500 meters like an M1 Abrams cannon, the game range is 500.
Infantry:Infantry units are invisible when they are stationary. They are also the cheapest and most cost efficient unit in the game. Be careful though because they can be crushed by moving vehicles and tanks C&C style.
Rifleman:
Cost 25, HP 200, speed 1, range 200, dmg 3 x 10, ROF 60
Cheapest unit in the game that kills other infantry and captures enemy buildings. Takes only 33% damage when they are stationary. They fire a three round burst every second.
Gunner:
Cost 50, HP 50, speed 1, range 200, dmg 14, ROF 750
Has ¼ the HP of a rifleman but 6x the firepower and 2x the cost. They are intended to be kept behind a line of riflemen to deal greater damage to enemy infantry.
Rocket Infantry:
Cost 125, HP 50, speed 1, range 950, dmg 500, ROF 4
Counters tanks. Each FGM 148 Javelin rocket costs 125.
AA Infantry:
Cost 150, HP 25, speed 1, range 1800, dmg 200, ROF 6
FIM92 Stinger missile that fires at air units. Each missile costs 25. It’s more effective against gunships than against fixed wing jets due to its shorter range and slower projectile. Because infantry are invisible when stationary it can be placed on hilltops and hit enemy air units that didn’t know AA was in the area.
Mortar:
Cost 75, HP 50, speed 1, range 700, dmg 75, ROF 20
Armed with an M224 mortar. They do 2x damage vs infantry. They counter clusters of infantry and light vehicles and its range allows it to take out guard towers somewhat well.
Howitzer:
Cost 200, HP 50, speed 0.5, range 4800, dmg 300, ROF 2
Infantry based artillery unit. 155mm Cannon. Cheapest conventional artillery in the game. Prone to accidents right now (it’s a feature!) due to the stupid infantry controlling it.
Flamethrower:
Cost 25, HP 50, speed 1, range 128, dmg 50, ROF 375
Clears buildings quickly. Somewhat useful against chickens, otherwise pretty useless unless used against a large group of infantry that accidentally run up on it while it’s invisible.
Sniper:
Cost 50, HP 10, speed 1, range 400, dmg 100, ROF 6
Always invisible. Used best for scouting and to call in targets for other units. Their rifle can also take out special critical structures like radar dishes and anti missile systems. Does ½ damage vs infantry, allowing it to kill a special infantry unit in a single shot but still be countered by riflemen hordes.
Commando:
Cost 200, HP 10, speed 1.2, range N/A, dmg N/A, ROF N/A
Always invisible but becomes visible when it plants its demolition charges. Demolition charge kills most structures in one strike if close enough. Charges have a ten second timer. Also equipped with silenced submachinegun for lone pesky infantry guards.
Engineer:
Cost 50, HP 50, speed 1, range N/A, dmg N/A, ROF N/A
Infantry based construction worker. Can place anti-vehicle mines (cost 50) and anti-personnel mines (cost 1).
Light VehiclesLight vehicles are less armored but faster, and usually deadlier than armored vehicles and each serve different purposes.
Humvee:
Cost 125, HP 400, speed 4, range 250, dmg 30, ROF 460
Light vehicle raider armed with a Browning 50 caliber machinegun. It kills infantry quickly. It’s ineffective against structures and harmless against armored units like tanks.
Truck
Cost 150, HP 400, speed 3.5, range N/A, dmg N/A, ROF N/A
Transports infantry units quickly across the battlefield. Currently this unit needs fixing because it doesn't load...
Rocket Artillery
Cost 750, HP 300, speed 2.25, range 5,500, dmg 125, ROF 4
Based off the BM21. Fires dumbfire rockets at long range, either a single fire every 15 seconds, or a 40 count rocket salvo every 5 minutes. The full salvo costs 80 total. It’s effective at killing stationary targets without anti-missile support. It does 200 dmg vs infantry units.
Guided Rocket Artillery
Cost 1000, HP 500, speed 2, range 14,000, dmg 800, ROF 18*
Based off the M270 MLRS. A very long range weapon platform that fires a guided rocket that costs 100 each. Effective at taking out expensive vehicles that lack anti-missile support. *Can fire at a rate of 1 every 3 seconds, but stockpile time per rocket is 20 seconds per rocket.
!Because this is a tracked armored unit I am debating on moving it to the armored unit category, but that category is already pretty full and it feels better keeping it here since it is the American equivalent of the BM21.
S400 “Triumph”
Cost 2000, HP 500, speed 2.5, range 80,000, dmg 1000, ROF 2
Unlimited range anti air missile launcher. Each 40N6E Missile costs 350. It’s missiles have a higher chance of hitting air units that are far away than units nearby. The S400 also serves as an anti nuclear missile system with a radius smaller than a stationary silo. It's anti-nuke radius is 420.
Topol
Cost 1000, HP 500, speed 2.5, range 2,200,000, dmg 13000, ROF 1/4
A mobile ICBM launcher based off the Russian Topol. Each nuke costs 7200 and takes 4 minutes to load. Because of its unlimited range on the battlefield it can be kept hidden or on the move, making them harder to scout than static nuclear silos, but easier to kill once spotted. The Topol launches the equivalent of a 800kt W88 Trident II Nuclear Missile.
Armored VehiclesWhen a tank that has multiple turrets falls below certain health levels it's smaller turrets are considered "dead" and do not fire anymore until repaired.
Bradley
Cost 500, HP 500, speed 2, range 950/600/200, dmg 500/100/14, ROF 2/40/750
Equipped with an array of different weapons that give it a multi-function skirmish ability. It’s anti tank missile launcher has a range twice that of a tank’s cannon but takes much more time to reload and costs 125 each missile. It is also armed with a 25mm M242 which is often fired in 3 round bursts, harmless to tanks but deadly to light vehicles. It also has a M240 machinegun for nearby infantry units. This unit requires more micromanagement and isn’t an attack area unit like tanks are.
Tank
Cost 300, HP 500, speed 1.75, range 500/300, dmg 530/40, ROF 7.5/460
Based on the Russian T72. There are more T72s in the world than any other type of tank. Though 8 years older than the M1 Abrams, it’s still a good tank and very cost efficient. Armed with a 125mm 2A46 cannon and a 50 caliber machinegun turret. The tank dominates vehicles, structures, and infantry. But it is vulnerable to rocket attacks and also air units like the A10 and the Apache. Tanks will also usually need anti missile systems nearby to protect them from larger missiles.
Heavy Tank
Cost 900, HP 850, speed 2, range 500/300/200, dmg: 750/40/14, ROF 10/460/750
Based off the American M1 Abrams. Compared to the T72 it is more expensive, more durable, has a faster rate of fire, moves a little faster, and has an extra machinegun turret. It is equipped with a 120mm M256 cannon, a Browning 50 machinegun turret, and a M240 machinegun turret. The Abrams is the king of the ground, fearing only rockets and the sky. (!) The damage should be in the 500s equivalent to the T72, but was bumped to 750 because of how impractical it would be for its 3x cost. There would be no point building them when you could just build regular tanks.
M107
Cost 500, HP 500, speed 2.15, range 6000, dmg 1000, ROF 1
Its 175mm Cannon has a 30 km range but takes 1 minute to reload with each shot.
SPG
Cost 1000, HP 500, speed 2, range 6000, dmg 300, ROF 6
Self-Propelled gun based off the M109. It’s 155mm Cannon has a 30 km range and a reload time of 10 seconds. It’s faster reload time compared to slower artillery make it useful at plucking defenses like guard towers in time for front line units to advance.
ZSU-23
Cost 500, HP 500, speed 1.75, range 500, dmg 50, ROF 750
Armored anti missile vehicle that destroys most expensive incoming rockets before it gets near it. It’s 23mm 2A7 autocannons can attack air units but isn’t very effective against fast fixed wing jets flying overhead and really only decent against nearby gunships. It can also attack infantry units and light vehicles well. It’s weapon is ineffective against tanks. Its anti-missile radius is 300.
SA6 "Gainful"
Cost 1000, HP 500, speed 2, range 4000, dmg 500, ROF 4
Medium range anti air missile launcher. It’s 20 km range and 15 second reload time allow it to be one of the most effective ground to air systems in the game. It’s missile will take down most air units with a single impact.
Air UnitsYes I know the turn rate of some of the aircraft is wacky (like the radar plane) and I will get around to improving that.
Apache
Cost 1800, HP 500, speed 9, range 1600/500, dmg 500/50, ROF 12/640
Based off the AH64. It has good speed and mobility with a lot of sustained firepower, but is very vulnerable to anti air. It is equipped Hellfire rockets, Hydra rockets, and a M230 chaingun. The Hydra rocket salvo will kill most clusters in a single volley. The Apache is a tank and infantry destroyer that is vulnerable to air and ground to air weapons. Its rockets do 2x damage vs tanks.
Transport
Cost 2000, HP 1000, speed 10, range 300/200, dmg 40/15, ROF 640/750
Based off the CH-47D Chinhook. It can carry a platoon of infantry, or some light vehicles, or a tank(!). Right now because the truck is broken and there is no naval hovercraft yet, this is the only transport unit in the game. It can be used to get infantry from one spot to another quickly. Considering how infantry capture buildings it can be used to capture an undefended enemy base behind lines quickly. It can also drop sniper and commando units into key areas where they can then get the rest of the way on foot. Armed with a 50 cal machinegun on one side and a M240 on the other it can also harass land units.
Bomber
Cost 2000, HP 500, speed 22, range 6600/500/1000, dmg 500/800/50, ROF 12/12/3600
The A10 Thunderbolt, a close air support unit that dominates land units. Armed with AGM-65 Mavericks, Mk82 bombs, and a 30mm GAU. Mavericks allow it to hit land targets from afar, and its bombs and guns will kill any tank in a single strafing run.
Early A10s can be deadly to newbs. If one team is able to get enough A10s up early enough, and the other team is ill prepared it can mean their defeat simply by not being able to get any type of AA up. The A10s can constantly sweep for SAMs or air to air jets being built. Scout for early A10s!
Heavy Bomber
Cost 4000, HP 1000, speed 40, range N/A, dmg 18x1000, ROF 1
Based off the B1 Lancer. The Lancer carpet bombs an entire line of an area. So angling where it’s coming from and what it will hit can massively control its effectiveness. It has to land and reload after each bombing run.
Fighter (Falcon)
Cost 2000, HP 350, speed 60, range 7000/600, dmg 500/45, ROF 12/3000
F16 Air Superiority Fighter. Armed with only air to air weapons it scans the skies for targets. It uses AIM9 sidewinders and an M61 Vulcan minigun. It is very maneuverable and fast. One of the best solutions to all your bomber problem needs. Because of its speed and maneuverability it can be used in a tactic to fly into land SAM sites first before the bombers do, causing them to fire first at the cheaper and harder to hit falcon, sparing your bombers to fly in and take out the SAM sites.
Heavy Fighter (Eagle)
Cost 3000, HP 400, speed 60, range 7000/600, dmg 500/45, ROF 12/3000
Multipurpose fighter based off the F15. Though costing 50% more than a fighter, it can attacks air and land units with its guns and missiles. If you're not sure what you want to put in the air, only that you want to put something in the air, this is the way to go since it can do both.
Heavy Fighter 2 (Hornet) (carrier only)
Cost 500*, HP 400, speed 60, range 7000/600, dmg 500/45, ROF 12/3000
The same stats as a heavy fighter but is exclusive to carriers. It attacks land and air units. *The F18 costs the carrier only 500 each, allowing the carrier to flood air units into a map aggressively.
Stealth Fighter
Cost 8000, HP 350, speed 60, range 7000/600, dmg 500/45, ROF 12/3000
Based off the F35 Lightning. An “invisible” air unit that’s armed with air to air weapons only. It is the king of the sky. Very expensive, but the only way to detect it is by having air units near it, making catching it very hard since it kills enemy air units. Keeping enough air units nearby long enough to take it down can be difficult. Coupled with a stealth bomber it can be a difficult combo to counter.
Stealth Bomber
Cost 20,000, HP 300*, speed 60, range 7000/600, dmg 500/45, ROF 12/3000
The B2 is an invisible air to ground bomber. It can only be detected if air units are close enough to it. The stealth bomber can drop heavy bombs on targets once every 10 seconds without reloading. The bomb will kill most targets in a single hit. It can also stockpile a 400 kt nuclear bomb that costs 4800. The B2 is one of the two most expensive units in the game. It is debatably the most powerful unit in the game, with the Carrier as its competitor for the title. The B2 is the detriment of the sky.
*When comparing a B2 to say an F16 on a 1:1 basis it should be able to take more damage than an F16, but because a B2 costs 2 billion dollars and an F16 costs only $20 million, you should have 100 F16s for every one B2. So the HP was reduced to somewhat reflect this fragility, also because catching a stealth bomber is hard enough as it is, making it possible.
Radar Plane
Based off the E3. Cost 4,000. The radar plane is expensive but provides radar coverage from the sky of the entire map on most maps. Because it is vulnerable to air to air or long range SAMS and so costly it sometimes is better to go with a land radar solution.
Naval UnitsSubmarine
Cost 7000, HP 1000, speed 2, range 7600, dmg 2000, ROF 12
The submarine is intended for naval superiority. Real world torpedoes cost about 4 million dollars each and have long ranges. So each torpedo costs 400. The torpedo moves slowly but still faster than any ship can. Due to the turn rate of the torpedo, it is possible if you manage your targeted ship properly to turn and evade the torpedo depending on the angle it was launched. This is very useful in sub to sub or sub to ship fighting.
Nuclear Missile Submarine
Cost 10000, HP 1000, speed 2, range 14,400, dmg 10,000, ROF 12
The nuclear missile submarine surfaces to launch it’s 450kt W88 Trident II Nuclear Missile. Each missile costs 7200. The sub takes ten seconds to surface where it is visible and vulnerable, then it can launch one missile every 5 seconds.
In later version the nuclear submarine will also be able fight and use torpedoes, but right now it’s not possible since the stockpile system is tied to it building nukes.
Destroyer
Cost 6500, HP 2000, speed 1.75, range 4800, dmg 900, ROF 18
Uses Two 5"/54 caliber Mark 45 guns putting a lot of firepower onto key surface locations.
Carrier
Cost 24000, HP 8000, speed 1.5, range unlimited, dmg N/A, ROF: N/A
The most expensive and debatably the most powerful unit in the game. An aircraft carrier presence in the map usually signals the end of the enemy team if they don’t kill it as soon as possible. It builds up to eight F-18 Hornets and a couple gunships at a highly reduced cost. It is equipped with an anti missile system. It can also stockpile guided cruise missiles that it can launch on its targets. It’s range is unlimited on the map.
Costing as much as 80 T72 tanks in the game, and being so hard to conceal while building, it should have never been allowed to have been built, or, easily countered once out of dock. You could for example build a 7,000 sub, post it just outside the range of the carrier that's building, and once it's finished torpedo it.
Defensive StructuresConcrete Wall
Cost 10, HP 1000
Do not underestimate the power of concrete, especially against chickens.
Guard Tower
(no picture yet)
Cost 100, HP 200, range 400/950, dmg 15/500, ROF 1714/4
A guard tower with a M134 minigunner and a rocket launcher. Once the hp of the tower falls to 66% the minigunner is ‘dead’, and if the tower is under 33% the rocket launcher is also ‘dead’. This means you can use snipers to “snipe” a tower to kill the gunner in the first hit and the rocket launcher in a second hit before ordering infantry or tanks to advance in. Debating on switch the death order of the two ?
Phalanx AMS
Cost 400, HP 100, range 500, dmg 30, ROF 2571
Anti-Missile system. It eats up incoming missiles and also shoots at enemy aircraft that fly overhead. It is usually best countered by conventional artillery, or land units if artillery isn't possible due to being behind a hill or building. It can also effectively attack light vehicles and infantry units. The Phalanx is a life saver if your enemy has a lot of rocket artillery, especially near your power plants. The anti missile radius is 400.
SAM
Cost 500, HP 100, range 4000, dmg 500, ROF 6
Medium range anti air missile launcher. It’s 20 km range and 10 second reload time make it more cost efficient than the mobile SA6 but with the downside of being stationary.
LRSAM
Cost 1500, HP 750, range 80000, dmg 1000, ROF 4
Unlimited range missile system like that of the S400. Each missile costs 300 and takes 20 seconds to load. More cost efficient than the S400 but it can’t move (ignore the wheels, they are just for show).
Tac Missile Silo (no picture yet)
Launches either cruise missiles that do 3000 damage or chemical missiles. Chemical missiles do little damage vs buildings but a lot vs infantry. The initial surprise impact of the chemical missile alone will catch most infantry offguard and kill them instantly. It leaves a green cloud of death in the area long enough to serve as an infantry barrier for some time. Both forms of missiles are guided.
Anti-Nuke (no pic yet)
A hardened anti nuclear missile silo that intercepts nuclear missiles.
Nuclear Missile Silo (no pic yet)
A hardened Silo that launches nuclear missiles. You know the drill.
Economy• Reclaim is disabled for most dead units except oil pumps. If you want something out of the way you have to blow it up or push it out of the way with a tank. A side bonus of no reclaim is camping is rewarded less.
• It’s not “metal” anymore, it’s “money.” Metal isn't extracted, oil is.
• The power grid has been reworked a bit. There is wind, power, and nuclear power for the power plant options. The power plants provide coverage over a much larger area now but to connect bases its more cost efficient to run power lines that cost 10 each. Allowing you to keep your power plants better guarded/hidden and not having to string them across the map to save resources.
Game Dev Todo:• Create a set of urban maps that have city structures everywhere
• Create a critter system that allows for unarmed civilian units to move all over the map and run for their sad lives.
• Faction based play. In a teams game team 1 is always US-NATO and have units limited to that faction, and team 2 is Russia-China-Arab. Hence the WW3 theme. So the US team would have the M1 Abrams for its tank and the Russia-China team would have T72s for its tank. FFA would allow players to choose their faction at start.
• Transporting needs adjustment to allow for land and navy units to transport. Right now the truck unit can’t load units unless it is designated as an air unit and I’m not sure why. But a flying truck is pretty stupid... I think anyway.
• Finish unit icons for like guard tower and whatnot. Finish the radar unit icons.
• Finish replacing zeroK building models
• Replace the gui and menu appearances to something more modern ww3ish
• Unit’s need a “stockpile_count” and a “stockpile_max” to set their default stockpile amount and the most it can reach. So like a nuclear sub can only carry 4 nukes if stockpile_max is 4.
• Stockpile needs to be fixed. When the units shoot it reduces the max count I don't know why.
• Air units need to be always fly by default instead of land when idle.
• AI needs improving. A modified CAI works for it but it’s not that challenging. Skirmish AI was challenging but always crashes at the end once one team is underwhelming.
• It would be cool to have a mode like chicken mode where players could play with modern 3W units against AI controlled futuristic units from zero-K.
Next set of units on the todo list:A buggy that has a grenade launcher on it.
A Russian AA tank based off the SA19 that has both anti missile guns and 8x stinger missile tubes.
Crusier (missile based)
Sea Transport (possibly a hovercraft instead)
Anti-Air Frigate
(no picture yet)
It has phalanx anti air and missile systems on it.
Patrol Boat
A B52-like unit that only drops nuclear bombs
AC130 gunship (will paradrop infantry) and shoots its gun out its side from afar
Radar Truck
For whatever reason the game won’t let me make new units that use radar and it’s because I think it needs to be enabled in some lua somewhere but I don’t know where.
I would like to be able to start playing this with people. I need help finishing it or at least getting multiplayer to work. If you've seen the things that need to get done and think you can help please email me at daniellong888@yahoo.com
